The elite goblin warrior lifted its greatsword and then clasped the handle with both hands, before plunging it into the dirt in front of it. Ronan winced, knowing how badly that had to have blunted the blade's tip. Then, it raised one hand above its head, and grunted something in the guttural language of the goblins.

Three goblins stepped out from the line, and locked eyes with Ronan. He was a little confused, but he was beginning to understand what was going on here.

The entire horde wasn't going to charge him at once. In a way, he felt as though this might potentially be even easier than the stage 3 of the normal difficulty—he couldn't see a single shaman in their line-up.

The three goblins which had stepped forwards began to walk down the hill towards him. Then, as they went, they gathered speed until they were charging at Ronan full-tilt.

While they were charging down the hill, he read their levels and took note of their weaponry.

[Goblin Warrior Lv.14]

[Goblin Warrior Lv.15]

[Goblin Rogue Lv.14]

One warrior had a spear, the other wielded a longsword. Long for a goblin, at least—it would have been a regular sword in Ronan's hands. The rogue had a single curved dagger, which it threw between its hands as it ran, displaying a decent level of dexterity.

Ronan settled himself into a comfortable combat stance. He hadn't used a staff for quite a few iterations, but the basic premise was simple—swing it around and hit stuff. He lowered his centre of gravity, and held the staff at one-quarter and three-quarter lengths along the shaft, with one tip raised at forty-five degrees.

The rogue was faster than the warriors, but it split off to one side. The spear warrior rushed at Ronan from the front, lowering its weapon so that the tip would pierce his gut as they collided. The sword warrior was just a half-step behind, ready to step in and take advantage of the moment he was defending himself.

The goblins may not be much higher level than those from the previous stage, but the difference was clear from the get-go. They were smarter than the rabble he'd fought and killed in previous tutorials, but that didn't mean much to Ronan. He would feel embarrassed to lose here, but ultimately he would die and try again as many times as was required in order to reach his destination.

The spear goblin drew close, stepped in, ducked low, and thrust its weapon upwards. At the same time, he saw the sword-wielding goblin rush along its side and start swinging the blade towards his neck. The rogue had escaped his field of view.

Ronan smiled. He took a tiny step forward. He swept the staff to his left. It caught the shaft of the spear just below the tip.

He continued his swing until the spear crashed into the approaching sword. The force of the collision buried the sword into the wooden shaft, almost shearing straight through. As soon as his staff made impact, and stopped, Ronan threw himself to the right using the momentum of the strike.

The rogue thrust its dagger into the empty air that Ronan had occupied a moment earlier. It was light on its feet, barely faltering at the failed attack. Two seconds were all it took to kick the sword from the spear, pivot, and charge at Ronan a second time.

Unfortunately for the rogue, it was a lot harder to face Ronan from the front. It was slippery, ducking and weaving around his first few staff-strikes. Most of them were feints, intended to feel out its speed and striking range.

When he saw it shift its footing and begin to lunge, he struck like lightning. The metal cap of the staff whipped through the air and smashed into the goblin's temple. There was a sickening crunch, the shattering of its skull, which preceded it dropping to the ground.

The rogue's body started convulsing, but it wasn't yet dead. Ronan stepped in to end it, but found his staff deflected by another. Confused, he looked up, thinking a fourth goblin had intervened in the fight. It turned out to be the spear goblin, who had sheared the tip off completely and shifted its combat style to one utilising a staff.

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The pair began to trade blows, but Ronan was wary of the sword-wielding goblin encircling them. It was waiting for an opportunity to strike when he was vulnerable. Unfortunately for both goblins, Ronan felt a tingling sensation from one of his skills. At that moment he had a fortuitous realisation, and moved to thrust his staff at the spear-warrior's chest.

The goblin raised its spear-shaft to block the strike. The metal cap of Ronan's staff smashed into it. The shaft exploded in a shower of splinters. The metal kept moving, cracking open the goblin's chest and bursting out of its back in a spray of bone shards and blood.

You have killed [Goblin Warrior Lv.14]!

Enemy killed with a critical hit, 1.5x Experience gained!

+74 Copper Credits

+5 [Staff I] Mastery

+2 [Perception] Mastery

+1 [Momentum] Mastery

+Goblin Toes (Common)

You have leveled up to Lv.13!

You have been restored!

+1 Vitality

+5 Endurance

+2 Resistance

+4 Strength

+4 Tenacity

+2 Free Stat Points

Ronan dismissed the notification, just in time to catch the second warrior's sword flash in the corner of his eye. He leapt backwards, bringing the staff up to guard his chest.

The warrior whipped the blade to the side and then lunged in. The first strike was a feint, and Ronan had fallen right into the trap. The steel sliced down his thigh, and his leg felt as though it had been lit aflame.

As he backpedalled, escaping the warrior's range, he noticed his momentum bar beginning to fall. He hadn't paid much attention to his new resource, but he would be a fool to ignore it, knowing what happened when he reached zero.

Once he was out of striking distance, he solidified his stance, and raised the staff once more. The warrior didn't lunge in recklessly, unlike the other two goblins. It began to circle Ronan once again.

He heard whimpering from behind him. Turning, he spotted the goblin rogue mumbling to itself, while bleeding from the wound on its head. He was shocked it hadn't died yet.

He raised the staff and brought it down on the monster's head a second time, instantly killing it. He ignored the notification, but even that moment of distraction gave the warrior time to strike.

This time, however, Ronan had been ready for it. The goblin warrior darted in, sword held in front of its chest as it delivered a light swing to test him. Ronan was cautious, but so was this sneaky green bastard.

Ronan deflected the sword strikes with ease, but neither of them were committing to the battle. The warrior seemed content to play the long game. Then, a bellowing roar cut through the clash of steel and wood.

The goblin jumped back, threw a fearful glance at the elite warrior who'd made his displeasure known, and then snarled at Ronan. With the snarl, it rushed in, sword raised overhead. Two steps away, it swung.

The sudden shift in combat style took Ronan momentarily off-guard. He failed to parry the first overhead strike, and it slipped down his staff, cutting into his forearm.

There was barely a beat between the first and second strikes. The warrior let the sword fall down and back, before lashing out with a low kick.

It cracked against Ronan's shin, and he winced at the heavy blow. The goblins were heavier than they looked. It began to swing its sword again, but despite the damage, he wasn't fazed.

As the second swing cut through the air towards him, Ronan took a deep breath and activated vital surge. He'd been holding back on his skills subconsciously, not believing that these mere goblins were worth using his full strength on. Clearly he'd been too arrogant.

The metal cap of his staff rang out as it collided with the flat of the blade, knocking the slash off-target. That was one.

With the goblin off-kilter from its failed slash, its chest was left exposed. Ronan stepped inside its guard and struck out. He activated magic strike, and double strike, as the staff struck skin.

The goblin was knocked back by the first blow, and convulsed at the wave of magic. The second caved in its chest, and the magic made it drop to the ground. A sweep of his staff crashed against its skull, and laid the monster at his feet. With a grunt of effort, Ronan spun the other end of the staff around and then pushed downwards, exploding its head.

He saw the kill notification melding into the previous, but before he could read them, he heard the elite goblin warrior roaring once more. Turning his attention to the top of the hill, Ronan saw five more goblins stepping out from the horde.

Two held bows, and stuck close to the ridge, while the other three had clubs and swords, and wore sneers on their faces as they began to descend towards him. He sighed, pulled his staff out of the gory mess on the ground, and flicked the worst of it off the cap. The difficulty may have changed, but the tedium of the tutorial remained the same.

He raised his staff, and settled into a comfortable stance once more. Whether he had to face three, five, or ten waves before this stage was over, Ronan was more than ready.

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