Edward rolled once again, for the umpteenth time, as he dodged another blade of wind. His body was beginning to ache with all of the dodge attempts he forced himself through, though the goblin mage appeared just as fit as when the fight started. Ikarus was still fine, though the dragon appeared to be getting frustrated with all of the failed attack attempts.
Edward's stamina bar, which was full at the beginning of the fight, was now reaching complete depletion. Soon enough he wouldn't have the energy to move, much less roll away from danger. Edward considered tanking an attack or two, but he knew he wouldn't be able to survive even one strike. His limbs would be torn apart and his armor would be ripped in two.
"Ikarus, go above!" Edward yelled, hoping his dragon would attack him. He pointed into the air as he did so. Edward assumed the fight would become much easier if the two of them split up the mage's attention. At the moment, both of them were relatively near each other— which allowed the mage to concentrate on both of them at the same time.
Ikarus didn't seem to understand Edward's words, but he understood the intent behind them. Ikarus immediately flew into the air, surprising the mage. The goblin, recognizing Ikarus as the greater threat, focused more of its attention on the platinum dragon. Several wind blades flew through the air, though Ikarus was able to dodge them easily. The dragon flew behind the mage while continuing to avoid the goblin's attacks.
Edward immediately sighed in relief as the attacks against him halted— if even for a moment. He gripped his sword and sprung forward. His additional stat in agility allowed him to travel a few feet faster than before, but it wasn't enough to reach the goblin mage in time.
The goblin turned around just as Edward came within a meter of the goblin, then swung his staff. Edward ducked— his mind too occupied in the fight to realize the goblin didn't even cast a spell— then pushed forward. The dirt underneath his feet moved aside as his toes carved into the earth.
He brought his sword up to the goblin and used all of his strength to pierce the goblin's tunic. He felt the tip of his sword pierce through the goblin's skin, but he was surprised to find barely any purchase.
︽
Weak spot! 12 Damage Dealt!
︾
The goblin screamed in surprise and brought the staff onto Edward's shoulder. By this point, Edward recognized the goblin's weakness: It was unable to use magic at close range, so he bravely let the staff strike him— as it was no better than a club at the moment.
︽
Your defense has proved impenetrable to the goblin mage's attack!
You have taken no damage!
︾
He used his left hand to push the sword further into the goblin's chest, digging his sword deeper into the goblin's chest as he did so. The pressure caused the goblin to stumble backward and fall onto its back. Edward pushed himself forward until he was standing above the goblin's body. Then, with all of the strength left in him, he pushed his sword as deep into the goblin's chest as he could.
The blade struck through with a crunch. Edward felt his sword stab directly through the goblin's chest until the tip of his blade met with the dirt below. The goblin's face contorted in pain as a fountain of black blood began to gush from the wound.
︽
Lethal blow! 38 Damage Dealt!
︾
︽
Level 6 {Goblin Mage} Vanquished!
7.5% XP Granted to The Winged Legion
7.5% XP Granted to Ikarus
︾
With the goblin mage defeated, Edward fell to his side and sighed in relief. Ikarus, who had been dodging wind blades nonstop since the battle started, also seemed exhausted. The young dragon hadn't dealt any damage to the goblin, but without Ikarus, the battle would've never been won.
"That was intense, but not worth it at all. All of that is for only 7.5% XP. Leveling up is so difficult," Edward whispered to himself, his voice filled with irritation. Ikarus slowly moved his way over to Edward's side. The both of them were exhausted, but Edward knew they couldn't rest in a place like this. He stood up and pulled his sword from the goblin's chest.
Then, once the blade was in his hand, he cleaned it off with the inside of his elbow but didn't sheath it. Just because they had killed one enemy didn't mean they were safe. Ikarus climbed atop Edward's shoulder with more confidence than before. Their experience fighting an enemy seemed to have given confidence to Ikarus.
Edward continued through the forest— not bothering to loot the Goblin's body. All Edward even considered taking was the bone necklace the goblin wore— though he ended up ignoring it. As Edward and Ikarus moved through the forest, they spent the next three hours traveling at a comfortable pace.
During this time, they were attacked twice. The first time, by another goblin mage with a similar move set as the other one. Thanks to their experience fighting the first goblin mage, this one proved to be an easy challenge. The fight lasted less than a minute and ended in total victory for Edward and his dragon. After the battle concluded, Edward was glad to find his XP bar moved from 7.5% to 15%.
The second battle was against two goblins, both of which specialized as warriors. Neither of these goblins was level six or used magical attacks, so facing them was easy. Edward didn't quite know how to wield his sword, but he still managed to fight better than the goblin facing him. He finished off his opponent easily and watched as Ikarus did the same with a claw attack on a goblin's neck.
The second fight provided Edward and Ikarus with +10% XP. By this point, Edward was beginning to grasp a very simple understanding of the XP modifiers for Avalon. He found that the XP granted by a monster tied in with his level. If he fought a creature within four levels of his own— currently between the ranges of one and five— they would give 5% XP. Edward immediately assumed this worked in the lower ranges as well. So, if he fought a creature three levels weaker than him it would give the same XP value as if he fought a creature three levels stronger than him. This was because both of those monsters fit within the appropriate level range.
If the monster was five levels stronger than him then it would provide more XP— 7.5% XP to be specific. Edward believed this modifier would end nine levels away and increase once more ten levels away. If this pattern continued, which Edward believed it would, then an additional 2.5% XP modifier would be added after every fifth level.
Once Edward confirmed this with a third fight against yet another level 6 goblin mage— bringing his and Ikarus's total XP progress to 32.5%— he decided to end the night and log off. He was still in the middle of the forest but knew his body would be safe so long as he wasn't in the game. He knew from other players' posts that his body would disappear as soon as he logged out.