Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 11 – Solo Raid

—–CROW—– 

The Goblin Lord’s axe, like its greatsword, boasted an absurd reach.

It was probably twice as long as my main weapon. The advantage of reach in close combat is obvious.

On top of that, due to the Goblin Lord’s overwhelming physique and increased strength, neither defense nor parrying would likely work.

And if that wasn’t enough, three crossbowmen were aiming at me. The unfavorable conditions were considerable.

There was only one action to take in this situation.

“Huup!”

I closed in even further. Inside the reach of the axe, into the Goblin Lord’s embrace.

I quickly closed the distance in an instant. Unlike the greatsword, the axe has a narrow striking area, so it’s useless at this close range.

But it was still daunting to get so close to that huge mass of muscle.

-Fwip!

I heard the sound of a crossbow firing. I immediately raised my shield to cover my left shoulder.

-Ting.

The powerfully shot arrow was blocked by the shield and bounced off. It was a bit of a gamble, but it seems my prediction was correct.

Just a moment ago, my body was largely hidden thanks to the Goblin Lord’s large body. This was probably the only part the crossbowmen could aim for from their perspective.

But there were still two more crossbowmen left. And in front of me, the Goblin Lord was raising the hand that wasn’t holding the axe.

“Graaa-!!”

It swung its huge hand with a deafening roar. I quickly ducked to avoid it.

My strength stat might not surpass the Goblin Lord’s strength in phase 2, but my reaction speed and agility from my dexterity stat were different.

Having the advantage in speed meant always having the initiative. It was the same even in this kind of outnumbered situation.

While the goblins took one turn, I could take two.

-Ting.

Immediately after avoiding the Goblin Lord’s hand, I blocked a second shot aimed at the opening with my shield.

The problem was the third and final shot. I hadn’t anticipated the possibility of three crossbowmen appearing as soon as phase 2 started.

Hoping the timing wouldn’t be too late, I wrapped myself around the leg of the Goblin Lord that I had previously slashed with [Brandish] and spun my body around.

The arrow didn’t come. Using the Goblin Lord as a shield by turning my body had worked.

No matter what these guys did, they wouldn’t cause friendly fire. That’s why it was possible to delay their firing by a beat like this.

“Graa-!”

At that moment, when the crossbowman missed its firing timing, the Goblin Lord raised its axe above its head.

This was bad. I had missed the timing to respond to the axe attack because I was forced to avoid the arrow.

Fuck, I can’t avoid this. I can’t block it either.

-Clang!

The huge bone axe slid along the side of my raised shield, making a loud noise.

I managed to deflect it somehow. It seems that my shield was chipped a bit. And even though I deflected it, my arm was numb.

But now it was my turn again. The Goblin Lord’s agility wouldn’t allow it to take advantage of this brief opening.

I thought, but at that moment, the Goblin Lord’s shoulder pushed into my vision. I hurriedly raised my shield.

-Bang!

The shield, pushed by the force, hit my face, and my body was lifted into the air by the Goblin Lord, which had lowered its body to aim for my lower body like a charging bull.

Fuck, a tackle at close range with that kind of bulk? Isn’t that a bit too much?

My reaction speed was sufficient, but the movement was so bizarre that I couldn’t figure out how to deal with it.

-Whoosh!

The Goblin Lord, having lifted me into the air, pulled back its bone axe. The same posture as the horizontal slash I had suffered before.

The Goblin Lord’s strongest attack, which should never be hit. It was planning to hit me like a baseball, timed with my fall.

If I got hit by that, it wouldn’t matter if I had a shield or whatever, my body would be split in half from the waist.

I had to avoid it somehow, but it was impossible to dodge in mid-air. Damn it, it was a completely unavoidable situation.

Just like the tackle from before. The reaction speed was sufficient, but there was no way to deal with it.

No, come to think of it, there was one.

“Huup…!”

While in the air, I gripped my sword tightly and pulled back my shoulder. My legs took a stance as if stepping on non-existent ground.

When you take the proper stance for a swordsmanship skill, your body moves automatically to perform the action. In other words, something like this was also possible.

-Stab!

As a faint light arose from the sword, my body automatically shot forward in a stabbing motion.

Sword Charge, a one-handed sword lunge skill.

The mid-air lunge changed my trajectory before I fell. The extended thrust pierced the Goblin Lord’s neck.

Thanks to practicing the skill dozens of times to increase proficiency, I could take the correct stance even in mid-air.

It wasn’t just about stats or levels. The effort I had put in so far saved me at this crucial moment.

“Got you, you bastard!”

In a moment of exhilaration I had never felt before, I unconsciously laughed and shouted.

Thrill coursing through my veins, I grabbed the sword stuck in the Goblin Lord’s neck and climbed onto its shoulder once again.

At that moment, a crossbowman fired an arrow, not missing the sight of me sticking out above the Goblin Lord’s shoulder.

“Kuh.”

The arrow accurately pierced my shoulder, but thanks to my high durability stat, it didn’t go all the way through. It was just stuck there.

Anyway, it hurt like hell. It hurt, but strangely, it didn’t hurt. I think I know why.

This must be real adrenaline. They say that when the blood rushes to your head, you don’t even feel pain. It must be true.

[You have acquired the passive skill: Battle Trance level 1.]

An interface popped up out of context. Before I could even think about its meaning, I raised my sword.

“Diiiiiie!!”

I clung to the Goblin Lord’s neck and thrust the raised sword.

For some reason, the sword seemed to go in more easily than before. Was this also because of adrenaline? Whatever.

There was only one thing I could say for sure.

I was going to win this fight.

**

I went into a trance and stabbed the Goblin Lord’s back.

I forgot about the dagger I had prepared for this moment and just kept stabbing it with my longsword.

“Graaaaaaaah-!!”

“Aaaaaaaaaah!!”

The Goblin Lord struggled in pain and tried to shake me off, but I screamed back and kept stabbing.

The three crossbowmen fired arrows whenever they could see me on the Goblin Lord’s back, but it was no use.

-Stab!

A few arrows pierced my body. Two or three? I stopped counting midway, so I didn’t know. Anyway, I wasn’t hit in any vital areas.

A challenger doesn’t receive a fatal injury until their HP reaches zero. It hurts like hell, but this won’t kill me.

HP: 411/510

It would probably take another hour for the bleeding damage to deplete my level 39 HP pool.

The Goblin Lord tried to shake me off in the same way as before. It charged towards the wall with its back.

I let go of its neck and jumped off its back at the last moment, using it as a foothold.

Then I stepped on the wall again and leaped, taking the [Sword Charge] stance in mid-air.

-Stab!

I lunged towards the back of the Goblin Lord, which was running towards the wall. Our combined force drove the blade in very deep.

“Graaaak!”

The boss’s scream, which seemed to have lost some strength, and the red effect that burst out. It was a critical hit.

The blade, deeply embedded in its back, was firmly held by the muscles and wouldn’t come out. But it didn’t matter. I opened my inventory.

[+7 Royal Knight’s Straight Sword]

[+7 Royal Knight’s Straight Sword]

[+7 Royal Knight’s Straight Sword]

[+6 Royal Knight’s Straight Sword]

[+6 Royal Knight’s Straight Sword]

[+5 Royal Knight’s Straight Sword]

Over the past six months, I had claimed every single treasure chest in the 1st-floor labyrinth area. Thanks to that, I had countless weapons.

I abandoned the sword stuck in the boss’s back and took out a new one. I left the half-disabled boss alone and charged at the crossbowman.

“You’ve been really annoying me, you bastard.”

-Crack!

I killed the goblin that had been constantly hindering me with arrows. Then I quickly killed the remaining two.

In the meantime, the staggering Goblin Lord regained its posture. It gripped the bone axe tightly and took the stance for its ultimate horizontal slash.

I removed the now useless shield from my arm and gripped my sword.

-Thump! Thump! Thump!

The Goblin Lord ran towards me with all its might, holding the axe. But its appearance no longer had the same intimidation as before.

It seemed that its leg, which was injured by my first attack, was not in good shape. It was also probably due to the continuous stabbing and blood loss.

I also ran towards the staggering goblin that was preparing to unleash its ultimate horizontal slash.

My agility stat was sufficient. I was confident that I could avoid the ultimate horizontal slash or whatever, even from the front.

-Whoosh!

I avoided the axe that cut through the air and delivered a blow to its neck from the front this time.

-Stab!

The red effect burst out again, a critical hit. The boss stopped in its tracks.

And slowly, like other monsters, it turned into light and scattered.

[Congratulations. You have cleared the Tower of Trials 1st floor for the first time.]

Thus, my efforts finally bore fruit in the form of a stage clear.

[Clear Reward: You have acquired ‘Experience’ and ‘Gold’.]

[You can now activate the portal to the 2nd floor of the Tower of Trials.]

[First Clear Reward: You have acquired ‘Grax’ar’s Bone Axe’.]

[Highest Contribution Reward: You have acquired ‘Goblin Bone Necklace’ and ‘Experience’.]

[Last Hit Reward: You have acquired the passive skill ‘Indomitable’.]

“What the.”

Why are there so many rewards?

—–CROW—–