A man fueled by anger and hatred was hunting down hobgoblins within the darkness of the park. Then there were five. Jason was perched right above them as they didn’t notice his presence. This was the last time he was using Shadow Hide for these five. Although he saved a lot from not using Minor Heal+, yet his EP was at its lowest. He couldn’t afford to use it since there are a dozen of them waiting for him at the tribal camp.

Jason was calm as he drew his bow. His Basic Archery had leveled up to level three giving him an accuracy boost up to thirty meters. He was gaining confidence in using the bow. Silent but deadly. One went loose as his hand was quick as he nocked another arrow. One fell down and the other four scrambled. Jason followed the back of one of the hobgoblin. He already determined his next target. He released it.

Swoosh.

It struck right at the back of its neck. Jason shot two more arrows making sure it stayed down. His head looked around for other potential victims.

“Kiii,” the war cry of a hobgoblin rang. A hobgoblin jumped from another tree branch swinging its rusty mace. Jason jumped up and the hit smashed the tree branch into pieces. Again, he exhibited another mid-air shoot. It struck it on the shoulder but the hobgoblin was relentless. It looked up and saw Jason falling down. It readied itself and prepared to swing. Jason couldn’t draw as he was falling. He was still not skilled in handling a bow and arrow in any sort of situation.

Jason frowned to an idea.

His hand glowed in light green. He swung three times as crescent projectiles flew and struck the hobgoblin. The projectiles cut it into pieces as its limbs fell down and the torso into two. Jason landed on the ground.

Two more.

He was just about to search for them but a scimitar slashed right at him. A heavy pressure landed on his body as he was pushed at a distance. He felt a minor ache to his side as he stared at the hobgoblin wielding the scimitar. Jason peeked at his energy guard and noticed it went down by one-tenth. It wasn’t bad but he was hoping not to use any healing for the leftovers.

“Come,” he said.

The hobgoblin charged while Jason nocked an arrow and shoot. The hobgoblin blocked it by putting the wide blade in front of its face. Jason was surprised with wide eyes. The horizontal slashed came at him. Jason ducked and let go of his bow.

Don’t mess with me.

He punched right at the right side of its ribcage with a left hook. Slamming it like Tyson. His forty-six strength was nothing to joke about. The hobgoblin flinched as it didn’t know what was coming. It didn't expect a weak-looking human who resorted to sneaky tactics being able to punch like this.

Then all of a sudden its vision was parallel to the ground. Jason connected the liver punch with another hook slamming it right at the side of its face. Bringing it down to the ground. Jason didn’t stop and drew his bow. A shot to the head as he finished his job.

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Then there was one. Jason stood as he looked around. It might be going for an ambush like the rest of them. But as he waited, it didn’t appear. Jason hid once more with Shadow Hide. He made his way to the tribal camp. He had grown accustomed to the night. Yet the moment, the light from torches appeared, he squinted his eyes. It dazzled his eyes as he blocked with his hand. Jason climbed up a tree taking advantage of higher ground. After his vision adjusted, he saw a hobgoblin talking with the Copper Hobgoblin. Judging from how frantic it was, he assumed it must be the last one.

Can I reach it?

Jason wondered as he pulled the string of his bow. He carefully aimed at the frantic looking hobgoblin. He didn’t know whether he could shoot accurately since he had a hard time telling the distance. But his instinct was telling him he could. rather than instinct, it was the confidence boosted by the Basic Archery skill. Even without his knowledge, his subconscious mind knew the distance was just right. Slowly, he let his fingers go. The arrow flew through the distance tearing apart the night air. Then, it hit.

Bullseye.

The hobgoblin turned limp as it fell to the ground. The Copper Hobgoblin stared at the direction of the shot. It started yelling as a dozen hobgoblins gathered. It pointed towards Jason but unfortunately for it, Jason had already moved to another tree branch.

Three hobgoblins were sent out to searched that area. The three hobgoblins looked around while sniffing with their noses. Those three were close to Jason. He won’t let this chance pass by as he shot all three of them one by one as they fell to their death. The Copper Hobgoblin noticed its troop dying. It sent another three and Jason made short work of them. A blue window screen appeared once more.

Jason’s level increased to level 18

He had been killing them and finally after close to three dozen kill counts, he finally raised another level.

Five points to stamina.

He didn’t waste time and threw another five points to his pathetic stamina. Killing those hobgoblins with all the jumping and dodging while trying to maintain focus really sapped his stamina for both mind and body. The fatigue was building up. He watched over from above as he waited for the hobgoblin to act. Fifteen minutes passed and neither did anything. The Copper Hobgoblin has no intention of sending its kin to its death as it noticed the prowess of this hunter.

Soon, he detected movement from within the camp. A woman was yelling as she was dragged out from the fenced area. Jason observed with watchful eyes. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw what they were doing. Grinding his teeth, he was utterly enraged by their action.

The helpless woman was butchered starting from her feet. Her screams and wailing echoed within the park. A horrendous sight to see and Jason was riled up seeing this spectacle. The woman was dead by the time it reached her pelvis. Those other people trapped in the fenced area were horrified seeing such thing in front of their eyes. Some scream in horror while some fainted just from seeing it. It was a cruel way of ending one’s life.

Yet even after death, the hobgoblin didn’t stop butchering the corpse. It was humiliating the human race and Jason was engulfed by rage seeing this ongoing. Out of reflex, he drew his bow. The distance was farther away as it was deeper into the camp. Jason didn’t think twice.

Five points to dexterity.

For some reason, he felt something within the arrow he was holding. The three fingers holding on to the string let loose as the arrow flew. The speed was different. Jason could feel the difference. The points allocated was worth it. An arrow struck the middle of the hobgoblin’s head. The Copper Hobgoblin saw its kin dropping lifeless on the ground with an arrow stuck in its head. It started to get nervous as if the whole camp was within the shooting range of Jason. A needless assumption as the shot he took was a lucky one. Even Jason couldn’t believe it.

The hostages fell silent as they saw one more of this horrific being dropped dead. They wondered whether the cavalry had arrived or not. But the savior they expected didn’t come. This savior of theirs only attacked these creatures from within the darkness of the park. No matter who this savior was, they only hoped that they would come and save them faster.

The Copper Hobgoblin was frustrated by this slippery enemy, it took out something from within its robe and placed it on top of his wooden staff. A dull yellowish color gem. It muttered something in its strange language as it then struck the other end of the staff to the ground. A pale yellow shock wave was released as it hit Jason before he could do anything. It was fast and it caught him by surprise. The yellow gem crumbled into pieces as Jason was in for a surprise.

He checked himself from top to bottom with his eyes wide open. He hoped nothing happened to him. Thankfully he didn’t find any injuries. But then, his sight turned towards the big ball of flame heading towards him.

Oh, shit.