Shadow of the Abyss

For the next hour and a half, Altair, Ren, Leonie, Laros, and Olivia had washed their blades with so much lifeblood it seemed as though they could drown in it. The Drove of Estelle had been occupied by the military for eons, forcing goblins to copulate in whatever they deemed fit for the filthy beast.

And with the gestation of goblins being a mere week or two, they needed only wait a month or week at the most for their population to regrow.

'Rapers,' Borris often called goblins when covering their biology due to their lustful tenancy towards anything female; goblins were bound to mount and fuck, a slave to sanguine lust. Be it dogs, horses, or their kin. They never held back.

And neither did Leonie or Olivia as they laid waste to dozens, running them through without a hint of remorse.

"That's the last of them,' Olivia said, wiping away the sweat on her brow. She jerked her dagger from the head of a goblin and turned to a solemn Laros, glaring at Altair's back. She smirked. "Keep looking at him like that, and I'll think you'll go both ways."

"Piss off," growled Laros. He couldn't understand. For an hour and a half, Altair has been fighting, and he's yet to run out of mana, much less show any signs of exhaustion. He had already changed Leonie to the rare to help her recover. But Altair… He clenched his fist into a tight ball.

[Level Up]

Grinning at his third-level gain, Altair couldn't help but look at his stats.

Name: Altair (Snow)

Mana Circle:[Second Circle 99.99%]

Physique: First Vale Star

Class: Young Prince Lv 14 → 17  [First Awakening]

Strength: 28

Dexterity: 30

Constitution: 36 → 39

Wisdom: 38 → 41

Charisma: 38 → 41

Mana: 23

The feeling was nearly euphoric as the world turned brighter with each level he gained. So much so he couldn't help but laugh.

Suddenly, his ears twitched, and without warning, Altair lifted a fist, alerting everyone. They turned silent, bending a knee, unsure what was hidden.

Altair pointed towards the bushes, frowning as he signaled Leonie forward. Understanding, Olivia drew her rifle from her back, poised for action, while Laros heated his blade.

"Huuuuman~" a grinding voice uttered in basic. "Huuman~"

The bushes of the grove shuddered, and out from the bushes, Altair eyes flashed as a taller-than-average goblin stepped out. He was very muscular, lined with vicious scars trailing his two arms, wielding a rusted greatsword and five daggers on his chest of Hide armor.

[Ding]

[Hobgoblin (elite)]

Class: [Goblin Soldier Lv25] [Goblin Knight Lv 32]

Strength: 59

Dexterity: 36

Constitution: 65

Wisdom: 26

Charisma: 12

Mana 9

Skills: Goblin Sword [E], Goblin Martial Arts [E], Mana Manipulation [E], Bone Armor [E], Burst [F], Regeneration [E]

Bang!

The Hobgoblin weaved past the purple beam of plasma when he suddenly vanished from Altair's perception. He was on Olivia in a single moment, cleaving his sword down. Unable to draw her dagger in time, Olivia lifted her rifle, hardening her flesh with mana.

BOOOM!

Her knees bashed to the ground with a hard thud as the Hobgolin indented her rifle. He lifted his greatsword again when Leonie arrived. Spear light stabbed at his head, pushing him back a few steps, parrying her spear. Laros happed on his rear, cutting his sword through his hide. The Goblin roared as the sizzling of flesh filled the air.

"Altair!" Laros howled for him to attack. But when the attack never came, his eyes went wide to the sight of seven ethereal swords glistering with moonlight and the three Hobgoblins.

A chill danced over his heart as a ruthless presence descended. His legs trembled, watching Altair stand before three hobgoblins, grinning with Ren by his side.

"Monster," Vincent muttered, wet with a sheen of sweat.

"Let's go, Ren!" Altair shouted, kicking off his feet. His sword swept through the air in a horizontal arc while six other swords suddenly shrieked toward the two other hobgoblins, shattering the sound barrier with its pure mana while he attacked a peculiar hobgoblin bearing a horn on its head.

The echos of the swords clashing electrified the air, sending webs through the earth. Altair grinned and was pushed back ten meters. When he saw a horned goblin rush at him and blur, activating burst, its movement technique. Faster than a blink of an eye, the horned Goblin attacked, in an upwards sweep, his greatsword, blasting the prince well over thirty meters in the air.

The clash turned Altair arms to jelly, with the great disparity in terms of raw strength. Nevertheless, excitement tugged at his lips as he barreled downwards, where the Goblin waited. Mana swelled into a single point of his foot, and in a single moment, the goblin sword and Altair's feet met.

Enigmatic Step.

*BOOOOOM!

Unable to bear the crushing force of a mountain, steel shattered into shards as Altair tore through the Goblin's shoulder, tearing off his sword arm and splintering the air with a mist of blood. A bellowing grieve hurdled through the air.

"Nooo!!" Rasped the Goblin in basic, gripping his shredded shoulder, spewing gallons of blood, when bones began to protrude over the Goblin's flesh.

Bone Armor

Knitting his brow, he wondered if his sword could penetrate that armor. Altair glanced at the torn and bloodied goblins to his left and right, combatting his Dark Moon Blades. He shifted his gaze back to the horned beast.

He sneered and raised two fingers towards the bone armor. "Bang!" And from his fingers, arcs of Infernal Lightning came to life in a blinding flash. The Hobgoblin didn't even have to blink as the beam entered through from the eye and out his skull. He dropped.

[Horn Hobgoblin Felled. Exp Gained.]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Hobgoblin Felled. Exp Gained.]

[Level Up]

Catching sight of Ren running her sword through the bone-armored Goblin, flames washed the beast into a purgatory of flames. While three other moon blades pierced the skull, killing it. He grinned. And glanced at the last of the remaining three.

Slowly being cut down by three of his Dark Moon Blades. Altair commanded the remaining unoccupied swords plunged into the skull of the Hobgoblin to attack. In a few breaths, the Goblin was cut to pieces.

[Hobgoblin Felled. Exp Gained.]

[Level Up]

Name: Altair (Snow)

Mana Circle:[Second Circle 99.99%]

Physique: First Vale Star

Class: Young Prince Lv 17 → 21  [First Awakening]

Strength: 28

Dexterity: 30

Constitution: 39 →43

Wisdom: 41 → 45

Charisma: 41 → 45

Mana: 23

(～￣▽￣)～

"Not bad. Four more Levels, and I'll reach the peak of my first class."  The boy mused, dismissing his Moon Blades. He glanced back at his team finishing up with their beast. And then to Leonie, allowing the Eye of Sacrilege to swell with power.

Name: Leonie Cross

Mana Circle: [First Circle Complete], [Second Circle Complete],[Third Circle 1%]

Class: [Soulblade Lv 25], [SoulSpear Lv 3]

Strength: 31

Dexterity: 45

Constitution: 18

Wisdom: 29

Charisma: 24

Mana: 18

"She's strong. If she had a physique, I'd be in trouble." Altair told himself, wiping the blood off his face. " but her CON is downright pathetic." He moved towards her opening palm, conjuring two Iron Bloods from his Draupnir Ring.

"Take it. It should bump up CON by two points."

Leonie frowned twisted into a glare. "I'm not a charity case. I don't…"

"You have the weakest Constitution out of everyone here. This means you get hurt more easily and can't last long during longer battles. This isn't a charity. " Altair told her, "It's to ensure you and I survive in dire times."

Leonie's glare lessened, and her expression dignified.  "I'll pay 75 souls for each. That's the market price. As a noble, it's the least I can do."

"75!!!! Altair yelped. "Seriously, this!!" He couldn't believe it. The material alone was less than five sols. And Ren had made about twenty since.

"Yes. Based on the blood-red color. It's in the 60 percentile range. Not to mention, iron bloods are rare. Extremely so due to their high demanding skill." She thought for a bit. "That said, I'm sure the military would pay a hundred sols.

Forget the 75. I'll pay the 100. It's the least I should do as a marquise daughter."

[Ding~]

[Leonie Cross has transferred a hundred sols into your account.]

[Current Balance: 872 Sols]

"None for us?" Oliva complained, her lips puffing into a pout. "Our family is willing to pay as well." she glanced at Laros. "Right?"

"Sorry, those were the last two." The boy said, fidgeting with his bracers soaked with blood. "Anway, shall we continue?"

"What would be the point when you're just going to steal all the kills?" Laros interseeded.

"Excuse me?" He raised a low brow.

"You heard me. Three hobgoblins could have gained us all a level but were killed by you and that monster."

Altair wondered how to play his response; on one hand, he wanted to push Laros to send him into danger so that he could steal kills. On the other hand, he didn't much care for the attitude Laros gave him every time he drew his blade.

His experience was shared equally with Ren since she pulled her own weight. They had set the parameters in the system as per Luna's request. All Altair and Reina needed to do was be in the range of the other. But Altair wasn't willing to do so with enemies or those he considered allies, like Leonie.

Not unless they proved themselves trustworthy.

"If you don't like it, change the formation," Altair told him. "You're the party leader. Although, you've no right to stop me from killing If you don't like it. Send me away. I'll happily leave."

"Then leave!" Laros flushed with rage, barked, regretting the words when he noticed  Vincent and Kalvar approach, their expression dark.

"Altair, you'll be the party leader for the remaining of the time. Laros a word." Vincent said, pulling him aside away from his perception. Altair said nothing but turned to Olivia. "You'll travel by trees for now. It'll be better to pick off targets and help us track them. Stay hidden.

And don't fire unless you're informed. Do you have a neruolink?"

Oliva nodded, liking her precision a lot more. The surprise attack of the Hobgoblin had been too close for comfort, as she barely found herself being able to block in time.

"Leonie, you will act freely in order to flank any of the goblins coming towards us. Laros—"

"Isn't back yet." Smiled Olivia.

"...right. Well, he'll be with me on the frontlines." Altair said, finding Laro's formation too restricting. "With this, we got terrain covered. And we got bait."

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