13 Chapter 13: First Combat
I felt it. In my back and down my spine.
Judging from the look on his face, Master felt it too. It felt like a bucket of ice had been poured down my back. I'm not weak though. I have felt this many times before.
My instructor said that it was a natural ability of Gnolls, the ability to sense danger. The presences of our enemies. It is a useful gift. It has helped to save the lives of our people many times. Only, why was it kicking in now?
Just as I was thinking this, several green skinned humanoids rushed from the cave. They held sharp stones and makeshift spears in their hands as they rushed towards us, rage showing on their face.
It was clear that this was going to be a fight.
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There were five of them. Five green humanoids streaming from the cave. Faruth started breathing heavily.
It was his first battle, only shortly after he had been reborn. Through walking about the forest for several hours, trying to find a place to camp, he had slowly gotten used to his new, animal-like body. He felt a small sense of invulnerability through the increase in his body's capabilities and was raring to try them out.
Within his mind, he worked out that in comparison to his 'old' body, his Stats had nearly tripled! Though he was only basing that on the feeling of his own strength, he thought that it was quite accurate.
Even this considered, he wouldn't make the mistake of rushing ahead without considering the consequences again. It wouldn't be like last time. With the refreshing feeling of the blessing clearing his mind, he used appraisal on the monsters sprinting towards him without a care.
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[[Name: Gromger]]
[[Age: 18]] [[Level: 4]]
[[Race: Goblin]]
[[Job: Warrior]] [[Affiliation: None]]
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[[HP: 216]] [[MP: 189]]
[[Stamina: 374]]
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[[Strength: 19]] [[Endurance: 18]]
[[Vitality: 12]] [[Agility: 22]]
[[Intelligence: 21]] [[Wisdom: 9]]
[[Charisma: 0]] [[Luck: 1]]
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[[Skills:]]
[[Active:]]
[Strong Blow lvl.2]
[Slash lvl.1]
[Resource Harvesting lvl.3]
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[[Passive:]]
[Cowardly lvl.2]
[Leader lvl.1]
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He didn't regret his decision to check their Stats. If he had charged in against five enemies that weren't much weaker than himself, he would've undoubtedly died. But now, he had to formulate a plan within the limited window that he had.
After deliberating for a few seconds, he turned to Wulfarth and shouted.
["Wulfarth, I'm going to charge in, support me from behind"] {Faruth}
With a nod of affirmation, Wulfarth raised his hands into the air and began to mumble incoherently, before a purple light descended in front of him, churning itself into a circle.
After the circle had dissipated, Faruth could make out the figure of a large red wolf standing in its place. It was clear that this was the Beast Master's most basic skill, [Beast Summoning].
'Let's see this Beast Master put into action!'
With the wolf following behind, he quickly charged towards the goblins. As he did, he retrieved his sword from his inventory and placed it in his hand, along with a piece of wood that he found in the forest earlier to act as a makeshift shield.
Within a short space of time, Faruth and the Goblins were locked in combat. The first one to swing at him was the only Goblin holding a spear, one that he could only assume was their leader. The spear clashed against the shield with a downwards smash, almost sending Faruth flying back due to the strength put behind it.
But he held against it, pushing back against the Goblin's spear whilst moving back to dodge the Goblin at his side striking towards him with a sharp rock in its grasp.
Just as he was about to dodge once more, the Beast Master's wolf dived towards a Goblin at the back, sinking its jaws into its arm. The monster let out a shrill scream as crimson blood flowed down its side and onto the grass.
Doing this caught the attention of the stone wielding Goblin, allowing Faruth a chance to swing at it with his sword. Though the monster tried to turn around, the only thing that it met with was Faruth's cold sword through its shoulder.
Glancing at the blood flowing from its arm, the Goblin quivered as it attempted to retreat and pull the sword from its body, only to find the sword now placed firmly within its skull.
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[[Congratulations! You have slain a Goblin Warrior:]]
[[You gained 150 XP]]
[[You gained: Goblin Ear x 1]]
[[You gained: Goblin Leather x 1]]
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Faruth completely ignored the window his time around, a slip in focus during a battle could mean his death, as proven just then.
He disregarded, or rather, didn't feel the sickening feeling that should come with killing another sentient being. Perhaps it was because of his blessing, or maybe because they were common mobs in games. Or maybe it was his instinct as a monster taking over.
Disregarding his thoughts once more, he retreated again, dodging the second attack from the Goblin leader. This caused anger to seep through its body as it wildly swung its spear about.
Taking advantage of the situation, he swept the Goblin leader's makeshift spear to the side, splitting it in half as he did so. The clear disparity in their weapons shone brightly in this situation. An iron sword and a thick stick were never really a compatible pair to begin with.
The slash carried on through to the Leader's throat, being embedded two thirds through, killing it almost instantly.
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[[Congratulations! You have slain a Goblin Leader:]]
[[You gained 300 XP]]
[[You gained: Goblin Ear x 1]]
[[You gained: Exquisite Goblin Leather x 1]]
[[You gained: Magic Stone (Small) x 1]]
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This lone strike effectively ended the battle completely. Without the morale support from their leadership role, they quickly crumbled and began to flee, though their two opponents wouldn't let them. They quickly pursued and finished them off.
__________________________________________________________
[[Congratulations! You have slain a Goblin Warrior:]]
[[You gained 150 XP]]
[[You gained: Goblin Ear x 1]]
[[You gained: Goblin Leather x 1]]
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__________________________________________________________
[[Congratulations! You have slain a Goblin Warrior:]]
[[You gained 150 XP]]
[[You gained: Goblin Ear x 1]]
[[You gained: Goblin Leather x 1]]
__________________________________________________________
Faruth and his companion finished off the battle with nothing but minor injuries, landing them not only spoils of war, but a place to sleep for the night too. Just as he was about to confirm the result of the battle with Wulfarth, a window appeared that he couldn't Ignore.
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[[Congratulations! You have reached Level 2!]]
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