[VotA] Chapter 7 - Let’s Have Some Chase (Patreon)

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Holding a dagger in each hand, Mark took a deep breath.

Sweat trickled down his forehead, stinging his eyes. Even surrounded, he felt no fear.

Plans fail all the time. I'm used to it.

Slowly, carefully, he edged backward. The muddy ground squelched beneath his bare feet, the noise almost too loud in the night silence. 

His eyes passed by each goblin as his grip tightened around the unfamiliar daggers.

Never used these before. Worse still, I never used any weapon at all.

A rustle of leaves drew his attention. Three goblins dropped softly onto the muddy ground ahead, their shadowy figures barely visible in the pale starlight. Six more moved swiftly through the branches above, closing in, cutting off escape.

Mark’s pulse quickened, adrenaline flooding his veins.

If this is a Tutorial, it's supposed to teach me something, right?

Moving his fingers slightly across the daggers, he sliced shallow cuts into each thumb, feeling a sharp sting followed by warmth as his blood, which was now faintly glowing with purplish-black mana.

Show Mana Points and Hit Points clearly whenever they drop. But don’t mess up with my field of vision!

Golden text flickered into existence at the edge of his vision, clear but unobtrusive:

[Mana Points: 430/430 → 420/430] 

[Hit Points: 220/220 → 219/220]

Meanwhile, the three goblins began their advance. One came directly ahead, the others flanking from his left and right.

Above, Mark heard the other six moving swiftly, leaping branch-to-branch, maneuvering to surround the tree behind him. His heart pounded harder. He couldn't see if more were coming, couldn't tell if his escape route was entirely blocked.

But as the goblins closed the distance, a realization struck him.

They aren’t as fast as I remember.

The first goblin lunged forward, dagger slashing in a wide arc aimed at his abdomen.

Mark kicked off the tree behind him, sidestepping awkwardly to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. 

A second goblin on his left immediately seized the opportunity, thrusting its dagger toward him.

But he reacted faster, swinging his weapon down in a curved motion. 

His blade sliced cleanly through the goblin’s jaw. 

The creature let out a guttural shriek and fell into the mud, clutching at its bleeding face.

Despite landing the strike, Mark scowled.

Mana didn’t empower my attack at all.

A sharp pain erupted in his lower back as a thrown dagger embedded itself deeply into his flesh.

[Hit Points: 219/220 → 204/220]

Focus, you bastard!

Mark spun quickly, parrying a new incoming dagger attack with instinct more than technique.

But this attack was from the first goblin, and there was a third one still!

As he staggered backward, the remaining goblin, who had thrown his dagger at him, swept in from the side, aiming its claws at his legs.

Mark kicked out defensively, but the goblin was quick, grabbing his ankle tightly. With one hand occupied parrying the first goblin’s dagger strike, he slashed desperately with his free dagger, cutting across the dagger-wielding goblin’s eyes.

The creature screamed in agony, stumbling away blindly, dropping its dagger to clutch its bleeding eyes.

At that moment, a wave of pain surged up Mark’s leg as the monster gripping his ankle bit down fiercely.

[Hit Points: 204/220 → 194/220]

“Damn it!” Mark snarled, driving his dagger downward into the creature’s skull. The bone blade cracked, lodging itself deep within the goblin's head.

The goblin went limp instantly.

Show me when they die, System! 

[Killed: Scout Forest Goblin (F)]

Without hesitation, Mark spun around, dagger raised, just as the blinded goblin charged at him wildly, blood dripping from its shattered jaw. 

With precision born of desperation along a few points into the Dexterity stat, he stabbed the goblin through its good eye.

It shuddered once before collapsing lifelessly.

[Killed: Forest Goblin Scout  (F)]

And as Mark took a breath to recover, three more daggers whistled from above. 

He rolled aside, narrowly avoiding them.

However, the movement pushed the dagger still lodged in his lower back deeper, and pain surged anew.

[Hit Points: 194/220 → 179/220]

Not only that, but as he rolled, the dagger tucked into his waistband sliced painfully into his thigh.

[Hit Points: 179/220 → 174/220]

Mark gritted his teeth, quickly pulling himself back to his feet and sprinting toward the nearest tree, eyes scanning the darkness for threats. Above him, other goblins were scurrying through branches, tracking his every move.

Gasping, he yanked the dagger from his back with a grunt of pain and slammed it into the nearest trunk, leaving it lodged there at eye level. Then he grabbed the dagger from his waistband, turning swiftly to face the enemies above.

Three pairs of yellow eyes glinted ominously, perched among the branches, watching him closely, holding their daggers tight.

These things are like monkeys, spending too much time above the trees.

Scanning his surroundings, Mark noticed the previous three goblins that had thrown their daggers at him had descended to the ground, retrieved their weapons, and were whispering frantically among themselves. 

Their yellow eyes flickered between their fallen kin and him, hesitation written all over their darkened green faces.

Mark tightened his grip, muscles coiled. 

What the hell are they planning?

Then, without warning, one of them bolted.

But not toward him.

It ran to the distant hill.

Mark’s stomach dropped. 

It’s running for reinforcements.

Without another thought, he charged after it.

A chorus of guttural shrieks erupted from the canopy as the goblins above sprang into action. 

A volley of daggers rained down. 

The blades whistled through the cold air. Mark barely managed to deflect two, his arm moving instinctively as they met his dagger.

However, the third slammed into his shoulder, driving deep.

[Hit Points: 174/220 → 154/220]

He gritted his teeth, staggering from the impact, but forced his legs forward. The goblins in the trees didn’t stop their pursuit, bounding between branches, tracking him with eerie coordination.

Ahead, the fleeing goblin shed its robe and dropped onto all fours, sprinting faster as its companions barked frenzied orders.

Blocking his path, two goblins stood their ground. Trembling, their eyes shaking, they held their daggers tight.

Mark adjusted his grip and flipped his daggers into a reverse hold, mimicking movements he'd only seen in Raion’s memories.

Thank you, Raion, for watching so much anime.

The goblins lashed out, blades flashing in his direction. 

But Mark was faster and was getting used to the daggers.

His weapons plunged into their skulls. One cracked against bone, lodging deep, unable to be retrieved. The other slid straight through, piercing brain matter like rotten fruit.

[Killed: Forest Goblin Scout (F) x2]

Pain shot through his arms when sloppy counterattacks sliced his skin, hitting him after his targets were already dead.

[Hit Points: 154/220 → 144/220]

[Hit Points: 144/220 → 134/220]

Mark didn’t stop, barely sparing a glance at the golden text flashing in the corner of his vision.

His legs burned, his lungs ached, but none of it mattered. He pushed forward, feet pounding against the mud, heart hammering with exhilaration.

This… This is life!

He barely registered movement in his peripheral vision as the goblin he had slashed across the face had risen, retrieving its fallen dagger, and even with its blood still poured from its ruined jaw, the creature sprinted toward him, weapon raised.

It shrieked.

Fortunately, Mark noticed it before the scream, his heightened senses alerting him to the threat. He didn’t make the same mistake as before, throwing reckless kicks just because they were small.

Instead, he ran faster.

The fleeing goblin ahead of him, on all fours, was scrambling forward at an unnatural speed as Mark chased it and was being chased by another goblin from below and three goblins from above.

Mark’s pulse spiked. 

Think, Mark. Think.

He planted his foot hard into the ground, stopping abruptly, twisting his body, driving his reversed dagger downward in one swift motion while holding it with both hands.

The charging goblin’s eyes widened in confusion, its shriek cutting off as the blade speared through its oversized green nose, slicing into its brain.

[Killed: Forest Goblin Scout  (F)]

Mark yanked the dagger free, barely acknowledging the limp body as it crumpled. His eyes locked onto the retreating goblin.

Without hesitation, he snatched up the dagger that was plunged into his shoulder and hurled it.

The bone dagger spun through the air for a second.

Then, it struck deep into the fleeing goblin’s rear.

The creature cried, stumbling forward, hands clawing at the mud as it tried to regain its footing.

Mark didn’t give it a chance.

He surged forward, bare feet kicking up filth. Above him, the remaining three goblins broke their silence, barking in their twisted language.

The wounded goblin writhed, struggling to crawl away despite the dagger wedged in its butt cheek.

Mark reached the monster quickly, stomped onto its back, shoving it into the mud. The creature thrashed, gasping in ragged, panicked breaths.

Uncaring, he raised his green-streaked dagger and drove it into the back of the goblin’s skull.

A wet squelch. A muffled crack. Then stillness.

[Killed: Forest Goblin Scout (F)]

Mark exhaled hard through his mouth, his breath a hot mist against the frigid night air.

Slowly, he lifted his gaze to the three remaining goblins perched in the branches.

They stared back.

Then they moved.

Not toward him.

They split, each leaping in a different direction, while all headed for the hill. Their movements were quick, bouncing from branch to branch like monkeys.

Mark’s heart sank. 

“...Not good.”

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