Breathe

Note: I added slight changes to the Leo status window from the previous chapter.

_____

'Where did that old guy go?' Leo mused, unable to find the old mage goblin who was here before he started his evolving process.

'Why is it so empty?'

Looking through the village, he can't find a single soul; not a single goblin can be seen. 

As Leo was getting confused by this strange situation, a loud explosion took place at the front gate of the village. 

Boom!!! 

'Explosion?' Something must have happened while he was in the middle of evolving, and it doesn't seem to be something good, or is it? 

Now that the goblin's focused on something else, this is the best opportunity for him to quickly slip away and get the heck out of here! 

'But let's take a peek at what is happening before leaving' There may be something important that he will miss if he just leaves like this. 

Without further ado, Leo proceeded to the front gate, curious as to what might be happening that had gathered the attention of all the goblins in this village. 

With his newfound strength, not even a minute has passed, and he has already reached the other side of the village, where the front gate is located. 

As he arrived, a gruesome and gory battlefield entered his vision. The ground was a bloody mess, filled with goblin corpses and body parts as goblins ripped each other to shreds, causing screams and cries of pain and anger.

'Huh?!' Leo did not anticipate something like this happening.

Boom! 

Another explosion occurred at the center of the battle. Two powerful goblins are seen battling against one another, and one of them is someone he is familiar with. 

'He is losing...' Leo, observing the ongoing battle, was greatly surprised to see the goblin leader slowly being pushed back and on the losing side. His body is full of burn marks and cuts, while the goblin he is fighting against has only suffered some small cuts. 

Gokak felt someone gazing at him and turned around to see an unfamiliar-looking goblin near the front gate, staring right into his eyes. Although the goblin looked different, he knew that it was Leo, and a sense of hope reignited within him. 

Finally, he had arrived! He almost thought he wouldn't come. Now the table will turn in their favor.

"Garw Garw Garw!" (You! What are you standing there for? Come help me deal with this guy!) Gokak shouted to Leo with a relieved expression.  

Dork's expression turned grave. He didn't expect that they had already used the evolution stone. Even with his boosted strength, he didn't know if he could deal with two evolved monsters at the same time. 

'Tch, this bastard was wasting time all along' He cursed; he should not have fooled around and finished this bastard off. 

Hearing the goblin leader call out for support, Leo begins to contemplate. Should he help? He was only here to see what was going on. 

'Hmmm' 

Seeing Leo not respond, Gokak begins to feel nervous. If he decides not to help, this will be the end of him. Observing the goblin leaders' panicked expressions and looking at him with a hint of desperation, Leo thought of a devilish plan.

'Heh, that sounds good.' Nodding to himself, he walked toward them. 

"Garw Garw Garw" (Well, if you say so, leader, of course I will help.) Leo said this while trying to suppress a smirk from forming on his face. He then opened his status window and added the six stat points he gained from leveling up in agility. 

'Now then, time to test this new skill that I got'

Breath

Inhaling a deep breath, mana flows throughout his body before moving to both of his hands. And… 

Crackle~

From both of his hands, flame rushed out, covering the entirety of his fists. Sweat formed all over his body before vaporizing just as quickly from the intense heat generated by the flame. Activating [Haste] and [Silent Dash], he speeded toward the bulky goblin and threw a flaming punch.

Swish 

Dork's eyes widened; the goblin's speed was way too fast. He appeared in front of him in an instant, his fist ready to strike his gut. 

Bang!! 

The punch strikes into the Dork's guts, making him cough a mouthful of blood and shoot backward into a tree, smashing it apart. 

Puff

Exhaling, the flame dispersed. He began breathing heavily, taking in as much air as possible. Sweat formed once again all over his body. 

'Huff…Huff… It seems… Using this skill has some disadvantages.' Leo wiped off the sweat on his forehead. 

Using this skill puts immense stress on his body, and while using it, he is unable to exhale or breathe in any oxygen, meaning he has to perform everything in a single breath. By just performing a single attack, he already has to deactivate the skill. 

With enough training and practice, he will be able to use this skill more freely, but for now, this is his limit. 

Nonetheless, the devastating power of this skill is no joke. 

Looking at the bulky goblin, the burned area has turned black, and smoke is rising from the flesh, cooked from the extreme flame. 

"Garw…" (How…) Dork uttered in disbelief. The power behind those flames was way too powerful! Even with the fire attack damage boost that he gains from the crystal, he wouldn't be able to produce such a powerful flame attack. 

Gokak was also shocked by the power Leo had displayed. Didn't he just evolve? 

"Garw Garw" (Hey, what are you standing there for? Don't let me do all the work) Leo grumbled, seeing the goblin leader standing there doing nothing. 

Gokak's mouth twitched; he didn't like the way he was talking to him, but now wasn't the time to care about such a thing. He stomped his feet into the ground, and a piece of the ground was lifted into the air. Clutching his fist, he moved his arm backward and punched the rock with full force, causing it to bolt toward Dock with incredible speed.