This accursed place, "The Tranquil Pandemonium," is what they called it. It becomes more bizarre the more I delve into it. In just one day, I levelled up, evolved, and slayed dozens of monsters. However, my battle isn't over yet. I vowed to crawl up from this hell, and take vengeance on those who come against me.
"I am not the same as before, the same thing won't happen twice."
My scythe hungered for bloodshed and my soul yearned for victory. I saw and sensed the hordes of goblins swarming my position.
I mumbled in an angered tone, "Come and get me."
A small batch of goblins clamored against me, and were mere meters away, I then pulled back my blade and readied for a strike, "Time to send you to hell."
*SLAAAASH*
"Enemy defeated! EXP rewarded!"
"EXP has breached past the limit! You are now level 11!"
A clean cut tore through the bodies of every single one of them, and I was splashed in foul smelling blood!
"Yeah, I'm not same as before."
I turned my face at another wave blitzing from the rear, "Only candy-assed weaklings strike from the back!"
I stretched out my left hand and built up a burst of lightning, "Chain lightning!"
A burst of lightning shot out from my hand and connected every single goblin within a 3 meter radius! It wasn't as powerful as the previous blasts, but it still fried them like venison!
"Enemy defeated! EXP rewarded!"
"EXP has breached past the limit! You are now level 13!"
"Looks like I'm not increasing by that much anymore, I might have to find some stronger goblins to kill."
My levels aren't increasing by that much anymore, a strike like that would've sent me multiple levels in an instant. It looks like I have to fight stronger enemies.
I evaded backwards to gain a visual of the battlefield, "Where are the strong ones at?"
The levels between the goblins varied vastly, some were weak as hell, and some looked pretty damn capable. I began to read off their levels:
"Lv.3 Goblin scout", "Lv. 6 Goblin brawler", "Lv. 8 Goblin hunter", "Lv. 5 Goblin spearman", "Lv. 13 Goblin assassin", "Lv. 15 Goblin warrior"
Not many went over level 15 from what I saw, the only ones over level 20 were the 2 chieftains that slowly approached me. Anyways, I had to keep up the defensive, and so I unleashed another blast of chain lightning to finish off some more of the small fry, "Chain lightning!"
"Enemy defeated! EXP rewarded!"
I then brandished my scythe and pointed it over towards one of the chieftains, and they both stopped in their tracks once they saw my challenge. They then looked towards one another and exchanged some unintelligible words. I waited a bit to see what they would do, and then they nodded heads, and Uzril-Nahjou proceeded to kneel down. That was when Uzril-Shoka drew his giant battle-axe, and proceeded forth towards me.
All the other smaller goblins then saw their leader and backed out of his way; none dared to interfere in his fight. He walked with confidence and with a twisted smile as he pierced me with his gaze.
"Uzril-Shoka, you're first up on the chopping block."
I walked back with the same confidence as him, although our levels still had a major gap, I felt like I could actually do it this time. With all the new skills and abilities granted from the blessing, I felt like I could do it!
After a few moments of walking, we finally stood before each other with our weapons in hand. The towering monstrosity looked down on me with disgust and hatred, as if he longed to take my head. I could feel an intense fire burning in his soul as our showdown commenced.
He then reached into one of the pockets in his armor, and pulled out a small gold coin, we both looked at it before he flipped it into the air.
It was like all time had slowed down while the gold coin was airborne, and in just a few quick breaths, the coin bounced off the floor...
The instant that the coin hit the floor, we both sounded our war cries onto the battlefield, "HAAAAAAAAAAH!", "GYRAAGHHHH!"
I swung my blade against his in a devastating clash!
*KLAAAANK*
Our blades were locked with one another, and a test of strength arose! I gritted my teeth and poured all the force from my body into my scythe. He however, was unmoved by this as if he wasn't even trying! I had to jump back and rethink my strategy!
I shifted my blade away from him and immediately evaded back, "Damn it! It's still not enough! his power is still too great!" I began to devise what to do next.
"Maybe I can paralyze him with a burst of lightning and strike him while he's down!"
I began to build up a powerful surge of lightning inside of my hand, but when he caught sight of it, he rushed in furiously.
In a flash, he step-dashed towards me with his battle-axe raised up for a lethal slash! Immediately shot my half baked lightning spell into his face and dodged the blade before it made impact!
The beast let out a painful cry as the battle-axe came down and missed, "GYRAAAGH!" I barely dodged the homing slash before it connected! The blast wasn't powerful enough to paralyze him, it only made him more pissed off.
"Damn it, I shouldn't have hit his face!" I stepped back and tried devising another plan.
"Wait let me check those new skills I received."
- Command Spirit (100ST)
- Esper's Domain (250ST)
- Heal Spirit (25ST/sec)
- Rend (200ST)
- Shackled Current (25MP/sec)
- Wind Cutter (50SP)
"Wait Rend requires spirit!? I wish it told me that sooner!"
I then realized it required a ridiculous amount of Spirit, but I had to do something! And so I looked at the "Shackled Current" skill.
Shackled Current: Creates a binding current of lightning inside of a singular target at extremely high voltages.
"That sounds like the direct opposite of Chain Lightning, this may actually be useful. I think I have an idea..."
I readied my stance for another barrage of attacks, the Goblin Chieftain was just about ready to finish up this up too.
It was then that a strange warning message flashed before me:
! Warning !
Punishment Quest:
[Goblin Extermination]
5 minutes remaining...
"Oh crap I forgot about the punishment quest! How much more do I need!?"
The Quest window appeared before as I said this:
Quest Conditions:
- Defeat 150 Goblins (82/150)
- Execute Lv. 25, Uzril-Shoka (0/1)
- Execute Lv. 25, Uzril-Nahjou (0/1)
- Execute Lv. ???, Malcaborg the Unbroken (0/1)
"I have to do that much in 5 minutes!? There's no damn way!"
I was hit with an unfavorable situation, I only have 5 minutes to complete this absolutely ridiculous quest. However, I couldn't just give up yet, no there was still a slim chance of clearing it.
Based on how fast I'm jumping levels, if I can manage to slay one of the chieftains in a minute, then I might be able to reach level 20 in one shot! And by doing that, I may be able to just kill off everyone on my lonesome!
"Time is already up, I have to finish him in one shot! It's all or nothing now!"
There was only one thing I could think to do in this vital situation, and that was to make use of my new abilities. There has to be something in there that can wipe them out.
I controlled my breathing, calmed my heart and fixed my stance. I was focused on one thing, and that was the beasts on the battlefield; it was like there was only us standing in the midst of a thousand shadows. My concentration allowed me to think more clearly, and my heart didn't waver.
I then called out to the Blessing, "Show me my perk points."
You have [18] Perk Points left!
"18 huh? Looks like I better use them before it's too late."
I then assigned my perk points evenly between 2 certain attributes.
You added 9 points into STR and ST! New attributes are being sh
Strength: 28
Spirit: 58
You have [0] Perk Points left!
I felt a refreshing strength and considerable amount of spirit explode in my body, looks like it's time to finish things!
It was then that I called forth my first ability for the playtest, Esper's Domain
"This is MY domain," A large pool of black liquid and blue flames began to form from underneath me, it grew out and had a radius of 5 meters. I felt my own spirit lessen, but I was able to detect multiple life forms from within the Domain.
"Gyak, this is more draining than I thought it'd be."
The blue flames began to float up into small hovering balls of fire that seemed to have an overwhelming flood of emotions deep within. The strange blue fireballs began to circle around me while a small incoherent chant began to play.
"Is this Esper's Domain? Are these Spirits subjected to me?"
I then gave them their first command, "Spirits, show me the night's sky, and let it illuminate over the face of this battlefield."
Without hesitation, the small balls of fire glided up and aligned themselves over the entire battleground. An endless amount of Spirits spewed out from the fiery pool by the multitudes, and the skies became more and more crowded by their presence.
It looked spectacular, it truly reminded me of the starry night sky I used to gaze at when I was still a lad, it brought me much nostalgia and a heart warming feeling. All of the goblins on the field ceased their attack, and instead they just looked up at the mesmerizing stars that hovered above them.
The Spirits glistened and shined brighter than the night sky, and all their emotions sent those who watched into a trance.
I looked over at Kyoko and Malcaborg and they were just watching the phenomena above, I also noticed that the area around them was completely transformed and warped from their fight. I only wished I was paying more attention to it...
However I noticed that the Goblins were no longer as entranced by the Spirits as before, adn thus I needed to act once again.
I remembered a time when I was a young lad and I gazed at the falling stars with my former master. It was beautiful, glorious, and bewitching. And so I realized that I could see that wondrous sight once again, I then mumbled under my breath, "The Stars are about to fall."
And so I let them all loose, "This is the Shattering of Stars."
Then in the next moment, all the Spirits began to fall from the sky like rain. They splintered, segmented and came crashing down by my very words. And so the first goblin fell victim to the raining stars from above...
*BOOOM*
A loud explosion sounded on the battlefield, I lifted up my eyes and saw a goblin erupt into raging flames. It's screams echoed through the battleground and shortly the goblin fell lifelessly onto the stony ground.
"Enemy defeated! EXP rewarded!"
"I might sound like a broken record, but things just got a whole lot more interesting."
Soon many more blue explosions boomed all around, the goblins began to cower in fear of the raining projectiles loosed on the battlefield.
"Enemy defeated! EXP rewarded!"
"Enemy defeated! EXP rewarded!"
"Enemy defeated! EXP rewarded!"
"Enemy defeated! EXP rewarded!"
"Enemy defeated! EXP rewarded!"
An overwhelming amount of "enemy defeated," messages exploded across my eyes. At the same time, a numerous amount of goblins set ablaze by the falling stars of the stony skies. I looked around the battlefield and saw many fall over in defeat, while others stood their ground and tried freeing themselves from the inferno.
As much as I hated to admit it, there were some that overpowered the fires and stood proud against them. However though, the weak were still weeded out by this ultimate attack!
I took this moment of annihilation to rest a bit, I saw many goblins running for their lives, and others were trying to fend away from the falling flames. It was truly marvelous to watch, but as all things, the show was getting ready to end. After a few moments of annihilation, I saw a refreshing message fly by me.
"EXP has breached past the limit! You are now level 17!"
"Now this is what I'm talking about! These levels just keep on coming!"
And at the same time, another message flew by me.
Quest Condition complete!
- Defeat 150 Goblins (150/150)
"I even managed to clear one of the quest conditions!"
New Title obtained!
[Goblin Slayer]
(Slay 100 Goblins type enemies.)
"You made your presence known to the goblin race and have slain a considerable amount! The Goblins have now deemed you a threat to their existence!"
(Passive ability: 15% total damage against Goblin-type enemies + Invokes FEAR on lesser goblins.)
A strong sense of pride and accomplishment filled me, I would've never thought I'd finish any of those and on top of that, I even received a new title!
"Goblin slayer huh? A befitting title I should say, I'm going to put it to good use."
However I couldn't let my guard down yet because the other 3 conditions may not be so easy to fulfill...
The Esper's Domain skill receded and I checked my surroundings to assess my next strategy, as well as checking the time limit for the quest.
Time limit: 3 minutes, 55 seconds left...
"This is it, we're gonna finish this once and for all!"
I lifted my eyes towards the two overpowering chieftains that stood against me. They were brushing off some of the blue fire that hit them during the attack. They looked pissed off, infuriated, and ready to take revenge for their fallen comrades.
I called for my perk points again, "Perk points!"
You have [24] Perk Points left!
"Thanks for the free levels..."
I then assigned the perk points where I needed them most, strength, spirit and one I haven't touched yet, dexterity.
New Attribute levels:
Dexterity: 11
Strength: 38
Spirit: 62
A new profound strength entered me, I felt renewed and my hands felt.. quicker... more accurate?
I drew my scythe forward and eyed down the goblin chieftains that approached me, they no longer showed any valor, but only aggression and vengeance.
"The final showdown draws near, and now I think this is the best time to use this."
I began focusing my flow of Spirit into my scythe, and soon a raging flame cased itself over and ignited my blade.
"This is Rend..."