The remaining goblin warriors and their sinister shaman emerged from their hut, sensing the impending defeat of their kin.
ROAR!
With a collective roar, the goblin warriors charged forward, determined to protect their shaman. It was their innate instinct to do such a movement.
‘Evolved Species.’
They would be the ones that would lead monsters, and Goblin Shaman was one of them.
However, the Goblin Warriors weren’t enough to move as they wanted. They were met with the fierce resistance of Anya, Hari, and Faye, the vanguard of the party.
CLANK
Anya, stalwart and unwavering, raised her shield to meet the oncoming onslaught. Her spear, an extension of her will, struck with precision.
“Faye, Hannah. Get ready.” She immediately analyzed the remaining Goblin Warriors and the state of the battlefield with her eyes.
‘The smaller goblins are mostly defeated. Good, newbies will be able to follow us soon; this should serve them as a good experience.’ She thought, readying herself.
“Follow my lead.”
She activated her other skill [Earth Impale], sending forth jagged stone spikes from the ground to impale the goblin warriors.
THUD CRACK
The earth responded to her command, and the goblins met a grisly end as the stone spikes pierced their flesh.
“GRRRRRR…..” The monsters growled, trying to get rid of the spikes stroking at their feet.
“Now. Hari.”
“Understood, captain.”
Hearing this, Hari dashed through the melee like a whirlwind of blades. Her dual blades moved with grace and precision, finding gaps in the goblins’ defenses and striking with deadly accuracy.
Fire danced along the edges of her weapons, further adding to their destructive power.
SPURT SWOOSH
Blood sprayed as her blades found their marks, and the goblin warriors fell one by one. Despite their initial aggression, they were no match for the combined might of Anya’s tanking and Hari’s precision.
“Bring them to me!” Following that, Anya once again used her skill [Taunting Cry].
Anya’s [Taunting Cry] skill ensured their undivided attention, and she bore the brunt of their attacks, her shield taking the punishment.
“Faye!”
“Yes!”
Faye, muscles bulging from her body-strengthening ability, swung her claymore with devastating force. Her strikes cleaved through armor and bone alike, sending goblins flying with each swing.
CRASH SWOOSH
The earth trembled beneath the onslaught of her blows, and the goblin warriors were crushed under her relentless assault. Their attempts to defend themselves proved futile as Faye’s claymore tore through their ranks.
Meanwhile, at the rear of the party, Astron and Fred provided invaluable support. Astron’s arrows found their marks, weakening the goblins and disrupting their formations. His keen eyes spotted threats from afar, and his shots were true.
SWISH SWOOSH
He moved swiftly, firing with precision and covering Ethan and Emily’s backs as they continued to deal with the remaining swarm of smaller goblins. His focus never wavered as he maintained his vigilance over the battlefield.
No one here could deny his contribution to the fight. The value he provided was not excessive, but it was decisive.
And Fred, hidden amidst the chaos, cast his spells, but he never forgot how to behave like he did.
“H-heal.”
“E-Emily. I-I will cover for you.”
“I-Illuminate.”
He used the skills that every basic healer had, but he actually did the bare minimum.
He used his healing magic to mend wounds and keep the party in fighting shape.
However, beneath his benevolent exterior, he secretly sowed discord among his comrades, subtly eroding their trust in one another.
As the goblin warriors and shamans pushed forward, they found themselves outnumbered and outmatched. The relentless onslaught of Anya, Hari, and Faye was too much for them to handle.
Of course, the shaman attempted to use its magic.
‘Not on my watch.’
But, Astron’s arrows disrupted its concentration. Arrows were swift and fast, and they didn’t require the manipulation of mana as the goblin shaman did.
And Shamans rather had a different way of using their magic. They would need to chant, and this was a disadvantage for them.
SWISH THUD
The arrows find their mark, but the Goblin Shaman was prepared for such an attack. The necklace on its neck defended his skin, forming a barrier.
However, even though the Goblin Shaman was alive, thanks to Astron’s cautious approach and a constant eye on it, it was never able to finish its chant.
‘I know you from the game already.’
And that was thanks to his knowledge of the game, something he had an advantage over.
“Good Job, Astron!” Anya’s voice echoed as she threw a gaze at her. Anya also realized what Astron was doing, and she had a small smile on her face.
The morale of the party was immediately raised after the constant slaughter of the goblins.
‘Now you are making that face.’
And Astron could see Fred’s expression getting dirty for a second.
‘You are getting restless, and you shall not worry. I will not let you go.’
With their leader and most important member getting rendered useless, the remaining goblin warriors fought with desperation, but it was in vain.
THUD SPURT THUD SPURT THUD SPURT THUD SPURT
One by one, they fell to the coordinated efforts of Anya’s party. At some point, even Ethan and Emily were able to join the fight and were able to confront a stronger monster.
THUD
“Ha!”
The battle reached its crescendo, and with a final, determined strike, the last goblin warrior was brought to the ground by the spear that would lead the future.
“Well done, Ethan.”
Anya and others looked at Ethan, who finished the last Goblin Warrior on his own.
“You are certainly a Hartley.”
SPURT THUD
Hari said as she slashed the head of the Goblin Shaman.
Silence descended upon the rain-soaked forest, broken only by the heavy breathing of Anya’s party. The goblin settlement had been vanquished, and the party stood victorious.
Anya, her shield and spear still at the ready, surveyed the battlefield. “Is everyone alright?”
The party members, though weary, nodded in affirmation. The rain still poured down on their heads, and the smell of blood and battle lingered around.
Countless bodies of goblins could be seen, some of them with burn marks, some of them with their bodies skewered, some of them with their body parts missing.
One thing was certain.
The battle was won.
“Then, it is time to loot then.”
With Anya’s words, Hunters started the most irritating thing for themselves, something that would normally be left for porters.
Gathering the loot.
*******
“We will set up a camp before proceeding further.”
Anya said as she looked into the loot we had gathered.
“Everyone seems to be tired as well.”
There was a reason why multiple-staged dungeons were sought for and rare. It was because the monster rate inside dungeons was a lot higher than others.
The reason for that was simple. Since the boundaries were blocked by the mana barrier, the monsters didn’t need to engage in territorial wars, which would mean the monsters wouldn’t lose their lives as well.
This was the reason why there were this many goblins there. After all, 47 goblins, eight goblin warriors, and one goblin shaman is by no means a low number. 𝑶𝗏𝐥xt.𝔠𝑶
The second reason why multiple-staged dungeons are sought is the opportunity to rest before attempting to challenge the second and further stages.
Just like we were doing.
“Since the dungeon has a different 2.5 times faster time flow than the outside world, we are allowed to spend a day here.” Anya briefed, looking at her watch. “After eight hours of outside time, if we don’t come, a rescue team will be sent.”
“Understood.”
As everyone started setting up their own camp, I took a moment to reflect on the battle.
‘Certainly, it was a lot different from the game.’
Playing a game and doing it in reality was different. When you are putting your life and other people’s lives on the line, this is when you understand how dangerous Hunter’s job is.
‘At the same time, how easy it is if you proceed as a team.’
There was a reason why the Academy constantly pressured us to have good teamwork. This is because the number of Hunter is scarce, and it is a very important resource that needs to be preserved.
With his, I could easily see the effects of teamwork certainly.
Having a tanker taking agro, and melee hunters taking down others, and ranger and healer supporting melee’s.
This was certainly a good part formation rather than focusing on melee damage dealers.
‘But, this is where the magician’s value is evident.’
Knowing Irina and how she was able to sweep through the battlefield using her magic, I could easily say magicians were certainly broken.
‘It is sad that her attitude is bad.’
Of course, not everyone shone through the teamwork. There were certain people like me who rather preferred to be alone.
This is because most of my power actually relies on my stealth.
[Shadowborne] trait is something that requires me to utilize constant ability for position-changing advantage, and it is not something I can do with a group.
However, I was able to improve quite a lot in this fight.
‘I feel like my sight is getting better.’
The more I fought in such a wide-range fight, the more I felt like I was getting better at spatial awareness. And this is something very important for a hunter like me.
I sat on a makeshift chair that is used to rest in dungeons while munching on some of the provisions we had brought with us, which most hunters jokingly referred to as “dungeon snacks.”
Lost in my thoughts, I realized that the others were engaged in a discussion about their performances in the battle.
Ethan was the first to share his thoughts, his youthful enthusiasm evident. “That was more intense than I expected. But it was a good fight.”
Emily, cleaning her gleaming sword with a practiced hand, nodded in agreement. “Agreed. Although,” she paused, her gaze briefly flickering in my direction, “I wasn’t expecting some of us to be so… inexperienced.”
“No.” Just as Emily was about to speak further, Anya chimed in. She strolled over to me, her expression thoughtful. “Hey, Astron,” she began, “Are you sure this is your first time?”
I met her gaze, a touch of surprise coloring my features. “Yes, it is. Why do you think it’s not?”
Anya’s eyes held a genuine curiosity as she continued, “If it is your first time, then you are really talented.” She said as she gestured to the place where the Goblin Shaman was standing. “You were really quick to figure out the Golbin Shaman, and even while fighting with others, you never missed intercepting its chant. It is not something I see often in newbies.”
“It is quite a talk coming from someone who can watch other people’s fights while confronting six Goblin Warriors at the same time.”
“Don’t put me in the same boat as others, young man. You may regret it.”
“….You are right…..”
“But, you have really surprised me. I thought you would be a liability, but your support was really clean and swift. I guess it is your innate talent?”
“….”
“Anyway, keep it up.” With her praise, Anya turned her attention to Fred, who had been quietly tending to his duties as the group’s healer and buffer during our discussion.
Just like that, everyone started their one-hour rest.
*******
“Let’s go.” Anya’s voice was resolute as she led the group onward, and we followed her, leaving the place we camped behind.
As we walked, we soon arrived at the center of the goblin settlement, where a peculiar statue of a tree spirit holding an orb stood. Anya wasted no time and struck the statue’s arm with her weapon, severing it cleanly. The orb fell to the ground with a soft thud.
“This is the core of the first barrier and the first dungeon fragment,” Anya explained, her tone matter-of-fact.
With the dungeon fragment in our possession, we were ready to move on to the second stage of the dungeon…..
And there I could see the smile on Fred’s face looking at the fragment….
‘I guess he will do his job soon…..’
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You can check my discord if you want. You can see the illustrations of characters there.
The link to the discord server is in the description of the book.