An hour passed, and Nova finally stopped, catg his breath as he waited for the notification.
But as the seds stretched into minutes, nothing appeared. A frown crossed his face. ‘Did I mist?’ He was certain he had trained for a full hour. Then, realization dawned.
“The time interval between fights must’ve increased… Not bad. That means more time to train.”
With that, he resumed his practice, fog solely on Thrust.
For the first time, he pushed himself to the absolute limit—two hours of nonstop training. His clothes, or what little remained of them, g to his body, soaked i. His drenched hair stuck to his forehead, droplets running down his face. He panted heavily, as if trying to inhale aire world's worth of air.
Deg to stop ten minutes before the usual battle, Nova reasohat it would be enough time to recover to peak dition.
As he focused on steadying his breath, Nova called out ‘Status’ to review the number of thrusts he had pleted over the past hour and fifty minutes.
[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: 7
Luck: 10
Skills
Active: Spear Thrust (7) (19092/64000), Spear Jab (7) (16052/64000), Spear Sweep (1) (492/1000), Spear Lunge (2) (151/2000), Spear Overhead Strike (2) (150/2000)
“Pretty good, a total of 39,600 thrusts. It went from 6 to 7. Now it should be easier to take down a goblin overlord” Nova muttered, sing his stats. His Will had indeed increased from 6 to 7. He frowned, puzzled. ‘How did that happen? Is it somethied to my state of mind?’
His thoughts wandered, eventually turning inward. ‘If only I had worked this hard before today… Was it my fault everythi s? Why should I work hard? To get a better job? To have a family? To be successful? Would that have made me indepe, free from everyone else?’
He shook his head. ‘No. Even if I had all of that, I still couldn’t escape society’s rules. I would have had to follow them. Even if I became successful, even if I were elected President of the Federation, I’d still have to abide by the rules. I’d have to be a role model.’
His eyes hardened. ‘I don’t want that. If I’m going to be caged anyway, then what’s the point of w hard? But now-‘
Before he could delve deeper into his thoughts, the sharp ping of a notification cut through his reverie.
[Fight starts in 05:00]
[Be at the arena by the end of the tdown. The penalty is death.]
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Nova stopped p. He stood still, fog on steadying his breath, waiting for the five mio pass so he could fight again.
[Fight starts in 00:01]
[Fight started]
Nova sat up as he heard the final notification, gng at the gate, both eager and expeg to see who his oppo would be.
Dust rose from the arena as the ground trembled, and two t figures crossed through the gate, walking toward the ter.
They were goblin overlords.
“Just as I expected” Nova muttered to himself, his gaze log onto the left goblin overlord as he surged forward.
His pn was simple: incapacitate one quickly, then take his time to deal with the other.
He didn't use his full speed at first, making sure the left goblin noticed him and prepared for the attack. And the goblin did, lifting its enormous battleaxe, ready to strike.
As Nova closed the distahe goblin swung its on with immense force. In that moment, Nova exploded into his full speed, dashih the goblin and leaping upward, aiming his spear at the exposed right armpit. He avoided the left side, knowing the oblin overlord ositiohere.
[Spear proficreased]
This time, there was no suspehe hole in the goblin's armpit was rge enough that even a short man could crawl through it. The goblin shrieked in agony, his battleaxe, which had been swinging downward, shifted its trajectory. It careeoward the left goblin overlord, striking the right goblin's foot.
The battleaxe grazed the foot, but it was enough to sever two of the goblin's toes. The right goblin howled in pain, nearly losing his mind as the wound from his own ally impacted his bat ability. In a fit e, he sidered lopping off his ally’s head, but before he could act, a sudden, searing pain shot through his knee.
Looking down, he saw his left leg was no lotached below the knee.
Before he could react, he began to topple over, uain his bance.
All of this unfolded because Nova had spotted an opportunity. As the left goblin ihe right goblin by mistake, Nova immediately capitalized on the opening, puncturing the right goblin’s kh precise timing, further sealing their fates.
[Spear Thrust proficreased]
Nova took a moment to assess the situation. ‘The left goblin overlord is still screaming in pain from his shoulder injury; he won’t be able to swing his battleaxe effectively anymore.’ His gaze shifted to the right. ‘The right goblin is still writhing in pain, lying on the grouhe easiest target for now. I’ll finish him first.’
With his spear poised, its tip aimed at the right goblin’s skull, Nova exploded into motion, pushing himself to his limits. In the blink of an eye, he was deep within the right goblin’s skull, blood and brain matter spttering around him. He didn’t flinch, pletely unfazed by the gruesome sight.
[Spear proficreased]
[Received 30,000 Stat EXP]
As Nova climbed out from the right goblin’s skull, he quickly checked for any injuries, making sure not a single bone was broken before turning his attention to the left goblin overlord.
The goblin, naining some crity after enduring the unbearable pain, turo face the age. His ally's skull had been shattered, and the small human was emerging from the remains, seemingly unharmed. Fury surged within the goblin. How dare this ant mock him so?
In a fit e, he attempted to lift his battleaxe, but once again, he faced the same issue as his two hours old fallen rade—his injured shoulder made it impossible to wield the on with one hand. With a growl, he discarded it and luoward Nova, preparing a powerful kick.
Just as he raised his right foot, Nova moved in a blur, a fsh of steel pierg through the goblin's brow. In an instant, the goblin’s vision was ed by the spear, followed closely by the sight of the human who wielded it, the final blow nding with deadly precision.
[Spear proficreased]
It seemed as though Nova was diving from pool to pool, though these ones were made of blood.
Despite the fatal puncture to his brain, the goblin overlord remaianding. However, the will to fight had left him. He gave up to kill the human, realizing it was futile—he was now at the mercy of the man who had pierced his skull, and there was no point in tinuing tle.
For a long moment, the goblin simply stood there, a hollow shell of his former self, before he finally colpsed to the ground, lifeless.
[Received 30,000 Stat EXP]
Nova emerged from the goblin’s skull, refleg on the events that had just unfolded. ‘This was easier than I expected. But it was all luck. If the goblin overlord hadn’t injured his ally, I’d still be fighting. Well, luck is part of the game.’ A smile tugged at his lips. ’I ’t wait to get out of here. I’m curious to see how the outside world is doing.’
He began walking toward his usual training spot, calling out for his status as he went.
‘Status’
[Status]
Rank: 0
Name: Nova Grey
Species: Human
Affiliation: None
Level: 0 (150/500)
Css: None
Titles: Goblierminator
Stat Points: 2
Attributes:
Strength: 50
Vigor: 67
Dexterity: 100
Speed: 80
Intelligence: 36
Wisdom: 80
Will: 7
Luck: 10
Skills
Active: Spear Thrust (7) (19093/64000), Spear Jab (7) (16052/64000), Spear Sweep (1) (492/1000), Spear Lunge (2) (151/2000), Spear Overhead Strike (2) (150/2000)
‘Two points, huh? I’ll just add them to Vigor.’ Without b to check his status again, Nova returo his training, focused on improving his mastery over Spear Thrust before the fight.
An hour passed quickly, and this time, the notification came through:[Fight starts in 05:00][Be at the arena by the end of the tdown. The penalty is death.]
Nova halted his training, then checked how many Thrusts he had pleted.
‘Status’
[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: 69
Dexterity: 100
Speed: 80
Intelligence: 36
Wisdom: 80
Will: 7
Luck: 10
Skills
Active: Spear Thrust (7) (55993/64000), Spear Jab (7) (16052/64000), Spear Sweep (1) (492/1000), Spear Lunge (2) (151/2000), Spear Overhead Strike (2) (150/2000)
‘Close, well, I tried,’ Nova thought to himself, shaking his head slightly. He took a moment to rest before the fight began.
[Fight starts in 00:01][Fight started]
Dust erupted from the ground as six goblin overlords emerged from the gate. Nova didn’t hesitate. He already kheir patterns. In just six minutes, he had dispatched them all without sustaining a single injury.
This fight was easier than his first enter with a goblin overlord—not because his stats had increased much, but because of the experience he had gained from fighting the same oppos repeatedly. This kind of growth couldn’t be measured by the system.
Soon, notifications echoed in his mind, signaling the fight's end.
[Received 30,000 Stat EXP]
[Received 30,000 Stat EXP]
[Received 30,000 Stat EXP]
[Received 30,000 Stat EXP]
[Received 30,000 Stat EXP]
[Received 30,000 Stat EXP]
Looking at the numerous notifications, Nova scoffed. So many notifications, yet he only received 1 Stat point to distribute. He added it to Vigor, bringing it up to 70.
This was the 11th fight.
By now, Nova had fallen into a rhythm. In the fight, the 12th, he faced 12 goblin overlords. He swiftly defeated them before returning to his training. The 13th fight was even easier, as he dispatched 24 goblin overlords without breaking a sweat. Nothing could stand in his way.
Ih fight, 48 goblin overlords appeared, but it still didn’t matter. Their numbers didn’t intimidate him—having more than six didn’t make the fight any harder. As long as Nova could maintain his stamina, the battle was as simple as ever.
The 15th fight was tougher, with 96 goblin overlords. By the end, he anting heavily. Through all the previous battles, he hadn’t stopped to distribute his Stat points. He khat if he focused solely on increasing his strength, the fights would bee too easy, and he didn’t want that. This trial was one of the best training opportunities he’d had, and he wasn’t about to rush through it.
Nova rested for a few mihen resumed training his Thrust, drilling it over and over.
[Fight starts in 05:00][Be at the arena by the end of the tdown. The penalty is death.]
The notification broke through his focus. He had been so immersed in his training that what felt like a minute was actually two hours.
‘This is the st fight. I o distribute my remaining points. I’ve had enough training in this trial.’ He called for his status.
[Status]
Rank: 0
Name: Nova Grey
Species: Human
Affiliation: None
Level: 0 (150/500)
Css: None
Titles: Goblierminator
Stat Points: 42
Attributes:
Strength: 50
Vigor: 70
Dexterity: 100
Speed: 80
Intelligence: 36
Wisdom: 80
Will: 7
Luck: 10
Skills
Active: Spear Thrust (10) (3993/512000), Spear Jab (7) (16175/64000), Spear Sweep (1) (514/1000), Spear Lunge (2) (176/2000), Spear Overhead Strike (2) (150/2000)
‘42 points… Spear Thrust at 10, not bad. I made… 396,000 thrusts, pretty solid’ Nova mused. ‘Now, do I rength for the fight? Should I prioritize Dexterity and Speed again? Tough choice. But I pick both. At low levels, movement is key—I ’t afford to sacrifice Dexterity, but Speed isn’t as critical here. I’ll allocate 22 points tth and 20 to Dexterity.’
He g his Intelligeat. ‘I feel bad for it; it’s too low, and I have no idea what magitails. But o dwell on it. I’ll figure it out when I get out of here.’ He made his decision, distributed the points, aled down to rest.
Five minutes passed quickly, and a notificati in his mind.
[Fight starts in 00:01][Fight started]
This time, there was no tremor, no usual buildup. It was eerily silent as a lone goblin emerged from the gate.
Standing at 3 meters tall, it had ashen grey skin and goldehat gleamed with malice. A of bony horns adors head. The goblin wielded a massive sword, 1.5 meters long, more like a cleaver designed for overwhelming force. Its body was thick, full-pte armour, reinforced and made from dark metals and ented bones, c its chest, shoulders, arms, and legs.
The goblin radiated a regal aura, as if every oblin before him were mere servants, fit only to carry his shoes. A name hovered above his head, bck-crimson in hue:
[Goblin King].
When Nova’s eyes met the Goblin King’s, a chill ran down his spine. He knew—death had never felt so immi.
But rather than fear, a wild grin spread across Nova’s face. Laughing for the first time in front of an enemy, he shouted, his voice filled with a mix of defiand excitement.
“END ME IF YOU .”
The Goblin King’s gaze remained unwavering as he nodded slightly, releasing a fai oppressive pressure from his body.
