Once upon a time, there was primordial chaos.
From the chaos, light and darkness were divided.
Goddess Urallias was born from the light, and she created angels.
The Demon God was born of the darkness, and he created demons.
The two sides were locked in a bloody war that lasted an eternity, until the material world was born from a fierce clash.
The blood of angels and demons rained down on the earth, giving birth and mutating wildlife, shaping new creatures.
Humans were born from the blood of angels, and received the blessings of Goddess Urallias.
Monsters were born from the blood of demons, and received the blessings of the Demon God.
These blessings took the form of Classes and Levels.
And thus, both mortal sides continued the perpetual struggle that their divine progenitors started...
- An excerpt from the Book of Genesis.
Two hours later-
Randall found himself walking with a group of 12 others, 6 men and 6 women, all Warriors, Rangers, and Rogues of F and E rank. Among this group, 8 were F-rank youngsters aged 14-17, while the E-rankers were between 18-24.
In this case, Randall stood out like a sore thumb, the oldest F-rank in the lot... and many in the group looked at him in disdain.
"Why are we taking him with us again? Isn't he the guy who hunts slimes and rabbits with the younger kids?"
"He should have just become a laborer or something."
"Heh! He can't even get a secondary class. How is he even supposed to be a laborer?"
"Whatever. Just let him join us. It's his death wish, after all..."
The youths gossiped. Meanwhile, the four young adults, two men and two women, completely ignored Randall's existence.
In their eyes, Randall was akin to the village idiot. Were they, the Uncommon Class Holders of level +50, supposed to lower themselves and gossip about some cripple?
Soon, the group stood before the forest entrance, and the group leader, the oldest warrior, Leofric, motioned for them to stop.
"Alright, listen up! Our target is the damn Goblins. Although most of them are only F-rank Common Goblins, they might have a few E-rank Elite Goblins in the mix. Our goal is to kill them all! Don't let even one of those pests get away. With but a few female livestock, they could grow a whole new colony within a year or two, and Goddess Urallias forbid that they get their hands on our women!"
Everyone turned serious and nodded.
Goblins were a menace, an all-male race of green-skinned humanoids that could reproduce through any animal they could get their hands on. Their favorite, however, were human women, which could give birth to more advanced goblins. They were also self-sufficient, able to birth females of the victim's race, but these females were even more miserable existences, as they were fated to become breeding stock and food rations for the Goblins.
In other words, they were a race of pure evil that should be exterminated whenever it was found!
Sadly, they seem to be a naturally occurring race, like slimes, so complete annihilation is impossible.
That was why they culled the Goblin population every once in a while.
Leofric then continued to speak.
"The filthy Goblins are cowardly and would flee if a large group of men came, but they will undoubtedly be attracted to the women among us and attack at all costs, even if it means they die. Rookies, kill the Common Goblins, while we will handle the leaders. And... the women among you. If you are somehow captured and we fail to rescue you, do yourselves a favor and commit suicide if you can. You would suffer less that way and cause less harm to the people." The leader said with a solemn tone.
The young girls in the group turned pale but nodded. It was better to die than to become a brood mother to Goblins.
"Alright. Let's move. And stay alert and together. Goblins are notorious for setting ambushes and targeting lone targets." Leofric said, then headed into the forest.
The group continued to march into the forest, staying on high alert.
Randall mostly stayed at the back of the group of youths, looking left and right with even greater vigilance than the youths. He was, after all, quite cowardly. If not for the reduced benefits from slimes and rabbits, he would have continued hunting them.
After walking for two hours in the forest-
The group suddenly stopped, with a female E-rank Ranger, Angrebod, motioning a stop.
"They're here." She said, taking out her bow.
"To arms!" Leofric ordered, drawing his sword.
Everyone else, including Randall, put down their bags and drew their weapons without question. After all, a Ranger had much higher perception. What they could see and hear was incomparable to a Ranger.
Randall checked his gear, which included his trusty sword, his steel buckler, leather armor, and a steel helmet. After all, getting wacked in the head was the same as going out of commission.
"How many?" Leofric asked.
"Around 50. A medium-sized warband." Angrebod said.
"Still manageable..." Leofric sighed in relief.
It might sound like a lot, but the Common Goblins were mere cannon fodder. Any of the F-rankers they took with them could easily kill 2-4 Goblins... Even Randall. Only the Uncommon Goblins could put up a bit of a fight.
Soon, the Goblins arrived in a large wave of green.
They were ugly, short, bald, and warty 1.2m tall humanoids with large pointed ears, crooked noses, and golden eyes with square pupils. They also had large bellies on their spindly bodies and wore dirty loincloths. All they had on hand were rock slings, wooden clubs, stone knives, and pointed sticks. At most, their armor was crude animal hides, with over half being naked.
But leading them were taller, stronger Goblins, standing at 1.4m tall, wearing actual armor and holding metal weapons, a total of five. They also appeared more human-like and less aesthetically grotesque, but were still ugly things. They were the Elite Goblins, comparable to Uncommon human professionals.
These goblins greedily sniffed the air, looking at the men as if they saw lunch, and lustfully looking at the women.
"GROAR!" A leading Goblin Warrior raised his sword high and pointed forward.
"Roar!"
"Gee! Gee!"
The Goblins began their charge, eyes flashing red.
"The Goblins are stronger and more tenacious than they look. Also, watch out for the rocks! Kill!" Leofric ordered and charged forward.
"Kill!"
"Kill those snot-colored bastards!"
"Die! Die! Die!"
Save for the few archers among them, the rest charged forward, including Randall.
Woosh* Woosh* Woosh*
Woosh* Woosh* Woosh*
Both sides pelted each other with arrows and rocks.
The four human rangers had a higher aim, hitting a Goblin with each shot, but the Goblins were clumsier and less effective, their rocks barely causing damage to the humans. However, one of the Goblins, a Goblin Archer, did shoot metal arrows, but luckily only aimed at the three charging E-rankers, ignoring the F-rank youths.
Soon, the two sides clashed: 9 humans versus 30-odd Goblin frontliners.
Randall, who was on the far left, faced off against 3 Common Goblins. As luck would have it, two had clubs, while the last had a stone knife.
Ignoring two blows from the clubs, Randall decisively struck the knife-holding Goblin, stabbing it through the chest, while withstanding two blows, one blocked by his buckler and the other hitting his shoulder.
The blows barely fazed him. This was due to the combination of his armor, Body Attribute, and, most importantly, Shock Absorption, which reduced the damage to a third. What could have usually resulted in a cracked bone only gave him some dull pain that would go away after a week or two. Moreover, being larger and stronger, the Goblins couldn't do anything to him.
While the two club-wielding Goblins were shocked by the human's resilience, Randall fiercely kicked the still-alive, stabbed Goblin in the face, extracting his sword.
He then proceeded to bash the left Goblin in the face while slashing the other at its skull.
Bam* Crack*
You acquired the Secondary Class: Common Goblin lvl 0(0/10)
You acquired the Common Goblin Ability: Goblin Virility lvl 0
You acquired the Common Goblin Ability: Goblin Vigor lvl 0
You acquired the Common Goblin Ability: Goblin Stamina lvl 0
Common Goblin +111
Goblin Virility +5
Goblin Vigor +5
Goblin Stamina +2
Level Up!
Common Goblin lvl 0(0/10) -> lvl 4(10/52)
AP +4
Suddenly, Randall felt a bit stronger, and he madly grinned.
"Hehehe... That's the stuff!" Randall laughed.
While pouring the AP into Progress Through Slaughter, he tried to extract the sword from the dead Goblin's skull, but realized that it was stuck!
"?!" Randall widened his eyes as another Goblin filled the gap and attacked him with a spear.
Forced to let go, Randall rolled away, deftly dodging it as he drew his knife and charged at the still-stunned club-holding Goblin, stabbing it in the head.
Crack* Splat*
Common Goblin +73
Goblin Virility +4
Goblin Vigor +3
Goblin Stamina +1
Level Up!
Common Goblin lvl 4(10/52) -> 5(31/63)
AP +1
The benefits from killing the second goblin were noticeably less, but still significant.
Without thinking, he poured the AP into Progress Through Slaughter and picked up the Goblin's wooden club.
The spear-holding goblin charged again, but Randall parried the spear before whacking the Goblin in the head.
Crack*
"Gugya!" The Goblin screamed, falling to the ground.
Randall then whacked it twice more, receiving another prompt.
Common Goblin +68
Goblin Virility +3
Goblin Vigor +3
Goblin Stamina +1
Level Up!
Common Goblin lvl 5(31/63) -> 6(36/74)
AP +1
"Less effective, but at least it doesn't get stuck... Perhaps I should get myself a metal mace next time?" Randall thought.
While putting the AP into his ability, he quickly scanned the battlefield.
"Hah... the others are still in a brutal melee, and few of the Goblins died, but some are lying on the ground and writhing?"
When he thought of this, a glint flashed in his eyes as he looked at the still-dying Goblin that he had first stabbed.
Going up to it and killing it, receiving his reward, he blocked a stone with his shield and had a strange look in his eyes.
"Steal those kills!"
Randall charged at the Goblin flanks, opportunistically killing occupied or downed snot-colored things while protecting himself from the occasional rock that aimed too close to his face or nuts. For the other rocks, he didn't really care, as their impact was uncomfortable at best.
While others were still hesitant and wary of rocks and clubs, Randall was like a fearless lion, only dodging the knives and pointed spears, his strength and stamina growing stronger with each kill.
As he saw that F-rankers were already finishing up, he charged at the stone-pelting 20-odd Goblins, enduring a hail of stones as he lunged.
Every bash of his buckler knocked out a Goblin. Every kick broke ribs. Every club whack broke heads. It didn't matter whether it was a standing goblin or a downed and writhing one from an arrow. Randall killed them all.
The only one that gave him a headache was the Goblin Archer, who shot at him twice. But their own E-rank Ranger aimed at the archer, forcing it to dodge.
Randall also took this opportunity to charge at it, using a Common Goblin as a human shield as he closed in. The Goblin Archer drew a steel dagger and tried to fight back, but Randall made short work of it, brutally bashing its head over and over until it was a mess.
You acquired the Secondary Class: Elite Goblin lvl 0(0/25)
You acquired the Elite Goblin Ability: Elite Goblin Virility lvl 0
You acquired the Elite Goblin Ability: Elite Goblin Vigor lvl 0
You acquired the Elite Goblin Ability: Elite Goblin Stamina lvl 0
You acquired the Elite Goblin Ability: Elite Goblin Leadership lvl 0
Elite Goblin +254
Elite Goblin Virility +10
Elite Goblin Vigor +10
Elite Goblin Stamina +10
Elite Goblin Leadership +1
Level Up!
Elite Goblin lvl 0(0/25) -> Elite Goblin lvl 4(0/130)
+8 AP
While Randall gleefully felt his body growing stronger again, habitually placing the AP into Progress Through Slaughter, he looked back, wanting to kill some more. Regretfully, he discovered that the battle was over. Instead, everyone was looking at him like they saw a freak.
"Erm... is there something on my face?" Randall sheepishly asked, his whole body drenched in goblin blood.
"You actually asked that?! Freak!" They all shivered.
.
.
.
Status:
Name: Randall Welbek
Age: 18
Primary Class: Progressor lvl 25(1/33,343)
Secondary Classes: Slime lvl 82(420/1,876) | Rabbit lvl 57(179/1,022) | Common Goblin lvl 16(135/199) | Elite Goblin lvl 4(0/130)
AP: 0
Progressor Abilities: Progress Through Training lvl 279, Progress Through Slaughter lvl 134, Progress Through Fornication lvl 0
Slime Abilities: Digestion lvl 584, Shock Absorption lvl 207
Rabbit Abilities: Flee lvl 309, Strong Legs lvl 122
Common Goblin: Goblin Virility lvl 65, Goblin Vigor lvl 64, Goblin Stamina lvl 18
Elite Goblin: Elite Goblin Virility lvl 10, Elite Goblin Vigor lvl 10, Elite Goblin Stamina lvl 10, Elite Goblin Leadership lvl 1
Body: 24.93 -> 24.94
Finesse: 25.05 -> 25.06
Mind: 25.01 -> 25.02