That’s very prejudice of you. Eri stated. Not all Zombies are mindless creatures who do things without rhyme or reason. Some, mostly Elite or Boss type monsters, can still form proper strategies or have their intelligence intact. However, in this case you are right to be surprised. This creature doesn’t have much intelligence or wisdom, but their fighting instincts are still there so it can still use some form of strategy.
That’s something I would have liked to know beforehand. Liam complained.
Liam watched as another goblin caught on fire flew pass the side of the boulder he was hiding behind. This one scraped the side of the rock causing the boulder to tremble as its body spun before slamming in the wall behind him. Killing it on the spot.
I can’t keep hiding behind this rock. Liam thought to himself as another goblin flew by. I’m going to need to restrain it if I don’t want to be hit by any of those creatures, but in order to do that I’ll need to stop it from throwing them.
Why not try that one Gravity Spell you got recently? Eri suggested.
What do you mean? What new Gravity spell? Liam asked with confusion. I don’t remember getting any new Gravity magic.
Not surprising. You don’t usually check all your notifications when you get them. Eri stated with a hint of disappointment. You normally just check ones that catch your interest, and you skim pass the rest. It’s called Gravity Force Push. I think it will be handy in this situation.
Liam’s brows furrowed as he grumbled a bit to himself before pulling up the spell.
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“Gravity Force Push. Lightens the weight of a single targeted object or creature the caster touches. Object or creature is then forcibly pushed away at a high speed from a sudden rush of opposing gravity. Cooldown: 1 minute. Mana Cost: 15 MP. Range: Touch. Spell Type: Chant.”
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Liam’s jaw slowly dropped as he read the spell. He didn’t remember ever getting something so useful. If it was true that he really skimmed most of his notifications then he needed to stop that.
Thank you for pointing this out. This just might help do the trick. Liam stated before focusing on the direction he needed to aim the boulder right in front of him. Let’s try it out.
Liam readied himself and placed a hand on the boulder before he started chanting, “Hinderances and obstacles blocking my path, weighed down by the law of Gravity. Reverse and move away from me, allowing the way to be clear. By the law of Gravity, I forcibly reject you. Gravity Force Push!”
Liam watched as a faint outline of Gravity Mana covered the boulder in front of him. The boulder trembled slightly as he felt it shift its mass up off the ground a few inches. Liam wasn’t sure what to do next. He wasn’t sure if he needed to push it or…
A ripple suddenly waved over the boulder and within the next second, the object suddenly disappeared. A second later it reappeared crashing right into the Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior’s face.
Liam stood wide eyed and stunned. He had read that the object he used the spell on would be forcibly pushed away at a high speed, but he wasn’t expecting it to move that quickly. If he didn’t aim like he did or if the massive monster had moved away from that spot, the boulder would have missed entirely.
This was a spell he would need to practice with a lot in order to get a better understanding of it. If he used it willy nilly in battle without any practice it would end up hurting him or any teammates he had instead.
Liam, snap out of it! Eri suddenly shouted, bringing him out of his thoughts.
“Shit!” Liam cursed as he mentally kicked himself for letting his thoughts get the better of him. No matter how shocked or stunned he was, he was still in the middle of a fight. And losing yourself in your thoughts could lead even the best of fighters to an early grave.
Focusing more on the fight, Liam chanted, “Hidden within the dark, I call upon you to bind my target. Grasp them with the tendrils you possess. Remind them why they should fear their own Shadow. Grasp of the Shadows!”
The shadow underneath the Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior shuddered before several pitch black tendrils shot out and wrapped around its legs, stomach, arms, and forehead.
“Yes,” Liam grinned. That grin of his quickly changed to a frown as a dull pain suddenly pounded in his head.
Liam looked at his stats and saw that his mana was below twenty-five percent. He cursed himself for how low he let it get while swiftly grabbing a Poor Blueberry Mana Potion and downing it as fast as he could.
After he finished drinking the potion, he grabbed both of his Shadow Moon Blades from their sheathes and muttered, “Spirit Weave.”
Both of his daggers started to shine as he felt a cold sensation wash over him as a raven black shadow-like hooded cloak with pale white spots formed over Liam’s arms, chest, and the top of his head. On top of the hood were two pointed spots that looked like cat ears. One was the same raven black color while the other was a pale white. A black cat-like tail formed from the back with pale white spots. A thin black mask covered his mouth and nose.
After the clothing formed, Liam prepared himself to attack the creature. He took a step forward in preparation to make a sprint towards the creature. However, after a second had passed, he came to a forcible halt as he felt the cold sensation disappear as the cloak and mask vanished.
“What the fuck?!” Liam shouted, panic starting to fill him. “What happened?!”
Liam looked at his parameters and was confused. He didn’t see anything wrong. That was until he received a notification in red.
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“Spirit Weave forcibly deactivated. Spirit Pool has reached 0.”
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What the fuck? Liam thought as he checked to see if that was true. My Spirit Pool is at zero? How? Didn’t it replenish like my other pools and bar?
As he looked he saw that it was true. His Spirit Pool was at zero of one hundred and fifty. He stared at it with both confusion and frustration. He didn’t understand why it didn’t replenish at all. He hadn’t been using it since his last fight back on the sixth floor of the Black Tutorial Dungeon. So why didn’t it…
Liam pay attention! Eri shouted, bringing Liam back out of his thoughts again.
Liam looked at the Elite Undead Creature and noticed it has already snapped a couple of the shadowy tendrils. It was forcibly freeing itself as it yanked as hard as it could.
Liam shook his head. He would need to figure this out later.
Liam focused as he started to channel as much Shadow Mana as he could. He could feel the cold sensation coat his hands and run up to his mid-forearms. After he finished this, he summoned two Shadow Hands. Without hesitation, he started chanting, “Shadows coalescing, head my call and come forth. Manifest mediums that will serve to unleash your wave of power. Swarm together and into your target. Go forth and unleash your power. Shadow Swarm!”
Five shadow orbs suddenly appeared around Liam’s dagger. After he finished chanting the spell, the five orbs flew above the Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior and circled around. After they stopped moving, wisps of Shadow energy escaped from each orb and snaked right towards the massive body of the creature below them. Each wisp that entered through the body exited out from the other side. Liam could see pain appeared on the monster’s face as it bared its teeth and let out a powerful roar with each wisp that entered and exited.
Liam didn’t wait for the spell to stop as he reached into the pouch on his left for a muddy brown vial. He then raced over to the monster to get as close as he could. As he came to a stop, Liam brought his arm back and was about to throw the vial, but stopped as he felt his Danger Sense light up from his left. It was faint and not as alarming compared to when the Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior was trying to attack him and he almost missed it, but thanks to his senses working over time he was able to catch it in time.
Liam turned his head to see two Diseased Feeble Forest Goblins rushing towards him with wooden spears in hand. He could see parts of their skin boiled and crisped from the flames that once licked them. Some parts of the skin looked melted and tight while other parts with pockets of puss that boiled start to ooze out with each slight movement of their pissed off foaming faces.
Liam grimaced as the smell reached his nose. He fought back the urge to vomit as he smoothly disappeared into a puff of smoke right as the spears were thrust into the area his chest once was.
The two rage filled goblins stumbled as their weapons pierced nothing but air. However, before they could look around to see where their object of ire was, a couple of daggers sliced across the back of both of their necks.
Blood and puss rolled down from their open wounds as they fell face first into the dirt filled cave floor. Both creatures’ consciousness faded as the last of the health points dropped to zero.
Liam grimaced as he looked at the two Crude Bone Curved Daggers in his Shadow Hands and then in his own. He then focused on his Shadow Hands to mimic his actual hands and waved them a bit to try and get the liquid, that coated the edge of the blades, off. “Disgusting. I’m going to have to thoroughly clean these later.”
You can focus on that later. Right now, you have bigger problems. Eri stated. Thanks to our big friend here those were the only two goblins that were still alive since it didn’t throw them. However, that doesn’t change the fact that it is still alive.
Liam frowned as he turned to look at the bulky creature. The last of his Shadow Swarm attack had just finished up and it looked even more angry than it did earlier as it bellowed out a vicious roar. It was thrashing its arms and legs even harder now trying to free itself and was succeeding much quicker.
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“Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior. 737/955 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 25.”
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Liam clicked his tongue. He knew his spells were still weakened thanks to his debuff, but he was hoping that its health would have gone down a bit more than this.
If I’m going to survive this I’m going to need to cause some damage that’ll bring its health down over time. Do I have anything that’ll be able to do that? Liam thought as he worked his brain on overtime.
After thinking about all of his current abilities he decided on doing two things. One was an actual ability that will cause damage over time plus it would blind him while the other was an unconventional combination that he really loved to use. As he thought about the latter he remembered an item he had recently got that day. It was something new to him and he wasn’t sure how well it would work, but it was still worth a try. However, in order to get it ready he needed to use his other spell and get his other method underway.
Without hesitating, Liam started chanting as he focused the last bit of Shadow Mana he had left on his hands into the spell. “Shadows so dark come forth, pierce through this pour creature’s sight, temporary blinding it with a pain it never knew existed, Blanket of Darkness!”
The last two remaining tendrils that were struggling to hold the Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior broke free from their roots and snaked their way around the massive creature’s body. The tall Hobgoblin felt its body suddenly jerk forward as its restraints released their hold from its shadow.
It almost fell face first into the ground but was able to stop itself before it completely fell. However, its momentary relief for freedom was turned to frustration as the shadows suddenly wrapped themselves around the creature’s eyes and head and then dug right into its eye balls.
The angry monster let out a rage-filled roar as it felt the stinging sensation dig deep into its head and lost its sight. It threw its meaty hands to its eyes and tried to rake the shadows off of its face, but screamed as its clawed tipped fingers swam through the shadows like water and gouged its own face making claw like marks from its forehead to the top of its cheeks right under its eyes.
It did this a few times, digging deeper and deeper in its skin. Chunks of its flesh stuck to its claw-like fingernails with each slash. A mixture of darken blood and puss pooled out from its open wounds.
Liam didn’t waste any time as it started self-inflicting harm to itself. He quickly looked for a vial full of one of the newest crafting materials and placed two of them into his pouch on his leg while grabbing the vial full of Snake Oil.
After that, Liam threw the vial of Snake Oil at the bare chest of the Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior. After it shattered, Liam started chanting while opening a hand palm up in front of him, “Come forth heat of flames and burn the pyre before you. Become the tool that will help. Light and Burn!”
After the flame flickered to life, Liam threw it at the thrashing pissed off creature. The aim of the flame being thrown was suddenly off course as the confused panicking monster flailed its arms up and down desperately trying to free itself from the shadow on its face. The flame started to go down and was about to miss the liquid that was spreading down its chest. That was until it got a sudden updraft when the Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior brought its arms up at the last second. This up draft was just enough for the flame to touch the liquid that rolled down enough around its mid stomach.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
A new fiery pain erupted up the creature’s stomach and across its chest causing it to howl. Spittal flew from its mouth as it started scratching at its burning chest. Blood and other liquid started to mix with the fire as its claws raked through the burning flame.
Liam jumped back a bit trying to dodge some of the fiery liquid that the monster flung with each flailing arm. He didn’t wait to see how well this was going and started chanting another spell. “O Gravity, powerful and dangerous. Bring the Force down upon my enemy slowing its movements. Gravitational Force Increase!”
The color of Gravity outlined the monster, making its movements start to slow down a bit. However, Liam didn’t know if it was because this monster was a higher level, if it was because his current debuff affected his spells, or a mixture of both, but the creature’s movements didn’t slow down as much as the other creatures he had used this spell on before. It was noticeable, but not by much.
Even though the monster was blind from his Blanket of Darkness spell and preoccupied by the flames on its chest and stomach, he was still wary of getting too close. He knew his health was a lot lower than it really was and this monster was much stronger than him, but he still didn’t know how much damage it could cause if he was struck by him.
Instead, Liam got close enough for his Shadow Hands to be able to strike the monster. Liam aimed his two helping hands for the monster’s ankles. He was trying to attack the tendons that allowed the monster to stay standing, but missed as the monster kept moving around and thrashing. Instead, he was able to strike the sides of its feet and calves.
Liam didn’t stand still as he had his hands attack the creature. Instead, he moved in and out close enough to attack and to dodge random attempts the monster made to try and find Liam.
As Liam did this he noticed a couple of things that flashed a couple of times in the corner of his eyes. Not wanting to be distracted Liam tried to ignore them, however, after taking a quick glance as one of the flashes grew a bit brighter, Liam felt a strong hand suddenly swipe and strike him open palmed. The massive hand was able to hit his left shoulder to mid rib cage. The force of the blow was strong enough to send him flying to the side of the cave and collide into the wall.
Liam felt the wind get knocked out of him as a crimson liquid involuntarily flew out of his mouth. After crashing into the wall, Liam fell to his side on the ground. Fighting the urge to just lay there, Liam summoned every ounce of strength he had to roll to his stomach and push himself up to his feet.
He watched as his vision fought between focusing and going dark. After wheezing a few times and trying to stabilize his breathing he noticed something flashing at the top left of his vision. He snuck a peek at it and noticed it was his health bar. He felt his heart sink as he read that it had dropped to less than ten percent.
“Jesus Christ,” Liam stated with a pained cough. He could feel his body aching and becoming sore as he tried to quickly move his right hand to pull out a Poor Minty Health Potion. He struggled to pop open the cork and frustratingly gave up using his hands. Instead, he clenched his teeth over the cork and wrenched it free with his teeth. The movement sent a pain throughout his body, but he bared it as he chugged down the potion.
He felt the warm sensation of the potion running through his system begin to ease some of the pain and soreness he was feeling as his health started to replenish. He was still feeling some pain, but it was a lot more bearable than it was just moments ago.
He looked back at the monster and saw that it was still trying to pull the shadows that wrapped around its eyes off while raking at its chest and stomach with its other hand. He noticed the telltale sign of the spell starting to weaken and disappear as it started to flicker in and out.
Panic started to fill Liam as he tried to think about what he could do. He looked back at the monster’s health to see what it was at to help him get a better picture of how bad or well the battle was going.
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“Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior. 487/955 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 25.”
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Its health was roughly half way gone. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t as bad as what he thought it was. However, with everything he had done already and the fact there was some damage ticking over time, he needed to come up with something that can give that better damage.
Liam suddenly jumped as he flailed his arms and hands around as something floated right next to his head. Liam’s eyes were wide while his heartbeat pounded hard against his chest as he stared at his floating Shadow Hand.
“I swear I’m going to die by a heart attack instead of a monster fight if I’m this lost in my own head,” Liam cursed himself as he tried to slow his heartbeat down. He was about to move his head away, but then something flashed in his sight. Liam’s eyes narrowed as he focused on the area where he saw the flash.
It came from the pillar of rocks to his right. Two flashes swiftly appeared and disappeared. One was a few inches from where the rocky pillar connected with the ceiling while the other was a couple of feet from the floor.
As his vision zoomed in on the section closer to the floor two notifications appeared.
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“Focus Point Construction Craft Skill – Destruction Points activated. Weakness in pillar has been identified!”
“Focus Point Gathering Craft Skill - Mining Strike Accuracy suggested. Activate Mining Strike Accuracy to accurately strike rocks? Yes No?”
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Liam’s brows furrowed as he stared at the notification. Why did these two skills suddenly activate? Why now of all times? Also why did they appear at the same time? Was it because the pillar was both a support unit much like in a building and made of rocks instead of the construction materials found when building?
Liam looked back at the Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior and noticed the distance it was to the pillar. It was within distance that if the pillar were to fall it would fall right on top of it. Was that a coincidence? Whatever the case was, this was an opportunity that Liam would grasp.
Liam quickly pulled out a crude pickaxe and traded it with the dagger the Shadow Hand that was floating on his right had. Not wanting to miss this chance, Liam sent the Shadow Hand up to the top where the flash quickly popped in and out. He tried to focus as well as he could while accepting the activation of his Mining Strike Accuracy skill.
The first attempt missed as the Shadow Hand struck just a bit higher than he wanted to. He cursed himself as he tried again, this time hitting right below the sweet spot. The third attempt was right on the money as the tool struck right where the flash appeared. The hit sent cracks along the edges of the rocks, dislodging it from the ceiling.
Liam smiled as he watched the pillar sway a bit from losing its grip. That smile quickly faded as he heard a loud angry roar coming from his left. Liam turned to see his Blanket of Darkness spell puff out of existence, allowing the monster to stare angerly at him. The flame that was once burning brightly was slowly dying out as well as blood and some other strange white liquid pooled out from the self-inflicted wounds that were made when it clawed itself.
Seeing that it was getting ready to sprint towards him, Liam sprinted towards behind the rocky pillar. As he did this he manipulated the Shadow Hand to rush down and try to hit the bottom part of the pillar where the other weak point was.
When the Shadow Hand reached the spot Liam had seen earlier he commanded it to strike. The tool missed the spot as the pillar swayed a bit backwards. Cursing himself again as he was running he tried once more. His nerves started to tense as he felt the ground rumble with each step the bulky creature took as it started to rush towards Liam.
The second attempt missed the pillar entirely, making Liam grumble with panic as he outwardly said, “Shit! Shit! Shit! Come on!”
Liam tried once more, hoping it would work as he got right behind the pillar and started pushing with every bit of strength he had. As he pushed he heard the tool strike, but wasn’t sure if it had hit where he wanted to. That worry was not necessary as he felt the rumble on the pillar vibrate and cracks start to form.
Willing the pillar as hard as he could, Liam pushed it in the direction he wanted it to go. He felt his muscles strain and tighten as he pushed with all he had. With some luck he was hoping to have, the pillar started to fall in the direction of the Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior.
Liam stepped back as quickly as he could and watched as the rocky pillar fell down right on top of the monster. A loud boom echoed in the room as the fall of the pillar caused the room to shake violently. Adding more to it, several rocks bigger than Liam suddenly broke free from the ceiling and fell right on top of massive monster.
Dust and dirt filled the air, blocking Liam’s vision and making him cough. He pulled down his goggles that were resting on his forehead to help clear his vision. As he waved a hand around his face to stop the dust from entering his mouth and nose, Liam peered through his squinted eyes.
It took a few seconds for him to be able to see around him, but as the area started to clear up he was able to see a giant pile of rocks resting over the spot where the Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior was. A meaty hand was the only thing sticking out from the pile, showing where the creature was buried at.
He stared at the rubble for a few seconds, waiting for any sign of movement. When nothing happened, not even a tremble, Liam approached it cautiously.
“Did that work?” Liam questioned as he slowly made his way closer to where the hand was sticking out. “I didn’t receive any notification of it being defeated…but its health and other parameters suddenly disappeared. What the hell is going on?”
Liam stopped by the hand and studied it. There was no sign of any movement nor signs of life from it. No matter how hard he tried to assess it, nothing popped up.
After relaxing his body a bit, he quietly muttered to himself, “That’s so weird…I wonder why…”
Liam watch out! Eri screamed with slight panic. However, her warning came too late as the nonresponsive hand suddenly stretched out and wrapped itself around Liam’s arms and upper torso.
As it did this, the rubble that was covering the massive Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior exploded outwards as the rest of its body emerged like a creature coming back to life from the dead.
Liam’s eyes widened as he took in the wretched state of the monster he had been fighting. Parts of its body were caved in a bit showing that the boulders and pillar had crushed the areas. Its left arm was completely torn off right at the shoulder as blood and other liquid pooled out in waves. A chunk of its left rib cage was missing entirely making Liam believe it too was crushed by the weight of the rocks.
The creature’s right eye was caved in as a piece of rock was embedded within. More blood rushed down from the top of its head and flowed out from its mouth as it fought desperately to breath.
What the fuck?! What the fuck?! How is it not dead?! Liam thought as his mind swirled with panic. He then got a good look at the status bars that reappeared above its head.
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“Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior. 89/955 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 25.”
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Liam was about to shout a curse, but then felt the creature’s hand start to tighten around his body. Liam instinctively tried to push back with as much strength as he could. He knew it was futile to get himself free this way as he felt the creature’s strength winning.
I need to get out of his grip! Liam screamed in his mind. But how? How can I get out when its strength is so much higher than mine?
Liam! Use the Acidic Ooze Liquid! Eri yelled.
Forgetting to mentally reply to her, Liam shouted out with a strain in his voice, “How? My arms are completely tied up?!”
Use your Shadow Hand Dumbass! Eri cursed.
“Don’t call me a dumbass!” Liam yelled back feeling his strength starting to wane.
Then start using your head better in a fight! I know you’re smarter than this! Eri countered.
As much as Liam hated that what she said was right, he still couldn’t help but feel that the situation didn’t really call for name calling.
“Fine. Fuck!” Liam shouted as he tried to multitask his thoughts on manipulating one of the Shadow Hands to try and stab the creature’s hand and the other to reach inside the pouch on his right leg to grab the vial.
The Shadow Hand that was attacking the monster’s hand scraped, stabbed, and slashed as fast as it could while the other tried to grab the right vial. After a few attempts, the Shadow Hand rummaging through his potion pouch on the side of his leg had finally grabbed the right one.
Liam was about to mentally command his hand to throw it at the monster’s face when it let out a violent and loud roar. The pressure that followed up with the Warcry caused the vial to slip right out from the Shadow Hand’s grip and fall.
Luckily for Liam though, the vial fell and shattered right on the wrist of the creature. The monster let out a furious and painful roar as it swung its arm back and then threw Liam to the back of the room.
Liam, for the second time in this fight, slammed against the wall feeling the pain pulse through his body. Blood once more spewed out from his mouth before he fell onto his side. Liam tried to roll over to his stomach, but felt sharp pains race through him with the movement. He could see the flashing red light pulsing in the top left side of his vision, but ignored it as he willed himself to get back up.
As he was making his way back to his feet, Liam could hear the load screams coming from the tall bulky creature right before he felt the rumbling of the ground as it started to sprint its way towards him. At least it tried to sprint. Instead, it was a heavy footed fast limping walk.
Liam could feel it. They were both on their last legs. They both knew that whoever could deal the final blow would come out of this. The only difference was their strength. The Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior was stronger and could end Liam’s life with just a simple flick of its chunky finger while Liam would either need a few more strikes or a really good critical hit with a couple of normal strikes.
Liam could feel liquid run down the side of his mouth as he fully stood back up and stared at the monster with a painful fury that started to course through his veins. Both of his Shadow Hands were gone now. He didn’t know when they had disappeared, but if he had to make a guess it must have happened right when he slammed against the wall.
Liam kept his eyes on the hulking creature that looked bigger to him right now. Whispers started to tickle his ears and the edge of his mind. They were telling him that he was weak. That he didn’t have what it takes to survive. That no matter how hard he tried his starting class didn’t belong on the battlefield.
Liam took in a deep breath. At first he thought that maybe he received the debuff Whispers from the Beyond, but as he stared at the limping creature making its way to him, he knew it wasn’t that.
The whispers were created from the fear that was growing inside him. The fear that generated from how low his health was due to how weak he was. That and what he was feeling emanating from the desperate and fury filled monster glaring down at him.
Liam could feel the monster’s fearsome presence as if it was an aura trying to push him into despair. His bones ached and pain wracked his body, but he knew he needed to push himself more. He knew he had to will himself to move.
This last attempt on his part wasn’t a battle of who had the better strength. It was a battle against his willpower. The willpower to move himself towards the creature. The willpower to not back down from something much stronger than himself. The willpower to prove that even in his weakened state, he could still survive and grow much stronger.
Liam took in a deep breath and slowly released it as he repeated the words he grew so familiar with during his time back in the Black Tutorial Dungeon. Calm the Storm. As he said this once in his mind, he felt his body grow lighter. The second time he repeated the words as he released another round of taking in air, he felt the pain numb. The third time repeating his actions and words, he felt something strange.
He felt his mind become tranquil and something within started to stir. It started at the center of his body and then pulsed out throughout his veins. His bones and muscles hummed as this sensation touched them as well. He remembered this had happened once before. Back during the second trial on the fourth floor.
He didn’t fight it, but instead allowed his body to move on its one as he took a step forward. He didn’t run nor rush towards his opponent. Instead, he calmly walked as he gripped the hilts of his daggers on his hips and slowly unsheathed them.
He could hear faint sounds in the back of his mind as he grabbed his daggers. He couldn’t tell what the sounds were or if they were saying anything. Instead, he could feel the same resolve he was feeling down to his core.
During this time a glow was happening inside the lenses of his goggles. Not wanting to lose focus on what he needed to do, Liam pushed the thought of it to the back of his mind and continued his pace.
The Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior raised its only arm up into the air as it steadily reached within striking distance, but Liam didn’t flinch. He kept walking towards the creature as if he was taking a nice stroll.
Without much as a warning, the monster slammed its massive hand down right on top of Liam and caused a loud boom in the room as it struck the ground. Dust and dirt pushed out and up into the air as this happened, making the creature grin savagely.
The creature lifted its hand up to see the dismembered body of the foe that had caused so much damage and pain to it and then frowned. All that was in the spot its hand was once covering was dirt and dust. However, something else was mixed within the dust and dirt. It was black smoke.
Confused it looked at the palm of its hand to see if the enemy was stuck there. As it looked and saw nothing but dust, a sudden wave of danger ran down the monster’s spine. But, before the monster could move, a pulse of pain exploded into the back of its right leg. Then another pulsed right into the right side of its lower back.
A searing hot sensation swam from its leg and lower back as it felt like some was slicing through the areas the pulsing pain had appeared. Quickly this continued right up to the base of its neck where some planted their feet to stabilize itself. Before it knew what was going on, pain erupted right into the back of its skull, bringing nothing but a cold sensation and darkness along with it as all motor functions ceased to exist.
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“Congratulations! You have defeated Elite monster Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior!”
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