Suddenly, Oliver’s pinky twitched, seemingly pulled by some unseen force. He had been extending a thread of soul power that was attached to his pinky finger into their surroundings since they entered the clearing deep in the forest’s first region. The only reason his pinky would be tugged was if something stepped on it, and now he felt something treading on his soul power thread. His gaze sharpened, scanning the environment around them.
“Something’s moving toward us,” he warned Val, who was engrossed in his experimentation with wizardry.
Hearing his words, Val stopped looking at his internal structure using wizardry and scrutinized his surroundings. He didn’t use the Heavenly Eye as he was low on soul power. He only relied on his normal vision to look for any sign of danger in his surroundings. However, he saw nothing unusual.
He turned to Oliver. “I don’t see anyone. Why are you so certain?” he asked, curiosity apparent in his voice.
Oliver looked back at him, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. “There are different types of wizardry, Val,” he said. “While most are used for offense or defense, there are some that are used for auxiliary purposes such as detection.”
“How does that work?” Val asked him.
“By spreading a thin thread of my soul power around us, I can sense if anything or anyone steps on it, just like how a spider can feel its web vibrating. When they do, it alerts me to their presence. That’s how I know something has targeted us,” Oliver answered him.
Soon after, a green-skinned monster emerged from the dense undergrowth. It had slimy skin that glistened in the end, and sharp teeth that were bared in a hostile grin, and it was clutching a crudely made sword in its tiny green hands. Val recognized it as a goblin, a creature often found in forests, though the people of this world had a unique name for them – ‘Tiny Bastards.’ 𝑜𝑣𝓛xt.𝑐𝑶𝑚
Guhak!
It seemed the goblin saw an opportunity in the two unarmed humans before it. Hungry and desperate, it charged towards them with a goblin-like roar, malice shimmering in its beady eyes.
Seeing this, Val squared his shoulders and met the goblin’s eyes with his own. “This is a good opportunity to put the lesson I’ve just learned to the test.”
Hearing his words, Oliver shook his head, concern knitting his brows together. “Wait, it’s still too early,” he protested, “In a battle, it’s much harder to maintain concentration. The sight of a sword coming towards you could easily shake your focus, making it impossible for you to visualize a clear picture in your mind. Without months of meditation and training, it’s incredibly hard to use wizardry in battle.”
His warning, however, fell on deaf ears as Val had already charged towards the goblin.
Both Val and the goblin were swift, covering the distance between them in mere moments, leaving Oliver no time to intervene. As the goblin lunged, it swung its rough-hewn sword with a gleeful cackle.
Undeterred, Val followed Oliver’s instruction to the letter. He visualized his soul power as an extension of his will and focused his intention on defense. With a thought, he formed a solid wall of soul power in front of him, invisible but robust.
Thud!
The goblin’s sword struck this barrier and was deflected, leaving the creature momentarily disoriented. It was hella confused as it wondered how thin air deflected its attack. Because of not having a meal for days, had it grown so weak that not even thin air could block its attack? Was that truly the case?!!!
Val seized this moment, stepping forward and kicking the goblin square in its protruding belly. The blow sent it skidding backward, gasping in shock and pain. Despite the surprise and pain, the goblin quickly scrambled back to its feet, eyes blazing with determination and hatred.
Not giving it a chance to retaliate, Val thrust his hand forward, commanding his soul power to extend outwards like a great wave. The raw energy was invisible to the naked eye, yet its impact was beyond doubt. The goblin, unaware of the incoming attack, was caught off guard. It only saw Val’s outstretched hand before an immense force struck it square in the chest.
The blast was so strong that it flung the goblin backwards, smashing it against a thick tree. The impact was so immense that the tree trunk snapped, toppling over onto the goblin. The massive weight crashed down on the hapless creature, flattening it like a squashed bug. Blood spurted out of the crushed goblin from under the tree, staining the ground in a grotesque pool of crimson as the goblin’s life was extinguished in an instant.
A digital alert sounded in Val’s mind, “Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve killed a level 8 Goblin. As this monster is one stage lower than you, the EXP you have obtained is lowered to 1/3rd. You get +2 Experience points.”
As the alert faded away, Val gained a better understanding of his system. His current level seemed to dictate the EXP he earned from beasts of different stages. He would only gain a third of what he’d ordinarily receive from beasts of the first stage (level 1-10) when he was a level 1 bloodline user. At his current level, Beasts of the second stage (level 11-20) yielded double their level in EXP. For beasts of the third stage and above (level 20+), he would receive an even greater bounty of EXP due to the risk and challenge of these encounters. The amount was undetermined, changing with how high their level was, and there was also a 100% chance of bonus EXP because of the level difference!
“W-W-What the fuck? He is already using wizardry in battle?!”
On the sidelines, Oliver stared, his eyes widening to the size of saucers. He was in disbelief that Val, a novice, was applying the concepts of wizardry practically. To maintain such calm and concentration during battle suggested that Val had a wealth of battle experience, but he looked not a day older than 17!