"This is going to be fun."
The number of goblins now exceeded over a hundred.
But Orion didn't feel fear—only a thrill coursing down his spine. With a wild grin, he charged at them, almost maniacally.
"SKREEEEE!"
"GRIKKK!"
"SKRRRAAA!"
The goblin swarm rushed him in response.
Orion activated Scale Manifestation, hardening his skin and tanking most of their attacks. Blades scraped uselessly across his scales. Then he suddenly leapt upward and landed behind them.
The goblins had no real individual skill. They relied purely on numbers—so they were slow to react.
Orion took full advantage.
"Gkk!"
"Grrk!"
"Hr—!"
Goblins were sent flying, dying left and right with painful cries. Orion was enjoying it. He didn't know why, but he felt euphoric.
Orion extended his claws and began swinging wildly, using the fighting style he had been practicing.
"Hrrk!"
"Hr—!"
By now, Orion had killed at least twenty goblins—but their numbers weren't thinning.
Suddenly, pain exploded through his thigh.
A knife pierced deep.
Orion jumped back from the swarm and finally took a proper look around. In the heat of the moment, he had completely misjudged the situation.
There were more than a hundred goblins in the hallway now.
The only reason Orion was still alive was because the corridor was too narrow for them to attack him all at once.
"SKREEEEE!"
Another wave surged forward.
Ignoring the pain in his thigh, Orion moved to meet them, slashing with his claws—but his movements had grown sloppy. A goblin managed to slice open a small part of his neck.
"Ahhh—dammit!"
Orion activated Flash Movement and retreated, grabbing his neck to stop the bleeding. But he didn't have the luxury to rest—the goblins were already charging again.
With no other choice, Orion activated Flame Pulse.
He knew using his dragonborn skills too much would kill him from exhaustion—but he had no choice.
As the goblins came into contact with the flames, their bodies began to burn. They screamed in pain, their advance slowing significantly.
Using this opening, Orion cut through them with his claws.
"GRRRKKK!"
"Hrr—!"
The goblin numbers thinned little by little—but Orion was growing exhausted, his wounds screaming in agony.
He needed to end this quickly.
Fuck. I need to gauge their full strength and numbers and prepare a strategy. I need to lure them into the chamber—somewhere with more space.
Just as he thought that, four goblins wielding oversized long swords charged at him.
Orion dodged one with quick reflexes, activated Scale Manifestation to block another, then used Flash Movement to appear behind the third and tear it apart with his claws.
Fuck—that was close. Now how do I get them into the chamber?
He repeated the maneuver, finishing off the remaining goblins.
Once he had created some distance, Orion began punching the wall repeatedly, drawing the goblins' attention.
As expected, they chased him.
When they reached the stairs, Orion used Flash Movement again and reappeared beside the mountain of bones—now at least 250 meters away.
He grabbed whatever he could find and started throwing it.
Swords. Knives. Spears. Jars. Plates.
Anything.
"GRRRKKK!"
"Hrr—!"
"Hrkkk—!"
Several goblins died screaming under the blind barrage.
Soon, all the goblins were inside the chamber.
Orion finally got a full estimate of their numbers.
This many… for fuck's sake. Give me a break, will you?
The number had far exceded 100 it was close to 200
He was startled—but deep down, he was enjoying it.
This should work, I guess.
Orion picked up a spear.
His plan was simple: keep distance. Even without experience, fighting weak monsters like these didn't require skill—just raw strength.
He pointed the spear forward and charged.
Four goblins fell instantly.
Another attacked from the left—Orion blocked it with his arm and pierced the goblin's heart with the spear. Then six more rushed him.
He let go of the spear lodged in the corpse and charged them with his claws.
Necks split. Bodies fell.
He grabbed another spear and hurled it.
It went through one goblin's head and tore off another's ear.
"GRKKK!"
"GR—!"
He threw another spear, piercing the injured goblin's throat.
Feeling confident, he grabbed a sword and leapt into a small group, tearing through them with claws and blade.
His movements were sloppy—unrefined, reckless—but it didn't matter. His raw strength far outclassed the goblins.
Orion didn't care. He was in the heart of a killing zone, and each goblin he struck sent a rush of euphoria coursing through him.
The numbers were thinning, but exhaustion was starting to weigh on him. He needed to control the fight, pick off smaller groups.
A cluster of four goblins caught his eye. He pierced one with his sword, slit another's head open with a claw, then leapt behind the remaining two, tearing them apart in a brutal sweep.
But two more slipped close.
A short sword stabbed into his shoulder.
"AGHHH!"
Before he could react, another blade pierced his other thigh.
Orion used Flash Movement again, escaping the deadly situation
He saw four goblins charging at him, he also tried to move, but his legs gave out because of the pain.
He activated his flame pulse skill he could fell his stamina decreasing as he was getting exhausted, but he had no other choice
The limitation of the flame pulse skill was too much, he knew he had to improve the skill fast
He was shivering in pain—but the fight was nearly over.
Only around sixty goblins remained.
Swallowing the pain, Orion pressed on.
This time, he was careful.
His Flash Movement had only one use left before it went into cooldown.
He ran around the chamber, throwing weapons—some hit, some missed. Blood poured from his wounds. His strength, stamina, and vitality were draining fast.
Thirty goblins left.
His vision blurred—but he kept fighting.
With no skills left, he had to be smart.
He ran toward the stairs, luring the remaining goblins back into the hallway, where their movement would be restricted.
They followed.
Using his final Flash Movement, Orion retreated deeper into the hallway. There, he noticed something on the corpses—small magic crystals.
"OF COURSE! WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS EARLIER?!" in the heat of the battle, he completely forgot about magic crystal
Orion grabbed the crystals and consumed them.
Although these crystals didn't give him nearly as much power as the ravagers crystal, but anything would help him now
The goblins caught up.
He threw two short swords.
"Gr—"
"H—"
The frontliners fell.
Orion closed the distance, slashing through necks, activating Scale Manifestation one last time.
He was consumed by fatigue . But he shrug it off
His vision became bury, only five goblins remained.
The goblins caught up.
Orion threw two short swords at the goblins.
"Gr—"
"H—"
The frontliners fell.
Orion closed the distance, slashing through necks and activating Scale Manifestation one last time.
Fatigue consumed him—but he shrugged it off.
His vision became blurry.
Only five goblins remained.
Instead of fighting, they turned and ran.
Though severely injured, Orion chased them. He couldn't let them escape—he didn't want them bringing reinforcements. Swallowing his exhaustion, he forced his body to move, chasing them as fast as he could.
He hurled his last remaining weapon.
It pierced straight through one goblin.
"Gr….."
The remaining four turned and attacked.
Orion was slow to react—fatigue dulled his movements—and one goblin's strike sliced open his wrist.
"Shit… damn it."
Agony tore through him, both physical and mental, but Orion kept going.
He yanked his sword free from the slain goblin's chest and swung with all his remaining strength.
"Gr…."
"Hrk...."
Two goblins were beheaded.
His vision went white.
Still, Orion swung his claws, slicing through the remaining two goblins in a final, savage motion.
"Ghh… haah…"
Orion collapsed against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting, supporting his head against the stone.
The pain was beyond comprehension. His eyelids drooped, darkness creeping in—but he forced them open.
If I close my eyes… I'll die.
Orion picked up the two magic crystals dropped by the dead goblins and consumed them.
Warmth spread through his body.
Then his gaze drifted deeper into the hallway.
There—
A shimmering light.
Perfectly still.
He didn't want to go there.
Every instinct warned him to turn back—but curiosity won.
Dragging his battered body forward, Orion moved toward the light. As he drew closer, he realized it was an entrance.
Another chamber.
Orion peered inside.
What he saw left him frozen in shock.