“It was rushing at you from the right side.”

Logier grunted as he threw a punch in the direction I mentioned. The Stalker halted and dodged to the right side, displaying its superior nimbleness.

Logier’s fist missed its mark.

The Stalker initiated a retaliation. A bone pike poked out its palm as it pushed its hand towards Logier’s ribs.

I rushed ahead with the shield poised to block while assessing the situation in my head.

Logier was way off balance due to missed punch. He’ll have to take that fatal strike unless I lend him a hand. There’s no way it’ll survive a punctured lung, even if it’s a powerful orc. I couldn’t let him die, or else I’ll also die. That Stalker definitely won’t let me go.

The gap between us closed in an instant. This movement speed surprised even me. I wasn’t this fast before.

What’s happening?

Despite there being an ample of questions that needed answers in my head, I couldn’t spare the time. There were more important things to do at that moment.

With a swipe of my arm, I knocked the shield against the outstretched knee of the unsuspecting assailant.

“Kahhh!!”

A horrible screech that grated on my nerves came out of its cloaked head. The Stalker backed away a step and kneeled down, cradling its injured knee.

Goblin Stalker

HP: 40/50

As expected, it was indeed a goblin.

I stared at the characters floating above the head of the robed monster. It was not English, but I could easily understand what it said. That frenzy attack caused it to lose one-fifth of its total HP.

It was a surprising result, that which even I didn’t anticipate.

This goblin had a high attack but low defense, like those typical rouge or assassins from games. Attacking its knee, which should be a vulnerable spot, also helped.

Confidence filled me as I found a way to kill it.

“Where is that imbecile?” Logier’s bellows echoed off the walls, resounding the hollow tunnel.

Unlike me, he didn’t have [Infrared Vision], and therefore, couldn’t see the Stalker in the dark. I became his eyes.

“Two steps away in front of you. He is kneeling.”

Logier acknowledged with a grunt before launching an ax kick.

The Stalker had no chance to dodge because of its knee injury and took the full brunt of Logier’s heel on its head. The force behind that kick pushed it to the ground with the orc’s foot firmly planted on its head.

That was the turning point of this battle.

Logier wasn’t an amateur like me when it came to fighting. He finally managed to have a firm grasp on the goblin. How could he let this chance slip?

“Got ye!” He planted his knees on the goblin’s back, pushing his weight on the monster. It kept the goblin pinned to the ground.

“Take this! And this! This too!!” Logier rained unending punches on its head, causing its blood to fly and paint the ground.

Pain-filled moans together with gibberish words came out of its mouth.

But my eyes were on the series of red characters popping over its head.

[-5]

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[-8]

[-4]

Those were its rapidly decreasing HP. Logier’s punches were doing some serious damage.

In a matter of few seconds, Stalker’s HP fell below 40%.

It gave out a furious screech and tried to fight back. However, Logier was too much for it even do anything. It could only struggle in vain as Logier turned its face into a meat paste.

I was keeping track of the HP bar hovering above Stalker’s head. The quest demanded that ‘I’ should be the one to finish it off. Thus, I had to last-hit before Logier took its life for good.

Sometimes later;

You have killed a [Variant adult goblin: Goblin Stalker]

+50 Evolution Points

Quest [End the Stalker] Complete.

You have killed the Stalker that tried to take your new friend’s life.

You have obtained:

All stats +2

+1 Skill upgrade

Do you want to retrieve the rewards?

YES NO

I spat in disgust at the smudge on the ground that used to be a deadly assassin before turning towards the series of notifications.

“Ahh!” Logier groaned, sliding off the goblin’s body and laying down on the ground. He hyperventilated, taking in large gulps of air into his lungs.

“Tired?” I asked. He seemed to be oddly out of shape.

Someone who could kill a horde of goblins after fighting with a floor guardian shouldn’t be this tired after punching a few times.

“I am suffering from… a curse… that’s right, it’s a curse.” His voice was feeble and barely audible. It even cracked a few times before he could finish.

“You’ll be fine, right?” I knew nothing about curses or whatnot. I could only pray that Logier could get over it on his own.

“Mhmm. It will last for the next few circles. I’ll be fine after that.”

I nodded, then stumbled over to a corner before plopping on the ground, leaning against the wall.

Like Logier, I was also dead tired. That aside, my everywhere was hurting. After the rush from the adrenaline was gone, all the pain came at once. Thanks to the four points in endurance, I was gritting through the pain without making much of a fuss.

I just wanted to rest.

But before that, I used some of the regained stamina to undo the shapeshift.

Soon, my eyelids became heavy, and slowly, I drifted off to sleep.

I had a dream.

In that dream, I was held in the arms of a woman. A man was standing next to her, looking at me.

Both their faces were blurred.

Suddenly, the woman’s arms tightened around me. She seemed to be anxious. “Do we have to do this?”

“This is the only way.” The man’s voice was heavy and full of remorse.

“Why does it have to be $%$#?” I missed the name she mentioned. Suddenly, her words became gibberish and hard to understand. “Why can’t we take him with us?” She questioned.

“I don’t know. They said only we two can go there.” The man answered.

“I don’t like it.”

And then my dream ended as I woke up abruptly.

Goosebumps crawled over my dry skin as the bits and pieces of that dream replayed in my eyes.

Who are those people? What are they talking about?

Such questions filled my head and threw my heart into turmoil. I never had such a dream until now. It was so vivid that I even remembered that woman’s warmth when she hugged me.

At the time, [System]’s notifications entered my eyes.

I remembered I hadn’t retrieved the rewards of the quest yet. Before that, I took a look at my attributes. HP and Stamina bars were full.

With confidence, I pressed my finger on the [yes] option.

Receiving Rewards

All Stats +2

+1 Skill Level

The familiar pain returned, but this time, it was somewhat endurable. At least, I was not wreathing in pain.

A few minutes passed like that, and gradually, the ache subsided. I felt the changes in my body.

Strength filled my muscles while they seemed to be more agile than before. I felt like I could run miles without getting exhausted. Curiously, I looked at stamina.

4.5 had become 24.5.

No wonder I felt like I’d never get tired. The massive twenty points growth was the reason behind that illusion.

Suddenly, I had an urge to throw a punch at the wall, then see what happens. It was such a weird desire.

As a grown man, I suppressed such childish desires. At the very least, I’ll do it later when Logier was not around.

I found the next message floating seamlessly in the air.

Choose a skill to level up.

1. Infrared Vision Lv 2

2. Shapeshift Lv 0

3. Beastial Diet Lv 0

4. Cleanse Lv 1