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The Apocalypse Grinder - Chapter 5
🕑 Added 2025-06-18 08:38:02 +0000 UTC<< Chapter 4 | Index | Chapter 6 >>
Ronan grunted as another arrow buried itself in his chest. A second later he spluttered, blood spraying from his mouth.
You have been hit by [Lesser Goblin Archer Lv.5]!
-19 Health [Piercing]
You are [Bleeding]!
-11 Health / second
Despite his barbarian looks, Ronan had a sharp mind. Before he could second guess himself he yanked the arrow out of his lung.
He roared as it carved his chest open, the barbs on the arrow tearing through flesh like butter. However, the next moment the wounds began to heal.
A soothing wave washed over his body and all the scars of battle faded. All that remained of his clash with the lesser goblin warrior were the bloodstains on his torn suit and the hovering message informing him of the spoils of victory.
You have killed [Lesser Goblin Warrior Lv.4]!
+4 Copper Credits
+3 [Pugilist] Mastery
+Lesser Goblin Ears (Common)
+Goblin Greaves Lv.4 (Common)
You have leveled up to Lv.2!
You have been restored!
+1 Vitality
+1 Endurance
+1 Free Stat Point
He’d cut it close at that moment. Tearing the arrow from his chest had brought his health to just 2 points before the level up began to heal it.
Now though, he had a full health bar to face down the archer. A full health bar that was 10 points greater than before. Ronan didn’t even think before throwing the free point into agility.
He could’ve gone for strength, but as evidenced by the brutalised warrior laying at his feet, he was plenty strong. What he needed was to get hit less and hit back more. Especially when his foe was attacking from range.
He noticed that there was an actual item that dropped from the warrior. Unfortunately, Ronan had no time to inspect them.
A screech and another whistling arrow grabbed his full attention. The lesser goblin archer was an insidious foe.
It had retreated even further, yet its shots were still precise. The only time it had missed was when he’d launched the wooden buckler at its head and it was forced to release the arrow halfway through aiming.
Ronan cursed the slippery mud as he pushed onwards. It was hard to find footing, yet the goblin seemed to glide through it as though it were solid earth.
He slipped on a particularly deep patch of wet mud. A squelch sounded as mud sprayed up his leg. He lost focus momentarily. An arrow pierced his thigh.
You have been hit by [Lesser Goblin Archer Lv.5]!
-12 Health [Piercing]
You are [Bleeding]!
-3 Health / second
Stinging pain lanced up towards his hip and down to his knee as he yanked his leg from the mud. Ronan glared at the archer. The ugly goblin cackled and sneered at him, already nocking another arrow.
There wasn’t another option. Ronan had to grit his teeth and bear it. He picked up the pace, slowly adjusting to the wet mud as he advanced on the archer.
You have been hit by [Lesser Goblin Archer Lv.5]!
-9 Health [Piercing]
You are [Bleeding]!
-1 Health / second
He weaved around arrows as they were fired. He didn’t evade them all. It was impossible with how fast the lesser goblin archer was firing them.
You have been hit by [Lesser Goblin Archer Lv.5]!
-16 Health [Piercing]
You are [Bleeding]!
-4 Health / second
The constant chime and stream of words and numbers telling him what he already knew began to infuriate him. Blood poured down his chest and legs, his body wracked with burning agony.
Ronan hadn’t paid the price in vain. He was far closer to the archer than when he’d started. The goblin was firing less often now, more focused on maintaining its distance.
The disgusting coward intended to keep running until he bled to death. It was a smart way to fight, but it left a bitter taste.
Gathering all of his strength, Ronan condensed the bubbling rage and turned it into fuel for his charge. He unleashed a sudden roar, startling the goblin.
It recovered fast, stumbling backwards and turning to run. It had given up the pretense of superiority, intending to flee as he bled out into the mud.
However, Ronan had been faster. His legs exploded, muscle fibres snapping from the exertion.
He crossed the final gap between the lesser goblin archer and himself in seconds. The goblin’s movements were more suited to the muddy ground. It accelerated fast, but not fast enough.
It screeched as Ronan grabbed its leather hood and yanked it towards him. What he didn’t expect was for it to turn on its heels and smash him in the face with its bow.
You have been hit by [Lesser Goblin Archer Lv.5]!
-9 Health [Smashing]
You are [Bleeding]!
-1 Health / second
Ronan wasn’t fazed. Blood poured down his chin as he grinned at the goblin archer like a madman.
He headbutted it, smashing the ugly green bastard’s nose in return. His vision blurred as his health dropped dangerously low. He had a little over a second until he died of blood loss, if the floating numbers could be trusted.
Ronan didn’t let up. He grabbed the skinny goblin by the throat and squeezed until he felt something give way. The monster screeched, his ears ringing.
He saw the health counter drop down to the very last point. He squeezed harder. The numbers flickered.
Health: 0/80
Right before his consciousness dissipated, he felt the goblin’s body snap to one side. A faint chime rang through the empty darkness.
A pinprick of white light appeared, drawing Ronan in. The light grew wider and wider until it vanquished the darkness of death.
His eyes snapped open. He stared down at the squashed face of the lesser goblin archer. Ronan’s breath came short and sharp as he panted like a dog.
For a few seconds he was frozen on all fours, staring at the mutilated monster as his breathing slowed. He noticed the goblin’s head was caved in on one side. I didn’t do that.
“Holy crap, how are you still alive!?” Keith exclaimed, slapping a pasty hand on his back.
Ronan slowly turned to look up at the bloated belly of his former manager. Keith had a wide grin plastered on his face. His right shirt sleeve was painted red and in his hand he held a small stone drenched in blood and mud.
Ronan collapsed and rolled onto his back, away from the goblin’s corpse. He stared up at Keith for a few moments with disbelief painted across his face.
“Fucking hell, I didn’t think you had the stones,” he finally chuckled, his body still wracked with pain as the restoring effect of levelling up had yet to finish healing him.
He read through the message that floated above his head. Despite the fact he was lying horizontally it seemed to keep level with his eyes.
You have killed [Lesser Goblin Archer Lv.5]!
+6 Copper Credits
+3 [Pugilist] Mastery
+Lesser Goblin Ears (Common)
You have leveled up to Lv.3!
You have been restored!
+1 Vitality
+1 Endurance
+1 Free Stat Point
His rewards for killing the lesser goblin archer weren’t all that he had to claim. With its death, they’d also cleared the second stage of the tutorial.
Keith had been a useless layabout for most of it. Ronan still resented him for that, but he’d pulled through when it counted. With survival balanced on a knife’s edge, he wouldn’t drive a bigger rift between him and the only ally he had.
That didn’t mean he was going to let the little shit off scot-free. He hauled himself to his feet and before Keith could say another word, a sharp slap spun his head to one side.
“What the fuck!?” he cried, clutching his cheek.
Ronan glared at him, daring the chubby man to react. Keith frowned but didn’t move, nursing his cheek.
“Next time, try doing that from the start instead of leaving me to die on my own. If you want to get back to whatever kind of life is waiting for us on Earth, then you need to fight for it,” he snarled.
Keith flinched from Ronan’s words, but clenched his fists a moment later. His eyes hardened.
“I’m sorry. This is all just… It’s a lot. I’ll do better next time.”
“That’s all I needed to hear. We’ve got this. These ugly bastards don’t stand a chance,” Ronan said, gently punching Keith’s shoulder.
48…
The countdown to the next stage had already begun, making Ronan realise he’d never checked what the rewards were for completing this one.
Congratulations, you have cleared Stage 2 of the tutorial!
+25 Copper Credits
+Endless Treasury Token (Common) x2
Stage 3 will begin in 1 minute!
There was no unique reward this time, but the items and money had increased by a solid chunk. Ronan didn’t know what an endless treasury was, but he could make a decent guess.
He had three quarters of a minute until he was thrown into the meat grinder again. It was time to get himself some sweet loot.
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