CHAPTER 3: Visit

When I woke up, I checked to see if anything had changed.

"Uh… Open menu?"

The screen with the numbers appeared again.

Looks like all of that really did happen.

I was surprised to see that the number of days remaining stayed the same.

"Maybe it's not actually counting by days?"

"The number went down after I died, so it must have something to do with that."

If that were the case, that means time was much less of an issue.

It also means that I can come back to life 9 more times before I'm really done for.

I realized I never cashed in the quest I had finished the day before, so I quickly head to the Guild Hall.

As usual, Sabrina greeted me.

"I'm surprised to see you here this late. Did someone accidentally sleep in?"

Awkwardly, I laughed.

"Heh heh… Yeah… Those goblins really tire me out sometimes, you know?"

I handed her the quest poster and the crystals from the four goblins I had slain outside of the cave.

She returned a sack of gold as my payment for completing the quest.

Before I left, Sabrina stopped me.

"Hey, something felt different about you today. I can't tell if it's 'cause you got a good night's rest or what, but you feel more energetic than usual. Anything happen on the quest yesterday?"

I stopped immediately.

"Huh? Oh, uh… Nothing in particular, I don't think… I'm just so excited for the attack force that the King is making. That must be it!"

I left in a hurry. I even forgot to take another quest for today.

"I can't go back in now, it'll just make it awkward."

I felt bad for lying, but I also couldn't tell her that I came back from the dead.

"Did I really grow stronger after dying?"

That must be the product of a 'level up'.

I had to make a decision on what to do next.

A part of me felt drawn to the cavern where I died.

"Ah, fine! I'll go!"

I reached the foot of the cavern and walked past the corpses again. To think I would've been one of them if it weren't for this 'system'.

There was no sound of a womanly scream this time. Only the foul scent of rotting bodies coming from the goblin nest.

This time, I approached quietly.

"Open menu," I whispered.

"Activate Silent Walk."

[System Alert: Silent Walk has been activated]

[SP: 17/20]

I sneaked slowly into the room full of goblins. There were just as many as before.

No, maybe even more.

They seemed to be missing one of the goblin warriors thanks to me, though.

The goblin king still sat atop his throne. His menacing aura became more apparent to me. I could sense his threatening authority.

It must be a perk of the 'system'.

I slipped past the goblin warriors guarding the entrance without any of the goblins noticing.

Carefully, I tiptoed forward, making sure not to bump into anything.

Still, I was unnoticed by any of the monsters surrounding me.

If any of them were to realize I was there and alert the others, I would certainly die again.

"This 'Silent Walk' thing is pretty useful."

Suddenly, my body was forced backwards as I slipped past a pebble that was hurled toward me.

Assassin Instinct had activated on its own.

"Did they notice me!?"

A gang of goblins cackled as they threw rocks at a pile of rocks.

It looks like they just were playing some game.

I quietly breathed a sigh of relief and began approaching one of the goblins.

I slowly reached a finger out and gave it a tap.

The goblin quickly swatted its arm back and scratched the spot where I touched it.

It hasn't seem to have noticed me.

I walked in front of it and started waving my hand in its face.

The goblin suddenly threw its head back as I leapt back to get away from it.

It let out a loud sneeze as the other goblins laughed at it.

"They really have no idea that I'm here."

I looked towards the goblin king and set my sights on him.

I approached the steps to the throne and quietly climbed my way up.

The goblin king simply sat there and scratched his nose.

I stood right in front of him and slowly pulled my dagger out of its sheath.

I stepped behind the throne and held the blade up against its neck.

Taking a deep breath, I uttered.

"Activate Assassinate"

[System Alert: Assassinate has been activated]

[SP: 12/20]

I swung my dagger and slit the goblin king's throat.

The king howled in pain and held his hands around the wound.

"The cut was too shallow!"

The goblins now noticed my existence. They all turned their heads toward their king and then toward me.

Baring their teeth and claws, the goblins began lunging toward me.

At the same time, the goblin king's screams grew even louder before coming to a complete stop.

I checked on the king.

The cut that I made wasn't a mere dagger slice.

In that short period of time, it grew ragged and violent, completely cutting through the goblin king's neck.

I watched his head roll from his body and down the steps.

"I… did this?"

[System Alert: You have killed the Goblin King]

[System Alert: The Goblins have no leader]

[System Alert: The stats of all Goblins within the cave decrease by 50%]

"Fifty percent!? Considering I can hold my own against 10 goblins easily, this should be enough to take most of them out."

"I'm still worried about the goblin warriors, though. I lost my life the last time I tried to fight one."

"There's no time to hesitate, anyways."

"Alright, let's do this!"

I hacked and slashed my way through the first wave of goblins that rushed toward me.

I watched another handful of goblins flee in fear after seeing their king die.

A group of them came running from below the steps as I cut all their heads off with one slash.

"I wasn't this strong yesterday. Just what exactly happened to me?"

One of the goblins grabbed my arm which was holding the dagger. I tried to shake it free.

Squeezing my other fist, I swung at the goblin and punched a hole straight through its stomach as it finally let go.

I kept advancing, cutting through any of the goblins in my way.

As that happened though, I could see my dagger getting increasingly worn down. Chips and scratches became more apparent as the battle went on.

I had taken out a little more than thirty goblins before I swung at one of their claws and watched the blade of my dagger shatter in front of me.

I needed another weapon to fight with. Despite how strong I was, I wasn't going to last with my fists alone.

"Where's a weapon I can use? Anything!"

The 'system' gave me a message.

[Inventory]

[x9 Goblin Shards]

[Goblin Warrior's Axe]

[Shortsword]

[Dagger]

[Dagger]

"I don't need your words right now!"

"Wait. That's it! It's the thing I got yesterday!"

"What is this inventory thing supposed to be? Like some storage system?"

"Uh... Give me the Goblin Warrior's Axe!"

The axe dropped in front of me and I quickly reached down to pick it up.

I swung the axe with all my strength and took ten goblins out with a single attack.

The momentum dragged me along the room causing me to stumble and fall on my back.

The axe was a little too big and heavy for me as I struggled to pick myself back up.

The goblin warriors had now taken notice of me as the two of them stomped towards me.

I got back up on my feet and swung the axe back in preparation.

They began running as they swung at me in unison.

At the same time, I mustered all my strength and swung back at them.

[System Alert: You have advantage to hit when attacking enemies larger than you.]

I watched as my axe chopped through the blades of axes that were coming towards me.

I accidentally let go of the weapon as it continued to fly, cutting through the goblin warriors' arms.

The axe slammed against the ceiling of the cave and fell on a few goblins on its way down.

The goblin warriors roared before collapsing onto the ground and turning to dust.

At this point, many of the goblins had fled as I took care of the remaining monsters with my fists.

I made the decision that the axe was not the weapon for me.

Soon the battle had finally ended.