He moved to the landing that led up to the next floor. “There is supposedly a goblin here in one of the rooms. I need you to try and occupy them or take them out until I can get there. Nobody goes after the flesh golem alone.” He looked at her and could see that the weight of fighting a morgon was taking a toll. “Look at me.” He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “We’re going to be fine, morgon or not. I promise, I have your back, and I’m a man of my word,” he said with a thumbs up.

  “You’d better keep it to.” She smiled back, seeming to calm down slightly.

  “Erik, I need you to handle the other goblin on the floor with Reina. Chances are, when we start the fighting, the others will rush down to meet us.”

  He nodded in affirmation. “I can do that.”

  “We need rest and will attack in the early morning.”

  * * *

  Rook crept up to the the stone tower, it was a simple stone construction and the foundation leaned to the left like a drunk. Long ago, it may have been a standing pillar for the religion, but now, in its dilapidated state, it was unfit for anything, let alone worship. Yet, it was a fitting place for the goblins occupying it. He buttoned up a hooked coat around a doorway, careful not to make noise. His sneak skill was almost halfway to maxing the copper rank, and the lower-level goblins shouldn’t be aware of his presence, unless he trips. Why did I think about tripping? Heel, toe, heel, toe.

  Stones littered the floor from the ceiling above, while roots and vegetation grew through the stone floors below, making sneaking an endeavor.

  The first floor was once a place of worship. All around, strange symbols were placed in the middle of each wall. A hand holding an unblinking eye. The ground was littered with rubble from the ruined stone floor, and patches of grass broke through where nature took back over.

  “How long has this temple been occupied? He thought.

  Just as the map layout indicated, a significant portion of the support pillar collapsed, creating a low wall that separated the bottom floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the sneaking forms of Erik and Reina move into the entryway and wait for his command.

  Rook crept behind the low wall, careful to keep his noise discipline. He padded the floor with his hands as he crept. Hand, foot, hand, foot. Just above the top of the uneven wall were loose stones and rubble from where the support column broke off. The ammonia smell of waste and body odor indicated that he was close. Risking a cautious peek, Rook lined up three marble-sized projectiles on the wall, with the three heads.

  He surged his atramancy, and the telekinesis spell launched the first bearing into the unassuming goblin’s skull as he was digging in his ear with a pinky. The other goblins stumbled back as their companion fell into the fire. They stood wide-eyed, looking up to the sky for falling debris, as their companion’s body grilled. Rook lined up his shot, feeling the echo off the goblin nearest, and he hit the next one in the eye.

  “Gwak, Guk?” The last goblin said, scratching at his head.

  Before it had the chance to figure out what was happening, Rook sent another bearing flying forward. Directly into that one’s skull, cracking it open and spraying the contents on the ground. Three shots, three goblins.

  He crept over towards the fire to loot the trio. The first was a male with brown-green skin; his face was marked with white paint beneath its slit eyes. The next one had a golf ball-sized hole where his eye used to be. The third’s skin was as black as coal as he cooked on the fire.

  His mana nearly fizzled out from that exchange. At least it’s getting easier. His mana bar was near empty, and now, so he downed a mana potion. As he drank the sweet-tasting mixture, the headache subsided before he could feel the slight tremors of mana depletion. Thank God for Nectar of the Gods.

  Rook crept forward and nearly jumped out of his skin as he met face to ugly green face with a goblin. He quickly shuffled back, holding up his mace.

  Command presence offered a calm analysis of the current situation. Running him through all his past training, both in and out of the military. I still have cover, but I have no mana. Scanning the nearby surroundings, Rook eyed the ground where a pothole stuck out like a sore thumb. Able to gather his thoughts, he smiled. That should do nicely.

  The goblin paced, shuffling forward in a stance not unlike a practiced Bo staff user. Cautiously, the goblin raised the spear towards Rook. “Give up,” the goblin growled. Its guttural voice grated on his ears, unlike the more refined, gravely voice of Rix and his two cronies.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Rook held his mace behind his leg out of sight, in a stance used when he was trying to de-escalate the situation. “Alright, you got me fair and square.” He held up a hand in mock submission. Take the signal. Rook thought, praying that party members would understand that this was the distraction.

  The goblin let out a gleeful squeak before throwing caution to the wind and walking forward. Rook held his breath; the rest would be up to luck. It stepped right into the trap, and. Its slit eyes went wide with a mix of pain and surprise as its leg went deep into the hole and locked the joint in place, snapping the ankle. The goblin yelped in pain, falling forward with waving arms. Now. Before it could hit the ground, Rook chambered the weapon like a baseball bat, and with an upward swing, the studded mace struck the goblin right above its pointed nose across the eyes. Its body fell like a sack of potatoes. He raised his weapon up and struck it again on the back of the head. Once, twice, three times, until it was a bloody mess.

  Would you like to auto loot?

  Y/N

  Yes.

  You have obtained

  Health Potion x2

  Crude Iron dagger (copper)

  Crude Goblin Spear (Bronze)

  500 Silver

  Wilds goblins killed x4

  +100 experience gained

  600 experience of 650 until level 11

  “Hell yeah,” He stared down at his hands, happy about his steady progress. “On to the next one.” Taking the handkerchief Reina gave him, he wiped his face of the sticky black blood. “Pretty soon, I’ll have fuck you money,” Rook muttered, looking at the inventory of almost fifty gold. He paced up the stairs to find Erik standing opposite, across a gap.

  “Nice of you to join us.” Erik pointed a sword at a pair of charging goblins, one with a sword and the other a spiked club. They were pale, the color of a muted gray. Spiked club was bald, except for a touch of hair on the back of his head, giving him a radish look. The sword user had a mop of wild, shoulder-length black hair, like a reject rockstar.

  “Where’s Reina?!” Rook asked frantically, looking around. His question was answered in an unfortunate way. Reina was on her butt, her feet tied with some type of snare trap. She was scrambling near the edge of the floor above, holding her sword out towards a crooked-backed goblin wielding a handaxe. He swung wildly at something in the air.

  “I’m coming!” Rook pulled the stamina potion from his inventory and chugged the green contents. He wiped the remnants of the fruity mixture from the corners of his mouth. His body was filled with energy, and he zoomed up the stairs. Puffing a breath out, he readied himself, sprinting around to reach Reina.

  He was behind the goblin, gleeful that it had the upper hand. Not thinking he got within range to see the scabs and hairy moles on the back of its neck, once again taking the batter’s stance. He wound the mace back, and the goblin turned just in time to get the business end of Rook’s mace to the side of its head, with a sickening crack. The goblin dropped to the floor like a discarded toy.

  Reina breathed out a sigh of relief, like she was holding her breath. “Damned trap!” Reina exclaimed, sawing at the rope, to no avail. The rope was glowing with a mysterious blue hue.

  “Wait, it just looks like it’s magically bound. Hold onto my neck,” Rook said, crouching down. When she wrapped her arms around him, he stood up, cradling her. “We’re gonna run to Jody’s axe, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said with a nod.

  She’s never been this close to me. Rook looked her in the eyes and quickly turned away. So not the fucking time.

  The foundation of the ground shook. Earthquake? Rook lowered his stance to absorb some of the shock. Behind him, Erik cursed softly. Rook glanced at him to see the initiate’s face first on the ruined floor.

  “What’s happening?” Rook asked.

  “It’s the Morgon and its handler,” Reina said, her arms squeezing tight to Rook in an attempt to steady her shaking hands.

  “Okay, I may need to intervene with this one,” Jody said, tapping the rope with his axe.

  The magic dispelled with a pop. The dwarf smiled at them and gave a smug look. “That’s a good look,” he said, with a chuckle. “Oh, and by the way, the rope’s been undone.”

  Rook looked down at the rope, then to Reina’s unbound ankles. Dammit all. He set her down and cleared his throat. Jody walked around the corner of a ruined wall and out of sight.

  “Remember the plan. No mana until we see the capability of the Morgon,” Rook said.

  “To me!” Erik bellowed, with his arm out for the spirit falcon to perch. “That’s enough, good work.”

  Reina stood just behind Rook, comforted by the grip on his shoulder. “So much for a stealth mission.”

  The glare of the bright cones of sunlight pierced through the shattered rooftop, and it was easy for Rook to see why this place was taken over by cruel nature. The rattling of a heavy chain dragged down the stairwell leading to the floor above. They turned almost in unison and readied themselves for a fight. First came the Morgon.

  The flesh golem looked like a poor imitation of a human. The very existence made Rook sick to his stomach, despite the command presence keeping him calm. The abomination gazed at them with one shiny, round, black eye, unblinking from beneath folds of skin, piled and stitched into a round shape, making its head. Its body, marked with glowing blue symbols Rook couldn’t identify.

  “To answer your question, Rook, that’s the morgon.”

  Rook eyed the chain of rusted and jagged-linked iron. The heavy metal was attached to a goblin in purple hooded robes, worked with lines of intricate silver. It created a design of heaven, Rook thought. The goblin walked down the stairs with the swagger of someone holding all the cards. In this sense, the card was an ugly golem.

  Without warning, the goblin dropped the chain leash, kicking up a massive cloud of dust into the empty space. The golem walked forward, dragging the chain behind until it stood in front of Erik.

  “You… You’re an abomination, and by my word as an initiate of the All Power, I’ll destroy you.”

  Rook credited Erik for the sheer toughness he showed against the morgon, holding it off with only his sword. For every wild strike it swung, he cut it twice with glancing slashes, like an accomplished swordsman. His spirit falcon would be useless with the mages still alive.

  Erik wouldn’t be able to keep up the fight forever, unlike the morgon, and Rook knew it. “I just need one shot, it’s fine if I get silenced.” He grabbed a marble-sized piece of rubble and held it tight in his enclosed fist.

  Reina shook her head. “You do realize, if you get silenced, you could be put to sleep.”

  “It’s better than being dead, if we don’t kill them.”

  The goblin bellowed in fury, casting its spells to control the flesh golem. The robes it wore billowed from side to side as it swung the wood staff in overhead circles. Its eyes were in a trance as it muttered some incoherent language of its rolling tongue.