24 A Growing Army of Spirits

The system's chime echoed in Kael's mind, and a new notification flickered before his eyes.

[7th Level: Survival Challenge – No Restrictions. Survive for 1 hour.]

Kael raised an eyebrow at the vague description. No extra conditions? No changing locations? Just survival? He had been expecting a curveball—maybe stronger monsters, maybe another horrifying trap—but the simplicity of the objective made him uneasy.

He didn't have time to dwell on it. The countdown was reaching its final moments, and he had learned by now that hesitation was the difference between life and death. With a deep breath, he turned to his spirits, issuing silent commands through his bond with them. His undead quickly formed a defensive perimeter around him, their glowing blue eyes flickering with readiness.

The final second on the countdown ticked away.

A sudden, high-pitched screech split the air.

Kael's gaze snapped toward the source of the noise, and from just around the corner, small humanoid creatures emerged, their ragged cloth barely covering their thin, wiry bodies. They were green-skinned, with large, beady eyes and sharp, jagged teeth.

Goblins.

Dozens of them.

The moment their bulging yellow eyes locked onto Kael, they screeched again, pointing at him with cruel grins before charging forward.

Before Kael could even react, Adam let out a boisterous laugh, followed by a grin from Anna, Ruby, Ron, and Jack.

"Master, why don't you take a break? We'll handle this," Adam called out confidently, cracking his knuckles.

Jack stretched his shoulders and smirked. "Yeah, boss, you can just sit back and relax."

Kael's mouth twitched. A while ago, they had been normal humans struggling to survive, and now they were talking like seasoned warriors. He knew why. Unlike the other spirits, these five were conscious of their growth and knew that with every battle, they would only get stronger.

"Fine, do as you please," Kael said, shaking his head. "Just don't get overconfident. You don't have weapons yet."

Anna grinned, stepping forward with an easy stance. "Who needs weapons when we have these?" she said, flexing her fingers.

As if responding to her challenge, the goblins rushed forward with wild shrieks, their short, nimble bodies weaving through the debris as they attacked.

The battle erupted in an instant.

The goblins were fast—darting around like shadows, their small size allowing them to slip through openings and strike from unexpected angles. They managed to land hits on the normal spirits, biting and clawing at them, but they barely left scratches on the elite spirits.

With one clean punch, Adam sent a goblin's skull shattering against a nearby wall. Ruby grabbed one by the neck and twisted, the sickening crack echoing through the battlefield. Ron and Jack teamed up, throwing goblins like ragdolls into one another.

The goblins were vicious, but Kael's spirits were relentless.

More screeches erupted from all directions. Kael's frown deepened as he felt the ground vibrate slightly beneath him—more goblins were flooding in from the surrounding buildings, drawn by the noise of the fight.

He clenched his fist. How is anyone supposed to survive this?

Just as he was considering joining the fight, his eyes caught movement at the edge of the battlefield.

A larger figure pushed through the smaller goblins, towering over them. It was twice the size of the regular goblins, with bulging muscles, dark tattoos running across its arms, and a jagged bone club resting on its shoulder.

Kael's breath hitched.

A Hobgoblin.

His mind flashed back to countless games and stories—hobgoblins were always the evolved form of goblins, stronger and more intelligent than their mindless counterparts.

Kael didn't hesitate. A charged mana bolt flickered into existence, sparking as it grew in intensity before he launched it straight at the hobgoblin's head.

To his shock, the hobgoblin sidestepped at the last second, the energy blast narrowly missing its face. The creature snorted in amusement, its jagged teeth stretching into a mocking grin as if to say, Is that all you got?

Then, it charged.

Kael's eyes widened as the hobgoblin barreled toward Adam, who was still fighting off regular goblins. The elite spirit turned at the last moment, but before he could react, the hobgoblin swung its massive fist straight at his head.

Before the punch could land, a blur of movement cut through the battlefield.

Kael's Rare- Spirit intercepted the blow, catching the hobgoblin's fist in its own hand.

The ground cracked beneath their feet as the impact shook the street. The hobgoblin's eyes widened in shock, but before it could react, the Rare- Spirit countered.

It drove a devastating punch straight into the hobgoblin's gut, sending the creature flying backward. The pavement shattered as the hobgoblin landed, and before it could get back up, the Rare- Spirit lunged forward, slamming its fists down onto its skull repeatedly.

The sickening crunch of bone shattering against the pavement echoed through the air.

The hobgoblin didn't even get the chance to scream.

Kael smirked, satisfied. The power of a Rare- Spirit was terrifying.

Even Adam, Ruby, Ron, Anna, and Jack stared in stunned silence for a moment before they got more pumped up and charged back into battle, more fired up than ever.

It didn't take long for the goblins' numbers to dwindle.

By the time the last hobgoblin fell, the entire street was littered with corpses. Blood pooled in the cracks of the pavement, and the foul stench of death filled the air.

Kael sighed, rolling his shoulders as he collected the spirits.

136 spirits.

His collection had grown tremendously, and that was including the ones he already had.

As he glanced at the timer in his interface, he saw that only 25 minutes remained before the trial ended.

Before he could decide on his next move, the sound of battle caught his attention.

His eyes narrowed, and he took off toward the noise.

Within minutes, he arrived at the scene—a familiar group was engaged in battle.

The warrior was clashing with a hobgoblin, his heavy sword barely holding back the beast's strength. Emily and the others were surrounded, struggling to fend off the overwhelming numbers of goblins. Even Ethan looked panicked, casting healing spells rapidly, his energy already draining.

Then, more goblins appeared from the other side of the street.

Despair flickered across their faces.

Emily cursed. "Damn it, we can't hold out—!"

But then, something unexpected happened.

The goblins stopped charging.

Instead of rushing the exhausted survivors, they turned and shrieked in confusion—because something else was attacking them.

Kael smirked.

Emily, Ethan, and the others watched in disbelief as a wave of undead spirits tore through the goblin ranks.

Ethan's voice was the first to break the silence.

"B-Big sis… look!"

Emily turned, her breath hitching.

Through the chaos, a single figure emerged—walking calmly through the battlefield, hands in his pockets, a relaxed grin on his face.

Kael raised a hand and waved lazily.

"Yo," he called out, his voice light. "I heard some noise and came to check. Hope you don't mind if I clean up some trash."

Silence.

Not just from Emily and Ethan.

From everyone.

Every surviving player present there stared in shock and disbelief, unable to process the sheer absurdity of what they were witnessing.