Level Up The Colony-Chapter 16: Damn Shamans

Timothy didn't make the mistake of assuming the hobgoblins shared the same abilities.

The shamans, on the other hand, looked identical to the ones he had already faced.

A long stare-down ensued.

If he wanted to move forward, grow stronger, and return to reality, he had no choice but to step inside.

"Gray, maybe you should sit this one out," he murmured.

Then, without hesitation, he crossed the threshold.

Still no reaction.

Timothy remained on guard.

Shamans specialized in magic, and his only counter to that was speed.

He fully expected them to strike once he got close.

Yet, as he walked forward, they didn't move.

Is there a taunt distance like in games? he wondered, advancing further.

Then, when he was halfway through the room

A voice cut through the silence.

"That's enough. I can see you clearly now."

Timothy halted, his eyes locked on the figure before him.

"A human, I see."

The red-eyed goblin spoke.

Timothy didn't reply immediately.

He wasn't about to walk into a trap.

The goblin continued.

"How do you feel?"

A vague question.

"What do you mean?" Timothy responded, keeping his tone neutral.

The goblin studied him for a moment before speaking again.

"I mean... slaughtering those weaker than you."

Timothy narrowed his eyes.

"Must I answer that? Is this a riddle of some sort?" He kept his stance ready, prepared for anything.

"No, you mustn't answer the question. Do you care for a chat?" the red eyed Goblin said, never once looking at him.

Timothy remained silent, his voice caught in his throat as he wrestled with the hidden meaning behind the words, trying to understand why this conversation was even happening.

And then the goblin

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"If it's a fight you want, you'll have it in the end regardless. I believe each of them here should be enough of a challenge for you excluding myself, of course. So why not chat for a while before one of us meets our end?"

"We're already chatting, aren't we? Besides, victory is never guaranteed," Timothy replied boldly.

"Oh, but challenges are, aren't they? They exist to push us beyond our limits, to drive us forward!"

"No one is forced to face a challenge. They could always turn back and remain content with what they have."

"Contentment, huh? Are you content with what you have?"

"No."

"At what point should a person be content?"

"When there's nothing left to strive for?" Timothy muttered, his tone laced with contemplation.

The red-eyed goblin suddenly chuckled, an eerily human sound.

"And when is there ever nothing to strive for?" the goblin asked, calm and measured.

Timothy was stunned silent, unable to find a response.

"Survival is merely the excuse of beasts," the goblin continued.

"It does not apply to intelligent creatures. You are not ruled by instinct alone... at least not yet. Even now, you are driven by willpower and the pursuit of satisfaction."

Timothy hesitated.

The conversation was leading him toward a realization he wasn't ready for.

He had never questioned the system or his encounters, not that he could but the what-ifs were countless, the answers unseen.

"So, what are you trying to say?" he finally asked.

"The true battle is not against the weak but against the meek, against the hunger that drives you to never be filled."

"Hunger is what keeps us alive," Timothy countered.

"It is also what kills us."

Silence settled over the room.

The goblins remained still, their red eyes watching, observing.

The air was thick with tension not of hostility, but something else.

A strange, philosophical stillness.

"Are you trying to make me hesitate?" Timothy asked.

"Perhaps," the goblin mused.

"Or perhaps I am simply tired of speaking to myself. My time with you is short, so I shall tell you my story... if you impress me."

With that, the goblin snapped his fingers.

The stillness shattered.

The hobgoblins and shamans that had been watching now radiated killing intent.

Of the four hobgoblins, one pulled an axe from seemingly nowhere, red markings glowing across its body.

Two others advanced steadily, their movements unnervingly synchronized, while the last remained behind them, as though holding formation.

Timothy barely spared a glance at the shamans.

They were slow, and if necessary, he could dodge them.

Instead, he braced himself for battle, until the system alerted him.

[Goblin Knight]

[Goblin Knight]

[Goblin Knight]

[Goblin Knight]

All four names glowed blood red.

His stomach sank.

he assumed they were hobgoblins.

Without hesitation, he pulled up his status screen to allocate his free stat points...but before he could, another notification flashed.

[You have been hit by a Paralysis Spell.]

[Your Intelligence stat is too low.]

[Paralysis applied: 10 seconds.]

His worst-case scenario, one he hadn't even considered had just become reality.

They had exploited his greatest weakness.

Timothy barely had time to register the situation before one of the goblin knights was already in front of him, fist cocked back.

BAM!

[-50 HP]

His chest caved inward from the impact, blood spraying from his mouth as he crashed into a pillar, still paralyzed.

His vision swam.

He forced himself to look at the timer.

8 seconds remaining.

---

Status:

Level: 12

HP: 2150

MP: 20

Fatigue: 30

Strength: 40

Stamina: 20

Agility: 23

Intelligence: 10

Perception: 20

Free Stats: 10

---

"Add all free stats to Intelligence!" he practically screamed in his mind.

[Intelligence: 10 → 20]

But the paralysis still held.

And the goblin with the axe was already sprinting toward him.

[Paralysis ends in: 3... 2... 1...]

Three seconds was an eternity.

But the moment his body responded, he rolled aside just narrowly avoiding the axe that would have split him in two.

Using the momentum, he launched a punch at his attacker's chest.

The goblin barely staggered.

A second later, the others lunged at him.

Timothy barely had time to react before he was completely on the defensive, weaving through attacks, dodging, his Dash skill triggering over and over to keep him alive by a hair's breadth.

The goblin knight who had first struck him was the worst.

It was fast almost faster than him.

If this continued, he wouldn't last. If not from an attack, then from sheer exhaustion.

He needed to turn the tide.

The two other goblin knights were slower, their attacks easier to read.

And the one with the axe, it was the weak link.

Not in strength, but in coordination.

Unlike the others, its fighting style was wild, unpredictable, a lone berserker in a pack of soldiers.

Timothy took his chance.

Activating multiple Dashes, he shot forward, appearing directly in front of the axe-wielding goblin knight.

As expected, the goblin reacted instantly, swinging its axe in a wide arc.

But Timothy had already anticipated this.

He ducked under the swing and drove an uppercut into the goblin's chin.

The goblin barely flinched.

It immediately lashed out with its free hand, a sharp punch aiming for Timothy's ribs.

But he sidestepped and struck again.

Another solid hit to the chin.

The goblin snarled in frustration.

Its grip tightened on the axe as it swung wildly.

Timothy weaved past the strike and delivered another blow.

A tremor ran through the goblin's jaw.

This time, it felt it.

The fast goblin knight tried to intervene, but Timothy had one advantage... Height.

The goblin knights stood around six to seven feet tall.

Timothy was barely five feet with his statue.

That height difference made all the difference.

The faster goblin hesitated, a hesitation that gave Timothy his opening.

BANG!

Another brutal hit to the axe-wielding goblin's chin.

This time, the goblin staggered back.

The fight was turning in his favor.

The axe recoiled again, but Timothy wove through the attack, slipping past its arc with practiced ease.

He struck once more, another solid blow to the goblin's chin.

It snarled, its wild swings becoming more frantic, giving Timothy the upper hand.

Every missed attack only served to disrupt its allies, turning their numbers into a disadvantage.

Then, the goblin inhaled deeply.

A Skill

He had seen this before, every time a goblin reached this point, it was on the verge of evolving to another stage.

He couldn't let that happen.

Timothy surged forward.

Before the roar could leave its throat, his fist crashed into its chin once again.

A sickening crack echoed through the battlefield.

This time, the goblin staggered to one knee, its axe shifting into a defensive stance.

Good.

That was exactly what he wanted, overwhelming force.

A relentless assault to crush the goblins before they could become real threats.

Why? He didn't know.

He just needed to win.

He had taken too many losses to lose this opportunity

That was what he saw all these as... An opportunity to never be weak gain.

He lost track of the battlefield for a split second when...

DING

Then, the notifications came.

[You have been affected by paralysis.]

[You have resisted the paralysis.]

[You have been stunned.]

"Damn shamans" he cursed

He barely had time to brace before impact.

One second.

That was all it took for him to lose control of the battlefield he set up.