The night was cold but the air was blazing hot.

Sammuel wasted no time running away as fast as possible. The flurry of flailing goblins rushed past the frontlines. In this very area, ravaged by war, Sammuel was stuck in the middle. Though, this didn’t mean that he was completely helpless.

If he had a single redeemable trait during times like this it would be his accurate perception.

Moonlight struck the below, emphasized by the steam coming off from the cooled stone ruin. Propped up directly on a small hill, the molten ruins were directly in the middle of the plains. Trenches were dug out from sparingly around the core, slightly inconveniencing the horde of goblins rushing past by.

Shaped by the sudden battlefield, these plains no longer seemed as peaceful as before. Not that anything would be peaceful after such a massive conflict.

There might have been a sudden ceasefire yet the aftermath of bloodshed was not so easily wiped away. Fire from the battlefield still raged on while the blood of countless species, human and monster alike, fertilized the ground.

Sammuel had noticed one key detail here. Goblins only rushed in from one side of the battlefield, everywhere else was safe. At least for the time being.

Sadin stood his ground. His very first prey had finally reached him. Anticipation of what was to come filled him. Despite having no weapon in his hand, he faced the army before him with a mad smile.

[Species: Goblin

Essence: Mortal

Affinity Level: 0%

Combat Power: 1.22]

It had a small spear in its hands. It was makeshift from a simple sturdy piece of wood and sharpened flint. Completely held together by some kind of odd sticky substance that was native to this world. As little as it was, it seemed to be perfectly sized for this little green one.

The goblin rushed in with a gnarly look on its face. The spear within its hands wasn’t the only weapon it had in its arsenal, there were also sharpened teeth and claws.

As soon it reached a certain distance between it and Sadin, a sudden notification alerted Sadin.

[Perfect Affinity | Gained Combat Power: +3 | Sadin: 15.23]

Sadin still didn’t understand what this meant but a rush of euphoric power entered his body. Everything felt clearer, his reactions were faster, and the world seemed just a little bit slower than before.

As for the goblin, there was an oppressive change for it. It had grown slower, weaker, and much easier to deal with. It had no other choice but to instinctively feel the sensation of walking through mud. It was completely stifling.

[Status: Suppressed Affinity | Lose Combat Power: -0.5 | Goblin: 0.72]

Although Sadin had no basis for how strong this change was, it felt amazing. He looked on as the gobline before him suffered greatly. Before the battle even started, he was already winning.

The goblin’s comrades rushed in together. They all suffered the same status as the other one, lowering their Combat Power from -0.3 to -0.7, it wasn’t the same for everyone. It seemed to be quite a change based on each individual.

Before Sadin entered the fray, another notification alerted him.

[Status: Camaraderie | Gain Combat Power: +0.05 | Goblin: 0.77 | Goblin: 0.56 | Goblin: 1.03 | ...]

“It’s more complicated than I thought. So does everything affect this number?”

Sadin rushed in, appearing before the goblins’ very eyes. They couldn’t even react before one of their teammate’s head popped. Not even a single shred of resistance behind it. Sadin felt as if he had reached out into a water-filled balloon, popping as he exerted far too much strength behind it.

Taking the goblin’s short spear, Sadin was curious as to what would happen this time around.

[Equipped: Flimsy Spear | Gained…]

Ignoring the contents of this notification, Sadin threw this spear at another of the goblins. The power he had used felt like a casual throw the results were extravagant. The spear completely pierced the goblin’s chest, skewering it alongside another two more goblins. It wasn’t even a fight, it was a slaughter.

Sadin maniacally laughed. The world was welcoming his descent with bloodshed.

“I’m going to love it here!” Saying so, the full wave of goblins finally reached him. This was going to be a very memorable day for days to come. Freely able to move as he wished, unfettered by law and morals, this was the dream.

The goblins were wiped away easily, they were unable to even catch Sadin’s body. His speed was far too superior to anything they could do. Even if Sadin stood still, the difference between their strengths was night and day. There was no realistic way he would die here.

Vzella had expected this outcome. Sadin had [Perfect Affinity], it was a completely oppressive [Trait] that only signified the rise of another monster. There were ways to deal with this but it would greatly strain their resources to properly execute such a monster.

Stolen novel; please report.

As such, Vzella had hoped for another outcome, killing Sammuel instead. Turning 3 threats into 2 could be considered enough now that they have failed to breach the ritual. It was already their loss, mitigating the damage would be all that was left to do.

Even Sadin couldn’t kill the entire goblin army alone, their numbers were just far too numerous. For every one that Sadin decapitated, another five would replace them. For every ten that Sadin crushed to a pulp, another hundred would take their place. It was an unending stream that Sadin wouldn’t be able to completely decimate even if he tried.

These goblins had already realized their duty, kill Sammuel. Sadin wasn’t something they would be able to kill no matter how hard they tried but Sammuel, on the other hand, was a very realistic option.

Sammuel had been running since the start, at this point, he had already made his way down the small hill the chapel was located. Sweat dripped down his face as his body was starting to wear out.

[Status: Exhaustion | Lose Combat Power: -0.04 | Sammuel: 0.83]

His body was already starting to tire and it hasn’t even been that long yet. There was nothing he could do against so many goblins alone. Sammuel had to keep going even if his legs failed him otherwise he would face his demise.

Gasp for air could be heard as Sammuel desperately tried to get away as far as possible. This valley had no trees, no nearby forests, and no kind of terrain that he could use to get away. Yet despite how hopeless it seemed, he had to keep going.

On the horizon, he could see a small camp. He could not tell who they were exactly affiliated with but it was what gave him hope. Those people would certainly not aid him against this horde of goblins. But he could get supplies, at least hopefully he could.

With nothing but his clothes to his name, there was no way for him to turn the tides. Unless…

Sammuel took this adrenaline-filled situation to rapidly glance at what [Ego] exactly was. It was better than nothing. It had an extremely complicated system for how it worked.

[Innate: Ego]

[Ego - Essence would be further classified into two categories: Card Quality and Star Quality. Card Quality refers to the Talent of the Card. Star Quality is equivalent to the Essence expressed in numerical value. Card is expressed as the identity of-]

Sammuel stumbled during his run. There was an unexpected item that blocked his path. Falling on the ground, he had just lost valuable time. He kicked away the plank of wood that was embedded in the ground. Rushing up, his mind was filled with a sudden urge to keep back on track.

That would’ve been the case if not for seeing another pile of wood sticking up from the ground. Looking further out, there was a large area where recently dug dirt had planks of wood or large stone above it.

It hit Sammuel. This was a graveyard.

These were the tombstones of those deceased. Thinking further about it, it had made complete sense. Of course, people would be mourned as they were lost. Having a small cemetery behind the front line served as a kind of solace for those unfortunate enough to fall.

These people were already dead but Sammuel was still alive. Looking behind him, Sammuel could already tell that the first wave had finally arrived right behind him. Green spots littered his view, out for blood. His blood.

Sammuel shook his head, this wasn’t the time to care about morality. He rushed on forward, desecrating those fallen with his steps. Running past the gravestones before him, the least he could do was not them apart.

Snarls from the goblins behind him made Sammuel find that sudden burst of fear. His legs ran faster than ever before yet his stamina wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long.

There has to be something!

At this point, the goblins had already managed to reach the cemetery. It was only a matter of time before Sammuel was overrun by countless foes even stronger than him.

I’m not going to die like this! Think! Think!

Sammuel’s mind raced, he even dared to risk his life finishing what his [Trait] had in store for him. Reading to completion, Sammuel couldn’t help but mutter.

“This is useless! I can’t even use this thing!” The world was unjust. Despite being blessed by the world, he can’t even use it against the weakest of goblins. It required him to be a skilled person before even being able to use it. Such a [Trait] wasn’t suited for him at all.

He could feel the threat of death loom right behind him.

Sammuel managed to hear a sudden woosh sweep past right behind him. Taking no chance, he ducked, dodging the spear that had just flown past behind him. He may have not gotten skewered yet the goblins had finally managed to get to him.

Jumping right back into action, Sammuel continued running on. The graveyard was starting to dull his eyes, it was the same dreary scene everywhere. As such, when something shined within it, Sammuel clearly saw it.

Reflecting the moonlight, there laid a longsword directly stuck in someone’s graveyard. It was placed in a relatively special place as it was littered with dead flowers all around it. Shining through the depths of despair, it gave Sammuel that one sliver of hope to turn things around.

“With [Ego]... dammit! All or nothing!” Sammuel’s legs were losing steam, he had been running this entire time. Good news was that he had managed to run the timer down to around 20 minutes left. The terrible news was that it meant nothing since the goblins were eying him down at this very moment.

As he was directly five meters away from this sword, a goblin jumped up right behind him. Sammuel noticed this. Despite the overwhelming guilt of taking a corpse’s tombstone, he had no other choice. A firm beam of wood was erected atop right beside him. Sammuel grabbed a hold of it and smacked the goblin behind him.

[Equipped: Firm Wooden Beam | Gained Combat Power: +0.2 | Sammuel: 0.54]

Sammuel only had a base Combat Power of 0.34 left from [Status: Exhaustion]. It wasn’t a lie that he was on the brink of collapsing. Yet if there was hope, his legs would never stop.

This wooden piece was heavier than Sammuel had anticipated. He threw it right behind him, hitting one of the goblins in the head. It was slightly concussed yet it received no major damage. Sammuel has no other choice but to use this sword.

Jumping forward, Sammuel grabbed this rusty longsword from the ground and finally stood his ground. He exerted himself further.

[Equipped: Rusty Longsword of a Fallen Noble | Gained Combat Power: +1 | Sammuel: 1.34]

“Is this even enough?” Sammuel had no prior experience wielding a sword but there was one thing he knew for sure. He held the sword before with two hands, having it be lighter than he had anticipated.

Faced with a number of goblins he couldn’t count he could only stand his ground. Within this graveyard, there was nothing else for him to use.

“[Ego] better work as it said it would. Otherwise… I’m dead.” Sammuel readied himself.

The first goblin jumped out with a small dagger in hand. Its saliva spewed out from within its mouth. This was do-or-die.