Alex's whole body ached, and his chest felt like it was on fire from the goblin's last attack. There was no time to catch his breath; the goblin was already charging at him again, eyes burning with rage.
"Move!'
His instincts screamed, and he dove to the side just in time.
The goblin's axe whistled past, missing him by inches. It crashed into the cave wall behind, sending a shower of stone fragments into the air as deep cracks split the rock.
"Okay," he muttered under his breath, heart pounding, "definitely not blocking any more of those."
He darted away, catching a glimpse of the destruction the goblin had caused.
His arms throbbed with a dull, relentless pain from the strain of defending against earlier attacks. Every step made his muscles screamed
'One good hit from that goblin and it's over.'
For a brief moment, he regretted not using [Exploding Touch] when he had the chance. He'd been close enough to lay a hand on the goblin multiple times, but he had decided against it.
Somehow during the fight, he'd unknowingly placed restrictions on its use.
He wondered why he held back as dodged another blow. His mind searching for an answer.
He had told himself it was about practice about getting used to the pressure of real danger. But as he narrowly ducked a wild swing, he realized the truth:
He was doing this because he liked the feeling.
The thrill of the fight, the adrenaline of being on the edge, the satisfaction of outsmarting and overpowering an enemy. He enjoyed it.
The thought hit him like a punch to the gut.
'Am I... a maniac?'
Maybe he was.
Maybe something about being in this brutal, unforgiving world, fighting monsters alone, had changed him—had brought out this fierce, almost feral side.
But he couldn't deny the rush that surged through him whenever he was in a life-or-death struggle, facing an enemy that could kill him with a single mistake.
The goblin swung again, faster this time, but Alex's instincts took over. He sidestepped and countered with a quick slash, the blade biting into the goblin's shoulder. It roared in pain, staggering back, and Alex's grin widened.
He knew he was playing a dangerous game.
If it were anyone else, they would have blown the goblin boss to bits by now ended the fight, and saved themselves.
But he couldn't stop himself.
There was something about the danger, the thrill of risking his life, that brought a twisted kind of joy. It was almost like he was rediscovering a part of himself he'd buried long ago.
He remembered being a teenager, prowling the hallways of his high school, hunting down bullies like some kind of self-appointed vigilante. He had told himself back then that he was fighting for justice, but even he knew that was a lie.
He fought because he loved it.
One day, he went too far. He had picked a fight with a whole group—twenty guys from a rival school, all armed with metal pipes, ready to turn him into a bloody mess. But instead of fear, he felt a thrill, an electric excitement coursing through him.
He remembered grinning at them, practically daring them to come at him.
He didn't care about the injuries he left with. Cracked rib and bruises that took weeks to heal.
What stuck with him was the look of terror on the faces of those twenty guys. One of them had lost an ear, and Alex's own teeth had been the culprit.
He was more beast than boy back then, a wild animal who couldn't be tamed.
But the thrill came at a cost.
His constant brawling brought trouble down on his family, and his parents were always bailing him out.
One night, when they got a call from the police station about another one of his fights, and they rushed out to get him.
But they never made it home. A car accident took them both, and the guilt settled like a stone in his chest.
After that, Alex swore off fighting.
He went from being the feared rebel to the quiet loser, letting people walk all over him till adulthood. He was treated like thrash in his workplace and his girlfriend had cheated on him.
He truly had become a shell of the person he used to be, drowning in guilt and regret.
But right now, none of that mattered.
As he stared down the goblin, a spark of the old fire flared in his eyes.
He could feel it. The rush. The thrill.
The excitement of a real fight.
For the first time in years, he felt alive.
"System add 10 points to all stats."
Alex had been hoarding his stats points and hadn't used any in a while. He had 80 free stats points which was reduced by half when he added ten to all his attributes.
Alex felt rejuvenated. Like he had been reborn.
A small, determined smile tugged at his lips, and he rolled his shoulders, feeling the tension leave his body.
The goblin roared, charging at him with a wild fury.
But Alex didn't flinch. He stood his ground, eyes locked onto his opponent.
He wasn't the prey here.
He wasn't some weakling waiting to be crushed.
He'd lost everything once because of his love for fighting, but now, he was going to use that same hunger to take back his life. And he was going to do it without his trump card.
Why?
Cause he was a maniac.
The goblin charged, its eyes wild and frenzied, moving faster than ever. Its berserk state had pushed it past its limits, and in seconds, it was in front of Alex, raising its massive greatsword high above its head. The blade seemed to shimmer with deadly intent as it whistled downwards.
Alex stood firm, his gaze unblinking, waiting for the perfect moment. As the goblin's blade came down, he sprung into action.
With a swift, fluid motion, he flipped forward, palms hitting the ground.
He used the momentum to kick upward with both legs, his boots slamming into the goblin's jaw.
The goblin stumbled back, momentarily stunned.
The kick didn't do much damage, but it gave Alex the opening he needed. The instant his feet touched the ground, he moved his head and used [Stun Howl]
A sonic wave shot out from his mouth, hitting the goblin square in the chest. The creature jerked back, stunned.
And without hesitation, Alex fired again.
And again.
The blasts kept coming—one after another, relentless.
Each howl rippled through the air, slamming into the goblin's chest with brutal force, forcing it back with every hit.
Dust and debris exploded from the cave walls as the shockwaves carved into the rock, filling the air with a cloud of grit.
Alex could feel his mana draining with each attack, but he didn't care.
He could see the effects now—the goblin's powerful movements were slowing, its once-frantic roars turning into pained grunts.
The goblin howled, fury and pain twisting its face. It rushed forward, swinging wildly in a blind rage, but Alex was no longer there.
The goblin bellowed, its voice booming and desperate:
"Where did you go?!"
It swung its greatsword in wide, sweeping arcs, hoping to hit anything that moved. But the only answer it got was the sound of its own frantic breaths.
Suddenly, a blur appeared inches from the goblin's face, and the creature barely had time to register the movement before there was a flash of silver.
A searing pain tore through the goblin's skull, and it staggered back, a scream of agony ripping from its throat as blood poured down its face.
Its hands flew to its ruined eyes, now nothing but bloody pits. Blinded, the goblin wailed stumbling wildly as it clutched its face.
Alex landed lightly, his feet barely making a sound on the rocky floor.
In his hand, the dark blade of the goblin scout's dagger [Shadow Bites] dripped with blood. He'd used [Stealth Walk] to disappear and his agility to close the gap in an instant, driving both daggers straight into the goblin's eye sockets.
The goblin's shrieks echoed off the walls, filling the cavern with its desperate, agonized roars.
Alex with a cold, confident grin on his face, strode forward.
His voice low and taunting as he toyed with his daggers:
"Now, let's see how you kill something you can't see, you piece of shit."