A sudden whistle cut through the air.
Severin’s eyes widened.
The Goblin Commander had finally joined the fight.
Its heavy weapon came crashing toward him with frightening force.
Severin barely managed to raise his sword in time.
BANG!
The impact nearly knocked the weapon from his hand.
His boots scraped across the ground as he was forced backward, his arm trembling from the shock.
What the hell?!
The commander was much stronger than the ordinary goblins. Its physical attributes were slightly higher than Severin’s own, and the difference became painfully obvious the moment their weapons clashed.
Severin quickly regained his balance and retreated before the commander could follow up.
The large goblin grinned, revealing a mouth full of crooked teeth.
Then it attacked again.
This time, Severin dodged to the side, allowing the heavy weapon to smash into the ground. He tried to counterattack immediately, aiming his sword at the commander’s exposed flank.
The blade struck.
A cut appeared across the goblin’s side.
Severin’s eyes lit up.
Got you!
But his satisfaction lasted less than a second.
The wound began closing almost immediately.
The flesh knitted itself back together, and within the blink of an eye, the cut had nearly disappeared.
Severin stared at the commander.
"...You’re kidding."
The goblin roared triumphantly and swung its weapon again.
Severin jumped backward, barely escaping the attack.
Strong physical attributes, a morale-boosting roar, decent intelligence, and powerful regeneration? What kind of ridiculous package is this?
Small cuts seemed to heal almost instantly. Unless Severin could inflict a more serious injury or find a way to overwhelm its healing ability, chipping away at the commander would be a painfully inefficient strategy.
And he couldn’t simply ignore the other goblins while dealing with it.
The commander barked an order.
Several goblins immediately rushed toward Severin’s legs while another threw a stone at his head.
"Dirty little—!"
Severin tilted his head, avoiding the stone, but that momentary distraction nearly cost him.
The commander swung its weapon toward his chest.
He twisted away at the last instant.
The weapon missed his body, but its force still caught him off balance. Before he could recover, one of the smaller goblins struck his side with a club.
Pain shot through him.
Severin staggered, and another goblin lunged toward him with a spear.
He desperately knocked the spear aside and kicked the attacker away before retreating several steps.
His breathing had become heavier.
The cut on his arm was still bleeding, and his side throbbed from the impact.
For the first time since the battle began, he found himself in a genuinely dangerous position.
The goblins were closing in again.
The commander stood behind them, watching him with cruel amusement.
Severin tightened his grip on his sword.
All right. This is officially no longer a warm-up.
He could no longer afford to fight carelessly. The commander was too strong, its healing ability made ordinary attacks less effective, and its subordinates were constantly interfering with his movements.
If he continued fighting like this, sooner or later, he would make a mistake he couldn’t recover from.
But retreating without learning anything would be a waste, too.
Severin glanced at the commander, then at the goblins moving around him.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
’I don’t need to defeat all of them at once. I just need to stop letting them dictate the pace of the fight.’
His expression settled.
The next time the goblins rushed him, Severin didn’t try to meet their attacks head-on. Instead, he moved toward the side, forcing the front line to turn with him.
The goblins followed, but their formation became disorganized for a moment.
That was all he needed.
He slipped past one goblin’s attack, struck another with a clean slash, and moved away before the others could surround him again.
When the commander attempted to intercept him, Severin deliberately changed direction, making it difficult for the larger monster to bring its heavy weapon to bear without risking its own subordinates.
The commander snarled.
Severin grinned.
"What’s wrong? Having trouble catching me?"
The goblin roared in anger and charged.
That’s it. Come on.
Severin had no intention of winning through brute strength. He needed to use his speed, his swordsmanship, and his growing understanding of the battlefield to create openings.
And with every exchange, his judgment became sharper.
He began to recognize when the commander was preparing a heavy swing. He learned that its strength made its attacks devastating but also committed it to a particular direction once the movement began.
He couldn’t overpower the commander directly, but he could make it miss.
And every missed attack created an opportunity.
Severin waited until the commander raised its weapon, then stepped just beyond its reach.
The heavy blow crashed into the earth.
Before the commander could recover, Severin rushed forward and slashed at its arm.
Green blood spilled from the wound.
This time, he didn’t linger to admire his work. He immediately retreated before the surrounding goblins could trap him.
The cut began healing, but Severin had already learned something important.
’Its regeneration is fast, but I can still hurt it. I just need to create a better opening.’
His breathing remained uneven, and his injuries were a constant reminder of the danger he was in.
Yet his eyes shone with unmistakable excitement.
This was the sort of battle he had wanted.
Not a meaningless slaughter of weak monsters, but a real fight in which every decision mattered. A fight that forced him to think, adapt, and push himself beyond his current limits.
He could feel his abilities improving little by little.
His senses were becoming more alert to the sounds and movements around him. His combat awareness was developing as he learned to track several enemies at once. His application of basic swordsmanship was becoming more efficient, and he was beginning to understand how to use his skills and techniques without wasting precious mana.
Most importantly, he was learning to remain calm under pressure.
Even when the commander nearly struck him, even when the goblins managed to injure him, he could still think clearly enough to adjust his approach.
So this is what real combat feels like.
Severin wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
Dangerous, unpredictable, and absolutely thrilling.
The commander let out another roar, rallying its remaining subordinates for yet another coordinated attack.
Severin lowered his stance and brought his sword up.
His arm hurt. His side ached. His mana reserves remained limited, and he knew he couldn’t afford to use his stronger techniques carelessly.
But he wasn’t finished yet.
Not even close.
"Come on, then!" Severin shouted, his grin returning. "Let’s see which one of us runs out of tricks first!"
The goblins charged.
The commander followed close behind.
And Severin stepped forward to meet them, ready to adapt once again.