Chapter 4: Forced
The two goblins were slow, maybe due to their weapons or because they were just being cautious, but this gave me enough time to approach the dead archer and grab my spear.
I saw two daggers on the goblin's waist, which I promptly took. The tips were made from stone, sharp enough to cut through skin.
Turning around, I saw that the goblins were slowly closing in on me, the one with the shield in front protecting the one behind it. The shield was big, big enough to cover its entire torso.
But the legs were exposed.
I threw one dagger towards the goblin's face and the other one at its foot right after.
The goblin raised its shield to successfully defend its face, but this allowed the second dagger to hit as it pierced the goblin's foot, crippling it.
As the shield blocked the goblin's sight, I dashed—not towards the monsters but away from them.
I ran.
The reason was simple: I had no way to separate the two goblins, and seeing how proficient the archer goblin was with its weapon, it was safe to assume the others were too.
Another reason was that my attack had merely stopped them from approaching me. If the goblin wished, it could still force itself to move short distances.
I took a slight detour as I returned to the pond, in case the monsters kept chasing me, though I doubted the possibility of such an occurrence.
I climbed up a tree and checked my notifications.
[Killed an Archer Goblin. Experience gained]
[Bonus experience for killing an entity above your tier]
[Bonus experience for being in a Trial Tower]
[Level up] x2
The goblin gave considerably more experience, it seemed, as a single kill gave me two level-ups. I could clearly feel a strange energy stimulating my body as I leveled up.
Seeing that there were higher-tier monsters as I went deeper into the dome, I decided to stay in the outskirts and quickly raise my level to 15.
Though the task proved to be harder than it looked, as the number of normal goblins was scarce and I rarely encountered them after my skirmish with the armed goblins.
And when I did encounter some normal goblins, I felt almost no energy stimulating my body.
I tried for a few more hours, but after realizing that it was pointless to keep hunting, I decided to call it a day and try something else.
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The next few days were spent clearing the edge of the dome, after which I slowly moved inwards, killing every goblin that I came across. I reached level 12 quickly, but after that, the amount of experience gained was close to negligible.
After slaying 30 more goblins, I was able to reach level 13 and my stats had improved a lot.
---
Strength: 15
Agility: 15
Endurance: 15
Vitality: 15
Dexterity: 15
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
Perception: 20
Bonus points remaining: 0
---
Now I knew what every different stat did except Wisdom and Intelligence. Strength - ability to exert force, Agility - responsiveness and body control, Endurance - stamina and body toughness, Vitality - recovery of Health and Stamina, and Dexterity - handling tools and precision.
The most surprising one was Perception. It increased spatial awareness but also strengthened my five senses. I was able to see farther and clearer, hearing and sense of smell got better. It might have also affected the other two senses, but I wasn't too sure about them.
The stat boosts made fighting goblins a lot easier while 'Meditation' allowed me to fine-tune my combat ability.
All this prep allowed me to kill my first armed goblin squad. A complete massacre in under 30 seconds.
Maybe due to the first tense encounter, me being over-cautious, or the increased stats, they didn't stand a chance. The first thing I did was take out the Archer goblin with a sneak attack, seize its daggers, and throw them towards the other two, one each.
I expected the goblins to get injured, allowing me to have an edge over them. What I did not expect was for them to not dodge at all. The dagger pierced the shield goblin's eye and the axe goblin's neck.
Stunned, I stood there baffled until the system prompts confirmed that they were actually dead.
[Killed an Archer Goblin. Experience gained]
[Killed a Shield Goblin. Experience gained]
[Killed a Warrior Goblin. Experience gained]
[Bonus experience for killing an entity above your tier] x3
[Bonus experience for being in a Trial Tower] x3
[Level up]
The coming hunts were similar to the first one: take out the archer with a sneak attack and then the other two from a distance. I reached level 15 after two more squads, and the first thing I did was rush towards the dome.
But this fucking 'Tower' or 'System' or whoever the fuck decided to do this, FUCK YOU!
I was not able to pass through the barrier. Instead, I was given a quest.
[Hidden Quest]
[Condition: Kill 10 E grade goblins]
[Objective: Kill the Chief Goblin]
[Rewards: Personalized Growth Weapon, Regeneration Potion (E)]
I ignored the given quest and pressed forward, but the barrier wouldn't budge. Another screen popped up, making me blank out.
[Clear the Active Quest to exit]
Even though I was forced to accept this quest, I stayed positive. It's just a Chief; how strong could it be compared to an armed goblin?
I was wrong, so fucking wrong.
At the center of the dome was a crude settlement, huts of various sizes could be seen everywhere, and at the center stood a huge hulking figure. Right as my gaze landed on the chief, it turned towards me.
And I felt Death.
My legs nearly gave out, my heart rate increased, and my instincts screamed at me to run away, as fast and as far as possible.
I ran and ran, only stopping after I reached the pond.
Luckily, for some reason, the Chief did not chase me. Killing the Chief at this moment was impossible; I needed to get stronger.
"Fuck..."
I couldn't level up. No matter how many armed goblins I killed, I couldn't level up. I could feel the energy gather in me, but that was it.
The only way I could think to improve myself was to hone my combat skills, but I had no one to teach me.
Slowly, my actions became reckless: fighting the goblins head-on, fighting them bare-handed, using only one arm.
And after a whole week, I tried something even crazier.