First Daily Mission

Pad, pad, pad!!!

The wolf charged at Leon first. He swallowed. With caution, he immediately ran eastwards from the hall.

Despite lacking experience in combat, Leon knew that his original position was the most perfect grave spot for him if he could die in his Log Arena. Because it was easy for the three beasts to corner him right there at the same time.

It would be wiser to contain one monster at a time. When he turned, the wolf had appeared at an arm's length from him.

Screech! – it snarled.

His chest tightened. "Too fast!"

Regardless, Leon drove his dagger towards it.

Without prior notice, the wolf deflected the weapon with its paw. A loud clang echoed through the hall.

Leon's senses shot in like an arrow. He cried out, "Activate Blink Dash!"

[Activated!]

In one swift movement, he got to the monster's rear. Then, without hesitation, he lunged with his dagger at its flank. But before his attack hit, he paused to hear a whirring sound coming from behind him.

A dagger sped towards him with a loud 'phroom'.

'Damn it!'

Distracted already, Leon didn't realise that the wolf turned towards him. Its fangs dug into his thigh, drawing a heavy scream from his mouth.

The next thing Leon knew was that his body was drifting backwards under the monster's paw attack. But, so familiar with an attack by another E-rank monster, he gained momentum. A faint cloud of dust danced before him...

Fwshh...

In the blink of an eye, one of the goblins centred on him.

He hissed at the biting sensations in his thigh. But, having learned endurance the hard way, he attacked. Shortly, their daggers clashed against one another.

Clang, clang, clang!!!

Both of them attacked in violent ways.

At an unexpected moment, Leon slid past the goblin's defences. He thrust his dagger towards the side of its stomach. But faster, the goblin slashed at his torso.

It snarled with excitement. Leon's body jerked backwards, his hand clutching his chest.

Pain shot from different angles, threatening to paralyse him. But he knew that losing would not just hurt his stats. It would also show he hadn't progressed since beating the Chrono Wolf.

"Bring it on!" He snarled.

With rushed footwork, Leon reached an arm's length to the monster. Embers danced between their clashing daggers. He lunged faster, only for the goblin to use a special ability.

It blurred out of sight.

A split second later—slash! A sharp sting ran across Leon's arm.

"Ah!" He screamed, clutching his arm. His brows furrowed as he hissed and made a gentle turn backwards.

The goblin appeared, a mocking laugh escaping its lips. Leon was dumbfounded that a low-rank monster had stealth abilities.

He straightened his back with care; the handle of his dagger felt warm in his grip.

At that moment, Leon burst into laughter. The goblin's mocking laugh faded into wonder.

'Great... I distracted it!'

Immediately, Leon charged towards it. He shouted "Blink Dash" in his mind. Before the goblin could hold its dagger properly...

Slash!

Tickle, tickle...

Blood dropped below the goblin.

It had frozen mid-action, its mouth left wide open. Leon's knees hit the ground behind it, his left hand clutching the side of his arm. The goblin's body fell to the ground with a resounding crash.

Leon's mind made a silent rejoicing. He had known if he laughed too, contrasting his expected reaction, the goblin would find it a wonder. And in that moment, he would have executed an attack with Blink Dash when it was busy contemplating.

In the next second, a continuous padding sound echoed in Leon's ears. His instincts kicked in. He turned to notice the wolf's shadow closing in on him.

His chest tightened. He clenched his jaw. Without hesitation, he rolled left across the floor. But upon rising to his feet...

Leon's eyes widened. "Damn it!"

The wolf growled as its fangs sank through Leon's skin.

"Hrk!"

Blood poured from the injury in large quantities. The wolf dragged him backwards with great force.

"Tch - get off!" Leon grunted.

He jabbed the dagger's hilt against its crown with unyielding force. Suddenly, the beast smashed Leon's back into the wall.

Crash!

Shattering of rocks broke out, a thick cloud of dust rising immediately. The wolf roared inches from where the dust began.

Leon? - nowhere to be found.

But a struggling whimper echoed from inside the thick smoke. Shards of stone were scattered across the floor.

Just at that moment, Leon dashed out of the thick dust, surprising the wolf.

"Damn you!"

The wolf roared. But he was faster to thrust his dagger into its neck. But when he tried to stab again, the beast slammed its head into his stomach. The attack sent him skidding backwards. His back slammed against the wall.

Slam!

Leon dropped to the ground, his dagger clattering metres away from him. He gasped for breath. He fell back when he tried to rise to his feet. The floor grew sticky with his bloodied palms.

Likewise, the Flare Wolf screeched in agony, its legs moving in a disordered manner. But at a moment that sapped breath from Leon's throat, it charged towards him.

"Shoot! I can't GET up!" Leon lamented.

He grunted, reattempting to rise. Yet, the moment his attempt was successful, the beast had closed in completely. Now, its screech was more violent.

Leon's instincts kicked in straight away.

Snarl!

It got a few inches away from him...

He immediately retrieved a flame lamp from the wall. And he smashed it against its skull with a loud scream.

Thud!

----

The wolf collapsed, its body motionless, before Leon. The ground beneath him trembled.

Pant, pant, pant!!!

At that moment, he fell back to his knees. He gasped for breath. His stomach ached so much he almost couldn't breathe. As a matter of fact, his vision turned blurry.

Leon clutched his stomach with a firm grip. 'I can't give up yet…'

He grunted upon rising to his feet. He limped towards the last goblin.

A thought crossed his mind on seeing a blurry image of it. 'Just as they said…'

Before clocking eighteen, the standard age to be an Ascendant, Leon had studied different abilities and monsters. For the fun of it, that is. He learned that goblins, among the lowest-tier monsters, have one common weakness. It was cowardice in the face of a dominant strength.

The last goblin Leon saw trembled, stepping away as he approached. At a safe distance away from it, Leon stopped. He panted non-stop, sweat mixing with his blood.

"Scared?"

For some reason, the goblin clenched its teeth. It rushed at Leon, who sidestepped its attack... but he himself almost lost his balance. The recent ones had weakened him a great deal.

The goblin lunged again. When he counterattacked, his dagger fell off its grip. Right then, he ran through the goblin's attack, unmindful of the danger.

It stabbed him, yes, but Leon didn't stop. He screamed out and dug his fingers into its reptilian eyes. Then, he smashed its head against the pillar.

Blood sprinkled onto his face.

----

His body drifted here and there. Then he fell, only for the surface into which he crashed to have morphed into one with a set of logs of wood.

Leon's cold body lay on the floor.

Was he unconscious?

If so, where was he now?