Chương 26: Tier 2

It feels strange being fully armored now. The chestplate and leggings restrict my movements a bit. But I know I'll be happy to have them when a few dozen arrows aren't in my skin. As usual, I see many suspiciously raised stones, and I ignore them, giving them the respect they deserve. The doorframe in the hall shows itself, and I slink up to it, sticking one eye out to see what's inside. [(II) Stalwart Hobgoblin lv. 3] Shit. In the center of the room stands a knight.

Clad head to toe in polished metal, small gaps show chainmail and padding. It stands silently and holds a single longsword, the first weapon of its kind I've seen so far. At the majestic sight, I turn back and snicker to myself. Half a minute passes as I giggle to myself silently. No, no, that's not fair, I think, wiping a tear from my eye. The hobgoblin is clearly powerful, letting off an aura of danger and intelligence that hasn't been present so far. But its helmet…

It's forged around a massive set of ears and a nose. The mysterious blacksmith clearly put effort into making it look somewhat normal, but it doesn't work. Two giant cones of metal jut out from the sides of its helmet, with a slightly smaller cone sticking straight out the front. A heavy struggle forms as I force myself to stop laughing and focus. Wait? Where's the highest stat in the identify!? I just got that! More importantly, why is it so low-level?

I assume that the giant two in Roman numerals, or tally marks in front of its name, has something to do with it. The easiest answer is that it's evolved into a better version of itself. Given the second additional word next to its species, it's a safe bet. Based on the levels of previous enemies, it probably evolves at fifteen or twenty. No sight of enemies at level sixteen or above yet, so fifteen seems like the golden number. With the essential level of the enemy at eighteen, it's best to recover.

I slowly slip away from the doorway and back to the main hallway. Making the trip back to home base, I lie back on my new mattress.

"Kevin, fall asleep for eight hours." It feels like my eyes only close for a few seconds before they open again.

"Kevin, feel no pain." System, time, health, and mana, [Health: 305(262)] [Mana: 260] [6. 30 cycles until next phase] Nodding to myself, I close my eyes and dip back into my body while twisting to keep the wound on my side closed. The mana sweeps slowly into the drain as I think. It would be amazing to use this during a fight. Might even be able to get multiple overclocked punches out. A smile grows on my face as I imagine myself punching doors apart on repeat.

Or blowing the head off of multiple opponents several times in a row. The thought is morbid, but the viability is undeniable. Eventually, the drain overflows, and my mana won't enter anymore. My eyes snap open to a screen already above me. [Health: 305] After seeing the message, the hunger quickly climbs to a climax, and I'm forced to rip into the rest of my jerky supply. With that, I'm left with no extra food. There's an easy way to remedy that. With an evil grin, I get to my feet and slip my gauntlets on.

My right arm feels a little off, but otherwise works normally with no feeling of weakness. I nod and push open the creaking door, making my way back into the large hallway. It's strange how the eerie light coverage has become normal. The moss that's equally spaced over the cobblestone has become a familiar sight. It's all become something like a home to me. A dangerous, murderous home. I'm not sure if the number of times I've almost died can be counted on my fingers anymore. But it doesn't bother me.

It might represent danger, but it also represents growth. The risk only makes it feel earned. It takes a few minutes before I make it to the end of the hall once again. Turning to the right, I confidently move into the right hallway. After five minutes of walking, the same opening in the wall reveals itself. Slinking up to the edge of the doorway, I peek in to make sure everything is as expected. [(II) Stalwart Hobgoblin lv. 3] Still only one enemy, as intimidating as usual. With a sigh, I speak to myself.

"Kevin, don't feel pain, focus on the fight, punch as hard as possible without losing health, and deflect or dodge all attacks." My gauntlet moves out and taps the cell door lightly. Jerking it back, the sound of ringing metal armor echoes through the doorway. I pull back my arm and wait silently for the right moment. The silver armor flashes into sight, and I launch. My fist crashes against the metal helmet, knocking it into the side of the doorway.

I curse inwardly as the spikes on my gauntlet bend and snap on the metal. The hobgoblin steps back with a stumble, hardly reacting at all with a giant dent in its helmet. Assuming it to be dazed, I toss another hook into its head. Another dent appears as it trips over its feet and falls backwards, dropping its sword. I jump at the chance and straddle the knight's chest, pummelling its head on repeat. Blunt damage for the win! Switching to the side of my gauntlets, I swing them down on repeat.

The dents on the helmet grow deeper and deeper before the knight goes from twitching to limp. Chime Weight disappears from my shoulders as a deep breath fills my lungs. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The light panting turns into casual breathing as my muscles tense weakly. Well, that was easier than I thought.

[Vitality: 21 > 22] [Strength: 18] [Agility: 18 > 19] [Endurance: 14 > 15] [Fortitude: 19 > 21] [Intelligence: 12] [Wisdom: 20 > 21] [Perception: 26 > 27] [Unassigned: 1] Alright, sweet. Two fortitude, one endurance, and one agility. I would prefer to get strength, but with fortitude bottlenecking it, it would be pointless. Unless I wanted to blow my arm to smithereens every fight, of course. Would be really nice if I could get a skill like enhanced skeleton, but for my muscles.

After placing my free point in fortitude, I check the back of the knight, finding a bag that hopefully contains food. To my surprise, it contains a cooked leg of some kind of bird. Damn, what kind of bird did this come from? The leg is far larger than expected, at over a foot long, with a diameter of four inches at the widest. Certainly larger than any chicken or turkey I've seen. It's far too short and thick to be any bird I've seen.

Given that it's being held by a mythological creature, it might be safe to say it's also mythological. With a big bite, I rip as much as I can off the bone. A bit dry and cold. Still, it's the most delicious thing I've eaten so far that's come from the dungeon. Putting it back in the pouch, I attach it to my pants and continue. I unceremoniously kick the chest open. [You have discovered a reward] [Accept(16) / Bank / Consolidate] After consolidating, I get to the real rewards of the room.

It takes quite a bit of time, but I find all of the connecting straps on the armor of the knight. Over thirty minutes later, all of the armor is detached from the hobgoblin and donned by me. Made for a wirier build, the chestplate in particular is incredibly tight. The entire suit connects like one big puzzle with dozens of straps. Extra sets of chainmail are attached at every joint and bend where plates of metal couldn't go. Of course, I don't wear the helmet because of its condition. And its shape.

It just looks so silly. A few minutes are spent shadow boxing, and the chafing of the armor and its restrictive design are made clear. I remove everything except for the waist and below. My fighting style- If you can call it that. -doesn't require much leg movement. The legs simply don't move in such a wide radius as the arms. Plus, the difference in anatomy between hobgoblins and humans is far less noticeable near the bottom half of the body.

After another thirty minutes of changing, I end up with a leather top and a metal bottom. Leather shoulder guards, along with a chestplate that leads down to the elbows, where it meets my gauntlets. A leather cap for a little extra protection on the head. The metal skirt at the waist has several hanging straps that are meant to connect to the metal chestpiece. They lead down to metal completely covering my thighs and shins, to my feet.

My beaten sneakers are finally tossed and replaced by bendy metal plates that cover my feet and ankles. All in all, I look completely ridiculous. At the very least, I cut off the straps connected to the metal waist. The only weak points below that point are the back of my knees, which still have chainmail and padding protecting them. Needless to say, no more swinging blade traps will be threatening my innocent shins. After walking for a few feet, a couple of differences show themselves.

First, the soles on the feet of knights' armor are far less developed than modern sneakers. It doesn't bother me much, considering my fortitude is over double what I've had my entire life. The second is that it's louder. If I move while thinking about it, I can avoid the metal plates scraping against each other, but walking normally is quite noisy. The price for protection is worth it. When I slip my gauntlets on, a frown graces my face. The beautifully sharp spikes at the end of the fist are now basically gone.

Bent, snapped metal bases are the only thing left after punching plate armor. It makes me sad, but it won't matter too much unless I fight an enemy with heavy padding or some giant creature with heavy fat storage. Using the sword on the ground, I peel back the remnants of the spikes and leave the thick plate on the front unblemished. With a nod, I toss on the gauntlets and move to my next foe. My armor jingles quietly as I move out of the doorway and back down the hallway.

After a few minutes, the same, predictable opening in the wall appears. Slinking up, I crouch down and edge up to the side of the doorway. Dang, this armor really is well-made. Crouching is far less tedious than I thought it would be. Peeking past the edge, I identify my next foe. [(II) Hobgoblin lv. 10] Ten plus the fifteen of evolution. That's twenty-five. Even more than both my class level and species level combined. Otherwise, the room is identical.

The armor might be a little shinier, and the sword a little sharper, but it's impossible to know for sure. Working out the tenseness in my arms, I move my gauntlet over and lightly tap the metal bar, before jerking it back. The sound of clinking armor becomes louder as the knight makes its way toward the metal cell door. I take a deep breath and stand, pulling my arm back. What was my inclination with rogue and assassin? The door opens silently, and the hobgoblin steps through. The second I see armor, I move.

My fist flies and slams against the helmet's face. The knight stumbles backwards, but counterattacks immediately. My shoulders tense as my body moves like a machine, slamming a fist into the edge of the sword and parrying it. Holy shit! That didn't daze it? A giant dent is in the helmet's forehead, but the hobgoblin inside doesn't seem concerned. It strikes in a flurry. This isn't the rusty slamming of swords that the previous hobgoblins used. This is actual swordsmanship.

The knight swings sideways into my gauntlet, which quickly moves to block. It continues the movement into a stab, which I barely deflect. My arm flies forward, but the knight bends to the side perfectly to avoid it. It sweeps up into my groin, but I slip back as well. Both of us stand back and silently inspect each other. I have a feeling that this hobgoblin isn't searching for an opportunity. No, it's piecing together my fighting style. Unlike my other fights, the knight rushes first instead of me.

As I meet it, it swings overhead. I move to block, but it seamlessly feints into a stab. My face winces from the hit that I can't possibly block. My commanded body doesn't agree. The raised gauntlet wastes no movement as it slams down into the blade. As the blade hits the ground, my body bends, and a right hook slams into the chest of the knight. It stumbles back with a dent in its chestplate, but doesn't waste time as it rushes back in. It throws another overhead swing.

A gauntlet blocks it well, but the knight follows with a kick. My body curves like a snake around the extended leg and slams another fist into its head. The helmet dents, and the head snaps back, but the hobgoblin takes it like a champ. It moves forward and swings sideways again, but I raise my leg and block with the armor. With hands free, I pull back and spit out words.

"Kevin, punch as hard as you can." Chime The increase of fortitude shows itself as my muscles coil harder than ever around my bones. My arm moves in a blur as my skin turns red and blood vessels burst. The gauntlet collides with the chestplate and doesn't stop. Instead of a dent, the strike caves the metal inwards with a groan. Chime Blood splatters out of the knight's helmet as the blow crushes its chest. It stumbles back several feet, but doesn't fall.

Gasps and wheezes leak from its helmet as it tries to breathe with armor compressing its lungs. Still, it stands straight and rushes again. What the hell!? It swings diagonally, but I deflect with my left gauntlet and kick it backwards. Again, it stumbles but doesn't fall. Its breathing is ragged and comes out with mists of blood. Still, it clumsily rushes again. My arm moves like a machine and blocks every blow. A counterattack isn't possible anymore with only one arm compared to its better reach.

When it swings again, I dodge this time and kick its leg. It stumbles, and I lunge after. With a strike to the back of the head, it finally falls forward. The knight crashes to the ground in a heap of metal. My body advances as I bring my fist down on the back of its neck. The hobgoblin tries to put its arms under itself. My gauntlet comes down again. And again. And again.

"Fucking die already!" I scream. My gauntlet lands on its side several times on the back of its head before it goes limp. It takes several more strikes before I finally hear it. Chime Another burst of level-up hits me. My muscles solidify, and my breathing becomes far lighter. Panting heavily, I sit on the ground and lie down. A blue screen expands above me in accordance with my will.