When Blake’s breathing returned to normal, he retrieved another arrow from the quiver and nocked it. He heard yells in the distance as the frightened goblins searched for him, and he used the noise to triangulate their positions.

Perfect timing. Looks like they already split up.

With the arrow’s shaft resting on the spine of the bow, he began to carefully close the distance between them. As he approached the closest group, he found only three within it.

Perfect.

The small party of goblins stomped through the woods, making far more of a racket than was necessary. It was so embarrassing that he became convinced it was a trap and there would be an ambush somewhere. Just to be certain, he stalked them through the undergrowth while circling around behind them to search for stealthier units.

After ten minutes of reconnoitering, he realized that he was giving them far too much credit. These goblins looked very young, and most likely had little to no enhancement. They had not had time to grow wise and learn from their mistakes. Likely, this was their first taste of actual combat. Their erratic movements stemmed from terror and not from guile.

While he shadowed them, they had not once looked behind them. Their entire focus was on an arc ahead and to their sides. Blake also noted that they never looked up into the branches of trees, either. He was so used to fighting veterans on Earth and in the scenarios, that he had forgotten how inept the lower level creatures were.

Well, I can’t blame them, I was the same way when I started.

With new confidence, Blake strode boldly, yet silently, through the woods and narrowed the distance between them. When the band of three bumbled into a small clearing in the trees, he paused, drew back the bow, and released his first arrow.

Before his attack landed, he retrieved another arrow from his back and nocked it. Just as the first projectile pierced into the back of the bow wielding goblin, he loosed another into its companion. A scream erupted from the first, which jolted the two others. Their sudden movement caused his next arrow to fly wide, and it only winged his target’s arm.

Stupid slow body.

With his weak physical power, retrieving a new arrow and shooting it took longer than he expected. As he nocked a replacement arrow, he estimated that with his old body, he could have loosed five arrows in the time it took him to launch only two. They would also have far more power behind them, as the bow would be enhanced and strengthened by the Architect and its nanomachines.

And that was if it was a normal physical attack.

In his past life, as a Chi Warrior, he was able to imbue each arrow with power that would enable his projectiles to pierce through armor and then explode. After the numerous skill upgrades it had received, the force it produced was enough to puncture through a pre-invasion tank and completely destroy it.

Sadly, it was still not powerful enough to scratch the Koza leader, who attacked his faction. He had been forced to use his Titanform ability to even come close to matching its strength, and that lasted a scant thirty seconds.

Focus on the fight.

Blake loosed another arrow, which pierced through the lightly injured goblin’s forearm and entered its throat. With its fellow goblins dead, the last creature froze momentarily, and then ran. It only made it ten feet before an arrow pierced through it from behind.

He quickly checked his logs, confirmed their deaths, and attempted to retrieve the precious arrows. The projectile which winged the goblin was lost somewhere in the woods, but the others remained lodged within their frail bodies. He was able to save two, and he combined the six in the first goblins quiver to his own.

Ten arrows, and eight goblins left.

He felt pretty confident in his odds, yet he still bent down to retrieve a rusty knife from the last corpse. To Blake’s relief, he was able to thread the thin blade through his belt loop and use it as a makeshift scabbard. It would not last long and would eventually cut through the thin fabric, but would suffice for the next two battles. He hoped.

Faintly, he could still hear the calls of the remaining goblins as they hunted for him. They were so loud that they never heard the dying screams of their fellows. He focused on the group to the north and jogged through the woods to meet up with them.

The sun crested the horizon and cast a purplish-orange hue on the evergreen trees. Through the thick forest and tall trees, he was unable to view it directly, but the beautiful star was familiar to him. He admired it almost every time he entered into a combat scenario that took place outside. Sunrise on this planet was especially breathtaking when viewed over the ocean.

With ample light to navigate freely, he was able to sprint through the forest unobstructed and soon converged on a band of four goblins.

He opted for a straightforward attack.

Here we go.

One of his targets had checked behind itself and immediately saw him. It quickly notified its brethren.

They screamed a warcry and charged.

Blake smirked as he paused and nocked an arrow. His first attack killed a goblin with a shield instantly as it railed through the center of its forehead. His next arrow missed the heart of a goblin and instead pierced its shoulder. The wound was not fatal, but took the small humanoid out of the fight, regardless.

Two goblins remained, and cautiously approached. Blake swiftly fired one last arrow at the closest enemy. Whether through dumb luck, or incredible skill, it was able to raise its metal mace and deflected the projectile. He suspected the former.

Blake did not pause to admire the move, he unsheathed the eight-inch knife from his belt loop. The mace wielding goblin continued to barrel toward him with its weapon raised high.

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Before it could swing the heavy bludgeon at his head, Blake launched himself forward at a slight angle to the goblin’s charge. His dagger pierced its throat, as its mortally wounded body continued on with momentum. As it clipped his shoulder, he was spun around, which forced him to catch himself with a hand on the ground.

The last goblin took advantage of his position and swung his short sword. Blake deftly intercepted the attack with his blade, but staggered backwards from the weight of the blow. Despite the goblin’s lower weight, it ran at its full speed and used the momentum to its advantage.

I miss my old body.

Blake rolled and quickly found his feet. When he regained sight of his attacker, he found that it too had trouble maintaining its footing. The goblin had not expected its attack to be blocked and had fallen face-first into the ground as a result.

He rushed forward to press his advantage, knife in hand, and stabbed the blade deep into its back before it could rise. With his weight resting on the small figure, it was trapped beneath him. However, it still took four more thrusts before it finally lay still.

Blake immediately checked for additional threats as he caught his breath. The goblin with the pierced shoulder still wailed on the ground, and he swiftly put it out of its misery. He may have felt no remorse from killing the pitiful creatures, but he did not want them to suffer.

He surveyed the location of the scuffle and stifled a feeling of anger towards the AI. It was the Architect and the Koza who invaded his world at the end, which held his ire. These pitiful wretches had no choice and were but pawns of the AI. Just like humans were, and again would become.

The last group must have heard the calls of its fellows, as they rushed toward him in the distance. He could hear their battle cries as they raced his way, and had just a short time to collect his bow before they arrived.

Good, I don’t have to chase you down.

He scrambled forward with alacrity and retrieved the ranged weapon. However, when he reached behind his back to retrieve an arrow, he found that the quiver had spilled onto the ground during the scuffle. Blake only had time to lift a single dropped arrow from the dirt and fire it before he was forced to abandon the bow.

That’s annoying.

Still, it pierced through the closest attacker’s heart and reduced his opponents to only three. The last goblin’s short sword was nearby, so he snatched the blade, and slipped the bloody dagger out of his belt loop with his offhand. Armed with two weapons, he waited patiently for the remainder of the small band to reach him.

Blake easily blocked the first’s heavy swing of a mace with his dagger, which shattered the tiny blade. However, it halted the attack, as he planned, and allowed him to skewer his enemy with his sword. It howled as Blake discarded his now useless dagger and stole the goblin’s mace right from its hand before it could fall.

He parried a spear thrust with the short sword as he absently kicked the goblin to the side. The green humanoid overextended itself. He took advantage of the mistake and dealt a quick chop to the side of its neck. The blade bounced off its spine, and he released his pressure so it did not become lodged in the bone.

Only a single goblin remained. Blake backpedaled to momentarily to catch his breath. He had expended a large amount of energy to defeat the goblins, and his body did not yet have the stamina he was accustomed to.

Stupid body.

His muscles were sore from overuse, and his chest heaved to receive the oxygen it so desperately needed.

The last goblin was now alone and extremely wary. It glanced nervously at the corpses of its fellows which surrounded it and seemed to come to a decision. It suddenly dropped its heavy staff, turned tail, and ran.

Son of a bitch!

Blake was already out of breath, but he had to follow, or he would be forced to search for days as the goblin hid in the dense woods. He rasped for air as he sprinted after the fleeing enemy, sword in hand. With his longer legs, he was able to quickly close on his prey, despite the lack of air in his lungs, and lunged forward with his blade.

The sharp tip of his weapon bit into the goblin’s back, which caused it to stumble and fall to the ground as it shrieked. Blake purposely fell on top of it and stabbed twice more before it was finally silenced.

A Notification suddenly assaulted him, yet he ignored it while he collapsed to the ground, exhausted. For the next five minutes, he lay on the forest floor next to his fallen foe and gasped for breath as his body was slowly replenished.

Finally, when his breath was under control, he opened the notification.

You have successfully completed the Combat Scenario. Would you like to choose your reward now?

No.

When he refused to make a choice, the window was minimized and replaced with another.

As the first of your species to complete a combat scenario, you have been awarded an achievement. - [First Clear]

The [First Clear] achievement increases your attributes by ten percent.

“Holy shit! Ten percent!” he gasped as he rolled over into a seated position and checked the surrounding forest out of habit.

The reward was overwhelming. It had taken him years to kill over ten thousand nano-enhanced creatures and gain the fourth Slayer upgrade, which granted the same reward. By comparison, this was far easier to accomplish.

It would take at least ten minutes before the nanomachines granted him the percentage increase. Now, every time he enhanced an attribute, it would take just a bit longer than normal, as the nanomachines had to raise it by an extra ten percent. He moved to rest next to a large stand of young trees to conceal himself as he reviewed the Collective’s messages.

I can’t believe these crazy advantages were wasted!

He was furious. In his previous life, it was likely the Scion of Humanity which gained the bonuses. The Chinese man had never been seen again after his awkward speech, and the achievements he gained were squandered. Blake could only assume he was either captured by the Chinese government, or died in another scenario when he bit off more than he could chew.

He shook his head at the waste, and dismissed the notification.

As the first of your species to complete a combat scenario by yourself, you have been awarded an achievement. - [First Solo Clear]

The [First Solo Clear] achievement allows you to choose a non-combat companion from a list which will be bound to you for life. Would you like to choose your companion now?

With further notifications waiting for him, he answered no and the alert minimized. He had met people with companions before and was disappointed with the reward. The bound creatures were not allowed to assist in combat by the Architect, yet could still be killed.

In his opinion, they were a gimmick. He was not exactly thrilled at the reward, but would give it his attention in the future. The next alert, however, was very welcome.

For clearing an equal level combat scenario by yourself, you have gained an achievement. - [Solo Warrior]

The [Solo Warrior] achievement increases your attributes by ten percent.

Blake smiled. He had known of this achievement. In his past life, it had taken years of work and planning to complete a scenario on his own. However, the reward had been worth it. Gaining it after his very first scenario was utterly ridiculous. With a grin, he dismissed the alert and requested the next.

Five achievements detected, Tri-classification unlocked.

He absently dismissed the message and moved on to the next.

As the first of your species to complete a directive, you have been awarded an achievement. - [Directive Enthusiast]

The [Directive Enthusiast] achievement doubles the rewards for completing all future directives.

“Yes!” he screamed in joy.

Like the Scion of Humanity title, this would allow him to level much faster than those around him. He hoped it would also apply to town-based directives. If it did, it would allow him to expand his faction’s city at an unprecedented rate.

After he finished celebrating the windfall, he dismissed the notification and another replaced it.

You have gained 5,000k nano for completing a directive.

He quickly checked the math. Just as the Architect promised, the reward was doubled to five million nano. When added to his gains from killing the goblins, it brought his total to nine thousand two hundred kilo-nano. He was only eight hundred kilo-nano shy of being able to enhance an attribute.

After he dismissed the latest alert, only his two pending notifications remained. Blake rubbed his hands together in excitement.