The next grocery store was much the same, albeit filled with goblins. Apparently, since the two grocery stores were across the street from each other, there was a war going on between the goblins and orcs that somehow turned to a stalemate, despite the orcs being much stronger in power.
The store was guarded by hundreds of goblins. Most wore the standard rags and simple weapons of the goblins he had faced prior, but many wore rawhide and even poorly shaped boiled armor and carried proper weapons, though they were rusty and unmaintained. It was the first time he had seen this many goblins in one place, and he hadn’t even made it inside yet. As soon as they saw him, the fight was on. Each of them threw themselves at him with abandon, and he immediately moved into action.
He slaughtered goblins by the dozens as a set of twin swords carved through the bodies of the weak goblins. Even the armored goblins weren’t much of a fight. They were barely as skilled as the untrained orcs, regardless he ended their existence with little effort. Derek used thunderwave to end many when they started surrounding him, which basically meant he was using it as fast as he could gather the mana. His swords never missed an enemy, they were everywhere, it was impossible to miss. It was almost like they leapt in front of his sword to die. As he made his way into the shattered entrance, the density of the horde increased as he carved through goblins. He gave up trying to advance and just moved around near the entrance, allowing the goblins to die on his blades. Dozens died every few seconds, and the numbers added up quick as he had to move around the parking lot to avoid tripping over small piles of bodies.
When he saw the horde thinning out, he approached the entrance and more goblins flooded outside. This wave held mages mixed into the group, but they spent more time hitting their own rather than hitting him. It took almost a solid hour of fighting for the horde to have gaps in it. Eventually, everything was dead within his sight. He slowly entered after half-climbing over a pile of bodies.
A pungent odor of spoiled food permeated the air, a stark reminder of the store’s former purpose. Frankly, it smelled like hell’s outhouse. In the distance, the indistinct murmur of goblin voices echoed through the hollow space, growing louder as Derek ventured deeper into the store. He passed the customer service desk, its surface littered with abandoned belongings and a thick layer of dust, a silent witness to the panic that had ensued.
The entire store was devastated. The massive horde of goblins had quite literally eaten everything. Only undigestible metal cans were left, as every possible scrap of food was consumed. The goblins didn’t discriminate where they voided their bowels. Leaving the floor covered in feces.
As Derek approached the meat department, the smell only amplified, leaving Derek wondering how the smell could possibly get worse. The butcher’s counter, once pristine and gleaming, was now a macabre display of goblin butchery, with crude cuts of unidentified meat that looked too much like human limbs hanging alongside the yet-to-be-butchered victims. At least they were dead, and hopefully, they didn’t suffer.
When he made it to the back of the meat department, a throne made of water bottle packages had been assembled. Derek paused, taking in the scene before him with a warrior’s calm. The goblins, oblivious to his presence, continued their grisly feast, their crude laughter echoing off the tiled walls.
With a grim determination, Derek readied his weapon, the weight of it comforting in his grasp. The battle that awaited him was inevitable, but he was resolute in his purpose. The store, a microcosm of the world’s fall from grace, would soon bear witness to the cleansing fury of his blade.
On the makeshift throne sat a powerfully built goblin being tended to by other goblins, some who wore nothing. Goblin females, judging by their anatomy. Others also served. They were different, as they were covered in armor that had somehow been fitted with makeshift plates of metal that were long since rusty. Derek could only see this as Jabba the Hut and his entourage.
With his attention focused on the Jabba the Goblin, it was too late when Derek noticed the mages. The indistinct quite murmur of the mages wasn’t discernable amongst the hundreds of goblins. A wave of mana caught his attention, as he turned to face the source, a wave of purple and black energy slammed into him. The force of the wave sent him tumbling across the slime covered floor. The wave wasn’t only a force attack, it held powerful curse and necrotic energies that caused his exposed flesh to start rotting and the curse sapped his energy and strength.
Derek’s tumbling only stopped when he crashed into a set of shelves against the wall, they collapsed and crumpled with a metallic scream of agony. Not unlike the feeling of Derek’s face and hands rotting as blood vessels were exposed and puss formed on the surface of his skin as his body tried to combat and isolate the necrotic flesh.
His internal mana instinctually fought against the curse energy. But Derek had more concerns as goblins piled on him tearing at his flesh with makeshift weapons crafted from the shelves. Derek couldn’t even manage to summon any mana for a wave attack, the curse energy of two dozen goblins flowed through him, and his own mana occupied with the internal fight.
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Derek covered his head with his arm, not stopping the attacks directed toward his head, but slowing them as their weapons pounded against his armor. The spell was wreaking havoc on his body. The only thing he could do was curl into a ball, protecting his head from the onslaught of goblins. He was helpless without his strength and without his mana he was useless.
Recalling his training, he turned his attention inward and started drawing mana into his body. Goblins were weak, probably the weakest. Even with the power of dozens, the magical attack wasn’t enough to put Derek out of the fight. It was the nature of the attack that caused the most harm. A spell with the intent to turn him into a rotting pile of goo was hard to fight.
He had failed to adequately scan the room for threats. After killing so many goblins, he didn’t even think that he could be hurt. Thinking himself above the disgusting little creatures. But they proved him wrong. If these had been anything other than goblins, he would be dead. The goblins weren’t strong enough to get through his armor nor smart enough to cause a critical injury.
The internal battle continued. His mana slowly pushed back the curse and forcing it out of his body. Derek moved his mana through his body, pushing back sections at a time. Using just enough mana across his body to halt the curse’s progress, he used the extra to push the curse back gaining ground. The more curse energy he pushed out, the faster he was able to push the next section. It felt like it took hours to clear the curse from his body. Then as the last dregs of the curse vanished, he focused on eliminating the necrotic rot. His mana reinforcing and amplifying his healing.
By the time that all the negative energy was gone and his body on the mend, he only realized, then, that the goblins had stopped attacking him. His armor beaten and battered, causing his movements to be met with resistance and his muscles forced the armor to further warp. Jenny was going to be pissed again, the thought had been an idle one of his exhausted mind.
Opening his eyes and looking around he saw the horde of goblins standing around him. His weapons gone. He would have laughed, but the goblins suddenly threw themselves on him again, but without the spell sapping his strength he was up and moving, albeit slower than before. A minotaur’s greatsword appearing in his hands, his hands already in motion carving through the first rank.
Derek created corpse piles, his strength sapped, his mana weak. He retreated, slowly, backing toward the door with each swing of his sword. He needed to recover. A few minutes of rest would allow him to re-engage and tear them apart. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance. As the goblins realized he was trying to flee and started flanking him. Pinning him down in place, his sword ceaseless blurring through the air, ending lives.
Fighting defensively, he was slowly able to regain his mana. Though his strength wouldn’t recover until he could rest. Derek waved his sword, sending a blade of flame flying across the distance. The bright flames killed some, burned others, and left the rest blinking the spots from their eyes. Giving him a moment of respite, he stopped swinging for an instance, while the goblins recovered.
The momentary break helped, but not by much and soon he was right back into it. Derek didn’t ever think they would run out of cannon fodder to send his way. When Derek’s mana recovered enough for another spell, an array of ice spike blasted across the distance sending dozens to their grave.
Eventually, the last of the cannon fodder died, but Derek didn’t even pause as the group of mages, who were preparing a spell, was cut down before they could release their mana construct.
The last goblin to even move was Jabba the Goblin, and Derek sent him to hell by tossing his sword into the goblins chest. The sword flipped twice in the air and plunged to the hilt. Derek almost collapsed right there, his weakness feeling amplified.
After reclaiming his sword, he left the cesspit without preamble. Derek escaped the store sat against the wall in a rare place absent of corpses.
Congratulations:
Over the course of seven battles: You have killed 531 goblins, 194 goblin warriors, 49 goblin shamans, 36 goblin mages, 1 goblin warlord, 241 orcs, 42 orcs warriors, 18 orc shamans, 20 orc mages, and 13 minotaur.
Rewards:
50,029 experience
24,446 credits
Congratulations:
You have gained 4 levels and reached level 22.
+4 stat points
+1 milestone point
Congratulations:
You have received the title: Goblin Slayer (rank 5)
For killing: 2000 goblins
Goblin Slayer: You are a known enemy of goblins everywhere. Warning: Your reputation precedes you. Nearby Goblins will actively seek you out for revenge.
Reward:
+9 stat points
Jeez, he was turning into a murder hobo with all the combat. There must be some kind of boost for killing hordes of enemies. Six levels in one day was either amazing or terrifying. He used his new stat points. His body rolled with power as his body was recalibrated with the new points. His body healing as energy and mana flooded into his system. His sensitivity, capacity, and control of his own internal magic amplified with the additional four points. Then used his milestone point on physical ability.
Milestone Ability
Draconic Reflex:
Your reflexes are enhanced to a supernatural degree, allowing you to respond to threats in a fraction of a second. This might mean dodging a blow, deflecting an arrow, or catching a thrown object without even seeming to look. This superhuman reflex taps into your dragon lineage and its inherent agility. Lasts for 15 seconds, can be used once every 6 hours.