Inside the shopping center, they saw a view that managed to freeze and boil their blood simultaneously, it was a horror house.
People in various stages of injury, from dead bodies to heavily wounded and tortured living people were sprawled all over the first floor.
The dark lore was almost on point with what they witnessed. People who locked themselves in stores behind bars called out for them to hide, wanting the horror show not to repeat itself.
Leah took a step back, almost throwing away, trying to keep it inside.
“Are you ready? We need to eliminate the remaining goblins, only then we could attend to the other people and find your family, Leah, are you ready?” Ethan asks, his eyes screaming madness and bloodlust, he feels enraged.
Hearing the offer to look for her family Leah awakens herself from the shock she is still not completely unfocused, the cries for help and the iron like aroma of blood belonging to both goblins and humans were permeating the air.
With a nod of the two, he raised his voice and shouted. A call of war to be heard all over the shopping center “GREEN FUCKERS GET YOUR GREEN ASSES HERE RIGHT NOW!” He was about to pull the gun and take a shot in the air but decided to keep the expensive bullets as a last call, instead with the blade sheathed he pounded on a hollow metal garbage can, blood stains in its base.
One by one goblins came about, surrounded by 14 goblins wearing the stereotypic piece of cloth of the private parts. people as well started peeking a look from their hiding spots. They started to cheer the three heroes wildly now that the attention was no longer at them by the green killing imps.
“Kill them!”,”Please avenge my family!”, “Rip them apart!” The call for vengeance came from all over the place.
Hyped up to the extreme by both rage and anticipation of a good fight, Ethan couldn't miss Leah eyes darting all over.
“Leah, please stay focused, in five minutes time we shall finish them and look for your daughter, keep it together, final push!”
Leah wiped a tear and steeled her gaze, the absence of her family among the visible humans sprawled on the floor gave her the hope and strength to pull through it.
They took formation, Ethan at the front, bug spray at hand, knife in the other. The two spearwomen spread, one gives him front support the second keeps their backs safe.
Charging forward, spraying a few, dazing them, he lets Dana get the killing blow on the frontal goblin dazed by spray as he strikes the one behind it.
Using the goblins themselves to hinder one another movement and sight he sprays their eyes, mime major limbs, and kills with simple yet deadly vital hits.
On the spray head the extension nozzle allowed a longer reach, practically concentrating the gas to drops of poison reaching almost one and a half meter.
Dana's skill usage was also quite noticeable, whenever she attacked using it, the attack was slicing through far more easily through skin and muscles and the drain of energy on her face was visible like a twitch of the eye, and the metal was slightly glowing up for just a moment.
He pondered as he saw the metal brighten up and dim after a very effective slash attack Dana just swiped using her improvised spear cleaving through a teary eyed goblin, creating a clean and deep cut shoulder to thigh.
‘Should I just call it mana?’ he decided as he was dancing between the tearing and wounded goblins with a long curved knife.
This thought got him to space out, a stone club finding its way to its peripheral sight, in the last moment it stopped its momentum as Dana spear appeared above his head missing Ethan’s head by just a few inches creating a new hole in the goblin’s face, killing it instantly.
This close call focused Ethan up and he picked up the pace, feeling less safer in just dazing the green imps.
He did not give up on enhancing his fighting abilities, staying low positioned, sending striked from many heights and positions, creating a clash of the goblins attack, he made sure to block or parry just half heartedly attacks.
As the numbers dwindled down with 3 more to go, about 4 goblins more joined from a passage between the stores, they were butt naked and bloodied, a rude awakening for the fighting trio about their situation, testing and steeling their resolve in this new world.
After a few more kills he heard the level up prompt and started to just incapacitated them, letting the two girls gain some levels too by landing the killing blows, Leah, although hesitant, managed to pull through.
[Ding! level up! Level 4, 2 points available]
With a few meager blunt attacks that caught him by surprise, they won, bruised and confused. Not for a moment expecting to jump straight to a 3 vs 18 in a bloody crime scene that would shake the core of every exprienced medic of earth.
Lowering their guard basking in the rush of the battle, surrounded by 18 dead goblins, he slowly walks about and syphons the energy remaining in their body.
He then noticed that although on the same levels, those gave him less energy, the killing wound was a spear thrust, ‘exp per contribution?’ The complexity of the system amazed him once more.
But 18 enemies, was 18 enemies.
[Ding! Agility increased by 1]
[Ding! Strength increased by 1]
[Ding! Agility increased by 1]
[Ding! Strength increased by 1]
‘I am way too optimistic to think I’ll get MInd or charisma from those ugly green dwarves’ Ethan dejectedly concluded as somewhere along the way the stat increased felt more myserious.
Just as Leah was about to sprint towards her husband’s office, and sounds of door and locks were clicking, Dana's sudden move to achieve a defensive stance caught their sight cancling all other actions, she suddenly flung backwards for like 3 meters.
Holding her arm and groaning, the cheering ceases.
Human sized goblin made himself known, he looks less grotesque, the green hues of his skin are less saturated, almost as if turning to red, creating a sickly green skin.
looking at him he exuded an air of suppression. undoubtedly not to be reckoned with.
Holding a crudely serrated stone club much fancier that the previous ones the small goblins held he came closer step by step.
Where Dana just stood, now lays a ruined improvised spear and a primitive looking Bola wrapped around its wooden pieces of the shaft.
“Leah, attend to Dana! He is mine” not even looking back he didn't dare to take his eye off this opponent.
‘Inspect’ he mentally calls.
[Ding!
Name: Hobgoblin
Level: 10
Description: An adult goblin evolution]
‘Shit!’ Ethan mentally Sums up the situation.
Putting the bug killer in his floppy Pants pocket with a deodorant that has a lighter taped on it, he creates a free hand that will allow a versatile set of movement, or picking things up.
“It will not be fun without a foreplay, come at me” Ethan teases, visibly scared.
Narrowing his eyes, the hobgoblin doesn't charge. He proceeds slowly, as they circle each other. The two are acting like two beasts before collision, waiting for the perfect moment.
‘let's play’ for the first time, Ethan charges first, acting as if he goes for a horizontal slash he slides to the hobgoblin side using the blood on the sleek marble floor, living a small yet noticeable slash wound in his leg’s side, ‘its skin is way tougher, but still doable’.
A breeze of air fan his face as a crude stone club narrowly misses his face.
“Fast, strong and accurate” Ethan nods, taking a rock he picked while sliding.
Without thinking the hobgoblin attacks the stone, breaking it with a fast and accurate swing of the serrated stone club he wields.
Waiting for body signs on the goblin as he was about to attack, he lit up the lighter taped to the deodorant and threw it to the hobgoblin.
Expectedly, he attacks the can, easily tearing it apart.
Unexpectedly, for the hobgoblin, at least, the gas catches on fire and explodes on his upper torso.
Everyone watching takes a step back or falls to the ground, the hobgoblin shrieks In pain in a cloud of fire.
Running towards the dazed, burnt, and confused hobgoblin that dropped his weapon, Ethan draws the bug spray from his pocket and gives the hobgoblin a condensed stream of the bug poison to his face.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
His already hazy sight turned null.
Cheers erupts once again,the hobgoblin stumbles upon himself, swinging his serrated club all over around himself, as Ethan goes and takes the upper part of the Dana’s broken spear.
‘never understood, those characters that yelled their location to a stunned enemy…’ he threw the can to the side, as the hobgoblin turned his head to the sound of the metal can, the improvised spearhead, ending with a sharp pointy knife Penetrated his throat from the side cutting a vital blood vessel and puncture his airways.
‘He is humanoid, there is no way that's not lethal for him’ Ethan thinks optimistically taking two steps back.
Falling to the ground thrashing, it slowly dies to the cheering of the crowd.
[Ding! Lvl 10 hobgoblin defeated]
[Ding! Level increased! level 5!]
[Ding! Level increased! Level 6!]
[Ding! Achievement unlocked, outer circle I, defeated an enemy from one higher circle of power than yours]
Standing above the hobgoblin body, a green orb appears, picking it up, it turns into a primitive looking cloak.
‘inspect’
[Ding!
Name: Primitive cloak
Rank: uncommon
Description: A simple patch of leather crudely skinned from mana imbued beast of the hunt
Buff: common grade weapons can barely cut through this leather
Stealth increased when wearing the cloak]
‘Mana beast?! Mana?! I was right!‘ he puts the cloak on ‘now for the main dish’.
The energy of the hobgoblin begins to get sucked away using his talent.
This time it felt like a solid stream.
[Ding! Strength increased by 1]
But it kept coming.
[Ding! Strength increased by 1]
‘Still not done? Aren't you a giving tree?’ He smirks
[Ding! Strength increased by 1]
After three stats points and two levels the giving tree withered.
With this done, he turned back to his two companions, Leah was attending to Dana wound, a blue spot on her arm.
“This is not as bad as it looks, I luckily managed to lock in the new stats, and somewhat deflected what the green and Ugly threw at me, but the stone grazed my forearm, I was lucky” she informs Ethan.
“You really were, that was some fine reflexes, I don't think I would have done it any better” Ethan admitted, he really lowered his guard seeing the defeated 14 goblins, devouring the fallen enemies’ energy needed him to focus on the process, he was luckier that Dana by not being targeted.
‘Coming to think of it, what kind of energy am I even draining from them? I doubt it is mana’ an intrusive thought settled in, ‘I am starting to hoard up too many questions’.
Looking at the battlefield he saw only white orbs. Turning them to items, he saw just goblin sized monuments, stone weapons and unsightly clothes, he threw them and got back to the two companions, only a weird viscous potion the system noted to be a health potion was kept by Ethan, the sight of it left a place for doubt..
“Are you ready to be on the move? We need to find Leah’s family now, let’s let the people from the store to help around with the injured” he asked the two.
Hearing this Leah perked up with Dana at arms, “Please let's do it!”
At this point people opened the stores, left their hideout, they were storming on the items left behind by Ethan, they obviously saw the orbs turn into items. Some went to the bodies of their families, and some tried to approach the trio, but a death glare from Ethan made them all change their minds - he was still doubting the nature of people in the new world.
They decided to thank him from a distance and ran away to the main floor where all the survivors started to argue wildly on how to continue from now on.
As for the three they went to the office in which Leah's husband works.
The glass door was broken, stains of Blood, both red and Green painted the cracked glass, ‘must be of those who tried to enter, goblins and humans’...
At that scene, Leah fell on her knees she couldn't enter, she didn't want to know.
“Let me go in first, I'll take a look first” Ethan entered, leaving whipping Leah consulted by Dana.
He entered through the broken door, the waiting room, had no bodies in it, but a trail of blood led to a back room, the store still had some nice refreshing smell being a bit distanced from the horror of the central floor.
Following the blood trail, a shut full wooden door stood strong, banged as hell, but standing.
Knocking on the door Ethan called out “hello? Someone inside?”
Silence. Not good.
“I'm here with Leah she is outside, I'm looking for her daughter and husband, are you inside”
Silence. Very bad…
As he was about to try open the door with a powerful kick, a weak voice of a young girl could be heard from the inside of the room, “are you not lying? Where are the green monsters?” the voice inquired.
“Wait a moment I'll call your mom” Ethan said and rushed outside quickly realizing who is speaking,”Leah, come quick, I think your daughter is here!”
With teary eyes, Leah jumps to her knees and sprinting in like a maddened woman almost cutting herself from the glass door.
“Anna! Open the door, it's me!” Leah ran to the inner room, she knew exactly where she was heading, obviously a constant visitor.
The door opens as fast as one could imagine, as If the girl on the other side just looked for a final confirmation.
“Mom! Help dad! Please!” She hugs her mom, as they both mutually initiate a hug that looks like a very Dangerous wrestling lock due to its intensity, the two crying emotionally.
Passing through the two Ethan calls casually, “I'm on it”.
In a private office on a couch lies a man, his arm is badly cut and his chest has a nasty blue mark from a blunt attack.
Must be the blood from the glass and an Attack by a goblin, smashed through the window and used his last powers to lock themselves in the room.
“Leah, it’s not good, you should see it” Ethan makes way through the door, his voice grim.
A panicked look etched on her face, she hurriedly put down her daughter and head inside.
She looks at her heavily breathing husband and wraps herself around him, “Guy, wake up!” she starts whipping.
Hearing his wife, he managed to pull a few of his remaining powers to speak back, his voice so weak, only she managed to hear him.
“Wait here, we will go look for a medic! Dana!” Ethan gestures and they spring to the main floor, where everyone still gathered pondering how to move on.
“A doctor, a medic, first aid? Someone can help us?!” Ethan calls out with urgency in his voice.
Recognizing their savior, two people stand up, “Im not a not a surgeon or E.R but I know a thing or two, lead the way” older man approaches.
Behind him a young man tags along, “I am a volunteer at an ambulance as a medic, take me with you, it will be an honor to help you out” the young lad follows too.
Leading the way to the room, the doctor and medic heads in, as Ethan and Dana wait outside, “let us know if something is missing”
Few moments later, The two were crushing on a 3-seats couch, “That’s one hell of a ride…” Ethan breaks the ice.
“and we are what? 3 hours in?” Dana continued.
they are exhausted, they are spent, they are bruised.
‘Let's add the points from the big boss’ he decides to spend the time usefully, ‘status’
[Ding!
Name: Ethan Tesher
Class: None
Level: 6
Race: Human
Stats:
Strength: 12 (+2 + 0.5%)
Constitution: 5 (+2 + 0.5%)
Agility:13 (+2 + 0.5%)
Mind: 8 (+2 + 0.5%)
Charisma: 7 (+2 + 0.5%)
Free point: 6
Skills:
- spirit of a warrior (uncommon)
This is a passive skill that increases the efficiency of any living being wielding a weapon
Buff: Efficiency is increased when wielding , training , or studying a weapon
Bloodlines & talents:
- a spark of unknown origin (rare)
A bloodline originating from ???, with the potential to ???, capable of ??? beyond limits.
Talent 1: guided by ???
Allows the user to use the ??? of the ??? to guide the user to a preferred and optimal outcome, based on duration and amount of guidance it receives, there shall be a weakening period after use.
Talent 2: Devour
Consume external energies, tames them and makes them one with ???.
Talent 3: ???
???
Achievement:
- Bloody start - rare:
Killing an enemy at the first minute of the world awakening.
Buff: +2 to all stats.
- Outer circle I - rare:
Killing an enemy from one circle of power higher than yours.
Buff: 0.5% to all base stats]
‘I am betting my middle finger that this is not what level 6 normal status looks like’ Ethan looked at his, ‘2 to mind, 3 to constitution, 1 to strength, he allocates his points’
Strength: 13 (+2 + 0.5%)
Constitution: 8 (+2 + 0.5%)
Agility:13 (+2 + 0.5%)
Mind: 10 (+2 + 0.5%)
Charisma: 7 (+2 + 0.5%)
As he finishes, Leah's daughter leaves the room.
“Mom asked for me to sit here with you, dad is not doing good” Leah's daughter joins the couch outside.
“He doesn't look like it-Ouch” Ethan cut by a elbow to the ribs from Dana
“I mean, it must look difficult, but know that your mom has been working very hard to get here to help you, your brother is also safe, my family are at your place keeping your house and brother safe” Ethan try to make the intense journey as a Tale for the upset girl, ‘also what's your name? You look older than max”.
“I'm Anna, I'm 15, and you smell very Bad” Anna points out cruelly
“That's one way of saying thanks for getting rid of the monsters” The ego wounded Ethan retaliates to the sharp tongued girl.
Filling a random bottle of water with whatever was left in the sink, he and Dana wash up as much as they can, cleaning the leather couch they just stained and changed to cloth they found in a closed by store.
Twenty minutes later enter the inner room of the office to see Leah’s husband’s condition.
A bleeding puncture wound dripping to the office trash can, Ethan recognized it as the procedure that doctors do in E.R movies to clean pockets of internal injuries from blood that needs to be disposed of.
His cut in the arm stitched, with the wounds first aided, there is only the blood loss to deal with.
Thinking of the questionable health potion he got from a goblin, he offers it to Leah, with a nod, she knows what she needs to do.
With a quick inspection of the item she doesn’t wait for even a moment, with unbridled excitement she pops up the cork, moving the medical crew a side, and slowly lets her husband drink up the potion.
Putting the glass bottle aside she waits.
A second pass, then five seconds pass, then twenty, her happy face falling slowly with every passing second.
Two minutes later, his body twitches a bit as he opens his eyes, his almost mutable sound now a solid whisper.
Leaving the room for the three family members to hug it out and let the situation evolve to what fate wants it to play like, only hoping for the best is left.
“Dana, seem like we need to wait here for a few hours, let's grab whatever we can, create you a new spear, the moment Leah’s husband could move around we could start make our way back”
Taking 3 more big backpacks from a random traveling agency close by, they noticed that people were already bullying and monopolizing stores and looting whatever they could.
Heading to a known butchery shop, looking for a better knife, a burly man stands in his way at the entrance with a knife at hand, looking around, Ethan sees a few people eyeing the shop from a far, of course they do, food and big knives - basically everything they want and need now.
The man mask crumbles, slowly but he tries his luck, “it’s my shop, my items are mine to sell”, his voice slightly shaking, he is working very hard to work on his facade.
Smiling innocently, Ethan answers “so I am a willing customer and I am willing to pay.”
Pointing at the fifty cm, pointy, straight Japanese knife “5 of those and some of those,” Ethan points at the jerky beef stand.
“If i can read the price from over here, it says ‘I just saved you life so move or else I will show you how to really use a knife’, Dana that’s the price? Am I reading correctly?” Ethan comically asks Dana.
“I believe it does” She flatly answers, but a smile on her face clearly shows a mix of embarrassment and entertainment.
