I hadn't traveled more than thirty feet from the spider's den when I ran into my first trap. I took a deep breath to try to stop the oncoming panic attack. I backed up, closed my eyes, and just took a minute.

'You're okay. You found it this time. You can just step over the tripwire and keep walking.'

I'm not sure how long it took to calm down, but I could feel something helping me smooth the jagged edges of the memory from my last trap. The shaking in my hands slowly stopped. I was still left with a dull ache in my shoulder where the arrow had punched through.

I opened my eyes, squaring my shoulders before I pushed forward. I tested the ground past the tripwire, where I'd put a pitfall. With a sigh of relief, I stepped over the trap and made my way further down the hallway, avoiding two more tripwires and a pitfall.

With each trap, the memory was a bit less jagged. The panic was a bit easier to come back from. I'd still freeze on spotting them, partly out of caution. I still felt the phantom pain of the bolt sliding into me, lodging into my bone, and the worst part, the arrow moving around as I tried to remove it.

I smiled as I got to the entry of the next room. The room was a bit different from the others I had been in. The smallest tree was at least fifty feet tall. Add in that there weren't any bushes to be seen, giving me the feeling that I had reached a much older part of the forest. Even with the lack of ground cover, the forest was dense enough that I had a clear line of sight for about ten feet around me.

I put the pole away before I made my way into the room. My eyes darted around the room as my smile slowly grew. I rushed towards the closest tree, only for the clanking of my armor to cause the light in my eyes to die.

'If jogging causes this much noise, there's no way I'll be able to surprise my enemies by jumping from tree to tree. I'll have to look into reducing the noise I make.'

I shook my head before talking my bow out and nocking an arrow. Slowly, to not sound like a bag of pots and pans falling down a staircase, I wove between the ancient trees, heading towards the center of the room.

I was about a thick of the way through the room when Danger Sense went off. I tried to roll to the left, only for my shoulder to slam into a tree. Despite this, I was able to move enough to cause the two arrows to become glancing blows. One cut across my right pauldron, while the second skimmed off my helm.

I spun around, my eyes darting around, scanning the gaps in the trees. Whatever had shot me had already disappeared into the woods. I backed away slowly, my head constantly moving. Movement in the corner of my eye had me spinning to the left and losing an arrow off into the trees.

I growled, nowing that the arrow was lost forever. I darted forward, my ears swiveling to pick up any sounds. A soft twang from my right had me ducking down and pushing off a nearby tree to dodge the incoming arrow.

I took a chance and spun to my left, nocking another arrow. My eyes darted between the trees. Time seemed to slow as my heart pounded in my chest. A white horn followed by burnt red fur broke out behind a tree.

My arms snapped up the string, pulling back. My eyes meet the goblin riders as we lose our arrows. I twisted to my right, pulling my bow close to protect it. My arrow hammered home in the rabbit's chest as the rider's arrow cut a line of fire across my left leg.

My left leg dropped from under me, causing me to fall to a knee. I sucked in a breath to stop the scream that wanted to rip its way out of my throat. My fingers flexed against the bow as I rapidly cast Minor Self-heal.

My ears twitched at a small creek behind me. I rolled forward, dodging the second rider's shot. I tried to pop back to my feet, staggering a bit. I nocked another arrow before pressing my back to a tree. I slowed my breathing as I scanned the forest.

My eyes landed on a splash of crimson where my arrow had hit the rider's mount. I tested my leg, ensuring it would hold my weight before I took off at a sprint, following the trail of blood. My ears flicked side to side as I tried to make out any sound over the racket my armor was making.

As I ran, I got more comfortable with the uneven terrain and found myself practically leaping from one footstep to the next, using the ground cover to push my body faster. Trees blurred passed as my stamina burned away. I was so caught up in the newfound joy of running that I almost missed Danger Sense's warning.

I threw myself into a forward roll, diving over the glinting blade at waist height. I tucked my head down as I rolled to bleed off my momentum, my armor taking most of the abuse from the uneven terrain until my back rammed into a tree, knocking the wind from my lungs.

I flopped to the right in time to dodge an incoming sword strike. My eyes locked onto the goblin attacking me. The ugly green bastard smiled at me as it raised its sword above its head to strike me. I grit my teeth, forcing myself forward in a short Charge, my arms spread wide.

Lightning danced between us as my shoulder slammed into its waist before we both fell to the ground. Our weapons were tossed aside in the tangle of limbs we became. As we stopped rolling around, I managed to come out on top. My iron-clad fingers dug into the goblin's arms as blows rained on my head. I forced its arms down, pinning its shoulders under my knees.

I sat up, panting softly before I jerked my dirk free, but before I could plunge my blade down, I was forced to roll to the side, dodging an arrow aimed at my uncovered face. I popped back to my feet and flicked my visor down, protecting my face once again. Unfortunately, this gave the goblin enough time to reach its feet and free its dagger.

My blood hammered in my ears as we moved in my grip tight on my blade, my mind going blank. Steel flashed as we traded blows. My armor was better, but the goblin knew to aim for the gaps. I took more cuts and glancing blows than I gave. I did my best to take blows on my armor, but between the flashing dagger and random arrows, I was taking a beating. It wasn't until after a stab landed between plates that I remembered. I. HAD. SPELLS.

Bolt caught the goblin in the face, causing it to back up, shaking its head. I slammed my foot into its chest to create more room, dropping my dirk and pulling my Khopesh into reality. I moved in, and my blade flashed as I cut at his hand. The Goblin was forced to block my blade with his dagger, causing its dagger to be ripped away from its hand, spinning off into the sea of trees. I raised my sword before hacking down and smashing through the goblin's hastily raised arms deep into its chest.

I kicked the dying goblin off my blade. I stumbled back, leaning against a tree. I panted softly, my eyes scanning the forest for danger. After a minute to catch my breath, I pushed off the tree and looted the goblin after collecting my gear and sending my blade back to my inventory.

I kept my visor down as I scanned the ground, finding the blood trail again. I followed the trail at a more sedate pace. It wasn't long until I found the rabbit. It lay on its side, and bloody foam bubbled from its lips as it tried to breathe.

Guilt weighed me down as I moved in. I pulled my dirk free, kneeling next to the large beast. My gauntleted hand gently stroked the rabbit's soft fur as my other hand brought the dagger up through its chin and into its skull, ending the mount's suffering.

I had to remind myself that it was a dungeon monster and would have killed me. I pushed my guilt away and looted the rabbit. Its horn fell to the ground, and I groaned softly. I always hated inventory management. For now, I just slipped the horn into my quiver, hoping it would help my arrows to stop rattling around.

I whipped my dirk clean before slipping it back into its sheath and pulling my bow out of my inventory. It took me an embarrassingly long time to find the tracks and follow them to the room's exit.

"Fuck."

'Well, the next fight just got harder.' I thought.

I checked my stats, wincing softly at how banged up I was. I backed away from the exit and hid myself as best as I could before spending the rest of my mana on Minor Self-heal, falling into meditation to recover.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

With me being back to full strength, I pulled myself out of meditation. My eyes darted around, scanning the area for any signs that the last rider had come back. Unfortunately, it looks like it hasn't. I took this break to check my notifications and the loot I got.

-Congratulations-

Ranger has leveled up.

+1 Agility

-Congratulations-

You have learned the Skill: Basic Knife Fighting.

Exp has been awarded for learning a skill without a trainer.

-Congratulations-

You have defeated:

1 level 4 Goblin Rider

1 level 2 Giant Leporem Corniger

EXP has been awarded for defeating your opponents.

Scanning my inventory, it looked like I only picked up another twenty silver, the rabbit's pelt, and the horn stuffed in my quiver. I debated eating the horn right away but decided to wait until after I took down the last rider. I adjusted my armor, checking it over before sighing.

‘I wonder how much it will cost to repair it. It's not too bad now, but it will only get worse. Best to get it repaired as often as I can.’

I stretched a bit, deciding to keep my khopesh in hand. I carefully walked into the hallway, following the left wall once again. I moved slower than before due to the lack of my trap-finding pole and the fear that the last Rider might double back to try and hunt me down.

Hours ticked away as I forced myself to stay focused. It was getting a bit painful when I finally got to the next room. I checked the ground, smiling when I found no tracks leading into the room. I slipped into the room, my eyes scanning for movement. My ears twitched as I heard hounds barking not too far from me.

I debated trading my sword for my bow but decided against it. My spell had a much more limited range, but with all the trees in this dungeon, the extra range didn't matter. I rested my blade on my right shoulder and gently flexed my left hand as I crept forward, moving from one tree to the next, the sound of the hounds barking covering the noise my armor made.

Before too long, I came up to a clearing. I stopped at the edge, lifting my visor to get a better look. At the edge of the clearing, the four remaining hounds circled the clearing with their handlers. Twenty yards away laid a ten-foot diameter stone rune circle laid equally spaced apart was a bone crown, a kriegsmesser sized for a goblin, a ring in the shape of a skull, a wolf's pelt, and a wooden demon mask with a feather headdress.

In the middle of the circle was a goblin shaman standing over a bound goblin painted with runes covering it. The shaman read from a book in its left hand as it gestured wildly with the knife in its right. I drummed my fingers against my sword hilt, but before I could decide what to do, a system window popped up in my vision.

-Hidden Quest Found!-

Objective: Defeat all enemies involved in the ritual. 0/10

Optional objective: let the ritual finish. *Note: This will both increase the difficulty and reward.*

Time until ritual completion: 00:10:00

I rubbed my chin, humming as I looked from the quest to the ritual and back again.

‘I could take out the hounds and guards first and let the shaman finish. Ah, fuck it. FOR THE LOOT!’

I closed my visor before stepping into the clearing and turning to the closest pair. Mana flooded my body as I burned stamina rushing towards the hound. Lightning coated my khopesh as I brought it up and to my right. My blade grazed the hound as it jumped into the goblin, knocking them to the ground.

Frowning, I stepped forward and trusted my blade down through the black-hound and into the goblin as they tried to untangle themselves. With a twist of the blade, I ripped it sideways, freeing it from their cooling bodies. I look away from my gruesome work, taping both with a foot to loot them before taking off at the incoming pair.

I ran towards the next group as the hounds and their handlers closed on me. When I thought I was in range, I used Charge again. My body flew forward, electricity trailing me. Unfortunately for me, my poor judgment of distance came with me into this life, and my momentum dropped back to a jog 10 feet in front of the now lightning-coated hound.

I grit my teeth as lightning hammers into my breastplate, splashing against it. The goblin ran forward, hefting its massive club onto its shoulder before swinging at my head. I twisted out of the way, using the motion to bring my sword around, hacking into the lounging hound.

My blade bit into the hound's chest before throwing the hound off to my right. Danger Sense had me ducking under another wild swing from the goblin. I pivoted to my left, putting the goblin and hound before me as flames kindle to life before washing over them. I stomped forward, bathing them in purifying flames until their scream and thrashing stopped.

Time:-00:09:00

My nose twitched in irritation at the scent of burning hair mixed with roasting pork. My foot came down on the chard lumps, turning them into motes of rainbow light, taking the sticking scent with them. Before I could scan for my next opponent's Danger Sense, the beautiful ability that it was had me rolling to my right to dodge a blast of high-pressure water that cut through the stop I had just left.

Whipping my head up, I locked eyes with a smirking goblin as it swung two crude lumps of iron on a stick at me. Gritting my teeth, I burned stamina, holding my arms out wide. My lightning-clad body speared into the goblin's waist as its weapons smashed into my back. My arms wrapped around the goblin's waist as I dragged him away from his hound.

At the end of my Charge, I slammed the goblin down into the ground. I mounted the goblin before electricity coated my fists as I slammed them down into its face once, twice, thrice. The goblin thrashed under me as electricity writhed, burning branching cannons in its face before reaching a crescendo bursting out. I was thrown back as the goblin's skull evaporated.

Thankfully, I recovered from the backlash of abusing my spells in time to roll out of the way of a blade of water. With a tug on my battered soul, I pulled my khopesh from its dropped spot through my inventory and back into my hands as I popped back to my feet. My tail was the only thing letting me duck under and around, cutting jets of water as I sprinted at the hound. I came in low, taking a water blade to my left arm as I swung my khopesh up with all the momentum from my mad dash behind it. Steel met flesh and bone before the hound's head tumbled to the ground.

Time: -00:08:30

I panted softly, looking over at the last pair. They were still a fair bit away, and the goblin looked none too happy about their chances. I rested my sword on my right shoulder, calmly walking towards the pair.

‘Analyze. I need to remember to use this more often.’

-Canis Aeneus Level:1-

-Goblin Beast Tamer Level:2-

‘No wonder he looks so defeated.’

When I got into Charge range, the hound leaped forward, opened its mouth wide, and shot a bronze bolt at me. I dodged left, the bolt scraping across the side of my blade as I Charged the hound. Bronze needles sparked off my armor as I closed in.

My lightning-clad shoulder slammed into the hound's head. Teeth shattered against steel before the hound flew backward. A whip cracked against my thigh, grabbing my attention. My leg buckled for a second before I turned and rushed the Beast Tamer.

The goblin screeched, lunging at me, clenching a bronze dagger in its off hand. My blade flashed, taking the arm off at the elbow before it came thundering down, splitting the Tamer from shoulder to hip. I followed Danger Sense's warning, ducking down low and shifting to my left.

The Bronze hound soared over my right shoulder. It skidded across the pact ground as I rushed after it. The hound spun around in time to meet my Khopesh with its skull. Steel and bronze screamed as they met before bronze gave way. I stashed away my sword before looting the goblin and the hound. I checked the remaining time and my resources before sitting down and meditating before the miniboss fight.

-Time:-00:07:00-

-Health: 300/420

-Stamina: 179/315

-Mana: 124/270