Stunned.
The charged punch nearly knocked him out cold.
Josen barely raised his blade in time to absorb most of the impact. His body trembled under the force, his feet dragged back—
—but his eyes never blinked.
"Formless Fang: Return strike"
In one breathless motion, he redirected the force—doubled it—and sent it flying back in a vicious upward slash. A blast of wind followed the blade's arc as it connected.
The goblin, a snarling brute of a brawler, stumbled back, legs giving in as it hit the floor.
No hesitation.
Josen rushed in to finish the job—
Fwsh!
An arrow zipped past his cheek.
"Urgh, I forgot about that one. He's the troublesome one…"
Three more arrows cut through the air before he could think.
He ducked the first, blocked the second, and caught the third with two fingers—
—eyes narrowing.
"You again? Take this, you pesky rat! AHH!"
He hurled the arrow back, embedding it into the goblin's shoulder—No.
Through the shoulder.
Into the wall.
The goblin gasped, choking on blood as its bow dropped from its hands.
"Damn," Josen muttered.
Another one charged.
This one didn't waste time with arrows or shouts. Sword drawn, it lunged, slashing wildly with rage.
Josen parried easily—its form was wild, untrained. He caught every flaw, every error in the technique.
But just as he prepared a killing blow—
BAAM!
A punch, thunderous and raw, smashed into him.
He had blocked it—but still felt his bones shake from the force.
That…
That wasn't just strength. That was will.
"Oh god... again?! I just—woah."
The goblin he'd slashed earlier… was back.
Half of its top body gone—dragging what was left of itself forward. With a final, desperate breath, it threw that punch.
"Damn… impressive, actually," Josen muttered. "But—"
In a flicker, he moved.
One clean decapitation later, the top half slid off.
The corpse hit the floor.
He stood over it, panting softly.
"I won't forget you," he whispered. "You were my first real kill… Now—bye."
He turned.
Only one remained.
It was trying to flee.
"Aaargh! DIE HUMAN! DIE! DIE!"
"Stay back—back! Or I'll kill ya!"
"Hey, hey, calm down. I did kill your friends—yeah, sorry about that—but you were trying to kill me first, so… kinda fair game."
The goblin stopped mid-run, still snarling.
"Okay, how about this. I let you go if you promise not to attack or alert any of your people. Deal?"
"…Grghhh."
It tried to look dangerous—low growls, blood-stained teeth, a fake bravado.
But Josen could tell.
It was bluffing.
It planned to backstab him.
Still…
"Grghhh… f–fine. Human go, I no tell clan."
"Deal."
He turned and walked away, casually. The goblin smiled.
Foolish human.
It pounced.
Seven rapid strikes. A blur. It thought it had him.
"Haha! GRAGH! HAHA—ki—"
Then it stopped.
It felt something.
The overwhelming pressure of death.
It couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.
Josen stood behind it—sword in hand—his eyes like voids.
"One last warning."
SLASH!
One heavy strike, clean and deep.
The goblin fell in two halves.
"I told him," Josen muttered. "Not my fault."
He took a shaky breath.
"Need to move. Before others smell this mess."
Without wasting time, he bolted—racing down blood-stained halls and worn-down chambers.
After what felt like forever, he stopped—
A glowing barrier pulsed faintly ahead.
"…A checkpoint?" he muttered. "Hey, Grandpa—I know you're watching. What's this?"
A faint chuckle echoed in his head.
["Well, once you cross it, difficulty goes up. E-Rank monsters and higher from here on. It just gets worse the further in you go. So… good luck."]
"…Thanks. That's so comforting."
He rolled his shoulders, shook off the blood on his arms, and stepped through the barrier.
The hallway changed.
Deep crimson. The air felt heavier. Thicker. The smell of death was everywhere.
"…Yeah. This is definitely not like before."
He took a moment, reached into his pouch.
"Let's see what I've got… some potions, a couple magic blades, normal weapons, some healing powder… and orbs? Eh. I'll figure it out."
He smiled faintly.
"Same old me. Figuring it out one room at a time."