Chapter 72. Monster

Blood flowed out of my mouth, nose, and maybe eyes too. I couldn't tell, the pain was too much.

It hurt so much that I wasn't able to form proper thoughts. Using the little awareness that was left, I used [Blood Regeneration] and let the skill do its work.

There were no external injuries, all the bleeding, and damage, everything was happening on the inside while if anyone saw me from the outside, they would just see some signs of a bad nosebleed.

I stayed down trying to buy time and let it not notice that I was still alive but it wouldn't be that easy.

"You are still alive, how surprising. Your body is a lot stronger than it should be. Is every human like you? Or are you just special?" The goblin was more amused than surprised I'd say.

"I believe to be special, not sure though." Blood rushed up to my throat, wanting to be spat out like air from an overfilled balloon. I stopped talking, trying to hold the blood in, and gulped it back down at last.

"How did you know that I was still alive? I don't think there were any obvious signs."

"The quest. If you had died, I would've completed the quest but seeing that I didn't, you were still alive."

I did not say anything. We had the same quest, kill the opponent. There was just a tiny difference, the goblin was on a time limit. Maybe this was how the 'Record' tried to make the fight a little bit fairer.

The goblin didn't attack me while I recovered. It did not even try to do something, just waited patiently for me to heal completely.

"Why don't you attack me? I wouldn't have been able to resist." I asked.

"Honor," that is the only thing said.

I scoffed. A small chuckle was the only thing that left my mouth but apparently, the goblin didn't like it. I had to keep the [War Domain] at 5%, that was the minimum it could go.

But after that last punch, I increased to 15% but even that was too low. I felt the punch coming but avoiding it after that was an entirely different matter.

I was once again blasted back, this time I got hit right in my guts. I didn't crash into the wall but my legs were not able to hold and I fell to the ground.

"Do not laugh, honor is the greatest thing for a goblin do not make fun of it."

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I laughed once again, this time a little louder. "A monster, talking about honor? How could I not laugh?" I stood up and looked it right in the eye, every word was said without breaking that eye contact.

'25%'

"I warned you," He once again disappeared, this time though I saw him. He didn't disappear, it was something similar to a skill. The light slightly avoided him, and so did my brain making him 'invisible' for a brief second.

And due to its speed, the goblin appeared as if he teleported.

This time the attack was blocked. I was pushed back and my arms hurt from blocking the attack but I did not fall nor did I flinch.

"Why do you wish to make it hard for both of us?"

"I have no ears for a monster's words."

This time a great sword appeared in its hand, it looked light but when he slammed the sword, the whole room vibrated a little.

It was getting angrier, just a little more. A few more sentences should do it.

'35%'

I barely dodged the slash, if I hadn't the sword have crushed my neck. There were no sharp edges on the greatsword, it was purely used for crushing and smashing.

But if I got hit at the right angle using the right amount of force, getting sliced wouldn't be that hard.

The goblin was swinging the sword as if it was a stick but the noise it made did not sound like something you'd like to get hit by, but I had to.

I let the sword slightly graze me, just enough to draw blood but not something that would hinder my body's basic functioning. [Blood Regeneration] was mostly being used to produce blood that was being lost, not to close the wounds.

"Is this all you can do? A 'mighty', 'ascended' monster and this is all you can do? Is this what your honor amounts to? I wouldn't buy it even if given for free." The Hobgoblin visibly flinched and paused right after that.

"You are gonna regret saying those words," the veins on its forehead pulsed.

'50%'

I got hit. Even though I was able to dodge everything at 35%, this attack hit me. I spat out blood this time, my body did not even try holding it in. My left ribs were probably broken.

It hurt.

'Thorn,' my sword appeared in my right hand. My left side was broken and moving my arm brought so much pain that I would blank out if continued for a second longer.

I thought that the goblin was nearing its limits, this sudden power-up was not something that I had expected. But this was fine too, it was getting careless, only resorting to blind rage.

I was slowly getting into the zone, this was when [Trance] kicked in.

60%

It kept attacking, all I had to wast dodge but now because of this rage, the attacks were becoming predictable.

70%

Thoughts left my head as [War Demon] slowly increased the output, I started using flash when the attacks were too much to dodge. Somehow I could feel where it was even when it stayed outside my domain, I could see it, smell it.

80%

I was able to land small hits and tiny cuts. They only drew a drop or two of its blood before the wound closed.

90%

That in itself was enough of a motivation booster knowing that my attacks could hurt it.

But looks like I was too optimistic.

"Was this why you were trying to get me angry, in hope that these pathetic attacks would affect me?" The goblin spoke as he stood still.

This small change brought me out of my trance, the flood of information was too much for me to handle all at once. I staggered for a slight second and that was when the goblin moved.

I could see it coming, I could see it swinging the sword, trying to cut me in half. My body was slow, I wanted it to move faster but it just wouldn't listen.

At last, I moved slightly but that slightly was only enough to avoid being slashed in half. I got kicked in the chest, hard, the next instance lying against a wall.

I couldn't feel my left side, I tried to move my hand but nothing happened. Turning my head slightly I saw nothing.

My arm was gone.