Seven goblins in total came for him. Four green ones emerged from behind the various trees, two blues popped out from the cave across the way, and a yellow archer followed behind them. Instead of charging ahead with the club-wielders, the spear goblins stayed in front of the cave opening. The archer stepped out in front of them and prepared to shoot at Adam.

  It’s too far to hit it with the Glove from here.

  I need to get closer.

  He ran to meet the four green goblins.

  Before the first one could even swing, he’d speared it through the neck, shearing all the way through.

  Adam hopped out of the way of two simultaneous clubs, then smacked his new shield into the one on his left, before spearing the other and killing it. Then he quickly stabbed the one he’d hit with his shield, finishing it off.

  As he was about to kill the last green goblin, a whistling from above caught his attention. Adam immediately lifted his parry shield in front of his face, just as an arrow slapped against it and plinked off to the side. The impact was stronger than expected, stronger even than the one which had hit him in the shoulder.

  That would’ve gone right into my neck if I hadn’t noticed it!

  Pay attention! he scolded himself.

  A shrill roar preceded a swing from the remaining green goblin, but he narrowly avoided it by jumping to the side. Then he switched the spear to his left hand and grabbed the creature by the throat using his Slime Glove.

  It squealed in pain and dropped its club. Although it tried to use its disgusting nails to dislodge his hand, they too started to dissolve when they touched the Green Slime Glove.

  As he charged for the three goblins by the cave, the one in his grip stopped struggling and died. An arrow flew towards his face from across the way and he lifted the dead body like a second shield. The arrow hit the goblin in its forehead, spattering a bit of blood onto Adam’s face.

  Just a few more metres and I should be close enough!

  Moments later, another arrow thumped into his goblin shield, hitting it in its stomach. None of the arrows were strong enough to go all the way through and reach him.

  Adam stopped and pulled the dead creature behind his back. Then he took a long step forward to shift his weight, before launching it towards the three goblins by the cave. Although he threw it far, his ‘shield’ would still fall way short of his target.

  But that wasn’t why he’d thrown it.

  As the goblins traced the flight of their dead friend coming towards them, Adam lined up a shot with his Slime Glove and launched it right at the archer.

  A loud thud came from the dead goblin as it hit the grass and rolled over itself. A second later, a loud squeal echoed across the forest as the acidic glob struck the yellow archer.

  Adam returned his weapon to his right hand and loped towards the spear-wielding goblins.

  The archer tossed away its bow and started running in circles, while clawing at its own face to pull off the slime eating through its flesh. It suddenly tripped when half its head was reduced to bone, striking the ground with a thump.

  It didn’t get back up from where it’d fallen.

  This thing is so gruesome to use…

  He lunged for the blue goblin to the right of the cave entrance. It moved out of the way dexterously. At the same time, the other one launched forward with a jab of its own.

  Adam caught the tip of its spear against his small shield, but wasn’t able to actually parry it. Then the first hopped forward with an attack, forcing him to back-pedal to avoid it.

  That turned out to be a bad idea, as they both moved with him, having ample room for follow-up attacks.

  Adam was forced to make a split-second decision. He swung his left arm out, trying to parry the attack coming from his left, while moving the spear in his right to push aside the other’s strike.

  He succeeded in parrying and disarming the first, but missed the second. Its spear struck the bark armour on his right thigh, before continuing into his flesh. It fortunately didn’t go deep, but the pain was immense.

  Adam let out a cry of agony as he felt the splinters from the wooden spear-tip tear at his skin.

  With a quick stab to the back, he killed the goblin on his left as it was trying to pick up its lost spear. Then he roared and smashed his shield into the last one’s face, breaking its nose and several teeth.

  It yanked the spear out of his thigh and he gasped in pain, but quickly finished it off before it could hit him again.

  As the blue goblin collapsed to the ground with two stab wounds in its upper torso, Shitbox announced, [Well done! You cleared the Wave within 40 seconds.]

  Adam dropped to the ground.

  < < Wave Four Complete > >

  < Choose your Upgrade >

  “Argh, fuck! Damage!?”

  [The attack dealt 60 points of damage, which was reduced to 45 thanks to your Defence rating. That means you now have 55 Health or 55% remaining.]

  “Son of a bitch!” he exclaimed. Despite the wound not being life-threatening, it hurt a lot. It was almost as if the amount of damage inflicted dictated the level of pain. It felt way worse than being hit with corrosive acid, which made no sense.

  “Tell me there’s healing available in the next Wave!”

  Shitbox had unfolded into a podium, but still deigned to answer him.

  [Healing Items may be found within the Goblin Village to any Player who can stomach it.]

  It was much less helpful than during the first Stage and its words almost seemed like a riddle. Adam was fairly sure it was referring to the wicker baskets full of worms and bugs that he’d seen earlier.

  There might be some of those within the cave. But I’m not sure I actually want to eat them.

  Plus, there had been plenty of them available, so he was sure there was an insidious trick behind their abundance.

  They might inflict me with some kind of sickness.

  “You are talking about the worms, right?”

  [Correct. Each one you devour will replenish 1 Point of Health.]

  “Fucking knew it…”

  He would have to eat over fifty of them to get his full health back.

  I’ll just have to beat the Boss without getting hit, he decided.

  [15 seconds remaining before Wave Five begins.]

  Adam frowned at having wasted half his break time on getting such a useless answer. He wanted to poke his head into the cave before the Wave began, so he quickly looked at the options.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Arrayed above the podium shape were three rare options. One of the upgrade symbols was new and showed a small shield with a strange icon next to it.

  < < Upgrades Available > >

  < Spear Growth (Rare) — Increases spear length by 45% >

  < Shield Parry (Rare) — Successful parry disorients for 1.5 seconds >

  < Venom (Rare) — Attacks inflict venom slowing target by 15% for 10 seconds >

  Shield Parry disorients? That’s actually very useful.

  He knew he didn’t want to grow his spear any longer, since that would make it hard to fight with, especially since a Rare growth upgrade would put its length at almost 3 meters. Venom might have been useful if he had a ranged weapon, but in the end the choice was obvious.

  < < Upgrade Selected > >

  < Shield Parry (Rare) >

  The upgrade made no visible difference to the shield, similar to the damage upgrades for his spear. Though he wasn’t sure what he’d expected. It was hard to say how such a thing as disorientation would truly manifest, appearance-wise.

  Adam limped over to the cave entrance, blood dripping from his injured leg down onto the green grass. As expected, there was a boundary right in the opening, but he was still able to peer inside. The entrance led down below the large hill it was recessed into and a rank smell wafted out from within. As he peered down, he saw the tunnel fork at least once. Though its walls were made of compacted earth, it looked like there’d be no threat of it collapsing in on him.

  Still, if it’s a tunnel-system inside the cave, I likely won’t be fighting just the boss.

  Just to be sure, he asked, “Wave Five is the last one of the Stage, right?”

  [Correct.]

  < < Wave Five > >

  < 300-Second Timer >

  Damn, 5 minutes?

  I told myself I would focus on getting the no-hit reward, but I was too obsessed with speed. I’ve saved a lot of time already, so I think I can afford to go slowly.

  He looked down at his leg.

  Not that I have a choice…

  Adam clenched his jaw as the boundary in the cave entrance disappeared and he was able to enter. His shoes produced a hollow sound on the compacted dirt floor, which echoed throughout.

  So much for stealth, I guess.

  The tunnel was just tall enough for him to walk upright, but it pressed in on his sides when it curved, making it one of the worst places to have brought a spear.

  A bow would also struggle here, he considered.

  The smell of the dirt walls filled his nose, along with a scent of refuse and death. While he’d noticed an odour in the village above ground, it was nothing like this stench.

  He only walked a few steps before the tunnel forked and led to a small room on his right. As soon as he came close, a green goblin hopped out. There wasn’t enough room to bring his spear up, so Adam immediately slammed his shield into its head.

  As it fell onto its back, he leaned down and repeatedly smashed the bronze edge into its face until it stopped moving. With a sigh, he stumbled back a step. His arm and shield were covered in gore.

  Alright, ambushes are definitely at play here. Guess there’ll be more before I find the actual boss.

  Hopefully it’s only green ones. An archer strategically placed at the end of a corridor here would be tough to handle.

  He stepped over the ruined body of the goblin to look inside the room it had emerged from. Bile rose in his throat from what he saw and smelled. On the floor within were the rotting carcasses of hunted animals, with fat larvae and bugs swarming the bones for scraps of flesh.

  Adam backed out immediately, though the scent lingered in his nostrils like an infection.

  I imagine that’s the source of their food baskets…

  I don’t even care if there’s a secret in there, because I won’t go get it. Fuck that.

  He continued down the tunnel, leaving the nasty chamber behind, while cautiously delving even deeper into the dark. Somehow though, despite the narrow tunnel, he was able to see clearly. It was almost like his body’s presence lit up the surroundings. It didn’t make much sense realistically, but he figured it was due to the game-like nature of the Trials.

  Adam passed by branching paths from the main tunnel as he ventured deeper. But they were all the same: a chamber or two, with a goblin lying in wait. Every chamber had corpses inside, though not all of them seemed to be for harvesting ‘food’. One chamber in particular had three humanoid skeletons within, all tied up prior to death.

  After the sixth goblin ambush, he was starting to grow exhausted and the claustrophobia was truly setting in. The pain in his thigh had subsided, which didn’t make sense, but he was happy for it.

  “Time?” he asked Shitbox, as he reached the end of the main tunnel. It opened up into a larger chamber with 3 meters to the ceiling.

  [153 seconds remaining.]

  Only 2.5 minutes? Felt way longer than that.

  He looked across the large room.

  I found the boss at least.

  Seated on a chair of bones was a red-skinned creature. He looked similar to the goblins, but he was far more muscular and his black hair was thicker. Plus, he was the size of an orc, perhaps even taller than Adam.

  I think they call these creatures Hobgoblins in games. Maybe that’s what he is.

  When Adam slowly entered the room, the Hobgoblin stood up from the throne and it creaked under his weight. He looked like a bodybuilder with how much muscle he had. A vest of horizontal bones covered his torso and the bottom of his neck. A skirt of smaller bones covered the top-half of his thighs.

  That’ll be troublesome to pierce I’m guessing.

  I should aim for his face or armpits.

  The Hobgoblin picked up a sword leaned against his throne. Its handle was a large bone, perhaps the femur of a bear or a deer, and the blade was like a rusted oversized machete.

  The boss suddenly slammed his chest with his left fist and roared.

  “King! Goblin!”

  Adam blinked, surprised that the creature could speak, but then he shook his head.

  “You’re no king,” he said.

  The Hobgoblin roared again, then swung his blade in the air before stomping towards him.

  Adam tested his weight on his right leg. It didn’t hurt that much anymore.

  He grinned and kicked off, pushing himself to go as fast as his movement stat would let him. His shield was raised in front, while his spear was held back, ready to lunge forward.

  The two met in the middle of the large chamber, with the Hobgoblin making the first move. He swung his large blade at the centre of Adam’s body, as though thinking he could chop him in half.

  Clang!

  Adam parried the attack with his shield, though the impact sent a bone-shaking tremor down his left arm and made his muscles cramp.

  The sword was knocked aside and the Hobgoblin paused with a blank look on his face.

  The disorient worked! he exclaimed internally.

  Adam quickly moved around the side of the boss and rammed his spear-tip up through its exposed armpit. The leaf-shaped blade easily slipped through its red skin.

  He pulled the spear out and prepared to strike again, but the Hobgoblin roared and retorted with a rapid flurry of swings. His left arm hung limply by his side and a deluge of blood spilled onto the dirt floor as he moved.

  Adam back-pedalled while switching his spear to his shield hand. He was much faster than the Hobgoblin, so it was simple enough to keep creating space, especially since the room was quite big.

  Thank God we aren’t fighting in the tunnels.

  As the boss started slowing down due to exhaustion, Adam suddenly stopped and punched his Green Slime Glove forward, firing off a glob of corrosive jelly.

  Although the Hobgoblin tried to avoid it, they were too close and his movements were sluggish. The acidic glob hit the side of the boss’ face and a pained roar filled the chamber.

  Adam had already switched his spear back to his right hand and, as the Hobgoblin clawed at its own rapidly-dissolving head, he prepared to strike. After a couple seconds of waiting for the perfect moment, Adam lunged forward and drove the spear through the boss’ neck.

  With a flourish, he tore it out the side and spattered its blood everywhere.

  The Hobgoblin immediately lost its strength and collapsed to the floor with a heavy thump.

  [Well done! You cleared the Wave with 120 seconds remaining.]

  The green slime hissed as it continued to eat through the red skin and flesh.

  Not keen to watch the gruesome display, Adam walked over to the bone throne and sat down with a sigh of exhaustion.

  < < Wave Five Complete > >

  < < Stage Complete > >

  < Tallying Score >

  I think I did pretty well this time around. It should have been fast enough for the Speedrun Bonus.

  < < Score > >

  < 285 Seconds Completion Time >

  < 45 Damage Received >

  < 1028 Points Awarded >

  “Wait, no Speedrun Bonus!?”

  [The Speedrun threshold for Stage Two is 260 seconds. You were 25 seconds late.]

  Damn it. That single wound in my leg screwed me severely. I could probably have rushed through the tunnels though, but I might’ve gotten hit or dragged all six goblins into the boss room…

  “What is the Speedrun reward for this Stage?”

  [250 Points.]

  Adam frowned. That was a lot to have missed out on.

  “What would the no-hit reward have been?”

  [I cannot reveal that.]

  “Why not?”

  [As you have not obtained the relevant reward yourself, I am not allowed to disclose anything about the topic.]

  “That’s annoying,” he muttered.

  Shitbox ignored him and floated to the middle of the large underground chamber, before unfolding itself into the reward podium. A chest decorated with bones showed up next to it. There was the face of a goblin on the front.

  He looked at the upgrades available and already knew which one he wanted, but he had something to do first.

  “I’ve got 10 minutes to look around before the choice is picked for me, right?”

  [Yes.]

  “Then I’ll be back.”

  But before Adam could leave the room, a small girl poked her head out of the ‘doorway’ to a chamber on his right. He hadn’t even noticed the opening in the wall until now. The girl had her hands bound but was otherwise unharmed, although she was covered in dirt.

  Confusingly, she wasn’t a goblin. No, she was an elf. With horns.

  “Has mine mother sent for me at last?” she asked.