"Two."
Severin’s grin grew wider.
’Not bad. Not bad at all.’
His body was responding exactly as he had hoped. His footwork felt stable, his sword moved naturally in his hand, and he could clearly see the mistakes his opponents were making.
Of course, his physical attributes were also playing a major role.
With his Strength, Agility, and Constitution all around the B rank, these goblins simply couldn’t keep up with him. Their attacks were sluggish, their movements predictable, and their coordination practically nonexistent.
Still, Severin didn’t become careless.
Even weak opponents could be dangerous if someone underestimated them.
The remaining three goblins seemed to realize that charging at him one by one wasn’t working. They exchanged a few unintelligible cries before spreading out and approaching from different directions.
Severin raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? You’ve finally learned how to work together?"
He couldn’t help chuckling.
"That’s good. I was starting to think you fellows shared a single brain cell."
The goblins answered with angry shrieks.
Then all three charged at once.
The one in front raised its club and swung downward, while the other two attempted to attack from either side.
For an ordinary person, being surrounded by three armed goblins could have been a serious problem.
For Severin, however, it was an excellent opportunity to practice his swordsmanship.
He immediately moved toward the goblin on his right.
Rather than standing still and trying to block all three attacks, he used his superior speed to change his position. The goblin’s club came crashing down behind him, smashing into the ground and scattering dirt.
Before the creature could recover, Severin stepped into its exposed side and delivered a quick, controlled slash.
Green blood splashed onto the grass.
The goblin staggered and fell, leaving only two opponents.
"Three."
Severin pivoted on his foot just as the next goblin swung its club toward his ribs.
He brought his sword up to meet the attack.
Clack!
The wooden club struck the flat of his blade.
The impact was far weaker than Severin had expected. He barely felt any resistance as he redirected the weapon away from his body.
The goblin’s arms were pulled aside by its own momentum, leaving its chest completely exposed.
Severin didn’t waste the opportunity.
He stepped forward and struck with a simple thrust.
The goblin let out a short, miserable cry before collapsing onto the ground.
"Four."
Only one remained.
The final goblin stared at Severin.
Severin stared back.
For a brief moment, the forest became strangely quiet.
Then the goblin looked at its fallen companions, turned around, and attempted to flee.
Severin blinked.
"Hey! Where do you think you’re going?"
The goblin ignored him and ran even faster, its short legs carrying it through the undergrowth.
Severin couldn’t help laughing.
"Seriously? You’re abandoning your friends just like that?"
He could have used Quick Draw to end the fight immediately, but that would have defeated the purpose of this little exercise.
Instead, he chased after the goblin at a comfortable pace.
The difference in their Agility was simply too great. Within a few seconds, Severin had caught up with it.
The goblin glanced over its shoulder, saw him approaching, and let out a terrified squeal.
It swung its wooden club desperately.
Severin took a small step to the side, allowing the attack to miss, then brought his sword around in one final, clean slash.
The goblin fell, its wooden club tumbling away into the grass.
Severin stopped and lowered his sword.
"Five."
He stood there for a moment, looking at the five fallen goblins scattered around the clearing.
Then he let out a satisfied breath.
"Hah! That was more fun than I expected."
He examined his sword. A few drops of green blood clung to the blade, so he carefully wiped them away with a piece of cloth before returning the weapon to its sheath.
The entire fight had taken barely a few minutes.
And the best part was that he hadn’t needed to use a single skill.
No special abilities. No fancy techniques. Just basic footwork, proper timing, and straightforward swordsmanship.
Of course, he wasn’t going to pretend that defeating five ordinary goblins was some incredible achievement. Given his current physical abilities, the outcome had been more or less decided from the beginning.
But that didn’t mean the fight had been pointless.
Every time he moved, dodged, or swung his sword, he gained a little more experience in applying what he knew to actual combat. Even these weak monsters could help him identify small mistakes that he might otherwise overlook during training.
Severin rolled his shoulders and glanced toward the deeper part of the forest.
"Well, that was a decent warm-up."
A playful smile appeared on his face.
[EP: 0.5]
"This means the goblin actually provided him with 0.1 evolution points each. Not bad."
"Now then, let’s see what else this place has to offer."
After dealing with the first five goblins, Severin continued making his way through the forest.
Along the way, he encountered several more groups of goblins. None of them posed much of a challenge, and he quickly dealt with them using nothing but his basic swordsmanship. With each fight, he grew more comfortable with his weapon, and his movements became a little smoother.
Everything was going rather well.
Perhaps a little too well.
By the time Severin was nearing Kragdeep Dungeon, he had already started wondering whether the monsters around here were really as dangerous as people claimed.
That was when his senses suddenly screamed at him.
Danger!
Severin didn’t have time to think. His body reacted instinctively, shifting sharply to the left.
Whoosh!
A heavy weapon swept past his side, carrying enough force to make the air whistle.
Severin immediately retreated several steps, his hand tightening around his sword. He turned toward his attacker, his eyes narrowing as he finally got a good look at the creature.
It was a goblin, but unlike the small, weak creatures he had fought earlier, this one was considerably larger. Its body was covered in thick muscles, and its green skin was marked with several old scars. It held a crude but heavy weapon in its hand, and its blood-red eyes were fixed on Severin with unmistakable hostility.
A Goblin Commander.