I counted around four hundred goblins who had left their fortress to look for the moronic scouts. The defenses of the fortress were low at the moment. I could unleash an attack there and weaken their numbers even more, but I hesitated in doing that. I only have the same amount of arrows now, after all. With the weapons in hands, the goblin kids wouldn’t just watch me doing that.

  ‘I guess there is a bit of conscience inside me left. Not like I am thankful for it now.’

  I was almost certain that I was going to regret this, but it was better than becoming a cold blood killer. I imagined that Carlos wanted to exterminate all the goblins in this fortress since he didn’t see them as anything but mindless beasts. But I wondered if he would change his mind once he heard them talking. I at least didn’t want to let others decide for me if those creatures were all mindless beasts or enemies.

  Regardless, I didn’t have to get all philosophical now, so I headed in the direction the monsters headed to. After less than five minutes, I was able to see the sea in the distance and a group of goblins returning… It looked like they were the guards who left their positions, but the main force was still nowhere to be seen.

  There were sixteen of them… apparently, they had four guards in each gate and that was a number that would be difficult for me to handle by myself. I silently moved to the side of the area through the grass to leave their path, but I still turned around when I could see them from the sides.

  ‘No point in only taking risks that are too small. No pain, no gain, I guess…’

  While nocking an arrow, I used my free points to increase my strength. I didn’t want to risk using more than one arrow per enemy if I wanted to survive this, after all. The bow and pull of the bowstring felt lighter than before and my confidence in my aim increased… It was just a fraction of a second, but I felt that I aimed faster than usual thanks to that.

  I released the first arrow and soon nocked the second. At that moment the projectile hit the head of the first target. The result had been quite gruesome. The arrow pierced the skull of the monster easily and the impact even raised the body of the monster for a few centimeters before snapping its neck.

  The next few moments were a blur of rapid movements and steady breath. I fired two more arrows in quick succession, each one striking its target with pinpoint accuracy. The next goblin staggered backward, its face crumpling under the weight of the arrow, while the second took an arrow to the chest, dropping to the ground instantly. The shots felt effortless, the power in my arms and the control over my aim flowing with ease. I could barely hear the thud of their bodies hitting the earth over the pounding of my own heart.

  Before the remaining goblins could even locate my position, forty meters away, my fingers steady as I nocked yet another arrow. The sight of their fallen comrades was clearly a shock to them. I saw their eyes widen for a moment, their usual anger momentarily faltering as they processed the sudden loss.

  But it didn’t take long for their instincts to kick in. Anger flooded their faces, and without a second thought, they charged toward my location. The fury in their eyes wasn’t one of fear but of resolve, something far more dangerous. It didn’t matter how much damage I’d done, or how much they’d lost already.

  When the fourth goblin fell, eight of them charged at me, while the remaining four drew their bows and aimed their arrows at my head. I kept looking at the monsters charging, but my eyesight didn’t leave the archers. In the next three seconds, I fired three more arrows and hit the chests of three goblins that were unable to approach. At the same time, I threw myself to the side when three arrows flew toward me. I couldn’t see them well enough to tell if they would hit me or not, but I didn’t want to take any chances.

  One of the goblins finally reached me and then tried to stab me with a wooden spear, but I had the chance to drop the bow and grab a knife. It wasn’t the best of options to block any kind of attack, but it still worked, and the weight behind the enemy’s attack wasn’t that difficult. I tried to use Takedown and forced the enemy to stumble forward and then slashed its throat.

  The other goblins surrounded me and then tried to stab me with their spears at the same time, but I jumped with all my might and then avoided their weapons as I reached only two meters of height. Still, the fall made me land on the spears and make one of them break while the others touched the ground. After stepping to the side, I swung my knife and cut the throat of two other goblins deeply, making a lot of blood gushing from the wound.

  The other goblins recovered and the archers also launched a barrage of arrows at me, but I threw myself on the side once more and positioned myself to use the front liners as shields. They charged without considering the fact that they were blocking the field of vision of their allies and then tried to reach me.

  I blocked one spear with the knife and then grabbed another with my hand. I felt the tip of the weapon slicing the palm of my hand, but I ignored that since I had to take some damage to finish things faster. I pulled the spear to the side and made the goblin stumble, before stabbing him in the chest. The creature trembled in pain, but soon fell.

  As the last goblin spearman realized the tide had completely turned, it spun on its heels and tried to flee toward the archers. But I wasn’t about to let it escape. In one motion, I threw my knife toward the running creature. The blade spun through the air before striking the goblin’s head, not with the tip, but with the handle. Still, the force was enough to send the creature sprawling to the ground, dazed and motionless.

  The goblin archers finally saw their opening and loosed a volley of arrows in my direction. But by the time their projectiles cut through the air, I had already sprinted to the side, making them strike nothing but empty space. Without wasting another second, I dove toward where I had dropped my bow, rolling as I snatched it up.

  Before the archers could fire again, I nocked an arrow and let it fly. The shot found its mark, embedding itself deep in the stomach of one of the beasts. The goblin let out a pained cry before collapsing to the ground, writhing in agony. Now, only three remain.

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  The other archers released their arrows, but I lowered my stance in time to avoid them. They had good aim as well, but not very good coordination. They weren’t as fast as me, so I was able to kill the final three just fine before they could land a single arrow on me.

  I sighed in relief and then felt the tension in my body vanishing. Still, another feeling stayed behind for quite a while. It was exciting. It felt odd. I was worried before about killing goblin women and children and now I was here feeling great killing a bunch of their warriors. Was that because they were warriors and I didn’t feel much sense in hunting weaklings? Or was it because I won a battle when I was so heavily outnumbered?

  ‘The parameters are making such a difference… I would guess that if the goblins have levels, at least the ones that I faced until now shouldn’t be higher than level two or three.’

  I didn’t have the chance to see if the goblins had a crystal for themselves. They didn’t have crystal bracelets, that was for sure. I confirmed that a bunch of times while I recovered my arrows. Still, the smell of blood was something else.

  It was regretful, but I decided to retreat since the smell of blood in my arrows won’t allow me to ambush the monsters. Fighting them directly was fine and all, but I wasn’t mad enough to face tens of them at the same time. It would be stupid to give them such an advantage.

  As I made my way back to the fortress, my mind remained on the fight, but more than that, on the implications of what I had just realized. If monsters could level up like us, then it was only a matter of time before the goblins I spared became a real threat. It was an uncomfortable thought, but one I couldn’t ignore.

  I wondered if Matilda would know the answer. She seemed knowledgeable about the system, so if anyone could confirm whether monsters could gain levels, or even classes, it would be her. If goblins had the potential to grow stronger just like us, then letting them survive wasn’t just an act of mercy. It was a potential death sentence for our own people.

  That meant the goblin children I had spared earlier might one day become a warrior, or worse, a leader. If left alone, it could be the difference between a manageable enemy and a real problem down the line. The logic was clear, but the thought of hunting them down left a bitter taste in my mouth. Still, war didn’t care about morals, only about survival. If monsters could level up and gain skills, then hesitation now could mean disaster later. I needed answers, and I needed them soon.

  ‘I guess this place isn’t a place where people who want to remain moral can survive for long.’

  While I was thinking along those lines, I walked toward the crystal, but soon I noticed that something was off. It was still pretty early, but a lot of people were already here, people like me. That wasn’t all. They were whispering something and then looked away when I looked at them.

  ‘Hm, it seems that some people are spreading rumors about me. Or maybe I am infamous for hunting alone.’

  I didn’t interact with that many people, so not a lot of people had any reason to be suspicious of me, but it is easy to fear or misunderstand those who people don’t make an effort to talk to or understand.

  That didn’t bother me that much, at least until it became something that truly affects me directly. I couldn’t care less about how others spend their time. Besides, the hunting today was good. Perhaps tomorrow I will have enough money to learn a new skill. With those thoughts in mind, I headed to the crystal.

  As expected, the chance of not getting the no damage bonus and finding new things truly affected my gains. I was expecting three level ups, but it wasn’t half bad. I stored my coins thinking about how many more goblins I could deal with thanks to my current power up, but then the stinging pain in my hand made me realize that I was still lacking when it comes to my defenses.

  For now, I was able to fight without suffering much damage, but just focusing on attacking might eventually come to bite me in the ass, eventually. While I was thinking that I shouldn’t try to stop weapons with my bare hands again, I headed to the shopping district, but soon I stopped when I saw Carlos in the distance. He seemed to be in a hurry and heading in my direction, trying to pretend that I didn’t see him seemed like a pain, and it also felt like it would cause more trouble, so I decided to wait. He was with the usual warriors that were always with him and they seemed more pissed than usual.

  “Sean, do you have a minute to spare?”

  “If it is only exactly a minute, I do have it.”

  The guys behind Carlos narrowed their eyes, their glares sharp enough to cut through steel. For a second, I thought they might actually say something, but they just stood there, radiating disapproval. It was honestly kind of funny how serious they always were. Did they ever relax? Ever crack a joke? Probably not.

  But just as quickly as their expressions darkened, they eased up, though I could still feel the tension lingering in the air. I rolled my eyes. Seriously, did they have to take everything so seriously? A little sarcasm never killed anyone. Man, it must be exhausting to be that uptight all the time. No wonder they always looked like they hadn’t slept in weeks. Being that serious 24/7 had to be boring as hell.

  “Hm, this might take a bit longer than a minute, actually. You were in the area when the goblins chased the scouts, right?”

  “So, was it truly them that made the goblins leave the fortress like that? They didn’t seem suited for the job, given that.”

  “... Three of the six scouts died due to that. Another party of scouts said that you saw that, but did nothing.”

  “They probably should check their eyes. Did they count the number of enemies that left the fortress? I don’t have enough arrows to kill so many enemies. Besides, I was too far away and chasing them would put me in danger if I didn’t manage to escape from them.”

  “That makes sense, but… can you explain the situation in detail in front of everyone? We aren’t planning to postpone the plan of attacking the fortress, but some people are against the idea of joining us, thanks to the report.”

  “In front of everyone? I am going to give a testimony for my own innocence or what?”

  I didn’t think too much about the situation, but the pieces were starting to fall into their respective places. I didn’t see a second scouting party, so I assumed that they ran away when they saw the goblins, but if they saw me, even though I approached while using the tall grass, I could only assume that they had been monitoring me from the beginning.

  “You told them to follow me?”

  “No, I swear it. They decided this on their own and that party is using this incident as a proof that their own decisions weren’t wrong. The others are starting to be swayed. I don’t want this to become more complicated just when all of us are starting to work together.”