First Boss

Calling the goblin home a village was a bit of a stretch. It was situated in a clearing of slightly elevated land with swamp water surrounding most of it, save for a small landbridge. The area had a poorly made fence around it with a bunch of feeble tents and a few rickety shacks throughout the camp. Towering above the back of the village was a fallen tree that had an arch carved into it to make it habitable.

A total of six goblins were scattered around the camp that he could see. There was another hulking goblin with greyish green skin that was twice the size of the others and looked as muscular as one of the school's football jocks. The giant goblin had an intimidating cleaver, and was using it to carve off a fat piece of meat from an unknown carcass. John used Observe on the enormous goblin.

“That thing might be a bit difficult for me to handle,” the Gamer exclaimed, worried over his first potential boss fight. Reading the sheet he noticed his foe’s level. “Why am I fighting an enemy over triple my level?” he inquired, a cold sweat washing over him as dread settled in.

With a shrug, Jasmine responded calmly, “Might have something to do with me being in your party. Maybe the enemies are at our average level; it is a pretty common function in games. You never did observe any of the normal goblins.” Reminded by her own words the reporter had a sudden realization. “Oh, this might be my fault. This whole teaching thing is unfamiliar territory to me.” She was shaking her head at her own negligence. “Instead of letting you gather information on your own, I told you all you needed to know. Observe one of the other goblins, I bet it’ll be level nine to eleven.”

Following her instructions, John sent another Observe out, this time aimed at one of the goblins he was familiar with.

“You’re right. How could they be level ten? They were barely a threat.” John’s nerves relaxed a bit after reading the Observe window and realizing the whole time he was engaging enemies six levels higher than himself.

“That’s also my fault. Like your skill says, goblins rush their enemies in large groups. Unbeknownst to you, I’ve been creating shadow familiar’s that would act as prey to lure the other groups a safe distance away. This effectively separated the goblins so that their numbers never really mattered, taking away their main strength,” she admitted to her fault in the simplicity of the barrier. “Without my intervention you might have had to deal with a large number at once, even that behemoth might have been in the fray,” she said nodding toward the champion.

“I’m grateful, your intervention helped me out immensely,” he thanked the woman sincerely. “I was able to gain a bit of combat experience and train some of my skills, in a relatively safe environment.” John began formulating a plan looking at the situation. “I might be able to do this. If I rush in using my mana liberally, Mana Bolt would be a great opener, especially because I can cast three bolts simultaneously since it reached level three. I’ll use my usual strategy and focus on disabling the small fry. After I waste all my mana, I can finish off three of the goblins and get a level up which will max out my HP and MP again, allowing me to use my resources for a second time. After that I’ll use my speed to my advantage and take my time with the champion. What do you think, Jasmine?” he asked, feeling proud at his plan.

“It’s an alright plan, for a novice,” she responded politely, trying not to be too harsh. ”There’s just one problem. You forgot to take into account any unknown factors. Mainly, do you know if there are any goblins outside of your view?” she casually remarked, pointing out this real possibility. “Also, though I doubt it, this is the enemy camp; they might have a trump card. You should always consider this possibility no matter how small it may be.”

“So, I’ll need to think of a way to lure out any possible hidden enemies while being on guard of traps that may or may not be present.” He sat back while examining the camp, running through different scenarios in his head. After a few minutes he came to a simple conclusion. “I need some decent bait, something the goblins can’t resist that would ensure all their attention was focused on one place, this would help draw out any unknown factors. Do you think the familiar you mentioned would be able to distract them all?” he asked, hoping that the ebony beauty could draw the attention of the goblins.

“I don’t think the boss would be distracted by it; any familiars I create would be eviscerated with ease, so I wouldn’t consider it a viable option. However, I do have an idea if you need bait. First, take these and drink one of the red ones.” She handed him three test tubes, two were glowing red and the third was blue. “No matter how close you are to a level up, it’s too risky entering this situation with your current health. Use the extra health and mana potion during the fight, but only if you need them.”

Downing the red liquid caused him to scrunch at the flavor. It was sour and tasted like pickles mixed with mushrooms. “Yuck, I hope I don’t need to drink the other potions, I would prefer not to **** my pallet again.” After downing most of the contents of a water bottle from earlier, to wash out the lingering taste, he stored the other two potions in his inventory. “Thanks, I was a tad bit worried about my low HP. This makes me feel a bit safer. What else?” he asked, feeling more confident due to his full HP and the extra security from the two potions.

“Simple, I’ll be the bait,” she answered while removing her shirt, her heavy breasts almost fully exposed. “Like your skill said, goblins are notoriously known for being perverts.”

“Jasmine, what are you doing?” he asked in a hushed shout, panicking at her state of undress. Pink crept over his cheeks as his blush returned in full form upon seeing her black laced bra and noticing how big her chest truly was. She began removing her jeans, revealing her matching black panties. “I can’t have you be the bait, especially like that. It’s too risky. Plus, I wouldn’t want to risk you getting violated.”

“Aren’t you cute. The only time I get violated is when I want a good night out,” the reporter teased while unclasping her bra, completely releasing her breasts from their confines. “Don’t forget, to me these things are no threat,” Jasmine reminded him of her superiority. “I’m going to rush in there screaming for dear life. I’ll head towards the northwestern corner, this should draw any attention away from you. You need to quickly assess the situation because I refuse to let one of those monsters touch me with their putrid hands.” She spat, her clear disgust evident on her face. “I will retreat into a shadow when they get too close to me. Make sure you do as much damage as you can while the goblins are distracted.” She materialized her knife again and made a few shallow cuts on herself before dismissing it. Posing with her heavy breasts in full view, she asked with a smirk, “Wanna feel em?”

“Ummmm,” he muttered, flustered by her bold appearance. "I don't think now is an appropriate time, I'm struggling as it is to keep my erection under control," he stammered nervously, attempting to block his view of the beauty before him with his hands. If it weren’t for the gloomy surroundings, he doubted he could resist such a forward approach from her. “Please, um, can we focus on the, um, on the boss fight?” This question came out as a barely audible whisper.

Jasmine’s giant grin showed how amused she was by his answer. “I’m glad you see me that way,” she responded in a cheerful tone and with a light giggle. “You go hide behind a tree. I’ll give you a few minutes before I start so that you can make sure little John is settled down. Make sure you’re ready once all attention is on me.”

After making sure he was hidden from view, the nude beauty waited five minutes before she ran into the camp screaming for help. Watching everything unfold, John noticed two more goblins crawl out of one of the shacks that followed after his screaming accomplice. ’Glad she warned me; those other two might have been a problem if I didn’t expect them.’ Following the plan he gingerly rushed over the landbridge into the encampment. With his two weapons at the ready, he charged three Mana Bolts to full. ”I can kill two without leveling up, then I need to burn as much MP as possible.”

The group of goblins were all hooting and hollering at the cornered damsel; all attention was focused on the barely clothed beauty. The Gamer reached the back of the group. Silently he decapitated the two rear most goblins. They didn’t even have a chance to utter a sound before dying. This allowed him to keep his presence unknown and create some distance between himself and the rest of the group

At this time Jasmine suddenly vanished in front of the grotesque monsters as the champion reached out to grab her. Immediately after John launched the first volley of Mana bolts, aiming to incapacite three of the goblins. A second volley followed as the creatures spotted him. He missed a few shots in the confusion, so a third volley was used on the weaker goblins.

Mana Bolt Lvl 4
Up to 4 bolts can be charged simultaneously with up to 7 MP.

After three volleys at fifteen mana each, all but the boss was squirming pathetically on the ground. Seeing its injured underlings, the massive Goblin Champion started to rush toward him. John used the last of his MP to inflict some damage on the charging adversary. He initiated his own charge toward the monster. It swiped horizontally with its cleaver, aiming to split the Gamer at the torso. Narrowly dodging under the powerful swipe, John successfully connected his knife with the champion’s calve before a powerful shockwave knocked him toward the group of crawling goblins.

’Just the **** of its attack was able to shave off six HP.’ He groaned after losing almost a seventh of his health from an attack he evaded. ’I can’t risk tanking one of those hits without any MP.’ Realizing the threat of his enemy, he concluded a refresh was needed. Aiming his knife at the nearest fallen goblin, he killed it instantly by embedding his blade in its skull.

Level up
+5 stat points

Paying attention to the champion that began approaching him again, he backed away from the remaining goblins as a precaution. He opened his character sheet and added all five stat points into INT to increase his available MP. Before he had a chance to dismiss his character sheet, a vertical cleaver slash came downward, aiming to bisect him. This time around he opted not to narrowly dodge because of the expected shockwave. Instead, he jumped diagonally to get behind the creature, countering with both of his knives, again aiming for the monster’s lower body.

After successfully dodging and attacking, he increased his distance from the boss. He used his replenished MP and fired four fully charged Mana Bolts at the boss. It let out a painful howl while it continued its chase, even trampling two of its downed subordinates. John also killed another of the goblins, leaving two and the enraged champion.

John only had forty eight MP left. Deciding to play it safe in case he needed to use Steel Skin to defend against a cleaver slash, John launched four more fully charged Mana Bolts. When the attacks connected, the behemoth’s strength seemed to wane. ’Good, everything’s working out fine. I’ll keep taking things slow and should be able to safely kill my first boss.’

The fight kept the same pace. As time passed, the two remaining goblins were killed off. While he was a novice in combat, fighting like this was his forte tempered by years of gaming. His title as the Gamer wasn’t for nothing. Dealing with the boss’ simple attack pattern came down only to resource management, which he was confident he could maintain until he’d won. Slowly, cuts spread along the champion’s body. John had a nice rhythm going taking no damage while whittling down the boss’s health.

This confidence of his led to a problem: he’d neglected to take into account the durability of his gear. The second knife he picked up in the barrier suddenly broke when he used it to attack. In games he always had the system there to warn him of his weapon’s durability and he hadn’t had this issue with the other fights because they ended so swiftly. The crappy knife was only able to hold on for so long because of the effects of Arcane Strengthening which had worn off during the fight. The loss of his offhand weapon broke his concentration.

The boss used this momentary lapse in judgement to its advantage, swinging the massive cleaver at its prey once again. John evaded the attack but was shocked by the enormous fist heading his way. Quick thinking along with preparation allowed him to cast Steel Skin just before the fist connected square in his chest, sending the Gamer flying several feet back and knocking the wind out of him. The blow caved in his chest, crushing his ribs and shaving off thirty six HP, putting his health in the single digits.

‘Fuck.’ John attempted to scream while gasping for air, a metallic taste spread in his mouth, that he assumed to be his blood. He struggled to get on his feet while enduring the pain of Gamer’s Body mending his injury. Looking over to the boss, he saw it smirk as it approached slowly to taunt him. Behind the arrogant monster he could see Jasmine who was fully clothed again. There was a giant purple ball pointed at the monster’s back. She showed that if he was unable to continue, she would finish this fight for him.

Feeling his breathing stabilize as the soreness subsided, he decided to keep trying. He shook his head, pulled out the two potions she had given to him prior to the fight, and drank them both, ignoring the taste and replenishing his HP and MP. The woman leaned against one of the shacks and dismissed the orb to show she acknowledged that he wanted to continue the fight alone.

Reapplying Arcane Strengthening to his Wabbit Knife, he waited for the confident boss to get into striking range. As if to taunt John, the boss casually swiped at him with its cleaver. This was John's moment to return the favor. He stopped playing possum, barely dodged the attack and bared his fangs again. All of his focus was on viciously counterattacking the arrogant monster with a downward slash aiming for the right wrist. Simultaneously, he launched four point blank Mana Bolts at the boss’ head.

The monster’s severed hand and cleaver fell to the ground while the left half of its face was bleeding profusely from the savage counter. It swung its left fist, attempting to get even with its pesky prey, but John was prepared for the attack and avoided the enraged boss’ blow. After dodging he made his way to the back of the monster and launched another round of bolts into its back, followed by a few quick slashes to its legs. After a grueling battle, the boss collapsed under its own weight as the continued injuries to its legs and blood loss made it difficult to stand. John took this opportunity to stab the boss in the head, finally killing it.

Achievement unlocked: Baby’s first boss kill
Successfully kill a boss monster.
Reward: 100 exp and +2 stat points.

Achievement unlocked: David and Goliath
Kill a boss that is twice your level.
Reward: 150 exp and STR+2

Achievement unlocked: Higher Aspirations
Kill a boss that is three times your level.
Reward: 200 exp and +5 stat points

Level up
+5 stat points

Achievement unlocked: Brave New World
Clear your first dungeon.
Reward: 100 exp and +1 level in Create Barrier/Dungeon skill

New Skill unlocked: Novice Dagger Proficiency Lvl 1
You’re more comfortable wielding short bladed weapons.
All damage with short bladed weapons increased by 5%

He gained one hundred fifty exp from the kill which was doubled due to the first kill bonus. The boss dropped $1,200, the cleaver and a strength potion. After collecting his loot, John collapsed exhausted from the fight.