The potion falls on the goblin as Sukiro's hand is swept away by the goblin.
It was an all-boosting potion—one that Klaus had made. It was only meant to be used in critical times or during intense training.
The potion boosts one's strength, speed, power, even mana consumption. It recovers both health and mana.
A powerful potion.
And the one that had just been thrown… was an elite D-Rank's potion.
The bottle shatters on the goblin, and the liquid absorbs into its skin. His muscles burst with energy. His body grows heavier, larger.
The goblin looks at his hands, not understanding what's happening in his body. Yet… he feels good.
A smile carves across his twisted mouth. His eyes blaze red with newfound power.
Then he looks at Sukiro, lying across from him, trying to pick himself up.
Sukiro breathes heavily, panting.
"Damn it, that went horribly wrong…" He gasps for air. "How do I defeat him now?"
The goblin walks slowly toward him, his massive bat resting on his shoulder. A predator smiling at its helpless prey.
Elijah looks over at Sukiro and sees the goblin—now enhanced beyond belief by the potion.
(A-rank skill – Fireball 5%)
The goblins and orcs in the distance see a giant fireball soaring toward them. One with such speed and heat that the air trembles—its temperature beyond 500°C.
They don't run.
They don't even move.
Because they know there's no escape from this twisted fate.
They freeze.
The fireball blasts through them, melting them into nothing but scorched screams.
Elijah rushes toward Sukiro—but suddenly, a hand grabs him from behind with a stiff, unyielding grip on his shoulder.
It's Sebastian.
"Why are you stopping me?!!" Elijah barks, angry.
"We have to let him have this one," Sebastian says calmly. "Let Sukiro handle it himself. If it gets bad—we step in."
Elijah glares toward the battlefield, his eyes full of worry.
The goblin walks slowly. Confident. Patient. He knows his prey can't run.
Sukiro rises to his feet, wiping blood from his mouth. He tightens his grip around his daggers.
That's when—his eyes land on something.
They widen.
A smirk creeps across his face.
He turns and runs just as the goblin swings his bat.
Sliding down, Sukiro snatches a peculiar plant from the ground. He keeps running until he stumbles across the corpse of a high orc.
He picks up its fang—scoops some of its blood.
At that moment, the bat whooshes in front of him.
Sukiro lifts his daggers. They clash.
But the goblin's overwhelming strength shatters his blades into fragments.
Yet—Sukiro is smiling.
"What is he planning?" Sirius questions aloud, tossing an orc's fang aside.
"We're about to find out," Sebastian murmurs, eyes narrowed.
Klaus smirks.
The dagger shatters completely. Sukiro grabs a few fragments?
He stumbles, nearly falling asleep from exhaustion. But the goblin isn't done. It swings again—
Sukiro gets up just in time and runs again.
Suddenly, he pulls out a small bottle from his pocket. He mixes everything he gathered:
—The blood of the high orc
—The fang
—The plant
—The shattered pieces of his daggers
He pours his mana into the bottle. It begins to glow.
It was a strength potion all along.
Sukiro splashes it on his head. Instantly, his muscles bulk up, strength coursing through him.
A tree stands in front of him.
He leaps, uses the trunk for support, and launches toward the goblin's leg.
He wraps his left arm around it and starts punching. Again. And again.
The goblin screams in pain, swinging its leg, trying to fling him off.
But Sukiro tightens his grip and continues, relentlessly.
Snap!
His hand breaks.
A surge of pain floods his senses. But he has no choice.
He keeps going.
Crack!
The goblin's leg breaks.
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
A roar erupts across the forest.
Even the guild hall hears it.
Hunters rush into the woods.
The goblin, overwhelmed by pain, bends to grab Sukiro. But Sukiro circles around the leg again, using the goblin's own body to launch himself higher.
The goblin, enraged, throws his bat at him—
Whoosh!!
Sukiro narrowly dodges it—but it scrapes his arm, tearing flesh. Blood trickles down.
He clutches his wounded arm, wincing.
The goblin charges. Sukiro runs—up a tree. But gravity catches up, and he begins to fall.
This was the plan all along.
He's now high enough—face-to-face with the goblin.
In mid-air, Sukiro flips, landing a crushing kick straight into the goblin's eye.
The Emeralds watch from afar—in shock and awe.
"The kid's doing it" Sirius smiles wide.
"sukiro... you can do it," Sapphire thinks, heart pounding.
"not bad," Elijah mutters.
"he has grown even stronger now," Sebastian smirks.
"Alchemy came in handy afterallKlaus grins.
The goblin screams, covering the socket where its eye used to be.
But Sukiro, falling fast, braces himself.
A terrible kick lands in his ribs—
Crack!
Blood spurts from his mouth as he flies upward, right into the goblin's grasp.
It catches him.
Its fingers begin to squeeze, ready to crush him like a bug—
But then…
Its head falls to the ground.
Sukiro drops from the lifeless grip. He twists midair, positioning his body to absorb the impact.
He lands, rolls to disperse the force, and groans.
"Who did that?" he thinks, exhausted.
Standing in front of him is Sebastian, his arm extended like a sword.
He cut the goblin... with his bare hand?!
"That was good, Sukiro," Sebastian says, turning with a smile. "You stood your guard."
Sukiro sits up, breathing hard. "Yeah… I guess I did." He smiles faintly.
Other hunters arrive at the scene—only to find carnage.
Their eyes widen at the devastation. And then—they see the Emeralds.
"It's the Emeralds!"
"Yeah… makes sense."
"There was no need to rush here…"
Sebastian steps forward, explaining the situation to the guild hunters.
"Sukiro! Sukiro!" a voice calls from the distance.
"You okay?!"
It's Sapphire.
"You're injured so badly!" she says with concern.
"That Sebastian! He's such an idiot." She grunts. "Don't worry, I'll teach him a lesson for you."
She places her hands just above Sukiro's body. A green light glows.
His wounds close. His ribs realign. His arm heals.
"There, good as new!" She beams.
Sukiro stares in disbelief. "How? How did you do that?"
"I'm a healer, dummy! An S-Rank healer. I can heal lost limbs—what's a few wounds?" She pats his head.
"Come on. The guild will clean this up. Let's get you some rest now."
She lifts him gently.
"That was good, kid." Sirius steps forward, offering a fist bump, a wide grin on his face.
Sukiro smiles and bumps back.
"That was amazing, Sukiro!" says an excited tone.
"The way you made the strength potion along the way!"
"And how you remembered the ingredients while fighting!"
"And how you splashed it on yourself—"
"Yeah, that's enough, Mr. Nerd. I think he heard you loud and clear," Elijah cuts in.
"You—!"
The party lets out quiet laughs, trying to hide them.
"Not bad," Elijah says calmly.
Sukiro smiles.
Sebas
tian returns. "Well—it's time to go back. I explained everything to the hunters. Now we have to report to the guild personally. After that, we head out."
He turns to the team.
"Let's go now. We can't be late to the village." Sebastian smiles.