Bloodhounds were rare monsters found deep within caves and grottos inside heavily forested regions. And although they shared many habits of their domesticated canine friends, these beasts were nearly impossible to train. However, the Gray-maned Bloodhounds were different from the rest since they weren’t captured from the wild, but bred by goblins in their lairs. This dangerous cross between a Gray Direwolf and a Common Bloodhound birthed loyal pets which specialized in keeping intruders at bay. Ezra knew one step in the wrong direction could spell disaster for him. With sweat streaming down his cheeks, Ezra continued staring at the sleeping Bloodhound. Even though he was more than twenty paces away, he could smell the canine’s foul breath as it exhaled in its sleep. Confronting the Bloodhound head-on seemed like a terrible idea, so Ezra backed away as slowly as he could, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on the canine. Suddenly, a pebble crunched under Ezra’s boot, and the Bl
[Eagle eye activated!] [Targets identified: Goblin Raiders.] [Type: Fast-moving melee units.] [Strengths: Extremely good at countering weaker melee units like foot soldiers and pikemen. Can see perfectly even in complete darkness.] [Vulnerabilities: Weak against ranged attackers and spellcasters. Countered easily by mounted units like Orc Wolf Riders and human knights and cavaliers.] [Threat level: low.] The Goblin Raiders were the fighters of the goblin colony and specialized in melee combat and tracking down escaped fugitives and prisoners. Not only were they physically bulkier than their weaker cousins, but more intelligent as well. Ezra knew handling three Goblin Raiders at once would pose a serious challenge and to minimize his chances of being overpowered by the enemy he called his Spirit Companion to even the odds. Pointing his left hand at the Raider standing in the middle, Ezra commanded his wolf to take it down. The white wolf growled and pounced on the Raider before
Goblins were not the brightest or strongest of creatures and preferred attacking defenseless villages and other unguarded non-human settlements. They usually relied upon their numbers to overwhelm their foes. However, they posed little threat to seasoned adventurers. Ezra too expected it to be an easy dungeon to clear. But all his calculations went right out the window with the appearance of a Goblin Champion. Unlike the low-level goblins like Pillagers and Raiders, the Goblin Champion did not rely on overpowering the enemy through superior numbers. And it wasn’t agile enough to launch surprise raids. However, the Goblin Champion was as strong as an adult ogre and could easily take on a whole adventuring party all by itself. Ezra realized he was in deep trouble, but there was no way out for him without defeating the Champion. If he tried to run away now, the goblins would kill the prisoners who were still waiting for him. As the Goblin Champions spotted Ezra, its lips curved into
Losing its shield made the Goblin Champion a lot more vulnerable to gunfire, but the leather armor strapped to its chest still offered considerable protection against small arms fire. Ezra’s magic bullets had already proved to be ineffective against the brute, but the enchanted ammunition kept his hopes alive. However, the problem with Disintegration Bullets was that they were designed to shatter hard surfaces like shells, metal plates, and carapaces. This made the Disintegration Bullets the perfect option for destroying bucklers and kite shields, but the Goblin Champion’s leather armor was elastic enough to absorb the shock from the blunt-faced projectiles. Ezra knew this too, but he had already thought of a perilous alternative. The Goblin Champion glared at Ezra, its beady yellow eyes almost bulging out of its thick skull as it gnashed its teeth. It knew the other goblins were watching from afar, and this sudden counterattack from its human opponent had brought it tremendous
Ezra ignored Marlin’s words and walked into the holding chamber. Offering his hand to the little girl trembling in fear, he asked, “Do you trust me?” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked into Ezra’s eyes. The goblins had killed her parents, and she had no family left in the village. She was afraid of setting a single foot outside this holding chamber for fear of being thrashed by the goblins again. But Ezra’s heroic act of killing the Goblin Raiders and freeing them had won her trust. The girl slowly reached out with her trembling fingers, and Ezra grabbed her hand tenderly. “The rest of you follow my lead. We need to find an exit, so keep your eyes open!” Ezra ordered. The women and children followed Ezra as he hurried down the path, pulling the little girl behind him. Large rocks and black dust rained down all around them as the cave’s ceiling shook feverishly. The cracks spread all across the cave formation just like a spider’s web. Another portion of the ceiling colla
When the little girl had offered the ring as a gift, Ezra only thought of it as some ornamental trinket looted by the goblins during one of their raids. But his system recognized the rare relic in an instant. Ezra smiled at the little girl and thanked her heartily for this invaluable gift. It was a much rarer item than the soul gem he had been looking for. As Ezra carefully observed the ring under the dying rays of the evening sun, he noticed a snake’s forked tongue was intricately carved on its underside. Ramel turned even more jealous at this sight. He had only obtained a handful of gold Sovereigns from the goblin dungeon he had raided. There were no rare relics or fabled artifacts inside any of the chests he had plundered. “Congratulations, brother. You not only cleared the dungeon but also managed to get your hands on a rare relic,” Ramel spoke pretentiously, his lips barely moving as each word was interjected with short pauses. “Yeah, that is truly a great find,” Robin agreed
What followed next was a whole minute of tense silence as Ezra tried to think of an easy way to deal with this situation. Aurelia had already shut the door, and it did not seem like she was going to let him walk away without an answer. After a while, Ezra finally let his stiff shoulders relax. He looked down and shook his head. “I should not have lied to you. But I didn’t want father to find out.” “Find what out?” Aurelia asked, her voice laced with anxious curiosity. Ezra reached into his inventory and pulled out his enchanted six-shot revolver. Presenting it to Aurelia, he explained, “I crafted this gun at the workbench. It’s an enchanted firearm.” Aurelia could not believe what she was hearing. Although she had never doubted her brother’s magic proficiency, she never expected him to be so good at crafting enchanted firearms. To verify Ezra’s claim, Aurelia grabbed the revolver and checked its grip. She immediately noticed the glowing letters engraved on its notched surface. “
Ezra looked at Aurelia with pleading eyes and whispered, “Please, you can’t tell father. If he finds out, the whole house will know my secret. I can’t let that happen. I don’t want to be treated as a freak again.” Aurelia could understand her brother’s fear, but her concern about his safety proved to outweigh what was at stake for him. “I’m sorry, little brother. But this is for your own good. I trust you, but I don’t trust that parasite on your hand,” Aurelia replied. She was about to call out to their father when Marlin spoke up. “At least allow me a chance to explain. You must hear me out if you truly care for your brother,” he blurted out in desperation. Aurelia could hear Lord Sebastian’s footsteps on the wooden staircase above, but she changed her mind at the last moment and turned around. “What exactly are you? And why have you attached yourself to my brother? What do you want from him?” As Ezra raised his hand, Marlin’s curse eye dilated, and its pupil turned blood red. H