So there was a eleventh goblin I didn’t see.

  He turned to Sam and shouted, “Sam! Turn around and use [Fire Nova] behind you! DO IT NOW!”

  He was happy to see that Sam didn’t hesitate and did it quickly, firing a nova behind him. The fire caught a stealthed goblin assassin unaware. Alex saw him follow up with fireballs and continued to attack the assassin before it could close the distance.

  He knew what he needed to do next. Turning his focus towards the Goblin Shaman, he unleashed two wind slashes and summoned more wind blades while he ran towards it.

  The creature stood four feet tall, wearing a dark robe. It had its hood pulled up and bore a staff slightly taller than itself. The goblin looked straight out of an evil wizard tv show.

  The wind blades did little. The shaman had some kind of barrier, similar to the mages'. But his first wind arc cut a large gouge out of its shield, and the second cut through it, causing it to shatter. Alex came in right behind them, his sword wrapped in wind mana.

  The shaman hadn’t been sitting idle. When the shield dropped, it unleashed a torrent of fire like a flamethrower, right towards him. Using his [Celestial Control] and [Fire Magic] in combination, he parted the flames and ran up the middle. Slashing his sword forward, in a straight up and down motion, he launched a wind arc right down the middle to help separate a path in the flames.

  Within melee range, he raised his sword above his right shoulder and brought it down on the shaman, who raised a staff to block the blow. It didn’t have much strength, but Alex hadn’t put his full force behind it, only using one hand. Honestly, he hadn’t expected to be blocked by a caster with no shield spell.

  A grim smile spread across the shaman's face, and it raised its other hand, channeling some kind of dark mana Alex hadn’t seen before. But he could feel it was not rainbows and butterflies.

  A dark cloud of magic funneled out of it and started to converge, surrounding him. Alex pushed all his mana into his [Wind Magic] and [Celestial Control]. He used both to try to keep the dark mana away, flooding the air with a fierce wind to keep it clear.

  It was going down quickly, but his mana was still holding, for now. Alex struck with a combination attack. His blade slashed hard from the left, using much more strength than before, causing it to push the goblin's staff away. A thrust came shortly after. Before the tip made contact, fire mana was channeled into it. The weapon ignited in flames as it penetrated the creature's chest. The shaman wheezed and coughed up blood, dying seconds later.

  But Alex felt… off. Something was wrong. He fell to his knees as they gave out, and he pulled up his notifications.

  You have been afflicted with the skill:

  Torment the Weak

  Inflict a curse upon your target, reducing their stats by 30% and causing a moderate amount of pain for 10 minutes.

  Skill can only be used on someone who is the same level or lower than the user.

  Shit. That black cloud of mana must have reached me and caused this curse.

  Alex thought, trying to get back on his feet. He felt a lot weaker, and his whole body was wracked with constant pain. Gritting his teeth, he pushed through it, wincing from the effort. Standing, he quickly checked to see how the fight was going.

  Derek had gotten in front of Korgrith, protecting him while Sarah healed his wounds. He was currently fending off a skirmisher's arrows and a Raider.

  Sam was still fighting the assassin, but he looked to be winning; the goblin was slowing from his burns.

  And Rykos had just finished off the 2nd Skirmisher, and was moving towards the third, which should relieve pressure from Derek.

  They’re doing well. All strong fighters, and they’re making sure to pull their own weight, even Sarah.

  Alex had seen her run towards Korgrith immediately when he got shot, and he felt the shield skill she used on him. He didn’t know its specifics, but he could see the shield around the minotaur with his ability.

  They didn’t really need his help anymore, so he watched and waited. The curse would have made fighting difficult and painful. It took another few minutes for them to wrap up the fight. Sarah had fallen back to heal Sam after he finished the assassin.

  Derek had finished off his Raider and watched as Rykos found the last Skirmisher. Korgrith had been healed and kept watch in case more came.

  “Quickly loot everything, coins and cores included. We can distribute the loot after we move. We’ll reposition farther from our camp, so they don’t follow us.” Alex said to them.

  He watched them all loot all the goblins. Alex himself didn’t bother with it much and kept watch; he trusted they would share if they saw something he could use. He did loot two goblins beside him, curious on what he could get. He quickly look the coins and cores from both, digging them out quickly and with efficiency he hadn't had in the dungeon. One goblin gave him four coins, and the other five.

  After they were done, Sarah used her [Minor Cleanse] to remove his curse, at a severe mana cost for her; the spell wasn’t cheap. He then cast his Wind Enhancement on everyone, and they moved quickly into the forest. They went the opposite way, away from their camp, but they stayed semi-close to the edge of the forest, where he could go look for another group.

  They found a clearing and waited. Discussing it, they decided to repeat what they had done and kill another group. It took a bit for him to recover his mana, though, after using the wind enhancement on them all.

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  After his mana had regenerated, he set out looking for another group. A bit of time passing, Alex eventually found seven of them wandering through the forest. He went slowly, ensuring there were no stealthed goblins nearby, and inspected the area thoroughly. Satisfied there weren’t any, he acted weak again and lured them back.

  The group went down smoothly. It didn’t have a shaman or anything too dangerous. It was composed of Raiders, Warriors, and Skirmishers. They quickly looted and moved again, rinsing and repeating this twice more before something changed.

  Killing all those patrols together earned everyone a level. All had gotten to level 8, except Rykos, who was almost there, and Derek said he was nearly 9.

  Alex, on the other hand, had not leveled to 10 yet. He knew he was extremely close, though. He could feel himself on the cusp of it. The next group should do it for him.

  But of course, nothing could last forever.

  As they sat there resting, they heard a tink, like the sound of a pebble hitting a window. Everyone turned towards the sound. Sam was picking up an arrow from the ground, looking confused.

  Before anyone could say anything, Derek cried out in a groan of pain, followed by him calling out, “AMBUSH!”

  An arrow had been shot into his back. While it didn’t look too deep and the placement wasn’t too bad, it was still painful and would slow him down. Sarah had immediately stepped up to pull the arrow out and heal him while everyone else took defensive positions around them.

  He had felt the arrows disrupt the mana in the air too late, but he saw the stealthed assassins coming into his range. He shouted, “SAM! NOVA THE LEFT SIDE!”

  Alex went towards the right side, aiming for the other assassin he saw. “Everyone behind Derek! Derek shields up for the archers!”

  They followed his orders like a well-oiled machine. Though even if he hadn’t said anything, they probably would have done similar; they’re a strong team. While Alex was moving, he summoned four fireballs, sending three into the forest where the arrows came from, and the 4th fireball towards the creature.

  He didn’t know if his first three attacks hit anything, but the fourth did hit the assassin, bringing it out of stealth. He immediately imbued fire into his sword and followed up with two flame slashes aimed at the goblin. One hit, one missed.

  The fireball and flame slash dealt heavy damage to the assassin, who hadn’t expected to be hit while stealthed. In melee range, the monster swiped at him with its dagger, but it was burned and weakened. He parried the strike with ease and slashed his sword through the goblin's throat.

  After the assassin was killed, he moved back towards Derek. Alex could see into the forest with his [Eyes of the Cosmos], and he knew what was coming.

  After Sam killed his assassin, he rejoined them as well. Quickly after he did, when his team was all gathered back in the middle of the clearing, a larger group of goblins came out of the forest, one of them being very large.

  Counting them, Alex saw 18 goblins remaining, after the two assassins were taken out. There was one commander, two shamans, five raiders, five warriors, and five skirmishers.

  Shit. This isn’t good. I don’t think we can win this. Just that commander alone is a problem enough, but he’s also got two shamans and a whole group.

  The only thing I can think of is soloing the commander while the team takes out its minions. He thought, trying to come up with a plan.

  I can’t let that commander run around freely; I can feel how dangerous he is. He's in a league of his own compared to anything I’ve fought. Even higher than Zhiva.

  Decision made, he ran towards the commander. While sprinting forward, Alex channeled his mana, throwing out fireballs like a July Fourth fireworks show. He needed to wound as many of the goblins as he could. It would help his team stay alive if they fought weakened or slowed enemies. When he got a bit closer, he even copied Sam’s [Fire Nova] skill and sent a wave of fire into the midst of the goblins.

  “I’ll handle the commander! Focus on the other goblins!” He shouted to his allies. Alex was pretty sure the commander understood him. The commander found it amusing, he assumed, since a grating, grinding noise came from the commander, reminiscent of laughter. The creature also turned to face him, ignoring the others.

  It was a huge goblin. While not quite Korgrith’s height, it was about seven feet tall. It wore a full suit of metal armor, though most didn’t match, and it was poorly made, but sturdy-looking. The commander also wielded a mace and shield.

  So it's some kind of tank, like Derek. I might have to rely on magic to get around it.

  Goblin Commander (Level 10)

  Goblins are a race considered to be the scourge of any planet. Basic goblins are aggressive and not intelligent. They only care about killing, looting, and breeding. This goblin variant is a Commander. The commanders are the nominal leaders of a goblin army, under a General, and are always stronger than their soldiers. They’re intelligent, ruthless, and will never allow their subordinates to retreat or surrender.

  This commander is also level 10, just like the last I saw. Is 9 to 10 such a big difference? His mana, power, and strength all feel leagues above any level 9 I’ve met. It's like comparing a puddle to a stream.

  Will I get a large boost when I level up, too? He considered this as he squared off against the commander. It seemed content to let Alex make the first move. He couldn't see any fear in its eyes, nor hesitation.

  It knows it's stronger than me.

  Alex could hear his friends engaging the other goblins, but he couldn’t focus on them now. Staring down the commander, he knew this was going to be his toughest fight, and yet he didn’t feel afraid. He felt… excited. He wanted the challenge, no, he needed it.

  Smiling, Alex launched forward toward the goblin commander. He summoned an earth magic spike directly under it, trying to pierce its leg and throw it off balance, but the earth spike simply shattered instead. Undeterred, he used the earth magic to wrap the commander's feet, holding them in place. But again, it merely lifted its feet, breaking the stone encasing them.

  So Alex moved on to fire. He summoned five fireballs into the air around him, all at different angles, and sent them towards the goblin. It raised its shield, causing three of the fireballs to slam into it and disperse, while the other 2 hit the commander. One in the leg and the other on the side. Alex didn’t notice any discernible damage, except for a little scorch mark on his armor.

  Shit.

  Next up was wind, and it did slightly better. The wind blades he launched at the commander left only shallow scratches on its shield and armor. One even drew a little blood from the goblin's shoulder when it hit between his armor plates, but it was just a superficial wound.

  Melee it is then.

  Alex channeled the wind mana through his body and sword, enhancing his speed and allowing his blade to cut more efficiently. Closing the distance and holding his sword with one hand, he planned to test the commander's defenses and how much damage his sword could do.

  He struck out with a slash, striking the boss's shield on purpose. His attack bit into it better than the wind blades had.

  Not bad. If I put more power behind the blow, I could cause serious damage to it. But he wouldn’t give me the time I would need.

  Even with Alex’s enhanced speed, the boss kept up pretty well. Its armor wasn’t hindering its movements.

  Is it because he’s level 10? It must be a serious boost. Between his heavy armor and my wind enhancement, I should have been leagues faster than him.

  The commander swung down with his large mace, trying to flatten him. But luckily, Alex was still a little quicker and was able to dodge. The weapon slammed into the ground.

  I need more speed. He decided to spend the free stat points he had been saving: 4 points went into agility and 2 into willpower. He immediately felt the difference.

  The gap between their speeds widened slightly more with Alex adding the extra stats. His wind enhancement amplified the new agility points. They helped him stay ahead of the commander, but it wasn’t just speed the goblin had; it was everything. The strength from his blows seemed enormous. That first missed strike had slammed into the ground, sending dirt flying everywhere. If that attack had landed on Alex, he would have been finished.

  Before the commander could strike again, Alex attacked its arm with his sword. This time, he put more force behind the strikes, using two hands. The slash still only cut into the armor a little. It was nowhere near enough to reach the commander’s skin.

  So I can’t just cut through his armor; I need to stop trying to brute-force him and think this through smarter. How do I get through metal or armor? How would you do it before the integration? He asked himself.

  A plan started to form in his mind, though he wasn’t sure if it would work.

  It's the only option I can think of. I just need to hope the others can handle the rest of the goblins. This is going to take me a while.

  Alex could already see that the bleeding from the wound he had given the commander had stopped. Alex tilted his head, cracking his neck, and let a big grin spread across his face.

  Alright then, no more toying around. Let's go, asshole.

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