"[Power Surge]!" I activate my innate Warrior spell with a roar.
The first goblin lunges at me with its rusty dagger. I sidestep its clumsy attack and thrust my spear into its side, the blade sinking into its flesh. The goblin lets out a gurgled scream, but it doesn't go down. With a quick follow-up, I pull the spear out and thrust again, this time aiming for its chest. Blood pours from the wound like an open faucet, and the goblin collapses.
[You've slain goblin (Level 2). You've gained 17 XP]
I barely have time to process the kill before the second goblin charges at me, swinging its club wildly. I parry the blow with the shaft of my spear and counter with a jab to its throat. The goblin staggers but remains standing. I adjust my grip, drive the spear into its gut, and then twist it to maximize the damage. The goblin chokes and drops to its knees while clutching its stomach before falling to the ground.
[You've slain goblin (Level 2). You've gained 17 XP]
[You've reached Primordial Level 2.]
[Warrior lvl 2 → 3]
Nice! I can't help but cheer inwardly. The XP drop is much better here than in the first floor of the labyrinth, especially when we factor in my three times increased rate. Goblins are simple creatures that are easy to kill with a long spear and the barebones training I received from Ayame yesterday, even more so than the level 1 labyrinth monsters I've encountered.
The leader, after witnessing the swift demise of its comrades, hesitates for a moment before letting out a furious screech. "Skreee!!" It rushes at me with surprising speed with its dagger aimed at my chest. I deflect the blade with my spear and kick the goblin back, sending it sprawling to the ground. Before it can recover, I pin it down with my spear as the sharp point presses against its throat.
"Stop struggling!" I command in a cold, authoritative tone. The goblin flails its limbs around for a moment and then freezes. Its beady eyes are wide with fear. I glance at Ayame who stands ready to intervene but she remains in the background, trusting me to handle the situation.
"Ayame, I want to hunt more goblins."
She nods approvingly, I can see a happy curve form on her lips as well. "Maybe we can save the women you saw get kidnapped. They certainly won't be the same after two days of goblin captivity but they still deserve a chance at life…"
Oh, there's that too. I might've forgotten about those two completely. I got a bit bloodthirsty from seeing how much XP they give for how simple creatures they are. With my increased XP gain from being Primordial, I could farm some good levels here.
"Green little shit, tell us. Do you have any treasures in your home?" I ask from the captured goblin.
"Is that seriously your first question?! I don't believe this!" For some strange reason, my cute companion is furious with me?
"Yes! Many shinies! We raid village!" It shouts frantically. "Women too! You take pick! One free! Gobbo ask boss for you!"
I look into his eyes and I can see a strange, cunning glint; it's not hard to tell that his genius masterplan is to lead us into the midst of his tribe and have all of them gang up on us. I have to do my utmost to hold back my laughter. The simplicity of these creatures is pretty amusing, I would estimate them to have the intelligence level of a 10-year-old child from Earth.
"How many goblins are there?" Ayame inquires.
"Gobbo no speak woman! Gobbo breed woman!" His unexpected misogynist response destroys Ayame's serene expression for a brief moment before she swiftly regains her cool. She is clearly way above getting offended by a goblin.
Wow. Perhaps some modern feminist ideology is in desperate need of being introduced into goblin society.
I stab my spear into its shoulder. "Gobbo yes speak woman!" I shout at him with a certain amount of amusement in my tone. It's more fun to speak like a stupid little goblin than I expected.
He cries out with an ear-piercing scream, clutching his other hand at my still-embedded spear, desperately attempting to pull it out. "AAAAAAH! Ok! Gobbo speak woman!!!"
I hurry him along kindly, "answer then, you retarded midget." I don't pull out my spear because he is getting somewhat relaxed once again and I know that doing so would pain him even further.
He then looks inwardly and begins counting one by one as he remembers them, "Gob one, Gub two, Gib three…"
My and Ayame's eyes meet during his recounting session and I can see tiredness in her gaze. I find this whole situation kinda funny but for some reason she doesn't. Perhaps she is eager to save the captives so she can't enjoy the moment. Or maybe she had already dealt with enough goblins in her life.
She speaks up, "alright, stop counting. Can you instead tell us how many boars your tribe could eat in a day?"
"Gobbo think three!"
"Which direction is your camp?"
"Where Gobbo come from!"
"Do you have any traps laid around your camp?"
"What is trap?"
"How many captives do you have?"
"Uhh… Gobbo remember… Blonde one, red two…" He begins slowly counting once again.
"Ok, stop." She grimaces before saying, "how many days would it take you to mate with all the captives?"
"Oh, Gobbo do it in ten days!" Why does he know this instantly but take minutes to count the number of captives?!
"How strong is your boss? Is he a goblin?"
"No! Gobta, Gupta, Gipta hobgoblin! Three strong! Very!"
It's clear that Ayame knows how to interrogate this simple creature, so I don't interfere and simply watch the proceedings with keen interest.
She glances my way and nods. I don't need words to understand her meaning. The interrogation is over. I lift my spear blade out of his shoulder, receiving screeching cries as my reward before I plunge it into his throat.