As if as an extension of the Goblin King’s gesture, the horde slowly split like Chiron parting the emerald sea with a punch until it reached the chosen goblin, a Knight.

Lan looked at the goblin mage and frowned, only to find it with a similar expression on its face.

‘It would seem that the Highest has changed their mind. It looks like your death will come sooner than I thought.’ The goblin mage said, sounding annoyed.

Despite the situation, Lan could see why it was upset. They not only wouldn’t be able to learn how many goblins they needed to kill him, but those that had been killed were for nothing.

‘Looks like your plans were for naught,’ Lan said as he wrapped his sword with the fire silk. ‘I wonder if you will ever be able to take the city at this rate.’ Lan prodded, making the goblin grimace as he cut and stabbed the end of the silk on the point of his sword.

He hadn’t planned on trying to turn the mage against its King. It had not too long ago been torturing him for answers, and Lan would be happy running it through the neck, but… if there was enough conflict there, then maybe the mage would see this as a good enough distraction to start a coup, and maybe he could use that distraction to get the hell out of there. But as the goblin mage brushed aside his words, he decided he would settle for getting under its skin.

‘Just focus on not dying too quickly.’ It hissed back. But Lan didn’t answer as he turned his attention to the goblin knight.

The knight was already a problem, but it would be worse once it used the red aura ability. If he was going to win this, he needed to kill it fast. Slowly as if taking part in a ceremony, the goblin knight made its way towards the circle, taking the time to bark at any goblin that got too close to it.

Lan felt the Wisp in his mind as the feeling from the battle with the razer wolves and the other knight flowed into him. He wanted to find out if he could kill it faster than before.

[First configuration complete.]

[Strength: 13 > 19]

Body: 13

Mind: 13 > 7

Dexterity: 13 > 25

Perception: 13 > 7

[Charisma: 13 > 7]

Even as Lan reeled from the sudden head rush and heating in his muscles, he wondered what had just happened. Checking his tome, it was exactly the stats that he would have wanted. But every time before, he had been pushed to his limits before it had changed.

Even still, he was glad for it. For his plan to work, he needed speed and just enough strength. Looking at his stats again, it wasn’t just what he needed; it was exactly what he would have asked for.

With his heightened reflexes, Lan saw the goblin knight kick off the ground and charge at him. His skin bristled, feeling the attack coming long before the goblin swung its blade and ducked under it.

Lan sidestepped the next attack before deflecting the goblin’s recovery slash. He watched the goblin for the next few moments, studying it as it attacked him. The sudden draw of breath before its muscles twitched, the movement of its eyes as the goblin looked for its next opening and the anger every time it missed. He could see all of it.

This one is weaker than the last, he thought to himself as the goblin roared and attacked more erratically.

Lan knew he needed to end this fast, but a part of him wanted to see how fast it could become and if he could dodge it. Lan pushed the thoughts aside and met the goblin knight’s blade with his shield. This time his timing was perfect, the rusted iron meeting the shield just as it started to activate. The heavy clunk of the hidden blades sliding into place was joined by a high-pitched keening as the dagger spun off into the dark.

Lan was sure he heard a goblin cry out, but he was focused more on driving his sword into the surprised knight’s chest. Before the goblin knight or others could process what happened, Lan sparked the fire silk around his sword.

After a moment’s pause, the silk came to life. Burning with a crimson fury as the flames rapidly ate throught the small fabric remaining before vanishing inside the goblin knight’s body with a sound like it had been pulled into a vacuum and then exploded out the back of the goblin knight with a blossoming Crimson flower.

In moments, there was a new source of light in the clearing, a blood-red vengeful devourer that wrapped around the goblin, turning it to ash before their eyes.

Lan stepped back, finding his sword glowing brighter than before as now the runes covered the whole blade. Lan had guessed it worked this way, but as he checked, he was just happy that having it go off so close hadn’t damaged the metal.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Once again, the goblins had been denied their human bloodshed and fell silent. Lan was about to look over to the King when he felt a building crash into him, and a cheer went up again.

[Hp 80 > 50]

Lan flew over the goblin king’s bonfire, hitting the ground and almost rolling into the waiting arms of the wall of green-clawed hands. Having the source of their blood lust so close seemed to break them from the King’s will suppressing them long enough to try pulling him into the mass.

Rolling away from them, Lan rose to his feet and looked around.

The first thing he saw was the Goblin King. It was sitting, grinning at him as it pointed to its next champion. The goblin titan that had punched him in the back was now barrelling down on him.

Lan rolled under the titan’s swing, which sent a few goblins flying back before the titan turned and stomped its foot on the ground, making it shake and throwing Lan out of his roll.

Lan dug his hand into to dirt as he spun before he felt the pin drop in his mind at the same time as his body screamed for him to move. Lan rolled away a second before the titan’s foot fell where he had been. He rolled again from the next stomp before bringing his sword up, ready for the next.

Odd steel bit into calloused skin before the skin yielded to the sharp burning metal, and the force of its descent pushed the blade out the top of the titan’s foot. Even before it reached halfway down the sword, fireworks exploded from it as the blade burned through the goblin's thick blood.

Lan wasn’t done as he rolled to the right, cutting his sword free before springing to his feet as the goblin roared in pain and struck out with a backhand.

He tried to take the blow on his shield, feeling sharp pain wrack his arm and shoulder before buckling and sending him flying across the ground.

[Hp 50 > 35]

With the taste of metal in his mouth, Lan blinked away stars knowing he needed to get his mind straight before the titan’s next attack. He didn’t need to worry too much, as when his ears stopped ringing, he heard the pain-filled cries of the titan, which was holding its still-burning leg.

Whatever Cawl had done to make it? His sword seemed crafted to kill goblins, Lan thought, looking at the blade. Finding that now that the whole middle third was alit, the cluster of runes slowly turned like moving gears. After a moment, Lan remembered he was in a fight and rose to his feet.

The Goblin King not only looked incensed but also directed its anger at his sword, almost looking like it wanted to leap from its throne and rip it from him.

Lan didn’t spare it another look. Lifting his shield arm up with some effort and closed in on the goblin titan. As he did, the titan looked up and charged, leaving scars along the ground as it propelled its weight toward him.

Lan didn’t try to evade. With all the damage he had taken, he couldn’t even if he wanted to, so he braced himself until the titan stopped and swung its fist. Instead of blocking it at the last moment, Lan shot under it and ran the titan through the heart.

Smoke burst from the goblin’s mouth, but before Lan could celebrate, a steel cage of fingers locked around his chest. Lan looked down, his mind going blank as the titan lifted him off the ground and ripped his sword out of his hand.

‘Damn..’ was all Lan managed before the goblin titan squeezed, making it so he couldn’t draw in a full breath. He tried to pry the goblin's hands open, the effort of which made him breathe out again, and the titan closed its hands more.

The Goblin King let out an unexpected and unfitting high-pitched laugh, slamming the arm of its throne as Lan came to the horrifying realisation that the titan wasn't going to crush his chest. It was going to constrict him, using his gasps for life as the tool to snuff it out of him.

Lan threw punches as fast as he could, pummeling and cutting the titan’s face to no effect aside from making it so that the titan’s fingers almost touched. Struggling to pull in air, Lan reached into the chest, drew two daggers, and tried to drive them into the titan’s head, but its larger body came with a thicker skull.

As shadows crawled into the corners of his sight, Lan aimed for its eyes. Only to have the titan move him away and try to shake the daggers out of his weakening hands.

[Hp 35 > 34 > 33 > 32]

Despite knowing what it meant and knowing he had to stay awake. Lan saw the hill where his family home stood atop, where he had sat looking down on the village countless times. He saw a young Silas waiting for him at the door, his mother through the kitchen window and the sounds of his father in his workshop. He knew it was just a dream, but when Silas saw him and started waving. He couldn’t help but rush to get home.

A small voice screamed for him to stop moving, but he didn’t want to. He just wanted to go home.

Lan raised his arms and stabbed at his own chest, driving the blades into the titan’s hands and making it lose its grip out of pain and surprise, giving him a chance to pull some glorious smoke and goblin-filled air into his lungs as his sight cleared.

When it did, he was face-to-face with a pissed-off-looking titan before it started to squeeze again, but before it could move him away again. Lan grabbed the end of the fire silk around his arm and wrapped it around the goblin's neck, only then realising he had dropped the mana stone.

He wanted to curse, but knowing what it would lead to, Lan gritted his teeth and crossed his arms, cinching the mana fabric as the goblin understood what he was doing and began to squeeze again.

Lan didn’t let up, dead set on making the goblin titan face the same fate and pulled harder until it started to draw blood. The rich dark green blood soaked into the silk as the titan’s eyes started to bulge, which only made the titan squeeze harder.

[Hp 32 > 30 > 28 > 26]

Lan coughed blood and cursed himself; if only he hadn’t dropped the damn stone. If he had just held onto it, this could have been over. As if to mock him, the friction from pulling the silk started to burn his hands, and Lan thought about if the fire would have burnt through his gloves. He could almost see the blood-red flames. If only he hadn’t dropped the stone.

Through the growing blackness, a light burst to life in his mind.

Mana

He had mana. Lan thought as he started to will the new veins in his body to life. Willing the mana to pool into his hand. Lan pushed until he felt pressure on his skin. He pushed until the pain in his mind surpassed the crushing of his rib cage, and just when it was almost too much… sparks. Like snap-fly fireworks, tiny clusters of explosions spattered around his hands before the silk answered his will, becoming a burning collar.

Bunding to the influence of its new shackle, the goblin titan dropped Lan as its head started to melt, and it roared. Lan landed on his feet and somehow managed to stay on them as he picked up his sword and ran it through the titan’s knee, dropping and making it rage louder as it fell.

With its thundering shouts piercing his ears, Lan didn’t realise he was roaring just as much until he cut through the titan’s neck with one swing.