Jeff looked at the six frost goblins ahead and gave a weak smile. "Lucas, no offense, but even with your Fire Blast, I don't think we stand a chance. Maybe we should retreat?"
His tone was filled with resignation. Sure, they could still finish in the top ten if they ran, but the rewards would take a serious hit.
Lucas didn't respond, staying silent. His strength had grown far beyond what his team knew, but they hadn't realized it yet. As Jeff and the others started thinking of a retreat plan, the frost goblins were already gearing up for an attack.
Whoosh...
The air around them grew colder, and snowflakes began to fall. Even with their beginner-grade armor, Emily, Jack, and Jeff felt the freezing chill seeping into their bones.
Before they could react, the flame goblins on the other side were already casting spells, planning to hit them with a dangerous mix of fire and ice.
"Go!" Lucas shouted, lifting his silver magic pistol and aiming at a flame goblin. He fired three shots, the bullets streaking through the air, and the goblin was blown to pieces.
"Wow, money really does make things easier," Lucas muttered to himself, amazed by the gun's power. The evolved goblins had weak defenses, but the pistol's sheer destruction was still shocking.
Meanwhile, Emily, Jack, and Jeff weren't so lucky. The alternating blasts of frost and fire had them stumbling back, their armor starting to crack.
Jeff was stunned. "Lucas is a sharpshooter now? And he's hitting every shot?"
"With that gun's recoil, hitting three times in a row is nearly impossible," Jack marveled, fending off incoming attacks with his sword.
"I thought Lucas picked the magic pistol to take it easy, but he's actually good!" Emily was just as surprised. She knew Lucas wasn't physically strong, so landing those precise shots was a real feat.
"Stop gawking and fight!" Lucas yelled, annoyed they were still standing there, frozen in awe. Meanwhile, one frost goblin let out a loud roar, summoning more regular goblins to join the fight.
Whizz, whizz, whizz!
Ordinary goblins swarmed in from all sides. Jeff roared and charged forward, smashing through a flying rock like a raging bull.
"Screw it! If we take them down, we're going to be rich!" Jack gritted his teeth, dodging and slashing, swiftly decapitating a handful of goblins as he neared the evolved ones.
Emily's sword danced through the air, cutting down goblins with ease. Though she was training to be a healer, her armor and sword made her a temporary warrior without any issues.
Boom! Boom!
Lucas kept firing off Fire Blasts, all while aiming his magic pistol at the flame goblins. His gaming experience had taught him that these flame goblins could absorb fire and weaken the frost goblins' effects, so they needed to be eliminated first.
Every Fire Blast exploded in the crowd of goblins, sending limbs flying as they fell in waves. But the flame goblins were smart, hiding behind the regular goblins while continuing to hurl fireballs.
Thud!
A large stone slammed into Jeff's chest, sending him flying backward, coughing up blood.
"Jeff!" Jack screamed, rushing over to help.
Emily stayed on the front lines, cutting down goblins left and right to give Lucas the space to attack.
"Damn it," Lucas muttered, his eyes flashing coldly. He fired again, emptying his pistol into a throwing goblin, which fell to the ground in seconds. But the moment the echo of gunfire faded, he realized he had only four bullets left.
Lucas frowned. "If I'm lucky, I can still take down one more evolved goblin."
The battle was reaching its peak. Most of the regular goblins had been wiped out, but the evolved goblins were still a major threat. They'd only killed four of them, leaving five frost goblins, one thrower, and two flame goblins to deal with.
Suddenly, an ice spike shot down from above, aiming straight for Lucas. He raised his gun and shot it down, but then a fireball followed. Lucas quickly fired again, hitting the fireball in midair, causing it to explode into a brilliant display of flames.
"I'm out of bullets!" Lucas grumbled, "Jeff, why didn't you bring more ammo?"
Jeff, lying on the ground, nearly spat blood again from frustration. "Twenty bullets are already worth as much as a beginner-grade armor set! What do you want from me?!"
"If I'd known, I would've brought twenty more!" Jeff shouted, clenching his teeth.
At that moment, a rock and two ice spikes came flying at Lucas. Emily and Jack tried to rush to his aid, but it was too late. Lucas, eyes narrowed, knew his shield wouldn't hold. He holstered his pistol and smoothly rolled to the side, dodging all three attacks.
Jack watched from afar, letting out a whistle of surprise. "This guy is fast."
"What class is he aiming for?" Emily mumbled, "He's smart and quick... He's a total mystery. I never know what he's going to do next."
Lucas wasn't paying attention to the banter. He kept casting spells, gradually wearing down the evolved goblins. When he saw an opening, he calmly activated his new skill.
"Rapid Arrow!"
With a quiet murmur, two golden arrows appeared, shooting through the air towards the two flame goblins. Before they could react, the arrows pierced their heads, killing them instantly.
Jeff, still on the ground, stared in shock and yelled, "Another beginner-level skill?! Is this guy rich or what? Aren't these skills supposed to be rare? How does he have three of them already?"
Regular players usually only had three skills before their class change, and they had to rely on rare skill books to get them. Jeff had only managed to gather two basic skills—Toughness and Block—while Lucas already had a full set of powerful abilities.