After several minutes of carefully making his way through the dark corridors of the ancient ruins, Algeni moved cautiously between collapsed columns and piles of rubble.
The faint light filtering through cracks in the ceiling barely managed to pierce the darkness, casting unsettling shadows across the weathered stone walls.
Every footstep echoed through the abandoned sanctuary, while the distant sound of dripping water reminded him just how alone he was.
Suddenly, he came to a halt.
A short distance ahead, two goblins stood near the remains of a collapsed stone wall, seemingly unaware of his presence.
Algeni narrowed his eyes as he carefully studied the creatures.
“Can I take both of them?”
The system answered immediately.
“Use the HUD.”
Algeni activated the skill.
Two translucent status windows instantly appeared before his eyes.
Goblin Warrior
Level: 2
Strength: 8
Defense: 3
Speed: 9
Mana: 1
Algeni carefully examined the information.
“My stats are slightly higher than his in almost everything…
except mana.
My Mana is 34, but I don’t even know any spells.”
He remained silent for a moment.
Even though his stats were only one or two points higher, he knew better than to rely solely on numbers.
Then he shifted his attention to the second window.
Goblin Shaman Apprentice
Level: 2
Strength: 2
Defense: 1
Speed: 9
Mana: 10
Special Ability: Can cast healing magic.
“Huh…
I thought it would just be another regular goblin.
If it can heal, this is going to get messy unless I kill it first,” he murmured in surprise.
His mind immediately began racing.
If I kill the warrior first…
The shaman will heal him.
If I attack the shaman…
The warrior will protect it.
After several seconds of careful thought, an idea suddenly formed.
“There’s only one way to do this.”
“I have to rush the shaman without making any noise and kill it in a single strike.”
Having made up his mind, Algeni took a deep breath.
Then he exploded into motion.
The goblin shaman noticed him.
But it was already too late.
His Iron Sword pierced straight through the small monster before it had a chance to react.
Its lifeless body collapsed onto the cold stone floor.
Algeni immediately raised his head.
Standing directly before him…
Was the Goblin Warrior.
The creature’s eyes burned with rage as it looked at the corpse of its companion.
With a savage roar, it charged.
Algeni barely dodged the attack, the goblin’s crude weapon missing him by only a few inches.
Without hesitating, he counterattacked, aiming directly for its head.
The goblin instinctively raised its weapon to block.
But Algeni’s sword was faster.
A silver flash cut through the darkness.
An instant later…
The monster’s head hit the floor.
Its body collapsed moments afterward.
Panting heavily, Algeni lowered his sword.
“That was close…”
“If I’d made even one mistake…”
“I could’ve died.”
A familiar notification appeared before him.
Congratulations!
You have reached Level 3.
Rewards Level Increased: 3 All stats have increased.
The improvement wasn’t dramatic…
But he could feel it immediately.
His body felt a little lighter.
A little stronger.
His breathing had become steadier.
A smile appeared on his face.
“Well…
at least this goblin had something to eat.”
“I’ll eat first…
then I’ll keep hunting goblins.”
While resting and eating, he opened his status windows once again.
A new notification appeared.
Knowledge Progress Goblin Race: 75%
“Already?”
“I expected something like twenty-five or maybe thirty-five percent.”
“But I’m almost done already.”
“Why did it increase so fast?”
The system answered calmly.
“Goblins possess relatively small bodies, making them easier for the system to analyze.”
“I see.”
“So larger monsters will probably take much longer to scan.”
A small confirmation window appeared.
Correct.
Algeni nodded.