As the monsters charged toward the panicking crowd, chaos erupted.

"What are we gonna do now!" a man screamed, pulling at his hair, his voice filled with desperation.

"Shit," Lucas muttered under his breath, his sharp eyes scanning the crowd. 'Idiots, just standing there... you might as well be bait,' he thought coldly.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man in his forties broke from the crowd, shouting as he stumbled away. "You idiots stay there! I'm not dying for you!" His voice quivered with fear, and he ran, leaving the others to fend for themselves.

'Smart,' Lucas mused, 'But there are monsters everywhere. Running won't save you for long. Fighting might.'

His eyes caught a glimpse of something useful—a wooden broom lying discarded on the ground. Without hesitation, Lucas seized it, breaking it under his foot to fashion a crude spear. The makeshift weapon looked both reliable and untrustworthy, the jagged edge giving it a savage appearance.

"This'll have to do," Lucas muttered.

Suddenly, the crowd erupted into screams as the monsters broke through, their claws and teeth tearing into the helpless masses. Chaos reigned, and Lucas, crouching low, made his move. 'Now, while they're distracted,' he thought, slipping through the confusion.

Three goblins stood between Lucas and the exit, their attention focused on the crowd. Lucas saw his chance. He drove his spear through the neck of the closest goblin, the sharp end puncturing flesh and bone. The goblin dropped without a sound. Lucas quickly turned to the next, a goblin perched atop a woman, ready to tear into her. He thrust the spear again, this time straight into the creature's throat. Blood dripped from the spear tip onto the terrified woman's face, her eyes wide with fear.

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But before Lucas could take a breath, a low growl came from behind him. He whirled around just in time to see a goblin raising a heavy club, swinging it down toward his head. Lucas barely dodged the blow, the club grazing his arm, slicing through his skin despite its blunt appearance. The club slammed into the woman below, and her final breath left her body.

"Damn it," Lucas cursed, realizing his spear had broken from the force of the strike. Half of the weapon had flown across the battlefield, leaving him with a jagged wooden shaft. He gripped it tightly, heart pounding, sweat dripping down his face. "Shit," he grunted, glaring at the goblin still standing.

In one desperate move, Lucas drove the broken shaft into the goblin's abdomen. But it wasn't enough. The goblin grunted, standing firm, and raised its club once more.

"That's just cheating," Lucas muttered, cold sweat rolling down his face. He forced a bitter smile as the goblin prepared to end him. "In the next life, I want a cheat too."

He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

But the strike never came.

A sudden gust of wind rushed past him, and Lucas opened his eyes slowly. The head of the goblin lay at his feet, severed cleanly. He blinked in disbelief, looking up to find a figure standing before him.

"To smile in the face of death... intriguing," a cold, emotionless voice said.

It was Nyx, standing tall in his dark attire, his mask of emptiness concealing any trace of humanity. He looked down at Lucas, his expression hidden but his presence imposing.

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NAME: LUCAS VYSKAL

LEVEL: 1

STATUS: TIRED, SLIGHTLY INJURED

TALENT: SHARPEN | TIER [ C ]

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Lucas stared at him, still panting, blood on his hands and a trembling in his legs. "Who the hell are you?"