“Mr. Jordan, how do you plan on fighting more than 250 goblins by yourself?”

“While I was working for my boss prior to the world going to hell I developed a set of skills, A set of skill that will make me a problem for those goblins. I don’t plan on fighting them. I will bring the whole building down on top of them.”

“What about the girls?”

“The map showed that they were in a bathroom in the in the back corner of the building. I will break through the wall and evacuate them beforehand.”

That map gave me all the information I needed. I look through my storage to make sure I had the item necessary to make them all suffer. Since there is no more gasoline, I will have to make do with something else.

My plan was fairly simple. Save the girls, trap them in the building, then set the building ablaze.

“Do you know fire magic? Setting a large building on fire would require an advanced spell.”

It seems Vera was in my head; she was beginning to piece together what I had I planned and how I was going to do it. “No, but I have a plan,” I answered.

She had a puzzled look on her face, but I didn’t have time to explain. It was about 12 pm now and the goblins would be in their deepest sleep cycle right about now.

“Vera, I want you to stay here, keep the door locked and don’t let anyone in.”

“Why? Why can’t I come with you?”

“It’s too dangerous, and I don’t think you will be fast enough. Please trust me. I didn’t forget our promise.”

She was reluctant, but she agreed at the mention of our promise. I felt bad about treating her like a child and made a mental note to do some leveling with her in the near future. I prepped her lunch before I left the room and made my way to the front gate.

There was a lot of commotion outside. People were buzzing about like ants. Some were in full gear others were getting ready, and some just looked completely lost. Looks like Daniel wasn’t kidding about the big hunt party. However, I had my own mission and I wasn’t going to be a part of this.

I made my way to the exit gate and the same guards that were there when I first arrived let me out.

After waking out of there sightline I took off. It was my first time running at full speed, but it was clearly abnormal. I wasn’t very fleet of foot, to begin with so the feeling of the air pushing against me was a feeling I wasn’t familiar with. I was sure I exceeded at least 20mph.

The street I was running down was littered with abandon cars, like every other street I've been on thus far. There weren’t as many bodies as I was getting used to seeing, likely because of the school being established as a shelter so close.

It was a heavily residential area, so my left and right were all single-family homes. After running for ten minutes I arrived at the top of the street which was a four-way intersection. On the edge of the neighborhood, things became more commercial once you made your way across the street. The department store I was looking for was the largest and only stand-alone building in the shopping center. It wasn’t a big plaza and only had four stores. I didn’t have time to stop in and raid any of them; I wanted to prioritize those girls.

I didn’t forget Sarah’s request.

I ducked behind cars and bushes as I made my way towards the entrance of the department store. The front door was an automatic glass door that was shattered and glass fragments stained with blood covered them was scattered across the entrance way.

I expected bodyguards, but there was none. My detect life confirmed that this was the home base of the goblins, it picked up the presences of close to three hundred different lives. I used all the assassin skills in my arsenal including my silent step to quietly make my way through the front door. My danger sense was also going off, but the alarm was very dull. When I peeked in all the goblins confined themselves to the darkest areas of the store so there was none close to the entrance. I used my night vision and enhance vision to confirm they were all sleeping.

The odor in here was horrid; it would put a landfill to shame. I gagged and instinctively covered my nose. Inside the store wasn’t for the faint of heart. They used the bathroom just about anywhere a piles of dung and puddles of urine caused me to have to watch my every step. There were also human carcasses half eaten laid about with rotting flesh and flies buzzing. I did find the bare bodies of multiple females. Naked stretched across the bare floor littered with scratch marks lying in a dried puddle of blood. They were all dead and likely died due to the strain the goblins with their vile habits put on their body.

But, death was a compromise compared to have to live through this hell.

I quietly proceeded into the store as quietly as I could. I began taking the things I needed out of storage. The first item was a large bottle of acetone, which women use to remove nail polish, but this was an industrial canister. This was among the items I got when I raided the hardware store and it was an unnecessarily large two-gallon bottle probably used by painters.

I unscrewed the lid and the powerful odor wafted through the air but was buried under the unpleasant stenches already present. I began pouring it on the floor from the entrance and proceeded as deep in the store as I could. I began to find goblins soundly sleeping on top of each other in large pods of 10-20. I couldn’t blame the thief that came here for never wanting to come here again.

I noticed quickly that Vera was right. Among the goblin grunt, there were slightly larger ones.

Goblins Lv 11

Goblins looked a lot like the goblin grunt but the came up to about my abdomen while the grunt only came up to my waist.

I continued pouring the acetone through the store getting as close to the pods of goblins as I could.

I managed to do it without waking a single goblin. There were a few close calls where I had some bounce of the floor and a few drops splashed on one of the grunts, so I quickly hid my presences until it fell back to sleep.

I ultimately finished four canisters of it and three jugs of cooking oil before I was satisfied.

Honestly, if this place wasn’t so filthy the strong odor would have alerted them.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

After I was finished, I quickly returned to the entrance. I needed air!

“That was awful.”

I gasped and sucked in as much fresh air as I could trying no wash out the stench of inside that store out of my notrils.

Iron Stone Wall.

I activated my spell and created a wall eight feet high and four college textbooks thick. Positioned it directly in front of the door to prevent their escape.

I circled the building and found all the alternate exits or emergency exits and seal those as well. The building was a single story so I didn’t have to worry about them seeking refugee on a different floor.

On to step two.

I identified the wall separating the girls from their sanctuary and pulled out a sledgehammer. I didn’t feel any movement on the other side, but I did confirm forty lives.

I pulled a sledgehammer I had out of storage and using the power of my body strengthen.

Bang!

I slammed it into the wall. I felt the people inside jumping and getting farther away. I aimed toward the bottom two feet of the guard. I managed to chip the concrete wall.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

I was aiming at the same spot repetitively, after five hits a baseball size hole appeared where I was aiming.

The crying of women reached my ears. They were deathly afraid that whatever was trying to get through the wall was not a friend, but a foe.

“Hey, my name is Jordan I’m here to rescue you. Please get away from the wall. Is there anyone in there that is unable to walk on their own?”

Yelps of excitement sounded and they began to cry amongst themselves.

“Yes, two, but we can help them,” The response came from the voice of a mature lady, but it sounded weak and fatigued. “

“Listen do not come across the hole until I say it’s safe. Does anyone know where Central high school is?”

“Yes, it’s where I go to school,” This response came from someone slightly younger than me, but the fatigue was still clear.

“Ok, head there as fast as you can. Stay together in a large group. Help the weaker ones I will cover your back but please go as fast as you can. I’m sure I don’t need me to tell you what will happen if they catch you.”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

I continued slamming the hammer around the edge of the hole I created enlarging it ever so much. It grew to the size of a dog door and then the size of an oven until I was about on par with a refrigerator.

“Come on injured first please.”

The 1st person to come out came with the assistance of two other women. Her leg was in bad shape. She has a compound fracture, her distal femur was completely snapped in two, and it was coming through the skin. Her foot was black, was clearly limb ischemia. Any doctor from our world would only recommend amputation. To lose a foot in this time was the equivalent of death.

The second injured came out was in better shape. Her ankle was swollen, and she was hoping on one foot. It looked like a broken ankle.

But they both need treatment sooner than later.

I began feeling the goblins stir inside. It was only a matter of time before the banging and the commotion in the bathroom woke them up.

They had guards or perverts; depending on who you ask stationed right outside the door.

After the last girl was out I began feeling them push back on the wall I used at the front door to trap them in.

“Go quickly!”

I was impressed that they managed to stay together and didn’t abandon one another.

I turned my back to them and made my way to the front of the store.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Something was banging against my wall.

And it was not a goblin. The force it was generating was far above what a goblin was capable of.

I kept glancing behind me to make sure that the last of the women were out of my sight. I wasn’t 100% sure this was going to work, and I didn’t want them to become a victim of my mistake.

But my wall wouldn’t hold up much longer, but before I knew a small hole was pierced in the center.

Goblin General Lv 23

Once he put his eye up to the hole my appraisal skill was about to identify what it was.

I verified that the last of the women were out of my range, I pulled one of my machetes from its sheath and in my other hand, Since my level of fire magic was low I use up a majority of my mana generating a softball size fireball.

I launched it at the hole the goblin general created and the stone that I also drenched in cooking oil and acetone light ablaze like a candle.

The fire spread quickly, climbing up the walls like a snake before the entire building was completely set ablaze. I heard the shrieks and cries of the goblins and it brought joy to my heart.

Bang!

The wall I created was weakened by the fire and with one my slam it completely shattered.

Ahhhhhhhh!!!

The Goblin general emerged with a roar filled with the rage of a hundred bulls.

My AR display showed his health bar was half gone and dipped into orange. His body was badly burned, but the adrenaline in him was pushing him to continue.

Behind him, Goblins began pouring out. They were in even worse shape and their health was in the red.

There were about 20 of them. There were full on goblins, ranging from level 11 to level 17 and three were level 19.

I pulled my other machete and took a combat position.

I used a lot of mana to generate that fireball and would need to recover more before I could depend on my earth magic here.

The silver lining was their rage was focused on me and they didn’t pursue the girls.

AHHHHHHH!!

With another roar from the general, the goblins charged at me. There fangs and claws were their weapons of choice. The three-level 19 goblins stood at the side of the general and they were holding baseball bats.

“Those must be his high rankers.”

One of the goblins reached me before his comrades and was vertically bisected. I kept moving around, I couldn’t let myself get surrounded.

None of the jobs I leveled up were really met for close combat, and I was only fighting them with the overwhelming difference in base stats and my skills.

Two more jumped at me through the air and met my right and left blade respectively before hitting the floor with one less limb.

I was carefully monitoring my mana, it was rising ever so slightly. I didn’t want to expose myself to mana exhausting here, so I wanted to have more than enough to cast my spell.

Another goblin began its reckless charge at me and I held the sharp side of my blade in his direction to aide in his suicide attempt.

Now!

I stood still waiting for them to come in close.

Earth surge!

I activated my spells and stone stalagmites rose from the earth impaling the bodies of the goblins. Their body hung in mid-air while their blood dripped to the ground.

Only four left.

They charged at me and I dashed towards them. I used my speed to avoid the goblin aides to get to the general. The same tactic I used with Mr. Penguin. I went up for a vertical slash as he looked up in horror as my blade came down to end his life.

But, These Goblin were no rookies at fighting. One of his aides pushed him out of harm's way at the cost of his life. The general tried to use that was an opening to attack me and swung the sledgehammer in his hand down at my head.

I stepped back and the hammer hit the pavement with a resounding bang. My counter attack slashed through his bicep separating his arm and hammer from his body.

He stepped back and fell to his knees in pain. He gripped his shoulder where his arm used to be with his left hand and the blood profusely continued pouring out through his fingers.

He looked up at me with red eyes as he gritted his teeth fantasizing about ripping me to shreds.

“In my world, we call this karma. Now go to hell,” I spat at him.

I readied to deliver my final blow before his aides rushed in to stand in my way.

Gahhhh!!

One of them yelled at him and he snapped back to reality.

He grabbed his hammer with his other hand and made a run for it. I was ready to set chase, but the resolve in the goblins eyes told me they would die before they let me go.

“I’ll gladly oblige.”

Earth Lance.

Two large lances pierce their chest cavity before they could take a step forward. Blood came up out their mouth as their bodies fell to the floor.

“Don’t think I’ll let you get away.”

The Goblin General was no longer in my line of sight, but my detection skill told me that was only because he ran behind a building, but he was hauling ass.

“arghhh,” I screamed in agony, I was suddenly assaulted by a massive migraine by the like I’ve never felt.

My vision became blurry. I turned and attempted to run back towards the school while trying not to stumble over my own two feet. My consciousness was fading and I didn’t know why. If I fainted here I there was a chance I would never wake up again.

I clumsily stayed on my feet running in a straight line banging into cars and rolling from one to the next.

I kept running until I felt the presence of life.

I couldn’t tell if it was friend or foe I could only hope. I ran in its direction until I knew I was in its line of sight.

“help,” were the only words I managed to get out before I felt my body hit the hard asphalt and my vision went from blur to completely black.