Solomon's first stop was the dead goblin. He had thought to use its body as bait and a distraction for its friends. Seeing as the other goblins had ignored the provocation, he figured he might as well see what he could get out of it. A quick disassembly left him with a beast core in his hand. Oddly, considering the small size of the goblin, the core was slightly larger than the core he had retrieved from the boars.

Part of his mind wondered if humans would start to form magical cores under the influence of the system. He hoped he would never have cause to find out.

With his loot secured, Solomon began moving towards the X marked on his minimap. He didn't quite make a beeline for his target. He oriented himself using the X, but moved forward according to the terrain, doing his best to stay out of sight.

The memory of his own encounter with the group of lions weighed on him. In that fight, he had been much weaker and slower than his opponent, yet he had killed all three of the lions in the end. The first goblin he'd seen hadn't struck him as particularly bright, but he couldn't let that, or his size advantage, lead to complacency. He was up against an enemy that had at least a system-provided simulacra of thought.

He kept a close eye out for pit traps and tripwires as he pushed forward. The system certainly hadn't been shy about using such things in the frustrating second level of the monster dungeon. Here, against the goblins, he wouldn't just have to worry about damage from the trap but also the damage an opportunistic pack of goblins could deal out while he was immobilized.

Solomon was studying the ground ahead of him for traps when something hit the back of his shoulder hard enough to half turn him around. He moved with the momentum, completing the turn just in time to see an arrow clatter to the ground. He got his shield up in front of him and took a few sideways steps to put his back against a tree. The whole time he kept his eyes peeled, trying to spot the archer.

He spared a moment to be thankful to his upgraded clothing. The HP healing provided by the system wouldn't do too much for him if he had an arrow embedded in his back.

There was a flicker of motion up in the branches of a nearby tree. A split second later another arrow bounced off his shield. Solomon looked up and finally spotted the archer, its green skin making him tricky to pick out from the green foliage. Unlike the monkeys he had fought before, the goblin could actually hurt him from its perch up in the tree. Even worse, it showed no sign that it was going to get down from its perch and jump into melee range.

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Of course, Solomon had more options now than he'd had back in the dungeon.

Solomon activated the magical laser sight and brought his pistol to bear. The goblin was at the edge of what he expected was the pistol's effective range, but Solomon thought it was worth a shot. He put the dot at the center of the goblin's chest and brought his hook down, touching off the powder charge. The recoil was savage and the smoke heavy, but Solomon still grinned when he saw the bullet take the goblin in the shoulder, sending it tumbling from the tree.

His feeling of satisfaction was short lived, as another arrow bounced off his left hip at the same time that a spear plunged into his right side. Solomon howled at the red flash of pain that shot up his body. He lashed out without conscious thought, catching a goblin on the nose with the butt of his gun. There was a gratifying crack and spray of blood, though the goblin still clung tight to its spear.

The little bastard had snuck up on him while he was distracted by the archer. For that matter, another one was coming in behind the first.

Solomon twisted to get his shield between him and the second attacker, ignoring the new spike of agony from the spear dug into his side. He was going to make it, he was going to block the attack, but then the spear accelerated unnaturally and snaked past his shield. He wasn't the only one who had picked up a few tricks from the system.

Luckily, the fact that Solomon had twisted his body caused the spear to skitter along his chest without finding purchase. Before his attacker could recover, Solomon lifted his foot and slammed forward with the heel of his boot, sending the goblin staggering backwards several paces before it fell on its butt.

That gave him a little breathing room, not that he could breathe very well with the spear stuck in him. The goblin had recovered from the blow to its nose and was setting its feet for another push. Solomon dropped the gun and reached out to grab the goblin by its neck. It choked, letting go of the spear to try and pry Solomon's hand off.

Solomon bared his teeth in a grin as the goblin's efforts proved futile. With a grunt, he spun around, lifting the goblin off its feet. The goblin's skull hit the tree with a crunching sound of finality. He dropped its body to the ground.

Before he could think about it too much, Solomon reached down and yanked the spear out of his side. He screamed up at the sky, cursing the system that had put him in this mess.

A moment later the system's healing washed over him, making his wound vanish at the cost of half of his HP.

Solomon forced himself to focus. There were still at least two more goblins out there. When he turned to look, though, the goblin that he had kicked had vanished. A moment later a message appeared.

Congratulations on a successful combat encounter!

You have demonstrated Unarmed Combat, Lvl 2. Would you like to add this skill?

Solomon snorted and shook his head. He didn't feel particularly successful. He felt like he was being hunted.