The gray goblin didn't give Ren a single second to think.
It hoisted the massive, rusty axe above its head. Its muscles bunched up like solid boulders. Then, it brought the weapon down with terrifying force.
"Scatter!" Ren screamed.
He threw his body to the side. The Sewer Goblin jumped right. The White Goblin darted left.
BOOM!
The axe slammed into the dirt right where Ren had been standing a fraction of a second ago. Dirt and gravel exploded like lethal shrapnel. The ground literally shook under his boots. The shockwave alone blasted Ren backward, sending him tumbling across the rough dirt.
A sharp ringing pierced his ears.
'This monster is on a completely different level.' Ren spat a mouthful of dirt. Its speed and raw power weren't even comparable to normal goblins. One clean hit from that axe would chop him in half.
The Warrior stood up slowly. It yanked its axe out of the shattered earth like it weighed nothing. It turned toward Ren. Pure murder burned in its eyes.
But before it could take a single step, a white blur shot forward.
The White Goblin. With a Speed stat of 17, it was nothing but a hazy streak to Ren. It slid right under the gray giant's arm and dug its claws into its left Achilles tendon, trying to tear it apart.
The Warrior ignored the pain like it was a mosquito bite. It raised its massive foot and kicked the White Goblin with brute force.
CRACK!
The White Goblin was punted through the air. It crashed hard against a thick tree trunk. The hybrid hit the ground coughing up black blood, its hind leg bent at a sickening, unnatural angle.
[Alert: Summon 'White Goblin' is in critical condition!]
But that distraction was all the Sewer Goblin needed to launch a sneak attack.
The F-Rank hybrid jumped from the Warrior's blind spot. It landed right on the giant's broad back. It wrapped its long, bald tail around the gray monster's throat and started choking it with everything it had. At the same time, it sank its fangs into the thick neck.
"Gyaaaaa!" the Warrior roared in blind fury.
It dropped the axe. Reaching behind its head with both massive hands, it grabbed the Sewer Goblin by the neck.
The giant squeezed. Ren heard his strongest summon choking. The Warrior ripped the Sewer Goblin off its back, hoisted it into the air, and slammed it into the ground. Over and over again.
BAM! BAM!
It was smashing the hybrid like a cheap ragdoll.
[Alert: Summon 'Sewer Goblin' is in critical condition!] [Warning: System recommends immediate retreat.]
'Retreat?' Ren locked his jaw until his teeth almost cracked. 'And go where? It'll catch me before I even reach the gates.'
There was no running. It was kill or be killed.
Ren ripped open his status interface. He only had one option left.
"System! Is the Auto-Stat upgrade done?"
[Accumulated points distributed successfully. Strength: 12 | Endurance: 14]
Ren's veins glowed. He felt his muscles tighten and his bones grow denser. His weak human body was forcefully adapting to the Cosmic Furnace's energy.
Right then, the Warrior tossed the broken body of the Sewer Goblin aside.
"White!" Ren yelled at the top of his lungs. "Take its eye out!"
The White Goblin, with its shattered leg, answered the order with absolute suicide. It pushed off the dirt with its only good leg and launched itself straight at the giant's face.
The Warrior blinked in surprise. It raised an arm to block, but the White Goblin didn't even try to dodge. It let itself get crushed in the giant's grip. But at the very last second, it extended a claw and jammed it deep into the Warrior's right eye.
Squellch!
Thick, black fluid burst from the monster's eye socket.
The Warrior roared. Real, agonizing pain this time. It completely crushed the White Goblin in its fist, turning it into a purple-black mist that snapped back to the summon space.
[Warning: Summon 'White Goblin' destroyed. Cannot be summoned for 24 hours.]
But the sacrifice wasn't for nothing. The Warrior lost half its vision. It raised both hands to its ruined face, screaming in pain. It left the rusty axe on the ground.
This was the moment.
Ren shot forward with his full 15 Speed. He didn't run at the monster. Instead, he slid on his knees straight for the dropped axe.
It was ridiculously heavy. But with 12 Strength, Ren managed to lift the rough wooden handle.
The gray Warrior caught Ren's movement through its good eye. It spun around. Blind rage twisted its ugly face. The giant lunged, opening its massive arms to crush Ren.
Ren didn't back off. He planted his boots into the dirt. He used the axe's massive weight as momentum. Down, and then swinging up in a brutal, diagonal slash.
'Die!'
The heavy, rusty blade ripped right through the giant's ribcage. It shredded meat, shattered ribs, and buried itself deep into the monster's heart.
The beast's forward momentum stopped dead.
The Warrior spat out hot, black blood that completely covered Ren's face. The giant staggered for a second. Its one working eye stared down at the tiny human in pure shock.
Then, its knees buckled. The massive beast crashed to the dirt with a heavy thud. The axe was still buried in its chest.
The forest went completely silent.
Ren collapsed onto his back. His chest pumped wildly. The air burned his throat like fire. His muscles twitched and shook on their own. He was alive. Barely, but he was alive.
Ding!
[Exterminated: Goblin Warrior (Rank E)] [Gained 150 Exp.] [Leveled up to 4! 200 Exp deducted.] [Current Exp: 10/300]
Ren didn't get up right away. He let his body soak up the sudden heat from leveling up. The system's healing effect knitted the torn muscles in his arms and legs back together.
Minutes later, he forced himself to stand. He walked over to the giant's corpse.
Sitting in the middle of a black puddle of blood wasn't a dim green core. It was a core the size of a fist. It pulsed with a deep, powerful blue light.
[Item Found: Goblin Warrior Core (Rank E)]
Ren picked up the blue core. Black blood dripped from his fingers.
He smiled happily, even though pure exhaustion was weighing his eyelids down.
"An E-Rank core..." he whispered to himself.
He tossed the core into his dimensional storage. He wiped the blood off his face and turned back toward the Safe Zone gates.