[ TRIAL 2: THE GOBLIN RAID ]
[ OBJECTIVE: DEFEAT 20 ARMED GOBLINS ]
Before him, twenty goblins snarled, shrieked, and slammed their weapons together. Crude spears, chipped swords, and jagged axes flashed under the ambient tower light. Some wore scraps of leather armor, others had bone-plated shields strapped to their arms.
Soji took an uneasy step forward, the weight of his empty hands hanging like a curse.
"Should I run?" he muttered. Then he clenched his fists.
"No... I'm done running. I still have hope from this Null power."
He dropped into a shaky defensive stance, every instinct screaming at him to flee. But he held his ground. One of the goblins snarled and jabbered loudly, raising its chipped axe above its head.
"Graah! Mukk'tal bashka! Skree varsh!"
"I hope that was a peace offering... haha..." Soji chuckled nervously, though the sound died quickly in his throat.
His expectation was soon shattered as the goblin shrieked and charged, weapon raised high, eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
Soji's heart clamped. "I guess not!" As the goblins got even more closer, Soji had a change of heart and decided to run away.
"FUCK! Staying there acting like an idiot was the worst decision! I should've run away while they had a distance!" Soji fled, lungs burning, as he felt the loud footsteps of many goblins racing towards him.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Think! Think! Think!" he gasped as his eyes looked into the ground—loose pebbles littered the path.
He scooped a handful while running, fingers trembling, and hurled them blindly over his shoulder.
One struck a goblin square in the forehead. The goblin hissed, stumbling—and the one right behind it tripped over its back, both collapsing in a heap.
Soji's eyes widened. "...No way." A breathless laugh escaped him.
"That actually worked! Haha—!"
But the momentary victory was then short-lived. The rest of the goblins surged past the fallen pair, howling in rage, weapons clattering.
Soji's grin vanished. "Oh shit—they're still coming!" Soji sprinted, his heart beating restlessly, his lungs on fire.
The goblins shrieked behind him, a pack of bloodthirsty animals on his heels. Another glance over his shoulder—too close. Too damn close!
Then instinct took over...
As one lunged close enough to grab him, Soji spun and shoved his hand out, pure panic behind the motion.
Suddenly the goblin froze mid-motion—then collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Its blade clattered uselessly beside it.
Soji, while running stopped for a moment, blinking in disbelief. "What…?"
Then the system's voice suddenly appeared along with an interface.
[ SYSTEM UPDATE: Null – Active Skill (???) ]
[ DESCRIPTION: ]
A mysterious force that disrupts the target's mental and physical functions, rendering them unable to act for a long time no matter the target's resistance, it will still activate. Effects are temporary. Very Short Cooldown.
[ WARNING: Skill is not classified. Full potential unknown. ]
Soji stared at the system message, his mind racing to process the information. As the goblin horde also stopped in confusion.
"Null…? " he murmured, looking down at his hand as though his palm tingled with an odd, unfamiliar sensation.
"So it was an active skill! Finally, now I can fight back, you damn goblins! BRING IT ON!! "
He could still hear the goblins snarling, some trying to recover from the strange halt in their movements, others confused and disoriented by the sudden inability to act. The goblins who were the closest to him were dropped unconscious, showing no signs of recovering.
Soji's heart pounded in his chest, and the overwhelming weight of the situation suddenly felt lighter. He had power now. Power that could let him take control, if only he could maintain his focus. His palm tingled again, the sensation of Null lingering in the air around him.
"Okay... focus," he whispered, his eyes flicking back and forth, watching the goblins scramble to get back on their feet. "I can do this."
As the goblins began to charge again after the confusion, Soji went into a defensive stance again, but this time, instead of running, he held his ground. His eyes locked on the next goblin charging at him with a dull axe, claws outstretched and snarling with fury.
He moved fast, his palm striking out once more. The goblin stopped in its tracks, its body freezing.
Soji grinned, feeling a surge of confidence.
"This is it... this is my chance."
Soji grabbed the axe from the fallen unconscious goblin's hand and quickly slashed its head, splattering green blood all over him.
The sight of one of their own kin dying so easily under Soji's axe sent a jolt of shock through the horde. For a brief moment, the goblins faltered, their eyes wide in disbelief, their snarls fading into confused grunts. The once-thriving chaos seemed to still, the air thick with tension as they stared at the crumpled body of their fallen kin.
But that hesitation was short-lived. The instinct to retaliate, the primal rage burning beneath their rough, jagged exteriors, flared back to life. With a unified, guttural roar, the goblins snapped back into action. Their eyes blazed with fury, bloodshot and wild, as they charged at Soji with renewed aggression, their axes, spears, and crude weapons raised high.
Soji threw the dull axe, and it hit one of the goblins in the chest, rendering it alive but fallen in pain. The creature let out a guttural scream, stumbling back with the axe lodged deep in its torso.
The goblin collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony, but it was still alive—clutching at the weapon lodged in its chest as it groaned in pain. But this didn't stop the goblins from charging at Soji.
Soji's adrenaline spiked as he could feel the excitement of ending a creature's life. He just has to trust his skill, Null to handle this very well. He gritted his teeth, feeling the weight of the situation bear down on him. The goblins were enraged, and their bloodlust was palpable. The creature he had just wounded was still alive, but it was clear that it was no longer a threat.
Still, the remaining goblins were more than enough to overwhelm him if he didn't act quickly. Soji braced himself, muscles coiled and heart racing. His eyes darted across the chaotic scene, the goblins charging at him with maddened fervor.
He took a deep breath, trying to steady his thoughts...
Soji's body was beginning to feel the strain. His muscles ached, his movements slower than before, but his mind remained sharp. One by one, he used Null with precision, each touch halting a goblin in its tracks, rendering them motionless. The effect was temporary, but it was enough.
Every time his palm made contact, another goblin dropped to the ground, its movements frozen in a state of unconsciousness.
But as the fight dragged on, Soji's wounds began to catch up with him. A gash along his arm stung with every movement, and the bruises from the earlier blows were starting to throb. He stumbled, his footing slipping slightly as another goblin rushed him. He barely managed to activate Null in time, sending the creature crashing to the ground with a grunt of frustration.
But more kept coming. One after another. The Null skill worked, but it wasn't enough to keep up with their numbers. Soji was exhausted. His breathing was ragged, his vision blurry at the edges.
His back hit a rock as he backed up, the weight of the situation pressing in on him.
He lashed out again, his palm connecting with another goblin's chest, sending it into a temporary unconscious state, but just as he did, another goblin came from the side. Its claws raked across his shoulder, tearing through his already battered skin.
"Dammit!" he hissed, fighting through the pain. His hand burned as he activated Null again, but this time his strength was flagging. His movements were sluggish, more desperate. His grip on reality felt thin as blood dripped from his wounds, his focus narrowing to the task at hand.
Still, he couldn't afford to stop. One by one, the goblins fell—paralyzed by the strange force he could barely control. The numbers slowly dwindled, but every moment felt like an eternity. And with each passing second, the pain from his injuries only deepened.
He could hear the growls of the goblins as they struggled to regain control, but they were becoming fewer and weaker. And yet, Soji couldn't shake the feeling that the fight wasn't over—not yet.
"Just a few more…" he breathed, his vision blurring as he staggered forward.
He didn't know how long he could keep this up, but he had to. There was no other choice. Time passes, and finally he lies down in a field full of unconscious goblin bodies.
But it wasn't finished yet; he gotta execute them all again...
After an arduous, painfully long fifteen minutes of executing the unconscious goblins one by one, finally the goblins have actually died and not just having rendered unconscious, and the system shows up for completion while evaluating his performance.
He let his legs give out beneath him and collapsed onto his back, the cracked stone ground unforgiving beneath his battered frame. Above him, the sterile blue light of the Tower flickered faintly like a sky that didn't care.
[ SYSTEM ANALYSIS COMPLETE ]
[ TRIAL 2 PERFORMANCE EVALUATED ]
[ STATS: ]
[ OFFENSIVE CONTRIBUTION: 100% ]
[ DAMAGE SUSTAINED: 81% ]
[ TACTICAL EFFICIENCY: MODERATE ]
[ TIME COMPLETION: SLOW ]
[ COMPLETE BASE CONDITION: SUCCESS ]
[ OVERALL RANK: C+ ]
[ SYSTEM REWARD ALLOCATION COMPLETE ]
[ REWARD GRANTED: ]
[ SKILL UPGRADE CARD ]
[ x2 Vitality Elixir ]
[ x1 Random Stats Increase Elixir ]
"That was a close one… I'm almost beat up," he muttered, wincing as he touched a bruise on his side. "But at least… the rewards this time are good."
His gaze drifted to his trembling hands. The same hands that had put the goblins unconscious that then executed each goblin.
"I still have a lot to uncover about this skill… this… NULL."