There was no way I could take the fireball head-on. I had no fire protection gear, so I attempted to do a dodge roll away. It was an awkward movement that I didn't pull off perfectly and it sent an alarming jolt up and down my left arm.

A small window with [+1%] popped up in my periphery and I knew exactly what it meant. Even though I made my arm a bit worse with the dodge roll, I managed to get far enough away to avoid any kind of damage from the fireball. It crashed into the very spot I had just been a couple of seconds ago and left a seared scorch mark on the stony ground.

Before I could comprehend what was happening, Goblin One of Five took an awkward swing at me that made me have to jump back a little bit more. The five goblins, all in a single file, must have rushed me at the same time as when the Chief shot the fireball at me.

I remembered the attack pattern from the previous waves and slashed at each of the five goblins all in a series of movements, and my investment into my Strength and Agility from Leveling up worked wonders, as they all fell instantly. Even with the damage debuff, I was able to take them down instantly.

"Paradigm, scan the big guy," I mumbled under my breath as the Goblin Chief turned to face me. His information popped up in a Window as he used Rally Call once more.

[GOBLIN CHIEF

Six level one Goblins spawned and started to march toward me. I knew that the Chief's next move was going to be a fireball, and I dodge-rolled away. This time, I managed to do it perfectly without hurting my arm.

I had dodged closer to the Chief and I started sprinting over to it. I managed to take care of all the level one goblins, and when I reached the Chief, I slashed at both its massive calves. The cuts weren't that deep, but the Chief wailed in pain and swung wildly at its feet. I managed to dodge it by taking a small step away.

I looked up at the Health Bar above the Chief. Approximately 25% of the bar disappeared. Before I could respond, a bright, glowing, warm palm that was bigger than my head was almost touching me and I flew back from the impact of the Fireball.

[You are on fire. -1HP per second until the fire is put out.]

[40% Nerve Degradation]

I whistled air in through gritted teeth. When my vision cleared, I realised that the Chief had cast Rally Call and the goblins swung at me. I dodge-rolled out of the way and took off the jacket that was slightly simmering from the fireball.

[You are no longer on fire.]

I ignored the basic goblins and once again rushed to the Chief. I slashed at its right calf again. This time, the dagger dug deeper into the calf and I could feel the muscles shift as they tore apart. The thought of my first attempt at skinning a Qrell popped in my head for a split second, and I realised it felt similar.

The Chief cried out in pain as it dropped onto its knees. The impact was so hard that I nearly lost my balance. It tried to shoot a Fireball blindly in my general direction, but I slunk around and slashed at its back. The cry from the creature was deafening.

A Window popped up in my peripheral saying [CRITICAL HIT!] and when I looked up at the Chief's Health Bar, there was around 10% left.

Thank the gods that the basic goblins' pattern never changed as I manoeuvred my way through the six that relentlessly marched toward me. After the last goblin fell, two Windows popped up and grabbed my attention.

[ACTIVE SKILL: CHAIN SLASH UNLOCKED]

[PASSIVE SKILL: SLASH ↑ LVL 7 = DMG UP!]

I gripped the dagger harder, I swiped to look at my Status Window. My stamina was only at 30/130. If I were to try the skill, I would faint from exhaustion. That wouldn't do.

The Chief had used Rally Cry once more. This time, three Level 2 goblins spawned. I decided to not wait for them and approached them carefully. They still followed the same pattern. I dodged the first goblin's swing and slashed at it. It fell in one go. The other two followed soon after.

Before the Goblin Chief could use its Fireball skill again, I rushed at it and swung at its head. The dagger snagged on the skin on its throat and its blood splattered on the ground.

The heavy body fell with a great THUMP and I stepped back, my throat was gasping for water, my lungs hungry for air. I stumbled and awkwardly fell onto the ground. I managed to cradle my arm in safety to not damage it.

The System made a simple celebratory sound and a Window popped up in the middle of the room behind me with a stifled trumpet fanfare.

I shifted around to look at the Window and chuckled.