Without aation, Nova effortlessly dispatched the foblin generals. His stats had grown so high that they posed no challenge, and he didn’t even break a sweat. Moving on, he proceeded to sever a leg from each of the st two remaining goblin generals. Stopping in front of one of the kneeling goblins, he took a moment to prepare.
With calcuted precision, he adopted the Overhead Strike stance. His right foot ositioned behind him, the left foot pnted firmly ahead. His knees were slightly bent, and his grip on the spear was steady—his left hahe rear of the shaft, his right hand pced about a third of the way down. The grip was firm, yet rexed enough to allow fluid movement.
He slowly raised the spear overhead, the point directed toward the goblin general, the shaft angled just right. With a swift push of his back foot, he geed momentum for the strike. His right hand guided the spear’s trajectory as his left hand drove it downward, carving a trolled arc. The spear tip sliced ly through the goblin’s back, emerging from his chest with half the shaft embedded in the wound.
The goblin’s enraged howls echoed in the air, but to Nova, the only sound that mattered was the quiet system notification.
[Spear proficreased.]
Nova repyed his as in his mind, his focus sharpening as he became more attuo the movement. He corrected the small mistakes he had made aed the motion, each time refining his teique. It wasn’t long before he heard the familiar sound he had been waiting for.
[Received 2500 Stat EXP][Spear proficreased.][Skill: Spear Overhead Strike has been learned.]
With a light exhale, Nova returo his normal stance, resting the spear on his shoulders. He looked down at the remains of the goblin general, his thoughts drifting momentarily. ‘These guys really make great dummies. Wouldn't it be perfect if I could train like this forever?’ He quickly dismissed the thought. ‘Enough with these musings—time to learn the Lunge.’
Nova approached the final goblin general. The goblin had already resigself to death, its eyes closed in acceptance of its fate.
Nova shifted into the Luance, which was almost identical to the Overhead Strike but required different execution. Taking a moment to ter himself, he pushed off with his back foot, driving his front foot forward in a trolled yet swift motion. His front knee bent naturally as he simultaneously thrust the spear, guiding it with his right hand while using his left to propel it forward. The spear pierced ly through the right side of the goblin general’s chest, emerging from the left side. The goblin stifled a scream, but before it could fully register the pain, Nova lunged again, not stopping until the goblin had been reduced to little more than a bloody mess.
[Spear proficreased.][Spear proficreased.]
The only sounds that filled the arena now were the relentless system notifications and the pained howls of the goblin general. Nova pressed ohodically exeg each strike with precision. The goblin, long since silenced by the sheer iy of the blows, y motionless—nothing more than a lifeless husk.
Then, finally, the notification he had been waiting for arrived.
[Received 2500 Stat EXP.][Spear proficreased.][Skill: Spear Lunge has been learned.]
A small smile tugged at the er of Nova’s lips as he muttered to himself, “Now I’m doh the spear basics... just o level them up.” He paused, a thought crossing his mind. ‘I should check my status and allocate the newly acquired points.’
With that, he called out inwardly.
‘Status.’
[Status]
Rank: 0
Name: Nova Grey
Species: Human
Affiliation: None
Level: 0 (150/500)
Css: None
Titles: Goblierminator
Stat Points: 30
Attributes:
Strength: 7
Vigor: 10
Dexterity: 11
Speed: 12
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 8
Will: 6
Luck: 10
Skills
Active: Spear Thrust (3) (9/4000), Spear Jab (3) (700/4000), Spear Sweep (0) (0/500), Spear Lunge (0) (0/500), Spear Overhead Strike (0) (0/500)
‘30 points... they seem like a lot, but... I need more’ Nova thought, a sense ency growing in his gut. ‘Even though this trial doesn't seem meant to kill, but to train, I doubt they wao train sissies. Focus. I need more Wisdom to accelerate my brain speed—at least 20. I’ll allocate the rest evenly between Speed aerity.’
With a steady breath, Nova trated and allocated the points accly.
He then checked again.
[Status]
Rank: 0
Name: Nova Grey
Species: Human
Affiliation: None
Level: 0 (150/500)
Css: None
Titles: Goblierminator
Stat Points: 0
Attributes:
Strength: 7
Vigor: 10
Dexterity: 21
Speed: 20
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 20
Will: 6
Luck: 10
Skills
Active: Spear Thrust (3) (9/4000), Spear Jab (3) (700/4000), Spear Sweep (0) (0/500), Spear Lunge (0) (0/500), Spear Overhead Strike (0) (0/500)
Nova sprinted forward, eager to test the limits of his newfound speed.
‘133 km/h... I perfectly analyze it thanks to my brain. My burst speed is double that, and my agility has improved signifitly. Did I just bee a superhuman after not even three hours in this portal? This is crazy.’
Five minutes passed as Nova stood still, letting the gravity of his transformation sink in. His body felt like it ulsating with power, and his mind was sharper than ever.
He snapped out of his reverie, stepping into position as he muttered to himself, "I will bring all of them as high as possible in 55 minutes. With my improved body, I should be able to level up a couple of these skills."
[Spear Thrust proficreased.][Spear Jab proficreased.][Spear Sweep proficreased.][Spear Lunge proficreased.]
[Spear Overhead Strike proficreased.]
[Fight starts in 05:00.]
[Be at the arena by the end of the tdown. The penalty is death.]
Nova stopped to give a final check to his progress.
Skills
Active: Spear Thrust (3) (1659/4000), Spear Jab (4) (0/8000), Spear Sweep (1) (490/1000), Spear Lunge (2) (150/2000), Spear Overhead Strike (2) (150/2000)
"Not bad, I did 1650 thrusts, 990 sweeps, 1650 lunges, 3300 jabs, and 1650 overhead strikes. Sweeps are too slow; it’ll take a while to improve them" Nova mused. "I wonder what’s the max level for these skills... if only I had my encyclopedia here!" He started seriously, but by the end, he chuckled at himself.
Soon...
[Fight starts in 00:01][Fight started]
"Let me guess, 18 goblin generals?" Nova said aloud, a grin tugging at his lips.
And he was right. As the fight began, 18 copies of the first goblin general he had defeated appeared, marg toward the ter of the arena.
‘This is going to go to shit really soon’ Nova thought, already dreading what he knew was ing. He had an uling sense of what the fight would entail, and he didn’t like it o.
The battle, however, was over far quicker than expected. Nova had outgrown the goblin generals, and 18 of them were nowhere near enough to close the massive gap in stats and skills betweewo sides.
[Received 2500 Stat EXP.][Spear Thrust proficreased.]
As the st notification echoed in his mind, Nova lowered his spear, watg the 18 bodies disappear right before him. He was softly panting, his energy reserves running low. ‘I o increase my Vigor more, he thought. Otherwise, I won’t st much longer here.’
He called for his Status, but when it appeared, he noticed something unusual.
[Status]
Rank: 0
Name: Nova Grey
Species: Human
Affiliation: None
Level: 0 (150/500)
Css: None
Titles: Goblierminator
Stat Points: 54
Attributes:
Strength: 7
Vigor: 10
Dexterity: 21
Speed: 20
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 20
Will: 6
Luck: 10
Skills
Active: Spear Thrust (3) (1670/4000), Spear Jab (4) (3/8000), Spear Sweep (1) (492/1000), Spear Lunge (2) (151/2000), Spear Overhead Strike (2) (150/2000)
‘The points required to earn 1 Stat point ged. I should’ve gotten 90 from the 18 goblin generals, but I only earned 54… Let me think... The only threshold I see is the 100th point. I had already received 58 Stat points in total, so I only earned 42 out of the 90 before I hit the threshold, and then I only received 12 instead of 48... That means I need 2000 Stat EXP for each point of Stat. This is being painful. Difficulty is going up, but my strength will soon not be able to keep up. I’ll add points to Vigor and shorten my breaks. I will also increase some Strength, and the rest will be split betweeerity and Speed.’
‘Status’
[Status]
Rank: 0
Name: Nova Grey
Species: Human
Affiliation: None
Level: 0 (150/500)
Css: None
Titles: Goblierminator
Stat Points: 0
Attributes:
Strength: 20
Vigor: 24
Dexterity: 28
Speed: 30
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 20
Will: 6
Luck: 10
Skills
Active: Spear Thrust (3) (1670/4000), Spear Jab (4) (3/8000), Spear Sweep (1) (492/1000), Spear Lunge (2) (151/2000), Spear Overhead Strike (2) (150/2000)
‘That’s better, I finally feel the +15% from the medallion, it’s giving me +3 Strength but only against goblins, so it’s not shown... I see. I don’t have time to waste. I will focus on jabs for now.’
Nova focused his mind as he resumed the jab training, pushing his body into a steady rhythm. Every jab etition, a motion that ingraiself into his muscle memory. His body didn’t tire, and with each jab, his proficreased.
Time seemed to blur as Nova tinued his relentless pace.
[Spear Jab proficreased][Skill: Spear Jab (4) (8000/8000) -> Spear Jab (5) (10043/16000)]
[Fight starts in 05:00]
[Be at the arena by the end of the tdown. The penalty is death.]
The system’s notification came through as he finished his session. ‘18,000 jabs in an hour, that’s okay. The more I increase my Dexterity and Speed, the higher the number will be. Let’s rest for the 5 minutes.’ Nova muttered to himself, settling down momentarily to catch his breath.[Fight starts in 00:01][Fight started]
Nova stood up, taking a deep breath and rolling his shoulders. He had rested just enough to keep going. He turned his attention to the sand shiftih him. The ground trembled as the wave of enemies appeared.
52 goblin generals, a staggering hey marched toward the middle of the arena, their eyes locked on Nova.
Nova didn’t wait for the 52 goblin generals to reach the ter of the arena. He charged forward with a burst of speed, closing the gap before they could ahemselves. The fight began to take a heavy toll on him, however. It wasn’t just about raw stats—numbers made the real difference. While he was focused on one goblin general, four others would creep up from behind, f him to tinuously fight in multiple dires. There was no way to avoid taking injuries uhese circumstances.
His breath grew boured, eahation feeling more difficult tha. As his spear pierced through the final goblin general's body, he could hardly find the energy to pull it out.
[Received 2500 Stat EXP][Spear Jab proficreased]
‘It’s finally over…’ Nova thought to himself, struggling to inhale as much air as his lungs could hold, as if he were starving for oxygen. The battle had drained him far more than expected.
He quickly checked his status, eager to allocate his points where they could make the most differehis time, he rioritizing Wisdom, Dexterity, and Vigor. His max speed against such overwhelming numbers had proven to be useless—the goblins could tire him out before he could even finish a single wave. He needed more effi dealing with them and, above all, more stamina. Wisdom would give him the mental crity and processing speed to analyze the battlefield more effectively, allowing him to react faster and dodge more effitly.
‘Status’
[Status]
Rank: 0
Name: Nova Grey
Species: Human
Affiliation: None
Level: 0 (150/500)
Css: None
Titles: Goblierminator
Stat Points: 0
Attributes:
Strength: 20
Vigor: 50
Dexterity: 47
Speed: 30
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 40
Will: 6
Luck: 10
Skills
Active: Spear Thrust (3) (1692/4000), Spear Jab (5) (10043/16000), Spear Sweep (1) (492/1000), Spear Lunge (2) (151/2000), Spear Overhead Strike (2) (150/2000)
‘As long as the injury isn’t too deep, I shouldn’t lose my bat strength.’ Nova thought, already moving into the Spear Jab stance before he had even finished processing the idea. He khat there was no time to waste—practice was the only way forward.
Time passed quickly as Nova repeated the jab over and over. The 6th wave of goblin generals arrived with 152 enemies. Despite the rge number, Nova mao kill them all. He sustained only light injuries, and as soon as he sat down to rest, they began healing. His body’s resilience was improving—each battle seemed to add a bit more endurand speed to his every movement.
Then came the 7th wave. This time, 444 goblin generals charged at him. Nova fought fiercely, but one of them got the upper hand for a brief moment. A goblin's spear mao graze his arm, and with a swift movement, he avoided a fatal blow—but not without sequences. His arm was fractured, but Nova didn't flinch. He kept going, barely feeling the pain as his adrenaline surged. He fihe battle victorious, his arm still hanging awkwardly but not slowing him down.
The 8th wave brought a massive increase to the number of enemies: 999 goblin generals. Nova was surprised. He had expected 1296 but pressed forward, deg not to question it. The battle was intense, but Nova’s experiend battle instincts were sharper than ever. He tore through them with increasing efficy, and his injuries—though present—slowly healed with each passing moment. His senses for bat had evolved so much that he robably one of the most experienced fighters oh at that very moment.
As he fihe st of the goblins ih wave, he paused for a moment to catch his breath.
[Fight starts in 05:00]
[Be at the arena by the end of the tdown. The penalty is death.]
Before the 9th wave began, Nova opened his status window to take stock of his progress.
[Status]
Rank: 0
Name: Nova Grey
Species: Human
Affiliation: None
Level: 0 (150/500)
Css: None
Titles: Goblierminator
Stat Points: 0
Attributes:
Strength: 50
Vigor: 67
Dexterity: 100
Speed: 80
Intelligence: 36
Wisdom: 80
Will: 6
Luck: 10
Skills
Active: Spear Thrust (6) (11492/32000), Spear Jab (7) (16043/64000), Spear Sweep (1) (492/1000), Spear Lunge (2) (151/2000), Spear Overhead Strike (2) (150/2000)
Nova muttered under his breath as he studied the increasing cost of Stat EXP, his mind w quickly. “Not bad, but it’s taking 32,000 Stat EXP for a single point now, and soon it’ll quadruple again. I have 16 waves left... I wonder what the one will be. The st wave should’ve had 1296 goblin generals, but it stopped at 999, like something’s about to ge at 1000.”
[Fight starts in 00:01][Fight started]
The ground trembled as Nova focused ily on the arena gates, which creaked open with a foreboding rumble.
A t 14-foot monster emerged, its imposing form a testament to years of battle. His dark, sickly green skin was marred by deep scars, eae a story of survival and bloodshed. His eyes glowed with an eerie yellow light, radiating a chilling blend of malid intelligence.
He wore an armour adorned with spikes, skulls, and the bones of fallen enemies—an uling dispy of his dominance. In his massive hands, he gripped a giant battleaxe that seemed to pulse with an ominous energy, glowing faintly in the shadows.
Above his head, in dripping crimson blood, a name hovered:
[Goblin Overlord]
Nova’s heart raced as he immediately checked the status of the goblin overlord.
[Goblin Overlord]
Rank: 0
Name: None
Species: Goblin
Affiliation: None
Level: 1
Css: None
Titles: None
Attributes:
Strength: 86
Vigor: 91
Dexterity: 75
Speed: 68
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 41
Will: 0
Luck: 1
“This…this is going to be fun” Muttered Nova as he gripped his spear tightly smiling.
