Impending Crisis

"We are of the same kind! Why are you treating us like this!"

Seeing their numbers rapidly dwindling, the Dire Goblin chieftain, brandishing his finely crafted weapon, blocked the Hobgoblin barbarian who was slaughtering indiscriminately in the crowd.

"Of the same kind? You're not from our tribe!"

The Hobgoblin's eyes flashed with a crimson energy as he saw that his opponent could actually block his attacks.

He pulled another stone axe from behind his left hand and, without hesitation, launched an upward attack at the Dire Goblin warrior.

Pushing with both hands, the Dire Goblin warrior rapidly retreated using the force of their interaction.

But the Hobgoblin barbarian on the other side relentlessly pursued, their two stone axes, shimmering with corrosive energy, chopping down ferociously as if to mince all opponents into a bloody pulp.

"Clang! Clang!"

The finely forged hand axe collided with the stone hand axe, and a notch was immediately chipped into the stone axe.

However, the hand axe did not fare well either. The corrosive energy left marks on its long handle, severing the magic patterns that flowed through it, rendering the sharpness effect from the magic patterns almost useless.

"I'll kill you!"

Hearing the dying roars of his comrades, the Dire Goblin chieftain's eyes turned blood red, and he unleashed the Warrior's 'Action Surge' trait.

The clumsy hand axe suddenly became nimble in his hands, and his own movements became as fast as afterimages, as if he had been accelerated.

Raising the heavy hand axe high, he unleashed the New Year Axe Technique at the Hobgoblin barbarian opposite him.

In haste, the Hobgoblin could only raise both axes to block.

But who would have thought that the Dire Goblin chieftain's move was merely a feint.

The hand axe lightly tapped the Hobgoblin's blocking stance like a dragonfly skimming water. Then, the Dire Goblin twisted his body, making the weapon carve an arc in mid-air, slashing horizontally from the left.

"Swoosh"

The sound of a sharp blade slicing through flesh rang out. The Hobgoblin barbarian, who had been so arrogant moments before, was cut in half at the waist.

"Ha! You're nothing special! If I get serious, we'll definitely win!"

Having successfully killed an opponent, the Dire Goblin chieftain was experiencing extreme overconfidence. But when he looked up, preparing to intimidate the enemy, five or six hand axes sliced through the air, embedding themselves in his body one after another.

"Thump!"

The Dire Goblin chieftain's body fell onto the battlefield.

Seeing the unfavorable situation, the remaining Dire Goblins immediately knelt on the ground, expressing their willingness to surrender.

"We surrender! We surrender! I have important news, don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

From the Rage Tribe's side, a similarly sturdy Hobgoblin barbarian stepped forward and said to the Dire Goblins attempting to surrender, "What news? If you dare to lie to me, you will all be sacrificed alive!"

"No, we won't lie to you! Our tribe discovered some time ago that something had landed deep within the Bioluminescent Mushroom Forest."

"Our chieftain led men to search for it, but they were killed by a monster that looked like a brain."

"The chieftain said that only the barbarian's rage could defend against that monster's mental control, which is why he led us here, hoping to obtain the method for barbarians to gain a class advancement."

"I, I can lead you back to the tribe to find that place..."

Before he could finish speaking, a hand axe chopped into the Dire Goblin's head.

"Only one person is needed to lead the way, and I don't think it's good for the person leading the way to be too smart!"

Exchanging a glance with his subordinate, the remaining Dire Goblins immediately had their arms severed.

"Take them back to the tribe, keep one who can clearly explain their tribal location, and sacrifice the rest!"

Wielding his axe, the newly appointed chieftain issued orders to his subordinates.

Three days later, in front of a wooden house in the Bioluminescent Mushroom Forest.

Karl and the enlarged Hopp were engaged in another round of sparring.

With continuous practice over the past two days, Hopp had mastered the ability to enlarge, allowing her clothing to grow along with her body.

Her massive physique combined with her barbarian abilities made Hopp particularly difficult to deal with. In the past two days, Karl had gained no advantage in their spars.

'It seems that if I fight real giants in the future, it's best to prepare weapons imbued with the [Giant Slayer] effect beforehand.'

Karl moved constantly within the arena, doing his best to dodge Hopp's grabs, waiting for the brief period of weakness that followed her berserker rage.

"Karl! You can't keep hiding like this! We're in combat training, you have to fight me head-on!"

Waving her massive palm, Hopp shouted in frustration. Her berserk state was about to end.

"Alright! Then I'm coming in!"

The moment he observed Hopp's body begin to shrink, Karl turned and charged at her.

The decrease in strength that came with her reduced size left Hopp momentarily disoriented, but she still clenched her fists, trying to hit Karl.

Seeing that Hopp's moves were still so straightforward, a sharp glint flashed in Karl's eyes. He wound himself around Hopp like a nimble snake.

Using the strength in his waist and legs, Karl, mimicking the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that the illusion in the Dream World had used against him, attempted to deal with Hopp.

The good news was that Hopp was indeed caught off guard by the move.

The bad news was that Karl wasn't very skilled with it, and after spinning around Hopp twice, Hopp adapted and simply picked him up, slamming him onto the ground.

"Oof! You hit too hard!"

Clutching his back, Karl crouched down, his voice muffled.

While he knew that in the face of absolute strength, martial arts sometimes didn't have the imagined effect, he hadn't expected Hopp to retaliate so quickly.

"Sorry, I just returned to my normal size and I'm having a bit of trouble controlling my strength."

Pulling Karl up from the ground, Hopp lifted Karl's shirt and examined his injuries.

"Your skin is a little bruised. Let's use Cure Wounds to treat it."

"Tch, I always feel like you've been hitting harder ever since you knew I could use Cure Wounds."

After complaining to Hopp, Karl recited the incantation and formed the somatic components. Soon, a gentle energy gathered at his fingertips.

He touched his finger to his body, and the pain in his back began to quickly subside.

Today's sparring session was over.

Just as Karl and Hopp were preparing to return to the cabin to expand their house, Karl suddenly felt a tremor deep within his soul.

He knew that his Spirituality had reached a state of fullness.

Sitting down cross-legged, he guided his Spirituality into the core of Spirituality representing the Artificer class.

With a cool sensation that surged from the depths of his soul, Karl felt his mind clear.

Without any delay, Karl immediately used his meditation technique to enter the Dream World, and then, under the protection of his Psionic, entered the second layer.

"Alright, now I'll start training the various characteristics of the Armorer and Artificer classes. I hope they won't take up too much of my time."

As his Psionic surged, various mechanical parts materialized before Karl. They continuously assembled themselves, and runes on the surface of the parts would occasionally light up.