CHAPTER 52: AGAIN?!

A second arrow came almost immediately, followed by several more, all aimed to pin him down.

Lanz reacted without hesitation, drawing his blade and swatting them away in quick, sharp movements. Each deflection was pure satisfaction of not ending up with an arrow sticking out of him was worth it.

"F*ck! You guys are a bunch of party poopers," he snapped, his voice carrying across the cavern even as he kept moving.

"Can a guy not have peaceful recon for five minutes?!" With no concern for their feelings, he lifted one hand from the hilt just long enough to flip them off before shoving himself off the tree limb.

He hit the ground running — literally — and wasted no time putting distance between himself and the swarm of scouts.

Still sprinting, Lanz considered veering toward the lake where he had spotted the boars earlier, thinking it might give him some cover or at least a better escape route.

His mind was halfway through planning the turn when his body abruptly slammed into something solid, the impact knocking him flat onto his backside with a dull thud.

"What the f*ck..." he muttered, his voice low and annoyed as he winced from the sudden ache in his hip.

For a second, he just sat there, catching his breath and glaring at whatever had decided to plant itself directly in his path.

Slowly, he tilted his head upward, expecting maybe a wall or a chunk of rock jutting out the ground.

Instead, what he saw was a massive boulder blocking the way forward, and not just one — there were several others scattered around it in a rough circle.

"Motherf*cker, of course there’s just random boulders conveniently circling something in this gate," Lanz grumbled, already too irritated to care about subtlety.

With a deep breath and all the twenty points of STR he had, he reeled his fist back and slammed it into the one he bumped with, less because it was in his way and more out of pure, unfiltered annoyance.

The reaction he got was not at all what he expected.

Instead of the dull, solid thud of hitting stone, the thing let out an ear-piercing, high-pitched screech that cut straight through the air.

SHRIEEEEEEEEEEK!

Lanz’s eyes widened as he instinctively jumped back, his hands coming up in a defensive stance while his brain tried to catch up to what had just happened.

His gaze darted to the spot where his fist had landed, and that was when he noticed it — there was actual blood trickling down from the impact point.

The moment he realized it was bleeding, the so-called "boulder" suddenly shifted, its surface splitting apart to reveal thin, transparent wings that unfolded with an unsettling buzz.

Then, with deliberate, insect-like movements, it pushed itself upright and turned its head directly toward him.

"This b*tch was a giant beetle?!" Lanz shouted, his voice dripping with disbelief and irritation in equal measure.

The moment the first beetle’s wings began to buzz, the rest of the "boulders" around the circle started to stir as well, their shells splitting apart to reveal the same translucent wings.

One by one, they took to the air with a loud, droning hum, the formation breaking apart and exposing whatever they had been surrounding.

What they were guarding wasn’t a treasure chest or some mysterious dungeon core, it was four hobgoblins.

From the way they were sprawled out, weapons resting lazily at their sides, it was obvious they had been taking a break.

That made the whole "beetle security perimeter" even weirder, because apparently these oversized bugs were acting like personal bodyguards... or maybe they were just hiding themselves, and used the beetles as cover.

One of the hobgoblins stirred first, its head turning lazily before its eyes landed directly on Lanz’s position.

Of course it would spot him. Why wouldn’t it? There was no cover, no shadows to hide in, and it was broad daylight in the middle of an open clearing.

The hobgoblin’s face twisted into something between confusion and anger before it let out a guttural, piercing shriek.

The noise jolted the other three awake instantly.

They scrambled upright with surprising speed, grabbing their weapons and fixing their eyes on Lanz.

"This is getting repetitive," Lanz muttered, his voice flat but dripping with annoyance. "Really? Hobgoblins, again?"

Without waiting for a response — not that they could give one — he reached into his inventory and pulled out the Aged Blade Fragment.

The weapon materialized in his hand in a shimmer of light, solidifying with a weight that was all too familiar by now.

He tightened his grip, tilting the blade slightly as he faced them. "Alright. Let’s get this sh*t over with."

The four hobgoblins didn’t waste time with posturing.

They spread out into a loose formation, their movements coordinated enough to show they had fought together before.

Step by step, they began advancing toward him, weapons raised, eyes locked in a predator’s focus.

Lanz didn’t move though.

He kinda just planted his feet firmly, his expression halfway between bored and irritated, watching them close the distance.

If they wanted to make a big dramatic approach, fine. He could wait.

And in the meantime, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were deliberately taking their time, as if dragging out the confrontation for some unspoken reason.

Aura farming.

That was the only explanation that came to mind.

They weren’t charging in recklessly because they wanted the tension to build, maybe even to throw him off.

But instead of feeling intimidated, Lanz just felt even more done with the situation.

So he stayed right where he was, letting them come to him, his grip on the blade tightening with each step they took.

He let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Let’s do this sh*t."

End of Chapter 52.

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ALT SYSTEM — USER PROFILE: ZERO

Level: 14

EXP: 74 / 140

Next Reward: Special Loot Box

Global System Tracking: DISABLED

World Rank Association: UNLINKED

Stats:

STR: 20 | AGI: 10 (Affinity) | VIT: 5 | DEX: 5 | INT: 14 | WIS: 5

[Available Stat Points: 0]

[Derived Stat — MANA: 70 / 70]

Skills:

[Crimson Slash Lv. 1]

[Phantom Stride Lv. 2]

[Instinctive Blade Lv.1]

[Predictive Guard Lv.1]

[Skill Fusion Menu: Active]

[Dev Tree: Tier 0 Access Granted]

[Developer Node – Fusion Core Anchor: Active]

[Skill Slot Available — Unassigned]

Equipment:

Aged Blade Fragment (??? Rarity) (Bound)

Training Ring (+1 VIT)

Bag :)