After beating the goblin guards to a pulp, Draven simply exited the cave, ignoring the voiceless pleas of the powerless.
Still grasping the wooden bat that had brought him success, he ran through the small, tunnel-like passageway that led to the actual exit of the goblins' hideout.
While running, he frequently checked behind him to see if the other goblins were giving chase, but none had appeared.
He then made up his mind to find a place to hide for the remaining minutes of his mission. He even checked the time remaining, and it was only eighteen minutes. He knew he could survive that long by hiding.
The short passageway was traversed in a few seconds, and Draven stepped out to freedom.
Tall tree trunks and thick bushes were visible in front of him. It was still nighttime, and a gentle evening breeze blew against his face.
But before he could savor that fleeting comfort, two pairs of hands shot out from the darkness at his side and clamped tightly around him.
"HEEK HEEK!"
Two familiar laughs sounded from either side. They were goblins.
They easily restricted Draven's movement, and the wooden weapon in his grasp fell to the ground. He was helpless once more.
Draven gritted his teeth and struggled against their powerful grasp, twisting his body and protesting against their hold, but he didn't succeed.
The two goblins did not budge; they simply kept laughing in an unintelligent manner, which greatly pissed Draven off. He wanted nothing more than to free himself, reclaim his weapon, and smash their annoying mouths.
But was he capable? No. Even if he were to defend himself, his hands were already restricted.
What could he do to rescue himself from their grasp?
Just then, he recalled a particular defense class, and a plan appeared in his head.
Draven clenched his teeth and snapped his head toward the goblin on his left. His jaws locked onto its shoulder, and without a single hesitation, he sank his teeth deep in a savage, bone-grinding bite.
SKREEE! The attacked goblin cried out in pain and instantly let go of Draven, but Draven did not reciprocate this action, he continued biting.
The other goblin, noticing what was going on, attempted to pull Draven away, but this only made his colleague's pain worse. Even as it dragged the human away, Draven's teeth did not let go of his colleague's flesh.
At the second attempt to drag him away, Draven's teeth, which had already sunk deep into the goblin, pulled out a large chunk of flesh. The attacked goblin continued its high-pitched cry, placing its hands on its shoulder that had begun to bleed profusely.
The other goblin was furious and attacked Draven. But Draven was also prepared. He spat the chunk of flesh at the goblin, and using the short distraction, he grabbed his weapon from the ground and whipped it at the goblin's stomach, resulting in a low growl of pain.
This time, he refused to let go of the two, despite their weakness.
He felt a familiar feeling within him, one that he had been suppressing for a very long time.
The two goblins before him presented an opportunity to finally unleash this feeling.
With a chilling expression, he lifted the bat, copying the actions of the goblins inside the cave, and began smashing the head of his closest victim.
He did this for about one minute until the goblin's head was unrecognizable, until he confirmed it had lost its life.
[ A goblin has been slain by you. You've gained 1 XP ]
[ First kill has been noted, and a reward: Double XP for ten minutes, has been triggered ]
Draven's eyes widened slightly at the glowing notification before him. His chest heaved from heavy breathing, but the corner of his lips curved into a faint grin.
"Double XP for ten minutes…" he muttered under his breath, his eyes flicking to the other goblin.
The other goblin, after witnessing the brutal manner in which its colleague had passed away, was stressed. It wanted to attack, but the pain from having its flesh bitten off was too much. Secondly, it had no weapon on hand to defend itself.
Seizing the opportunity to exploit its weakness, Draven first kicked the goblin in its groin.
While the goblin was groveling, pondering whether to focus on its attacked groin or its bleeding shoulder, Draven began his onslaught once more.
For the next thirty seconds, he bashed the head of the goblin until it breathed its last.
[ A goblin has been slain by you. You've gained 1(+1) XP ]
After confirming that the goblin was dead, Draven observed the entrance of the cave for a brief period, reconsidering his actions. Was it right to leave those people behind?
"My survival matters the most!" He made up his mind and quickly dashed toward the nearby bush.
He found a large tree and hid behind it, slowly observing his surroundings and the entrance of the goblin hideout as he feared the goblins would soon come outside to chase him.
The reason they hadn't chased him earlier might be because of the two goblins outside. They might have been waiting for those two to bring him back in. After waiting for some time and those two didn't bring him back, they would definitely send some goblins out to check on them.
Barely two minutes after he came to this conclusion, a total of five goblins stepped out of the hideout. He could hear the sounds of the goblins communicating their surprise at seeing their two dead colleagues on the ground. It was hard to tell what they were actually saying, but their tone made it easy.
"What would they do next?" Draven muttered in anticipation as he watched them from the bushes.
Two of the five goblins were sent back inside. After about thirty seconds, a total of twelve goblins came out of the cave.
Following their unintelligible discussion, which took another thirty seconds, the goblins divided themselves into three groups.
Two groups searched in other directions, and one lunged straight toward Draven's direction.
A grin appeared on Draven's face.