But in the next second, Sini's face changed.
Splat!
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A Goblin's thrust caused Sini to lose over a hundred health points in one strike.
As an assassin, her health was already low, and this attack brought it to the brink.
"Master, help! These guys are really strong!" Sini was startled, quickly drinking a low-level health potion, and hurriedly ran toward John.
Seeing the Goblin soldiers closing in on her, John decisively took action.
Whoosh!
A Fire Rain spell enveloped the dozen Goblin soldiers.
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…
Damage numbers flashed as the Goblins let out ear-piercing screams.
Next, a fireball and a Wind Blade followed.
Boom! Boom!
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Two Goblins were instantly killed.
With John's 254 points in spirit attribute, these Goblins, with only 600 health points and 40 magic resistance, couldn't withstand his two magical attacks.
"Despicable human, how dare you harm the great Goblin race! Die!" the remaining eleven Goblin soldiers shouted angrily, abandoning Sini and charging at John with their spears.
Sini quickly warned John, "Master, be careful, those guys are level 15."
Facing the Goblin soldiers' attack, John stood his ground, his staff swirling as earth elemental energy surged.
An Earth Shield instantly appeared in front of him.
Splat! Splat!
The spears struck the Earth Shield.
The Earth Shield trembled, then shattered into nothingness.
John swiftly retreated, the Fire Rain spell cooling down, and cast it again.
Whoosh!
Flames enveloped the eleven Goblins, instantly depleting their health. They screamed and fell to the ground.
[You have killed a level 15 Goblin, gaining 15 experience points]
…
[Plunder talent activated, strength attribute +1]
[Plunder talent activated, strength attribute +1]
…
Notification messages flashed.
John's strength attribute increased by 2 points.
While strength wasn't hugely beneficial for him, it was better than nothing.
He knew that Goblin mages were present in this Secret Area, though they hadn't encountered any yet.
"Master, there's some gear!" Sini noticed a spear on the ground, picking it up excitedly.
It was an ordinary-grade level one spear with +9 physical damage.
Since neither John nor Sini could use it, John stored it in his Storage Ring to sell later.
After clearing the battlefield, John looked at Sini.
Sini sighed, knowing what John wanted. She extended her hand and said, "I'll pull more mobs, but I want the Wind Boots."
The Wind Boots added +7 speed, making her task of pulling monsters safer.
John didn't hesitate to give her the Wind Boots along with the excellent-quality Armed Bear Belt.
These items didn't provide much benefit to him but were perfect for Sini.
Sini beamed at the Armed Bear Belt's attributes and quickly put it on, eagerly heading off to pull more monsters.
In reality, they didn't need to attract more Goblins on purpose. The sounds of battle had already drawn the surrounding Goblins.
"Intruders! Intruders spotted!"
"Get them! Destroy the intruders!"
...
Angry shouts echoed as dozens of Goblins emerged from the forest.
John didn't take any chances, backing off and using his magic skills while keeping his distance.
Sini stood in front of John, using her agility to draw the Goblins' attention and ease the pressure on him.
As spells flew and screams echoed, Goblin soldiers fell one after another.
Their teamwork became more seamless, and Sini's combat skills improved significantly. She even managed to kill a lone Goblin soldier without taking any damage.
...
Two hours later, the area was cleared of Goblin soldiers, leaving behind a field of corpses and scattered loot.
Sini was thrilled, rummaging through the Goblin corpses and picking up scattered coins and equipment, muttering about striking it rich.
Meanwhile, John checked the attributes he had plundered from the slain Goblin soldiers.
180 points of strength, 15 points of constitution, 9 points of agility, and 3 points of spirit.
His strength had reached an astonishing 187 points!
Even elite level 20 assassins or warriors, who pursued maximum strength, wouldn't have such high strength attributes.
John couldn't help but smile wryly, considering whether he should start hitting monsters with his staff.
Additionally, he gained 5 points of attack speed and 2 points of physical critical hit.
These were special attributes typically enhanced by talents or high-quality equipment.
Five points of attack speed increased his attack speed by 5%, and two points of physical critical hit increased his physical critical hit rate by 2%.
Unfortunately, these attributes were meant for physical classes and didn't benefit a mage like him.
Unless he decided to use his staff for melee attacks.
"Master, I can't use these items," Sini said, handing John a pile of coins and a dozen pieces of equipment she had gathered from the battlefield.
These things are all she left after picking.
She glanced at John's level, puzzled, "Master, why are you still at level 9?"
In the same amount of time, she had already reached level 15, yet John's level hadn't changed at all.
Sini suggested, "Maybe we should disband the party. That way, you could level up faster."
John shook his head, not bothering to explain, "It's not about the experience. Let's keep going."
He remembered that Goblin mages were supposed to be in this Secret Area, and there were quite a few of them.
As long as his spirit attribute reaches 500 points, breaking the curse, he can start leveling up normally.
It seems best to avoid provoking the powerful beings in the world of Gods for now.
Especially those Dark Humans with their unpredictable methods.
John and Sini ventured deeper into the dense forest.
Soon, they encountered Goblins again—20th level Goblin warriors and archers.
"I'll draw them out," Sini said before John could speak, and she charged forward.
Whoosh!
With a flash of cold light, she struck a Goblin warrior.
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Sini only managed to deal just over 80 points of damage.
"Intruder, die!" The Goblin warrior roared, swinging its longsword at her.
Startled, Sini retreated hastily and called out, "Master, these guys are much stronger!"
John didn't take any chances. He swung his staff, casting Fireball and Wind Blade.
Boom!
Boom!
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The damage numbers floated up.
The 20th-level Goblin warriors had 1200 health points; John's two spells weren't enough to kill them in one shot.
Then, a rain of fire fell.
The Goblin warrior's health was depleted, and it fell to the ground with a scream.
[Killed 20th-level Goblin warrior, gained 20 experience points]
The death of the Goblin warrior enraged the remaining Goblin warriors and archers.
Whoosh!
Arrows whistled through the air, targeting John and Sini.
Seeing Sini dodging frantically, John shouted, "Sini, get behind me!"
Whoosh!
The power of earth surged, forming an Earth Shield that blocked most of the incoming arrows.
John quickly retreated, creating distance, and drank an Intermediate Magic Recovery Potion. He swung his staff, casting Fireball and Wind Blade repeatedly at the Goblin warriors and archers.
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With various spells alternating, damage numbers floated above the Goblins' heads, and they fell one after another.
Despite this, John remained cautious, continuously dodging the incoming arrows.
He only had 230 health points and couldn't withstand two hits from the Goblin warriors and archers.
Boom!
The last Goblin archer was killed.
Sini breathed a sigh of relief, still shaken, "Master, should we keep going?"
Several times, she had nearly been shot by the Goblin archers and had to hide behind John.
John nodded, "Keep going, but draw more than ten Goblins at a time."
"Alright." Sini agreed, drinking a low-level health recovery potion and waiting for her health to recover before drawing more Goblins.
Deep in the forest, there were only 20th-level Goblin warriors and archers.
Sini targeted isolated groups of Goblins whenever possible.
...
After half a day, there were no more Goblins to be found in the forest.
Sini had leveled up to 18.
John's base attributes had seen significant improvements.
His strength increased by 157 points, agility by 21 points, constitution by 12 points, and spirit by 6 points.
He also gained 7 points of attack speed, 2 points of physical critical hit, 1 point of luck, and 3 skill points.
John's strength attribute now reached 344 points.
While his spirit attribute was only 263 points.
He was almost tempted to start bashing monsters with his staff.
Sini finished clearing the battlefield and sat down wearily, asking, "Master, do we keep going?"
"Take a break," John said.
He was used to continuous high-intensity combat, but Sini still couldn't handle it as well.
"Okay!" Sini said happily, lying down on the grass.
Her tight leather armor outlined her graceful figure.
It makes John feel a surge of desire.
But he restrained himself. The most important thing now was to increase his spirit attribute and break the curse.
...