Timothy Nugent Author
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Chapter 12 - The Chokepoint
🕑 Added 2024-07-01 13:43:00 +0000 UTCThe first goblin did not have a spear.
Blake crawled blindly through the tunnels for about fifty feet before he began to see the light of a torch ahead. Smoke from the fire had gathered along the ceiling, and he was forced to crouch low if he wanted to breathe.
As he cautiously neared the lit area, he saw two goblin guards with the backs to the torch. Both held short swords and wisely faced away from the light to preserve their night vision. There would be no ambushing these vigilant sentries.
Blake would attempt it, regardless.
He was able to crawl another ten feet before the guards were finally alerted. When he noticed the eyes of the nearest widen, he rushed forward to attack. The speed in which he charged them surprised the guards, and they hesitated for just a moment too long.
They shied away from him, backpedaling, until the goblin on his left tripped. Blake ruthlessly took advantage of the mistake and slashed at the only guard still standing.
The goblin weakly blocked his attack with its sword, but stumbled at the force of the blow. Before it could raise its blade once again, Blake nimbly slashed and sliced open its arm. The resulting scream assaulted his ears, and he quickly followed up the attack with a thrust to its neck.
Meanwhile, the second goblin scrambled away and called out. “Enemy! Enemy!”
Blake darted forward and buried his blade into its back as it tried to flee. After the last guard was killed, he paused to listen. He faintly heard the sound of alarm deeper within.
Damn… This is going to suck.
Blake discarded his butcher knife and retrieved one of the goblin’s short swords. The weapon was not as sharp as the kitchen utensil, but the blade was over twice as long. With a shake of his head at the condition of the blade, he slipped into the shadows of the nearest narrowing of the tunnel and waited with his weapon ready.
At least they’re coming to me.
He had hoped for a spear so he would have greater reach, and a shield would have been an amazing addition. Unfortunately, he could not control what weapons his enemies held. Once again, he was thankful that he trained with almost every available weapon, years ago.
It was another ten minutes before the goblins slowly approached. They were not quiet, and he was able to track their progress. As they rounded the corner, the vanguard of the patrol froze with wide eyes as they took in his much larger form within the shadows. While he was skinny for a human, he was a veritable giant among the goblins.
This time, Blake did not rush forward. Instead, he wanted them to come to him, and just a moment later, they did. The lead goblin gathered its courage and let out a war cry as it threw itself forward, spear in hand.
Blake smiled.
There’s my spear.
The goblin’s weapon thrust forward, intending to pierce through his stomach. Blake used his left hand to slap the strike to the side, and buried the short sword in the goblin’s neck. It dropped the spear in panic, and its hands tried in vain to hold its blood inside.
While it stumbled away in shock, blood coated the narrow cave wall, and Blake dropped his sword to retrieve the discarded spear.
It’ll have to do.
The weapon was shorter than he hoped, at only three feet. Regardless, out of all the weapons goblins usually carried, it had the longest reach. It did have one advantage, however. In the narrow confines, it would be easier to maneuver than if it were six feet long.
Finally, another goblin shoved its injured comrade to the side and rushed past it. Before it could strike, the green-skinned humanoid impaled itself on Blake’s new weapon. While his spearhead lodged between its ribs, Blake used his greater strength to heave the injured body backward, freeing his spear in the process.
For what seemed like hours, goblins threw themselves at him. One by one, they came forward, eager to attack. With Blake using the environment to his advantage by constricting their movement, they were unable to coordinate an attack.
Shortly into his massacre, the bodies began to pile up. Initially, it was to his advantage as it slowed the goblin’s footwork. However, eventually, even Blake was forced to lose ground so he could attack without tripping over the dead.
This body is so weak.
By the time the last goblin attacked, Blake could barely lift his spear. The shield he had stolen was dropped long before in an effort to conserve energy, and only the knowledge that he would die if he rested kept him going.
It was rare for goblins to attack so single-mindedly. Normally, if he killed enough of them, they would flee, even if it meant their deaths. Low level goblins were not veterans of combat like himself, and made foolish decisions during battle. They hesitated, peed themselves, and generally proved inept. These, however, had not hesitated once to throw away their lives, no matter how many he killed.
Is this somehow the Architect’s doing?
After the final goblin died, Blake collapsed to the ground, exhausted. He remained alert for more arrivals, but was fairly certain he was safe. At least for the moment.
When he recovered enough to think clearly after the extensive battle, he reached inside his jacket pocket and retrieved the bottle of water. He drank deeply from the cool liquid reserve and drained the thin plastic dry. As he lay on the stone floor resting, he checked the status of the combat scenario he was in.
Goblins eliminated: 76.4%
Blake groaned.
He had hoped that there was only a single enemy left alive, hiding in a recess of the cavern. Instead, a quarter of the monsters remained.
Let’s see how many I killed.
He opened his combat logs and counted the list of kills. When he reached the bottom, the final tally was fifty-five dead goblins.
No wonder my arms are sore. Would’ve been nice to have some help there.
After completing a simple calculation that took far longer than it should have due to his exhaustion, he found that seventeen enemies remained. However, when he opened his status, he was shocked to see that he had collected over twenty million nano.
That’s… insane!
Blake had enough nano to enhance two attributes, from only two scenarios, and his current one was not even finished. Originally, he would be forced to partner with three others for safety. Without his Scion of Humanity title, and with the reward split four ways, it had taken almost two weeks to gather this amount in his past life.
He grinned.
My past life, such an odd thought. The question now is, what do I upgrade?
The magical attributes were currently superfluous. He did not have access to any energy pools, and held no spells which could be boosted.
He gathered his strength to lean against the cool cave wall as he considered his options. Magical resistance would be important when he faced those level one and above, and he would need to invest at least a point or two in it. However, he could use his last two enhancements to do so, as it did nothing for him against the low level goblin enemies.
With how exhausted he currently felt, he was tempted to throw them both in physical stamina. It would allow him to attack for longer and recover quicker. But, he felt that would be a mistake. He knew how rare it was to fight against so many goblins in a row, and he was unlikely to face a similar swarm in the future.
Physical power, on the other hand, would allow him to use his enhanced speed and strength to his advantage. It would turn him into a powerhouse that could not be stopped. That is, unless he made a mistake.
At this point, his body was still human and healed at an incredibly slow rate. If he was injured, depending on the severity of the wound, he could be forced to stop completing scenarios. It would be too dangerous if he did not have full use of his body.
He shook his head.
In his first life, he had learned that lesson the hard way. Originally, he only enhanced his physical power, before he joined his faction. It made him far faster and stronger than he would have been with a more rounded build. The advantage worked flawlessly for days.
However, eventually he failed to dodge an attack. For the next two months, he was forced to flee from every monster which spawned, as he moved from house to house looking for safety.
Eventually, his arm healed, and he began to fight back once again. The next time he accumulated enough nano to enhance an attribute, he chose physical resistance. Then he did so again.
But should I do that now?
Blake was more adept at fighting than in the past. He had expertise with every type of weapon and knew how to avoid injury. His biggest problem now was that his body was weak and could not keep up with his engrained responses. He knew what was possible, but his body was incapable of performing. He also had no backup.
No reward without risk.
He silently debated in the darkness, as his breath returned to normal. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that he was behaving too cautiously. He HAD to be strong enough to defend humanity against incursions, and the time to be bold was now.
Before he second guessed himself, he spent the twenty million nano and enhanced his physical power twice. Immediately, a notification popped up before him. He focused on the alert and new text appeared before his eyes.
You have gained 3,000 nano for completing a directive.
Blake laughed.
With all of his rewards from directives doubled, he was almost halfway to his next attribute point enhancement. He had completed two directives already, and both had been replaced with the next in their line.
Directives -
Join or create a faction.
Complete 10 Combat Scenarios.
Enhance 12 attributes.
Purchase a Combat Classification.
Learn a general skill.
Finally, he glanced at his stat sheet.
Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity
Combat Classification - None
Race - Tier I
Attributes - Increased by 21%
Physical Power - 7.3(2.4)
Physical Stamina - 7.3
Physical Resistance - 8.5
Magic Power - 8.5
Magic Stamina - 7.3
Magic Resistance - 9.7
Achievements -
First Kill
First Clear
First Solo Clear
Directive Enthusiast
Solo Warrior
Slayer
General Skills -
Summon Companion
Nano - 3,520
The two points he added to his physical power would put him on the same level as powerlifters and professional athletes, especially with his twenty-one percent increase. He only lacked their endurance.
Blake pulled a granola bar from his pocket to recover some energy while he waited for the nanomachines to complete their enhancement. His muscles felt like lead from overuse, and it required far more effort than it should have to open his eyes. As he rested, he added up his resources and went over his future plans.
Wait a minute!
He immediately summoned his new non-combat companion. He had gone ten years without a contracted servant and since it could not be used in a fight, the reward had slipped his mind entirely. However, now he could test out a few theories he had.
“How shall I serve master?” the wraith asked solemnly after it slipped out of the portal, which promptly disappeared.
Good, I can summon it in a scenario. I wonder if I can talk to it remotely.
Blake concentrated on his companion and projected his thoughts toward it.
Can you hear me?
“Yes,” it replied in a deep bass.
Are you able to reply mentally as well?
Yes.
“Awesome!” he grinned. “I’d like you to go invisible and scout the rest of the tunnels. Look for traps and ambushes, and inform me of everything you find.” He carefully phrased his order. Metal had already revealed that it would be free when he died, and he did not want that to happen for a long, long while.
After it disappeared, he added, Oh, and come back in an hour, even if you haven’t finished exploring yet.
Blake opened the map available within his scenario. He sat less than two hundred feet from the entrance, and almost the entire map was grayed out. However, before his very eyes, details began to emerge as his companion explored the tunnels. He watched in fascination as the gray blur was replaced with clarity. When a red notation appeared and informed him of a trap, he became ecstatic.
Metal, why doesn’t everyone use their companion like this? This is amazing!
Most do not wish their slaves to die.
What? How would you die? You’re invisible and can phase through reality!
There are many spells and species which can detect my camouflage, and I am only able to pass through physical matter for a short time.
Can goblins see you while you’re invisible?
No.
Then you’re perfectly safe! No one here can cast a spell yet.
Using Metal as a scout seemed like a cheat or exploit. He was actually surprised that he had never heard of a companion used in this way before. Of course, most companions could not turn invisible or become invulnerable either. In his past, everyone used them as sources of information or as a parlor tricks. Since companions could not attack or defend themselves, no one wanted to risk them in battle.
A little over forty-five minutes later, his map was fully visible. Every side tunnel was explored, and every trap labeled. There were eighteen marks which denoted the goblins’ locations, and their placement in the tunnels revealed that there was no ambush prepared.
Eighteen? Was my math wrong?
What really confused him, however, was a location labeled with a question mark.
Metal, what’s with the question mark on the map?
That is a hidden treasure, master. I am unable to determine the reward as it has yet to be unearthed.
Holy shit! You can find secret treasures?!
