"Shush, don't make any noise, Lulu," Kierra whispered, her brown eyes locking onto the small monkey's.
The tiny cub nodded cutely, its bright eyes full of understanding.
Meanwhile, Victor's own pet clung tightly to his shoulder, seemingly sensing the tension in the air.
Victor's focus remained fixed on the Hobgoblins, patiently waiting for the right moment to catch one alone.
After what felt like an eternity, the opportunity finally presented itself.
"Kierra, be ready. That one is heading off alone. Let's follow it," Victor murmured, moving carefully on his tiptoes.
Kierra nodded, trailing behind him as they slinked through the bushes and dry trees, staying out of sight.
Suddenly the muscular Hobgoblin paused. His sharp instincts tingled as if someone was watching him.
It turned around abruptly, and his eyes scanned around the area.
But there was nothing. No movement. No sign of life.
He scratched his head in puzzlement.
Gripping its bone spear tightly, the Hobgoblin hesitated for a moment before continuing forward, its expression calm and carefree.
Victor and Kierra exchanged a glance.
This level 8 Hobgoblin was armed. Most likely it was warrior of their Den who uses brute strength most of the time.
They had to take it seriously.
They couldn't afford to let it return to its den, where even stronger Hobgoblins might be waiting.
This was their moment. It was now alone.
They had to strike.
"Make it explode, Kierra," Victor whispered near her ear, his breath sending a slight shiver down her spine.
"I know. Just get back already," she muttered in a low voice, slightly flustered.
Then she focused and silently conjured a Fireball in her palm.
Slowly, carefully, she made it grow, fueling it with max power to heavily injure, if not outright kill the Hobgoblin in a single strike.
Then—
"Whoosh!"
She threw the Fireball toward their target, 15 meters ahead.
Her aim was flawless, as well as the speed.
The Hobgoblin's ears twitched, sensing the incoming attack. It paused mid-step, nostrils flaring as it sniffed the air.
Then, its eyes flashed with understanding.
However, Instead of turning back to defend, it suddenly sprinted forward, rushing straight ahead.
Kierra smiled evilly.
She had expected this.
She knew Hobgoblins had sharp senses and battle instincts. As such catching one off guard wasn't easy.
That's why she had deliberately aimed the Fireball slightly ahead of its path.
And the result of such careful planning:
"Boom!"
The Hobgoblin was caught mid-stride as the Fireball exploded in a surge of raging flames.
Victor glanced at Kierra, impressed.
The girl was simply a genius—her tactical knowledge was beyond what he had expected. Just which family had trained her?
However, his thoughts were quickly pulled back to reality as the burning Hobgoblin let out an ear-piercing shriek, its agonized cries echoing through the forest.
"Krrrrrr... Krrre!"
The sight of it writhing in flames, coupled with its monstrous wails, was brutal to witness.
"Whoosh!"
Then all of a sudden Victor rushed to the spot where the hobgoblin wailed.
But he was not running out of madness.
He had to finish it before it alerted nearby enemies.
As he ran forward, his pet clinging desperately to his shirt, barely managing to hold on.
Once reaching there, he hacked down with his sword in the most brutal manner.
"Slash!"
[ Critical Strike! ]
With a single, precise slash to the neck, his steel sword sliced through flesh and bone in one clean motion.
A moment later, the kill notification appeared.
[ You have killed the Hobgoblin Warrior - Level 8 ]
[ EXP +160 ]
[ You have leveled up. Level 6 → Level 7 ]
[ HP +20 ]
[ You have received 10 attribute points to distribute freely ]
[ Your Health and Stamina have been restored ]
__
As Victor stood triumphantly, a rush of energy washed over him, instantly restoring him to peak condition with his level-up.
"Ah, how intoxicating this feeling is," he mused internally, savoring the feeling of level up. Leveling up never gets old; it was a sensation he could never tire of.
But he didn't let himself get carried away. He had something important to do: to distribute his attribute points.
After analyzing his performance in the recent fights, he had a clear understanding of his weaknesses. Strength and Stamina were his biggest shortcomings, and Agility was always a priority in fast-paced battles.
Without hesitation, he allocated his points:
[ Strength +4 ]
[ Stamina +3 ]
[ Agility +3 ]
As for Intelligence, he decided to leave it untouched because his current intelligence were sufficient, for now.
________________________
[ Player Stats ]
Name: Raizel Ashblade
Title: Savior Of Bone Village
Reputation: 100 (Friendly)
Level: 7 | EXP: 70/5000
Class: Anti-Megus
Spells: Nullification Field (F), Quick Steal (F).
Stats:-
[ HP: 110 /110 ]
[ Strength: 21 ]
[ Agility: 19 ]
[ Stamina: 23 ]
[ Intelligence: 21 ]
[ Available Attribute Points: 0 ]
_____________________
Victor was satisfied with the increase in Strength. He now had a clear vision in his mind.
Once his physical stats surpassed others by a great margin, he would reign supreme within his own Anti-Magic Field. Once his spell levels up of course.
That was the path he intended to carve out for himself.
A smirk played on his lips as he imagined the future, but his thoughts were abruptly cut short when he noticed Kierra standing inches away from him. And her expression didn't look good.
She was fuming mad.
His body stiffened. 'Oh, crap... I stole her kill.'
Realization hit him like a hammer.
In the heat of the moment, he had finished off the Hobgoblin without thinking, unintentionally robbing Kierra of her kill.
"Raizel!" Kierra shouted, her glare sharp enough to pierce through him. "Why did you steal my kill?"
Victor clicked his tongue and raised his hands in surrender. "Mistake, mistake. No need to get so mad over it. Next time, you can steal my kill."
"Hmph..." Kierra huffed, crossing her arms before shifting her attention to the loot.
Lying on the ground was the Bone Spear the Hobgoblin had been wielding.
"This one's mine." Without hesitation, she picked it up and stored it in her inventory.
Victor glanced at the weapon, recognizing it as an F-tier spear. Since he had no interest in spears, he didn't mind letting her have it. Besides, spears could be tricky to handle without proper skill.
"Alright, now let's get out of here before those Hobgoblins come looking for their friend," Kierra said, turning to leave.
"Wait, Kierra."
Her footsteps halted as she turned back to him with a puzzled look. "What now? You have already leveled up, haven't you?"
Victor flashed a crazy smile. "Yeah, I did. And I think I can take down level 8 Hobgoblins now. So, how about we hide somewhere and hunt some more?" His playful smirk hinted at his growing confidence.
Kierra stared at him in disbelief. "Are you serious? A level 7 player without a class taking on a level 8 Hobgoblin? You do realize these things aren't mages, right? Their HP and strength are way higher than yours."
"You'll see soon enough. Now, stop overthinking and follow me."
With that, Victor climbed a nearby tree, blending into the thick leaves and branches.
Kierra sighed but had no choice but to follow, positioning herself beside him. She could only hope this plan of his wouldn't turn into a disaster.
"....."
Suddenly everything went quiet. Even the monkey cubs clung tightly to their owners, sensing the tension in the air.
Then—
Footsteps.
They finally heard some movements of figures approaching the area where they had just taken down the lone Hobgoblin.
But when the figures came into view, their expressions froze.
They weren't Hobgoblins who arrived. They were players.
Four of them.