The tall male towered over the students and the saintess, his presence intense and almost suffocating. It was as if the students were gazing up at a wild beast that had just found them and was about to turn them into his next meal. He was at least over two hundred and ninety centimeters tall.
“So,” The male started with his deep, rough voice roaring lightly through the hall, as he looked down at the intimidated students in front of him. “I assume these are the summoned allies?”
Alicia nodded lightly in response. “Indeed they are. From today they will be under our care.”
“Good to hear,” Andrius smiled and looked at the students with a welcoming expression. “Then I suppose I will be the first one to introduce myself besides Alicia. My name is Andrius Hectorstone and I’m the Kingdoms strongest tamer.”
The moment the students had heard the man introduce himself as a tamer, their intimidation turned into confusion. Alicia looked a bit panicked, before quickly stepping past the students and next to Andrius, turning to look at the children with a smile. “Please, excuse my colleague, children. He seems to have forgotten that we’re supposed to gather at the Heroes Hall in order to introduce ourselves all at once.” Alicia threw a daring glare at Andrius, who smiled and laughed lightly to himself.
“What’s the big deal about me taking the liberty of introducing myself outside the Hero's Hall? It’s not harmful to anyone.” Alicia looked at the hulking man with a cold gaze, before walking away from him and back to the front of the students. “Come along now students - let’s keep moving.”
Alicia announced, before moving her gaze over to Andrius - putting on a fake smile. “It was nice meeting you here Andrius, but it’s better if we speak again only after we get to the Heroes Hall. Now if you’ll excuse us…”
“Gahahah! No need to try and brush me off, Alicia.” Andrius walked past the kids, moving over to Alicia. “I’ll tag along. We have the destination anyway.” The man looked at the Saintess with a grin. Alicia, did not look amused or happy about the proposal, however unwilling to lash out in front of the students or make a scene, she exhaled and nodded, smiling lightly.
“Then it’s wonderful to have you join us, Andrius.” She stated, before turning away and continuing to move, with the students following closely after her – some of them giving him distrustful and even judgemental glares — as if staring down a garbage bag. Andrius kept a smile across his face, watching the group walk past him before slowly following after them from behind. His gaze sharpened lightly, however he remained silent.
The group moved through the hall for a while, the students whispering among themselves, while throwing occasional gazes at Andrius, as if he was some sort of animal accompanying them. Andrius, of course, had noticed this – however chose to ignore the students gossip or judgemental gazes.
Eventually, the group reached a pair of large, large doors which had two guards in front of them — however, the guards weren’t like any other the students had seen so far. The guards were large, dark and had this stone-like texture to them, as if they were statues. Alicia stopped, before turning around to face the students. “This is the entrance to the Heroes Hall. Beyond its doors are your mentors that will take you under their wing, depending on your class. I ask that you be on your best behaviour.”
The Saintess smiled lightly. The students nodded, while Andrius moved past them and up to the large doors. “No need to put pressure on them Alicia, you’ll make them nervous for no reason.” The man stated, laughing lightly at the end before moving up to the doors and placing his right hand onto them.
A pattern lit up on the doors with a bright orange colour, before a roaring announcement echoed through the hall – coming from the doors.
‘ WELCOME, ANDRIUS THE UNSTOPPABLE. ’
Then, the doors opened – slowly and heavily.
The students watched in slight awe, perplexed by the doors. “Are they special doors since they’re opening on their own?” A student asked.
“They’re doors enchanted by the Kingdoms dwarves, who used runic magic to make them. They were made like this to only allow the ‘Heroes’ of the Kingdom to enter the hall that lays beyond them.” Andrius explained throwing a gaze back at the students. The doors fully opened, sending an echoing thud, as well as shaking the castle lightly.
First, the mountainous man moved through them, entering the hall. Alicia looked at the students, inviting them inside. “Come on, let’s go meet your mentors now.”
At first, the students looked hesitant, however after a little bit, they walked after Alicia and entered the hall. Once they all were inside, the large doors closed behind them – much faster than they had opened. When the doors closed, they seemingly sealed themselves shut with a rainbow light shining through the same pattern that had lit up orange earlier when Andrius had placed his hand on the doors.
In the hall, it was dimly lit by torches of different colours. In the middle of the hall, was a long, long table, around which many, many individuals were sitting around. Alicia left the students, walking over to an empty seat that was underneath a torch with a white flame, while Andrius sat down in a large seat that was underneath a torch with an orange flame.
At the end of the table, all the way across the hall, sat a man dressed in impressive looking armour. The armour was thick, rugged and black in colour, with blue accents around it. The helmet of the armour was placed to the side on the long table while the man gazed at the students with a joyous expression. He had short, black hair and wore glasses – and his eyes were deep blue, dragon-like. It was as if he wasn’t even a human.
“Welcome individuals from another world,” He started, before leaning back into his seat, pressing his back against his chair's back post. “I’ll cut to the chase, you’re all here so that you may be assigned with one of us as your mentor to teach you everything there is to know about your class and powers.”
In the Great Labyrinth -
Floor fifty.
[ ALERT ]
You have levelled up.
17 > 18
[ ALERT ]
The notification announcing Jacks level up appeared as he tore through the army of the grey goblins armed with melee weapons. The grey critters were now in a dead panic, while Jack simply grinned widely, swinging his dagger around and easily slashing apart the monsters. The ranged attackers occasionally attempted to fire their projectiles at Jack, however none of them got the chance to do it as Araneida would quickly take them out by either strangling them with her web or hopping on top of them and devouring them alive or ripping them apart with her large fangs.
“What human is this?!” A goblin shouted, retreating deeper into their camp. “I not know! But I not want find out!” Another goblin shouted in reply while also trying to escape the massacre that Jack was causing, before his legs were sliced off by Jack, who then grabbed the goblins head and smashed it into pieces by bashing it into the ground.
[ ALERT ]
You have levelled up.
18 > 19
[ ALERT ]
“These things really aren’t all that strong. They even had the advantage in numbers and yet, despite that, here I am easily tearing through them.” Jack thought, standing up and glaring at the fleeing goblins. Araneida landed in front of the fleeing goblins, before screeching loudly – causing the goblins to freeze up and not be able to move.
[ ALERT ]
Araneida has activated the Unique Skill [Intimidation].
[ ALERT ]
Jack smirked. “Well done Araneida!” He announced, praising the arachnid, before dashing over to the frozen goblins and with one swing of the dagger he held, sliced off the heads of the goblins, their bodies falling to the ground afterwards – blood spewing out from their severed necks and staining the stone floor underneath them.
The spider let out happy and joyous screeches, as Jack walked over and crouched beside her, petting Araneida lightly. Afterwards, he looked towards the other side of the camp — where all the goblins had tried to flee to and many of them had successfully done so.
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It was a large building, made from wood and stone. Though Jack was so far away, he could sense a strong presence from inside the building – there was something strong inside there. If he had to take a guess, the goblins realised they wouldn’t be able to kill him, so they fled to someone stronger, to get their help.
“Come on. Let’s finish up these grey bastards.” Jack stated, standing up and marching on towards the building with the intimidating presence. Araneida let out a happy squeal, before following after Jack, her eyes shining brightly as if she was excited to tear apart whatever surviving goblins remained.
As the two of them approached the building, the strong presence from inside the building became more and more noticeable, as well as stronger — most likely because they were so close to it now. All the goblins that had fled to this place then ran out of the building, quickly surrounding the duo and aiming much more impressive looking weapons — metal spears, swords and light armour.
Seems like these guys kept their best stuff for emergency use only.
Jack exhaled lightly.
“Human and spider die now!” A goblin announced loudly, as all of them laughed, slowly approaching the duo. Jack remained unphased, before sighing and looking down. “Araneida,” He looked at the spider, smirking. “You know what to do.”
The spider nodded, before glaring at the approaching goblins. Even though her gaze was sharp and intimidating, the grey critters did not seem like they were at all afraid and just kept getting closer and closer. As they got close enough to attack, they charged the duo — raising their weapons high in the air. Then, Araneida let out a loud screech which echoed through the cave and sent a wave, which caused the goblins to completely freeze up – unable to move.
[ ALERT ]
Araneida has activated the Unique Skill [Intimidation].
[ ALERT ]
The goblins were confused and perplexed, trying to force themselves to move. “What this..?” A goblin said in struggle. Jack's eyes shined with an amber bright colour, before he spun the dagger in his hand and with a swift movement, tore apart the frozen goblins — aiming to hit their exposed parts that were not protected by the armour they wore.
The Goblins let out a collective screech of pain, their bodies falling to the ground as they bled out — their blood staining the ground and creating pools around Araneida and Jack.
[ ALERT ]
You have levelled up.
19 > 20
[ ALERT ]
…
[ ALERT ]
Familiar ‘Araneida’ has levelled up.
9 > 10
[ ALERT ]
Jack cleaned the blood off his dagger, before exhaling and looking at the darkness located inside the building in front of them. “How about you stop being a coward and come out? These weaklings won’t help you.”
He said with a sharp, cold tone.
The presence inside the building flinched a bit, before a deep exhale was heard from inside. Then, heavy footsteps echoed and the cave lightly shook, as a dark figure covered by the shadows of the building slowly came out into the dim light of the cave.
It was a tall, tall creature — with grey skin like the rest of the goblins. It had a much bulkier build than the small critters and had a large crown made of what appeared to be thorns and black crystals. From its shoulders, a long, black cloak drooped and in the creature's left hand, the thing dragged a large sword – made of stone.
[ Creature ]
Grey Goblin King
Rank: C
Level: 30 (3)
The ruler of the Grey Goblins. This specimen seems to have gone through a genetic evolution after being appointed as the ‘King’ of the Grey Goblins, causing it to gain a more broad, muscular build compared to the rest of its species.
[ CREATURE ]
“Human… You dare come into my domain?” The Goblin King spoke with a deep, distorted voice while glaring down at Jack with a shining red glare, a dark aura being lightly exerted from its body.
Jack scratched his chin lightly. “So you can talk as well, huh?”
“You can understand us… You’re unlike the others.” The king narrowed his eyes on Jack. Araneida hissed lightly backing up a bit – showing both signs of aggression and fear. And Jack couldn’t blame Araneida — the beast in front of them definitely gave off one hell of an intimidating presence. It felt a bit suffocating just standing in front of it.
“You killed my subjects… Now, I will kill you and after that, I will use your skin as the basis for my next rug while your bones shall become materials for weapons.” The King then let out a loud roar that shook the cave and released a wave of energy that made Jack's entire body freeze up, as goosebumps ran across his entire body. Then, before he could do anything at all, the Goblin King pummeled him in the face, sending Jack flying back and crashing into a wooden tower.
The tower broke apart, falling down and crashing down onto Jack, while Araneida looked towards her master with a panicked gaze. Then, the arachnid looked at the Goblin King with a furious gaze and leapt up into the air – firing off her web at the King. The King grabbed the web of the arachnid, before letting go of the large stone sword in its left hand and ripping the web apart, before grabbing Araneida herself. The spider squealed lightly in pain, as the large beast squeezed her a bit.
“You’ll be my snack.” The Goblin King announced with an echoing voice, about to devour Araneida, before a dagger flew straight into his right eye, causing the Goblin King to drop the spider and back up, grabbing his head as he fell back into the building he had come out from.
Jack pushed the rubble around him away, before marching towards the Goblin King with heavy, echoing steps which carried weight to them. “Now that,” Jack sighed, cleaning off the blood dripping from his mouth, before looking at the Goblin King with a grin. “Was rude.”
Araneida looked happily at Jack, while the Goblin King pulled the dagger out of his eye before crushing it in his palm, standing back up and roaring towards Jack. “You dare harm a King?!” The monster picked up its large stone sword, before dashing at Jack with great speed. The Tamer exhaled, before placing his right foot back.
“I see no King. Just an overgrown mongrel.” The man replied, with a more excited look across his face. The Goblin King charged at Jack, swinging his sword towards the man, however Jack quickly dodged the initial swing, before grabbing hold of the second swing with his right arm — his muscles tensing up so much that the clothes on his body ripped apart a bit. The King looked surprised, while Jack glared at the Goblin King with a sharp, cold glare.
[ NOTIFICATION ]
[Combat Experience] boost multiplied.
+40% to all stats.
[ NOTIFICATION ]
“I’ll send you to where you belong — the grave.” Jack stated, before knocking the sword away and leaping in towards the Goblin King, punching him in the stomach and sending the King flying back and crashing through the building he had come from originally.
Then, before the King could rise again, Jack dashed after him, leaping high into the air before crashing down onto the King — pressing his legs onto its chest before beginning to beat up the head of the Goblin King, a sinister grin across his face. The Goblin King appeared to be unable to do anything for a bit, before suddenly knocking Jack off of him – however Jack quickly recovered and held his balance.
The King charged at Jack again, swinging his large stone sword down at the man. Jack just barely managed to react – grabbing a hold of the stone sword with both of his hands - however he struggled to hold it in place. The Goblin King was clearly on another level of physical strength. “You’re like an ant that’s doing a useless struggle against a predator. Humans can never hope to overpower me.”
The King stated with a deep, confident voice, before adding more force to his sword, pushing Jack into the ground a bit. Araneida leapt onto the Goblin King's back, before sinking her fangs into his back – which caused the King to react, jerking and easing the force he was outputting onto Jack with his sword.
Jack ceased the opportunity to throw the blade to the side, before uppercutting the creature, causing it to tumble back a bit. “Yeah? Then it must be embarrassing, that the supposed ‘ant’ is beating up the so-called ‘predator’.”
Jack grinned sinisterly, before throwing another punch at the Goblin King.
The King caught the punch, tightening his grip on Jack's fist before grabbing Araneida and squeezing her tightly before throwing her off into a stone wall – Araneida hitting the wall hard, letting out a loud screech of pain.
[ WARNING ]
Familiar ‘Araneida’ has fallen to critical health.
[ WARNING ]
“That is not good—” Jack shed a slight sweat, before the Goblin King pummeled him back again. Jack flew back, hitting the ground badly – however did not get a chance to get up to his feet and do a counter attack, as the Goblin King dashed after him and lifting his arms into the air, before he smashed Jack – causing the man to cough up blood.
“Foolish Human – I have been amusing myself with you up until now. You stand no chance against me!” The Goblin King announced, before grabbing Jack by his head and beginning to smash it into the ground.
Jacks health began to fall, as blood flew everywhere.
The Goblin King smashed the man's head into the ground a couple more times, before tossing him off into the same wall that he had thrown Araneida. Jack hit the wall even harder than Araneida had — smashing it, before falling down from it.
Araneida looked worried for her master, with a trembling body, pulling herself towards the man. The Goblin King approached the duo, while Araneida tried to get her master to get up. “I will give you a quick death. Then, I will use your heart as a catalyst to rebuild my tribe.” The Goblin King said with a sharp tone. Araneida hissed at the King, however the giant creature knocked the spider away to the side, before reaching his right arm towards Jack, who laid there – motionless.
[ NOTIFICATION ]
[Battle Hungry] has been activated.
[ NOTIFICATION ]
Before the King could grab hold of Jack, the man grabbed hold of the Kings wrist, which surprised the creature for a second – however before he could do anything about it, Jack pummeled the beast in the face so hard, that the beast went flying up into the ceiling – crashing into it before falling down from it and crashing into the ground, with debris falling with him.
Araneida looked relieved and happy seeing Jack stand up, resting her head as she breathed lightly.
Jack exhaled heavily, a deep amber aura surrounding his body. “I haven’t felt such a rush of adrenaline in so long…” Jack stated, while the Goblin King rose up, kneeling a bit as he seemed to struggle more now.
“What is this…? How did the Human grow in power so suddenly?” The King thought. Jack looked at the Goblin King with completely orange eyes – a light flame coming from his eyes, as he grinned widely. “You remind me of my early days as a mercenary. An overwhelming opponent who’s so confident in their strength… someone with so much more experience and strength than me.” Jack began to slowly step towards the King, who looked more nervous now.
Something had changed about the Humans' presence suddenly. It no longer felt like he was facing a human – the aura surrounding the human was in no way ‘human’.
“However, their biggest mistake was underestimating me,” Jack continued, his steps turning more into a walking rhythm, as he began to slowly approach the Goblin King, with his eyes shining and flaming brightly, and the aura around him intensifying.
“A Mistake, you repeated.”
