Three goblins stared at Joshua. Before Joshua made his move, none of them noticed his presence, and for that reason, the goblins were scared. Monsters couldn't see levels as humans did. They relied solely on instinct to know if the prey was too strong for them. For them, Joshua was someone they couldn't face.
Well, they didn't have a choice in the end. Two goblins had already perished with one slash of Joshua's sword, and it was not like the rest of them could outrun Joshua. They only had one way out, and that was to kill Joshua.
It was easier said than done. Joshua wasn't fooling around. He had a goal, and that goal was to get stronger.
Each goblin gave him one experience point. In other words, he needed to kill forty-eight more to reach level two, and that amount would only increase as he leveled up.
The goblins warriors in front of him had 110 HP each. Joshua knew that because of his Heaven's Eyes skill.
It wouldn't be that hard to kill them, three hits at max. Joshua's damage was something extraordinary for someone level 1. He pondered if he should use his Fire Manipulation skill.
Joshua focused, and a tiny flame took form above his left hand. He swiped this small flame on his greatsword, setting it up in flames.
[-100 mana points.]
[40 fire damage added.]
'This is insane,' Joshua's mouth was wide open. The amount of damage the skill added was extraordinary. Fire Manipulation was still at level 1, and it would get better the more he used it. It cost a lot of mana, though. Joshua wielded a greatsword that was his size. It was a big weapon, so it was understandable to cost that much mana.
The goblins who were already scared of facing him were now hopeless. That flaming greatsword was intimidating, and they didn't know what to do.
Joshua didn't rush in. He had 60 points of mana left, and he tried something using his Fire Manipulation. Joshua focused on his feet, setting them on fire.
[-10 Hp per second.]
[Movement speed doubled.]
'It worked,' Joshua was delighted. Using the fire on his own body would make him lose HP per second, which was obvious, but it boosted his fighting capabilities a lot. He could only endure this skill for about a minute before dying. Joshua had more than 300 HP, which would deplete in 30 seconds. But with his extraordinary self-healing, he guessed that he could last for at least a minute.
It was okay, as it would take him no more than 10 seconds to kill three weak goblins. With the added fire damage of his skill, these three would get one shot.
Joshua dashed, moving fast as a tiger. The goblins could barely see him, and they raised their weapons by instinct. It didn't matter. One of the goblins tried to block that big flaming sword with a short spear, but the sword cut through everything, tearing the goblin into two pieces.
The remaining goblins tried to use that moment to strike Joshua, but that didn't work out as they planned. Joshua jumped, avoiding the slash of a sword and the blow of a mace. While in mid-air, Joshua adjusted his stance and fell with his greatsword, striking another goblin. The goblin's head couldn't survive that attack, and it got smashed like a tomato. In mere three seconds, Joshua wiped two goblins with only two hits.
The last goblin dropped its weapon, no longer wanting to fight that flaming beast. He knew that he would perish as well, so he accepted his death.
[-123]
[+1 Experience point.]
Joshua now had five experience points in total. The goblins didn't stand a chance against him. He was sure that only the goblin's chief would give him an arduous fight.
*
A man hunted down many goblins that day. They couldn't endure against his mighty sword and perished on the spot. Joshua didn't stop after that first squad. More goblins tried to figure out what happened to their hunting party and ended up the same as them, dead. It didn't take long for the goblins to understand something was amiss, so they didn't leave their cave again. When that happened, Joshua decided to get back to his wood cabin.
He managed to hunt some other beasts along the way; a Rhakun and a Sigha. Sighas reminded Joshua of wolves, but they were more ferocious. Joshua hunted them for the meat, as he still needed to eat something that night, but also for their pelt. He was still wearing some random clothing that didn't provide him any defense and no style at all. Someone back in the village knew about tailoring, and he hoped that the person could craft some cool outfit for him.
'Aurora will have to lend me some money...' Joshua thought.
Joshua finished his hunting with 43 experience points, which meant that he was almost reaching level 2. It was an extraordinary speed. Richard would soon be surprised once again.
'Not everyone can hunt goblins like me, hahaha.' Joshua laughed out loud.
Joshua created a campfire outside his cabin. He used his Fire Manipulation to start the fire, making everything easier. In a snowy region, that skill could save someone's life.
The scent of meat was good, but Joshua missed the spices back on Earth.
'It tastes good without it. I wonder how good this would be,' Joshua thought, eating a big piece of meat using a stick.
Just like that, his day ended, and it was unclear what tomorrow would bring.