'I could probably have made better use of my skill.' — I couldn't help but think as I watched the last goblin disappear. Instead of attacking from the sides and focusing on only a few enemies, it might be better to hit all of them at once.
[Wave Cleared! You have received a Mysterious Gemstone! The next wave will arrive in 2 minutes! You can quit at any time by willing for it.]
Just like before, something appeared out of thin air—but this time, it was much smaller.
A deep-blue, jewel-like crystal. With it in hand, I cast appraisal.
A beautiful blue stone containing a huge amount of arcana. It must have once been the core of a powerful artifact.
'As expected...' — I took the bottle out of my inventory, and just as I imagined, the gem was a perfect fit for one of the empty sockets. I brought them close together, and the gem flew out of my hand, shooting straight into place.
Upon contact, a bright light filled the air, and the previously worn-out bottle underwent a huge transformation.
An old object from the distant past. Once a powerful and adored treasure belonging to a long-forgotten figure, now reduced to a mere purified-water container. Oh, how the mighty have fallen!
Active Abilities:
— Purification: Can purify and imbue water with arcana and health-restorative properties. ~ 8 hours cooldown.
Passive Abilities: (None)
'Whoa! This is actually great!' — Not only did it lose the temporary status, but it can now actively purify water to create something closer to a potion.
I was excited to see what else awaited me. But first, it was time to check my updated stats.
[Stats]:
- VIT: 17 F
- STG: 20 F
- AGI: 21 F
- DEX: 18 F (3.0x) (54)
- SPI: 13 F (5.0x) (65)
- ARC: 12 F
Overall: F
My eyes widened at the changes. Was this not a bit too much? AGI and STG had almost doubled from what I started with.
'Oh, boy... how strong are those Tier 1 guys? What about the Tier 2, like the head priestess?' — I couldn't help wondering. I could feel it; I was already almost twice as strong as before being transported here, and that was a lot, considering I'd already been fairly fit despite my questionable, less than ideal lifestyle.
I should also look into how tier advancement works, and what the requirements for doing so are. Best to know what I'm even working with.
After waiting a while, the countdown finally hit zero, and suddenly seven—and I kid you not—seven spheres of light appeared. Each was as big as the previous low goblins, except the middle one, which was slightly larger.
'Well... fuck...' — Playtime seemed to be over. The difficulty spike was a bit too much. Even though my arcana reserves were full, I grabbed my relic and drank the water in big mouthfuls.
With no other choice, I readied myself, standing before the light spheres and deciding to try something new. I began channeling a large amount of arcana into my sword.
Before long, the spheres burst apart. The seven enemies stepped forward, so I quickly used appraisal on the new goblin variant, then released my charged-up skill.
It was glorious.
The wave I unleashed was several meters wide—far larger than the last one—and it tore forward quickly, reaching the dumbfounded goblins in an instant. It was bloody.
All the low goblins died immediately, their throats carved open by huge gashes. But the new goblin variant was almost unharmed.
A screen of light had blocked most of the damage, giving it enough time to raise its buff arms and take the rest head-on.
This goblin didn't seem like the type to know magic. Which meant the system itself had some add-on mechanism to prevent me from spawn-killing. I could only click my tongue at that, what a shame.
I was breathing heavily, having spent over half my arcana in a blink using a supercharged skill like that. Meanwhile, the remaining goblin only had a deep cut in its arms, from which green blood flowed freely.
A low-class goblin combatant whose stats have been weakened so as not to overwhelm the challenger.
[Tier]: 0
Overall: F
Threat Level: Medium
If I had to describe it in one word, it would be burly. It wasn't taller than a low goblin, but it was almost twice as wide, with thick arms and a torso bare of any clothing. Its legs weren't nearly as muscular, making the whole thing look unintentionally funny.
Its stats didn't seem that different from a low goblin's, but I felt far more threatened by it. Even among those of the same rank, there were huge discrepancies it seems.
Which made sense — I, myself, had killed my fair share of weaker goblins, quite easily at that, even though I was also F-rank, although my boosted spirit stat had played no small role in that.
Either way, the water I drank earlier had already begun restoring my arcana. Holding my sword tightly, I started charging another wave, forcing the brawler to move in and try to restrict my movements,
But that was doomed to fail. I released my attack at nearly point-blank range, cutting deep into its arms and exposing the bone underneath, earning myself a pained grunt from my opponent.
I didn't give it a chance to recover. I followed up with a stab to the chest, hoping that would finish the job.
Contrary to my expectations, though blood poured from its mouth, it grabbed my blade and punched me straight in the chest.
Fuck. That hurts.
The air was forced out of my lungs, leaving me unable to breathe. I was pretty sure something broke.
But I couldn't give in now. I ripped my sword free, green blood dripping from it, and staggered back.
The breathlessness faded quickly, but every inhale now hurt, my chest burning.
I channeled the last of my arcana into my sword and released a final skill, tearing through the goblin's already mangled arms and knocking it down onto its back.
I stumbled forward and pierced its neck, ending the bastard for good.
(Author Note: For reasons of "I'm having my finals in college", I won't be posting any new chapters this following week. Things should be back to normal soon. I can't wait for my vacations to begin...)