Adam found himself standing in a dense forest, the scent of damp earth and the rustle of leaves around him feeling all too familiar. He wasn't surprised by the setting—dungeons were pocket dimensions, after all. Ending up in a forest, or even in the middle of an ocean, was nothing unusual. What did catch him off guard, however, was being forcibly pulled into the dungeon and the strange system message. None of the dungeons he'd entered during the tutorial had ever done anything like that. And what did it mean by "defeat the invaders"?

Adam frowned, feeling a creeping sense of unease. The system felt like it was playing games with him, and he didn’t like it.

A groan came from behind, breaking his train of thought. “What the hell did you do now?” Ed grumbled; his voice filled with frustration.

Turning around, Adam saw Ed glaring at him, clearly not in the mood for more surprises. "What do you mean, what did I do?" Adam shot back, annoyed. "It was the system. You got the message too, right? Stop acting like this is my fault."

“Relax, I was just messing with you,” Ed said with a smirk. “But on a more serious note, do you have any idea what the system meant by all that ‘invasion and challenge’ business?”

Just as Adam was about to respond, the familiar chime of the system rang out, cutting him off mid-sentence.

[Yous have gained a quest]

Quest Name: Goblins at the Gates

Location: Goblin Forest Dungeon

Quest Description:

The goblins within this dungeon are plotting an invasion of your world. If they escape, untold destruction will follow. It is up to you to stop their leader and seal the dungeon before it’s too late. Fail, and the goblins will break free, spreading chaos and terror across the land.

Objective:

Kill 100 Goblin.

Kill 10 Hobgoblin.

Kill The Dungeon Boss.

Failure Condition: Death or Escape.

Adam read the quest description, and as he did, pieces of a puzzle began falling into place in his mind. The tutorial, the gates appearing all over the world, the way the system had forced them into the dungeon, and the latest quest—they all pointed to one thing. Earth was under invasion by some otherworldly force, and the gates were nothing but Trojan horses, opening the floodgates for these invaders.

The system, whatever it was, had sent Adam and others to the tutorial to strengthen and prepare them for this invasion. The awakened? Likely a failsafe, created by the system to hold off the threats until the players—like Adam—were ready. Or maybe the awakened were simply a byproduct of the gates themselves. Adam couldn't be sure about that part. But it didn’t really matter now. What did matter was that the players' return from the tutorial seemed to have triggered the invasion, and that thought weighed heavily on him.

He didn't like any of it. The thought that the entire world was at risk, that something far bigger than any of them had been set into motion, gnawed at him. But for now, it didn’t matter. He was stuck in the dungeon, and the only way out was to clear it. He'd worry about the rest later.

“So, did you get your answer?” Adam asked Ed, casting him a knowing look. He was certain Ed had come to the same conclusion—he wasn’t the vice leader of one of the great clan for nothing.

Ed met his gaze with a grim nod. “Yeah, I think we both figured it out.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it now, but the good news is, we came here to clear the dungeon anyway. Let’s focus on taking out some goblins for now, and we’ll deal with the rest later,” Adam replied, flashing a grin that Ed found unsettling.

Shaking his head, Ed muttered, “Being simple minded is bliss, I guess.” He didn’t argue further, and the two began exploring the forest in search of goblins.

Ed took the lead. As an assassin during the tutorial, tracking and locating targets had been his specialty. Adam was confident that just like himself, Ed’s abilities had partially returned, though likely restricted by the current level cap. Still, it should be enough for them to find their prey.

Adam’s assumption was correct. After about half an hour of searching, Ed managed to spot two goblins roughly ten meters away, beneath a tree, gathering its fruit. Adam’s grin widened as he stepped forward, hefting his large sword. “Nice work. Now you can sit back and relax while I take care of this.”

Before he could move, Ed grabbed him and yanked him behind a tree, hissing, “Wait, you idiot!”

Startled, Adam raised an eyebrow but quickly calmed down, a realization dawning. “Oh, I get it. You want a piece of the action too, huh? You could’ve just said so instead of—”

“No, you idiot, that’s not why I stopped you,” Ed sighed, exasperated. For a moment, he’d thought Adam had finally put two and two together, but when he heard his response, he realized that might’ve been wishful thinking. “Yes, I want to gain EXP, but think about it—we’ve been searching for half an hour and only found two goblins. Instead of killing them outright, wouldn’t it be smarter to follow them back to their tribe? We could find a larger group.”

Adam was about to argue but held his tongue. Ed was the expert when it came to tracking, so he nodded and let it go. The two hid behind the tree, waiting for the goblins to finish gathering fruit. After a short while, the goblins finally gathered a decent load and began moving deeper into the forest.

Ed, skilled at moving unnoticed, followed directly behind the pair without making a sound. Adam, on the other hand, knew stealth wasn’t his strong suit, so he kept his distance. After about an hour of following the goblins, Adam noticed Ed suddenly stop. Realizing something had happened, he quickly found a nearby tree and took cover, keeping an eye on Ed.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

A few minutes later, Ed turned and motioned for Adam to come closer. Seeing how easily Ed pinpointed his hiding spot—despite his best efforts—left Adam a bit frustrated. The whole hide-and-seek thing really wasn’t his game.

Letting go of his frustration, Adam approached Ed without bothering to hide. He figured there was no point in pretending to be stealthy—it only made him look foolish. When he finally reached Ed, he saw him pointing ahead with a grim expression. Following his gaze, Adam understood why. "Fucking hell," he muttered. About 50 meters ahead was a small goblin hamlet, surrounded by a flimsy wooden fence. At the entrance stood two hulking hobgoblins, guarding the gate.

“Yeah, I had the same reaction,” Ed said, turning to Adam with a smirk. “So, still want to rush in and fight them?”

Adam could hear the sarcasm in Ed’s voice. He was probably expecting Adam to back down. But what Ed didn’t know was that while Adam didn’t love the odds, he didn’t hate them either. He’d faced far worse situations before and come out alive. This wasn’t enough to scare him.

The fence around the hamlet, while inconvenient, wasn’t much of an obstacle. Goblins weren’t exactly known for their craftsmanship. And the hobgoblins standing guard were perfect targets for a hit-and-run tactic. Adam could rush in, kill a few, then retreat back into the forest to lose any pursuers. Rinse and repeat. Each time he’d get stronger, and the goblin numbers would dwindle.

A grin spread across his face. It was risky, but he liked it that way.

Seeing the manic grin forming on Adam's face, Ed cursed himself for even engaging with him. He had forgotten what kind of lunatic he was dealing with. “Alright, stop right there,” Ed interrupted sharply. “I don’t know what you’re planning in that twisted head of yours, but I can already tell it’s a bad idea. So, let me lay out my plan instead.”

Adam, though clearly set on his guerrilla tactic, figured it wouldn’t hurt to at least hear Ed out. He wasn’t opposed to considering other ideas, as long as they made more sense than his own. So, with a sigh, he sat down and gestured for Ed to continue.

Ed’s plan was exactly why he had chosen the assassin class in the first place. His strategy was to wait until nightfall, then sneak into the hamlet under the cover of darkness, silently killing the goblins while they slept. Meanwhile, Adam would start a fire in the middle of their camp, causing chaos and destruction. With their camp in flames, the goblins would scatter, making it easier for the two of them to pick them off one by one.

Adam wasn't sold on Ed's idea. It depended too much on sneaking around and meticulous planning—things that didn’t suit his straightforward approach. When he voiced his concerns, Ed got visibly irritated, calling Adam a barbarian who couldn’t follow the simplest strategy. That hit a sore spot. Adam had dealt with rogue-type players in the tutorial before, always bragging about their tactics and superiority. To him, they just liked to complicate things for no reason.

The argument between them escalated, each defending their approach as the better option. After what felt like an eternity of back-and-forth bickering, they finally reached a compromise, blending parts of both plans.

Their new plan was simple but effective—something they could both agree on. Adam would charge the hamlet, causing chaos by killing as many goblins as he could and making as much noise as possible to draw attention. The goblins would chase him as he retreated into the forest. With the hamlet unguarded, Ed would sneak in, set fire to the camp, and ideally create a blaze big enough to force the goblins to retreat when they saw it, hopefully leaving Adam alone.

Both agreeing to the plan, they gathered a bunch of dry wood for Ed to use when starting the fire. With everything in place, they were ready to begin.

Adam stood up, stretched his limbs, and took a long look at the hamlet ahead. He let out a heavy sigh, mentally preparing himself for the chaos he was about to unleash, then broke into a sprint, charging straight toward the goblin camp.

As Adam crossed the halfway mark, the two hobgoblins finally noticed him. At first, they appeared confused, unsure what to make of the lone human charging their camp. But as Adam drew closer, and the gleam of his sword became visible, their expressions shifted to one of alertness. Despite this, they still didn’t make any move to warn the rest of the camp.

Hobgoblins were smarter than regular goblins, and they should have alerted the others at the first sign of danger. However, being constantly surrounded by the weak and mindless goblins had inflated their sense of superiority. They believed themselves to be at the top of the food chain, and seeing a lone human charging toward them didn't strike them as much of a threat. To them, dealing with Adam would be as easy as swatting away one of their underlings.

That overconfidence would soon prove to be their downfall.

When Adam was just a few feet away from the hobgoblins, he planted his sword into the ground, continuing his charge and dragging the blade behind him. As he neared, he swung his sword upward, sending a spray of mud and sand into the face of one of the hobgoblins, blinding him momentarily. The second hobgoblin, enraged by the tactic, swung his wooden mace at Adam in retaliation.

By all accounts, Adam should’ve been struck—his sword was in still mid-air from the upward swing. But Adam was a veteran of combat. Anticipating the hobgoblin's move, Adam had already begun stepping back, retreating just in time. The sudden backward motion caused him to stagger slightly, but it didn’t matter—he knew the hobgoblin would stumble too.

As predicted, the hobgoblin's mace missed Adam by mere inches, throwing the creature off balance. Worse yet, the missed swing carried through and struck the other, blinded hobgoblin square in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground. Adam steadied himself in an instant, and with one fluid motion, he brought his sword down, severing the head of the hobgoblin who had just missed him.

Turning to the second hobgoblin, now struggling to rise after being knocked down by his own comrade, Adam wasted no time. He drove his sword deep into the creature’s chest, ending the fight as swiftly as it had begun.

[You killed Hobgoblin Level 10 You Gained EXP]

[You killed Hobgoblin Level 11 You Gained EXP]

[You have leveled Up x3]

[You Have Gained Stats Points x3]

[You Learned Dodge Level 10]

[You Learned Novice Swordsmanship Level 10]

[Your Novice Swordsmanship And Dodge Can’t Be Upgraded Due TO Level Limitation]

Adam smiled as the system notification appeared in his vision, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. He quickly allocated 10 points to Agility and another 5 to Constitution, knowing he’d need them soon. His task wasn’t over yet.

Turning toward the entrance, he spotted a small goblin staring at him, eyes wide with fear. Adam flashed an evil grin and darted toward the creature, cutting it down with a single swing of his sword. However, the goblin managed to let out a scream before dying, alerting the others.

A group of about ten goblins came rushing in his direction. Adam grinned—this was exactly what he wanted. But ten wasn’t enough. He needed more. Standing his ground, he waited as the group closed in on him. Some of the goblins hesitated when they saw the dead hobgoblins, fear gripping them. They screamed in their guttural language and turned to run, likely trying to summon more reinforcements.

Three of them, however, kept charging forward, either too ignorant or too dumb to recognize their doom. As soon as they were in range, Adam swung his sword, cleaving one of them in half. The remaining two didn’t even flinch, leaping toward him in a frenzy. Adam was ready. Letting go of his sword momentarily, he sidestepped one goblin, using the movement to build momentum. In one swift motion, he delivered a powerful punch to the second goblin, knocking it to the ground, then grabbed his sword again and swung it, finishing the third goblin in a single blow.

The system chimed in his ear, but Adam paid it no mind. The swarm of goblins charging toward him left no room for distractions. There were so many this time, he couldn't even get an accurate count, and leading the charge were five hobgoblins. Well, my job’s done here, Adam thought, turning on his heel and bolting into the forest. To his satisfaction, the entire mob followed right after him.

Adam paced himself, not running at full speed. This wasn’t a sprint—it was a marathon. He didn’t want to lose the goblins; he needed them focused on him to give Ed an easier time. As he weaved through the forest, he alternated between slowing down and speeding up, giving the goblins just enough hope that they might catch him. In the process, he even managed to kill one of the hobgoblins. At one point, Adam feigned exhaustion, letting the lead hobgoblin get close. The creature swung at him but tripped on a tree root, giving Adam the perfect opening to finish him off. It was a close call, almost getting him killed, but worth the risk.

Adam kept taking turns, making sure he didn’t stray too far from the camp. If the goblins couldn’t see the fire, the plan would fall apart. Just as that thought crossed his mind, a sharp, guttural scream rang out from the mob behind him. This time, it sounded different. Though he knew better than to look back while running, curiosity got the best of him, and when he glanced over his shoulder, a grin spread across his face. The goblin horde had stopped chasing him. Instead, they were staring at the thick cloud of smoke rising from their camp.

One of the hobgoblins barked something, angrily kicking a smaller goblin and pointing toward the smoke. In an instant, the entire mob turned and began rushing back to their camp, seemingly forgetting Adam entirely.

“Well, that fucker really did it.” Adam watched the smoke as it kept rising.