The sun was setting, casting long shadows that made the forest feel even more sinister.
Staring at the goblins ahead of him, Subutai calculated calmly.
"Nine goblins."
"That's a dangerous number to fight alone."
"But it's perfect for testing my two skills."
As those thoughts crossed his mind, Subutai immediately activated both abilities.
[Your body and weapon are coated in mana. Strength increased by 20%.]
[Your mana-based skills' efficiency has increased by 10%.]
A faint blue glow enveloped Subutai's body and spear.
Hot energy surged through his veins, his muscles tightening as power flooded his limbs.
Of course, Subutai wasn't completely confident in his own strength yet.
He felt a hint of nervousness but risky moves like this only excited him more.
With a crazed grin, Subutai charged straight at the goblins. He pierced the nearest one clean through, lifted its body, and hurled it toward the others.
[You have killed a "Goblin."]
The sudden impact threw the goblins into chaos. Several were knocked down, stunned and disoriented.
The remaining goblins stared at Subutai with blood-red eyes and charged at him, screaming like madmen.
"Graahh! Grahh! Graaah!"
Subutai spun his spear with both hands, thrusting hard into the abdomen of the first goblin and ripping it free immediately.
Bones cracked. Dark green blood splattered across Subutai's face as the goblin collapsed, eyes bulging.
[You have killed a "Goblin."]
Seeing this, the others howled and rushed him at once four goblins surrounding him simultaneously.
Subutai swung his spear sideways with full force, carving deeply into one goblin's chest.
Then, grabbing a handful of dirt from the ground, he flung it into the eyes of the second goblin.
Blinded, the goblin dropped its weapon and fell to the ground, clawing desperately at its eyes.
Before it could recover, Subutai drove his spear straight into its chest.
Two system notifications appeared, but Subutai didn't even glance at them his focus was entirely on the fight.
As the remaining two goblins leapt from behind, Subutai spun around instantly, lifting his spear and swinging with brutal force.
The blade sliced from one goblin's leg up to its thigh, while the other was cut from shoulder to chest.
Both goblins collapsed in pools of blood, screaming in terror as they tried to crawl away.
Green blood smeared the ground wherever they dragged themselves.
Only three goblins remained.
Fear was clear in their eyes, yet with no path to retreat, they charged in a frenzy.
Subutai gripped his spear tightly and drove it into the heart of the first goblin, lifting its body before hurling it at the next.
He pulled the spear back instantly and rushed the last goblin head-on.
The spear whistled through the air and pierced straight through its chest.
Dark green blood spilled as the goblin trembled and collapsed.
The final goblin fell after being struck by the thrown corpse. It barely managed to stand, realized it was alone, and screamed in terror as it turned to flee.
"Grahhh!"
Subutai didn't hesitate.
He pulled his spear free, tightened his grip, stepped back, took a deep breath and threw it.
The spear sliced through the air, pierced the goblin's abdomen, and embedded shallowly into the ground.
[You have killed a "Goblin."]
Retrieving his spear, Subutai whispered softly.
"Both skills are only level 1 for now."
"If I think too much, I'll miss the point."
"Using them drains my mana fast."
"I should save them for truly dangerous moments."
Before the effects wore off, he decided to check how much his stats had increased.
"Status," he whispered.
[Status]
Name: Subutai
Class: ??? King
Level: 1
Mana: 7 / 144
Strength: 18 (+9)
Agility: 12 (+2.4)
Spirit: 12 (+2.4)
Perception: 14 (+2.8)
Status Points: 0
Seeing his status, Subutai smiled in satisfaction.
"Amazing. My strength is almost 30."
"No wonder I pierced goblins so easily."
He walked toward the two goblins that had tried to crawl away.
One was already motionless dead.
The other continued crawling desperately, clinging to life.
Ignoring it, Subutai drove his spear into the goblin pretending to be dead.
[You have killed a "Goblin."]
Smiling at the notification, he turned to the last one.
Hearing footsteps behind it, the goblin panicked and crawled faster.
Subutai didn't slow down. He stabbed it from above and continued walking forward without looking back.
After wandering through the forest for over thirty minutes, he noticed something strange.
In the distance, several goblins were dragging a human corpse by the legs.
The body was soaked in blood, limbs dangling unnaturally as if the bones were broken.
The terror frozen on the man's face was enough to imagine the agony he had suffered.
A dark red trail of blood stained the ground behind them an unsettling sight.
At first, Subutai was about to charge in and attack immediately.
But he stopped.
Instead, he decided to observe where they were going.
After following them for over ten minutes, the goblins dragged the corpse into the mouth of a cave.
Subutai hesitated, curiosity warring with caution. He planted his spear into the ground and leaned on it, lost in thought.
"There could be anything inside."
"I need to be careful."
In the end, he decided to wait until his mana fully recovered.
Mana: 47 / 144
…
One or two hours later.
Mana: 144 / 144
The sun had completely set. Moonlight faintly illuminated the entrance of the cave.
With his mana fully restored, Subutai stepped inside confidently.
At first, the moonlight allowed him to see faintly, but the deeper he went, the darker it became until it felt like total blindness.
That was when he realized it.
This was the goblins' home. They knew this place well.
Alarmed, Subutai quickly activated both skills again.
[Your body is coated in mana. Strength increased by 20%.]
[Your mana-based skills' efficiency has increased by 10%.]
Feeling power surge through his body and his veins bulge, Subutai advanced cautiously.
Soon, he heard footsteps echoing from deep within the cave.
Instinctively, he tightened his grip on his spear.
He could barely see anything.
For a brief moment, the thought of retreat crossed his mind but vanished instantly.
The desire to take a risk burned stronger inside him.
The footsteps grew closer, clearly approaching him.
Telling himself to trust his instincts, Subutai closed his eyes and stood still, spear clenched tightly.
Suddenly.
A sharp sound cut through the air.
Something was coming straight at him.
He wanted to dodge but stopped.
Clenching his teeth, he endured the blow, determined to identify the direction of the attack.
Pain surged through his body as the hit landed.
But Subutai endured it.
In the same instant, he raised his spear and swung with full force.
A goblin's scream echoed through the dark cave then fell silent.
Something collapsed to the ground.
"Graah… grahh!"
Goblin blood splattered, droplets landing on Subutai's face.
He didn't care.
[You have killed a "Goblin."]
The stench of blood slowly spread through the darkness of the cave.