The forest stank of iron.
Selvara's boots pressed into mud dark with goblin blood, her blades black to the hilts. Her breath no longer came evenly. Each exhale was sharp, clipped, her chest rising like a bellows forced past its limit. She had been cutting them down for hours, packs of five, then ten, then more and still they came.
The horde did not break.
She crouched in the hollow of a rotted tree, silver eyes watching shapes flicker between the undergrowth. Ten goblins. Two warriors, armored with bone and scrap iron. Seven common. One archer, moving too quickly for the rest, darting into higher ground.
Her fingers flexed on her hilts. She reached for the familiar current of her ability Momentum Shift but felt only emptiness. Her spirit well was dry, drained to nothing. No more bursts of speed. No more zig-zag dashes. Just flesh, steel, and patience.
Her jaw tightened. Then I cut them slower.
---
The archer nocked an arrow, scanning the trees. The bow creaked as it drew.
Selvara moved like a shadow. She slipped behind a trunk, knees bent low, her breath controlled to silence. She crept from cover to cover, never staying long enough to be noticed. Her blades did not gleam; they were slick and dark, drinking the faint light.
The archer loosed, the arrow hissing past her ear. It split bark inches from her cheek. Selvara froze, pressed against wood, heartbeat steady despite the graze. The goblin snarled something guttural to its pack.
She timed it. Waited until the archer reached for another shaft.
Then she slipped forward, her step as soft as falling leaves.
The archer looked left. Too late. Selvara's sword slid beneath its ribs, angled up, piercing lung and heart in one cold thrust. She clamped a hand over its mouth, muffling the screech, and dragged it into the shadows. Her other blade carved across its throat to finish. Blood pumped warm against her gloves. She let the body crumple soundlessly, already moving on.
Nine left.
---
The warriors barked, confusion spreading among the goblins as they realized their archer had fallen silent. They spread out, clumsy in their attempt at caution.
Selvara struck the closest straggler, a runt separated from the pack. She seized it by the jaw, wrenched its head back, and drew her sword across its throat in one brutal sweep. It spasmed once, then fell limp.
The nearest warrior caught the scent of blood. It bellowed, charging with its cleaver raised.
Selvara slipped into its blindside, rolling beneath the wild swing. She drove both blades upward, carving into the soft flesh of its inner thigh. The creature screamed, collapsing as its artery gushed. She didn't hesitate, her short sword punched into its eye, silencing it in a shudder.
The second warrior saw her now. It roared, its blade crashing into the earth where she had been. Splinters erupted. She rolled behind it, legs burning with strain. Her arms ached. She could feel the fatigue dragging at her muscles, heavier than any armor.
Still, she climbed its back, locked her arm around its throat, and dragged one blade across its jugular. Blood sprayed hot over her face as the beast thrashed and bucked, but she held on until it collapsed beneath her.
---
Seven left.
They saw her clearly now. Their shrieks rattled through the trees as they charged together.
Selvara exhaled. She stepped forward to meet them, no wasted motion.
The first spear thrust toward her belly. She slapped it aside with her left sword, the edge biting into the wooden shaft. Her right blade drove under the goblin's chin and out the back of its skull. She tore free before it hit the dirt.
Another lunged with claws. She sidestepped, hooked its wrist with her sword, and severed the arm at the elbow. The goblin howled, staggering back. She ended it with a thrust straight through the chest, twisting until bone cracked.
But the others closed in. A club smashed against her shoulder, rattling her bones. She gritted her teeth, pain flaring white, and retaliated with a brutal slash that split the wielder's skull open like rotten fruit.
Another spear jabbed. This time she couldn't fully dodge. The tip carved a line across her ribs, shallow but burning. She snarled softly, pivoted, and rammed her blade up through the goblin's gut until its shrieks turned to gurgles.
Her endurance screamed at her. Breath ragged. Arms heavy. She had to slow down, had to kill smarter.
---
The last three goblins circled, fear beginning to creep into their movements. She could smell it, taste it in the air. Their eyes darted to their fallen comrades, then back to her.
Selvara tilted her head, silver eyes cold. She didn't speak. She never did. Instead, she stepped forward, blades raised, walking like death itself.
One broke first, charging wildly. She ducked low, slashing across its stomach in a single ruthless motion. Its entrails spilled steaming into the dirt as it collapsed, screaming.
The second hesitated. She didn't. She threw her blade. It spun once, twice, then buried itself hilt-deep in the goblin's throat. The creature toppled backward, gurgling, hands clawing uselessly at the steel.
The last stood frozen, weapon shaking in its grip.
Selvara retrieved her sword from the corpse, approached slowly, deliberately. The goblin whimpered. She raised her blade high—then brought it down in a clean, brutal arc that split its skull open from crown to jaw.
The forest fell silent again.
Selvara stood in the carnage, blood dripping from her swords, body trembling with exhaustion. Her arms felt like stone. Her lungs burned. She knew she could not last much longer.
And still the cave roared.
More shrieks. More claws scraping stone. The waves refused to stop.
Selvara closed her eyes for a moment, then forced her body back into motion. She could not fall. Not yet.
---
Meanwhile, Loid sat at the edge of the village square, staring at his UI as numbers flickered across the glowing panel.
[ Selvara: Level 3 ]
[ Cost to Level 4: 400 Reputation Points ]
[ Reputation Points: 512 ]
His hands shook. "Five hundred…"
"She's fighting out there," he whispered.
Loid already knows that Selvara's stamina draining fast, her mana bar empty. His heart pounded in his chest.
Without hesitation, he slammed the "Level Up" command. The panel shimmered, numbers surging.
[ Selvara: Level 4 ]
[ Cost to Level 5: 800 Reputation Points ]
Stat points glowed faintly. Loid didn't think. He dumped them straight into Spirit.
Pressing a hand to the panel as if the touch itself mattered. "Please be enough. Please keep her safe."
The screen pulsed once, then faded.
---
In the forest, Selvara staggered, her knees threatening to give. Then heat. Not fire, but a low hum, a current running through her veins. Her eyes widened faintly as strength poured into her limbs, as though something unseen had reached down and filled her empty well.
Her spirit flared back to life. Her blades felt lighter. Her breath steadied.
From the cave mouth, another wave spilled forth, fresh warriors, another archer among them.
Selvara wiped blood from her face with the back of her hand. Slowly, she raised her swords again.
Then she vanished, momentum igniting once more, a storm reborn.