章 20: Not So Fast!
Two figures discreetly peeked over the bushes as they saw the six goblins who were looking at their dead brethren while conversing in agitated tones.
Skullius was actually quite ecstatic as the goal of levelling up that he had thought to have been a chore wasn't as bad.
It was actually pretty exciting!
While gaining one level would seem slow to other creatures, he was actually very happy about it. Now he needed 2700 cumulative mana experience to get to the halfway mark before his evolution into a Tier 1 Boneman. The reward that awaited him then...
Skullius was heavily anticipating the options that would be available, so much so that he re-read the description of the [Lifeless Evolution Package].
The more he read it, though, the more he felt...uneasy.
What the socket was 'Unorthodox Evolutions' supposed to mean?!
He somehow felt that VOW bro's words about the evolutions being special did not do justice at all to what was to come.
He had also read the description to [Flesh It Like You Mean It] while he was at it and discovered a detail that he hadn't really caught onto the first time.
It was the fact that using this skill would compromise his racial abilities. That in itself made him not want to experiment with it just yet.
There was a string of text that said there was also more information about the skill, but for some reason, he wasn't able to read it, which made him even more unsure about testing the skill out.
Skullius turned to Red Rage who was also peeking at the goblins and couldn't help but be jealous of the all the free stuff this guy was getting.
The skill that he had gotten from the previous exchange was especially intriguing.
~~~
[Flash Throw | Lv. 1]
A mighty throw that makes all thrown objects a flash in the wind, granting them incredible speed and piercing power.
Mana Requirements: 20 Mana Points
Duration: ---
Cooldown: None
~~~
"Lucky bastard," said Skullius, to which Red Rage turned to him and...flashed a thumbs up!
Skullius skull palmed.
"Let's just figure out what to do next. Obviously we have to kill these guys, but what do we do afterwards? Do we attack the village? No, that's not smart. I killed that one goblin because I didn't want to be swarmed by many enemies in the first place," whispered Skullius to himself.
He then thought about the earlier fight. The best way to go about earning levels would be to avoid direct confrontations. Like how he had managed to kill the first goblin.
The only problem was that the skill [Static Limbo] had a five minute cooldown and he couldn't kill every single goblin he came across that way.
Using Red Rage as a decoy like he did with the second goblin wouldn't work too many times unless he had an unfathomable amount of luck and plenty of hiding space.
He had one of the two, the other being... atrocious.
Nonetheless, he decided to not waste this opportunity.
After a little more thought, the Boneman thought to use a hit-and-run tactic. Luring more goblins into the forest after killing these ones would benefit him, provided that he studied the terrain sufficiently.
'Alright, it's decided. I'll kill these scouts, leaving one to go down and report. Then I'll immediately withdraw further into the forest, picking the coming goblins off one by one. But I'll have to be quick,' he thought.
This strategy didn't come from nowhere. Skullius had thought it through after recalling the different games that he and his fellow Moronic Undead used to play in Deadmanland before they were put to slumber.
FootSkull, Hide and Creak, Tag to Bone among other games.
Most of these games relied more on quick thinking than anything else. Some of them were even used to settle grudges and the level of stealth and planning involved in the games was immense.
Skullius handed the spear to Red Rage.
Since he didn't need much verbal instruction to command the Apostle, the Bone Boar already knew what his intention was.
Red Rage scuttled quietly through the trees and circled around the spot the six goblins were conversing. It took a few minutes for him to position himself opposite Skullius, hidden from view and ready to attack.
Skullius held the short sword and prepared to do his part in the attack.
Among the goblins here, there was a peculiar one which wore a worn out leather armour on its upper body and had a red paint on its face. It gave off a feeling different from the others, as it wielded a double-edged sword with a red hilt that wasn't rusty like the rest of the weapons Skullius had seen so far.
The Boneman decided to be vigilant and pick off the others first using the window when they were still discussing to attack.
Right then, Red Rage flung the spear which flew, barely visible in the night and lightly whistling in motion!
A burst of mana would have been visible around it if anyone could see the spear clearly but alas...
Before the goblins could react, the spear stabbed one of the creatures in the forehead which caused it stagger and fall to the ground, dead!
[Apostle 'Red Rage' has killed LV11 Foul Goblin. 302 Exp awarded]
[Apostle 'Red Rage' has levelled up]
[Your prey emits the Essence of Null Life. Would you like to extract it? Remaining time 59 seconds]
Skullius received notifications but was too focused on his role in the next series of events to give them any attention right now.
The goblins turned in the direction which they felt the attack came from, Red Rage appearing from his cover while wielding his too daggers as he rushed towards these goblins which were shocked by his appearance.
All of them, including the one with the red paint on its face, turned to Red Rage, giving Skullius the opportunity he so dearly desired.
He rocketed from his cover at full speed, passing the corpse of the goblin with the spear in its head as he activated Null Extraction, absorbing the essence quickly!
He arrived before the goblin at the very back before it could turn to face him and slashed with his short sword sideways, aiming for its neck!
Yet..
TING!
Skullius' sword... was parried!
The Boneman felt a powerful, immovable burst of strength that rivalled his own behind the double edged sword which didn't back down against his own!
What?!
Shockingly, the goblin with the red paint on its face had reacted very quickly when it had heard movement from behind, saving its companion who was slow to pick up on the attack!
The other goblins became alert, some looking on with fear at the tall figure with blue flames burning in its sockets, on its body animal skins as clothing!
Skullius backed away.
He felt that the degree of difficulty had just changed.
'This is a first,' he thought with a cheap clack of his teeth. His plan was flopping fast!
He used this chance to check this goblin's status. He had checked only the goblins that had received Shmeija and had missed some, this one in particular being among those that he hadn't evaluated yet.
~~~
[ Name : Aikil ]
[ Tier : 1 ]
[ Class : Swordsman ]
[ Level : 16 ]
[ Race : Foul Goblin ]
[ Inv. Status : Wants to kill you ]
-------
[ Stats ]
[ Strength : 39 ]
[Agility : 26 ]
[ Intelligence : 25 ]
[ Endurance : 36 ]
[ Luck : 5 ]
-----
[ Health : 140/140 ]
------
[ Mana : 156/156 ]
~~~
'Uhmm.... this is problematic,' thought Skullius. 'Yet another who wants to kill me.'
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