The hunt was not a great success. The few animals seen, more cautious than the were-rabbits on the first floor, fled at the slightest sign of approach. They were luckier in the picking, discovering a few suspicious and bitter berries that apparently did not kill them.

For fear of becoming prey to the Goblins, they had systematically remained grouped, which did not help their enterprise. It nevertheless allowed them to be all together when they discovered a camp.

It consisted of a few huts so crude that prehistoric men would have cried out in disgust and refused to live there. They were made of untanned animal skins and stank horribly. This did not bother the few Goblins present who were happily roasting over a fire some entire quarters of a species of rat almost as big as themselves.

The consultation between the human hunters was brief and they sprang together from their hiding places, each aiming at a Goblin.

Four of the monsters fell in a few blows, unable to defend themselves other than by stupidly raising their hands in front of their faces. The paladin failed to eliminate his own, who joined his comrades: running everywhere to grab any object that could be used as a weapon.

Seven Goblins, summarily armed, faced off. Perhaps they had bitten off more than they could chew in this reckless attack? But this time, the men had learned to cooperate a little more, and they formed a semi-arc to confront the enemy.

You received 4 points of damage

Jules gritted his teeth as the blade of the dagger sank into his side. Yesterday, he would have screamed in pain. But whether it was an effect of the System that would lessen the pain of minor injuries, or an effect of his hunger that paralyzed his reasoning, he contented himself with grimacing fiercely and preparing his response.

You inflicted 19 points of damage

You received 12 points of damage

This time, he screamed in pain. But the monster screamed even louder and staggered, bringing its hand to its shoulder, almost severed by a blow that had left a bloody trail to its stomach. The weapons of the two fighters clashed in vain as they each became more cautious. They launched themselves towards each other again, determined to gut the one facing them. The Goblin lost its life but Jules couldn’t dodge its dagger which sank deep into his previous wound, taking away 10 Hit Points.

Catching his breath, he observed the other fighters.

Pierre was holding firm against three Goblins and had just killed one of them. The others were having more trouble, especially Martin. Considering that Pierre still seemed in good shape, Jules went to assist the healer.

With a violent blow from his staff, the latter exploded the monster's skull before Jules could intervene. For his part, the paladin had finished off his own opponent and began to lend Pierre a hand. Jules therefore headed towards Diego, the magician.

Diego, Martin and Jules' weapons literally massacred the small creature, but it was the first one who dealt the fatal blow since he had the finisher XP. They then turned around to see their comrades each finishing off one of the last two enemies. After a brief inspection of the huts to check that there were no hidden monsters left, they all rushed together on the roasting meat, devouring it with gusto. It wasn't particularly good, but they didn't care.

Finally sated, they began to search the camp for anything useful, designating one of them in turn to stand guard in case more Goblins arrived.

“It’s incredible,” Pierre said to Jules as they searched a stinking tent together, “in just one day, we went from civilized men to primitive hunters. We went from challenging the morality of killing monsters to systematic slaughter and pillaging. I know we have no choice, but what are we becoming?”

“We survive, that's all. On that subject, you were incredible: how do you manage to fight so well?”

Pierre smiled a little embarrassed at the compliment and pointed to a window that only he could see.

“Well, I don't deserve that much credit: with the ‘Parry’ skill and a bit of luck, that's how I get by. I had never handled a sword before now either.”

Oh yes, skills could change a lot of things. Jules tried to observe Pierre’s sheet, but his “Observation” failed. Asking the System for help, he learned that at equal level or against certain bonuses, such as the Goblins, Observation could fail. There was also less chance of success against a target that one had already failed to observe.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Speaking of sheets and bonuses, he remembered that he still had an unassigned point. Rather worried about his life expectancy, he added it to Stamina. Jules immediately saw his Vigor and Hit Points increase by two points. It was… not much. Had he made the right decision? In any case, it was done and he couldn’t go back.

He was distracted from his thoughts by a cry of triumph from the healer. Turning his head in Martin’s direction, he saw him leaning over a Goblin corpse. He seemed to have been busy butchering him with one of their own knives. Was he a sadist?

He brandished a small bloody stone in his hand:

“I knew it,” he exclaimed, “they have mana stones, like rabbits!”

He then explained that it was driven by this suspicion, and not by a morbid inclination, that he had eviscerated the monster. It was still unclear what this could be used for, but there was no doubt that it could have a use, perhaps vital.

The others, rallied by the shout, agreed. However, they warned him against the high tone of his voice which could bring danger. The eleven stones of their recent victims were quickly removed and distributed. Martin received the surplus one for his discovery and because they had to choose a way to decide.

Jules discovered on this occasion that with twelve stones, two of them occupied a new location in his inventory. You could therefore stack up to ten objects of the same type in the same box. Curious, he tried to do the same with two goblin daggers, without success: each was recognized as a separate object while having the same icon on its window. He gave up and got rid of one of these crude objects, keeping the other just in case.

He quickly replaced it in the inventory with a piece of meat, keeping the dagger on his belt. The inventory named the food " Little Giant Rat Meat". He preferred not to think about all that this could imply.

They returned to the stream to quench their thirst and discovered at the same time that they could store about a liter of water per box of their inventory, although taking it out required a container so as not to lose it. Jules then removed his two mana stones and slipped them into his pocket, hoping that they would not fall out as his clothes were starting to fall apart. To collect the water, he hoped that his cupped hands would be enough as containers.

Thus, equipped to face the dangers, the hunters set out in search of the 83 remaining Goblins…

In the following days, they learned to be discreet while moving through the forest and to observe the traces left by the creatures in their path. None of them could yet be called real trackers, but they had all acquired some basic survival skills.

Their hunting attempts were still not very successful, but continuing the experiment until it was successful was too risky due to the probability of coming across other monsters at any moment. So, they abandoned this idea, counting on pillaging the Goblins to survive.

Jules and Pierre surprised two isolated Goblins and finished them off themselves, then they came across a new small camp occupied by a dozen of these things. Better organized this time, they let Diego project a few small magic projectiles from a distance before going into hand-to-hand combat themselves.

One against two, the fight was fierce but ended without loss on the adventurers' side. Camille, Pierre and especially Diego had proven to be the most effective in the extermination while Jules had only killed one monster himself before being helped by Martin to eliminate the last one.

Painfully catching his breath, the warrior considered the 13 miserable Hit Points he had left. Once again, he had come close to death. However, he was beginning to feel more comfortable with his weapon, which was reassuring: he was making progress. Tonight, it was another feast of meat from… no, he preferred not to think about the roast animal they had snatched from the Goblins: his remaining civilized reflexes would make him vomit.

Like every night, they found a corner of the forest away from the Goblins' activities to spend the night. But while they were still on the first watch, they were woken up by a cry of warning from Pierre. Getting up as best they could, without their armor for those who had some, they saw five Goblins who, abandoning all discretion now that they had been discovered, were openly rushing at them.

Jules cursed: he had not yet recovered all his Hit Points and was at 28!

His opponent, lit by the perpetual full moon that illuminated the nights of this floor, seemed to grimace a smile, as if it guessed that its opponent had about as many Hit Points as its own.

Jules received 12 points of damage and inflicted barely 7 in an exchange of blows. More cautious of each other, they each avoided the other's blows the next time despite an attempt at trickery on the part of the Human. Suddenly, Jules lowered his guard and the Goblin rushed forward...

But it was a feint: this time the skill had worked and Jules plunged his sword into the Goblin's side while largely dodging the latter's weapon. Reduced to three Hit Points, the monster staggered. Its grotesque face seemed to express terror and it tried to flee... and it managed to get away.

Determined not to let it escape, Jules set off in pursuit of it through the bushes. He could hear the panting breath of the monster that had exhausted its Vigor, but it nevertheless managed to outrun it. Displeased, the warrior headed quickly towards the battlefield, hoping that his companions would be victorious.

Suddenly, the monster burst out of the bushes behind him, hoping to launch a sneaky attack. But, the sound of the cracking branches warned Jules who turned around and struck immediately.

The Goblin collapsed, practically cut in two. Jules did not stay to snatch its mana stone and joined the scene of the other clashes. The fighting was not over: a Goblin was lying on the ground, but the paladin was in critical condition, the healer Martin trying to heal him while pushing back a Goblin with a bloody spear.

But, as he approached the Goblin, the latter dodged the healer's staff and ferociously planted his weapon in the body of the paladin, at the neck. The unfortunate man suddenly gesticulated, his hands trying to grab the shaft before falling back, inert.

Turning around quickly, avoiding the attacks of Martin and Jules, the monster wounded the first and put him out of action. He then turned its fierce gaze towards Jules, to make it clear to him that he was next and inflicted 8 points of damage, receiving 12 without flinching. Without failing, the monster aimed the tip of its spear at Jules' throat who deflected it in extremis with a masterful natural parry. Taking advantage of the fact that the monster was disconcerted by the failure of this assured blow, he carried out his own and finally finished off the beast.

Paladin Camille Lafayette is dead.

His 53 Points are divided among his teammates.

You receive 13 Points.

The announcement tinged the joy of victory with mourning.