Double Kill

The stone pillar leaned against the pit wall, roughly four or five meters in diameter. Its surface was uneven, providing plenty of handholds for climbing.

"About ten meters or so," Anse estimated the distance to the top of the pillar.

He couldn't see if anyone was up there from this angle, but he had to climb up regardless; the pillar could collapse at any moment, and he didn't have much time left.

He kicked off his ruined boots and pressed his bare feet against the protruding stones. The surface felt cold, but it didn't hurt; his Draconic Resilience and Tough feat had made him a different man than he once was.

Taking a deep breath, he climbed upward, his limbs moving in a rhythmic, practiced, and agile fashion, as if he were the most seasoned of climbing experts.

"Whew, what a rush."

He glanced down into the pitch-black abyss below, his heart rate quickening involuntarily.

He felt a flicker of fear, but it was manageable. He knew the Feather Fall Spell; if he fell, he could rely on his reflexes to cast it instantly and ensure he wouldn't be dashed to pieces.

However, what truly delighted him were the "Basic Actions" granted by his Character Sheet upon becoming a professional.

Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Hide, Jump, Climb, Swim...

In the game, these were nothing more than mundane, unremarkable abilities, but now they transformed Anse into a highly trained athletic elite.

Combined with his skill proficiencies in Athletics and Acrobatics, he was able to consistently push his physical attributes to their limit.

His movements were crisp, clean, and fluid—something that even most professionals would struggle to achieve, let alone an ordinary person.

After a few meters, the angle of the pillar neared a right angle, forcing him to circle around to find better leverage.

But just as he rounded a corner, his peripheral vision caught sight of another pillar, where a young man was staring at him in stunned silence.

"Damn it!"

Anse tensed, pressing his body tightly against the stone as he looked upward.

No one was looking down; everything remained as it was.

He tilted his head and saw that the young man had already looked away. The youth sat on the ground with his knees bent, facing sideways, holding a sword in one hand while subtly pointing toward the upper-left with the other.

"Smart."

Anse nodded slightly and continued his climb, moving even more cautiously, pausing every few steps.

The young man communicated with him using Adventurer hand signals from time to time, and for a moment, they moved in perfect sync.

There were two enemies, one of whom was likely the Gray Dwarf, though his condition was unknown.

As he neared the top, Anse grew increasingly careful.

Three meters to go!

The young man suddenly stood up and threw a stone toward the top of the pillar where Anse was climbing.

Clack—

His aim was true; the stone landed on the stone platform with a crisp sound, drawing the enemy's attention.

"عداوةތެރިން..." (Goblin Language)

Footsteps and shrill Curses rang out in quick succession.

Anse understood the signal immediately and circled to the other side of the pillar.

The young man continued throwing stones and shouting curses, sounding quite hysterical—it didn't sound like an act at all.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Anse gathered all his strength, scrambled upward, and leaped onto the stone platform.

His gaze swept across the area instantly. The platform was four or five meters in diameter, occupied by two short figures.

One sat in the center—short, stocky, bald, with gray-white skin and a warhammer resting by his side.

The other stood near the edge of the pillar, back turned to Anse. Less than a meter tall, with Fang and pointed ears, the creature had gray-green skin and was waving a scimitar to intimidate the young man.

The sudden appearance of a new figure caught them both off guard.

The Gray Dwarf grabbed his warhammer and turned toward Anse, but instead of standing up, he shouted loudly.

The goblin cowered, failing to charge immediately.

By then, Anse had already activated his Innate Spellcasting. He gripped the crystal at his chest with his left hand, focused his mind, and relied on his instincts to guide the surging magic into a simple spell model.

About a second passed.

"જાદુઈવિસ્ફોટ" (Draconic language)

Accompanied by a metallic, resonant word in the Draconic language, a burst of light shot from his fingertips. It crossed the two-meter gap in an instant and erupted with a deafening Thunderclap right in the Gray Dwarf's face.

Cantrip: Sorcerous Burst—Thunderclap!

Though it was his first time casting, Anse did not miss his stationary target.

The Gray Dwarf let out a muffled grunt, his face covered in blood as he toppled backward.

At the same time, the dice in Anse's mind spun wildly, and a line of text flashed through his consciousness.

[You cast Sorcerous Burst on the Gray Dwarf. The enemy is now Surprised and Prone.

The Gray Dwarf was hit, taking 15 points (Critical Hit) of Thunder damage. Current HP: 4/26...]

Anse was overjoyed; he hadn't expected the dice to have such a function.

But now was not the time to investigate. The Gray Dwarf was not yet dead, and the enemy possessed spellcasting abilities.

He took a few strides to the Gray Dwarf's side, pinned the warhammer down with his left foot, raised his right, and stomped heavily onto the creature's neck.

[You initiated a melee attack against the Gray Dwarf. The enemy is in a prone, panicked, and deafened state.

The Gray Dwarf was struck, taking 4 points of bludgeoning damage (critical hit). Fatal blow; target deceased. Gained 200 Combat Experience...]

Anse felt a weight lift from his heart and immediately turned to face the Goblin.

In just a few seconds, the most threatening Gray Dwarf had died, leaving only the terrified Goblin behind.

"How sluggish. Have you never heard a Thunderclap?" Anse gripped his crystal and cast another spell.

The Goblin, reacting belatedly, roared and charged forward.

"Sorcerous Burst!"

A thunderous boom erupted, flipping the Goblin over. It collapsed to the ground, wailing as it clutched its bleeding ears.

The distance was so close that Anse's own eardrums were buzzing.

He fought through the discomfort, quickly picked up the warhammer—it was somewhat heavy, forcing him to wield it with both hands—and took two quick steps to smash the pickaxe into the Goblin's head.

[...The Goblin was struck, taking 6 points of piercing damage (critical hit). Fatal blow; target deceased. Gained 50 Combat Experience...]

Anse scanned the area, and only after confirming there was no further danger did he let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew... what a rush!"

In truth, the Goblin only had a Challenge Rating of 1/4 and 7 hit points; he could have handled it in melee combat alone. But this was his first real battle, so it was impossible not to be nervous.

"This Sorcerous Burst is truly useful," Anse remarked.

Sorcerous Burst was a Zero-Ring Spell exclusive to the Sorcerer class, belonging to the Evocation school. It had a casting range of 120 feet (≥36 meters) and dealt 1D8 (1-8) points of damage upon impact. The damage type was determined by the caster: acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, psychic, or thunder.

If it dealt maximum damage (8), the spell energy would burst again, potentially causing a chain reaction at higher levels, which was quite formidable.

Anse recognized the Gray Dwarf and knew he likely possessed resistances to poison or psychic damage, but it was highly improbable he had resistance to thunder. Thus, he had chosen thunder, and the practical results were excellent.

In reality, the strongest offensive spell he had mastered was the First-Ring Spell Prismatic Sphere, but casting it required a diamond (≥50 gold coins), which he did not have on hand.

Furthermore, First-Ring Spells were more difficult to cast, and there was a risk of failure given the chaotic state of the Weave and his own nervous tension.

"At least I performed consistently."

Looking at the corpses on the ground, he felt a sense of unease, especially regarding those two pairs of blood-stained eyes that seemed to be staring fixedly at him even in death.

He kicked the heads of the corpses to the side and began to gather the loot; his time was very limited.