They never thought for one moment that their leader would lose, but the headless corpse before them quickly confirmed their deepest regret and fear — this human who stood before them would kill them all.

The [Goblins] stood in silence. The front row was covered in decapitation fluids that dribbled like sweat to the dirt from slack-jawed and disheartened bodies.

Quintin still had two wolf-claw projectiles left after the cave floor burial of the [Hobgoblin]. The surroundings were awash with a purplish hue of their blood.

Sure enough. That scared the piss out of them. Purple blood though, that's a bit new and freaky to me.

In a moment of awakening, a shrieking, primal wail came from one of the [Goblins]. It carried loud and long, seeming to multiply exponentially into a mind-shaking war shout as more and more joined in.

Quintin frowned with displeasure as he slid back a few more paces. He brought his arms up to guard his face from a barrage of stones that came from further back, behind the more packed front. Most pinged off his protective arms and legs as he made himself as small as possible, but despite his best efforts a few still managed to get through.

Slingers. un-fucking-real. I've got these deranged screamers in front that could snap out of it any second and charge me too.

He caught one of the stones and crushed it into fine sand as he clenched his hand into a fist. This cause the ones who saw to involuntarily gulp, and take a step back as the grains slipped through crass, uncaring fingers.

General Skills:

[Deflection Mastery] Lv. 1

*Attempts to [Deflect] attacks have a higher degree of accuracy.

At first, he didn't want to press the attack as he was unsure whether the [Goblins] would commit to continue fighting or retreat since their apparent leader was dead. However, now he was sure.

It's only a matter of time before they chip me to death. I have to act now before they shoot more stones at me, and the others come back to their senses!

HP: 105/380

A deadly gleam of determination passed through Quintin's eye as he brought his arm down. He took aim at a group of three slingers in the distance and cracked his pinky finger to fire. The projectile went tearing through the air towards the slinger group, who were picked out because they stood one behind the other. A hole opened up in the first as it continued on into the second and finally came to a stop in the third [Goblin's] crude leather armor.

The pain-filled howls from behind jolted the remaining [Goblins] into sudden action as they began to swarm forward. The battle was joined once again.

Two [Goblins] came in at a low angle attempting to tie up Quintin's legs. They failed and ate dirt as Quintin sidestepped the tackle but came within range of a short sword in mid-swing. He grasped out reflexively and caught it, [Gripping] the sword in his palm sent the blade tip shooting into a nearby [Goblin]. Quintin gripped the overextended [Goblin's] head and slammed it bodily into another. He used the body as a meat shield when a cavalcade of daggers ripped and stabbed through the air towards him.

Daggers perforated the body as Quintin [Stepped] back. He crushed one of the [Goblins] who tried to tackle him earlier underfoot, then pivoted as he chucked the meat shield into a cluster of [Goblins] getting ready to strike on his flank. a shout from a branch path could be heard, as four more entities - human entities - presented themselves via his [Sinisphere], and their noisiness.

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"Mark! Hang in there buddy, we're coming!" was loudly broadcast down the tunnel. Some of the [Goblins] heard and headed off to meet the new threat.

During the fighting, Quintin found himself very close to the breach tunnel the [Goblins] had come from. They had visibly thinned out now as well — the new presence had been kind enough to present an alternative target. Quintin was sure these creatures had a certain level of intelligence and probably fancied better odds there than against himself at this point.

Quintin wrenched a [Goblin's] arm off and threw it like a skipping stone at another's legs across the ground. As it laid there tripped up in the dirt, Quintin took the opportunity to leap into the breach tunnel. And not a moment too soon as the sounds of combat were coming closer in the nearby branch tunnel.

Quintin stood a few steps inside the tunnel ready to meet any [Goblins] who might give chase. he killed a couple, but the bulk of the remainder seemed more than happy to go after a softer target.

Intelligent, but none too bright. Odd, now I kind of want to see where this tunnel leads. Moreso I really don't want to deal with any more of the 'civilized' races at the moment. Too bad about all those [Goblin] ears, though it can't be helped unless I want to be interrogated, he thought and internally rolled his eye.

It was dark inside this tunnel which was big enough for maybe two or three [Hobs] to stand side-by-side in moderate comfort. Quintin couldn't see in the classical sense. His [Sinisphere] provided a murky outline of creatures that possessed a variety of intents, so he wasn't completely blind when it came down to the important part. He began by replacing the 'claw-jectiles' he had fully expended during the fight. He also used a charge from the [Healing Potion] which brought him down to two charges left. The sounds of battle were slowly dying down.

He carefully walked further down the inclining pathway while using his fingertips as a guide along the tunnel wall. Quintin wanted to light a torch, but he thought better of it as the sound might attract the men to come inside and investigate the noise disturbance.

Even still, every so often, the sound of rock against rock would echo out.

Quintin was looking for a place he could wait out those Adventurers at. The potential to slip out unnoticed and avoid a sour confrontation was his most pressing concern.

Soon enough he felt a small, recessed niche in the stone with his fingers. He patted around the concave area with his hands. It didn't feel like much, but was likely the best he was going to find not too far, yet not too close to the access point.

He sat and began to meditate to recover a bit while keeping an eye on things via [Sinisphere] - which was up to a 30-meter radius. There seemed to be a gain of 2 meters per level. it was further evidence that suggested if a number was involved in a skill then it was something that could be increased with levels.

Quintin continued to sit in silence until he heard a loud, "Fuck!" presumably, from the Adventurer Team up above.

"Mark's dead! Fucksake, why'd he go so far over to here?" one of them seemed worked up, his voice was unrestrained, wet dynamite.

Quintin trained his ears, but he was simply too far away to hear any whispers. still, there was plenty of shouting.

"I don't give a fuck! The little pig-shite was supposed to be watching our backs while we took a short break!" another man shouted, different from the first.

The leader must be having trouble getting his men under control right now, he mused.

"And what about all these dead [Goblins]!? There's no way in hells Mark did all this. Also... What!? a [Hob]!" the first man added, matching the intensity of his shouting partner.

"Pipe down you fuckers, afore I kill ye' meself!" came from who, Quintin imagined, was probably the leader. He was far louder than either of the other two had ever been.

After that, he didn't manage to hear any more of their conversation.

To stay put and attempt to leave later or to go further down from here? Those men will at least try to collect all those [Goblin] ears and gear before they go back to tell the Guild about this place. I could sneak back up to 30 meters and watch their intent for signs of leaving. I might even hear more of their conversation that way. There's the issue of: if they decide to explore the entrance a bit, they'll potentially see me. Then I'm screwed and a fight will probably happen.

He sat in the still quiet of the tunnel while his [SP], and [HP] was quickly recovering thanks to the healing potion he drank earlier. This first battle against the [Goblins] had been hell,

the men of this place are little bitches, too.