Before long, I was staring at three ugly goblins who had appeared from the spheres, bringing with them their rancid smell.
'This kinda ruined the mood…' — I couldn't help but think, scrunching my nose involuntarily at the stench.
But even as that thought crossed my mind, I didn't stop moving. I pierced straight through the leftmost stunned sucker's throat with the tip of my sword, tearing it apart in one swift motion as I rushed toward my next victim. Behind me, I heard its last suffocated, pained gurglings.
The second one had only enough time to raise its left arm in a pathetic attempt to block my slash, before receiving the same fate — a clean, fatal gash across the throat.
See, folks? This is how you turn a 3v1 into a 1v1: just don't give them any time to react and you'll be fine!
As for the remaining fight? What could possibly happen?
Just like before, it was over in an instant. I sidestepped its clumsy lunge and took its head off with a single clean swing.
'I could have done better…' — was the only thought in my mind as I started thinking of ways to kill them even faster the next time.
[Wave Cleared! You have received a skill book! Next wave in 1 minute! You can quit at any time by willing for it.]
A countdown began from 60, while a white tome materialized before me. I reached out and grabbed it.
A consumable that teaches its user the class-exclusive skill Sword Wave.
Special Properties:
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After reading the description, my eyes sparkled with sheer excitement. — 'Could I start throwing sword beams after learning this?'
I tried to open it, to take a look at the content inside, only to fail miserably, it was like the pages have been glued shut, but before I could try to pry it open with force, I heard a prompt in my head.
[Do you want to learn 'Sword Wave'?]
(Yes) (No)
'Yes! Of course! That's a no-brainer! — I pressed yes, and the book unveiled on its own.
[You have learned 'Sword Wave'!]
But I never managed to caught a single glimpse on its content. The book dissolved into motes of light, which were then absorbed into my head as strange pieces of knowledge surfaced in my mind. I checked the timer — about forty seconds left — so I quickly opened my status screen to look at the new skill.
Class-exclusive skill learned from a skill book. Condenses and launches a cutting attack through a sword swing, causing magical damage on impact.
My eyes widened slightly as I took in the information.
'This… is really good!' — I even had the urge to use it immediately, but restrained myself. With how weak my arcana was, I definitely couldn't spam it. Even if my magical damage was more than triple my physical stats, it was better not to waste it on weaklings.
If the first wave already gave such a great reward, what about the rest? I'd better make the most of this.
I had the feeling such generous rewards were freebies for newcomers — and that repeating a basic class trial later on wouldn't be nearly as rewarding. So I trusted the thing that had never let me down before: my gut.
Before long, the countdown hit zero and five light spheres appeared. Four were like the previous ones, but the central sphere was slightly larger — likely a mini-boss of sorts.
With Sword Wave as a safety net and the option to leave whenever I wanted, I decided to take some risks to maximize my potential gains.
I approached the central sphere, ready to ambush whatever abomination emerged. If I could kill it and at least one of the smaller ones immediately, the remaining 1v3 would be manageable. If not, I'd just use Sword Wave.
My wait wasn't long. Something soon stepped out of its cocoon of light. It stood a meter and a half tall (5 ft), a whole head taller than its stinky counterparts.
Its face was more refined and less grotesque, its limbs more proportionate, though it still had the same light-green skin. Its clothing was only slightly worse off than mine, and it wasn't nearly as smelly. In its right hand, it held a dry wooden stick — the kind that would really hurt if it ever connected.
Before it could react, I used my appraisal skill and instantly followed up with a slash to its throat. Its eyes widened in surprise as it let out gurgling sounds, choking on its own blood. — 'So what if you are stronger? A slash to the throat gets the work done all the same!'
Not sparing it a second glance, I rushed to the minion on my right and pierced its throat before it could possibly process what was happening.
Success! Now I only had to survive the 1v3.
Two stood to my left and one to my right, half-surrounding me, so I moved toward the right to break the encirclement at the root.
By now, they have had more than enough time to understand the situation, and let's just say they were less than thrilled with what they saw.
With furious screams, the two behind me charged forward, while the last one let out low, threatening whimpers, keeping its guard up.
I attacked with a downward slash, which it blocked with its forearm — but the blade got stuck in the bone.
I tried to pull back but couldn't follow up, as the other two had caught up. No biggie. This guy wouldn't recover immediately, so I might as well deal with the others first.
They began circling me, trying to split my attention and find an opening. But that had been a mistake. Sure, dealing with two at once was troublesome. But if I ignored one of them?
Let's just say the other wasn't going to have a great time…
I lunged at the goblin on my right, swinging with all my strength. The little bastard panicked, backstepping and raising both arms in a desperate attempt to block.
It didn't matter.
I put not just my strength, but my whole weight into the blow. Its elongated arms bent in ways they were never meant to, and the sword smashed straight into its collarbone, collapsing it inward with a sickening crunch and splattering blood everywhere.
It was still alive — even if barely — but I had no time to think further, as a sharp pain bit me in the back.
The third goblin had lunged onto me, scratching through my already ragged clothes.
It hurt — but compared to other things I'd gone through? This might as well have been the wind.