The two hobgoblins wandered through the forest, chatting quietly. Unlike their dumber counterparts, they made sure not make too much noise, though Prince could still locate them easily.
They didn't hear him nor sense him as he peeked from behind a tree. Prince scanned them.
Goblin - Level 6
Goblin - Level 7
Perfect, Prince grinned. He waited until they were right before him, then he lunged.
The level seven reacted immediately, drawing its shabby sword and swinging it at him with decent form. Prince's eyes widened as he halted his momentum, letting the sword whizz past his face.
The level six drew its sword as well, lunging at Prince with the tip.
Shit, I lost the element of surprise, Prince thought as he weaved past the level six's thrust, still moving toward the level seven, who was now open because of his wild swing.
Prince crouched down low, feeling the muscles in his legs tighten and tense. Then he sprang upward, launching a fist toward the level seven's face. It landed, but barely. The level seven managed to lean out of the way in the nick of time, leaving Prince's fist to graze its face.
A sword sliced across the side of Prince, cutting through his hoodie and drawing blood. Prince used the momentum to roll away keeping his eyes on the two hobgoblins all the while.
These guys were trained fighters. Prince would have to concentrate as hard as he could if he wanted a chance of defeating both of them.
Prince narrowed his eyes as his heartbeat sped up, pumping adrenaline through him. This was it. This was what he was looking for.
The hobgoblins glared at him, readying their blades. Prince crouched into a boxing stance.
This fight required his all.
While his ambush method had worked against the slower and dumber goblins, it failed against these two. As a result, he needed to kill them while avoiding both of their weapons.
Prince's eyes landed on the level six, who had reacted a fraction of a second slower than the level seven during Prince's initial ambush.
"Come on then!" He said, his own voice sounding strange to him, since he hadn't said anything in a while.
The hobgoblins lunged, speeding towards him with their blades. Prince stared at their stances, their movements, to get an idea of when they would swing and where.
He ducked underneath a blade, his body moving purely by instinct. He deflected another, pushing the broad of the sword away from him.
His fist found the level six's face, but it was intercepted by another blade flying toward his wrist. Prince drew his fist back, his body a machine, unnecessary thoughts gone.
He was focused on one thing, and one thing only. He needed to kill these hobgoblins.
Prince danced around the blades, getting away from a lethal cut by a hairs breadth, weaving and moving and dodging. His fists automatically shot out at any openings, as if drawn by a string.
It was difficult. Prince had to watch not only one hobgoblin, but two- so he had to make sure the other one never had an opening to attack him while he was exploiting the opening of another one.
His fists landed with heavy thumps, but these hobgoblins seemed to be much more durable than regular goblins. Prince found himself layered in small cuts, finding himself inadequate against both of these hobgoblins.
His Unarmed Striking skill was running at full throttle, and as he dodged and weaved between attacks, he grew more and more familiar with his body at a stunning rate.
Dodging like this wasn't easy. Prince was dancing on the razors edge, and yet, he kept going. When he had the opportunity to counter-attack, he didn't. This feeling of harmony was beyond wondrous, and he felt that, if he stopped now, this opportunity wouldn't reappear easily. He had to grasp at straws to survive this dungeon, to dig out even the last dregs of his potential. A little danger was nothing.
His movements sharpened, his thoughts accelerated. He leaned from one movement to the next, using skill to dodge instead of just speed. His body became one with his will, and he felt in complete control of his every limb and muscle.
But so what? It didn't matter if he was riddled in cuts. So long as he killed these goblins, so long as he outlasted them.
So long as he won.
Prince felt everything snap into place, and the world slowed once more.
Unarmed Striking (I) has evolved into Unarmed Striking (II)
Prince could see the trajectories of the swords now, and they were so, so easy to avoid. His body did miniscule shifts, saving and conserving energy while avoiding blows.
These weren't seasoned fighters. They were just half-decent monsters with the stature of a teenager swinging a sword.
Instead of forming a fist, Prince's hand flew outward, two fingers connected with the level six's eyes with enough force to blind it. Prince drew his hand back, easily avoiding a vertical strike from the level seven.
Prince's body automatically twisted into a roundhouse kick. It connected with enough force that Prince felt something crack.
While the level seven stumbled back, blood dripping from its mouth and nose, Prince returned his attention to the level six, who flailed its blade around with terror.
Prince closed the distance between them quickly. His left hand gripped the hobgoblin's sword wrist, simultaneously pulling it toward him. Prince's fist connected with its nose in a bloody display, completely shattering it now.
Unbeknownst to him, Prince had subconsciously angled his fist in such a way that he concentrated his power into a fine point.
Prince wasted no time, following with hooks and jabs to capitalize on the level six's weakness. Without any time to react and no way to see, the hobgoblin was pummeled to death.
Prince let the body crumple onto the floor. A whistling resounded behind him, followed by a light breeze. Prince moved his head to the side, just as a blade sailed right where his head had been moments ago.
The rusty blade hit a tree—scraping some bark—and fell.
Prince turned around, facing the charging level seven. The level seven threw a wild punch instead of swiping at Prince with his claws.
Prince easily ducked underneath the sloppy blow and reacted quickly, his fist landed against the hobgoblin's abdomen. The hobgoblin wheezed, stumbling back, and Prince only grinned at it as he prepared another fist.
This time, Prince's fist flew across the hobgoblin's face so fast that its neck bent unnaturally, dead beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Level-up! You are now level 7.
Prince waved the notification away and quickly opened his status screen to allocate his points.
He put two into dexterity and one into vitality. Now that the adrenaline has left his system, he was painfully aware of every bloody cut across his body. Prince sighed; he would need to get back to his cave soon.
But first, he needed a game plan to conquer the goblins. And for that, he needed to get stronger.
Prince grinned.
Tomorrow, he would go hobgoblin hunting.