章 37: Shadowy Figure

- Somewhere, some time ago -

The forest was obstructed due to the shadows cast by overgrown trees, however, the constant stillness was abruptly disturbed by a rapidly moving creature.

A cloaked, shadowy figure dashed through the forest foliage with extraordinary speed. Despite being entirely covered by a dark attire, it couldn't hide her distinctly feminine physique as her voluptuous curves inadvertently revealed her gender. The woman moved with a grace that was entirely supernatural. Each step was soundless, each leap effortless. A dark, ragged outfit hugged her body which ended up emphasizing her slender and athletic figure. Her physique embodied a mighty combination of power and feminine charms.

The hood she had on blocked her face, but it couldn't conceal the fierce look in her eyes which shone in the dark, nor could it hide her fluffy ears sticking through the cloth on top of her head, or the tail that swayed from beneath her cloak. She moved with purpose as she darted between trees. Her feet barely touched the ground as if she were more spirit than flesh.

She occasionally paused her movement for brief moments and lifted her nose up and sniffed the air, clearly in search of something specific.

The forest seemed to part for her with branches and leaves bending away as if in reverence.

She easily jumped over a lengthy patch of mud and landed without a sound, her momentum was not broken even a tiny bit.

As she dashed forward with even greater speed, her hood fell off her head for a moment, revealing a golden retriever-like dog-kin girl. Her long, flowing ponytail of golden blonde hair streamed behind her like a radiant banner.

Her beautiful blue eyes which were previously bright and sharp, suddenly glinted with dejection, desperation, and hopelessness. Her fluffy, golden ears drooped in sorrow, and her equally fluffy tail, which usually swayed gracefully behind her, hung limp and lifeless. Her features which were a perfect blend of canine loyalty and human beauty, were now marred by a profound sadness that cast a shadow over her once-radiant appearance.

She grumbled under her breath, "Where are you, stupid goblins… Blossom doesn't want to get whipped again…"

She then whimpered, "Even if Blossom finishes this quickly, Blossom will just get whipped anyways…"

A tear formed in her eyes, finally completely breaking the nerve-wracking effect of her previously imposing aura. "Blossom misses you, Kiara… Sister… Mother…"

- Back to the present -

We've spent the last few minutes traveling through the forest toward the suspected location of the goblin encampment. In that time frame, I checked through the Assassin class unlockables and found what I've been looking for desperately, something that was missing from the unlockable warrior spells; an evasive movement ability. Yes, I could unlock some charge-like spells before like [Bull Rush], but I needed something to evade enemy strikes, not rush at them.

I spent 2 Unused Skill Points to unlock;

[Lesser Evasion]

[Evade hostile attacks with graceful movements. Jump, roll, flip or simply step out of harm's way tactfully and swiftly. Slightly increases the spell caster's maneuvering ability at the cost of 40 mana and lasts for 10 minutes.]

I like that unlike with [Power Strike] I can just activate the spell and forget about it for the next ten minutes because once I activate [Lesser Evasion] it will passively increase my dodging ability. But, on the other hand, it costs eight times more mana. With my current 12 Wisdom attribute, which equates to having 120 Mana, I can only keep it active for half an hour, and that is only if I don't use [Power Strike], a spell I've grown very fond of already.

After walking for another ten minutes we hear the first signs of having arrived at the close vicinity of the encampment as we are greeted by loud screeches which they basically use as their preferred communication method.

We move cautiously through the dense foliage, every step of ours is deliberate and quiet as we near the goblin camp.

I signal for Ayame to stay low as we approach the edge of the camp. From our vantage point, we can see a dozen goblins milling about, most of them armed with crude weapons and makeshift armor. Some display the degenerate behavior I've come to expect from this species, especially the one eating grass like a cow while mooing loudly or the one that starts salivating at the sight and then shanks the cow-goblin in the back with his bone knife, who then stops mooing and begins screeching instead, but most of them are actually standing guard rather professionally. The presence of the hobgoblins might be the reason behind their more normal behavior.

I take a deep breath and focus, activating [Lesser Evasion] to increase my agility and make my movements more fluid.

I sneakily slip through the shadows as I move from cover to cover. I spot a lone goblin standing guard near the perimeter. With a swift, calculated movement, I lunge forward and thrust my spear into the goblin's side. The creature lets out a low, gurgled cry before collapsing to the ground. I quickly drag the body into the bushes to avoid detection.