(Dylan POV)
(2 days later – 1:30 a.m)
The streets were drowned in pale moon light and the occasional flickering of street lights.
Cold wind drifted through the road, carrying a faint smell of rust, and something rotten lingering far away in the dark.
The silence so quiet they could hear their breaths.
Elin walked ahead of the brothers with stiff shoulders. Carefully surveying the surroundings.
Ethan silently followed, hands in his hoodie pocket and a bag strapped across his torso. He didn't blink for a second like in a trance state.
Dylan followed next to Ethan, strangely calm, but focused. The bruises on his body had almost faded. His arms retained some scars, a reminder of the past, and his foot occasionally stung with pain, nothing serious but annoying.
Dylan: (Just in case.)
Dylan: "Open."
The familiar translucent screen appeared before him.
[ Name: Dylan (T#€ ***@#%i¥0r O$ #*§∆)
Class: Warrior
Race: Human
Level: 7
Exp: 553/600
Hp : 83/100
Strength : 13
Defence : 12
Intelligence : 7
Mana : 6
Speed : 19
Bonus points : 0
Skills: Strike
Race Skills: Stat distribution ]
Dylan: (I used all my bonus points.)
Elin raised her arm signalling a stop.
Dylan: "Close."
Elin: "We are here."
Without paying attention Ethan continued forward.
Dylan immediately grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him back.
Dylan: "Wake up, we arrived."
Ethan: (Already?)
He scratched his head in embarrassment.
Ethan: "That was quick."
Elin: (How did he almost die already!)
Elin: "Any further and we might risk attracting the attention of a goblin."
(Flashback)
Ethan and Elin stood right outside the cafeteria.
Ethan leaned against a wall, casually drinking soda.
Elin: "So... Your plan is to raid the police station?"
Ethan: "Yup. With the help of the system, Dylan can now basically take on a goblin."
He took a sip out of his drink.
Ethan: "Our only choice now is to hunt down the nearby goblins to level up. Might as well acquire some police equipment in the process. What do you think?"
Elin fell into thought.
Elin: "....."
Ethan: (Oh god. Not this again.)
Elin: (Both of them could already take on one goblin and now that they got stronger... There is a pretty good chance they could pull it off.)
Elin: "It's possible."
Ethan ready to throw his can.
Ethan: "MOTHERFU—"
Ethan: (Wait what?)
Elin instinctively stepped back, suprised by the sudden outburst.
Elin: (What did I do NOW?!)
He paused, still processing the information.
Ethan: "....."
Elin: "....."
Ethan: "Did you say it was possible?"
Elin: "Yaa."
Ethan: "Soo, there isn't a boss waiting for us."
Elin franticly shook her head.
Ethan: "Oh.. I was completely expecting some sort of twist, considering what you told last time."
Elin: "Still if you are doing this, then prepare some sort of strategy, since anything might happen."
Ethan: (With our increase in stats I was planning to wing it, but setting up a trap will be useful. What kind of trap can I even set up?)
Ethan: "Is there a hardware store nearby?"
(End of Flashback)
Ethan: "Exactly how many goblins are there?"
Elin: "There are a minimum of five."
Ethan scanned the nearby area. He walked back to a intersection and turned towards a pole.
Ethan: (This will work.)
He dropped down his bag, wore gloves and pulled out coils of thin metal wires.
He turned and faced towards a towering wall, grabbing a part of it.
Ethan: "Give me boost."
Dylan crouched down and clasped his palms together.
Dylan: "Ready?"
He stepped onto Dylan's palms.
In one go Dylan flung him up.
Without dropping a sweat Ethan scaled up the wall in one go.
He carefully sat down and tied one end of the wire on a nearby pillar.
He tossed the rest of it down. Elin easily caught and tied it on a nearby pole.
They tossed the wire back and forth between themselves tying multiple layers.
Ethan: (This should do it.)
Ethan carefully dropped down. Stumbling a bit as he landed on the ground.
He kept the gloves inside and took out a metal bat.
Ethan: "The rest is up to you."
With a smile he passed the bat with all the responsibilities.
Dylan takes it, gripping it firmly.
Ethan: "Don't mess it up."
He teasingly remarked as he began walking back.
Dylan squints his eyes.
Dylan: (I can barely see it.)
Dylan: "Can you put some sort of mark on the trap."
Ethan looked at the wires.
Ethan: (I guess it is hard to see.)
Ethan looked around.
Ethan: (Something.. to mark with...)
His eyes fell on his feet. He sighed.
Ethan: (This will have to do, for now.)
He took off his shoe and pushed it into place right before the wires.
Elin: "Can't you tie a peice of cloth on the wire."
Ethan: "That would be too obvious. A goblin with intelligence would easily notice something like that."
He stepped back next to Elin, keeping his distance from the trap.
Dylan turned towards the eerily silent streets, recalling the previous encounter, he clenched onto his bat tightly.
Dylan: (Calm down, you have done this before. You have...)
Images of the previous goblins flashed by him.
He shook his head, took a deep breath, and stepped forward. Each fibre of his body on max alert.
His heart pounding with each step.
He kept going further and further in with no trace of a goblin. At this point the trap can barely be seen.
*Thud, thud, thud*
Dylan immediately raised his bat. Ready to intercept.
*Thud, thud*
Another set of uneven footsteps, from the opposite direction quickly closing in on him.
Dylan gritted his teeth and without a second thought immediately booked it, with the Joestar special.
He rushed down through the road.
The steps approaching closer with tremendous speed.
Dylan: (There are two— no wait three!)
Ethan witnessing Dylan's retreat readied himself. He raised his hand.
Ethan: "Mana bl—?"
Dylan suddenly thew up his hand.
Ethan understood and stopped.
Ethan: (There are more!)
Goblin: "Akaaaa!"
An ear piercing screech tore through the road.
He glanced behind, his eyes widened. A goblin lunged from a roof.
He instinctively stopped and ducked.
*Thud!*
The goblin missed, slamming face first onto a wall. Green blood spattered.
Dylan: "Strike!"
Without hesitation he swung his bat with tremendous force right in the gut.
*Crack*
The impact was horrifying. Shattering the goblin's arm and ribcage. The shear force pushed it backwards, stumbling right into the wire.
As the goblin screeched violently trying to rise. Dylan stepped down hard on its arm, pinning it down.
The goblin, relentless in a desperate attempt dug it's claws into his foot.
The pain shot up, his expression twitched but he didn't move. His eyes focused, staring right into the goblin.
Dylan: "Strike!"
His bat swung down, smashing it's face through the wire.