hunting is always good - V

— Well… let's stick to the original plan, but I think we should add a sword-wielding goblin to our list. Maybe that way the Point Reduction won't affect you. — suggested Lily.

The group nodded silently and started walking. They were getting closer and closer to the goblin camp — maybe 19 meters away, or even less.

Something felt off.

There weren't as many goblins as expected. Scattered across the ground were damaged armors, broken spears, and shattered swords. The surrounding trees were marked by violent impacts.

— Huh?.....4x

The scene was strange. From afar, the camp had looked normal, with that usual crude aesthetic. But now that they were here, it was obvious something had gone down.

— What could've caused this destruction? whispered Med, frowning.

— This is seriously weird. Maybe it was some special event or a level 10+ monster? Carlos guessed.

— If it were something like that, it would still be here killing the weaker mobs. Lily shot back.

— Goblins aren't strong enough to hold off something that big.

— What if it was… goblins vs goblins? A rebellion, maybe? That makes more sense to me. said Med.

It was a plausible theory. An internal conflict between goblins seemed more logical than a random event or some overpowered monster passing through. Still, the others looked hesitant, keeping their thoughts to themselves.

— This is our perfect chance to atta....

Med was suddenly cut off when a goblin appeared right in front of them.

But something was wrong.

The green creature was missing its right arm. Its body was covered in wounds and bruises. It was a miracle it was still standing.

— Get it! Med ordered.

His magical beast lunged without hesitation. In seconds, the goblin was taken down easily.

SWISH!! SWISH!!

Monster HP: 00/100

LEVEL: 1 (50.10/100) Victor, Robinson, and Lily

LEVEL: 1 (70/100) Carlos

LEVEL: 2 (22.09/100) Med

¶• GOBLIN EAR 1x

— Even my miserable three points got reduced… said Med, disheartened.

— That's life... Now let's begin the feast. replied Lily with a forced smile.

The sea of spears and abandoned swords stretched all the way to the entrance of the goblin camp.

Everyone shared the same thought:

"Weird..."

There were no goblins visible in the camp. It was like a graveyard — but with no corpses, no graves. Only silence.

— What the hell is going on? Was this supposed to happen… or is it a bug? Med asked, frowning again.

— No way to know. We just got here. Could be some event, like Shaolin mentioned. replied Robinson.

— Alright, let's grab whatever's valuable and get out before whatever did this comes for us too. said Lily, already eyeing the barrels and crates.

— Let's split up. We'll cover more ground that way. suggested Carlos, ever the practical one.

Med glanced at the remaining tents... and then saw it.

Goblin heads were poking out from inside the tents, unmoving. As if they were watching something... or someone.

— Guys… the goblins are here. And I think… they're afraid of us. he said quietly.

Everyone turned to look. It *was* strange.

Victor raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"Primitive-class monsters aren't supposed to feel fear towards players..."*he thought.

But before he could finish that line of thought, their leader's voice tore through the air:

— SHAOLIN, FUCK THESE GOBLINS UP!

And just like that — a good ol' chaotic team with zero regard for strategy or preparation…

Carlos raised his shield and short sword, stepped forward and shouted:

— BRING IT ON! SLAUGHTER TIME, YOU UGLY BASTARDS!

With his short sword, he banged twice on his shield, producing a loud, echoing

CLANG! CLANG!

— What the fuck did you just do...? asked Med, watching the wave of goblins start to stir.

Lily just laughed, raising her left hand like she was summoning the chaos itself.

— It's showtime. she said with a sparkle in her eyes.

Med took a step back while commanding his magical beast into attack mode.

The goblins were injured — like the ones they'd fought before reaching the camp.

"What the hell happened to these goblins...? Is this happening to the other monsters too?" Lily wondered.

— Yikes! she yelped, rushing to hide behind the tank.

Robinson and Victor also took battle positions.

The green-skinned monsters seemed to have forgotten their own pain, moving as if it didn't exist.

The fifteen meters between the groups felt like a joke in the face of that goblin tide — nearly 200 of them.

Even so, the players didn't flinch. They held formation:

The tank at the front.

The fighter to the left.

The ratman on the right, with the tamer and his beast just ahead, next to the tank.

And finally, the useless mage — dead center, being protected as always.

— Last chance to run. Whoever wants to bail, speak now or forever hold your peace. said Lily, trying to lighten the mood.

No one answered. Everyone was focused on what truly mattered.

BOOM! BOOM!

The sea of goblins crashed into the tank's shield, pushing him back a few steps.

They had no weapons — no crude spears, no broken swords, no damaged armor. The goblins came barehanded. And still, they came in full force.

The players responded in kind.

The ratman slashed rapidly with his claws, while the tamer's magical beast fought fiercely at the tank's side.

SWISH! SWISH!

Monster HP: 20/100

Monster HP: 10/100

Med, being only level 2, couldn't handle a swarm of enemies alone — even weakened ones. The numbers outweighed the power.

But he wasn't alone. And the help he had was more than enough to deal with limping goblins.

The frenzied goblins fell one by one, unaware of where the attacks were coming from. They'd completely lost their sense of night and day.

Victor felt more confident. He moved a few steps forward, breaking formation.

Carlos glanced around to reassess the team's position… and almost forgot something crucial:

Someone had been protected by the initial formation.

Lily's eyes widened. For the first time, she was in the front lines — and as a mage with no real offensive power.

— S.O.S.!! she screamed, flailing her staff wildly, hitting a few goblins… and the tank in the process.

— What the fu...?! Carlos nearly exploded, watching his HP drop more than usual from a friendly fire strike.

For a second, he seriously considered tossing the useless mage into the middle of the goblins. But he held back when he saw her terrified expression.

Meanwhile, Med and Robinson showed excellent synergy. They were dealing more damage than Victor himself.

Of course — they were two, and the fighter was just one.

— Empolo-man, my beast's running low on HP! We've got maybe 10 or 15 more minutes before it dies to these goblins… we better—

Med stopped mid-sentence when he heard the tank's voice.

Despite the chaotic battle, the group was still fairly close — no more than two to four meters apart.

— FALL BACK. NOW.

For two seconds, both he and Robinson looked back.

Victor was trying to pull a goblin off the mage — who, of course, was screaming in desperation.

— GET THIS SHIT OFF ME!

She squirmed on the ground, waving her staff like a wild helicopter blade.

Victor, wrestling with the goblin clinging to her shoulders, tried to rip the monster off like unsticking old chewing gum.

— GET IT OFF! I DON'T WANNA BE IN A HENTAI!!

After a few seconds of a pathetic struggle, the goblin was finally yanked off with force. But the one who truly ended the threat…

…was the tank's short sword — with a clean, sharp slash.

Monster HP: 00/100

¶• Goblin Ear 1x

They retreated slowly, killing goblins that kept rushing at them.

It was only when their feet crossed the edge of the goblin camp that they noticed something strange: the monsters stopped.

They stayed inside, growling, snarling… but never stepped beyond.

— They're not coming out, Red Butterfly. said Robinson, almost laughing.

Lily shot him a deadly glare but said nothing. She knew he was right… and hated it.

She took a deep breath, trying to process what had just happened. Her first real fight wasn't anything like she imagined. No epic spells, no saving anyone with ancient wisdom…

She almost got molested by a level 1 goblin.

— Well… it wasn't *that* bad for our first "raid." Carlos said casually.

— Except for the part where Red Butterfly almost starred in a banned manga.

LEVEL: 1 (70.25/100) Victor, Robinson, and Lily

LEVEL: 1 (94/100) Carlos

LEVEL: 2 (30/100) Med

— Man, this point system is kinda busted. Robinson muttered, frowning.

— There were maybe 300 goblins, and we only got… 30 XP?

— Look on the bright side. At least we're doing better than Mr. Point Reduction over here. Lily said, barely holding back laughter, glancing sideways at Med.

Victor opened his menu and checked his XP bar. He was only 30 points away from the next level. He also noticed Carlos was close to hitting level 2.

"If he levels up, our damage against goblins will go up a lot." Victor thought.

But then something caught his attention.

¶• Goblin Ear 161x

"A LOT." he screamed internally.

His greed was suddenly interrupted by a troubling thought.

Those goblins… were all level 1. None had reached the intermediate stage — let alone peak stage.

"Wait… there used to be stronger goblins around here."

The euphoria of victory had clouded his logic. From the beginning, something had been wrong with that camp.

And now… how could he tell the others?

Med was nearby, and Victor felt uneasy. Since their first meeting, the tamer seemed to think Victor was weird — and he wasn't wrong, considering how little Victor spoke.

"I can't just pull someone by the shirt like some shy anime girl..."

He took a deep breath.

He had to say it.

Even with Med there. Even with his voice cracking. Even sounding like a paranoid lunatic.

— D-did anyone notice that… none of the goblins went past the initial stage? B-but earlier… there were some at the intermediate stage, even the peak… Now it's like they never existed.

— Hm…4x

— Now that you mention it, yeah… I noticed. Med said, scratching his chin.

— Maybe it's related to those broken spears and swords? And the goblins were almost dead… with critical wounds.

— So someone's hunting the stronger ones and leaving only the weaklings alive? asked Robinson, thoughtful.

— I doubt it's a "someone." said Lily.

— Feels more like a sport hunt. Like it's killing only those who dared to fight "it." In my opinion… it's a monster.

Everyone went silent for a moment.

— So there's a monster playing exterminator? said Carlos.

— And soon enough, it'll exterminate us too, if we're not careful.

— I'll be the first to run. replied Robinson, smirking.

Lily glanced sideways at him and chuckled.

— Typical ratman response… But if we think about it, we might actually have an advantage here. Okay, we don't know what happened to the boss, but it's probably dead… or better yet, under 80% HP.

The group's eyes lit up with the possibility.

Morale soared.

And so began Round Two.

— Carlos is close to level 2. Let's wipe out the rest quickly. A strong tank is the key to victory, got it. said Lily, raising her staff like a battle flag.