“Aghaaaa!”

The sharp, unrelenting pain of a shattered bone radiated through John’s body, his mind overwhelmed with signals that screamed for him to stop. To flee.

‘Run!’

‘You’re not made for this. Run! Get out while you still can!’

‘You didn’t choose this. You’ve done all you can—no one would blame you for leaving. Run before it’s too late!’

The battlefield roared around him. The goblin leader’s guttural cry pierced the air like a death knell. Sweat and blood stung his eyes, blurring his vision, but he couldn’t shake the voice in his head.

‘Run, John. Use your talent and run!’

He turned his head, looking around. All he saw was destruction, blood, and the desperate cries of those still alive. The number of monsters was overwhelming. The goblin leader was strong—unbelievably strong. Strong to the point of despair.

He had been thrown into a test, forced to fight desperately. Then he had been led to a dungeon, where he battled for his life. Later, he faced mutated animals, where a single lapse in focus could have killed him. And now, here he was again, fighting. Desperate. Outmatched. A losing battle he never chose.

Again and again, he was pushed, shoved into danger, forced to fight. To end one beast after another. There was barely a moment to breathe. And now, this.

‘Run, John!’

But he was still here, wasn’t he?

‘Run, John! Just... run!’

And yet, people like him were fighting here. Dying here. For what? What made them fight to the end? Why?

‘Run, John! Don’t look back!’

But I can still fight.

‘You’re only one person. Don’t think. Don’t hesitate. JUST GET OUT OF HERE!’

Looking back now, wasn’t life easier without monsters, without talents?

John’s mind raced with conflicting thoughts. Then, his heart skipped a beat as he remembered—the bloody scene after he defeated the mutant monkeys. He saw the fear in the villagers, forced from their homes by soldiers and police, unaware of the true threat.

He thought of his fellow agents, bloodied, injured, and killed, fighting to protect the innocent. He imagined what would happen to his family if another outbreak occurred near their home. Would he want other agents to flee? Or to fight to the end to ensure his family’s safety?

Of course, he blamed the BMI for sending only twelve agents to handle an outbreak. But now wasn’t the time for blame.

Now was the time to decide. To run or to fight?

“Help! John, help me take the goblin leader down. I can’t battle him alone!” The energy-user agent was struggling under the constant onslaught of the goblin leader. His voice—his scream—was hoarse.

His plea for help was the push that changed John’s decision.

“SCREW IT ALL!”

John let out a shout—a cry of defiance. Even though logic screamed at him to flee, he couldn’t just let someone die in front of him while he could still help.

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It wasn’t in his nature. Even if it might be the worst decision... Even if it might lead to his death. He chose to fight.

“You piece of trash. See how I kill you!”

Within a heartbeat, the second effect of his talent activated.

Strength 13 → 18 Agility 16 → 16 Flexibility 10.5 → 15.5 Vitality 12.5 → 17.5 Intelligence 12 → 17

A surge of strength and control overwhelmed every other sensation. The extra vitality lessened the pain. His leg stomped into the ground as he launched himself forward, drawing a deadly arc with his sword.

Ding!

A loud screeching sound echoed as a long wound slashed across the goblin leader’s chest. The attack forced the goblin leader to take a step back, giving the energy-user agent a moment to breathe.

“HAAA!”

John let out another cry as he redirected his sword, hacking at the monster once more. But the goblin leader used his halberd to block the strike.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Hack, slash, sweep. Attack after attack. John poured all his frustration, all his anger, and all his pent-up emotion into the fight. But every strike was blocked. And worse, the goblin leader’s armor repaired itself, the runes on it glowing brighter as it healed it.

Suddenly, the goblin’s other hand gathered elemental energy and hurled it at John. The distance was too close to dodge. The fireball magnified in his vision as his pupils were constricted to dots.

“Be careful!” The energy-user agent conjured a shield around John just in time.

BOOM!

John was sent flying, crashing into the ruins of a house before struggling to his feet. The shield had absorbed most of the impact, but not all of it.

Spitting blood to the side, John stomped forward as he ran at the goblin leader again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Zigzagging and avoiding the incoming projectiles, John and the energy-user agent fought back and forth with the goblin leader.

Instead of just front assault, John cycled the foe, trying to deal damage from the side or back. But it was of no use. Either the armor blocked most of the damage or the injuries healed at incredible speed.

Time was ticking, and the energy agent was struggling to maintain this consumption of energy.

‘The runes… these freaking runes are the problem.’

The goblin leader roared, its crimson eyes blazing as it swung its halberd in a wide arc. John ducked under the swing and surged forward, slashing at the creature’s leg. His blade connected, slicing through flesh, but the wound began closing almost instantly.

“It’s healing too fast!” John yelled. “We need to hit it harder!”

The agent responded with a blast of concentrated energy, striking the goblin leader square in the chest. The force of the impact staggered the creature, and for a brief moment, it faltered. John seized the opportunity, driving his blade into the gap between its armor plates. The goblin shrieked in pain, its movements becoming more erratic as it thrashed to dislodge him.

But the moment of advantage was fleeting. The goblin leader’s wounds began to heal even faster, the runes on its armor glowing brighter as if feeding its regeneration.

“John, behind you!” the agent shouted.

John twisted just in time to see a smaller goblin lunging at him, its rusted blade aimed for his back. He sidestepped and slashed in one fluid motion, the creature collapsing in a heap. The brief distraction, however, cost him. The goblin leader’s halberd came down in a crushing blow, creating a long wound across his back.

“Aghaaa!”

Another pain. Another excruciating pain.

The energy user placed another shield on John for the follow-up attacks. But suddenly the goblin ignored John and launched himself at the energy-user position.

“NOOOOOOO!”

John rotated himself and dashed desperately after the goblin leader, but it was too late.

The halberd tip pierced the agent’s chest.

Drip! Drip!

Blood dropped to the ground as the goblin leader exerted more force.

“DIE!”

John's sword penetrated the goblin back.

“Go... TO… Hell!”

With the last of his power, the agent unleashed all the remaining energy at the goblin leader’s face.

With an unhuman growl, the goblin leader trashed about sending the agent flaying. John pulled the sword out of its chest and attacked again at its neck.

The sword left a gush on the back of its neck. Just as John tried to push for another attack, the goblin rotated itself, and element energy on the tip of the halberd clashed with his sword, sending him skidding across the ground.

“Aghaa!”

Beraly Standing up, John saw the goblin leader looking at him dead in the eyes as its armor’s runes lit up, healing its injuries.

“I—I can’t let you heal.” John clenched his jaw as he was ready to round two of the attack. Alone this time.