Max actually tried to get a bit more sleep before setting out for the day, but the best he managed was five minutes of restless dozing before his eyes snapped open again, scanning the shadows for movement. Every creak of a branch, every rustle of leaves had his hand twitching toward a weapon. After repeating this cycle for what felt like an hour, he finally gave up.
With a quiet sigh, he gathered his supplies—potions, strips of dried jerky, a few spare mana vials—and slung his pack over one shoulder. Before leaving, he paused at the mouth of the cave, dragging a tangle of brush and leafy branches into place until the opening was well hidden from casual view. Satisfied, he hopped down from the short cliff ledge his shelter sat on and started west, following faint game trails through the undergrowth. Somewhere in this direction lay the last goblin outpost he’d seen during his travels.
“Still need to find the other two,” he muttered under his breath as he moved, boots sinking into the damp jungle loam.
The camp appeared so suddenly it was almost comical—one moment Max was picking his way up a steep hill along a narrow game trail, and the next he broke through a screen of brush into a clearing just outside the crude palisade. His gut clenched. He immediately stepped back into the cover of the greenery, heart thudding.
Keeping low, he circled to a nearby tree with a good vantage point and climbed, easing himself up until he had a clear line of sight inside the ramshackle walls.
The goblins were busy with their routine. A pair hauled armloads of firewood to keep the cookfires burning, the smoke curling lazily into the sky. Others dragged chipped weapons and dented armor to makeshift smithing stations, where hammer strikes rang out in dull, uneven rhythm. Most, though, simply loitered—leaning on spears, scratching themselves, or staring blankly at the more industrious among them.
When a five-goblin squad formed near the main gate, Max’s eyes narrowed. Four were armored warriors with mismatched spears and swords, the fifth carried a crude bow. He grimaced. The archer had to go first—nothing made a fight more annoying than an arrow through the ribs.
He climbed down, slipped into the jungle, and found a good ambush spot along their likely route. The wait began.
At first, he passed the time by checking his gear—tightening straps, adjusting the fit of his new armor, rolling his shoulders to loosen the stiffness from sleeping on rock. After a while, his mind began to wander. What if they don’t take this trail? What if they doubled their patrol size? What if there’s another archer?
The forest answered him only with the occasional chirp of an unseen bird and the distant buzz of insects.
It took nearly an hour before he caught the familiar cadence of goblin voices and bootfalls. Two warriors moved well ahead of the rest, acting as scouts. The next two followed at a wary distance, scanning the foliage as if they suspected an ambush. Max held still, barely breathing.
Then he realized—he hadn’t seen the archer yet. His eyes swept the underbrush until a faint rustle on his far flank made him tense. A second noise, further away, gave away the sneaky bastard’s position. There—crouched low, keeping a generous distance from the main group.
A good tactic for a retreat, Max thought… but not good enough today.
He charged a mana bolt and loosed it in one smooth motion. The glowing projectile struck the goblin clean in the side of the head, and the archer dropped instantly—dead before he hit the ground.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
[XP Awarded]
[Loot Acquired: Goblin Shortbow – Common | 12x Fletched Arrows]
[Credits Earned: 110]
Max sprinted over, gave the corpse a quick loot, and turned his focus on the two rear guards.
Before he could close the distance, one spotted him and barked a guttural alarm. The lead pair were too far ahead to react quickly, but the rear guards lowered their weapons and charged.
Blink carried Max forward in a flash of light. His sword cut a deep arc across the first goblin’s chest, dropping him in a single blow.
[XP Awarded]
[Loot Acquired: Goblin Iron Dagger – Common]
[Credits Earned: 100]
The second he greeted with a point-blank Fireball. The sphere of flame blasted through the goblin’s armor and erupted inside his torso with a wet whump, splattering gore across the clearing.
[XP Awarded]
[Loot Acquired: Burnt Leather Armguards – Common]
[Credits Earned: 100]
“I’ve got to stop getting covered in guts,” Max muttered, swiping blood from his eyes just as the two lead warriors turned back to meet him.
These two had better gear—reinforced leather, actual steel blades—but his new equipment and stat gains put him well above their weight class. Max shifted to deliver a crippling powerstrike, when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
Danger—behind him.
An arrow hissed past, clipping the top of his ear. He hissed in pain. Where the hell did that come from?
A sword slammed against his guard, forcing him back. Another arrow whistled toward him—no time to dodge. He shoved mana into Aegis Ward. A shimmering barrier flared to life before him, the arrow shattering against it in a shower of sparks.
“Nice try,” Max growled.
He decided to end it now. Channeling hard, he fed mana into his staff, drawing on every boost and enhancement he’d gained over the past weeks. A Fireball swelled in his hands, growing… and growing… until it was the size of a cart wheel, then larger still. By the time he hurled it, it was a blazing inferno easily the size of a city bus.
The two goblins screamed, tried to turn, but the blast engulfed them before they made two steps.
[XP Awarded]
[Loot Acquired: Reinforced Leather Vest – Uncommon | Goblin Steel Sword – Common]
[Credits Earned: 210]
The explosion shook the ground, ripping a thirty-foot-wide crater into the jungle floor. The trees just beyond the blast radius stood untouched, but the air shimmered with blistering heat. Inside the impact zone, all that remained were blackened stumps and a few unrecognizable scraps.
“Yeah… someone’s gonna notice that,” Max said grimly.
They did.
Over the next twelve hours, small goblin groups trickled out from the camp to investigate. Max fell into a deadly rhythm:
First group: He perched in a tree over the trail, dropping down with a blade to the throat of the rear goblin before the rest even noticed. The survivors didn’t last long.
[XP Awarded | Loot: Crude Spear – Common | 2x Minor Healing Potions]
[Credits Earned: 510]
Second group: A well-placed tripwire sent the lead goblin tumbling, and the chaos gave Max time to Blink in and cut them down.
[XP Awarded | Loot: Goblin Leather Boots – Common]
[Credits Earned: 420]
Third group: Max tossed a small Fireball into a bush, the burst of light and heat drawing two goblins away from the others. He took them silently, then eliminated the rest in close quarters.
[XP Awarded | Loot: Goblin Iron Shortsword – Common]
[Credits Earned: 530]
Fourth group: A Fireball in the middle of their tight formation ended the fight before it began.
[XP Awarded | Loot: Studded Leather Bracers – Common]
[Credits Earned: 540]
Each encounter left him a little more tired, a little more bloodstained, but the growing pile of loot—and the dwindling number of enemies—made it worth it.
By nightfall, he was filthy, sore, and grinning faintly at the dent he’d made in their numbers. With a final glance toward the camp, he turned and headed back toward his hidden shelter, already planning the next day’s hunt.
