Max waited longer than he expected.

  Perched in the crook of a wide branch, he adjusted his grip on the staff resting across his lap. The morning mist had long since burned away, but the air beneath the canopy still felt heavy, charged with tension. Below him, the goblin camp churned with chaotic, oblivious life—shouting, squabbling, and the occasional scream that passed for goblin laughter.

  And still… the trees refused to fall.

  They creaked. They groaned. But the traps he’d set—trees partially cut, weakened just enough—remained upright, held by fibers of stubborn wood and luck.

  Max sighed. “Any second now,” he muttered.

  To pass the time, he pulled out the Aegis Ward skill orb. The faintly glowing sphere still pulsed with that strange blue shimmer. He’d kept it for days now, never quite figuring out how to use it. But something about today—the tension, the plan in motion, the stakes—made him try again.

  He held it in both hands and focused—not just physically, but deeper. He reached inward, toward that glowing thread of power inside him. Not his mana. Something beneath that. The part of him that responded when he leveled up, when he cast spells with nothing but instinct. His essence.

  The orb responded instantly.

  It pulsed. Then cracked.

  Light spilled out, and the orb dissolved in a flare of soft energy.

  [New Skill Unlocked]

  Aegis Ward – Passive Defense

  When the user is about to take a fatal or critical hit, summon a short-lived magical barrier to block one incoming strike.

  Cooldown: 90 seconds

  Classification: Mage Utility

  Compatible Skill Tree: Lesser Healing, Arcane Shields

  Skill Tree Updated

  [Mage] – Aegis Ward integrated.

  Max sat straighter, eyes widening. Finally—a defensive skill.

  He opened his Mage tab. Fireball and Mana Bolt were still front and center, but now off to the side was Aegis Ward, glowing softly, with a dimly connected node marked Lesser Healing beneath it. It felt like progress. Like he was finally building a real kit.

  Before he could study it further, a low groan rolled through the forest.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Max froze.

  Then—

  CRACK.

  One of the trees gave way. With a thunderous snap, the trunk broke fully and came crashing down—smack in the middle of the camp.

  BOOOOOOM.

  Tents exploded into shreds. Goblins were sent flying. The ground shook like something had punched the planet itself.

  Silence held for a heartbeat.

  Then the rest followed.

  WHAM—CRACK—THUD—BOOM.

  One by one, the other trees collapsed, smashing into the ring of shelters with surgical chaos. Smoke. Screams. Splinters. Dust.

  Max didn’t wait.

  He leapt from the tree, rolled through the underbrush, and sprinted toward the wreckage. As goblins staggered out of the carnage, he was already casting.

  A Mana Bolt ripped into the first one’s chest, knocking it back into a collapsed lean-to. Another lunged at him from the left—he met it with a fireball, which exploded across its crude armor in a burst of flame and fury. He kept moving, dodging debris and stunned survivors, cutting down anyone still breathing.

  It was working. The trap had worked. Most of the goblins were already dead or dying. But then—

  A shimmer at the edge of his vision.

  Max turned—and the Shadow Goblin was already on him.

  It moved like liquid, gliding through the smoke, its black-leather armor blending with the shadows cast by the fallen trees.

  [Shadow Goblin – Elite Scout – Level 6]

  Max barely raised Spitefang in time to deflect the first strike. Sparks flew. The goblin darted back, then lunged low. Max countered with a quick Mana Bolt—but it missed, sailing through empty air as the creature vanished again.

  The next attack came from behind.

  Pain lanced across Max’s shoulder as the goblin’s dagger sliced clean through his robe. He gritted his teeth, spun, and hurled a Fireball.

  This one struck—but only partially. The goblin twisted mid-air and absorbed most of the blast with its cloak. It hit the ground in a roll and sprang up again, faster than Max expected.

  They clashed again—blade against blade. Spitefang hissed through the air, parried twice, then struck a glancing blow across the goblin’s thigh. The creature hissed and vanished into shadow again.

  Max pivoted, breathing hard. “Come on…”

  The goblin reappeared right in front of him.

  Max swung.

  The goblin dodged, ducked, and raised its dagger for a final strike, one aimed straight for Max’s heart.

  Then—

  FWOOM.

  A translucent blue barrier snapped into place between them. The Aegis Ward flared to life, catching the dagger mid-swing and stopping it cold. The goblin’s eyes widened, thrown off balance—

  Max didn’t hesitate.

  He twisted his hips, brought Spitefang around in a brutal arc, and drove the blade clean through the goblin’s neck. The creature’s body hit the ground before its head did.

  Max dropped to a knee, panting, shoulder bleeding.

  But there was no time to rest.

  A fresh wave of goblins had heard the chaos and was pushing in from the trees. Max gritted his teeth, wiped the blood from his brow, and surged back to his feet.

  These new goblins were nothing special—Level 2s and 3s with shoddy weapons and terrified expressions. Max cut through them like smoke through fire. Mana Bolts dropped them mid-charge. Fireballs shattered what little formation they tried to hold. One by one, they fell.

  Within minutes, it was over.

  The goblin camp lay in ruins—trees smashed through the center, tents torn apart, bodies scattered in twisted heaps. Smoke curled upward from burned cloth and charred limbs.

  Max stood alone in the center of the wreckage, blood on his hands, breath ragged, but alive.

  And victorious.