They arrived earlier than I expected. Sapphire thought as her Danger Perception, alerted her of incoming threats.
Sapphire tilted her head to her left as an arrow soared through the air aimed at her, passing harmlessly through her hair that failed to move out of the way in time. Slowly, an entire horde of goblins emerged from the woods, charging towards the village.
Many goblins were armed with clubs, daggers, and banners, made of bones and wood. Many of the goblins carried slingshots and bows towards the back of the horde as well. She didn't see anything too dangerous and the stats of the goblins were negligible compared to her own.
Activate Intimidation, Sapphire ordered Appraisal.
As Sapphire activated her skill intimidation all the goblins stopped in their tracks, their eyes widening in terror as some of them started to take several steps back in fear. Sapphire smiled to herself on seeing her plan working well.
Without wasting anytime Sapphire begun her attack, starting with two diagonal dark slashes as she unsheathed both her katana. The slashes sliced through some of the goblins in the front and knocked back many that were behind from its remaining power, killing a fair number of them and injuring many more.
Sapphire opened her jaws and unleashed an attack similar to a dragon breath, a 'Shadow Pulse'. The attack, completely black in color, shot like a beam of darkness and caused a small explosion as it collided with the goblins. The goblins unleashed a rain of arrows and rocks in retaliation, their numbers thinning much quicker than they could have expected.
As the arrows started to land Sapphire disappeared from her spot, nowhere to be seen. All the goblins and adventurers stared at the spot in confusion, some of them frantically looking around for her. Sapphire jumped out of the shadowy ground a step in front of the goblin hoard. Flames gathered around her leg as she kicked the goblin nearest to her while in the air before landing.
All the goblins close to her pounced at her in an instant. Sapphire tapped her leg on the ground with a Paralysis Attack causing all goblins in a small area around her fell to the ground, paralyzed. Without wasting any time Sapphire performed two dark slashes as she spun on her feet, one bigger and one smaller, to finish off all the paralyzed goblins.
Before she could prepare to attack again she noticed five fireballs flying right towards her. There was the option of dodging since they were fairly slow, but she chose not to, to further terrify the goblins. The fireballs collided with her and exploded in a small burst of flames. The flames quickly died out as Sapphire stood there, seemingly unscathed.
"Midnight wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 28. HP: 1164/1180, MP: 1316/1800, Stamina: 1820/2060, Strength: 370, Defense: 256, Speed: 821, Hunger: 39%, Skill points: 200."
Perhaps I overestimated my elemental resistance, Sapphire thought.
As the shamans charged another spell Sapphire teleported right before them, beheading all five with a horizontal Dark Slash. Some of the other nearby goblins also being caught in the attack. Using the Shadow Movement: Sprint she moved from one part of the horde to the other, slaughtering them with both her katana and skills.
The goblin horde quickly depleted at a rapid rate. Any goblins that attempted to flee were taken down by the archers and mages while Sapphire focused on the bigger groups within the horde instead of the ones scattered far from each other. It was going pretty smoothly, and so far, no other bells had rung.
Sapphire leapt backwards as her Danger Perception alerted her of a danger right beside her. A giant wooden club smashed into the ground where she stood a moment before, cracking the earth. Sapphire turned to her attacker and focused her intimidation skill on it.
Appraise.
"Goblin Warlord (unnamed), level 48, HP: 2580/2580, MP: 750/750, Stamina: 1268/1370, Strength: 890, Defense: 876, Speed: 178, Hunger: 73%, Skill points: 0."
This is a warlord? I expected warlords to be much stronger, this one is pretty weak. Sapphire thought as she eyed the warlord.
The warlord raised its club above its head and brought it crashing down towards Sapphire. Sheathing her older katana Sapphire looked at its attack for a moment, a disappointed look on her face.
"Slow." Sapphire mocked as she took a small step to the side and allowed the club to hit the ground beside her as the warlord missed it's attack.
The instant the club smashed down she jumped onto the warlord's arm with which it held the club, staring right into its eyes, the look of fear evident in them.
"Goblin Warlord (unnamed), level 48, HP: 1935/1935, MP: 563/563, Stamina: 951/1028, Strength: 668, Defense: 657, Speed: 134, Hunger: 73%, Skill points: 0."
Sapphire smiled as she punched the warlord with a Dark Attack right on its face, causing it to stumble backwards while holding its face. As the warlord steadied its footing it looked around and let out a confused growling sound. It raised its arms and felt around, attempting to figure out where things were.
"Maybe I will be a bit more serious now." Sapphire sighed as she stretched her arms. "Draconic Power."
"Midnight wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 28. HP: 1746/1770, MP: 1974/2700, Stamina: 2730/3090, Strength: 555, Defense: 384, Speed: 1232, Hunger: 37%, Skill points: 200."
"Try your best to entertain me!" Sapphire exclaimed joyfully as she charged right towards the goblin warlord and pounced on it.
Sapphire kicked him with a combination of Fire Attack and Paralysis Attack, sending it tumbling into a group of smaller goblins. Using Shadow Movement Teleport Sapphire teleported near it, her swords infused with a Dark Slash and a Fire Attack. Using a combination of the two attacks on both her katana she struck the warlord's neck with both, creating a wound deep enough for it bleed out in a little while.
Using Shadow Movement Sprint she disappeared from there and jumped out of the ground in the middle of a large group of goblins. She tilted her body upside down and performed two dark slashes, landing back on her feet afterwards. Wiping out all the goblins in that area along with it.
"Experience threshold has been reached, Midnight Wolf (female), name: Sapphire, has advanced from level 28 to 29. Proficiency-based skill levels have been gained:
Okay those were a lot of levels, way too many levels. Not like I am complaining.
Sapphire used the boost of Draconic Power to its fullest. She used skills without any worry of MP and stamina drain. Within fifteen minutes of activating Draconic Power she wiped out all the goblins in the vicinity. Her perception skills also indicated that there were no more left, but she felt like something was amiss.
Appraisal, how many goblins did I kill?
"197 goblins, 103 goblin warriors, 2 goblin warlords."
302 goblins, they all said there were at least 500 of them. Where did the others go?
As Sapphire wondered all the other bells rang at the same time, and twice. One ring meant goblins were attacking, two rings meant goblins were attacking in large numbers and they required assistance. Sapphire used Shadow Movement Teleport and teleported straight to the western side, the side which rung the bell first.
Emerging right in the center of the horde Sapphire sliced all the nearby goblins with two dark slashes before standing still and assessing the environment. She again activated Intimidation, its effect far greater than before. This time a lot more of the goblins backed away and started fleeing, though they were taken down by the archers. Swinging both her katana Sapphire charged right into the horde.
Using a dark slash to kill several goblins in front of her she used a paralysis attack to immobilize all nearby goblins, before spinning on her heel and killing them off with another dark slash.
Using Shadow Movement: Teleport she teleported right on the back of a warlord. She slashed its neck with both her katana, one using the Fire attack and one using the Dark attack. The warlord's body caught on fire and it stumbled around as its vision darkened, crushing many of the goblins in the process.
After thinning their numbers enough Sapphire moved on to the southern side, repeating the same process there and quickly wiping out a large number of the goblins, before moving on to the eastern side.
As Sapphire jumped out of the shadows to repeat the process she was hit by something heavy and sent flying. She landed on her back, bounced, and landed on her feet, stopping after skidding on the ground a little more distance. Sapphire glared at her enemies, not being pleased by the greeting she received.
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"Goblin General (unnamed), level 67, HP: 4780/4780, MP: 1450/1450, Stamina: 1468/1880, Strength: 1370, Defense: 1376, Speed: 248, Hunger: 74%, Skill points: 0.
Goblin General (unnamed), level 69, HP: 4830/4830, MP: 1470/1470, Stamina: 1676/1930, Strength: 1411, Defense: 1476, Speed: 233, Hunger: 76%, Skill points: 0.
Goblin King (unnamed), level 83, HP: 6080/6080, MP: 3800/3800, Stamina: 4280/4280, Strength: 2345, Defense: 3456, Speed: 38, Hunger: 94%, Skill points: 50."
Two generals and a king?
The warlords were already much bigger than her, but the generals were even bigger than the warlords, the king just slightly bigger than the generals however. The generals carried metallic clubs while the king carried a claymore, something it stole from an adventurer from the looks of it.
Sapphire glanced at how the others were faring. It seemed to be in the adventurers' favor, if the generals and king didn't get involved that is. Sapphire sheathed both her katana and smiled to herself.
Guess they are all mine. Focus Intimidation on those three. Sapphire commanded as she prepared herself to fight the three, all stronger than her.
All three of them were able to resist the fear effect to some extent. They were hesitant to attack, but they weren't scared enough for the stat reduction to kick in. Sapphire used Shadow Movement Sprint and emerged right in front of the king, using Dark Attack to punched him right in the face. The king staggered backwards a few steps before tripping on a large rock and falling on his back.
"Goblin King (unnamed), level 83, HP: 4560/4560, MP: 2850/2850, Stamina: 3210/3210, Strength: 1759, Defense: 2592, Speed: 29, Hunger: 94%, Skill points: 50.
Goblin General (unnamed), level 67, HP: 3585/3585, MP: 1088/1088, Stamina: 1101/1410, Strength: 1028, Defense: 1032, Speed: 186, Hunger: 74%, Skill points: 0.
Goblin General (unnamed), level 69, HP: 3623/3623, MP: 1103/1103, Stamina: 1257/1448, Strength: 1058, Defense: 1107, Speed: 175, Hunger: 76%, Skill points: 0."
Intimidation is overpowered.
Sapphire begun her attack instantly, not giving them time to consider their situation. Even after a stat decrease they weren't all that weak. She needed to make every moment count in this fight if she wished to stand any chance of winning. She started with the goblin general to her right.
Using Shadow Movement: Sprint Sapphire emerged from the ground near his legs and jumped to right in front of his face. Unsheathing both her katana she stabbed both of his eyes. The general roared in pain and lifted its arm up which was quickly engulfed in flames. Sapphire jumped off the moment it brought its arm towards its face. The general fell backwards as it hit itself and its head was lit on fire, the inflammable goblin hide giving the fire some great fuel.
As one of the generals roared in pain the other froze in fear, or so Sapphire saw at the least. The general disappeared from its position as she glanced at it, appearing right behind Sapphire. Before Sapphire could react it slammed its metallic club into her, sending her flying as it yelled an order at the rest of the horde.
She landed not far from the majority of the goblin horde and was quickly surrounded by goblins. They cautiously circled and feigned attacks at her, though none actually attacked. Sapphire slowly got back up on unsteady feet. Just as she did she was hit from behind and her head was slammed down on the ground as she felt many arms instantly grab her and pin her to the ground.
Can't. Lose! Sapphire ordered herself.
Before the goblins knew anything they were all lit ablaze and blasted. All of them pushed back from the flames, howling in pain before being slashed to pieces by dark slashes. The general, in the midst of casting dispel on the king turned his attention to the commotion.
"Midnight Wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 29, has acquired skill:
HP: 546/1793, MP: 1435/2730, Stamina: 2113/3143, Strength: 564, Defense: 389, Speed: 1253, Hunger: 31%, Skill points: 0."
"Let's see what you have actually got." Sapphire snarled as she walked towards the general, bleeding from her head, the rest of her body also covered in blood and cuts, the goblin horde having gotten the chance to inflict many wounds.
She tossed her hat and cloak to the side as they hindered her movements to some extent, the tears from stabs easily visible in her clothes. The moon shined on her black hair and ears, her blue eyes reflecting the moonlight, giving them a strange glow.
"Conditions satisfied:
Sapphire didn't notice that as she prepared herself to fight the general, her entire focus on killing them. The general hastened the process of casting healing magic on the king as Sapphire retrieved both her katana, first the older one, then the newer one. Picking up her newer katana she instantly performed a diagonal dark slash aimed at the general.
He quickly sidestepped and dodged the attack, which ended up landing on the king, knocking backwards. The king barked a complaint, furious at the general. The general growled an apology as it turned and walked towards Sapphire with its weapon. As Sapphire walked towards the general a dark blue aura enveloped her. The general gave a quizzical look but disregarded it as a power boosting skill.
The second Sapphire stepped in striking range the general swung his club upwards with all his strength, aiming to knock Sapphire's head off her shoulders, but Sapphire easily dodged it with a nimble back step. The general then brought it down with all his force and smashed it on Sapphire.
Instead of dodging it, which she easily could have, Sapphire crossed both her katana above her head and blocked the attack. The general stared wide-eyed as Sapphire pushed his club upwards after blocking it, knocking him off balance. He staggered a step backwards before falling to the ground.
"Is that all you got?" Sapphire inquired in an ice cold whisper, her katana prepared to land the finishing blow as she stood in front of the general.
The general stared at her in horror as it retreated its free hand behind its body and started casting a spell. The moment he did Sapphire disappeared from her spot, appearing right behind him without the use of Shadow Movement. Slicing his arm off with a fire attack she kicked him in the face with a paralysis attack the second he turned around. The general fell on his face and lay there motionless, failing to gather the courage to continue the battle.
"Pathetic weakling," Sapphire spat.
She raised her right arm and stared at the general as it looked back at her, decapitating it with a dark slash without mercy. Then, she turned to the other goblins who were still waiting for her to let her guard down to attack her.
Fire Magic: Infernal imbuement, Sapphire sighed in her mind as she prepared both her katana.
Flames gathered around both her katana as she used the spell. Then, she walked to the king and general and quickly decapitated them with two dark slashes. After being done with those two, she turned her attention to the remaining goblins. Using Shadow Movement and all her other skills she quickly exterminated all the goblins before her Draconic Power skill deactivated.
Walking back to where her hat and cloak lay she put them back on and sat down right there, all her stats having returned to normal. She felt completely exhausted from all the injuries and blood loss the horde gave her, along with the long battle she fought. She didn't quite have any desire to return to the village and get all the attention like a hero would. She simply wanted to go in a corner of the world and sleep. Having not slept at all in the last two days or eaten well she felt extremely exhausted.
"Midnight wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 30. HP: 378/1210, MP: 73/1840, Stamina: 126/2130, Strength: 382, Defense: 262, Speed: 849, Hunger: 22%, Skill points: 200. List of skills:
Midnight Wolf (female), name: Sapphire, can now evolve. Two evolution options are available: Midnight Wolf (Chaser) and Midnight Wolf (Ambusher)."
Well good that I can evolve again, but I have no clue what I will eat after evolving. I had eaten an entire dragon last time so I doubt what I have will be enough, and I absolutely do not want to eat a goblin, that would be disgusting. Also, can I be informed of the difference between the two evolutions?
"Evolution Info: Midnight Wolf (Chaser); increases stat growth of Speed, Stamina and MP. Midnight Wolf (Ambusher); increases stat growth of HP, Strength, and Defense."
I think I will be taking Ambusher, but not right now, once I find enough food. Sapphire raised her head as her Motion Perception alerted of someone approaching, a few someone at that. This is not going to be fun. Sapphire sighed, letting her head rest again on the ground as she quickly placed her hat back on it.
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Skill Information
Intimidation: Pressurizes opponents to flee and applies the fear effect. Opponents that have been successfully pressurized yield 1.5 times their normal experience and receive a 25% stat decrease.
Shadow Pulse: The basic breath attack of Shadow Dragons, also used by other species such as Midnight Wolves, Shadow Wolves, Shadow Wyrms, etc. Unleashes a burst of energy in the form of a breath attack. Destroys holy objects more easily than other breath attacks. May cause temporary blindness on landing a direct hit on the head (80% chance to afflict blindness).
Paralysis attack: An electric based attacks which disrupts the nervous system of a target. Any creatures hit it with the attack experience a bolt of electricity through their body before their body stops responding for a short period of time. The skill has two attacks, a single target attack, and an area of effect attack. The single target attack has twice the stun duration. The paralysis effect depends on the level of the skill and corresponding resistances of the target.
Dark Attack: Delivers an attack that temporarily blinds those hit by it. The duration of the blindness effect varies based on the level of the skill and the Dark Resistance of the target. Note: Duration of the blindness effect decreases by 20% every time this skill is used on the same target till there is no blindness effect after the fifth hit.
Draconic Power: All stats are temporarily boosted and a temporary elemental and magic resistance equivalent to the skill level is granted. Effectiveness of all skills is also boosted along with reduction in MP and Stamina drain. Regeneration rate of HP, MP, and Stamina are also boosted. The duration of the skill and the boosts are based on the level of the skill. Level 1 grants 10% stat boost for a duration of 20 minutes. Each level increases stat boost by 10% and duration by 10 minutes.
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Spell Information
Infernal Imbuement: Imbues the user's weapons (or hands) with flames, burning the enemies and adding extra power to the attacks.