Chương 83: THE GOBLIN CHIEF (1)

A few days passed just like that. During that time, Jimin simply focused on raiding the E-Rank Field Rift with his party every day. Unfortunately, things didn't go as smoothly as they hoped. Every single attempt ended the same way. They were simply too late. Whenever they finally reached the Boss's lair, another party was already fighting inside. Sometimes, the boss had already been killed. The competition inside the Field Rift was simply too fierce. The sight became painfully familiar.

Fortunately, not everything was bad. The repeated raids still produced results. Yu-jun had managed to reach Level 7. Dong-hyun reached Level 5. And the rest of the party had all reached Level 6. Their teamwork had also improved significantly. Everyone understood their roles better now. Even their confidence had improved. Only one person hadn't leveled up. Jimin. But during those few days, he had quietly created the skills he needed. And after all those failed attempts, their perseverance finally paid off.

Luck had finally decided to favor them.

Inside a cave- Torches hung on the walls. The flickering flames illuminated the rough stone passages while long shadows danced across the cave. The atmosphere was far from quiet. Groaning. Panting. Battle cries. The sounds of combat echoed continuously through the tunnels. And among the moving shadows cast against the walls, one clearly belonged to a goblin. Its pointy ears and hunched posture made it unmistakable. Suddenly, a small thin shadow shot forward. Fast. Piercing directly through the goblin's shadow.

An instant scream followed. Blood splashed against the wall. And the shadow collapsed on the ground. Then, the blood slowly began to vaporize. The party marched forward in their usual formation, ignoring the vaporizing blood and remains of the goblins. Jimin casually retrieved the mana cores from the corpses while walking using telekinesis. Soon afterward- Hye-jin suddenly stopped. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"We'll soon reach… the Boss room. Only 3 goblins ahead. Be ready, guys," Hye-jin alerted the party, as she drew her bow. Everyone's expressions immediately sharpened. The party instantly tightened their formation. A few moments later, the group of 3 goblins were suddenly visible ahead. Two swordsmen. One archer.

"On it," Jimin said. Instantly, two of his daggers shot forward piercing through the swordsmen on the left and right. The swordsmen never had a chance. Meanwhile, Hye-jin's arrow hit the forehead of the archer in the middle. The goblin staggered backward. And it slowly fell down, as it groaned. The whole group was dead in a heartbeat. The party continued forward immediately.

The cave gradually widened as they advanced. And eventually, they reached it. The Boss room. The entrance sat along the right wall. Faint sounds could be heard from within. Laughing. Roaring. Goblins chattering. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The entire party immediately halted. The room itself was on the other side of the wall. But the party didn't recklessly burst into the room. Instead, they waited outside patiently. Quietly.

The atmosphere became tense. Though, the noises of laughs and roars could be heard from the inside. Meanwhile, Jimin had already activated his 'Detection'. His surroundings were grey and every living creature appeared as a red dot.

"Hmm…" he hummed quietly, as he carefully analyzed the room. The Boss is at the rear. Right in the middle. Two goblins right beside him. Two more on both sides, also at the rear. And 8 on the frontline. A slight smile appeared on his face. It should be easy with these guys here. Then suddenly-"There are a total of fourteen mobs beside the boss," Hye-jin whispered. Everyone looked toward her.

"Six in the rear and eight in the front," she added.

"Great job, Hye-jin," Yu-jun whispered. She simply nodded.

"Then the plan-" Yu-jun murmured, but Jimin cut him off.

"The plan's simple." Everyone immediately focused on him.

"You, Min-su and Gun-woo will handle the frontline." The three nodded.

"Hye-jin and I will take care of the rear. Meanwhile, Min-ji and Yuna will prepare the spell to finish the frontline." These three nodded too.

"And Dong-hyun… You'll stay on standby at the rear. Provide support if necessary." He… nodded as well. Though bigger and longer than others. The party was finally ready to kill the Boss.

"Let's not delay anymore," Jimin whispered.

"Yeah. Let's enter, guys," said Yu-jun, as he took the lead instantly.

"Ho," said everyone in unison. Without hesitation, they immediately followed behind him. Jimin took a deep breath. Here we go.

'Overtime' on.

As soon as the party entered, they saw the Goblin Chief sitting on a throne over a dais. The Chief stood up immediately. It was nothing like a normal goblin. The monster was over seven feet tall. A green giant with a massive frame. But instead of muscular strength, its body carried a grotesque amount of fat. A huge belly hung over its waist. Its nose was also long and pointy. And its face was ugly even by goblin standards. A crude crown made of scrap metal rested atop its head.

And in one hand, it effortlessly held a rough metal club that looked large enough to crush a person into paste. The Goblin Chief instantly roared, pointing its club toward the party. All the goblins roared in response. The swordsmen charged immediately. The archers began to draw their arrows.

"Incoming!" Yu-jun shouted. He immediately activated his 'Taunt' skill. A faint pulse spread outward. And the goblin swordsmen instantly shifted their focus toward him.

"Come on then, bastards!" You-jun shouted again. The swordsmen rushed straight toward Yu-jun. While Min-su and Gun-woo intercepted the remaining frontline goblins without hesitation. Steel clashed. The battle erupted instantly.

Meanwhile, the goblin archers positioned at the rear had already finished drawing their bows. And the two goblin shamans beside the Chief raised their staves while grinning maliciously. But Jimin and Hye-jin were already two steps ahead. Three daggers shot forward. Two targeted the archers on the right side. And the third targeted a shaman. At the same time, his chakram flew toward the left side of the room. Hye-jin released her arrow. And so did the goblin archers.

But then- The arrows seemed to be flying in a slower motion. Slowly approaching their targets. And not just the arrows. It was as if the whole battlefield had slowed down. But not actually. Only from Jimin's perspective. A tiny red meter appeared in front of his vision. Slowly decreasing. A grin started to form on his face slowly. Now. His two daggers quickly deflected the arrowheads with their flat sides and marched toward their original targets.

Meanwhile, the chakram simply sliced through the other two goblin arrows in a smooth motion, rendering them useless. After that it changed its course toward the goblins. Then- Everything returned to normal all of a sudden. But before the goblins could understand anything, the daggers and Hye-jin's arrow had already shot through the goblin shamans and the archers at the right. Blood splattered across the floor.

"Huh.." Hye-jin was simply astounded. Her eyes widened. They were practically sparkling. She glanced at Jimin and the goblins back and forth. What just happened? That was so cool. The other two archers were also in the same state. But as soon as they glanced toward their fellows to check, the chakram instantly sliced through their necks in one smooth sweep. But it didn't stop there. It flew toward the Goblin Chief quickly. Jimin even activated 'Weight Distortion'. But the Chief deflected it easily with its club.

In fact, the impact was so heavy that the chakram dug deep into the side wall, getting stuck there. However, the daggers followed up instantly. And they managed to fully penetrate through the Chief's skin. Both blades pierced deep into the monster's torso. The Chief groaned slightly. But it acted as if it hadn't dealt any damage. In fact, it seemed like they annoyed him more than dealing any actual damage. The chief immediately let out another loud roar. Jimin's expression soured instantly.

He clicked his tongue, "Tch."