Entrapped

Alex drew [Eclipse Edge], the sleek blade gleaming with a dark aura. The goblins grunted in alarm, but when they noticed his sword, their fear twisted into greed.

Their grunts turned into excited snarls, and they looked eager to steal the powerful weapon.

Alex shook his head, amused my their reaction.

"Seriously, how dumb can these creatures be?"

With a sigh, he suddenly vanished, moving so fast it seemed like he teleported.

In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in the middle of a group of goblins, and before they could react, Alex swung his sword in a wide arc.

The air whistled as [Eclipse Edge] cut through them like paper, slicing several goblins clean in half.

The scout goblin, frozen in shock, snapped out of it and screamed for the rest to attack.

In an instant, the rest of the goblins rushed at Alex, weapons raised, snarling in rage

Energy gathered in Alex chest, swelling up until his mouth bulged. With a roar, he unleashed [Stun Howl], the soundwave tearing through the air with a deafening boom.

The goblins caught in its path were blown backward, tumbling through the air like ragdolls.

Those hit at close range froze mid-step, their bodies trembling.

Blood oozed from their ears and mouths as they collapsed, dead on their feet.

With a cold grin, Alex dashed toward the remaining goblins, his movements a blur.

His sword swung with precise fury, each strike hitting its mark.

Limbs flew, and goblin after goblin fell, unable to match Alex's sheer speed and power.

He fought like a wild beast, slashing and hacking through his enemies, unstoppable in his rampage.

It was a one-sided massacre, with each swing of his sword sending limbs and goblin corpses flying.

But no matter how many he killed, more kept coming. Like all the goblins in the dungeon had gathered to take him down.

The green beasts charged without hesitation, showing no fear, no concern for their own lives.

Alex frowned as he fought, his mind racing:

'Why aren't they scared?'

Unlike when he had fought the cockatrice boss, the monsters had shown some caution, some survival instinct.

But these goblins? They attacked like mindless drones, rushing him in waves, as if they were being controlled.

'Is it because we're in a dungeon?' he wondered, as he swung his sword to meet two goblins leaping at him from above like wild monkeys

. Their bodies hit the ground before they even knew what happened.

A third goblin lunged at his legs, but Alex reacted quickly with a spin, kicking it into a nearby wall with a bone-cracking thud.

Anothwd group of goblins rushed him next, but Alex barely flinched, as he opened his mouth, gathering energy, and unleashed a powerful [Stun Howl].

The soundwave hit the goblins head-on, their bodies dropped to the ground, lifeless, as blood streamed from their ears.

But while Alex was focused on the swarm, the goblin scout hung back, watching him with calculating eyes.

It made a series of quick hand gestures, signaling some of the goblins to fetch nets.

Without hesitation, the goblins obeyed, grabbing nets and preparing to spring the trap.

Alex, too engrossed in fighting, didn't notice the goblins above, quietly positioning themselves with the net ready.

He only realized something was wrong when it was too late.

The net dropped over him in an instant.

Goblins on all sides grabbed the edges, pulling it tight and trapping him.

Alex cursed under his breath, struggling against the tough, tangled net.

His movements were slowed, his sword arm pinned down.

Before he could break free, he felt a sharp pain in his back.

A goblin had stabbed him with a pitchfork, the crude weapon digging into his flesh.

Snarling in pain, Alex gritted his teeth. With a pained yell, he swung his arm and backhanded the goblin behind him.

The creature flew through the air like a ragdoll, slamming into the cave wall with a sickening thud.

But the sharp pain in his back made Alex groan, his hand instinctively clutching the bleeding wound.

"Argh, that hurts," he muttered through clenched teeth. Just as he tried to catch his breath, a dagger came out of nowhere, burying itself deep into his thigh.

"Gah!" Alex gasped, the sharp pain shooting up his leg. Before he could even react, another dagger was already flying toward him.

Reflexively, Alex activated his [Aegis Arcane], the invisible barrier flaring up just in time to block the deadly blade. It clanged off the shield and fell to the ground.

His eyes shot up, narrowing in on the culprit:

Rusuk, the goblin scout.

The crafty goblin stood in the distance, a cold smirk on its face as it drew more daggers from its belt, aiming with sniper-like precision. Without missing a beat, Rusuk unleashed a flurry of daggers, each one zipping through the air toward Alex.

[Aegis Arcane] held firm, but Alex felt the pressure building. Every dagger that struck the shield drained more of his energy.

Worse, he was still stuck under the iron net, its weight pressing down on him like a vice.

More goblins piled onto the net, pulling it tighter, keeping him pinned.

'This is bad,' he thought, panic creeping in.

He could feel his energy reserves depleting. The shield wouldn't hold much longer, and when it dropped, he'd be defenseless against the scout's relentless attacks.

He needed a way out—fast.

And he found he had one.

[Slipstream: You can easily escape an entrapment. Magical traps take time and may cost Mana. The stronger the trap, the more time it will take.]

It was the passive skill he had gotten as a reward for killing the cockatrice boss, Dreadfeather.

Gritting his teeth, he deactivated [Aegis Arcane], letting the protective barrier disappear and the net landed directly on his skin.

His muscles strained as he fought to stay upright, but his legs began to buckle. He was slowly being forced to his knees.

He activated [Slipstream] and immediately felt the restriction ease giving him enough time to raise [Eclipse Edge], using the side of the blade to parry the daggers flying at him.

Using his sword to block wasn't ideal as his limited movement caused some of the daggers to graze his arms and legs, cutting him multiple times.

But this was the only was he could escaped the entrapment.

Alex clenched his jaw and with his free hand, he...