Aldric was stunned to find that the two who had blocked his path in the alley were the same duo who had previously ambushed the Shadow Assassin! Standing directly before him was a heavily armored warrior wielding an enormous shield, while behind him lurked a goblin, twin daggers glinting with a pale green sheen.
Damn it! He must have been far too distracted earlier—so much so that he hadn't even noticed the armored warrior waiting in ambush ahead. Missing the goblin was one thing, but to overlook a walking fortress in full plate? Unforgivable.
For some reason, however, the armored warrior didn't immediately coordinate with the goblin to strike. That hesitation gave Aldric a precious heartbeat to react. With a flick of his wrist, he cast the Aard Sign, the blast of energy barely deflecting the goblin's first sneak attack.
He didn't have time to rummage through his spatial pouch for [Nahl's Flame Greatsword]. Instead, Aldric seized the moment, drawing the straight-saber he had bought off the dwarf. In this narrow alley, a shorter blade would serve him far better than a greatsword.
The Shadow Assassin's earlier warning had been right—this goblin, though only half Aldric's height, possessed agility beyond human limits. Even after today's bonus stat point from the [Damaged Pendant] was allocated into Strength, Aldric's blade kept slicing through nothing but air and loose clothing.
The goblin, small and nimble, rolled, leaped, and rebounded off the alley walls with astonishing ease. Meanwhile, Aldric was forced to divide his attention between offense and the threat of the looming armored warrior behind him causing him to lose momentum.
For a moment, his vision was filled with the goblin's darting, greenish silhouette. Damn it, this is like fighting Master Yoda himself! Aldric thought bitterly.
Thankfully, his [Silver-Scaled Chestguard] absorbed most of the goblin's dagger strikes; otherwise, he'd have been gutted long ago. Because of its height, the goblin targeted his lower body almost exclusively—its attacks were quick, precise, and always aimed at the groin or thighs.
No matter how cautious he was, Aldric couldn't escape unscathed. Within a few exchanges, a shallow cut appeared on his leg but thanks to his Witcher physiology, he shrugged off the poison with ease.
The goblin, unaccustomed to a drawn-out head-on battle, was already showing strain. It unleashed everything it had in a flurry of rapid strikes lasting nearly twenty seconds yet its expected support never came.
Frustrated and humiliated, the goblin burst into a string of angry curses. The one supposed to be backing him up was a new recruit, recently assigned as his partner for this mission.
The rookie's combat ability wasn't bad, his fighting style was even well-suited for bodyguard work. Mama, their superior, had sent him along specifically to "gain experience." It had been a long time since Mama had taken such a personal interest in a newcomer… and yet, the fool was now hesitating at the crucial moment!
At the sound of his partner's shouting, Liam snapped out of his daze. Despite his ingrained military discipline, deep down, he was still the same campus playboy who'd never taken a loss lying down. In an instant, he responded with a string of even filthier insults.
What followed was a bizarre verbal battle: one side armed with the sophisticated yet vicious wit of a modern man's linguistic art; the other, a foul-mouthed veteran from a pirates den. Between the goblin and Liam, their exchange of insults across Aldric's back was so fierce it nearly outshone their actual fight.
But Aldric didn't let his guard down. He knew too well from the Shadow Assassin's shattered ribs how dangerous a shield-bearing warrior could be.
Forcing the goblin back step by step, Aldric finally cornered it at the end of the alley. As expected, the goblin pushed off the wall, attempting its usual evasive leap to the side. But this time, Aldric was ready.
The Aard Sign, long charged and waiting, erupted from his palm. The shockwave slammed into the airborne goblin, sending it flying down the alley. The creature's small size was both a blessing and a curse—its agility was unmatched, but once it was in the air, it was completely at the mercy of physics.
Even Aldric, whose agility stat had reached 18, couldn't match the goblin's reflexes. He suspected the little creature possessed a racial ability similar to Lightning Reflexes.
But physics never lies. Big or small, every body falls at the same rate. The moment the goblin leapt again, Aldric caught the timing perfectly, the Aard blast sent the lightweight creature tumbling away like a rag doll.
At that very instant, the armored warrior behind him swung his massive shield. The motion was so powerful that the gust of displaced air sent Aldric's dark hair whipping wildly behind him.
Reacting on pure instinct, Aldric twisted his body, arching backward from the knees in a perfect iron-bridge pose. The enormous shield whooshed past his nose—barely missing by inches!
But the veteran inside that armor didn't rely on momentum alone. With frightening control, Liam redirected the motion, halting the swing midair and slamming the shield downward with brutal force.
Aldric didn't have time to stand. Reversing his grip, he stabbed the knife into the ground and used the recoil to roll to his right, narrowly evading the crushing blow.
The shield struck the earth with such power that its lower edge buried itself a third of the way into the ground.
Aldric didn't hesitate. Before the armored man could recover, he lunged forward, ramming shoulder-first into his chest. The impact forced the warrior back a step and made him release his grip on the embedded shield.
In that split second, Aldric dropped his blade and went all in. Barehanded, he struck again and again—hammering the same weak point where the helmet met the chestplate. Each hit sent pain jolting through his own bones; he could feel the hairline fractures forming in his fingers. But it was his only chance.
Thirteen strikes in two seconds. Each one precise, vicious, and unrelenting. The reinforced collar finally crumpled under the barrage, and the warrior's breath hitched—panic flashing in his eyes as the airflow to his lungs was cut off.
A rookie, Aldric realized. The hesitation at the start of their battle had given it away, this was someone who lacked real combat experience. And that inexperience had just sealed his fate.
Aldric locked his arms around the warrior's neck and drove his knee hard into the man's abdomen. The armor there was thinner, made of chain links for flexibility but that also meant it couldn't stop blunt trauma.
Two heavy thuds later, the armored warrior collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
From the very beginning, Aldric had known that the armored one was the true threat. In a narrow alley like this, a shieldbearer could easily corner and crush him.
Turning back toward the other end of the alley, Aldric realized the goblin was gone—vanished without a trace. Only the faint rasping sound of labored breathing remained behind him.
The armored warrior lay on the ground, weakly clawing at his helmet, legs kicking feebly as his body fought for air. The sound grew quieter and quieter.
After making sure there were no more ambushes nearby, Aldric tore off the deformed neck guard and pulled the helmet free. The warrior beneath was already half-conscious.
To his surprise, Aldric saw the unmistakable red mark on the man's forehead—a player's mark, previously hidden by the helmet. Black hair, yellow skin… a fellow player from the Loess Branch.
Just before his consciousness faded, Liam lifted a trembling hand and saluted him sharply. "Reporting to the commissar, sir! Recruit Liam Lee has completed training!"
And then, he passed out completely.
(End of Chapter)