“Help me out, then,” Justin said, adjusting his monocle to assess the approaching threat.
Ashralok hovered nearby. “Well, goblins tend to flee at the first sign of trouble. Though it doesn’t look like that’s going to be your fate.”
She made no move to intervene, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
As the horde approached, Justin’s monocle flashed with information. These goblins ranged from Level 10 to Level 15, their violet skin glistening in the eerie light of the Nether Realm. The hobgoblins, however, about five of them, were much more concerning. They were muscular brutes standing at least seven feet tall, ranging from Level 20 to Level 25. The biggest one, right in the middle of the crowd, was logged as a Level 30 Hobgoblin Berserker.
None seemed to be above "elite" in rank, including the Level 30. A small consolation.
There were at least a hundred of them in all. Justin was somewhat reminded of the old philosophical question of whether an enraged gorilla could kill a hundred people.
Well, it was time to channel his inner gorilla.
[Affinity chosen: Nyriss’s Frenzy (Chaos): Your words naturally sow passion and discord, amplifying your ability to instill Berserk and Charm effects.]
Justin felt a chaotic energy overtake him, crackling through his veins like liquid lightning. His fear was instantly diminished, replaced by frantic aggression. His mind danced with the possibilities of the insults he could lob at them.
He would need every insult he could get.
He activated Dandy’s Swagger, drawing himself up tall, cane twirling. He channeled all his Charisma into cutting an intimidating figure: shoulders back, chin raised, with all the pomp that the Socialite class and his Charisma could afford.
The first few goblins actually stumbled in their charge, confused as to why this impeccably dressed human wasn’t running. His new Cock of the Walk enchantment was already doing significant work, giving enemies pause as a subtle aura of dominance radiated from him.
It was an advantage he desperately needed. No backing out now.
The Level 30 hobgoblin, with tusks protruding from its lower jaw and war paint smeared across its purple face, shrieked above the horde, urging its fellows to charge. A few sizzling fireballs were lobbed directly at Justin, while the frontrunners half-heartedly approached, still uncertain about this unusual prey.
Justin charged, activating Sapphire Aegis just as the first wave of fireballs hit. The magical shield absorbed the flames completely, surrounding him in a shimmering blue barrier, under which Atlas also sheltered. He danced among the goblins with surprising agility, his cane a blur as he felled the lower-level ones in quick succession, never minding the occasional hit that just empowered his aegis.
He had to get to the big guy in the middle. If he went down, the rest would lose confidence.
The hobgoblin watched in dismay, its shrieks becoming more pronounced with each goblin that fell. With every arrow, strike, and spell that hit the aegis, it flashed brighter, absorbing the energy.
Atlas charged, bowling over a line of goblins even as more fireballs slammed into the shield, clearing a path. Within a few feet of the hobgoblin, the Sapphire Aegis at last ended, its energy extending along the length of his cane. Crystalline blue power crackled like electricity.
But he wouldn’t be attacking the hobgoblin directly. He instead unleashed Drake’s Breath in a perfect circle, completely freezing several dozen goblins in blocks of ice. The stream of ice magic ended with hitting the lead, purple-skinned hobgoblin himself, who roared in pain.
The horde shrieked in dismay, many fleeing at the unexpected display of power. The hobgoblin was thrown back, ice spreading along its thick skin like a glacier. But it shook its two-handed battle axe, roaring once again to rally the crowd.
Not dead. Justin had neglected to soften it with a Poison Barb first.
Its muscles bulged as it threw off its icy prison with a shudder. Behind, Ashralok was starting to get involved, picking off a few goblins here and there with casual flicks of flame, enough to take the pressure off slightly.
“Don’t say I never do anything for you, Golden Boy,” she called, incinerating three goblins with a lazy gesture.
That was when the hobgoblin flashed a yellow-fanged grin, removing what appeared to be a crude but very large stick of dynamite from a pouch at its waist. With a snap of its thick fingers, it lit the fuse, which hissed and sparked ominously.
Even as its underlings fled, Justin simply walked forward, unhurried, twirling his cane, popping off another Dandy’s Swagger. The hobgoblin’s smile faded into confusion.
[You have activated The Upper Hand. Three charges of Advantage gained.]
But rather than increase his speed, dodge, or hit harder, Justin decided to burn all three charges at once.
[All cooldowns have been refreshed.]
Without a moment’s thought, he activated Sapphire Aegis.
Just in time for the dynamite to go boom.
The explosion was instantly absorbed by his aegis. The hobgoblin stood, frowning in confusion.
Already, Justin’s aegis was burning bright like a sapphire sun.
The hobgoblin—recognizing the threat at last—started running, stumbling over his feet as the effect of the barb took hold.
Atlas charged, extending his drills right into the hobgoblin’s back. Some sort of explosion knocked Atlas back, sending the mechanical companion flying through the air with a distressed beep.
Justin's heart lurched at the sight. He had to finish the job. Now.
Justin absorbed a few errant arrows before his aegis went down.
He activated Poison Barb. “Oh, this one is going to hurt so much worse.”
The hobgoblin froze, the verbal threat stunning him in place.
[Poison Barb refreshed.]
Justin activated A Proper Sendoff, hitting it with an incredible amount of amplified damage that instantly pulverized the monster into bits of bone, blood, and gore, flying at such speed that it almost worked like a frag grenade, spraying the retreating goblins with grisly remains. At least half a dozen shrieked, going down.
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A few stragglers remained behind. Justin dispatched them with ruthless efficiency, insults flying to his mind faster than he could even think.
“Your face looks like something a troll would reject!” Thwack.
“Is that a weapon or a toothpick? I can’t tell the difference!” Stab.
“Did your mother dress you in the dark, or is that armor supposed to look ridiculous?” Justin’s cane sent it flying.
Atlas at last rejoined him, having overcome the knockback. Together they fought, but for every three he dispatched, more seemed to appear. Justin was rapidly becoming overwhelmed, his breathing labored as he spun, struck, and dodged.
Then it happened. A spear stabbed into his side, the pain a white-hot lance. Justin stepped away before it go too deep.
[You have been poisoned by Nightshade’s Kiss!]
Justin fought through the pain, bringing down the little gremlin, all while his Ring of Regeneration triggered, bringing instant cooling relief.
He took the rare reprieve to down an antidote he kept in his satchel. The taste was bitter, but it was a small price to pay.
[Nightshade’s Kiss has been reversed by Universal Antidote (Gold Quality).]
Atlas slid in front, tanking a fireball meant for Justin. He couldn’t get hit again; the ring’s Healing Bind enchantment wouldn’t be back for several more minutes.
He needed a bigger gambit. Something to turn the tide completely.
He popped off Dandy’s Swagger, doing a mocking dance while dodging a stray arrow. Elegance in Motion was working wonders right now.
“Razzle-Dazzle!” he cried.
He activated Dazzling Display.
Justin’s form seemed to shimmer, his posture shifting as he, naturally, channeled the essence of David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust persona. He wasn’t sure. Maybe it had something to do with this labyrinth they found themselves in.
His eyes took on a mismatched, otherworldly quality, and his movements became graceful yet alien.
With a flourish of his cane, he struck a pose so bizarre that it was also strangely captivating.
“Welcome to the main event, little goblins!” His voice held an ethereal quality that echoed through the Nether Realm.
The goblins hesitated, their minds struggling to process the strange figure before them. Likely, they could only wonder what horrors were in store for them next.
They had no idea.
Justin strutted forward, each step hypnotic, sending out waves of yellow magical energy. His cane twirled in impossible patterns, shooting off trails of light that infused the surrounding monsters.
Several goblins dropped their weapons, their jaws slack as they stared. Others backed away, unsure if they were facing a mortal, a god, or something else entirely. The impossible charisma radiating from Justin overwhelmed their senses.
“Atlas, showtime!” Justin called.
Atlas gave an affirmative beep and charged through the disoriented horde, systematically cutting down the mesmerized goblins. Most could barely muster a defense.
Damn, the skill had gotten nearly every single one of them. Even the larger hobgoblins were swaying in a hypnotic stupor.
When the Dazzling Display ended, Atlas had already taken care of all the smaller monsters.
Together, Justin and Atlas faced the final hobgoblin, bringing it down quickly.
By this point, the rest had fled the slaughter, leaving a hundred or more bodies behind.
That was when Atlas gave a frantic beep. On instinct, Justin activated Gentleman’s Sidestep, dodging the rusty blade of a goblin he had believed to be dead.
Recovering, he twirled and extended his bone-blade extension, burying it in the goblin’s back, which went down with a pained shriek.
He took a look around, at last registering the sheer scale of the destruction he and Atlas had unleashed.
Another straggler stirred from the floor, sprinting for the chamber’s exit. With a lazy flick of her wrist, Ashralok shot a rain of fire arrows at it, burning it to a crisp.
[You have gained 24,000 experience points. Your experience stands at 35,875/22,000. Level-up available!]
Justin blinked. That had gone... much better than he’d first supposed. It was a fitting way to gain the experience to reach Level 20.
He supported himself heavily on his cane, sucking in breath after breath.
“Impressive, Golden Boy,” Ashralok called, as she floated closer. “I didn’t think you had that kind of performance in you.”
Justin’s legs trembled slightly from the exertion. “Let’s not do that again.”
He looked over Atlas, assessing the damage. The mechanical companion whirred uncertainly, but the blowback from the lead hobgoblin hadn’t been as bad as he had feared. A few dents and scratches, but nothing critical.
He reached into his pack, producing an ether crystal that glowed with soft blue luminescence. Justin’s interface told him Atlas was barely hanging on at 14% operational capacity. The construct greedily guzzled the crystal, lights brightening as it chirped energetically.
“Well…” Ashralok said, her fiery form drifting closer. “I must say, I expected you to die there.”
“Thanks for your ‘help,’” Justin replied, not bothering to hide his sarcasm.
“No problem,” she said, apparently not detecting the irony in his voice. Her flames formed what might have been a smirk.
“So,” Justin said, adjusting his slightly askew top hat. “Where would that gate have taken us?”
She regarded it for a moment. “Thandara.”
“Thandara? Is that another planet or something?”
“Yes. You wouldn’t survive there for more than five minutes, probably,” she said with casual indifference. “Giant lizard creatures, sapient-eating plants, insects the size of your head. So, you made the right choice.”
“Okay. Dino-world is a no-go.” At that moment, he felt a surge of exhaustion wash over him, his shoulders sagging. “There’s no way to tell time here, is there? It’s been at least twelve hours.”
At that moment, Justin felt a bit of hopelessness creeping into his thoughts. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Ashralok had said earlier. Beings who somehow found their way in here, maybe with gate keys or whatnot, almost never found their way out. Was he doomed to wander this twisted geometrical nightmare forever?
“You can enter, but never leave,” Justin said, his voice hollow. “And when you can leave, it’s to Jurassic World.”
“Well, it’s not all hopeless,” Ashralok said, smiling sweetly. “You’ve got me, right?”
“That’s like finding a shark in your bathtub and being grateful it’s not a kraken,” Justin replied drolly.
“I hope you have enough experience to get to Level 20 after that.”
Justin nodded. “Well, I need to sleep first before leveling up.”
“Oh. I forgot about that unfortunate detail. Gods are not bound by such pointless bottlenecks.”
“I must be nice,” Justin said.
With his Advanced Class possible after his next sleep, Justin wanted to ask what was involved. Having a goddess with heaps of knowledge about this world and its mechanics, far beyond what anyone he had met so far knew, was a huge advantage.
At the same time, he didn’t trust her, and betraying his ignorance meant placing himself at her mercy. He practically already was at her mercy. He honestly wasn’t sure what her game plan was. She’d helped out a bit during the battle, but she definitely could have helped a lot more.
“So, the first item on the agenda is for me to get some sleep,” he said. “But that’s easier said than done.”
“Especially considering a few of those goblins escaped,” Ashralok added. “At this point, if they come back, it will be in far greater numbers.”
Justin groaned. He was so tired, but it looked like he couldn’t stop to rest here. Strangely, though, he wasn’t hungry.
“Have you decided on your Advanced Class yet?” Ashralok asked.
“Err… not really,” Justin said. “I have five different class cores right now. I’m not sure what combos I’ll have to choose from.”
Ashralok placed both hands in front of her, summoning the six class cores she had gotten from the Willow Revenant. “Maybe this will give you some more options when the time comes.”
Justin’s eyes widened. “You’re just going to give those to me?”
She shrugged. “Why not? Class cores are easy to come by. And you’d only be taking one. At least, for one like me.”
“I see,” Justin said. “That’s surprisingly… generous.”
She gave a small, mysterious smile. “Well, I wouldn’t be a goddess if I weren’t fickle in my affectations. Who knows? It might be different tomorrow.”
Justin hoped not. She was actually not being super annoying right now. Helpful, even. It probably wouldn’t last.
He turned to Atlas. “I think we should keep moving. Gain some distance, at least.”
“A good plan,” Ashralok said. “That said, the longer we wait, the worse this place becomes.”
Justin picked up the Sapphire Star, noting it was glowing brightly. “Well, at least this will guide us, right?”
Such was the commotion that he hadn’t even noticed it had brightened upon getting close to this gate. But going forward, it should serve as an important clue.
Maybe Ashralok knew that. And maybe that was why she was keeping him alive.
“Well, the good news is, the passages may twist and turn, but the gate will still be in the same general location. So we shouldn’t stray too far.”
Justin nodded, but they had taken so many corridors, turns, and stairs by this point that getting back seemed a tall order.
“How were you able to find me in the baths and lead me to you, anyway? You’d have to know the way to the gate to do that.”
“It was the Star I was detecting. I have a boon that detects the location of nearby Ascendant items, and it will create a trail of fire to them. Quite handy.”
“I see.” Justin frowned. “So, I guess that means you were conscious the entire time you were in that statue, huh?”
“No, I wasn’t conscious. That’s the nice thing about boons. A lot of them work even when you’re not awake.” She paused, seeming to consider. “We should keep moving.”
Ashralok floated ahead, leaving a trail of flames.
“Come on, Atlas,” he said.
Atlas gave an affirmative chirp as they both followed the goddess.