There were three heavily equipped tiny goblins acting as vanguards for the large goblin wielding a huge club behind them. They were also staring at him with killing intent, the same as all the other goblins before them. The difference was, they looked capable of reserving their hatred since they weren’t charging.

Ray ended up doing what any normal human would do in his position.

He turned to run away.

Boss monster? Ray thought immediately. He hadn’t expected this situation. This was certainly a goblin leader of some sort. That’s so unlucky.

He turned tail and ran a few yards, towards the road. His only hope was if a random stranger driving down the road had a shotgun in their car. Maybe even two.

Ray quickly realized that something else was wrong. Not only were there four stronger-looking goblins behind him, but there were also too many goblins around him. They weren’t chasing, only looking on as he breezed passed them. The goblins were positioned around the road and on it as if blocking him from seeking help.

It was like they were guiding him towards a specific location. Instead of meeting them in combat, Ray left immediately. If he spent time on them, there was a high chance that the monster goblin would appear to kill him.

Ray stopped running. He had been running for a few hundred yards at this point. It was a minor miracle that he hadn’t tripped on something. Ray had long run past the monster-infested road, onto a minor path within the backroads of Dublin. There were trees and shrubs, the same as usual. They were a bit sparser than usual.

Ray looked behind him. He didn’t see the monster anymore. He didn’t even see the three special vanguard monsters. Was he free from their terror?

He didn’t feel good about his situation, being on this unfamiliar path, but at least he was alive.

Ray looked around once more to make sure he was safe, then opened up his status. It was time to use some points.

“Status,” Ray whispered. He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself. “Add five points to agility.”

Just like that, he got faster. Ray felt nimbler, agilier as if he had just leveled up. His body felt lighter in general. It seemed like he would get out of this alive.

It was darker, though. He had been funneled into an area where the moonlight didn’t exactly reach. Even his adjusted eyes had trouble seeing.

Ray reached for his phone. He pulled it out of his pocket and tried to turn it on. It was silent all around him, the absence of noise ironically peaceful.

Ray widened his eyes in disbelief. He came to a sudden realization.

Nighttime isn’t supposed to be this silent . . .

The hair on his arms rose as he broke into a cold sweat. He tried to hide the light emitting from his phone, now halfway turned on. They had played him. He was deep in enemy territory now.

Ray could tell from the lack of sound around him. There were no animals around. There wasn’t even the sound of bugs. He was in the middle of a strange area of forest with a chilling feeling that something was wrong.

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He was right.

Ray felt movement around him. He spun around reflexively, trying to see into the darkness of the night. He was desperate, his heart rate spiking once more. Ray couldn’t tell what was out there, only that it was hunting him. It was boxing him in.

He felt trapped. Ray felt his anxiety come on. He suddenly remembered that he hadn’t taken his ‘sleep medication’. This would be a terrible time for a panic attack to settle in. The world seemed smaller as he panted shallow breaths. He felt as if he was going to die here.

There was a strong feeling of impending doom as he continuously jerked around, trying to track the movements of the goblin elites lurking in the darkness, hidden by the trees. Ray tried to prepare himself, his adrenaline spiking as his anxiety got worse.

I need to dodge the first strike, then retaliate. No, that’s wrong. I can’t, what if another goblin comes closer at that time? I need to dodge, then dodge again, then reassess, Ray thought about his options. There was no way he could continue running into the dark. He would only dig a deeper hole for himself.

It was time to make a stand.

Ray fiddled with his phone flashlight with one hand, the other holding a death grip on his club, hoping to activate it to see his hidden threats. It would increase his range of vision substantially at this point.

Besides, the monsters already knew he was here. It had been their plan all along.

Ray took a deep breath, trying to steel himself before he saw what was to come. He turned on the flashlight.

At first, he saw nothing. The light from his phone revealed normal shrubbery and trees native to the Dublin backroads. Ray scanned the light around, looking for his adversaries.

Strangely enough, he didn’t see them anymore. Had it been his imagination the entire time? Just as Ray began to feel skeptical at his overactive imagination, his light reached the monster.

It was a wrinkled hunchbacked goblin wearing red robes and holding a gnarled wooden stick. The elderly goblin was rummaging through the brush slowly, using its stick to stab through the plant. It was nonchalant about it as if it didn’t have a care in the world as it focused on its path.

Then, it looked at Ray.

Ray saw an intense hunger from its eyes. He instinctively knew what it wanted. It was like a mouse staring into the eyes of a cat. He was the deer looking at the tiger.

This goblin was an apex predator, ready to hunt his prey

Before Ray could react, it lifted its stick. Ray felt the wind suddenly act up, propelling him towards the elder goblin. He felt like his body was uncontrollable at that moment, being moved so suddenly in an unwanted direction.

It’s a mage, Ray realized in that instant.

In a few seconds, he would be at the mercy of the wrinkled goblin’s power. Ray fell and scrambled for leverage on the dirt ground to no avail while gripping his phone and goblin club. The ground was just too sparse, his elbows digging uselessly into the smooth surface.

Ray made a decision, calming down in the heat of the moment to shine his light on the goblin. He then chucked the club at the goblin with all the force he could muster. It traveled quickly like a spinning fastball straight to the goblin’s neck.

The goblin stopped the spell to defend against the attack. Ray saw the goblin try to block the incoming club with his staff, only to fail and receive the club onto its head. There was an opportunity! The mage goblin got knocked back, its staff cluttering to the ground.

I got him! Ray reacted.

Ray felt the binding force and wind moving his body dissipate. He scrambled to his feet and charged as fast as he could to the mage goblin. It was lying just a few feet away at this point, the result of a combination of the spell it used and its movements forward.

The mage was still stunned when he got there. It looked like it was on the brink of death. Ray figured that his club throw had dealt more damage than he’d originally thought. Maybe it was a critical hit?

His club had flown into no mans land when he’d thrown it, so Ray settled for smashings its head with his kicks.

He panted from the effort, attacking until he felt himself level up once more. His wounds healed a bit more and he felt his body become lighter.

The roar of the large goblin broke his sensation of triumph. Ray was reminded that he needed to run. There was still no way, even with the increased stats, that he would be able to deal with a group of elite goblins.

No rest for the wicked, Ray grimaced to himself.

He turned to run once more.