The goblin roared and started the downswing.
Lys felt the world tilt faster. The ground rushed up to meet his skull. In that tiny fraction of a second before impact, something inside him snapped.
He didn't think. He didn't focus like he had practiced all morning in the drill yard. This was different. This came straight from the cold, deep anger still burning in his chest.
Aura of Intimidation.
It exploded out of him like a wave.
Not the thin, careful pressure he had drilled over and over. This one had weight. Real weight. Heavy and angry toward the creature in front of him. Like the whole forest suddenly decided the goblin had made a mistake against him.
The goblin felt it almost instantly.
Its yellow eyes widened. Its thick arm froze mid-swing for half a breath. An old animal instinct kicked in, the same one that tells a wolf to back off when it smells something bigger and meaner than itself. The creature's muscles twitched. Its grip loosened just a fraction.
And that was all Lys needed.
Still hanging upside down, he slapped his free hand to his belt and yanked out the short utility knife he always carried.
No fancy runes. Just plain steel, six inches long, sharp enough for herbs and skinning things.
He drove it straight into the goblin's thick wrist that was grabbing him till now.
The blade sank deep.
The goblin bellowed, and a wet, shocked sound came out of it that echoed off the stone wall. Its fingers snapped open, and Lys dropped.
He didn't land clean.
His shoulder hit first, then his head clipped a thick root sticking out of the dirt. White light flashed behind his eyes. Pain burst across his skull. For a second, everything went black and spinning.
But his body moved anyway. Years of street scraps and his survival instincts took over. He rolled sideways, boots kicking up wet leaves, and scrambled until he put three full steps between him and the goblin.
When his vision cleared, they faced each other.
The goblin wasn't playing with him anymore. Lys knew it from the way it was looking at him now.
Its wounded wrist dripped dark blood onto the ground. The cut from CorpseSlayer earlier still oozed. But the real change was in its eyes. The cold hunter look was gone. Now it was pure, stupid fury, the kind predators get when their prey dares to bite back.
Lys tasted blood on his lip. His left side felt like it was on fire. Every breath hurt. His mana was already scraping the bottom from hours of the herb-gathering skill, but now it really screamed at him to stop using it anymore. He knew the truth right away.
'I can't beat this thing head-on.'
CorpseSlayer lay near the stream bank, still half in the water. The goblin stood between him and the sword. All he had left was the little knife, the aura of intimidation skill still humming around him like angry bees, his Iron Skin skill, and whatever the system was quietly doing in the background. These were all he had now to save himself.
He knew very well he couldn't win against this thing if he tried to fight it fair.
So he didn't try to fight fair. He used the land.
For a minute or so, he stopped thinking about winning. He just moved.
The stream on his left kept the goblin from circling wide. The stone wall on his right gave him something to slide along instead of getting pinned against it. So he used both. He bounced in and out of the goblin's reach, fast and low, like a cornered rat that refused to die.
The goblin swung, and Lys ducked. His knife came up and slashed across its thigh as its arm was going over him. It didn't cut in deep. Just enough to sting.
The goblin roared and lunged. Lys slipped sideways between two thin trees. The club smashed the bark of a tree instead of his bone.
Lys kept the aura running the whole time.
While it was costing him, as he could feel the mana draining faster now, stacking on top of the herb skill he had left running earlier, but it was worth it, at least it was saving his life now. His legs started to feel heavy. It felt like his reactions slowed by half a heartbeat each second.
But he stayed alive.
The goblin caught him once by the shoulder. Thick fingers clamped down hard. Lys twisted like a fish on a hook and ripped free. His skin tore, but the Iron Skin skill turned most of the damage into a raw scrape instead of broken bone.
But the second time he got caught was worse.
A backhand caught him across the face. The blow lifted him off his feet and dropped him hard on one knee. His head rang. Blood filled his mouth. He spat it out, red blood painted the dirt, but he pushed back up before the goblin could stomp him.
"Come on, you ugly bastard," he muttered under his breath, voice rough. "You already crushed the only thing that mattered today. You don't get to finish me, too."
The goblin snarled and charged again.
Lys waited for the right second.
He pushed the aura harder this time, not just letting it leak out, but aiming it straight at the goblin like a spear. The creature staggered back two full steps, shaking its big head hard, trying to shake off the sudden fear that wasn't its own.
That gap was all Lys needed.
He didn't attack the goblin. He ran around it.
Boots splashing through the shallow stream edge, he dove straight for the sword.
When he got to it, his fingers closed around the familiar hilt.
The rune along CorpseSlayer flared bright blue, brighter than it ever had before. It felt warm in his palm, almost alive, like the blade was feeding on the same anger he felt.
Lys spun around, sword up, ready.
But a huge green fist was already flying straight at his face.
He had time for one last thought.
'Oh fu…..'