The Goblin Shaman stepped forward, eyes alight with a wicked gleam. Today, he thought, would be glorious—humans scattering in terror at the mere sight of him. Up until now, his minions had done all the dirty work, so he was long overdue for his own taste of human fear.
'Let them tremble! Let them cry! Let them flee!'
But just as he emerged, still grinning, a human charged at him—rod in hand.
Goblin Shaman: "???"
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Why wasn’t this human running?
'Wait… perhaps he thinks he can’t escape and wants to make a desperate stand?'
“Y ca ca ca—!!” the Shaman screeched, raising his staff. In an instant, a crimson glow enveloped the Goblins, their eyes turning feral as they howled and surged toward the intruders.
“Don’t worry!” Anyi reassured, patting Ariana’s back.
“Right!” Ariana focused, summoning Holy Judge. Golden arrows erupted from her staff, spraying the Goblin horde with a thousand radiant lights. Some Goblins fell, pierced by the light, but the Hobgoblins, though hit, pushed forward undeterred. Within seconds, they closed in.
“Roar—!” A towering Hobgoblin wielded a massive club, swinging it toward them—
Bang!
Layton braced himself, blocking the blow. “I’ll hold them off! I’ve got your backs!” he shouted, shoving the club aside and landing a punch that sent the Hobgoblin reeling.
“It’s over,” Anyi’s calm voice called out, his slime sword creeping over the ground toward the Goblin Shaman. The Shaman’s guards rushed to shield him, blocking Dus’s path.
“Oh, trying to flee?” Dus smirked, slamming his rod into the ground and launching himself skyward. In a flash of white light, the rod reappeared in his hand mid-air, bypassing a swing and ready to launch.
“This time—prepare to die!” He hurled the rod like a spear straight at the Shaman.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Boom!
With an astounding speed, the rod shot toward the Shaman, landing with a crack at the back of his skull.
Swish!
A long sword, summoned from the slime, flew up as the Shaman crumpled to the ground.
Poof!!
[World Quest: Goblin's lair
Quest objective: Kill Goblin Shaman (1/1)
Quest completed!
The rewards have been distributed to the inventory, please pay attention to check and receive.]
[Killed Goblin Shaman x1, experience +15000.
Level increased!
Lv7→Lv9!]
The blade pierced through the Shaman’s heart, ending him decisively. With his death, the crimson light faded from the Goblins’ eyes, their rage melting into weariness as they faltered, limbs going slack.
[Encourage] threw the Goblins into a death-defying frenzy, but as soon as it faded, the creatures’ strength waned, their attributes diminished.
“Now’s the time—attack!” Anyi called, his sword snapping back to his hand.
“Their weakness is the belly!” shouted Dus, dropping back to the ground. As he spoke, a pale blue figure tore through the Goblin ranks with blinding speed. Dus almost mistook it for a new monster until he caught sight of Miruku within the blue blur, and his heart sparked with admiration.
'Could that gear really be from slaying the Slime King?'
But his thoughts snapped to his own equipment as he leveled from 5 to 7, a new item waiting in his inventory. Heart pounding, Dus eagerly opened it—until he saw the requirement:
[Equipment: Goblin Totem Pole (Required Strength: 8/20, cannot equip)]
Dus: “????”
No one had mentioned needing enough attribute points to wield these things.
Meanwhile, the others discovered their own loot.
“Ha! New equipment!” Layton cheered, taking out a fresh shield after dispatching a Goblin. His inventory had yielded two new items:
[Item: Hobgoblin Skull Helmet
Description: Crafted from the toughest Hobgoblin bone, increases head resistance by 3 points.]
[Item: Goblin Random Shield
Description: Goblins lack true shields, so this item will randomly generate a makeshift shield.]
Layton, intrigued, chose the Goblin Random Shield. White light flickered in his hand, revealing… a battered wooden door.
“What is this?!” he roared, swinging the door to crush a Goblin’s skull.
Ariana obtained the Goblin Totem Staff, which could cast [Encourage] to boost the attributes of allies by 5. Yet, mid-battle, she held off using it.
Miruku’s inventory had granted her the Goblin Tetanus Bone Blade—a jagged bone dagger, dirtied and lethal, capable of poisoning and causing grievous wounds.
But it was Anyi who felt his breath catch.
His reward was exactly what he expected, though he could hardly believe its potency:
[Item: Goblin Priest Sword Lv99
Description: Grants [Skill: Encourage Lv99], consuming mana to boost all attributes by +10.]
'All attributes… up by 10?!'