The first real combat experience

Late at night—the hour when drowsiness begins to take hold. After waiting for a long while and hearing no more signs of other Walkers outside, Lucian Vale, whose eyes were growing too heavy to stay open, finally decided to get some rest.

He had already witnessed how dangerous the night could be. But whether this abandoned city was equally treacherous by day… that remained unknown.

If he didn't take the chance to rest now, and something did happen tomorrow, his exhausted body wouldn't be able to cope with it.

Thankfully, he didn't snore in his sleep. Otherwise, who knew if that would attract the undead? That was the last thought Lucian Vale had before he drifted off.

…

He had no idea how long he slept. Gentle sunlight warmed his face, and he slowly opened his eyes.

It was now the second day in the Ethereal Plane. Standing up, he stretched his stiff limbs under the morning sun.

After satisfying his hunger with a simple meal, Lucian Vale once again opened his magic tome to continue studying spells. Learning magic was a long and painstaking process—with no shortcuts.

His entire morning was spent memorizing runes and tracing their forms repeatedly in his mind.

At one point, he slipped upstairs to find an empty room and took care of some biological necessities. He buried the waste beneath a pile of junk to mask any scent that might leak out.

…

As Lucian Vale continued studying with the magic tome in his arms, a faint sound caught his ear.

Could there be another surprise during daylight hours in this city?

Carefully, he peeked his head out and looked toward the direction the sound was coming from.

Squinting into the distance, he finally spotted a few green figures at the far end of the street.

Upon closer inspection—Goblins!

They were a common species within the Ethereal Plane. Their skin was green, and they stood roughly between 1.2 to 1.4 meters tall.

Omnivorous and tribal in nature, most Goblins were low in intelligence—no smarter than a child of seven or eight.

Goblins typically lived in small tribal groups. Their personalities were both savage and cowardly, and their courage depended entirely on how many of their kin were nearby.

The more companions they had, the braver they became.

As a Goblin tribe expanded, occasionally, some of their number would evolve higher intelligence.

The larger the tribe, the more likely it was for these intelligent Goblins to appear—some tribes had even formed Goblin kingdoms.

These higher Goblins were capable of wielding magic themselves, though they were rare.

…

There were six Goblins in this group. None of them noticed Lucian Vale, who was peeking out with only his eyes exposed.

They were completely naked—except for the leader, who wore a crude necklace made from woven grass, decorated with a few disheveled bird feathers.

That must be their captain.

All six were armed with long spears, nearly two meters in length. The tips looked to be made from sharpened stones, tied to crooked wooden shafts with strands of grass rope.

Clearly, their civilization was primitive, which meant this tribe likely wasn't large.

As they walked down the road, the Goblins shouted noisily to one another. Lucian Vale frowned. For such weak creatures, weren't they worried that their shouting would attract predators?

Some swung their stone spears around, banging on walls or yelling in what seemed like gibberish. Occasionally, one would burst out laughing.

Eventually, they split into pairs and wandered into nearby buildings.

That gave Lucian Vale a sudden, sinking feeling.

Why were they going into buildings?

He quickly picked up his fire axe and strapped his short dagger to his waist, keeping close watch on the Goblins' movements.

Ten minutes later, one of the pairs emerged from a building holding a few objects. Lucian squinted for a clearer look.

A metal cooking pot—and some scattered odds and ends.

Were they scavenging for supplies? Lucian was puzzled.

Soon after, the other pairs returned as well, each carrying items of some sort. After depositing what they had found, the Goblins split up again and wandered toward different buildings.

Lucian Vale's heart grew heavier. He silently prayed over and over again.

Please don't come into this building. Please don't find this room.

But his prayers went unanswered.

One pair of Goblins exited a building across the street—empty-handed and grumbling. Then they turned and headed straight for the very building Lucian was hiding in.

His heart tightened.

He didn't want a confrontation. Not now. He had just completed his Awakening, received a blessing from the Ethereal Plane, and even unlocked a mysterious status panel he still didn't fully understand.

If he could just return to Aurelia, he would have a promising future as a spellcaster.

But now… things had taken a turn.

Two Goblins were heading his way.

Individually, Goblins weren't hard to deal with. Barely over a meter tall, their strength was comparable to a twelve-year-old human child.

But their viciousness was something else entirely.

Anyone with experience in life-and-death situations knew: the meek feared the fierce, and the fierce feared the reckless.

These Goblins had numbers on their side, which meant they were already at the "reckless" level.

If possible, Lucian Vale wanted nothing more than to avoid a fight.

But fate, as always, had other plans.

No matter how hard he prayed, the two Goblins were now inside the building.

As their strange voices grew louder, Lucian's tension began to transform into calm focus.

Now that danger was here, there was only one thing to do—fight for survival.

He might be afraid, but he wasn't a coward.

He was over six feet tall, after all. Taking down a Goblin should be doable.

If he could eliminate these two quietly, the remaining four would be easier to handle.

He hid behind the door, fire axe in his right hand. The weight and balance made it ideal for single-handed use—especially now that his strength had been enhanced by his Awakening.

In his left hand, he reversed the grip on his dagger.

He was ready.

Lucian had blocked the door with a tattered sofa, but the two Goblins easily shoved it aside.

The wooden frame creaked, the fabric tore apart, and clouds of dust and debris filled the air—causing the Goblins to cough violently.

Lucian listened to their guttural voices drawing closer.

They checked two other rooms first and paused briefly upon finding the skeleton.

"Creak…"

The door before Lucian creaked open. A pungent, sour stench—like a creature that hadn't bathed in years—filled his nostrils.

Lucian held his breath.

"Gibber jabber!"

The two Goblins had discovered the backpack Lucian left behind, along with his stash of food and tools in the corner. They let out delighted cries.

Now was the time.

Lucian crept forward from behind the door.

The Goblins stood with their backs to him, distracted. One was holding a bundle of junk, with the top half of a human skull perched on its head. The other clutched a stone spear and babbled excitedly.

Lucian's expression hardened. He raised the fire axe high above his head—then swung it down at an angle with all his strength toward the Goblin holding the spear.

The sharpened blade, polished to perfection, didn't disappoint.

With a sickening crunch, it split through green flesh with ease.

"Crack!"

Green blood spurted from the wound as the Goblin let out a strangled cry, dead before it could even react.

The second Goblin froze in shock.

Lucian yanked the axe free from the bone, and the other Goblin finally let out a shrill scream.

But Lucian gave it no chance to flee. He raised the axe again and brought it down in another heavy blow.

The Goblin panicked, raising the junk it was carrying in a futile attempt to block.

The axe struck true—crushing through both the debris and the Goblin's shoulder.

"Smack!"

The force of the blow knocked the creature onto a nearby wooden bed.

Before it could get up, Lucian leapt after it and buried the axe in the Goblin's skull.

Its brain split open like a melon, bits of white and green spraying out. It was dead before it could scream again.

"Haah… haah…"

Lucian stood there, chest heaving.

He had won.

But the sudden release of tension left his limbs weak and trembling.

This was the price of inexperience. No amount of sparring in school could match the intensity of real combat.

He'd spilled blood for the first time—not on fish or poultry in a kitchen, but on living, sentient beings.

And the adrenaline still surged through him.

That… had been one hell of a fight.