Elaria held her breath, her entire body completely frozen, not daring to move even the tiniest fraction lest the horde of pursuers discover her location. Her hands were clamped to the branch, trusting the sturdy wood with her life, believing that the bushy foliage of the trees would keep her hidden from the wandering eyes below. A pair of goblins were prowling through the woods, seated atop a pair of wolves with bright silver fur and pure white eyes. The canines sniffed out every nook and cranny, seeking traces of the girl who’d fled after slaughtering two of their number. The goblins' eyes darted around, checking for any movements or tracks in order to keep on the trail of their prey. Every now and then the monsters would cough violently, a disgusted look on their face.
Half an hour ago, she had been resting in the secluded grove, waiting for a full recovery of her health in order to carry on with her travel through the lively forest. While she had been double checking her supplies and preparing to leave, a curious wolf had wandered out of the treeline, spooking Elaria. She had prepared for a battle, drawing her sword immediately, but the wolf’s eyes simply widened in recognition and darted back into the forest. Thinking it was just scared, she had taken her things and entered the forest paths once more, intending to take a leisurely pace and admire the beauty of nature as she went. However, just a few minutes later, the trees began to shake and shed verdant leaves to the forest floor as a large number of wolves stampeded through, each carrying a goblin rider.
They were whooping and yelling, and twenty sets of fierce eyes turned to her as they broke cover, aiming an assortment of spears, bows and swords in her direction. In a panic, realising she stood no chance of defeating such a large pack of monsters by herself having been taken completely by surprise, she used the only tool at her disposal, the stink bomb she’d received from her ability the night before. With a swing that was reminiscent of a major league pitcher, Elaria launched the black ball straight into the midst of her pursuers, and with a bang, it exploded, releasing a huge cloud of brown gas into the surroundings, regrettably causing the nearby foliage to wilt and die, but having the perfect effect on the wolves’ hypersensitive noses. The beasts immediately howled out, violently tossing and turning, shaking many of the goblins from their mounts, before the whole group began to projectile vomit, painting the trees in an assortment of yellow and orange gunk.
Her next move was perhaps an incredibly treacherous risk to take, but Elaria deemed it worthwhile, plus it gave her a huge sense of satisfaction. Using her shirt to cover her nose and mouth, she darted into the immobilised group of monsters, and targeting the weakest looking of the lot, started thrusting and stabbing her sword into their convulsing bodies, notifications flickering in the corner of her vision as the kills were confirmed. Not knowing how long the surprisingly potent effects of the stink bomb would last, after taking out roughly a third of the enemies, she darted into the forest, putting as much distance as possible between her and the group before they recovered. Given the size of the band of bastards, she didn’t expect to run into another search party, but the odds were never zero. After running around two kilometres, she found a tree which would be fairly simple to climb and had ample cover, and lithely limbered her way up the trunk, hunkering down to hide.
The pair of goblin riders down below were the third such pair to have searched through this area, and judging from the increasingly frustrated chatter of the goblins, Elaria judged that her predicament wouldn’t end unless she took some decisive action. In a move reminiscent of the goblin who’d welcomed her to the forest, she dropped from the canopy, and with a poised blade, dropped directly onto the back of one of the goblins, the heavy force of the drop pushing the sword through both the goblin and the wolf beneath, killing them instantly. The remaining wolf was the first to react to her sneak attack, twisting to face her, catching its rider by surprise. The goblin’s eyes widened in rage when it saw the blood dripping from her blade, and the two corpses at her feet. The wolf jumped at her, and the goblin thrust its spear aiming for her neck.
Elaria was able to parry the spear strike, but at the cost of allowing the wolf to bury its claws deep into her chest, the blow sucking the air from her lungs and pinning her to the ground beneath the ravenous beast. With her life at immediate risk, she pressed her feet against the belly of the wolf, and kicked out with all her might. With force that would impress even the most veteran of bodybuilders, the two monsters were launched across the clearing into the trunk of a tree, connecting with a satisfying thud. Elaria scrambled to her feet, blood pouring down her chest from ten claw holes, and she was only barely hanging on thanks to the increased health regeneration the potion had granted her earlier.
You have been struck by a Silvermoon Wolf
-9 health
-3 health per hour from bleeding
Despite her grievous injury, there would be no better chance to strike than now, and Elaria forced herself to life her blade and charge the stunned monsters, stomping heavily on the goblin’s head, crushing its skull beneath her boot and spraying brain matter and shards of bone across the ground while using both hands to thrust the sword into the wolf’s chest and pierce its beating heart. She reached for another lesser health potion, uncorking it and letting the warm red fluid flow down her throat, bringing her health back up to a safe level. Consuming additional potions would not cause a stacking effect on the regeneration bonus, but the initial restoration of 5 health points worked each time, meaning she could use them in a pinch to prevent unwanted death.
More helpful notifications from the Chain informed her that she had levelled up quite a few times after her killing spree, and given the gravity of the situation, she immediately invested the stat points she’d received, two into fortitude and one into luck. The health potions would be enough to boost her regeneration for now, so having a larger health pool to tank heavy blows like the one she’d just received from the now dead wolf would be great insurance, and being luckier never hurt anyone.
Silvermoon Wolf x6 has been slain
+66 XP
Wolf Fangs x6
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Silvermoon Hide x2
Goblin x5 has been slain
+60 XP
Goblin Fingers x5
Goblin Toes x2
You have levelled up x3!
+3 stat points
Sword Proficiency Lv.1 > Lv.3
Due to your actions you have received a skill!
Monster Hunter
+10% damage against monsters
Now this was what adventuring was all about. The minor skirmishes on her travel between Reissdown Village and Felspire had been exciting, but didn’t push her limits or truly get her blood racing. This kind of all or nothing situation where her life was on the line, and a single mistake was all that separated her and imminent death. Elaria was curious about these goblins. From everything she had read and heard from others, while goblins often gathered in small tribes to hunt, they were highly aggressive, even to their own kind. For a group of them to be this organised was extremely unusual. It wasn’t just their disciplined nature either, the fact that they were able to tame and ride the Silvermoon Wolves was the strangest part of the whole situation.
It wouldn’t help if she simply defeated all her pursuers without figuring out where they had come from. With this level of strategy and coordination it was a given that there was something commanding them from the shadows. A higher level monster perhaps? Elaria made some rapid decisions, figuring out how to unearth the secret behind this advanced group of goblins. A young tree nearby groaned as she hacked it to pieces, not making an effort to hide the sounds of the rustling leaves or the bang as it hit the forest floor. She climbed her way back into the tree from before, once again hiding from her pursuers below. This time however, the roles had been reversed. The hunted had become the hunter, and the predators were her prey.
Just thirty seconds later, another pair of goblins mounted atop their silver furred mounts came rushing to the source of the disturbance. Thanks to the fact that defeated monsters would dissipate into energy upon death, there were no corpses to alert them to what had happened in the clearing. Elaria held her breath, weapon at the ready, waiting for the moment that one of the unfortunate goblins passed underneath the thick branch she was delicately balanced upon. The wolf’s paws softly trod over the moss, and the instant it passed her, she silently swooped from above like an eagle onto an unsuspecting snake, the sharp point of her sword piercing through the head of the beast, pinning it’s corpse to the ground, her leather boot already flying at the unaware goblin’s face, the force of her kick stunning it momentarily.
Its comrade had noticed her decisive drop from the trees, but was too slow to be able to respond. The wolf beneath its thighs was a breath quicker, yet still unable to beat the speed of this assassin from above. With her rapid progress in levels, Elaria’s stats were much greater than these simple monsters, and all the pair saw was a silver flash as her sword carved through the both of them in one fell swoop. She turned to the stunned goblin, only beginning to recover some of its faculties. The stars were yet to clear from its dizzied eyes, when something sharp and cold slid into its throat, and it felt warm blood bubbling up its gullet as everything faded to darkness. It had just been a few eventful days for the young girl, but she had already acclimated to the vicious world outside the walls of civilization, the addicting hum of adrenaline in her veins egging her on in each intense battle. She was a natural, as if she’d been born for this sole purpose, to cleanse the world of filth.
There was barely time to catch her breath before the sound of rushing feet and rustling leaves alerted her to the presence of more goblins. Unless more little green goons had joined the fray without her knowledge, this should be the last group. Her plan had been formed based on the behaviour of the first goblin she’d encountered when entering the forest. Rather than fighting her to the death, it had fled in order to inform its brethren and get reinforcements. The last few monsters to fall beneath her blade barely had time to comprehend their fate before the blissful claws of death claimed them, but hopefully the goblins approaching now would take the bait. Rather than clamber back up the tree, the approaching foes too close for her to get a good position from which to strike, she simply hid in plain sight, crouching down behind the trunk of the largest tree in the vicinity, it’s bark knotted and gnarled, the weather worn branches reflecting the experience of an ancient arbour looking down on the insignificant world around.
Thanks to her brutal and sudden use of the stink bomb earlier, she’d managed to take out more wolves than goblins, and seated on one of the two approaching wolves was a pair of goblins, huddled together like young lovers riding on a motorbike. The goblin riding solo looked like the strongest of the three, broad shoulders for its species, carrying a spear that looked like even Elaria might struggle to wield it effectively. As the monsters edged closer to her crouching form, she weighed a jagged rock in one hand, judging the distance between her and the tough looking goblin. The rock may have been a little heavier and rougher than other rocks, but against a creature blessed by the Chain, as all life was, even the lowliest of monsters, a rock wouldn’t prove to be a powerful weapon. In the hands of Elaria however, now that her strength stat had reached a decent level compared to the monsters she faced, it would be a near lethal surprise. The wolf took a step forward, and she released her payload, her aim deadly and true.
The rock thunked into the goblin’s head, and it fell from the back of its surprised mount, knocked out instantly with blood dripping from a small crater in the side of its large green head. The other wolf stopped immediately, hackles raised, almost sending its occupants flying off, the sudden pause giving Elaria a perfect chance to pounce. Darting from behind the tree, a fluid slash sent the head of the controlling rider flying off to the side, and a hefty kick lifted both the wolf and the remaining goblin a metre into the air, coming to land heavily against the trunk of the thick, ancient tree that had concealed her just moments before. Rather than dive in and finish off the pair, she instead leapt ferociously at the riderless wolf to the side, hacking off its head as it stood there in a daze, before stomping over and over into the chest of the unconscious goblin at its feet. She had been more brutal than necessary, in order to scare the malnourished and pathetic looking goblin behind her, and the timid monster fell into her intricate web, leaping onto the wolf and fleeing deep into the forest. Elaria didn’t spare a second look at her fallen victims, and sprinted after the escaping enemies.