Chương 62: Hobgoblin King

"Where are my manners?" he says, standing from the bed and bowing.

"I'm the gracious guide the system has sent to teach you all about the wider universe." His eyelids constantly hang low, as if he has never felt worked up or excited in his life.

"You can call me Staggard," he says with a weak smile. Staggard? More like haggard. He sits back on the cot with all the grace of a homeless man who's just had his first beer of the day.

"You? My guide?" I ask, giving his entire getup another once-over.

"In the flesh," he nods sagely. My eyebrow twitches at his response.

"Uh-huh. Anyway, do you know someone named Trouble Braxan?" He lies back down and keeps tapping the cup against the wall.

"Silly induction boy. How would I know anyone from your world? Just because I'm a guide doesn't mean I'm omniscient. Forget that, let me out of here, and I'll tell you whatever you want. I'm starving." He speaks as if correcting a child. Rolling my eye, I ask again.

"How about…" Crap, what's his name again?

"Master Straff?" He bolts up once again and looks at me incredulously. His eyes dart down in thought, flick back to me, then drop again.

"Heh," I chuckle as I watch his brain move a million miles a second.

"How? How do you know that name?"

"Hmm, I wonder?" My lips pull into a smirk. Staggard blitzes out of bed and slips his hands like snakes through the bars to grab me. My command-powered reflexes jerk me back, but he still almost catches me. My heart rate spikes, but the command shuts it down. Damn! What's this guy's agility!?

"How? How do you know about Varius?" he asks, looking slightly flustered from missing his ambush.

"Dude," I brush off my chestplate, my brows furrowing.

"Don't do that."

"You-" The door at the entrance of the jail slams open. A guard stands in the open doorway in shock before narrowing his eyes and yelling down the hallway.

"Krubsk! Krpaack licksk kcugug!" It says, clearly waving reinforcements towards itself. Staggard and I look at each other.

"Welp! It's been fun, but that's my cue." I tip an invisible hat and take off up the stairs.

"Don't worry! I'll come back if I don't die!" The prison that's quickly filling with guards disappears as I push my way up the stairwell. Almost forgot I was invading a castle for a second. The stairwell is big enough for three people to walk side by side, which makes it easier to speed my way up. As soon as the tension heightens, the command wipes loose thoughts about Staggard out of my mind. The stairs blur beneath me as I fly through several stories.

When a single door appears at the top of the steps, I push through and slam it shut behind me. I fit the stone into my palm, and the spell snaps into place. A pillar rises with a soft grinding noise, a bit further from the door than would I like. Refocusing, I recreate the spell and form a second pillar. This time, the placement is perfect, directly in front of the handle. Huffing slightly, I turn back to my goal. A tall room, only twenty feet long and half as wide.

Empty, except for a grand set of double doors on the far wall. Polished gold lines the edge of a deep, dark wood unlike any other found inside the castle. My controlled heartbeat pumps heavily through my ears as I steel my resolve and walk through the quiet room. I place one hand on the shining metal and close my eye.

"Kevin, don't die." In one breath, I push. Muscles strain through my arm as the heavy door opens silently. My vision narrows. A grand hall stretches before me, lined with giant columns. Massive red banners with golden images hang from them. A similarly colored carpet leads down the center. Four individuals, two on each side of the carpet, turn to face me. One in heavy, gold-lined plate mail. A long, two-handed, single-sided axe hangs from its back.

One in slimmer, form-fitting gold armor wears two daggers at its belt. One in tight, polished chainmail mixed with leather. A five-foot bow hangs from its back, with a quiver that has arrows extending a full foot out of the top. The last is clad in a heavy red robe with a long dark staff topped with a blue gem in his hands. Identify Living Being [(III) Royal Hobgoblin Guardsman lv. 5] [Highest stat: Fortitude] [(III) Royal Hobgoblin Assassin lv. 5] [Highest stat: Agility] This text was taken from Royal Road.

Help the author by reading the original version there. [(III) Royal Hobgoblin Longbowman lv. 5] [Highest stat: Strength] [(III) Royal Hobgoblin Mage lv. 5] [Highest stat: Intelligence] The red carpet leads up a set of steps. At the top stands an ornate throne with a single hobgoblin resting his head on his fist. Instead of a fat ruler wearing luxurious fabrics and a snobbish attitude, this hobgoblin wears a seamless interlocking set of golden armor. A gleaming silver longsword adorns the top of its throne.

It looks down at me impassively. [(III) Hobgoblin King lv. 20] [Highest stat: Endurance] Cold sweat runs down my back as I open my status. [Species: (II) High Human lv. 12] On top of being an entire tier above me, it's also eight levels higher. I take one step back, and the king snaps its fingers. The blue gem on top of the mage's staff glows, and the door behind me silently glides shut. Shit. The hall sits in silence as both parties observe each other.

Fear tries to worm its way into my heart, but the command mercilessly crushes it. Reluctantly, I hold out the shortsword and grip my other hand around the cannonball. Alright, fighting five enemies a tier above me is no biggie. The nervous thought doesn't make me feel any better.

"Hm," the king grunts and flicks one finger. All four underlings burst into motion. The assassin frictionlessly slides against the ground toward me, legs unmoving. The sight is unnerving, but it pulls both of its weapons out as it speeds forward. As it reaches ten feet away, slivers of danger appear across my body one by one. Across the neck, the center of the chest, and two for each eye. Using my experience against the baron, I delay, then bend and twist around each attack as it comes out.

The assassin's arms blur as it swipes, stabs, and bends like a candle flame. I see multiple feints, but they mean nothing to Danger Sense, so I don't react to them. My shortsword swings forward, and the assassin slips around it before taking a single step away and watching with narrowed eyes. Before I can wonder, Danger Sense burns like fire on my chest. I arch my back shaprly, and a burst of air pulls my clothes to the side.

BOOM An impact shakes the walls and reverberates through the floor, causing dust and pebbles to fall from the ceiling. Holy shit! My gaze follows the sound. A three-foot silver arrow sticks halfway out of the wall, cracks spreading from the impact. Looking back, the archer slowly lowers its bow and methodically pulls out another arrow from its quiver. That explains why the archer has strength as its highest stat.

Watching closely, I notice that it moves even slower than the weak, cannon-fodder archers that were in the encampments. Slow enough that it seems like it has sacrificed a lot for that monstrous power. The assassin wastes no time rejoining the fight, forcing me to weave, bob, and dodge constantly. I swing, but the assassin avoids the blow as if it were part of its moveset. One Mind/Two Bodies Control of my body increases as time slows down.

The assassin's movements become clear, but it still avoids my grasps and attacks effortlessly. Unlike the way I move, where I jerk and pull as I see or experience things, the assassin flows around them like a river around a large rock. As if it expected the attacks to be there all along. A line of danger appears across my back, and I bend forward in response. The heavy axe of the guardsman arcs over my head. Finally! A target I can hit! The axe passes, and I swing my arm to push the assassin away.

I turn and strike in one motion at the guardsman. The guardsman doesn't try to dodge as my shortsword stabs into the joint of its knee. It grunts in pain, but steps up to swing again. When the sword comes out, the tip is bent inward and curled up on itself. Really!? Even the joint!? I bend down to dodge the axe, then flick my head to the side to dodge another dagger strike. Both frontliners step back, and I know what's coming next. I pull my waist, and a blast of air blows my clothes back.

BOOM Again, the room shakes as dust rains from the ceiling. I step to attack the guardsman, but something grabs me by the ankle and stops me in my tracks. My gaze snaps down. A thick chain of golden energy connects my left ankle into the stone floor. Panic rises, then is suppressed. I'm forced to dodge in place as both the assassin and guardsman attack me relentlessly from both sides. The assassin abandons feints and takes the opportunity to constantly swing. Several cuts appear on my arms and neck.

I'm simply not fast enough to dodge everything. Relying on my species skills and inner-exoskeleton, I let some of the attacks through to protect my only true weak point. My remaining eye. When openings appear, I try to pull and break the chain, but it remains steadfast.

"Kevin, pull as hard as you can." I push the guardsman with all of my might, then flail my arms around to get the assassin off me. My posture corrects itself perfectly as I bend down and grab the chain with both hands. All of my muscles tense as I pull with all my might. The base of the chain bursts out of the ground, ripping the cobblestone up and scattering debris. Burning with danger, I lift my leg to avoid another arrow. The sound of pulverized stone grinds in my ears.

The arrow carves a thin trench in the stone floor before curving up and embedding itself in the wall with a much smaller boom. This isn't working. I need to do something. I sprint away from the assassin and rush the guardsman.

"Kevin, punch as hard as you can," I mutter. My arm pulls back, dropping the sword like a piece of scrap and clenching into a fist. Muscles tense, then tense harder. A dull ache spreads through the command, making me worry. But it's too late. High Human's musculature has been building since I left home base. The guardsman pumps its chest out and pulls back its weapon, ready to tank and counterattack. Weakness already spreads through my arm as thin jets of blood spray out in mists. My body bends forward.

My arm swings. Metal groans and bones crunch. The guardsman is taken off its feet, blasted backwards like a bullet. It slams into a column and careens to the side, limbs flying as it crashes to the ground. Unmoving. Chime A level-up burns through my body, relieving the weight on my shoulders and hardening my muscles further. The pain in my arm fades slightly. I flip on my heels to meet the assassin, but it hasn't moved, standing silently. The archer does the same, holding a bow and arrow in each hand limply.

An orange glow overtakes the throne room. Above the mage's staff, a fireball grows. From a marble, to a beach ball, to larger. I dash to the nearest column, but my steps halt once again. Two chains this time, one on each ankle. I reach to pull, but my right arm falls over the chain limply, swollen red, and leaking thin streams of blood. With one arm, I pull the chain, but it's not nearly enough. The fireball swells until it's taller than I am. The mage heaves its arms.

Like a falling building, the fireball cascades toward me.