The Approaching Crisis

"We're kin! Why are you treating us like this?"

Seeing his side's numbers rapidly dwindle, the dire goblin leader relied on the fine weapon in his hands to block the hobgoblin barbarian who was slaughtering his way through the crowd.

"Kin? You're not from the same tribe as us!"

Seeing that his opponent could actually block his attack, a flash of blood-red energy flickered through the hobgoblin's eyes.

He pulled another stone axe from behind his back with his left hand and attacked the dire goblin warrior from below without hesitation.

The dire goblin warrior pushed off with both hands and quickly retreated using the force of their collision.

But the hobgoblin barbarian pursued relentlessly. The two stone axes flickering with necrotic energy hacked wildly, as if he intended to chop every opponent into mincemeat.

"Clang! Clang!"

The finely forged double-headed axe collided with the stone hand axe, instantly chipping a notch into the stone axe.

But the double-headed axe had suffered as well. Necrotic energy had left marks on its long handle, severing the magic runes flowing through it. The sharpness granted by those runes had nearly ceased to function.

"I'll kill you!"

Listening to his teammates' dying howls, the dire goblin leader's eyes turned bloodshot as she unleashed the warrior's Action Surge feature.

The clumsy double-headed axe suddenly became nimble in her hands, and her movements seemed to accelerate, moving so quickly that afterimages appeared.

Raising the heavy double-headed axe high, she used the New Year Axe Technique against the hobgoblin barbarian opposite her.

Caught off guard, the hobgoblin could only raise both axes to block.

But who could have guessed that the dire goblin leader's move was merely a feint?

The double-headed axe lightly tapped the hobgoblin's blocking stance like a dragonfly skimming water. Then the dire goblin twisted her body, sending the weapon sweeping through an arc in midair before slashing horizontally from the left.

"Splurt!"

The sound of a blade slicing through flesh rang out. The previously arrogant hobgoblin barbarian was hacked in half at the waist.

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

After successfully killing an opponent, the dire goblin leader was experiencing a surge of confidence. But when she raised her head, preparing to intimidate the enemy, five or six hand axes tore through the air and struck her body one after another.

"Thud!"

The dire goblin leader's body collapsed onto the battlefield.

The remaining dire goblins immediately knelt when they saw that things were going badly, expressing their willingness to surrender.

"We surrender! We surrender! I have important information. Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

From the Rage Tribe, an equally burly hobgoblin barbarian stepped forward and addressed the group of dire goblins attempting to surrender. "What information? If you dare lie to me, you'll all be sacrificed alive!"

"No, I'm not lying! Our tribe discovered recently that something had fallen deep in the Bioluminescent Mushroom Forest."

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

"The leader said that only a barbarian's Rage could defend against that monster's mental control, so he led us here in hopes of obtaining the barbarian class's advancement method."

"I—I can lead you back to our tribe and help you find that place..."

Before he could finish speaking, a hand axe cleaved into the dire goblin's head.

"One guide is enough, and I don't think it's good for the guide to be too clever!"

After giving a signal to the subordinate beside him, the remaining dire goblins had their arms chopped off.

"Take them back to the tribe. Keep one who can clearly explain where their tribe is located. Sacrifice all the rest alive!"

Waving her axe, the newly appointed chieftain issued orders to her subordinates.

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

Carl and the enlarged Hopp were engaged in another sparring match.

After two days of constant practice, Hopp had mastered her enlargement ability and could now enlarge her clothes along with her body.

Her enormous body, combined with a barbarian's abilities, made Hopp exceptionally difficult to deal with. Over the past two days, Carl had gained almost no advantage in their sparring matches.

It seems that if I ever fight a real giant, I'd better prepare a weapon imbued with the Giant Slayer effect beforehand.

Carl kept moving around the training ground, doing her best to evade Hopp's grasp while waiting for the brief weakness that would follow the end of her Rage.

"Carl! You can't keep dodging like this! This is combat training! You have to fight me head-on!"

Waving her enormous palm, Hopp shouted in exasperation.

Her Rage was about to end.

"Okay! Here I come!"

The moment Carl noticed Hopp's body beginning to shrink, she turned and charged at Hopp.

The reduction in strength caused by her shrinking body left Hopp somewhat flustered, but she still clenched her fist and tried to strike Carl.

Seeing that Hopp's attacks were still so straightforward, a glint flashed through Carl's eyes. Her entire body wound around Hopp like a nimble snake.

Relying on the strength of her waist and legs, Carl imitated the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that the illusion had used against her in the Dream World, attempting to deal with Hopp the same way.

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

The bad news was that Carl was not very practiced with it. After Carl spun around Hopp twice, Hopp adapted to the technique, lifted her whole body, and slammed her onto the ground.

"Ugh~ You hit too hard!"

Clutching her back, Carl hunched over and spoke in a muffled voice.

Although she knew that martial arts sometimes failed to produce the expected results in the face of overwhelming strength, she had not expected Hopp to counterattack so quickly.

"Sorry. I just returned to my normal size, and I had trouble controlling my strength."

After pulling Carl up from the ground, Hopp lifted Carl's clothes and examined her injuries.

"Your skin's a little bruised. Use Cure Wounds to treat it."

"Tut, I feel like you started hitting harder after you found out I knew Cure Wounds."

After complaining to Hopp, Carl chanted an incantation and formed hand seals. Before long, gentle energy gathered at her fingers.

She pressed her fingers against herself, and the pain in her back quickly eased.

That brought today's sparring to an end.

Just as Carl and Hopp were preparing to return to the wooden house and expand it, Carl suddenly felt a strange tremor deep within her soul.

She knew that her spirituality had reached a full state.

Sitting cross-legged, she guided her spirituality into the Spiritual Core representing the Artificer class.

Along with a cool sensation surging from the depths of her soul, Carl felt her mind clear.

Without any delay, Carl used meditation techniques to enter the Dream World, then entered the second layer under the protection of her psionic energy.

"All right, let's start training the various features of the Armorer and Artificer classes. Hopefully, they won't take too much of my time."

As psionic energy surged, various mechanical parts materialized in front of Carl. They constantly assembled themselves, and magic runes occasionally lit up across their surfaces.