Seizing the opportunity

One factor I hadn't considered while waiting for nightfall was the day and night cycle of this world, and since there were two suns that illuminated the planet it took considerably longer than I had expected.

Although the end result was a lot more favorable for me, as there was no other planet in orbit at the time therefore, without a moon to reflect the sunlight, my surroundings were pitch black.

Until my eyes got used to the darkness I relied on my sixth sense in order to navigate and headed out to the deeper parts of the forest to search for my prey.

My plan was simple, rush in from the goblin's blind spot, stab it the chest area, and then immediately hide in the shadows.

By repeating this a few times I wouldn't need to use the artifact's power.

As I was scanning the area in front of me, I encountered the goblin's distinct aura, it's origin standing still in the middle of a small open area.

-That's odd...

The volatile purple aura that surrounded it was now dormant and the creature lacked any aspect of the aggressiveness that it had previously exhibited.

Its hair had now turned white and its nails had become sharp claws.

The subtle change in its physical appearance, although alarming, was not enough to stop me from engaging the monster.

-I must seize this moment before one of the suns rises

Given that my knowledge in astrophysics was that of a child's, I couldn't calculate how long it would approximately take for one of the suns to rise again.

Therefore, in order not to miss the precious cover the night provided me, I gathered the necessary courage and was about to initiate my plan, when I heard the disturbing laughter of the goblin...

~Khu khu khu

The goblin tilted it's head and locked its eyes with mine.

It's menacing quickly expanded and without a moment's notice had covered my entire body.

My vision began to turn blurry, my head started aching and my spatial awareness was greatly hindered by the goblin's malicious aura.

In a state of despair and anguish, I tried to defend against the goblin's attack.

My inner energy coursed through my entire body before gathering at my sensory organs, covering them in a thick layer of magi.

As I regained my senses I immediately activated the pendant's power and reinforced the contraction speed of my muscles with magi.

My surroundings became blurry and as if the world's time itself had slowed down, my reaction speed had now reached incredible heights.

I focused my attention on the terrifying creature in front of me whose claws were only 10 inches away from slashing my neck.

Wielding the sharp hunting dagger in my off-hand and the crude sword in my main hand I redirected the monster's attack with my sword and stabbed its abdomen.

"Shit"

The dagger didn't fully penetrate the goblin's thick skin and thus didn't cause any vital damage to its organs.

I jumped back in order to construct a plan to deal with the evolved goblin.

~Khaaaaaa!!!

The goblin let out a war cry and immediately charged me.

Not given any proper time to analyze the goblin's new physique I settled on aiming for the standard weak points that most human-like organisms had.

-I need to aim for its tendons first

Stopping its motions was extremely important in order to create an opportunity to stab its the heart.

I avoided the repetitive attacks of the goblin and while keeping my distance I used the tip of my sword to slit its Achilles tendon and elbow ligament.

It temporarily stopped its barrage of attacks and took a step back.

I launched myself on the air and kicked its diaphragm.

The creature, which was already out of balance, fell on it's back.

I dropped my knife and grabbed the hilt of my sword with both hands using a reverse grip.

Certain of my victory, I confidently raised the sword in a linear arc above its chest area and pierced its the heart.

My sword successfully penetrated it's skin and reached its heart but half of it, starting from its tip, shattered into pieces.

-Oh this feels familiar...

Recalling on my previous near-death experience with the goblin chieftain after having stabbed its heart, I stayed vigilant and jumped away from the monster.

My vision returned to normal and my body felt heavier.

- 30 seconds have passed it seems

The artifact stopped giving any glow and the crystal inside it became colorless.

Suddenly the goblin, instead of crying out in pain, lifted it's bloody body upwards and began panting frantically.

-WHY is it not DEAD yet !?

I focused on my senses in order to understand what was happening in front of me.

The goblin's heart was filled with purple energy and was steadily reforming.

The cut tissues were reattaching themselves and the blood was slowly flowing from the veins to the arteries, keeping the goblin's body alive.

Astonished by the death-defying capabilities of the goblin's vitality I followed the energy trail, which led me to discover the source of its power.

Its horn was covered in dense energy, similar to how I covered my body with magi and was effectively controlling the goblin's heart rhythm and healing it in the process.

I then realized that the horn was essentially part of the crystal the goblin had previously absorbed.

-I have to destroy the horn on its forehead before it manages to recover

With no weapon in my hand at the moment, that was by no means a feasible task.

In an effort to arm myself, I searched for the spot I had dropped my dagger only to find it inches away from the goblin's feet.

With no time to spare, I rushed in and successfully grabbed the knife.

The goblin took full advantage of my opening and slashed my chest from the side, cutting several of my ribs and severely rupturing my left lung.

Having anticipated the goblin's strike, I was mentally prepared for the impact but the shock almost caused me to faint.

In the small window before the goblin's next attack I used all my remaining magi to enhance my core and with a large twisting motion stabbed the goblin's horn with my knife.

In other circumstances, the crystallized substance would have been as hard as the goblin's bones but since it was now using a lot of its power to sustain the main body, it's outer shell had considerably weakened.

Because the inner part of the crystal had been damaged the energy flowing in the monster's body was fluctuating and violently destroying it from the inside, killing it in the process.

After a short amount of time, the temperature inside the monster's body reached a point where it caused the carapace of the dead goblin to melt with only a fragment of the origin crystal being intact.

~Bliah

I began vomiting blood ...

The pain in my chest was immeasurable and every time I coughed blood it grew worse, forcing me to fall on my knees.

-Fuck, I am going to die in the end!?

Contrary to my expectations, even the weakened goblin's attack was enough to put me in a near-death state...

-I need to quickly repair my lung

That said neither my magi nor my body's healing capabilities were enough to heal such a serious wound.

Unable to breathe, my thoughts were erratic and my mind wasn't in any condition to construct a solid plan.

Soon I would suffocate in my own blood...

I glanced at the glowing crystal fragment on the ground and remember the healing properties it had exhibited in my fight with the goblin.

Under immense physical strain, I crawled my way to it and my fingers came in contact with the glass-like object

-Save me ....

A soothing warmth entering my body is the last thing I felt before giving up to the pain and abandoning all efforts to stay awake

....