Achievements, Contradicting Variants!

'So the achievement system also works here.'

Not unlike most immersive games, Fate's Guide also had its own achievement system. Upon reaching certain requirements, a reward would be given out.

However, compared to the reality patch where Damian barely managed to get his first achievement on the 22nd day, the achievements in the game were much more abundant.

In addition, it wasn't given for the game as a whole. Each level had its own set of achievements, and quite a few of them could be repeated in different levels. In fact, the Extinction Threat achievement was a prime example of such repeatables.

'Maybe I'm just not trying hard enough.'

Of course, in order to trigger achievement notifications that frequently, both time and dedication were required. As cumbersome as that was, it was yet another aspect that made Damian addicted to the game.

Repeating specific actions, or following a hinted sequence… Exploring various routes until something clicked had a strange charm to it.

As long as it was within the range of actions that he could use from behind the screen, Damian usually tried everything at least ten times in an attempt to trigger an achievement, and…

'I completely neglected this part.'

While it ended in disappointment most of the time, random achievements weren't as rare as one would expect. Unfortunately, ever since he landed in the Labyrinth, Damian didn't stick to the same play style. 

After all, there was no guarantee that it would work in reality as well… At least until now.

'Whatever it is, it will have to wait for later.'

Although discovering that he had another source of FP and an additional 10 FP was cause for celebration, Damian had to keep his focus on the task in front of him. 

He had just killed over a hundred Goblins, but the threat had yet to subside. Facing such a situation, Damian was reminded of his very first Den experience.

Despite being on a much larger scale, the design of this oversized cave seemed to replicate the first Den's features.

The initial wide room, a large number of small enemies, the hidden room hiding behind them… Damian could almost see the enraged Hobgoblin dashing at him through the narrow tunnel.

'Well, it's not hidden this time, but that does make it more reassuring.'

Hiding things was a tactic used by all kinds of humans. However, when it came to monsters, those who lacked confidence or desired solitude and peace were the most likely to hide.

The first Hobgoblin might have just been setting some social barriers with his subordinates, but in general, those who left the door open were either stupid or confident.

'Let's hope it's the former.'

Resting first was likely a better strategy, but Damian felt that things could be worse if he let his body cool down, striking while the iron is hot felt like a better option since he could always redo this if it went wrong!

"Phew."

Exhaling deeply, Damian held tightly to his blades and stepped into the tunnel, with fast yet firm steps, it only took seconds for him to reach his objective.

'...No Hobgoblins?'

Against Damian's expectations, the tall, buff monsters that he was expecting were nowhere to be seen. Instead, only six Goblins were waiting for him inside.

However, unlike their naked brothers who only wore a rag around their waist, these ones had some sort of leather armor covering most of their bodies, they were also all equipped with shortswords!

'It's seven.'

Moreover, that wasn't all. A few meters behind the armored Goblin lineup, a lone Goblin was sitting on a stone chair imitating the style of a throne.

'Is it finally time for a boss battle?'

Damian cautiously looked at the two sheathed shortswords lying on the throne's armrest as he approached the armored Goblins, but the 'boss' didn't seem to have any intention of moving.

On the other hand, the armored Goblins looked at Damian with obvious hostility. However, compared to normal dumb Goblins, they didn't charge at him haphazardly. Instead, they readied their shortswords while maintaining a safe distance.

'Intelligent enemies this quickly?'

Following the game's usual pattern, intelligent variants were only meant to appear later alongside stronger monsters. Seeing Goblin variants hiding behind a small army of Goblins was a first for Damian.

'Another deviation.'

While he had just confirmed that a game element like achievements was still active, Damian was met with yet another contradiction. At this rate, he had to be ready for every game scenario and its opposite in order to stop the surprises.

'Not that it matters.'

Regardless, Damian also readied his weapons in response. The armored Goblins might look smarter and far more intimidating than their counterparts, but Damian was far beyond the point of getting scared of mere Goblins.

'This is precisely why I hit the grind.'

Although his Aura wasn't at its maximum charge, Damian placed his trust elsewhere.

Swish!

Damian's first target swiftly avoided Damian's shortsword as it whistled in the air. However…

[ You have defeated a Goblin Guardsman. FP +2 ]

Damian inserted the Aura-covered knife into his neck just as swiftly. The leather armor didn't look too bad, but it only covered half the neck.

As long as he didn't miss, the amount of Aura that Damian had wasn't really that vital!

"Green!"

The other Goblin Guardsmen looked alert at the sudden death of their brother-in-arms, but they still didn't rush in blindly, and neither did the mysterious Goblin on the throne.

'Perhaps their intelligence is a flaw in this case?'

Looking at the Goblins' prudence, Damian had a funny thought. Dealing with a less skilled opponent, just one of these Guardsmen was enough to take them down. 

However, when faced with someone who had invested every advantage he had into training, the basic swarm tactics were actually their best bet. Unfortunately, each of them seemed to have their own battle style, cooperation wasn't even an option.

'Thank you.'

This was a result that was mostly obtained thanks to his prior choices, but his opponents' battle style greatly lessened Damian's burden.

Although his last adversary made the final result unclear, Damian was confident in handling the remaining variants with ease!