'What the heck is a path?' Nick thought as he brandished his new gear. It was pretty awful rusted iron, but that was to be expected from a tutorial. He would get stronger weapons later.
Also, if this Juliana he was tasked with saving was the same one he knew... then all he had to do was survive this dungeon and he'd have a fantastic weapon. Every playtester had said she was the best DPS unit to have ever been released in Aether Babes.
Of course, he had to survive first.
Holding his weapon tightly, he scanned his old prison. It looked like some kind of lab or torture room. Across the room, multiple tables were adorned with saws and straps.
As if the goblins were dissected victims...
Nick gulped as he thought of the frog he had dissected in biology. The poor thing's guts were completely removed from its body...
Looking down at his belly, Nick decided he didn't want to go through that.
He could use the tables as a sort of barricade, forcing the goblins' paths. If he played his cards right, he could easily trap them into 1v1 situations. With his shield, he should be able to draw aggro.
Unless there was a ranged goblin, his victory should be–
A rock flew past his ear, missing by mere centimeters. Nick had no idea how he noticed it since it was moving so fast, but he didn't leave himself any time to think about it.
Instantly lowering his body, Nick tucked his legs into his body as he rolled behind a table. Raising his eyes so that they barely hovered above the table, he looked for the assailants.
2 goblins held some kind of sling shot and were looking right at him with a maniacal smile.
They were also in the middle of reloading.
Looking to wipe their stupid smirk off their face, as well as eliminating the most deadly enemies, Nick jumped over the table and lunged toward him.
A maneuver he knew most games wouldn't allow him to do, at least not so fluidly. This was a gift he had to learn to master.
His sword cut cleanly through the first goblin's skull despite being rusty. Not wasting a second, Nick turned to the other goblin and stabbed. The next moment, its guts painted the floor.
'How's it feel!' Nick screamed in his mind, gloating for just a second.
Then the thundering roar of 6 goblins reminded Nick of the upcoming battle. All he did was kill 2 goblins, there was still much work to do.
And he was severely out of position.
Raising his shield to increase his defense, Nick took a few calculated steps back. Luckily for him, the goblins weren't pressing their advantage as much as they should have.
Their dead friends served as a good threat.
"Food fight back? Stupid food. Food don't fight, food get cut. Food scream. Then we eats food!"
The goblin in the front screamed before he lunged toward Nick. He had a shortsword that was aiming right for Nick's temple.
A single slash rang through the air and then the goblin's sword was cut in half. Then Nick's sword had cut clean through its mouth.
'You're not eating me, psycho.' The goblin fell as it became brain-dead. Its weight caused the sword to finish its job, slicing its head clean in 2.
Another victim claimed, Nick raised his head and sword to the remaining 5 goblins. 'Almost halfway done already?'
The surviving goblins had learned from their fallen comrades and stayed back, thinking of a way to flank Nick. At the same time, the quest flashed in front of Nick, showing his progress.
>--< Objective: Kill Attacking Goblins >--<
--(Status)--
Seeing this made Nick smile. He didn't have to worry about some crazy boss, not right now anyway.
After transmigrating, he obviously gained some skill in swordsmanship. More than that, these goblins weren't even close to a threat.
At this point, it wasn't even a tutorial anymore: it was a massacre.
And at the end of this, he should get some kind of reward. Maybe even a new weapon.
'Though, this one isn't too bad so far.' Nick glanced down at his sword to watch the blood drip. The floor was painted with a vibrant crimson and he was the artist. A stellar piece, but it needed touching up.
2 more goblins stepped forward, looking to overwhelm Nick. Maybe if all 5 of them attacked at once, they'd have some kind of chance. Unfortunately for them, 3 of the goblins were scared of dying.
Nick looked to punish the 2 who stepped to him, clearly lacking self-preservation.
Both of the goblins struck at once. Nick caught the first one's strike with his shield as he simultaneously parried the other goblin. This opened the opportunity for a riposte, and within seconds even more guts spilled into Nick's painting.
Even after their comrade died, the other 3 goblins weren't interested in joining the fight. It was as if they knew this fool standing against Nick was already dead. They didn't want to attack because any offensive they took would lead to their death.
The second goblin slashed his sword through the air, hoping that Nick would be too busy freeing his sword from the dead goblin. The goblin smiled as his sword connected with flesh.
Then he realized he had cut into his friend, slicing his entire left side almost clean off.
Nick had moved the dead goblin, treating it like a shield. Not only that, but it also concealed his own attack.
Tasting iron in its mouth, the goblin looked down to find its tunic covered in blood. His blood. A long piece of metal had embedded itself into his chest.
Using his shield as support, Nick pulled his sword out of 2 corpses. Then he turned his attention to the last 3 goblins.
They had no intention of fighting this demon. Turning in an attempt to flee, one of them tripped on their own feet. Nick took this chance and sliced its head clean off.
He was right next to the last 2 goblins. They didn't want to fight, but that didn't matter. 1, they were vile creatures and this room was proof of that. 2, his quest wanted him to kill these goblins.
If they didn't fight back, that just made his job easier.
In a flash of steel, 10 perfectly cut goblin pieces fell to the ground. In just 5 slashes, Nick had sliced through both of them at once.
He was tired now though. Sitting down, Nick ignored the chiming sound of his completed quest. Huffing, he knew he was too tired to even free Juliana. She'd have to wait a few more seconds.
Despite the fact he was in a new, more athletic body, Nick still felt sore. He might have pushed himself a little too hard. If he had gone easier on the goblins, he wouldn't have gotten so tired.
Oh well.
Nick leaned his head back against the wall as he took a few deep breaths. In, out. In, out.
His breathing regulated and his muscles feeling better, Nick took one last deep breath before he pushed off the ground with his arms.
He was going to finally see Juli–
A thunderous clap pushed him back onto the ground. Seconds later, a goblin, much larger and stronger than the earlier ones, burst into the room.
He carried a huge wooden bat covered with iron spikes. When Nick looked at him, he realized the goblin had a name above his head.
Its color was yellow–a C-rank if it followed the rarity system in Aether Babes. Something told him it did.
And then he knew its name– Gento, the Goblinmaster.
Nick was going to face a mini-boss.