Chapter 51 | Level 20 Goblin Commander [2]
A level 11 awakener versus a level 20 rare-rank monster was literally impossible, a fight that would end in certain death.
In fact, anyone would call Alicar a prodigy for defeating the Small Goblin and Goblin Warrior, even though they were common-rank, a feat beyond most new awakeners.
Still, that didn’t mean he would give up, and so, using every ounce of power he had, Alicar swung his Demon Fist at the Goblin Commander with all his might.
Vorgath’s image appeared in its full glory, mimicking Alicar’s movement as the demon general swung as well.
But...
Clang!
As the Demon Fist hit, all the Goblin Commander did was lift its sword to completely deflect it with contemptuous ease.
It didn’t even budge from its position, its stance firm and unyielding.
"Damn," Alicar muttered as goblin slammed into him with the full strength of its body, the impact sending shockwaves through his frame.
Once more, Alicar bled, and his vision went hazy, only surviving thanks to Platinum Body’s incredible resilience.
And as he lifted his gaze once more, the Goblin Commander was slowly marching toward him, its form relaxed as it didn’t even consider him a threat anymore, its arrogance palpable.
At the same time, mana and elemental energy was beginning to charge around Alicar’s staff, as he was aiming to unleash everything he had in a final desperate attack.
The Goblin Commander slowly approached, its steps heavy and deliberate, and Alicar’s elemental attack was also starting to let out bursts of mana, ready to be released.
And when it seemed that the two were about to clash in a decisive moment...
BOOM!
A sudden explosion erupted as the Goblin Commander’s arm exploded, dropping its sword to the ground.
"...?" Alicar blinked, confusion washing over him.
The Goblin Commander roared loudly as it turned around, staring at the figure who attacked it.
"It seems I came too late?" a voice erupted from afar, its tone carrying a hint of regret. "Goddamn goblins, we really need to take care of them. I had to help another base and now mine looks like this..."
The base lord had seemingly arrived just in time, only a few more seconds and Alicar truly didn’t know what the outcome would have been.
[Name: Elliot Voss]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 21]
[Vessel Potential: Good.]
Elliot, the lord of this base and wielder of the [Explosive Master] class, was an extremely strong and respected awakener in these parts of the First Layer, his reputation preceding him wherever he went.
The Goblin Commander managed to escape from the base using one of the broken walls.
It had to dodge several other explosions on the way, but the Goblin Commander was extremely tanky.
In a direction battle, Elliot would likely struggle a lot.
But before leaving, it opened its mouth once more, the message much different this time:
"You will regret this, humans."
Elliot launched another explosive at the Goblin Commander, who simply ran as it knew it was outmatched now that its arm was gone.
"Here."
Elliot helped Alicar stand up after the destruction of his base, pulling him to his feet with a firm grip, then stared at the Goblin Commander’s retreating form with a cold expression that spoke of barely contained rage.
"Does this happen often?" Alicar asked, cautious from the encounter, "I just appeared here so... this was quite the shock to witness so soon."
Hearing that, Elliot’s expression widened a little, a flicker of surprise crossing his weathered features.
And as he assessed the man before him, he realized he was saying the truth about being new.
"Level 11 only? What the hell are you doing here?" Elliot shook his head, a mixture of frustration and concern in his voice, "Well, at least you stayed to fight unlike some of my subordinates, pathetic cowards who ran at the first sign of danger."
Elliot went on to explain that recently, many of the bases that had been set by the association were being attacked by the same goblins, a coordinated assault that seemed to be escalating with each passing day.
And without fail, there was always one goblin capable of speech talking about the "Goblin King", a name that struck fear into the hearts of even the most experienced awakeners.
"A terrifying entity I presume since even the Awakener Association isn’t doing anything about it," Alicar observed, his mind racing with implications.
’Just... like the Sun Beast,’ Alicar’s expression darkened, the memory of that encounter still fresh in his mind, ’They can send as many Tier-1 awakeners as they want, but finding the Goblin King and having the strength to take him on is simply impossible with their current resources.’
Elliot walked around the base to assess the damage, his expression growing more somber after each minute he looked around, taking in the destruction with a heavy heart.
"We’ll need to inform the Awakener Association about all this to start building once more, and transport the corpses," he sighed, running a hand through his hair, "This is bad, really bad."
And then Elliot walked toward one of the few gates that still worked and disappeared, returning to the real world to send the information and request reinforcements.
All Alicar could do at that moment was watch, staring at his own fingers as he processed everything that had just happened.
’Too weak,’ he thought to himself, a familiar frustration bubbling up, ’But this time, I couldn’t really have done anything about it, the gap was just too large.’
The Goblin Commander was simply an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, one that he couldn’t defeat no matter what he tried or how hard he pushed himself.
But... what if instead of immediately completing his advancement task, Alicar had instead continued grinding for Evolution Points to max out all his skills before moving on?
It would have definitely stalled his advancement by many months, delaying his progress significantly, but perhaps it would have made him strong enough to take on this thing with a fighting chance.
’No, I can’t think like that,’ Alicar shook his head, forcing the doubts aside, ’I need to focus on what comes next and not dwell on the past.’
And what came next was finding Iris and Leon, his companions who had entered the First Layer, who were somewhere out there.
’Hopefully not fighting something as bad, though I believe in their strength.’