Chapter 14: Goblin Lord.

"I'm alright now." Nash didn't take long to refocus and calm himself.

"Let's go." Alex nodded. He could feel the incredible Mana coming from Nash. He knew of this phenomenon.

Natural awakening, also known as the chosen awakening. It was the process by which someone reaches a new rank or awakens a Class simply through their own power or by boosting their own power. The way the Adventurers' Association awakened people was by using a certain ancient technique found in the depths of a giant ruin in the Void. It was a technique used to mass produce soldiers. The intricacies eluded even the Zenith-rank Mage, Igris, yet the general consensus was that they simply push into the body a large amount of Mana until it forcibly awakens or advances. That's why it was theorized that ancient Master-rank Classes could face off against Tier-4 monsters on their own. The Master-rank Classes of today simply didn't have the expected skills to become Master-rank. That's why there was a large difference in power between Master-rank and Grandmaster-rank Classes. The Adventurers' Association only offered rank upgrades to the Grandmaster-rank, though their prices would empty the wallet of whoever coveted it. Even Nash, although tempted, could only grit his teeth and move along when he heard the price. As such, most of the world's Grandmaster-rank Classes were naturally awakened.

Nash now had almost three times the Mana Capacity. Not only did he reach the Beginner-rank, he also upgraded his F-rank grade Mana Core into an E-rank grade.

Nash walked up to the corpses and without a word stored all five inside his spatial ring. 

'Go figures. I guess the rich are truly rich.' Alex sighed as he walked forward.

"…" Nash followed behind Alex. He looked like he was out of it, but the air around him scared the party out of walking up to him.

"You okay, man?" Rob was actually the one who walked up to him.

"I'm fine." Nash said in an exhale.

"…" Rob looked at Nash with pity. The look of despair that was on Nash's face had adorned his and his sister's faces in the past. He smiled awkwardly. "Thanks for saving my friend."

"Don't mention it." Nash sighed as he thought of something. 'She would have done the exact same thing as him.'

Nash sighed again. "I'm part of your party now, so it's my job to cover for my party leader."

"…!" Rob looked at him with wide eyes. He cleared his throat. "Good to have someone of your level on board."

"Not to cut off your touching friendship, but the Goblin Lord is near so keep quiet." Alex interrupted.

"How many were there again?" Nash asked Alex in a whisper.

"Around two dozen Goblins, a Hobgoblin, and a Goblin Lord." Alex whispered back. "I will hold back the Goblin Lord, but I won't damage it in any way."

"We've got it." Nash whispered back.

"Are you sure?" Natalie whispered to Nash.

"We've got this. Tell Shinrith, K., Rob, and Rebecca to take out the Goblins." Nash told Natalie. "Leave the Hobgoblin to Leon, Naetir, and I. You stand back and survey the battlefield. If you see that someone is struggling, jump in and help them."

"I understand." Natalie nodded.

Natalie walked back slightly and whispered to the rest of their party their respective jobs.

The group walked forward quietly. They were walking to a light. Alex suddenly raised his fist. The group stopped walking.

Alex whispered. "There they are. From now on, I won't give orders. I'll be under your command."

Everyone turned to Nash. They looked at him expectantly. Shinrith asked, "What's the plan?"

"Why are you looking at me?" Nash whispered back. "Natalie's the leader."

Everyone then turned to Natalie.

"Well…Shinrith, focus on blasting through the groups of Goblins with Fire magic. Don't worry about Mana." Natalie started giving out orders to this huddle. "Rob, go after the lone Goblins that aren't easy for Shinrith to take out. K., you should take out the ones who might have some defense. Rebecca, I want you to back your group up with your puppet and Wind magic. Leon, focus on tanking the Hobgoblin. Use that technique that Nash taught you. Naetir, I want you to support Leon in any way you can. Nash, I want you to focus on beating the Hobgoblin. When you're done, I want you guys to focus on the Goblin Lord. Master Alex, please hold back the Goblin Lord long enough for Leon and his group to take out the Hobgoblin."

"I will support anyone who needs it. Don't let your guards down!" Natalie ordered in a hush.

Everyone walked to the opening of the giant room that emitted light. They slowly surveyed the room. The Goblins were more scattered than Natalie originally thought.

"Do we keep going?" Rob asked.

"Don't worry about it. It changes nothing. Shinrith, go crazy when we go in. Take as many as you can by surprise." Natalie thinned her eyes. "Nash, do you have anything that can blind them?"

"Yes." Nash replied. "I have the Novice-rank Spell, Blinding Light. It won't blind them for long, but I will try it out."

"Great. Use it as soon as we go in. Everyone, cover your eyes at that time." Natalie took a deep breath in. "Now…go!"

The party rushed into action.

"Grrr?" the Hobgoblin turned to the entrance.

"Gurtack!" the Goblin Lord barked out orders at him.

Whoosh!

The party rushed in. Nash raised his arm to the sky.

Blinding Light!

The party closed their eyes in advance.

The entire group of Goblins started rolling in pain as they rolled on the ground. They covered their sensitive eyes.

"You atck os?!" the Goblin Lord yelled in broken Ashitorian.

Inferno!

Shinrith immediately Cast the Beginner-rank Spell, Inferno.

A wave of fire overtook seven of the Goblins, burning them alive. As an AOE focused Spell, it didn't have enough firepower to kill them immediately, but they were slowly but surely dying.

"KUAR TA KEN!!" the Goblin Lord yelled at the Goblins. They quickly started separating.

"This will be easier than we thought." Natalie muttered. "Go!"

Each member rushed at their target. The first to arrive at their target was K.. He raised his daggers and slit the throat of two Goblins before immediately being surrounded by five. Rebecca's puppet made a path through the encirclement and took a few hits for K..

"They can use strategy! Proceed with caution!!" Natalie ordered. 'If it wasn't for Rebecca's puppet, it would've been a party member who received those hits.'

Rob started swinging his greatsword crazily. The poor Goblins could barely block with their daggers. Even if the hit wasn't lethal, it would send them flying with broken bones!

Nash made a beeline with Alex towards the Goblin Lord and Hobgoblin duo. He unsheathed his longsword and sent Mana into his entire body.

The Goblin Lord, who was clad in Kobold skin, sneered at them as he unsheathed his own longsword. Nash quickly noticed the shiny stone at the pommel of the sword.

'A magic stone?!' Nash's eyes widened in surprise. "Be careful! It has a magic sword!"

"I saw it." Alex responded.

Slash!

Nash slashed at the unfocused Hobgoblin.

"Carneen!" the Goblin Lord growled at the Hobgoblin as he pulled it back.

"K-Kurruk." the Hobgoblin stuttered.

"Peak-Tier...this is gonna be troublesome." Nash muttered.

"Don't worry! I got this!" Alex rushed at the Goblin Lord.

Black Lightning Slash!

Alex's sword was completely surrounded by black lightning. He swung as hard as he could at the Goblin Lord's hand.

"Garneel!!" the Goblin Lord smirked.

Vrooom.

Alex's sword slowly came to a halt before a purple shockwave sent Alex flying backwards!

"Gravity magic?! What the hell is this creature?!" Alex's eye twitched in frustration.

"Leader!" Nash called out. "Requesting a switch in positions!"

"Granted!" Natalie rushed at the Hobgoblin.

Nash quickly Cast two Spells.

Body Enhancement!

Boost!

Two lines of runes appeared as Nash slashed between them. His longsword accelerated incredibly, taking the Goblin Lord by surprise.

Slash!

True Repulsion!

Nash's face paled as he saw the runes condense in front of the Goblin Lord.

Vroom!

He was sent flying backwards as well.

"..." Nash felt a shiver go down his back. "BE CAREFUL!!! IT PERFECT CAST AN ADVANCED-RANK SPELL!!!"

"Wanna do that thing you did with the slimes?" Alex grit his teeth as he maintained a small distance from the Goblin Lord.

"I can't use it here! I'll be left defenseless!" Nash said as he tried maneuvering around the Goblin Lord's makeshift throne, trying to find an opening. 

"Well, what do we do now?" Alex was actually worried for once. 'If I die now, no one will go back for Rose!'

"..." Nash grit his teeth. "Everyone! Come back me up!"

Nash then turned to Alex. "I need you to wipe out all the other monsters!"

"Alright!" Alex left Nash all alone against the Goblin Lord.

"You know..." Nash's eyelid twitched with fear as he stood face to face with the Goblin Lord, a smile plastered on his face. "I always wanted to learn Goblin to speak with your kind. It was a wish of my late wife to try and understand aggressive monsters."

"You wased time!" the Goblin Lord roared as he started Casting an Intermediate-rank spell, Wind Blast.

'Shit!' Nash's face paled as he recognized the spell.

Wind Blast!

Boom!

Nash could hear the air being ripped apart as he rolled to the left.

The Goblin Lord appeared next to him as he barely got his footing.

"Die." the Goblin Lord said as he raised his longsword in the air.

Teleport!

Boost!

The same two lines of runes appeared in front of Nash as he appeared behind the Goblin Lord.

He slashed between them mercilessly.

Vroom.

Right when Nash was about to draw blood, Nash's blade slowly came to a halt as he was repelled far away by the Advanced-rank gravity spell, True Repulsion.

"..." the Goblin Lord's skin was covered in goosebumps. "You danger. You kill first."

Nash simply grit his teeth after taking three deep breaths to calm himself.

"We're here!" Natalie said as she jumped in front of Nash. Leon rushed in front of the whole group and stood in front of the Goblin Lord. 

"Alright...everyone calm down." Nash exhaled slowly. 

"I kill yellow hair. Move." the Goblin Lord sent chills down Leon's back as it spoke.

Greater Slash!

Rob swung his greatsword at the Goblin Lord with all he had as he used a skill!

Clank!

BAM!!

Rob was granted some air time as the Goblin Lord blocked with its longsword.

'Wait a second...' Nash widened his eyes.

"It's low on Mana! Approach with caution!" Nash said as he unsheathed his second longsword.

By now, Alex had finished off all the remaining Goblins with only the Hobgoblin left.

"Let's see what you're made of." Nash grit his teeth once more as he walked next to Leon. He whispered to the fox man. "Don't use Mana Manipulation. A solid hit from this thing and you're dead. Focus on getting the others out of the way of its attacks."

"Rob, you're with me! Natalie, get ready for the kill!" Nash roared out orders as he dashed at the Goblin Lord.

The Goblin Lord simply scoffed. "You speak plan in front of me? You stupid. I thinked you was better fighter."

'Time to test out this thing.' Nash thought as he recalled a vision he had a few minutes ago. When he became a Beginner-rank Swordsman, a vision flashed in his mind. It was of himself, preforming certain movements. It was his first skill.

Ironically, his first skill was Mana Blade which simply relied on his ability to control Mana rather than his physical abilities. 

Nash simply swung wide. 

The Goblin Lord scoffed again. "You far. You really stupid!!"

It felt insulted that someone who couldn't gauge the distance between himself and his opponent almost took his life.

Mana Blade!

Just as Nash was about to miss, his sword was covered in a coat of blue that extended the reach of the blade by around twenty centimeters. 

"!!!" the Goblin Lord dodged backwards quickly.

"How'd you like that?" Nash smirked.

Thud.

The Goblin Lord was furious. It didn't even make a sound as half its large nose hit the ground. 

"Enough play. I get serious now." it spoke in a tone filled with power. It actually got into a stance with its longsword and rushed Nash.

"Back up!" Nash roared as he raised his longswords.

Natalie appeared beside the Goblin Lord and stabbed at its knee.

Clink!

The Goblin Lord easily parried, leaving Natalie wide open. It raised its sword high.

Teleport! 

Shinrith, who was waiting on the side, quickly teleported next to Natalie and pushed her out of the way.

Powerful Wind!

Rebecca used the Beginner-rank spell, Powerful Wind, to push the two out of the Goblin Lord's line of sight.

"Good job!" Nash praised as he kept his eye on the monster in front of him. He took a quick glance at Alex. 'He's still fighting?! Finish it quickly!'

The moment Nash returned his sight to the Goblin Lord, he felt a chill. It was right in front of him. It was within striking distance!!

Just as the Goblin Lord raised its longsword high.

Mother's Embrace! 

The earth around Nash quickly covered him and protected him. After the first hit cracked the barrier, the whole thing crumbled, leaving Nash ready to strike. 

He quickly swung at the Goblin Lord. The Goblin Lord easily parried his attack and setup the counterattack. Rob also appeared from behind and slashed. Natalie followed suit.

The trio kept bombarding the monster with attacks while the others supported them with spells. Rebecca even sent in her puppet at the Peak-Tier Novice-rank. The four combatants looked like they were overwhelming the monster, but the Goblin Lord's skills were obviously superior. Leon jumped in once he realized that it was slightly struggling. The five were attacking ferociously, yet they were also stressed out to an unbelievable degree. One mistake was all it took for the whole thing to come crumbling down.

Sadly, that mistake came all too soon.

"GAAAH!!" Nash grit his teeth as the Goblin Lord redirected one of his own longswords into his thigh.

As Nash was trying to retreat, the Goblin Lord was pressuring him. It would focus most of its attacks on the injured Nash. The injuries kept piling up slowly.

BOOM!!

Just as Nash was starting to get dizzy from blood loss, Alex had finished off the Hobgoblin and started attacking the Goblin Lord.

As Nash was retreating, he yelled to the party. "Back him up! Don't forget, it still has spells!"

"Tsk." the Goblin Lord clicked its tongue. "You annoying."

It seemed to match Alex, maybe even surpass him in terms of pure skill with the sword, but it was clear that Alex had much more fighting experience. After all, what in this dungeon could match a Goblin Lord?

The entire party feared interfering and messing up. Nash quickly walked next to Naetir. 

"I want you to pierce its right leg when I give you the singal." Nash whispered.

"A-Alright." Naetir felt a chill as she tried to focus. Nash cut her cheek with his longsword. 

"The pain keeps you focused." Nash tried to stay conscious. 

The clash continued. It was obvious to Nash that if they didn't interfere soon, Alex was going to lose. Just as the Goblin Lord was blocking a downward slash from Alex, Nash tapped Naetir's back.

Fire Lance!

'Damn it! Poor spell choice!' Nash grit his teeth as he raised his finger to start Casting, yet he was interrupted as he widened his eyes in shock. 

Hidden Strike!

K. appeared behind the Goblin Lord and dug his dagger deep into its neck.

"YOU!?!" the Goblin Lord coughed up blood.

"GOOD JOB!!" Alex roared.

Unholy Slash!

Alex bisected the entire monster in half.

Surprising the party, Nash rushed in.

True Loot!

He quickly Perfect Cast a rune that turned the monster into a bright light.

From the bright light, the Goblin Lord's clothing, longsword, necklace, earring, tusk, femur, and Mana Core dropped. Along with the Goblin Lord's things, an armguard dropped. 

"What did you do?!" Natalie feared that Nash was trying to steal the loot.

"I wanted to True Loot it before some idiot tried to Loot it." Nash's vision turned blurry as Natalie grabbed him by the collar.

"True...Loot?" Natalie tilted her head.

"Yeah...it...can I get a heal?" Nash couldn't finish his thought as he turned to K. who was slightly hyperventilating from the action.

"C-C-Coming!" K. happily walked up to Nash and used Minor Heal.

"Thanks..." Nash shook his head before he looked at the loot. "Let's see what we got."

The entire party grouped up, even Alex.

"Alright..." Natalie sighed. She picked up the longsword. "This goes to Master Alex. Any objections?"

Everyone looked at Nash. He was the only one who would object.

"I'm not naive enough to think we could've survived this without him." Nash sighed. "No objections."

"Very well." Natalie smiled and nodded.

'That's at least a Tier-3 longsword for it to have gravity magic attached, might even be a Special Tier-3...what a waste.' Nash sighed once more.

"Alright. The person who did the most after Master Alex was K." Natalie smiled. "Choose which one you want, though I'm sure I already know."

"You bet!" K. excitedly took the Mana core. It was a Special Tier-2 Mana core! It could sustain him for at least a week! He quickly consumed the Special Tier-2 Mana core. 

No one said a thing. It was true that he did save them, as well as the fact that they all pitied him.

"Next is Nash." Natalie turned to Nash.

Nash walked up to the femur and inspected it. He sighed. "I guess I'll take the armguard."

"Any objections?" Natalie looked at the rest. Like so, they distributed the rest of the items. They agreed to sell the necklace, earing, clothing, tusk, and femur then split the earnings.

"Hold on." Nash said. "We need to inspect them. If one of them is an item, we'll regret selling it for the measly price of a normal accessory."

"We don't have the kind of money needed to inspect every piece of loot we get." Natalie bitterly smiled.

"Fine then. I'll pay." Nash said. "However, I expect to be able to choose one item if they are items. If they're not, I want double what I'd usually get."

"..." 

"..."

"..."

"Any objections?" Natalie asked after a period of silence.

Everyone else sighed. 

"Do you still want to get the Boss?" Alex asked.

"I don't know about the rest, but I'm freaking spent." Leon dropped to the ground.

"It's only been two hours." Nash sighed. "Get up."

"No." Natalie sighed. "We need to rest up. It might've only been two hours, but we fought an entire group and got some decent loot. We'll kill everything we find on our way back." 

"Very well..." Nash nodded as he equipped the armguard. 'It's a little loose. I'll have to adjust it when I get back.'

As the group was leaving, they met many adventurers that could see the exhaustion on even Alex's face. 

"Could it be that they encountered the rumored Shadow Walkers?" a young man looked on with awe.

Someone pushed him out of the way as a large figure entered the dungeon.

"Well...well...well..." a deep voice chuckled. "If it isn't the Dark Swordsman!"