Attempt 2
Henry's second attempt was a disaster. He tried a new tactic, attempting to bypass the vanguard entirely and eliminate two of the spearmen first to open a clear path to the bow-wielding goblin. It failed miserably. Before he could even land a lethal blow on the middle line, he was forced to abruptly halt his momentum to parry a well-aimed arrow with his sword.
That single second of delay was all the goblins needed. He was instantly surrounded by thrusting spears and slashing daggers. With no room to maneuver, Henry shouted his only option.
"System Restart!"
A blinding flash of blue light consumed his vision, instantly teleporting him back to the safe zone at the cave entrance. Catching his breath, Henry pulled up his interface. "System stats."
He checked the experience bar in the top right corner. It was nearly empty, displaying only a microscopic sliver of blue. He then looked down at his specific progression.
Rank Progress: [ 2 / 100 ]
"Damn," Henry muttered aloud, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. This was going to be a brutal grind.
Attempt 3
Henry readied his arming sword and stepped precisely to the thirty-first foot from the entrance, the exact invisible boundary that triggered the spawn. The cavern shimmered, and the ten goblins materialized to the same eerie tune of the dungeon.
This time, Henry executed his moves with practiced precision. He exploded forward, mimicking his first attempt to instantly decapitate the two left-flank dagger goblins before they could react to success.
As the spearmen surged forward to retaliate, Henry took two calculated hops backward.
But as his boots hit the stone on the second hop, his left hand whipped down to his belt. He drew his utility knife and hurled it at the third dagger-wielding goblin. The blade struck it dead center in the forehead, killing it on impact.
Before the creature's lifeless body could even hit the cavern floor, Henry lunged, grabbing the goblin by the scruff of its tunic with his free hand.
He immediately shifted his attention to the final dagger goblin in the front. With only his right arm, Henry swung his sword down with as much power as he could manage with a one-arm technique.
The goblin, reacting too slowly, desperately raised its rusty dagger to block. But the combination of Henry's overwhelming strength and the superior leverage of the arming sword completely shattered the monster's defense. The dagger was brutally swatted away, the goblin's arms snapping at its sides. Henry ruthlessly drove his blade down through its chest.
At the exact same moment, Henry hoisted the lifeless body of the third goblin, using it as a crude meat shield just as the F-Rank archer let its first arrow fly. Thwack. The arrow buried itself deep into the dead goblin's back.
Henry held his ground, using the corpse to catch the next four rapid-fire arrows in quick succession. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
Behind his ghastly makeshift shield, an adrenaline-fueled smile began to spread across Henry's face. He recognized it now.
These System goblins didn't adapt. They didn't learn from his previous attempts. The archer's attack pattern was identical to the first run.
He was beginning to genuinely enjoy himself.
Henry ripped his utility knife out of his shield's skull, wound back, and hurled the ruined corpse directly at the middle-right spearman.
The goblin reacted on instinct, thrusting its spear forward to skewer the flying body. But it was a trap. Hidden right behind the flying corpse, Henry threw his knife. The blade buried itself deep into the goblin's throwing shoulder, eliciting a loud, ragged screech.
With the right-most spearman momentarily distracted by the flying body and the shrieks of its comrade, Henry closed the distance. He slammed into it, knocking it completely off its feet, and drove his sword down to finish it off.
The execution was fast, but not quite fast enough. Another arrow whistled toward him.
Henry was forced to abandon his sword, leaving it lodged in the dead monster's chest. He dropped to the floor, violently hauling the fresh carcass up to use as a new shield against a devastating barrage of nine consecutive arrows.
By the time the volley ended, the corpse was completely shredded and useless. Henry rapidly backpedaled to the thirty-one-foot line, putting distance between himself and the remaining three spearmen.
The goblin he had hit with his knife was bleeding heavily, but it stubbornly picked its spear back up with its awkward, off-hand.
As the three remaining spearmen converged, Henry wanted to eliminate the injured one first, but the archer was already knocking another arrow. Thinking quickly, Henry quickly shifted his positioning, maneuvering himself so that the three spearmen were placed directly between him and the archer, effectively cutting off the archer's line of sight to his lower body.
With the arrows now forced into predictable, high trajectories, Henry easily ducked and weaved through the suppressing fire.
The spearmen were close now, but their coordination was ruined, and the injured goblin's off-hand thrusts were sloppy and wobbly.
Henry waited for the injured goblin to lunge. He smoothly sidestepped the pathetic thrust, slapped the spear out of its hand, lowered his head to let an arrow whip past his ear, and decapitated the panicking creature in one fluid motion.
Without pausing, he reached out, yanked his knife free from the falling goblin's shoulder, dropped to one knee, and instantly threw the blade at the nearest goblin's foot.
The blade pinned its left foot to the stone. As it shrieked in pain, Henry thrust his sword upward, burying it in its chest.
Seeing an opening, the final spear-wielding goblin made a desperate, ruthless move. It thrust its spear directly through its dying comrade's body, trying to skewer Henry on the other side.
Henry saw the friendly fire coming at the last moment. He released his grip on his sword, leaving it lodged in the dying goblin, and nimbly side-stepped the bloody spear tip. Before the final spearman could retract its weapon, Henry ripped his sword back out of the corpse and cleaved the last spearman's head off.
The cavern suddenly fell quiet.
Out of the corner of his eye, Henry caught movement. He snapped his head up, expecting another arrow, but the trajectory was wrong. The archer who had been such a pain had dropped its bow.
It reached down and picked up the bloody spear dropped by the very first spear-wielding goblin casualty.
Henry tightened his grip on his sword, staring down the glowing blue F floating above the creature's head.
"Just me and you," Henry said through heavy breaths.