Subutai finally released a deep breath.
"Amazing… It was risky to take the hit and pinpoint the enemy's position, but it worked."
He had been struck by the goblin, yet compared to before, the pain was far less severe.
Subutai concluded that this was thanks to the power boost from his two active skills.
At last, the cave fell silent once more.
Though he felt slightly relieved, Subutai remained on guard, tightly gripping his spear in case another goblin attacked.
Soon, faint breathing reached his ears.
Not just one multiple breaths overlapped in the darkness.
Then, out of nowhere, soft footsteps echoed again.
Subutai heard them, but he couldn't fully trust his senses yet.
First, he needed to confirm whether what he was hearing truly belonged to goblins.
Moments later, the footsteps vanished. Even the breathing disappeared, returning the cave to complete silence.
But then.
A faint breath sounded again, slowly creeping closer.
Subutai suddenly turned toward the sound, gripping his spear and thrusting forward with all his strength.
He felt the spear pierce something solid and before he could process it, a goblin screamed.
"Graahh! Graaah!"
[You have killed a "Goblin."]
Subutai instantly pulled his spear free and shifted his position.
His heart pounded wildly, his hands trembling slightly.
Yet a smile spread across his face.
Trusting his hearing completely now, he focused even harder and advanced, tracking the next goblin by its breathing.
Thus began a brutal battle in the pitch-black cave.
No this wasn't a battle.
It was a one-sided slaughter.
Terrifying goblin screams echoed off the cave walls for a long time.
One by one, the sounds of breathing were cut off.
In the end, only Subutai's heavy breaths remained along with the sound of blood dripping from the tip of his spear.
When Subutai emerged from the depths of the cave, moonlight shone down upon him, illuminating his body.
Inside, goblin corpses lay scattered bones split cleanly, bodies torn apart, some pierced straight through.
Stepping outside, Subutai rested his bloodstained spear on his shoulder and said quietly while catching his breath:
"This feels incredible. Even blind in the darkness, I was able to kill them using only my hearing."
"Looks like I've leveled up. Let's check the notifications."
[You have leveled up.]
[Strength +1, Agility +1, Spirit +1, Perception +1.]
[You have gained 5 status points.]
Without hesitation, Subutai allocated his points. He allocated 2 points to Strength, and 1 point each to Agility, Spirit, and Perception.
Finally, he whispered softly,
"Status."
[Status]
Name: Subutai
Class: ??? King
Level: 2
Mana: 156
Strength: 21 (+4.2)
Agility: 14 (+2.8)
Spirit: 14 (+2.8)
Perception: 16 (+3.2)
Status Points: 0
[Passive Skill]
• King's Pressure
[Skills]
• Mana Master
• Mana Control
Seeing his stats, Subutai couldn't stop smiling.
"Amazing. Even without using my skills, my strength is almost 30 now."
"I want to pour all my points into Strength at first, but I can't neglect the other stats."
"For now, this balance is the right choice."
With that thought, he headed toward the center of the forest.
Night had fallen completely. The forest was submerged in darkness, faintly illuminated by moonlight filtering through the trees.
The scene was both beautiful and dangerous.
As Subutai walked toward the center, he spotted a light in the distance and moved toward it out of curiosity.
The closer he got, the clearer the sound of people talking became.
Soon, the glow of a campfire came into view.
More than ten people sat around the fire, weapons laid beside them, laughing and chatting.
On the surface, they looked cheerful but deep in their eyes, reflected by the flames, lurked fear and vigilance.
Subutai cautiously observed them from within the bushes, careful not to make a sound.
Suddenly.
Something sliced through the air toward him with a sharp whistle, narrowly missing him.
At the same time, a man raised his bow, ready to fire again.
"Who's there? Come out right now!"
"If you don't, the next arrow won't miss your head!"
Startled, Subutai quickly stepped out from the bushes, spear still in hand.
The moment they saw him, the laughter vanished.
Everyone grabbed their weapons instantly.
"I'm alone. That was just a misunderstanding," Subutai said quickly, lowering his spear.
Despite his words, no one lowered their weapons.
"Young man, you seem to be traveling alone," an older man said with a friendly smile.
"This place is dangerous. Why don't you join us and move together?"
Subutai paused, carefully examining the gazes of those sitting by the fire.
In their eyes, he saw vigilance… greed… and even murderous intent.
"No, thank you. I'm used to being alone."
With that, he turned and walked away.
After walking for dozens of minutes, Subutai encountered a lone man.
A middle-aged, muscular man with scars across his face, gripping a sword drenched in fresh blood.
He moved cautiously, making almost no sound.
Their eyes met.
They scrutinized each other from head to toe.
A cold wind blew between them, and for a moment, the forest felt utterly silent as if no living creature dared to breathe.
The scarred man scanned Subutai's surroundings.
Once he confirmed Subutai was alone, his expression changed.
Like a predator that had found its prey.
A smile spread across his face, unable to hide his excitement.
He didn't say a single word.
Suddenly, he raised his sword and charged at Subutai with clear murderous intent.
Subutai was shocked but had no time to think.
He lifted his spear, blocked the attack, and countered immediately.
The clash of metal rang through the forest.
In the blink of an eye, sparks flew as their weapons collided again and again.
Subutai wanted to end it quickly by using his skills but his mana was already depleted.
He had no choice but to fight with pure strength and technique.
At the same time, he stayed wary, fearing the man might activate a skill at any moment.
But the scarred man used no abilities.
He attacked relentlessly with sheer physical power alone.
In the end, Subutai overwhelmed him.
Blocking a heavy strike, Subutai suddenly twisted his spear and struck hard.
Knocking the sword cleanly out of the man's hand.