I didn't need to be told twice.
I swiftly unsheathed my falcata, leaving the scabbard still attached on my waist.
"It has a rusty dagger, shit." Ruby suddenly remarked while squinting her eyes towards the darkness, "He must be at least level 4 or even 5, we should let Greg handle this one."
"..." My movements paused.
A higher levelled monster, huh?
"It's just a dagger, I can do it." I said in a tightened voice, I felt worried.
It wasn't a game, I could die here.
Yet, I was already getting tired of my attitude thus far.
For how long will I keep hesitating and pussying out?
I wasn't from this world.
I wasn't this world's man.
I had the right to man up and tackle some difficulties, and it wasn't like I didn't have any backup, no?
Ruby and Lina were here, if it proved too difficult, I could rely on them.
Strange for me trust two strangers with my life so easily, but I didn't have much choices either.
I could see the goblin walk out of the darkness.
A rusty, reddish dagger was in his right hand while his face was twisted in a creepy, obnoxious grin.
It reminded me of the smiling titan from the anime, though instead of a huge titan, my enemy was a short little goblin.
Kreeeeeeee! KEKEKE! Women!
The green bastard cackled.
Though I was pleased to know that the goblins still lusted after women, even in this world.
If they were now raping men, I would've been scarred for life.
"I am here, stay calm and use the sword's weight to swing." Ruby's calm, smooth voice advised me from behind.
Though her calmness was infectious, I indeed calmed down.
"Your sword is heavy, you won't be able to swing continuously. So wait for a right chance and then make one, single meaningful strike." she continued to give advice.
But the goblin wasn't an anime villain who would wait for my training arc to finish.
The moment he saw me standing at the front, he clutched his bony fingers on the dagger and dashed at me.
Unlike the previous club bearer, he didn't use the dagger to throw, but instead to stab.
But because of his smaller reach, I was able to step backwards and avoid the blow.
'That bastard's agility is as high as mine!'
I made a grim realization.
I thought my agility was good, but so was the goblin's.
And unlike this green bastard who could swing his dagger over and over, my falcata was much heavier.
If I tried to swing it carelessly, dodging would become harder.
As if sensing my dilemma, Ruby spoke up again.
"Goblins are beasts that rely on high agility over everything else, their strength is weak." she said, "But you're doing good.
Your stamina is higher than him, you can keep dodging and he will tire out first."
I smile at the unasked assistance.
Indeed, I could see the goblin's swings getting weaker.
He was no longer slashing madly with vigor, but only making a few swings when he reached close to me.
With his reach being low and me fully focused on dodging, there was nothing he could do.
I could see his grin faltering, teeth clenching in rage.
Hah.
How predictable.
I can raise another fucking bet right now, betting my new falcata.
He was getting restless, and he will be throwing the dagger at me any moment now.
And knowing that the sneak attack was coming, I was paying close attention to the goblin's movements.
The moment I saw him flexing his arm in a position that was more suited to throwing, I rolled on the floor, easily avoiding the projectile.
"Now what, bitch?" I smirk at the goblin.
He still had his sharp, bony fingernails to try and scratch me, but that shorty didn't seem as scary without his dagger in arms.
"Good job, Aaron!"
Ruby praised me wholeheartedly, and glancing at her with a side-eye I noticed that she was no longer unarmed.
She was holding a thin, rapier-like sword in her hand, ready to intercept at a moment's notice.
I smile.
She had kept her word, she was ready to help me if I had failed to notice the sneaky throw.
Though, my focus was on the unarmed goblin that was now snarling at me in rage, running after me once again with arms stretched forward.
And looking at the sight, I wasn't able to suppress my intrusive thoughts.
That flailing, short cretin looked a lot like a small 5 yr old kid, that was crying its eyes out while screaming.
A fucking annoying thing.
I didn't even try to stop myself as I stopped running away, pulling back my right leg and charging up some strength.
I was wearing heavy, tall leather boots.
The moment the goblin came into my kicking range, I swung my right leg like a fifa player shooting the goal of a lifetime.
The boots hit the goblin square in the jaw, easily breaking some teeth as he was sent flying a good couple meters away.
That felt strangely therapeutic.
Though, the other group members didn't seem to understand my questionable choice.
And I had no intention of explaining.
The goblin was severely hurt and didn't have much strength left to get up.
I was walking closer to finish him off, until Ruby suggested something.
"Don't kill him with the sword." she said.
I looked at her in confusion, while also keeping my eyes on my injured prey.
"You should already know that firearms and modern weaponry cause a debuff in exp gain, but so does any other weapon for that matter."
Ruby explained, "Hunting with magic or pure muscle is the best way to get a whole 100% exp gain from the kill.
I wouldn't have suggested this at first, as it's more dangerous…" she looked at me in exasperation.
"But since you already injured him to that extent without any weapon, you might as well just finish him off without using one at all."
I smile gratefully, what a wonderful idea!
Though I didn't want to get that disgusting blood on my boots any more than I already have, I had no plans of wasting any precious exp.
I saw the goblin was trying to stagger back up to his feet, so I ran towards him and kicked his small, kickworthy face once again.
He was sent stumbling back towards a stone wall of the labyrinth.
Not wanting to lose the kill, I followed after him and roughly kicked his head against the wall.
This bastard was still not dead, so I kicked him again and again until my right boot was soiled with green blood, and the goblin's face was nearly unrecognisable.
[ You have slain a goblin Lv 4 ]
[ Exp: +136 ]
[ You have levelled up ]
[ +1 to all stats. +5 additional points. ]
I looked at my new group, and found them all looking at me with a weird look.
Oops.