I took her warning to heart and stepped toward the goblin. “This is going to be a riot,” I shouted. “Hope that little helmet on your tiny head can withstand the ruckus.” My knuckles went white around the handle.

  That was when I heard something grinding in the distance, loud and rusty, almost like a gate lifting. Before I could make it out, the goblin’s high-pitched voice shattered my concentration.

  “Yeah, keep grinnin’, brown-skin. That fairy of yours makes for a pretty trophy!” the goblin laughed, throwing his head back.

  Smirking, I walked back and forth across the cavern floor. “The only trophy you’ll be getting is the award for the most lumps,” I snarled, lifting my sword and bringing it down with trembling force.

  The goblin dodged to the side as gravel and stone flew. “Missed me, you did,” he cackled, and slammed his cudgel into my foot.

  [-788] 8,003/9,500

  The missiles screamed through the air, leaving a harsh shrill. He dodged and stuck out his tongue, but the rest landed squarely on their mark.

  He neither broke nor registered a hit.

  He waved off the smoke. “Cute,” he said, pulling out a blowpipe. With deadly accuracy, he fired a projectile, a net that snapped shut around Sparks, pinning her to the ground.

  Stunned by his attack, I froze in place. “Gimme a sec, Sparks,” I told her.

  A few quick taps pulled up his status on my HUD.

  Goblin Mini-Boss — Level 34 15,865 / 16,000 HP

  Holy shit. Sparks’ missiles weren’t built to inflict major damage, but I was still surprised at how little he suffered from her attack. Worse, his health was higher than mine.

  The good thing was that once I dropped him, I would level up a few times, giving me more power to take on the goblin leader waiting in the back.

  In the background, the grinding noise drew my attention once again.

  Turns out all the nerve-wracking noise was just a gate being lifted, and from what I could make out, a pack of angry, slobbering Guttergrowls came rushing out, more vicious than ever.

  Nefa’s eyes went wide at the sight of the beasts. “The big ones!” she shouted, grinning like a madwoman. “Finally, a battle worthy of me!” With that, she charged the Guttergrowls head-on, glee painted across her face.

  The remaining goblins, those who hadn’t fallen to us, had retreated, swarming around their leader at the far end of the cavern. With pitchforks raised high, the scene grew more chaotic by the second.

  Sparks flooded our bond with panic, wave after wave.

  The mini-boss circled me, feinting lunges, smiling through a face full of piercings.

  “Oy, this is going to be bloody good, yeah?” he taunted, swinging his weapon.

  I spat on the ground, gritting my teeth. “Fun for me. Hell for you.” I deflected the blow and went for a foot sweep.

  He jumped back, then brought the cudgel down on my ankle.

  [-1005]

  Before I could recover, he snatched up a stone and slammed it into my chest.

  [-867]

  My health dipped in the corner of my screen: 5,504/9,500.

  “Don’t panic now,” he laughed, swinging his massive weapon. “It’ll be over soon.”

  Flat on the ground, I rolled at the last second and yanked his legs out from under him. Before he could recover, I slid to my knees and slashed across his abdomen. Blood sprayed in a crimson ribbon, staining the red rock darker.

  [-665]

  I followed with another strike, but the little four-foot bastard rolled away and, out of nowhere, produced a potion.

  “None of that,” I growled, knocking it from his hand. “We’re fighting to the end. No support, no potions.”

  I spun, switched weapons, and drew Black Tusk, its silver chains and forearm-length blade glimmering in the dimly lit cave as I replaced Havoc Maker.

  On my toes, bouncing like a boxer in an intense fight, the weapon’s automatic stance took over. For a fleeting second, I felt like an action movie star, spinning the blade from its chain in a blur.

  I hesitated, then hurled it straight into his chest with a soft clump of black smoke. A sharp yank tore it free, snapping the weapon back into my hand.

  [-725]

  His muscled hands smeared blood across his chest as he grinned. “Nice… but now it’s my turn.”

  Next thing I knew, he hopped a few steps across the floor, spun on his back leg, and threw his weapon at me, which I deflected with ease. That turned out to be my mistake because as I blocked it, he landed a powerful punch, slamming my back against the wall and sending dust and debris into the air.

  [-1,222]

  I grunted, dug my fingers into the wall, and pulled myself out of the outline my body had left in the stone. Shaking my head, I gripped Havoc Maker with both hands, slammed the butt into his abdomen, then spun and swept his legs in a powerful arc.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  [-1,343]

  He screamed like a pig. More blood sprayed. I stepped forward to finish him, but the little bugger rolled once on the floor, grabbed his cudgel, and caught me in the ribs with it.

  [-1,130]

  If I took any more hits like that, I’d die on this ramp, never getting the chance to make it to Nefa.

  Sparks was still thrashing against the net that held her trapped, while Nefa struggled with the Guttergrowls. The rest of the goblins had gone quiet as I fought the goblin mini-boss, which had me worried.

  By this time, the goblin had crawled to his feet, bouncing and striking his cudgel against the ground. “No giving up, brown-skin, there’s plenty more of this to come,” he grinned.

  “I’m sick of this shit,” I growled and rushed him head-on, sword in hand. When I got closer, I switched to my double-barreled shotgun and squeezed the trigger.

  His eyes went wide as the slugs pierced his flesh.

  The game alerted: [Critical].

  He fell to his knees, blood dripping from the wound. “That almost did me in,” he said, then tried to hop back to his feet.

  I closed the gap and shoved his body toward the edge of the ramp. His four-foot frame was barely holding on. “No, wait, wait,” he pleaded. “I’d like to make a deal.”

  I laughed. “Make it quick,” I said.

  With his hands clasped, he begged for his life. “If you let me live, I’ll do your bidding until you leave this cave.”

  “Like my flunky?”

  “I don’t know what that means, but sure, sure. My cudgel and I are feared by the lower goblins. If you had me on your side, the boss down there wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  I studied the goblin’s beady eyes, weighing the promise against everything I’d learned about trust. Let him live, and he’d fight for me, sure, but trust was a luxury I didn’t have. His pleading felt like water slipping through my fingers.

  I walked toward him with slow, easy steps, watching the fear twist his face. A brief, useless pang of regret tightened my chest. For a half-second, I played with the idea of letting him live a few seconds more.

  Letting him fight for me like the Guttergrowls when you gripped the chain.

  Then something inside snapped.

  To beat this game, I would have to play dirty at times. Go all out. Show no mercy to stand victorious over my enemies.

  And this situation was one of those times.

  I planted my foot on the side of his head, the pang of regret as quiet as a murmur.

  As he screamed for mercy, I shut myself off and pushed with the force of someone who didn’t give a fuck anymore.

  He scrambled, claws scraping at the stone, but his frame could barely hold. “Please, spare me,” he yelled. “I’ll even throw in some of my gold.”

  My eye twitched, and I kicked him hard across the side of his head and watched as he tumbled over the edge to the ground beneath.

  His small, high-pitched scream echoed through the cavern, swallowed up by the roar of the Guttergrowls and Nefa panting from exhaustion.

  I shivered as experience orbs and the gold he carried rushed into me. Checking my character screen, I saw I had gone up two levels and now stood at thirty-one. I went to his body and collected scraps and a knife I would sell later if I ran into a store again.

  No time to distribute the extra stats. I’d have to handle the rest of this battle with just the base increases.

  I walked over to where Sparks was tied and used the tip of my sword to cut her free. Her small body was drenched in sweat. She immediately resumed her position and poured another potion into me, filling my gauge back up.

  Then I bolted down the ramp, my legs moving so fast it felt like I was floating. By the time I reached the bottom, the ground was littered with Guttergrowl bodies, tossed aside like discarded clothes.

  Nefa, locked in the thick of battle, didn’t notice me until I cut one down beside her. She jumped, then snarled through gritted teeth, “You’ve arrived. Though what good you’ll do against this endless parade of monsters pouring out of the entrance—”

  Six more came charging out, slobbering, their mouths dripping, green leathery skin gleaming.

  I switched to the Gorton Staff and unleashed a blast of icy wind, freezing them in place. Nefa swung her scythe in a wide, vicious arc, cutting them down and shattering their frozen bodies into crystallized shards. The chunks that fell to the floor clattered like spinning dice.

  More Guttergrowls poured out, tongues lapping, others howling into the damp confines of the cavern.

  Around us, I got a better look at the layout. Besides the bodies littering the floor, the place resembled a ceremonial chamber. In one corner stood a large obelisk with silver bowls beneath it. In the center of the room sat the throne where the larger goblin had been, and at the back, the horde continued chanting to their leader.

  Between kills, my eyes searched for a lever to shut the gates as I froze more of the beasts while Nefa cut their bodies to pieces. I checked my MP gauge and realized I was burning through mana far faster than I wanted. At this rate, I’d run out and be forced to use a potion.

  Minutes passed, and the three of us hadn’t moved an inch. The freezing-and-blasting technique was working, but we couldn’t keep it up forever. It was time to do something.

  “Sparks!” I shouted. “Search for a lever to shut the gate and report back immediately after you find it.”

  She nodded and flew off, leaving Nefa and me to continue cutting down the canine-like creatures.

  That was when an elite Guttergrowl lumbered out of the pit entrance, nothing but muscle and teeth, three times the size of the regular ones.

  Flanking him, four smaller beasts emerged, two on each side, their growls echoing through the chamber.

  “Make this quick,” Nefa said, flicking her weapon as her eyes locked on our enemies. “If we’re not out of this cave by nightfall, we’ll be trapped until morning, and you do not want to be here when that happens.”

  I nodded. “We need to close the gate and stop them from pouring through. Let’s hope Sparks comes through.”

  The elite beast fixed its eyes on me, jaws parting to release a bark so powerful it made my flesh prickle.

  After hearing that, I tightened my grip, bouncing on the heels of my feet, adrenaline pumping. Then, without warning, it charged, its massive feet pounding against the stone like hammers. Behind it, the smaller ones came rushing forward like it was feeding time.

  “Nefa!” I shouted. “Deal with the smaller ones while I take care of Cujo.”

  “Who’s Cujo?”

  “Something my dad used to watch, but never mind,” I said, just as the massive Guttergrowl leapt at me.

  “Just take care of them, okay?” I grunted, thrusting my sword forward and forcing the beast to skid back before it lunged again.

  Before it could connect, I activated Drop Strike Prism, slipping through the floor and reappearing overhead. I came down hard, landing a brutal strike to its thick skull.

  [-899]

  I followed up with another slash across its broad nose.

  [-767]

  The creature yelped, pawing at its face for a moment before shaking its head and charging me again.

  Meanwhile, Nefa had already seized the chain of one of the Guttergrowls, wrenching it under her control. She flipped, drew Viper and Fang, and stabbed at the green dog like a sped-up YouTube video. Blood oozed from the wounds. “One subtracted from the ranks,” she said, circling the last beast.

  I met the large doglike enemy, its bulk hunched over me. I activated Liquid Speed, and the countdown began ticking in the corner of my vision.

  [0:59]

  Running to its side, I punched, cracking ribs like wooden planks. Thanks to the Illicit Power Necklace, my fists were as strong as steel. At this speed, everything moved like syrup, except Nefa, who had never seen me use the ability before. Her mouth flew open, then shut.

  I nodded and pummeled the beast: right, left, left uppercut. Then I unleashed another combo, taking out all my rage on the big, dumb animal. When the counter hit zero, the elite Guttergrowl collapsed.

  Sparks dove down to me and pointed at a chain hanging above the door. With a moment to spare, I switched to the boomerang, threw it, hooked the chain, and pulled. The gate shut with a heavy thud.

  I glanced at Nefa. She had already disposed of the last beast with that deadly scythe of hers. “Now we take care of them,” she said, pointing at the goblins circling their leader. “And then we get the hell out of here.”