For a few moments, I just sit there and imagine what will happen when I clear the rest of the goblins. If I get this much of a jump from killing just three of them, then a whole camp…

  The idea sends a shiver down my spine and straight into my tail, turning it into an excited, twitchy mass of fur. The idea is stupid. And dangerous.

  But a big part of me needs this.

  Plus, as insane as it may be, it’ll be worth it for the quest rewards alone. It’s not even a choice, really.

  Nodding, I give myself a once over and scowl. I’m an absolute mess. Blood and grime cover nearly every inch of my body, and I’m all but as naked as the day I was born, courtesy of the fires. Even one of my boots has been reduced to a heap of burnt leather on the forest floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I spy the Mage’s corpse down below covered in a primitive robe.

  Honestly, it’s more of a cloth sack with holes in it for his head and arms, but it’s better than what I’ve got. So, after making sure there aren’t any oncoming goblins yet, I clamber down the tree to gather anything that might be useful.

  The robes are stained with blood near the top and smell strongly of sweat, but I don’t care. I strip off the scraps of my old clothes, as well as my lone remaining boot, and put it on. It only reaches halfway down my thighs, and I scowl at the offensive robe.

  Still, it’s enough for now. I just had to make sure it stayed that way.

  He also had a small pouch of coins, with a silver and some coppers inside. I use the belt I looted from him to strap on the pouch and move on to the others.

  The weapons wouldn’t serve me at all, given how heavily my skills lean on unarmed combat. But I strap on my old dagger and the fighter's battered short-sword regardless, just in case. The fighter also had a few more coppers that I added to my meager collection.

  Satisfied I’d gathered all I could, I start making my way towards the goblin camp once more. This time I move slowly, keeping my eyes and ears peeled and inspecting everything around me. When I finally get close enough, I hear the goblins bickering at each other, clear agitation in several of their voices.

  I sidle up to a tree and peer around it into their camp. It rests in a small clearing, with four medium sized tents surrounding a significantly larger one. Each are made of scraps of tanned leather and held together by sticks in a way that makes me concerned for their stability.

  Goblin ingenuity at its finest.

  Standing just outside the large tent is a gathering of at least a dozen goblins standing in a wide semicircle. Two other goblins hold their attention, and one of them looks an awful lot like my runaway Ranger. The other is nearly twice his size, and is obviously the leader of the bunch, based on how she's roaring at the Ranger.

  She’s clearly a female, as her clothes are more than revealing enough to make at least that much obvious. A simple strap of leather acts as a top to cover her chest, and just a loin cloth for her lower half, all exposing a swathe of shockingly impressive muscles.

  What worries me is the huge black axes on her back. The heads and handles stick far out enough that I’m certain they get caught on just about everything as she moves about, but it also means that she likely has the Strength to wield them effectively.

  Hobgoblin Fighter

  Level 13

  Goblin Ranger

  Level 4

  As I thought, that’s the one who got away. I’m a little nervous about the leader being a hobgoblin, given they tend to be significantly smarter than their lesser counterparts. But I think with Enhance Body active I should have stats that are at least close to hers.

  It'll be tough with all the others though.

  My thoughts are interrupted by her shouting at the Ranger as she holds him up by his ear. He tip toes and whines before she abruptly throws him to the ground. She waves off the rest of the goblins before stomping back to the largest tent.

  I almost feel bad for the little Ranger, but he did shoot me. Possibly twice. So… fair game. The rest of the goblins spread out in groups of two or three after that, most of them still within sight of the others, seemingly more alert than when I first stumbled into their camp.

  I get back to planning. I should be able to handle the regular goblins without much trouble now, especially with my increase in Dexterity from the last fight. That time, it was only 30 with Enhance Body active—now it’s 50. Not quite double, but damned close.

  The real problem will be the hobgoblin. I know all sentient beings are granted access to the System, or are supposed to be, and that unfortunately includes goblins. She probably even has both Class slots filled, so she’ll have her Combat Class and the extra four passive skills that a Profession Class will give.

  I just have to hope I can out-pace her. If she’s as focused on Strength as she looks, then I should be able to… and if I can, my hairbrained scheme will work. Hopefully.

  Unfortunately for me, none of them leave the immediate area, only going a few dozen paces into the forested areas at most. It’ll make things slightly harder, but not by much.

  I analyze all the ones I can see, and the only one that stands out is another mage.

  Goblin Mage

  Level 6

  She’s a lower level than the previous Mage, but I won’t be giving her any chances to catch me off guard like her predecessor did. Luckily, she and a Warrior are approaching my location in their new patrol.

  The rest of the goblins throughout the camp are about the same as the last group I fought, with the strongest being a Rogue at level 8. I take a moment to psych myself up, and when the Mage and Warrior finally get close enough, I pounce.

  I activate my skills once more, maxing out Enhance Body and dumping the rest into Arcane Regulation, instantly dropping my mana regen to zero. The goblins’ eyes go wide when I suddenly sprint out from behind my tree, charging directly at them.

  As I’d hoped, I reach the Mage in just over a second, much too fast for her to react to. My fist slams into her throat, crushing everything in its path and causing enough damage that I’m certain she will never be able to breathe again.

  Then I yelp as I promptly fly right past her in an uncontrolled tumble, straight into a rather abrupt kissing session with a tree not far behind. A particularly nasty crunch comes from my nose at the impact, and I whimper from the sudden burst of pain.

  The impact leaves me stunned, so I almost don’t notice when the Fighter starts shouting bloody murder and attacks.

  Note to self, get used to new stats before entering life and death battles… ugh…

  The Fighter charges me, barely giving me a moment to reorient myself while the Mage collapses to the ground, clutching their throat and thrashing about. With my new speed, I manage to narrowly avoid the worst of the attack, though a shallow cut carves its way onto my arm.

  I react on instinct, sending a retaliatory kick right into his chest imbued with Arcane Strike. Still fully enhanced, the kick sends the goblin stumbling several steps back with a shocked expression. He clearly wasn’t expecting that much force from a level 3. By the time he regains his balance, the two goblin Rangers have closed the distance enough to start firing on me.

  I dive to the side and manage to avoid the two arrows that thump into the ground. Unfortunately, my new capabilities are still more than I expect, and I jump a bit too far. I can tell I’m adapting quickly though, and it’ll only be a matter of seconds with this much pressure before I’m used to it.

  Until then, I just have to survive. And kill the Fighter, preferably.

  With that, I roll from my desperate leap back onto my feet with a slight stumble before running around the trees, being as careful as possible to not overdo it. I move quickly, and get back to the Fighter by diving through two trees to his side. I make it to him nearly as fast as I did when engaging the Mage, except this time I’m expecting the speed and using it to my advantage.

  He clearly wasn’t expecting me to be so quick, as he barely manages to face me when an arcane powered fist slams into his skull with all the momentum of my approach behind it. To my surprise—and disgust—his head caves in, killing him instantly. The resulting explosion of gore makes a mess of the ground in front of me.

  That was significantly more effective than I’d hoped.

  The sudden and explosive death of the Fighter surprises the approaching goblins, but I’m not willing to wait for them to gather their wits again. Still speeding past the falling Fighter, I use the rest of my momentum to close in on the shocked Rangers.

  The first goes down to a spinning kick right into the side of his head, whipping it to the side with a loud snap. He falls limp immediately, collapsing to the ground where I stomp down, just to be sure. There is a satisfying crunch that can be heard echoing from the trees, then I'm looking at my next target.

  The other Ranger starts to scramble away the moment my gaze meets his, but it’s too late. He was too close to his buddy. I sweep his legs with a low kick and he drops like a sack of screaming potatoes, and follow it with an ax kick straight to the back of his head that elicits an explosion of bone and gray goo.

  Four down…

  The camp swarms with activity. I even see the large female goblin swipe her tent flap aside and poke her head out, looking around curiously. Her eyes lock with mine, and a smile finds its way unbidden to my face. The challenge, the danger, the adrenaline… it gets to me, and I realize that I’m excited.

  Then I feel an explosion of power, my body all but vibrating with the energy now coursing through my veins. With the inherent knowledge of my abilities that the System grants, I know what this is.

  I check my stats and grin even wider.

  Status:

  Strength - 19 (52)

  Constitution - 17 (49)

  Dexterity - 36 (100)

  Intelligence - 23 (47)

  Wisdom - 73 (147)

  Charisma - 19 (39)

  Fae Ferocity is active, and with it comes a single minded urge.

  Play.

  She doesn’t return my smile, instead starting to shout orders as she exits the tent, pointing directly at me. At her direction, it takes only a second before an arrow lands right next to my foot, getting me back into motion. I start sprinting towards the camp, using the trees as coverage from any of the Rangers trying to get shots of opportunity off.

  On my way around the trunk of a particularly large tree, I make my first massive mistake. I'd largely been ignoring my surroundings, too caught up in the fight. The ground gives beneath my right foot, letting out a metallic click.

  Before I can react, a loud snap resounds as my leg is clamped down in what only a goblin could pass off as a bear trap, instantly breaking my ankle. Several jagged fragments of wood and metal stab into my leg where the trap holds me, and I collapse with a scream of agony.

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  I'm not an idiot, though. I scramble to remove my foot from the awful trap immediately, even digging my claws through my own flesh to get a better grip on it. My health regen is trying to heal through the damage, but the trap is preventing my foot from righting itself.

  As I work, an arrow slams into the top of my forearm, going between the bones and clean out the other side. Another hits me in the side of my stomach, burrowing only half as deep as it probably should have due to my now insanely boosted Constitution. I ignore the stabs of pain, focusing entirely on freeing myself.

  With a glance at my health, I find that it’s below 30%, and not rising. Thankfully, after just a few seconds I manage to pry the trap open, freeing my leg and rolling away just as another arrow slams into the space I occupied.

  Once again, I frantically crawl behind the nearest tree for cover, trying and failing miserably to not agitate my wounds. Once there, I immediately yank out the arrows, not even bothering to muffle my screams since the goblins obviously know where I am.

  Pain Tolerance is putting in some serious work though, and thank the Gods, the System, and anyone or anything else that played a part in this Skill's existence. I've lived a life filled with constant pain, so I knew very well how to manage or ignore it.

  But for that same reason, I am beyond grateful for the skill.

  My boosted regeneration starts making quick work of my injuries once all the obstructions are gone, but I can’t afford to sit still. Fae Ferocity urges me on, demanding I play with the little goblins.

  I don’t resist it. Even though I hadn’t considered the Skill a part of my plans, it fits nicely into them. The moment my ankle rights itself, I’m on the move again. The itchiness from it healing is almost as unbearable as the pain from breaking it, but I push on.

  Just as I stand back up, two goblins interrupt my recovery, rounding the tree I hid behind, one on each side. I bark out a laugh, my grin back in place. If I can’t pick them off by going to them, them coming to me works just as well. With my current stats, I’m certain I can beat them all in time.

  If I’m careful.

  Goblin Fighter

  Level 7

  Goblin Rogue

  Level 8

  Going for the Rogue first, figuring that he’d be the trickiest to deal with while engaging anyone else, I watch his face contort with confusion. He clearly didn’t expect my speed, or maybe he wasn’t expecting me to get back up from the injuries I’d sustained. Either way, I catch him completely off guard with my aggression.

  A combination of Arcane Strike infused kicks and punches are sent into the trap-making asshole, eliciting a cacophony of snaps and crunches. The satisfaction I get from his bones breaking beneath my strikes would concern me at any other time—but right now it’s pure catharsis. Still, he manages to get one half-decent stab in, his dagger digging half a fingers length into my core.

  Thanks to my Constitution, it doesn’t go deep enough to concern me, and he crumples in mere seconds from the wounds I’m inflicting. By the time the Fighter is taking his first swing at me, I’m already whirling on him. He’s much slower than the Rogue, and I dodge with a quick side-step before turning him into the Rogues twin.

  He crumples nearly as fast, taking just a bit more punishment than the Rogue, his Classes no doubt offering better defenses. When he falls, I move. I round the tree, this time paying nearly as much attention to my footing as I do the goblins closing in on me.

  Three arrows fly at me, and I can just barely track them as they whistle through the air. With my speed, I actually manage to dodge two, but the third comes in at a strange angle and hits me in the thigh.

  I start to laugh as I rip it out, letting my Arcane Regulation get to work on it, and my gaze falls onto the hobgoblin once more. She is standing just outside her tent, axes out and at the ready, glaring at me with hatred in her eyes.

  Still, I cackle, my adrenaline filled yips of joy acting only to infuriate her further.

  Trick.

  I sprint towards the goblins once more, avoiding the traps, and aim for the closest Ranger. The chieftain moves as well, charging in a straight line for me. I make it to the first Ranger before she gets halfway to me, slamming into his chest with a flying drop kick that brings us both crashing to the ground. My foot caves in his chest and crushes bones and organs, stopping only once we slam into the dirt.

  A stray thought comes to mind, of when Agora just appeared from nowhere to save me from the living statue, her speed so great that the air itself broke from her passage. It makes me want to push myself even more, so I can do the same one day.

  When I find my feet again, two more Fighters are already approaching me, swords at the ready. The first reaches me and takes a wild swing, and I dodge easily and spin into a kick, connecting with his head faster than he can react.

  It kills him instantly, his skull shattering beneath the combined force and mana. Their lack of helmets and the insane power of Arcane Strike combine into a truly devastating attack. Using the momentum of my kick, I manage to spin to face the other approaching Fighter before leaping into the air.

  The sudden jump helps me just barely dodge his blade, along with a stray arrow I hadn’t noticed in the first place. Both pass through the air below me, the arrow disappearing into the trees. The fighter, surprised at my evasion, is unprepared when my heel descends onto his unprotected head.

  He crumples to the ground like his fellows—broken and very, very dead.

  Then, just as the Hobgoblin enters the tree line, I’m on the move again, dashing through the trees parallel with their camp, before cutting straight into it. She roars with rage as I leave her behind, and I can’t help but laugh.

  As quick as I can, I make my way into their clearing, as it’s the least likely place for there to be any traps and I can still hide around the tents themselves to avoid any Rangers getting clean shots. Once I reach them, I start searching for the other Rangers while deftly avoiding the raging hobgoblin.

  I catch one when he peeks around the back of a tent, eyes glinting as he searches for an opening to fire at me. Before he can duck back, I’m there, a Arcane Strike enhanced punch slamming into the side of his head. The crunch sends a shiver up my arm, and he collapses, eyes vacant.

  The Hobgoblin bellows more commands with fury as I flee the scene, and I restart the chase. Countless goblins come out of their tents to join the fight, some equipped for battle, and others looking unprepared and confused.

  All of the ones already aware of my attack that were initially excited to see me are now starting to show signs of fear. I take full advantage of their hesitation, my gleeful yips and chirps ringing out as I purposefully land even more brutal strikes.

  My Charisma is surprisingly actively playing a part in the fight, making my smile and glare into something more terrifying, and my laughter more sinister. I lean into it, exacerbating my brutality, hoping to spread even more terror and break their resolve. My claws rip through the throat of one and eviscerate another, their blood splattering my already filthy robe and the tents around us.

  My fists and feet cave in chests, shatter skulls and break bones, each crunch and squelch vibrating through me, each look of panic and shock disregarded in favor of the thrum of battle. With my Strength and skills empowered by my Intelligence and mana, even the Fighters' wooden bucklers shatter under my attacks.

  There is no more fight in their eyes, only fear and desperation as I grow more and more used to my increased stats and near effortlessly weave through the camp while avoiding their increasingly furious leader. My injuries mend, and new ones grow less frequent as I acclimate to the battle.

  Eight down. Twelve. Fifteen. Twenty.

  I give up on counting after a bit, instead letting the battle consume me. The camp is significantly more populated than I initially thought, with far more goblins tucked away than I could have ever anticipated. Still, I make quick work of them, my body moving on instinct and guided by my skills as I cleave through their ranks.

  Many try to run, but Fae Ferocity prevents it, pushing me to run them down like prey. With it and enhance body boosting my Dexterity to a whopping 100, none escape. Instead, my barking laughter hounds them as I delight in the chase every time.

  Once all the goblins I can see are reduced to bloody corpses, I’m returned to my senses and find myself gasping for breath. The gore around me is… a lot. But I don’t have the time to worry about that, as a booming roar of fury comes from my right.

  She comes into sight from around her own massive tent, and I grin—then immediately lean back, practically bending in half to dodge a thrown ax that carves through the air at a truly ridiculous speed, even considering my enhanced Dexterity and Intelligence. The whistle as it flies by tells me that it would have been really, really bad if it connected.

  But she’s now alone. My plan had a few hiccups, sure, but it worked.

  Before I get fully upright once again, though, the leader is on me, swinging down with a powerful one handed chop. I barely rotate enough to avoid it, my left hand propping me just off the ground. Her ax cleaves the air inches from my torso before slamming into the dirt, and when she reaches towards me with her empty hand, I manage to jump back, doing a sort of somersault off of my left hand.

  The movement was one of pure desperation and instinct, but thanks to it, I successfully reorient myself for the fight. Another swing comes towards me from the side, and I notice her holding her other palm out in my direction, as if still reaching for me.

  For a moment, I wonder if she’s charging up some magical attack like the Mages from before, but decide to focus on the opening it provides. I duck under her swing and close the distance, sending an uppercut into her exposed stomach.

  She doesn’t so much as stagger, though it does elicit a grunt of pain. I quickly follow it up with another punch into her side before I’m forced away, only narrowly avoiding the ax screaming towards my skull.

  That’s when her other ax slams into my back, cutting deeply into my right shoulder and pushing me forwards, back into her swing. The combination almost completely opens my core from shoulder to hip, and the explosion of agony sobers me instantly, my grin wiped clean from my face and the laughter dying in my throat.

  If I were any closer, she might have cut me clean in half.

  Taking advantage of my speed, I back step as quickly as possible, desperately trying to create distance. The ax in my back resists my movements, however, somehow acting like a hand pushing me towards her. It’s a weak push, but enough to slow me slightly. At the same time I discover that my right arm is completely disabled by the ax in my back.

  My boosted Intelligence kicks my mind into overdrive as I try to figure out what just happened. Looking at the leader, I see her grinning madly now, eyes twinkling with joy as she has her hand still held out towards me.

  Then it clicks.

  The axes are enchanted, and she just tricked me. The knowledge clears my head, and I feel it this time. Fae Ferocity shifts its focus, and with it goes all of my joy and pleasure. Now, they are replaced with a calm, calculated wrath.

  Punish.