The next few minutes were pure hell.
No one could see the goblins, but everyone could feel them.
Blades flashed from the darkness. Shadows moved where nothing should have been moving. Every few seconds, another scream rang out through the cave as someone was cut again.
They weren't trying to kill them quickly.
They were toying with them.
Each strike landed in non-fatal places—legs, shoulders, ribs, backs. Just enough to weaken them. Just enough to let panic build.
The mocking laughter of the goblins echoed through the tunnel from every direction.
Alex stumbled backward, clutching a bleeding cut across his side.
"Damn it!" Greg shouted, flames bursting wildly from his hands. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"
Alex looked over at him through blurred vision.
Greg was the strongest member of the raid party.
An A-Rank Flame Master.
The only A-Rank among them.
"What do you mean?" Alex asked, barely able to remain standing.
His HP was dangerously low. His mana had been completely drained. If he took one more serious hit, he was finished.
Greg's expression twisted.
"I got an offer..." he said, breathing hard. "A proposal from Loki."
Alex froze.
"What?"
Greg laughed bitterly.
"I was told if I threw an Evolution Stone at a goblin and let it grow... I could become an Apostle of Loki."
He looked almost manic now.
"Huge rewards. Massive power. A hidden class."
Alex's blood ran cold.
"But..." Greg continued, smiling weakly, "there was one condition."
The flames around him surged.
"I had to be the only one left alive."
Alex turned.
Too late.
Greg thrust both hands forward.
A sea of fire exploded outward behind Alex, swallowing the wounded awakened in an instant.
Their screams barely lasted a second.
Alex's eyes widened in horror.
"You bastard!"
Greg sneered.
"Damn. Wanted to kill all of you in one swoop."
The fire rolled toward Alex—
Then stopped.
Right in front of him.
Greg blinked.
"What?"
Alex slowly turned.
One of his golems stood between them.
But it was different.
Its body was darker, more refined. The rough stone looked denser somehow.
And its crystal eye—
Was glowing red.
The golem moved faster than anything Alex had ever created.
It grabbed Greg by the throat and lifted him into the air like he weighed nothing.
Greg choked, flames bursting uselessly around his body.
Alex looked around in disbelief.
The other golems—
They were moving on their own.
Not standing still.
Not waiting for commands.
They were actively fighting.
One smashed an invisible goblin into the wall. Another intercepted a strike meant for Alex. A third stomped the ground, causing vibrations that revealed several stealthing enemies by the dust around their feet.
"What... the hell...?" Alex muttered, vision swimming.
A system voice rang out.
Activating Skill: Alchemy through Golem
Siphoning HP from individual known as Greg
Greg screamed.
Red energy poured from his body into the red-eyed golem.
Then into Alex.
Cuts closed instantly.
Bruises faded.
Broken skin reformed.
Alex gasped as his HP shot upward.
Then kept going.
The excess converted into mana.
Too much mana.
His entire body began to burn from the inside out.
"Damn it—what is this?!"
His veins felt like molten metal.
"Need to burn it off!"
Alex instinctively thrust his hand outward.
"Alchemy!"
Fire erupted from his palm.
Not a spark.
Not a blast.
An inferno.
A roaring wave of flame flooded the cave, racing through the tunnels and engulfing everything in sight.
Goblin screams echoed everywhere.
The heat was overwhelming.
Then suddenly—
His mana crashed to zero.
Alex dropped to one knee, expecting the agony of Mana Sickness to hit.
But one of his golems crumbled into dust.
A surge of mana flowed back into him.
Just enough to stabilize him.
He panted heavily.
"...Okay."
He looked around at the smoldering cave.
"What the hell is going on?"
His status screen appeared instantly.
! Temporary A-Rank Fire Boost Acquired
+500% Fire Power for Two Minutes
! Golem Creation has leveled up to E+
Golems have learned Seismic Sense
Golems may now use user-owned skills
! Enemies Defeated:
Goblin General (Lv. 22)
Assassin Goblins ×7 (Lv. 8)
Assassin Goblins ×2 (Lv. 18)
Greg, A-Rank Awakened (Lv. 22)
! User has leveled up to Level 12
! Level Rewards:
+70 HP
+50 Mana
+3 Intelligence
+2 Strength
! New Skills Acquired:
Earth Magic (C)
Shared Sense (D)
Space Magic (D)
! Skills Inherited from Greg:
Fire Magic (C)
Regeneration (E-)
! Emergency Mission Completed
Reward: A-Rank Reward Box
Alex stared blankly at the screen.
Ten levels.
He had gained ten entire levels in one battle.
More progress in a few minutes than he had made in two months.
But the victory felt hollow.
He slowly turned.
Bodies.
Burned stone.
The remains of six awakened.
And one soldier.
People who had trusted the system.
Trusted the government.
Trusted each other.
Alex clenched his fists.
He said nothing.
Using his remaining golems, he carefully gathered the bodies he could still recover.
The portal barrier had vanished.
The exit was open.
And Alex knew one thing with painful certainty.
He was completely screwed.