Chapter 32: CHAPTER 31 - Clearing the second tutorial.
*Thud*
The same sequence of sound kept repeating in the ears of the humans, who were standing still inside a blue dome-like structure that was standing at the edge of a large crater, dividing a dense forest between Khaliyan and San into two parts.
*Slash**Squench**Thud*
The sound of air being cut by a sharp weapon, flesh being pierced with a sickening sound, and the sound of bodies hitting the ground.
The humans inside the blue-colored dome, frozen in their spots, kept staring at the one responsible for these noises.
Every time they saw the man waving his blade towards the things that were called goblins, their bodies would jerk in fright.
Their eyes were wide open, not blinking, while their bodies were drenched in cold sweat.
They were speechless, dumbfounded, and terrified by the display of power they were forced to watch.
'Why is he so staring?'
'Can I be like him?'
'Did he do something special?'
'Is it because of his skills that he could fight so well?'
'His moves are making me wet.'
'He got the looks and the moves.'
Many different thoughts kept entering and leaving their heads as they watched a single man kill the goblins without a shred of tension or tiredness appearing on his face.
Some of them were wondering if he was even a human, and some were envious of his powers. Some wanted to know if he did something special to get where he was, while others just wanted to latch onto his thigh.
The ones that harbored some kind of impure thought for him were now trembling in a corner as they watched his cold, golden eyes just keep looking for more and more goblins as his legs kept moving, taking him from one goblin to another; killing just one of them seemed like an easy thing for him.
It was as if the beings he killed weren't the same beings that became the source of the humans' terror the moment they stepped inside the dome.
The level 1 and level 2 goblins, something humans would have to use their all to fight, were being slayed like chickens by a boy who seemed to be no older than 20 years.
His red hair danced along with his body as he swiftly dispatched one goblin after another.
His expressions chilled the heart of the human, especially since the features of the guy were as cold as they could be, yet a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, indicating that he was enjoying his time.
'How is he enjoying that?!'
The humans wanted to scream out loud, but their bodies were stiff and their throats were dry, just by watching the show of power along with all of the uncontrollable gore.
The mere fact that he was enjoying the fight—a fight that would be a life-and-death battle for them—was incredulous for them.
If someone had told them about it, then they would've just waved it off, never believing it.
But looking at it with their own two eyes was not helping them.
They couldn't even wave it off now.
They were the ones witnessing the impossible.
How could they have known that it was not just the boy in front of them who could do things like this and that there were some more people all over the world who could do it as well?
They were new to this apocalyptic world, just like everyone else, and they didn't know anything about it yet.
So, for them, a level 4 like Alex was very strong—way stronger than anything they had seen.
Yes, the tiger and human pair were also killing the goblins, but a large tiger killing some goblins didn't look that surprising.
'If a tiger of that size can't even kill a goblin, then what's the use of that big and intimidating body?'
The tiger was the one protecting them, sure, but the number of goblins it killed was 10% of the goblins that the red-haired boy, Alex, slayed alone.
They were grateful to Garvit and Shera for protecting them, but the shock they felt from Alex's show of power was too much for them to take in.
Alex, on the other hand, was oblivious to the things going on in the heads of the people inside of the dome.
All he was focused on was trying out his upgraded fighting style.
He hadn't used his own mixed martial arts after the fight with the undead, so now that he was using them again, he could feel the changes in them.
Just using the battle analytics of his unnamed battle art for 10 seconds was enough to refine his moves into something he never thought would be possible. It made him wonder - What would happen if he improved it more?
He wanted to try it again; he wanted to do it so much that his hands were literally itching, but he controlled his urge to do so.
He wanted to save his mana for the moment when he actually needed it.
Especially when he recalled the crater and the roar from before.
'Who knows what kind of monsters are still out there?'
This was what he thought.
His cautious nature wouldn't let him use his abilities right now.
The continuous counting that the AI in his head went on reminded him of the number of goblins he had killed.
His mind wasn't focused on the counts as he was testing out his body's limit, so he didn't count the kills.
With another skillful maneuver, he beheaded a goblin that was rushing at him with a crazed expression.
Goblins, unlike at the start, had started to focus on him, and by now, most of the goblins just rushed at him with the intention of at least getting some of their attacks through Alex's masterful movements.
But all they achieved was failure.
The moment they blinked their eyes, they would find Alex's blade next to their throats, ready to slice through, and without even being able to scream or run, they would die.
The same thing kept repeating.
One goblin after another.
Then another, and then the next one.
The humans inside the dome also kept staring at the same thing repeatedly, since no matter how many times they saw it, Alex's movements still looked like something out of a fantasy book to them.
Some brave souls tried to step forward, thinking that Alex was nothing special and that they would be able to do the same if they tried.
"Roar!"
But a single roar was enough to freeze them on the spot, stopping them from jumping to their deaths.
They didn't know that the roar from the tiger was for their own good; others could understand that, but the ones who were overestimating themselves couldn't.
So some were dissatisfied, but for now, none spoke a word.
The same thing went on as more and more goblins were pushed inside the dome until finally, a change occurred.
[Tch.]
All of the humans, be it Alex, Garvit, the lady from before, or Rohit, who was hiding among the group of people, trying to stay out of Alex's sight, heard the sound of someone clicking their tongue inside of their head.
They didn't even have to guess who it could be since only one entity had been able to do it till now.
The system.
[So, all of you survived.]
The next instant, along with a dissatisfied and haughty voice, a figure materialized above them.