Chapter 24: Necessary Deaths
➤[Level Increased.]
➤[Level 4 Reached.]
➤[Level 5 Reached.]
➤[Level 6 Reached.]
➤[Available Stat Points: 09]
Damien stared at the notifications.
Three levels. One from the accumulated experience and two more as the reward for killing the tutorial boss.
For the first time since entering this cursed place, something had gone better than expected. Then every goblin in the cave screamed, and the sound struck Damien like a physical blow.
It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t surrender. It was rage.
The ordinary goblins shrieked until their voices cracked, slamming weapons against shields and clawing at the stone walls.
The three Level Ten Elite Goblins stared at the headless corpse of their chief, their expressions twisted.
The one carrying the spear threw back its head and released a howl so savage that the others immediately answered.
The cave exploded into motion.
"Look out!" someone screamed. "They’re attacking!"
The goblins charged. There was no discipline now, no careful formation, no strategy, only fury.
Damien’s moment of victory vanished beneath the thunder of feet.
"Positions!" he shouted.
The few survivors still capable of fighting stumbled forward.
John lay unconscious against the cracked cave wall.
Rahul and Imran were sprawled nearby, barely breathing after the chief’s attacks.
They were alive. But in their condition, they might as well have been corpses.
Damien’s eyes moved to the stat window hovering in front of him.
...
➤[Available Stat Points: 09]
...
He had no time to think carefully.
No time to calculate the perfect build.
The spear-wielding Elite Goblin was already charging.
Damien made his choice.
➤[Strength increased by 3.]
➤[Speed increased by 3.]
➤[Stamina increased by 3.]
The change was immediate. His legs felt lighter.
His grip tightened around the dagger. The fire in his lungs receded, replaced by enough stamina to keep moving.
It wasn’t overwhelming power; he hadn’t suddenly become John.
He hadn’t become stronger than the Elite Goblins. But the gap had narrowed.
The spear came for his face. Damien ducked.
The black spearhead passed close enough to cut several strands of hair. He stepped inside the weapon’s reach and slashed at the Elite’s stomach.
The dagger scraped across iron armor; a shallow line appeared in the metal. The goblin snarled and twisted the spear shaft.
The wooden haft struck Damien across the jaw. Pain exploded through his skull; he staggered sideways.
The Elite thrust again. Damien tried to turn; he was too slow.
The spearhead punched through his side. For one terrible second, he felt nothing.
Then the pain arrived. Damien gasped; his legs nearly gave out.
The Elite Goblin bared its teeth and shoved the weapon deeper.
Warm blood soaked Damien’s shirt. The ordinary goblins screamed in triumph; the survivors behind him shouted his name.
Damien grabbed the spear shaft with one hand. His vision blurred at the edges.
Level Six, nine stat points spent. But still not enough.
The chief had only died because it had been careless. It had mocked Damien.
It had believed the tiny dagger was harmless.
It hadn’t known John had given Damien an Elite-class weapon capable of slicing through its cleaver.
The Elite Goblins now knew there would be no second surprise.
The spear-wielding goblin twisted the weapon inside him.
Damien screamed; despite the pain, he looked past it to see Imran.
The young man lay on his back, one hand pressed weakly against the deep wound across his chest.
His breathing was shallow. He was conscious, but barely, and useless in a fight.
Rahul was no better, and John hadn’t moved at all.
Three fighters, three allies. All alive, all incapable of helping.
Damien’s thoughts moved faster than his body.
The tutorial rules. ’Death was not permanent here.’
A player who died would revive after a short delay. But they would return with their body restored.
Their wounds would disappear, and their stamina would recover enough to move.
There was a way to bring them back into the fight. A terrible way, but a way nonetheless.
Damien tightened his grip around the spear.
Then, instead of trying to pull it free, he stepped forward.
The spear drove even deeper, and Damien grunted through the pain. He had never known he could force himself to do such a thing until today.
Perhaps protection from death was what made him brave.
The Elite Goblin blinked, surprised by the reckless movement.
Damien used the brief opening to slash across its wrist.
The dagger sliced through leather and flesh. The goblin released the spear with a shriek.
Damien stumbled backward, leaving the weapon embedded in his side.
He nearly fell. Instead, he turned and staggered toward Imran.
"Damien..." Imran whispered.
His eyes moved to the dagger, then to Damien’s expression.
Confusion became understanding. "What are you doing?"
Damien knelt beside him. "I’m sorry."
Imran’s breathing stopped for a moment. "You’re not... You can’t fight like this."
Damien glanced toward the goblins flooding deeper into the cave. "We need you healthy."
Imran swallowed.
Although his face was pale with pain, his mind remained clear.
Death in the Tutorial was temporary. He knew exactly what Damien intended.
"That is..." He managed a weak smile. "A terrible plan."
Imran looked toward Rahul, then toward John. Finally, he gave Damien a small nod. "Do it quickly."
Damien hesitated. Imran was his ally, his friend. Every part of Damien’s body resisted.
The spear wound in his side pulsed. A goblin screamed nearby, and another player suffered a brutal death.
There was no time. Damien drove the dagger into Imran’s heart, then waited for resurrection to bring him back.
Imran’s body jerked; his fingers gripped Damien’s arm for one final second.
Then they loosened, and his chest stopped moving.
A notification appeared.
➤[Player Imran Ali has died.]
➤[Tutorial Resurrection Activated.]
Damien pulled the dagger free; his hand shook violently.
Even knowing Imran would return, it still felt like murder. That was the price of the plan.
A few seconds passed. Imran’s body dissolved into light particles.
They hovered above the stone floor, twisting together.
Then light flashed. Imran reappeared in the same place, gasping as air rushed into his lungs.
The terrible wound across his chest was gone. His broken shoulder had been restored, and his eyes snapped open.
He immediately touched his chest and looked at Damien.
"That..." He breathed heavily. "That was extremely unpleasant."
Damien almost laughed from relief. "Can you stand?"
Imran pushed himself upright.
His legs trembled for only a moment before becoming steady. "Yes."
"Good," Damien said. "Help the others."
Imran stared at the blood covering Damien’s shirt. "You’re worse than I was."
"I know." Before Imran could argue, Damien dragged himself toward Rahul.
Rahul had seen everything; his expression was horrified. "No."
"Rahul..."
"No, no, no." He attempted to crawl away, but the slash across his chest made the movement pathetic.
Damien reached him.
Rahul raised one trembling hand. "Wait. At least give me a warning."
"This is the warning," Damien uttered.
Rahul shook his head and cried. "That is not enough warning."
Without further ado, Damien stabbed him.
Rahul released a strangled noise; his body went limp. A second notification appeared.
➤[Player Rahul Modi has died.]
➤[Tutorial Resurrection Activated.]
Imran buried his axe in the skull of an approaching goblin.
He glanced back at Rahul’s body. "That was colder than mine."
"He was wasting time."
A few seconds later, Rahul dissolved into light.
He revived with a violent gasp and immediately scrambled backward. "You could have counted to three!"
Blood appeared on Damien’s lips; he was tormented by his wound.
An ordinary goblin lunged at them. Rahul spun and thrust the spear through its throat.
The goblin collapsed. Rahul stared at it, then at the spear; his injuries were gone.
His strength had returned. He looked back toward Damien. "...Fine. Good plan."
"I know."
"I still hate it."
"That’s also fine." Damien chuckled, and soon the chuckle turned into heinous coughs.