In that sense, 'Natural Fighter', a 'Normal' grade title, was trivial for the Lokan of old, but it was incredibly useful now. While leveling up was impossible and his stats were disadvantaged, the title was far better than nothing. It would serve as a foundation for greater achievements.
'If I could just level up, I could have cut them all down… … .'
But if he could, so could others. The thought was nauseating. Shaking off the regret, Lokan began to move stealthily once more.
His next target was the general store.
'Damn it, again.'
Lokan's expression twisted as he approached. Just like at the weapon shop, goblins were gathered in front of the general store. This time, there were five.
He had a weapon now, but that didn't make him invincible. In his current state, a few lucky stabs from a crude blade could be fatal, and his options for ranged attacks were limited. He had only brought one primary weapon and two throwing hatchets from the weapon shop. While he could have greedily stuffed his inventory with more, he had refrained, knowing the weight would severely reduce his movement speed. Now, he regretted that decision.
'At least they don't have paralysis darts.'
The only consolation was their lack of ranged weapons. The most frightening thing about goblins in the main game was their paralyzing stingers shot from blowpipes, but the developers had shown some mercy for the tutorial; the goblins here were armed only with hand-swords and leather armor. Of course, that was dangerous enough for ordinary users.
As Lokan spied on them from his hiding spot, something caught his eye.
'That's… … '
A hole leading into the back of the general store. He had thought he was unlucky with the map spawn when he saw the five goblins out front, but there was no rule saying he had to fight them head-on.
'Lucky.'
Shhh… … .
Lokan backtracked, crawled through the hole, and slipped inside the general store. He swiftly looted all the usable items.
'With this… … It's worth a try.'
His haul included three low-grade health potions and two low-grade stat potions for each attribute: Strength, Stamina, and Agility. To the current Lokan, they were more precious than gold. The final item was a Scroll of Minor Fire Resistance—a vital asset in this burning village where his health ticked down slowly just from the intense heat.
'Not yet.'
His health was already decreasing by 1 point every 20 seconds due to the 'Scorching Heat' effect, but Lokan endured it. The Minor Fire Resistance scroll lasted 10 minutes. With a base health of 100, he could last 20 minutes before needing a potion, leaving him with 40 HP. He had the health potions as a safety net. He had to use the scroll at the perfect moment.
Gulp, gulp, gulp… … .
Instead, he downed the low-grade enhancement potions one after another. They were expensive to buy, but the volume was minuscule, a mere swallow each. The moment the strengthening coursed through him, Lokan's gaze shifted into that of a predator. The goblins were no longer threatening; they were simply prey.
"Hah."
Whish! Thuck! Thuck!
Hatchets flew from Lokan's hands with deadly precision.
"Keeek!"
"Gak!"
Two hatchets found their marks, piercing a goblin's forehead and another's throat. It was a ghostly display.
"Kekke!"
The number of remaining goblins was now three. It wasn't an easy fight, but Lokan ran forward confidently, provoking them with words they couldn't understand.
"Come on, you ugly bastards!"
"Chit! Gae!"
Even without understanding the words, the intent behind the taunt was clear. Enraged, the goblins charged. As they did, a crude axe appeared in Lokan's empty hand—the 'Woodcutter's Single-Edged Axe' from the weapon shop. Initially, it came with penalties due to his low strength, but now, bolstered by the potions, he could wield it properly.
"Hey, you dare!"
A nimble goblin lunged first to stab him, but its technique was sloppy.
Crunch!
Lokan, having calculated its speed and trajectory, swung his axe, shattering its arm bone. The goblin was incapacitated instantly. Lokan retrieved his axe to face the next one. He hadn't rushed in blindly; he needed to secure a chokepoint at the general store's entrance to fight the majority effectively.
"This is it!"
Securing the perfect position in the doorway, Lokan trembled slightly at the smell of blood and the heavy feeling of the axe in his palm. It was a blissful sensation he had missed for three months.
"Come!"
He smiled like a demon at the remaining goblins.
'But I'm still rusty.'
Lokan slaughtered the five goblins in short order, aided by their 'battle madness' that made them charge without thought of escape. This was both an advantage and a disadvantage of the tutorial. Yet, despite defeating them without a single wound, Lokan felt dissatisfied. Compared to his prime as the King of Violence, his movements now felt sluggish. His body had rusted more than he'd expected during those three months away from the game. It would take more time to move exactly as he wished.
[Amazing achievement! You fought multiple opponents stronger than yourself and achieved a flawless victory.]
[You have acquired the title 'Natural Fighter'.]
[You are the first to acquire this title.]
[First] [Natural Fighter] [Magic]
Your talent for defeating enemies significantly stronger than you can be said to be truly heavenly. You are the first to win this title.
[Hold Effect]
-Strength +3
– Agility +3
– Increases Critical Strike Chance by 5% when fighting 5 or more enemies.
"Wow, it even has a first-acquisition bonus."
This time, the title was 'Magic' grade. The original 'Superior' grade had been upgraded because he was the first to acquire it under such conditions, boosting its grade and effectiveness. Without the "flawless victory" or "first" condition, the bonuses would have been only +2 to Strength and Agility.
"This is… … sweet."
The special effect from the first-acquisition bonus was also highly useful. While it only activated when outnumbered, a critical hit chance was an effect he had always favored in his previous life.
But it was too early to relax. He had only killed seven goblins so far, and more than twenty still roamed the village.
'And then there's him.'
The most worrying factor was the Goblin Captain, the armed goblin leader. Although heavily downgraded for the tutorial, it was still at least a Level 10 elite. As the name suggested, it was equipped with decent iron armor. At the beginner stage, that level of power was like a god of death. Even with the low-grade potions, fighting it directly would be extremely difficult. Even Tolkien had died to it several times before eventually clearing the tutorial by avoiding it altogether.
'And I agree. It's not a mob designed to be killed.'
It was telling that a huge bounty and guild recruitment offers were posted for authenticated video evidence of killing it, yet no one had succeeded. Lokan agreed with the consensus; having seen the videos, it was clearly not meant to be defeated by a Level 1 character.
'An ordinary user would need to be at least Level 15 for a one-on-one fight, not Level 10.'
But that was a concern for later. Now, the priority was to reduce the goblin numbers.
'Thirteen minutes have passed. It's still okay.'
He had taken considerable time to loot and move carefully, but he was still within a safe margin. The effects of the first set of potions were fading but still active. He needed to save the last set for a specific plan, but things were progressing well.
'First, the stragglers.'
With a new goal, Lokan quickly scouted the surroundings. He lured small groups toward buildings to pick them off and aggressively hunted lone goblins. By the time the first enhancement potions completely wore off, only sixteen goblins remained. He had cleared fourteen, and sixteen were left. Arithmetically, he could clear the rest with his remaining set of potions. Furthermore, the Goblin Captain always had five goblins as escorts. If he avoided the captain and killed the others, he could reach 25 kills—Tolkien had famously killed three beyond the escort number.
But Lokan wasn't satisfied with that. It was meaningful to steal Tolkien's future achievements, but he needed even greater feats to walk the path he envisioned for himself.
'17 minutes have passed. Time is okay… … '
Lokan's expression hardened as he caught his breath and surveyed the goblins' positions. The Goblin Captain's patrol path was strange. It was heading directly toward the building where he had hidden Mark.
"Damn it!"
The 30-minute safety window for Mark wasn't fixed; it was an average. It could vary depending on the goblins' search patterns. But for it to be advanced by over 10 minutes was excessive.
"It's like the system is fucking with me."
It seemed like a cruel joke by the developers, as if they had specifically programmed the Captain to sniff out Mark's location. It felt unfair, but it was reality.
'No choice now.'
Whether it got him killed or not, he had to execute his plan immediately.
Gulp, gulp, gulp!
Lokan drank the second set of enhancement potions on the spot. As warmth flooded his body, he stepped out into the open, directly confronting the goblin patrol.
Whish! Thuck! Thuck!
Instead of attacking the armored Captain, which would be futile, he expertly threw his hatchets to reduce the number of its minions.
"Chit!"
The death of a subordinate right beside him finally drew the Goblin Captain's furious attention.
Clang!
Lokan hurled a heavy stone he had stored. It did negligible damage, but it served its purpose perfectly: securing the creature's 'aggro'.
"Kyuit!"
At the Captain's enraged cry, all nearby goblins turned and began chasing him. But Lokan was no longer looking at them. As if he had planned it all along, he turned his back and ran.
"Chaha!"
Not only that, he threw stones from his inventory to aggro any goblins not already chasing him, ensuring the entire horde was on his tail. Their battle madness meant they would chase him to the ends of the earth, but he took no chances. The retrieved axe was safely stowed. In an instant, he was playing a deadly game of tag with dozens of goblins.
"Huff!"
Lokan ran until a coppery taste filled his mouth. Spotting a goblin cutting him off ahead, he spun around. He could split its skull with one blow thanks to the active buff, but any delay was costly. It was a tense moment. For now, the agility potion allowed him to maintain distance, but as its duration waned, they would surely catch up.
'There!'
And then, the key location of Lokan's plan came into view.