Gathering Points [7]

After dispatching the goblin warriors more easily than I anticipated, the rest of the goblins finally managed to surround me. 

Despite their dim-wittedness, their vigilance towards me, evident in their reluctance to dive straight into attack despite signs of exhaustion, hinted at their intelligence.

However, if they didn't attack, then I would. Staying passive here wasn't going to do me any good.

"Ah!" 

With a low roar, I charged at the goblin closest to me. 

Seeing their 'prey' actually take the initiative to attack, the goblins were stunned and could only watch as I killed one of their peers. 

Before they could recover, my shield had already turned another goblin into a bloody mess. 

By the time they had recovered from their shock, my shield was already heading towards the head of another goblin.

I could see the goblins' expressions turn to rage, but it was none of my concern. 

Though I was weaker now due to exhaustion, these goblins were no threat to me. 

Their numbers were also dwindling, so the quicker I ended this to assist Lionel, the better.

Crush! 

Just as my shield crushed the skull of the last goblin and killed it, without resting, I turned to look in Lionel's direction.

"Ah-"

I was about to let out a sound of exclamation before stopping.

'You know what? I'll just stop being surprised.'

At this point, I was starting to feel numb towards Lionel.

He was the main character of this world. Still is.

Freaking bastard.

The reason I was rushing to kill the goblins on my end wasn't just for my sake but because of Lionel's condition.

Though he was strong, he wasn't just facing a boss monster; he was also facing a significant number of its minions alone.

Logically, he should be struggling.

Well, logically…

But he wasn't.

The Lionel in front of me even seemed to be having it easier than before.

As the [Goblin Shaman] continued to rain fireballs on Lionel, instead of dodging them or charging towards the [Goblin Shaman] to finish it off, he instead 'cut' them.

Yes. He was cutting the fireballs directed at him with his sword.

In a world like this tower, this was a normal thing.

If I saw someone else aside from Lionel doing this, I would only nod and not be surprised, but that was the issue.

It was Lionel.

As he swung his sword around, I could see a faint aura surrounding his sword.

It was strange and it seemed like it would disappear soon, but the sight of it alone shocked me because I knew what it was.

Mana.

I wasn't shocked by its existence but by the fact that Lionel could use it.

One should not forget that we've only been in the tower for barely five hours.

Mana was something that even most chosen from the tower could not use until they started climbing the tower.

Yet.

Lionel was using it now.

'Freaking monster.'

I turned to look at the headless goblins around Lionel and couldn't help but curse in appreciation.

'Even the original Lionel couldn't do this.'

They were the same Lionel, but the original Lionel would have run away at the sight of the Goblin Shaman.

'It's because of me.'

It had only been a few hours, yet I was starting to see the results of my existence in the tower.

If I followed the original narrative, I was never supposed to 'exist' here, but I am, and that's the biggest change.

There was nothing I could do about that.

Boom!

This time Lionel chose to dodge the fireball heading towards him and charged at the Goblin Shaman.

This time I could see his movement more clearly. He was obviously very exhausted now but still fast.

In a matter of seconds, Lionel had already gotten close to the goblin shaman after dodging a few fireballs.

What should have been a life and death battle for most people, including me…

Swoosh.

Ended way more easily than I would have expected.

[Mini Boss (Goblin Shaman) has been eliminated]

[You have completed the quest 'Destroy The Goblins Stronghold']

[You have gained 1000 points]

[Total points: 2134]

[Quest Evaluation: Excellent] 

[Extra reward: Minor increase in random stat]

[New Skill gained!]

Several notifications flashed past my eyes and a smile graced my face.

'This is only the beginning.'