Goblin cave II

Jake and others then entered the tunnel which the three goblins have been guarding earlier, and saw a sight that made them vomit.

They saw several naked females of different races lying lifelessly in cages, and some goblins even violating those dead bodies.

The gruesome scene inside the tunnel shook the team to their core. The sight of the lifeless bodies and the vile actions of the Goblins were beyond any horrors they had encountered before. Jake, unable to contain his rage and disgust, made a swift decision.

"Enough of this!" he exclaimed, gritting his teeth. In a surge of anger, he summoned fire, and the flames quickly spread, engulfing the entire tunnel. The Inferno forge consumed the darkness and horrors within, leaving nothing but ashes in its wake.

Jimmy, Mark, and Emily emerged from the tunnel, their expressions somber. The weight of the disturbing scene lingered in the air, casting a pall over the entire team. No words were exchanged, as the magnitude of the atrocity they had witnessed left them in a state of shock.

The decision to burn the cave was a collective response to erase the horrors they had seen and to prevent any continuation of such atrocities. The team moved away from the now-sealed tunnel, leaving the echoes of the flames behind.

Tom appeared before them and said to them "If you want we can end this exploration here".

Jimmy, Mark and Emily remained silent and looked at Jake, Jake took a deep breath and smiled turning towards his friends he said " We will kill them all and stop them".

The others nodded , Tom just nodded and vanished once again.

The team then started moving now instead of previous canon fodder goblins they are now encountering Goblin warriors but good thing is that they have only encounter them in group of 4 maximum.

Once again the team took their position and the moment goblin warriors come, they ambushed them, Emily arrow precisely killed one, while Jimmy and Mark each killed other two.

As the team was smiling Jake quickly came to Emily and parried a dagger aimed at her neck, kicking away the goblin who ambushed Emily, Jake swiftly utilized his Akashic eyes.

[Goblin Elite

Rank : D+.....]

Jake determined it's stats are 10% more then Goblin warriors and it also has a rare skill, stealth and Dagger proficiency.

Jimmy and Mark quickly surrounded the Goblin with a dagger and wearing a red cloth armor.

"Leave it to me" Jake said and rushed at the goblin Elite.

Jake, fueled by anger, swiftly closed the distance between himself and the Goblin Elite. The goblin, clad in red cloth armor and wielding a dagger with expertise, responded with a sly grin as it prepared for the confrontation.

Clang

Jake's silvery glowing dagger and Goblin's rusty dagger collided, creating a sharp sound, Jake frowned and then tapped a black rune and the silvery glow changed to dark one.

As Jake engaged the Goblin Elite, it became evident that the creature possessed enhanced stats compared to regular goblins. Its agility and proficiency with both stealth and the dagger made it a formidable opponent. The dance of blades ensued, with each strike and parry demonstrating the combat prowess of both combatants.

The Goblin Elite utilized its stealth skill to vanish momentarily, attempting to catch Jake off guard. However, Jake, anticipating such tactics, remained focused and vigilant. The battle unfolded with a series of quick and precise movements, both sides aiming to exploit weaknesses and seize opportunities and once again Jake attacked, with a hideous grin the Goblin Elite prepared to parry but this time the Dagger glowing with darkness easily cut the rusty dagger and slashed at the chest of the goblin elite, leaving a big wound.

kriekkkkkkkkkk 

It screamed sharply and jumped back but Jake swiftly extended his chained Dagger and the Dagger pierced the Goblin Elite while it was mid air, the lifeless body of the Goblin Elite fell lifelessly on the ground.

Jake retrieved his chained dagger, his expression firm but reflective. The victory was not only a triumph over a formidable opponent but also a small step towards revenge for the atrocities witnessed earlier.

'Nexus, isn't my combat power D-rank? How come I easily defeated him?' Jake asked Nexus mentally. Earlier, he thought he would have a challenging fight, but it ended with him overpowering the Goblin Elite.

[You have leveled up to 18 and have reached E rank from E−].

'Even that would only make my power progress to D-rank, right?' Jake inquired.

[That would be if you had not Dual Core. Your Dual Core empowerment has pushed your combat powers to C− rank. Plus,this comparison is equivalent to humans, and goblins are weaker than humans at the same rank,] Nexus explained.

"Jake, are you alright?" Emily's voice pulled him out of the mental conversation.

Shaking his head, Jake replied, "Nothing, just thinking about the battle now."

Emily nodded, and then she said, "Sorry, I didn't do my job well," bowing her head.

"It's okay. We relaxed our guard after the victory, and who knows there is a goblin with stealth ability," Jake reassured her, gently rubbing Emily's head.

Emily nodded, but her face turned red, which Jake noticed. "Are you alright?"

"I-I am f-fine," Emily stuttered and replied.

"You don't look fine, though," Jake remarked.

"It's okay; I was afraid because of earlier...." Emily said, turning her face.

Jake nodded and let it go. Seeing this, Tom, hiding in the dark, shook his head.

"Let's rest a bit, I have counted and now only 8 goblins remained, Emily can you check if am I right or not?" Jake said as he sat on a rock.

Emily nodded and then communicated with the wind and after a moment she said " There are 5 goblins and 3 Shadow panthers, among the goblins one is quite weak but he is still seating on the throne".

Jake and others nodded and looked at the tunnel which is the only tunnel remaining, in the whole gate.

"Let's lure them out, It is much better then confronting them inside together" Jake proposed and others agreed,

Jake , Jimmy and Mark then went into hiding while , Emily remained in open and started calling for help " Help, is any one there?" 

"Pfft~" Jimmy

"Laugh all you want and then I will laugh after this Gate is over" Emily hearing Jimmy laughter fiercely thought.

Tap Tap 

Suddenly, footsteps were heard, and three Goblin Elites emerged from the cave, the leader brandishing a sword and pointing it at Emily. The others advanced towards her.

Jake signaled to Jimmy and Mark, and they nodded before attacking the approaching Goblins. Armed with rusty swords, the Goblins screeched upon seeing Jimmy and Mark and charged at them.

The leader, who had given the orders earlier, rushed at Emily. However, Emily tapped the ground, and countless black ice spikes erupted, forcing the Goblin Elite to leap to evade them. In mid-air, an arrow shot towards him. He managed to block the arrow, but the force sent him crashing to the ground.

Upon getting up, he witnessed the other Goblins engaging in battle with Jimmy and Mark. Screeching in frustration, he charged at Emily again, this time with his sword engulfed in flames. He aimed the flaming sword at Emily, launching an attack. In response, Emily created a black ice sword and skillfully parried the strike.

Suddenly, the Goblin Elite grinned, as if his plan had succeeded. Emily sensed two black panthers lunging at her, but before they could reach her, they were impaled by numerous silvery daggers.

The Goblin Elite looked at the source of the daggers and saw another human standing at the back, smiling at him.

"Where are you looking?" he suddenly heard a shout, and then he found himself flying. Upon landing, he saw his headless body and understood what had happened.

Jimmy and Mark too have defeated the other Goblin elites looked at the cave.

"Now it's only 2 goblins and one black panther" Jake said as the group decided to enter the cave.

After some minutes of walking, the group arrived at a dimly lit cave. There, they saw a fat goblin sitting on a throne, and beside him was a dwarf goblin holding a bone staff, accompanied by a black panther.

"Humans, welcome," suddenly the fat goblin spoke.

"Sh!t, it's a C+ rank Goblin Lord," Mark exclaimed upon hearing it speak.

"You are afraid, kikikikikiki," it said, breaking into a weird and unsettling laughter.

"Sis, didn't you said, the one sitting on the throne is weak so what's this?" Jimmy asked tightly griping his sword.

"I don't know, I really sensed a weak presence, even now he seem weaker the those Goblin warriors" Emily frowned and said.

Jake utilizing his Akashic Eyes understood the reason behind Emily's blunder :

The Goblin Lord, with its formidable C+ rank status, possessed a unique ability known as "Predator's Mockery." This ability allowed the Goblin Lord to emit an aura of confusion that could confuse its prey. Victims under the influence of this ability would believe falsely that they were stronger and more capable than Goblin lord, creating a psychological advantage for the Goblin Lord.

Jake then looked at the Dwarf Goblin and saw, it also owes a unique ability, "Beast Master" , allowing him to tame beasts and have them do it's bidding.

Looking at Jake understood what kind of Authority he wants, Previously when Jake reached E rank, the cube offered a Authority of his choice , earlier Jake wanted a seer protection or fate protection ability but when Nexus informed him, there is no one capable of reading his fate or future Jake postponed it and decided to select when a need arrives. Now its the the time to select one.

'Nexus show me all the Authorities, that can help me get their abilities after killing them' Jake mentally commanded.

[Good Authority choice, here's the list :

1. Ephemeral Plunderer's Grimoire : Ultimate Authority

Description: Bestows the ability to steal and store the knowledge and abilities of fallen adversaries within an ethereal grimoire, creating a library of plundered powers. Can be used for oneself and others.

2. Astral Larcenist's Legacy: Greater Authority

Description: Enables the theft of innate talents and capabilities from adversaries, forming a collection of stolen powers that can be wielded as one's own. Can only be used for oneself.

3. Fateweaver's Avarice: Greater Authority

Description: Grants the ability to manipulate the threads of fate, extracting and assimilating the destinies and powers of those who meet their demise. Can only be used for oneself.

4. Echoes of Conquest: Greater Authority

Description: Grants the power to imprint and replicate the skills and talents of fallen enemies, creating a repository of diverse abilities that can be accessed at will. Can only be used for oneself.

5. Soul Devourer's Grasp: Greater Authority

Description: Allows the user to absorb and assimilate the abilities of defeated foes by directly extracting their essence upon death. ]

[What's your choice?] Nexus asked after displaying 5 Authorities.