ABH - CH 40 - To Approach the Line

A/N: Fear not, we approach the end of floor one, I promise!!! Also, this is the regular weekly chapter, so we maintain our 17 chappies ahead!

Chapter Forty

To Approach the Line

Rise of Winter, Week 5, Day X

Eleven goblins was more than just an obstacle. To Freddie, it represented an opportunity. It was a chance to fight as she had in the Gladiator Games of elsewhere, where the pits were often overrun with enemies. You always had to watch your back—there were no allies in the frenzy that would determine if you lived or died.

And Freddie always lived to tell the tale.

She would grit her teeth and throw sand in eyes if it meant she survived another day. That was the way—if it made the crowd cheer, well, that was a skill she learned along the way.

Watching the gaggle of goblins work was a surreal experience for Freddie, who viewed them as inhuman beasts. Even though she knew, if she were to reveal herself, they would aim to kill on sight. Then again, Freddie hardly felt a pang in her conscience, it wasn’t as if monsters had a sense of morality. They had base instincts and a desire to murder her. Freddie wasn’t about to let them do so because, what? They knew how to cook?

With a soft snort, Freddie prepared herself. 

[Imbue Flame][Fire Conjuration+Fire Manipulation][Quick Fight]

Feeling the drain on her mana, she took in the surge of magma in her veins. The rush of heat made Freddie grin, and she prepared another Skill. 

“[Otherworldly]”

A fateful encounter. A defined aura. Whatever [Otherworld] threw her way, she was ready. A red haze oozed out of Freddie, dropping from her like sweat before spreading through the air. A few feet away, Ogon was buzzing in excitement. Unable to contain himself, he was melting stone in anticipation. 

Freddie looked at the spirit, a spark in her eyes. “Let’s go.”

“On your mark,” Ogon agreed.

And then they were rushing out, Freddie’s aura spreading further and further out, making the humid air hot on her tongue. 

At the sound of hard leather hitting stone, the goblins jolted and turned to the two of them—though the goblins would be hard pressed to notice Ogon in the midst of Freddie’s aura. 

There were six red goblins in the chamber; the other five had shuffled out of the room shortly before Freddie and Ogon had begun their charge, but those that remained did not hesitate to raise whatever they held. This was a dungeon—the goblins never lacked for weapons. 

Two pulled out daggers, one wielded brass knuckles, two more had spears, and the final goblin brought up a metal skillet—larger than its head, it was wielded more like a warhammer. 

Freddie skidded to a halt as she barged between a group of three goblins. She clocked their weapons—a set of daggers, brass knuckles, and one with a spear. She went for the spearholder first. That would be the one who would be the most trouble, so she wrapped her fiery palm around the base of the weapon and pulled. 

Stumbling forward, the goblin tried to wrench the spear back. Freddie twisted her arm to knock the end of the weapon into the goblin’s chest, sending the monster falling backward. Around her, the other goblins attacked. She felt hot air hit her side and a line of cold trace itself across her skin, meanwhile, her shoulder was hit with the scraping of metal against skin. Neither was enough to break skin, but would probably be enough to bruise. Freddie wasn’t in the mood for that. 

Midway through the chamber, Ogon met the other goblins—igniting their clothes with his touch. He flitted around them, lighting their tattered shirts and pants aflame. The goblins tried to swat at the spirit, but were unable to catch Ogon as he nimbly jumped from spot to spot. 

After a few seconds of chasing the spirit, the goblins began screaming and patting themselves down frantically. However, every fire they put out was replaced with another flame as Ogon darted around them. 

Freddie took hits in the way only a fighter could—with hatred fueling her. She whipped around, still holding onto the downed goblin’s spear, and swiped at the monster to her left, the one with daggers. She aimed for its legs, but didn’t wait to watch it fall. Instead, she pivoted on her heel, letting go of the singed spear to duck down, and threw a punch right into the third goblin’s gut. Screaming, the goblin was pushed back. It quickly brought its fists down on Freddie, but the girl was no longer there. Instead, she was approaching the downed spearman. 

In the distance, Freddie could hear the shuffle of feet and the yells of the other goblins. 

“Ogon!” She called, an edge to her voice. “Incoming!”

“I see their heat!” He chattered back.

Nodding to herself, Freddie went to bring her heel down on the goblin’s skull when a pair of arms wrapped around her legs and shifted her, causing her heel to meet stone. Growling, Freddie dropped down and brought her fist to meet the face of the goblin gripping her. It tried to swipe her with its offhand, but Freddie caught it and twisted. A savage scream met her ears, but Freddie kept twisting, twisting, twisting—until a pop resounded. Dropping the arm, Freddie stood up, and this time, when she brought down her heel, the sound of a snapping skull met her. 

At her back, Ogon was cackling. “Burn! Burn! Burn! You think you can stand in the way of me and my Freddie! HA! You cannot even call her that because you cannot speak!”

Freddie felt her cheeks warm, flicking her gaze behind her. She didn’t bother to tell the spirit to shut up, though. It wouldn’t work; she’d tried it before when he was burning the vines. 

At the same time, Freddie felt the surety she needed to move—he aura surged forward and she followed it. Where she stood, the clanging of metal on stone resounded. An arrow. The other goblins had arrived. 

Slamming her fists together, Freddie bounced on the balls of her feet before turning back to the brass knuckled goblin and aiming another punch for its gut. Freddie tried to hit the same spot—outlined by the running red skin that was melted from her fire. Her knuckles met flesh, a half inch off from where she’d aimed, but enough to send the goblin staggering back once again. Freddie wasted no time; there were five goblins incoming—and Ogon was still not done with his three either. Freddie could, however, smell the pungent scent of burning flesh wafting through the air and mixing with the smell of baking bread.

It was disgusting. 

She pivoted once more to face the spearman, who had found its feet and was charging her. Freddie caught it with a front kick, then stalked forward and gripped the monster’s shoulder. Flipping it around, Freddie wrapped her arm around the goblin's chin and pulled until a snap filled her ears and the goblin fell to the ground, lifeless. 

Freddie dodged the swing of the final goblin she’d fought, all the while tracking the five incoming goblins at the far exit. They were getting closer, and the Purple Goblin was loading another arrow. In a single, fluid movement, Freddie turned back to the goblin and snapped out her fist, hitting the monster’s chin and forcing its mouth to snap closed, then she ducked down and hit its abdomen one more time. 

This time, it didn’t come at her again. 

Behind her, Ogon cheered, “Die, foul beasts! Hahahahaha!!! Freddie! Freddie! I got one!”

“Good job, Ogon,” Freddie grunted, turning toward the incoming goblins that were in a semicircle around her. 

Four red goblins were approaching, two with daggers out, one with a sword, and another with brass knuckles. 

“Oh, so you all want to fight fight?” She grunted, tilting her head to take them in. 

[Quick Fight] showed her the dagger before it landed, and Freddie stepped to the side, the blade slashing the edge of her jacket before it clattered against the stone floor. Unfortunately, it was quickly followed by an arrow, aimed for Freddie’s chest. At the last moment, Freddie turned her shoulders—the metal tip scraping her skin and causing blood to bubble across her clavicle. 

Freddie took that as her sign to charge and get away from the open space for the archer to aim freely at her. The goblins screeched as she invaded their semicircle, forcing them to move if they didn’t want her in their space. But Freddie didn’t stop, didn’t take the Red Goblins out one by one. Didn’t hold back. Instead, she pushed past the Red Goblins, aiming for the Purple Goblin in the back. 

It was hardly protected, just a few feet behind its vanguard, and Freddie’s fist was already pulled back as she jumped up and used [Fire Step] to get above the goblin’s head, her punch landing and wiping the shocked expression away. The monster growled and hissed and spat, and Freddie simply dropped [Fire Step], landing in front of the Purple Goblin.

“I am here!” Freddie heard Ogon call from somewhere behind her. “And I will make them burn!”

“Good! Keep them off my back!” Freddie called, sending a right hook into the goblin’s side—where a kidney would be if the beast were truly humanoid. Instead, it simply staggered back, not even gripping itself in pain, though its screeching did increase. Freddie wanted to cover her ears, but was forced to power through the irritation and brought a knee up and snapped a kick out—twisting her hips to bring her leg up further and push the goblin back once again.

Freddie growled as she pulled her leg back and regained her balance before approaching the goblin. As she closed the distance she had built, Freddie ducked down and brought her fists together. Reinforcing her right arm, she shoved up with her elbow, slamming the Purple Goblin’s mouth shut. Black blood spilled from its mouth and Freddie laughed. 

“I’ll break you before you break me,” she goaded, popping up and bringing her face close to the goblin’s. 

Wrapping her hands around the curve of the Purple Goblin’s shoulders, Freddie pulled her head back before slamming it viciously into the monster’s nose. A satisfying crunch caught Freddie’s ear, and she stepped back, away from the crumpling goblin. Then, she turned back to face the Red Goblins behind her. Only two were left standing, the others black crisps collapsed on the ground. 

“I saved them for you!” Ogon yelled before darting around the two still aflame bodies of the goblins as they tried to frantically put out the fires that plagued them. 

“Thanks,” Freddie said, a crooked, malicious grin on her face. “I’ve got it from here.”

Freddie made quick work of the half-dead goblins, her fist sinking into them and cracking bones with ease. When they were all felled, and Ogon was darting around burning their bodies to ash to get to the mana pearls, Freddie stared at her [Combat Report].

[Combat Report]

[Skills Used in Combat:

  Imbue Flame Lv. 8

  Fire Manipulation Lv. 7

  Fire Conjuration Lv. 7

  Fire Step Lv. 5

  Otherworldly Lv. 2

  Quick Fight Lv. 6

  Running Lv. 6]

[Hostiles Defeated:

  1 Level 3 Red Goblin - Killed

  1 Level 5 Red Goblin - Killed

  3 Level 6 Red Goblin - Killed

  2 Level 7 Red Goblin - Killed

  1 Level 8 Red Goblin - Killed

  2 Level 9 Red Goblin - Killed

  1 Level 10 Purple Goblin - Killed]

[Contribution: 100%]

[Level Discrepancy: Various Above Hostiles]

[Overall Experience Modifier Adjusted for:

100% Contribution against Hostiles

User Level Above Hostiles]

[Post-Combat Results:

Skill Experience Applied to: Imbue Flame, Fire Manipulation, Fire Conjuration, Fire Step, Otherworldly, Quick Fight, Running.]

Freddie, out of curiosity, also pulled up her [Status].

[Name:  Fredericka Nemo]

[Race: Human]

[Age: 8]

[Unallocated Stat Points: 0]

[Vitality:              105                         Endurance:           31]

[Strength:             57                         Dexterity:              52]

[Perception:         28                         Magic:                   50]

[Luck:                   78                         Divinity:                 114]

[0th Tier Class: Child of the Gods, Max Level]

[Boon: Druigr’s Blessing]

[1st Tier Class: Young Lady of Flame, Level 12, 99.9%]

[Skills:                  

0th Tier: Inspect Lv. 6, Meditation Lv. 3, Running Lv. 6, Sparkler Lv. 6, Fist of the Flame Monk Lv. 2

1st Tier: Quick Fight Lv. 6, Bright as a Flickering Flame Lv. 6, Fire Step Lv. 5

2nd Tier: Otherworldly Lv. 2, Fire Conjuration Lv. 7, Fire Manipulation Lv. 7

3rd Tier: Imbue Flame Lv. 8

Untiered: Hidden Heart Lv. 1, Nemoan Martyr Lv. 2, Nemoan Protectorate Lv. 2, Regenerate Lv. 7]

“That’s so rude!” She cried out, shock filling her. “Point one percent? You couldn’t give me point one percent to get to Level 13?”