Let Me See What You've Got
>WHOOSHH!!!<
Liebert expertly moved his scrawny body and instantaneously pierced the heads of the two Goblins that charged at him.
The final one got a hit from behind, causing the Liebert to lose his balance and stagger forward as he yelped.
However, he quickly recovered and retracted the bones he used on the two earlier Goblins.
Quickly creating a smaller bony structure, he pounced on the monster and slit its throat with the bone dagger in his grasp.
"Two more… just two more…" He rose to his feet and looked in the direction of the opening gate.
The new Goblins that came out had weapons equipped, making them trickier to kill.
Liebert realized this, and he certainly didn't have enough nourishment to create elaborate bone constructs.
'A longer weapon would be better because of the advantage of reach, but I'm out of nutrients…'
What he needed was a way to kill two more Goblins, and the only weapon he had was a dagger.
'It'll be a close call, but…' Liebert steeled his stoic, hunger-stricken face and readied his bone knife.
'… Let's do this!'
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Consider me extremely surprised—damn! he actually pulled it off!
A bright smile spread over my face as I watched the Liebert fellow exiting the stage.
"He killed six Goblins, and then he surrendered. That guy…" The girl beside me muttered, causing me to glance at her for a moment.
I believe her name was Asa. It seemed she noticed the same thing I did.
'He was never aiming for more than that amount.'
The guy probably deduced that he would reach the minimum requirement if he defeated six Goblins, and he was right.
He simply used the minimum amount of effort required to achieve his objective—not getting too greedy and putting himself at greater risk. That was quite a genius move.
Unlike Gu—who passed out after exerting himself to the limit—Liebert didn't have any injuries on his body, neither did he appear to be on the verge of passing out.
'I could have sworn that one of those Goblins got him in the back… but there's no injury…' Perhaps he was more competent than I thought.
Or could it be the effect of a Skill?
Speaking of Skills, that bone stuff he used was quite awesome. If it worked the way I thought it did, the possibilities were endless.
'I wonder if he can make wolverine claws, or maybe shoot out bone bullets. Those would be pretty cool!' Grinning from ear to ear, I watched Gerund announce the next participant.
It was a guy called Desir.
He had a big build—no, to be frank, I would call him stout.
'Look at those chubby cheeks and flabby arms…' I smiled, while observing his unusual form.
Still, I couldn't make fun of him.
In terms of Levels and his Status Bars (HP and MP), he was coming a close second to Gu.
Plus, with the absurd amount of HP he had, compared to his MP, I would say he was more likely to win in a drawn-out match since he was built like a Tank.
'He must have high Defense and Vitality. This guy…' Once again, I was grateful for being the last person to fight.
I had to watch and learn as much as possible from my predecessors. It was the only way I could stand a chance in the cruel test I was soon going to undertake.
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"Next, Asa!"
Desir got a total of 21 Goblins, the highest so far.
He could have gone even further, but the time limit wasn't in his favor.
The moment the time was up, he had to withdraw from the match. Still, I was impressed, considering he was the only one who used his allocated time to the fullest.
'So, his style is a drawn-out battle, after all… as expected of a Tank.'
"I guess it's my turn…" The girl beside me rose to her feet, smiling a little.
I felt like she was looking in my direction at some point, but I simply pretended not to notice.
'Does she still suspect me for the stuff that happened in the first test?'
If that was the case, then I had to think of something… and fast!
I watched the Asa lady climb the stage, holding onto her weapons with precision. Since we were allowed to use weapons, it was no wonder that she had a few equipped.
Some would say that allowing the use of items and weapons was somewhat unfair, since some people were bound to have better items than others.
There was also the factor that the examinees could pass simply based on their item's advantages and not individual skill.
But, I personally disagreed with that notion.
'Items are a part of a person's capabilities!'
Even professional Adventurers relied on several items in their adventure.
Besides, items could only do so much for an unskilled fighter.
Therefore, it was more realistic to judge participants fairly, regardless of whatever items with which they were equipped.
'Besides, aspiring Adventurers don't usually have enough funds to afford decent gear, so it's pretty balanced…'
Our brave new challenger had a bow in her right hand, a quiver tightly strapped around her back, and I could count twenty arrows arranged within.
Using Insight, I could also spot a few daggers expertly hidden beneath her skirt, attached to her gloves and boots—even under the soles of her feet.
'Damn, she's armed to the teeth!'
Of everyone present, this lady was probably the most prepared when it came to Items.
Even Desir, whom I thought was pretty impressive with his shield and armor, was nothing compared to Asa's badass getup.
Her light, yet protective outfit was also amazing.
'She would have easily gotten the top score in the Search Exam, and now she's blowing my mind in this second one.'
It was crazy, but I could feel myself getting super pumped up for the fight that would soon unfold before my eyes.
'This will be so cool!'
As the metal cage closed in on her, I felt the young lady's gaze meet me for yet another moment, and her smile intensified.
It could have just been my overactive imagination, but something about the expression on her face told me that she wanted me to watch her with absolute diligence.
'Nah! I'm probably imagining things…'
Still, that didn't mean I was going to pass up the opportunity to witness such an epic fight.
'Show me what you've got, Asa!'