"-There's no end to them-" his body felt like every muscle was built out of lead. No matter how many goblins fall, more keep storming at him, "-We've been at it since the sun was up, and now the moon is in the middle of the sky-" it feels like he's covered in needles, going deeper every time he moves. A body clad in cuts and bruises. Covered in so much blood, he can't tell if it's his blood or their's. He refuses to stop. Halting, or even slowing down, is a death sentence. Gradually his mind goes blank. He can't think clearly anymore, hardly managing to keep his eyes open, fatigue taking over, "would you like me to aid you then?" a voice whispered inside Damian's head before a black curtain befell him.

As Damian opens his eyes, he finds himself lying in a pile of hay surrounded by three stone walls and a bunch of steel bars lined vertically and horizontally, forming a net, making it so that you can only fit an arm or a leg at most. Judging by the sunlight pouring outside, Damian guessed it was still morning. "I suppose they didn't kill me, but capture me... I might have a chance to escape in that case," right after Damian's word left his mouth, a head poked from outside of his cage.

Elven post guard - Lvl 15 Damian's hair stood on end at the LVL difference between the two of them. But the guard moved away in a hurry as soon as he was sure that Damian was awake. "That's definitely, not a goblin" slowly, the footsteps fades away, Damian rushed around his cell shouting frantically for a way out of his cage, but all his effort went with no success. after moments of pondering, it struck him that if they wanted him dead bringing him here would be of no use to them.

After regaining his composure, he finally noticed his body overlayed in a thin, sticky substance, dark red in color. It was mud that he was sure of, but there was something else mixed in. It gave an uneasy feeling.

He sat back down on his makeshift mattress since it was the closest place to comfort in this stone cage. With his back against the wall, knees up, and elbows were resting on them. Damian faced the steel bars welcoming any other creature that might want to come in. After pondering to himself for a bit, curiosity took over him. "I wonder if it was them who saved me from the goblins. Well, I might as well ask that guy when he gets back," deciding to relax, Damian summons his Stats to see what changes he might since reaching LEVEL 3. He might've learned something new. Name - Level Damian - 11(31.7%) Title Goblin Slayer Stats (+20) Health 150/150 Stamina 190/190 Strength Endurance Intellect Wisdom 17 15 12 11 Agility Perception Willpower Luck 19 21 14 11 Skills Gamer's core - Lvl 1(62.6%) Scan - Lvl 3(12.0%) Dash - Lvl 2(98.2%) Focus - Lvl 5(4.0%) Wild sense - Lvl 1(17.2%) Cooking- Lvl1(0.7%)

Gamer's core - Lvl 1(62.6%)

(Stats Points: every time you Level up, you will gain 2 Stats points, which you can spend to increase all your stats, except for Luck stat.)

Passive: By obtaining the Gamer's core, you are now able to learn new abilities and evolve as a game character. The more you practice and train yourself, the more power, knowledge, and Stats points you will gain.

Scan - Lvl 3(12.8%)

Active: You are able to see an Item's or a living entity's information. If the entity is 11+ above you in Levels, this ability will not work.

Passive: You are able to see a living entity's Title and Level. If the entity is 11+above you in levels, this ability will not work.

Dash - Lvl 2(98.2%) Active: You can sprint up to 10 meters in 2 seconds. Less distance decreases the time and increases the speed required.

Focus - Lvl 5(4.0%) Active(Channel): while this is active, you will have the ability to read your surroundings 1.2 seconds in advance. You must remain in a still/relaxed state to maintain. Wild sense - Lvl 1(17.2%)

Passive: your Perception points raises by 5% for 10 seconds when -Killing intent- is applied to you.

Passive: When your health drops to or below 10%, your body will react automatically, dodging all incoming damage for 10 seconds.

Baffled and elated over the sudden boost in level, his Eyes widened "-Whoa, how many of those ugly midgets did I kill?-" Damian thought while one hand got occupied scratching his greasy hair. Footsteps slowly emerged from the silence. Even though they were a bit far, his ears could still pick it up. Slowly but surely closing the gap between them. The odd thing is that Damian picked up exactly how many pairs of footsteps and even recognized the guard who was sitting in front of his cell earlier, "it's three now?".

Without thinking, Damian swiftly stands up. Grabs the three-legged stool using it as a small shield, while at the same time blindly picking up an item from the inventory to use it as a weapon. "-Rabbit Horn?.. well I don't know what the rest of those things are, I'll use this for now-" Elven post guard - Lvl 15 Elven post guard - Lvl 16 Elven post Corporal - Lvl ??? By the time the echoes ceased, three individuals had appeared in front of the steel bars, looking at Damian, who stood there, dumbfounded. Let alone the fact that the post guards are stronger than him, how powerful is this Corporal to make his Level unknown to Damian? He felt dwarfed by his presence alone. As one of the guards pulled a key and swiftly slid the door, letting a small shriek of agony reveal how much this cage has suffered at the hands of the former inmates attempting to escape.

Both guards clad in red-brown scale-like leather. The corporal armor differed slightly in shape, and its color was more like orange-colored. It was like watching three moving trees. Once, they saw Damian armed with the makeshift shield and a small horn. The two guards' hands swiftly aimed for their curved swords, but right before pulling them, the corporal raised his hand, forbidding them from doing so. To Damian's surprise, he also unstrapped the belt holding his sword, and gave it to one of the guards.

The two guards stationed themselves at the entrance while the corporal strolled in with a bright smile. "Greetings, my name is Folen," said Folen as he bowed slightly for a brief moment in a respectful manner. But what Damian heard was "knaadehkc so hysa ec Folen". You have learned (0.9%) of -Elven language (Spoken)- "-Great.. just what I need, a language barrier-"after moments of awkward silence, Damian bowed his head while still armed, he didn't want to let his guards down, yet he felt obligated to greet him back. "There is no need to arm yourself. We mean you no harm," Folen said calmly, as he raised his hands in the air while slowly closing the gap between him and Damian.

Damian didn't understand anything the elf said, but he felt the sincerity and no threat in his voice. Still, the odds were pretty much against him in both number and strength. After some thought, it dawned on him that they might actually be the ones who saved him from the horde of goblins.

But Damian wanted to play it safe. Gaining trust from these elves is a good thing for him. He also knows that he looted the goblins he killed, and they're bound to be a weapon or two in the loot. So Damian slowly put the stool on the ground, and while still maintaining eye contact with Folen, Damian gives him the small horn. He had more items he can use from the inventory as weapons anyway.

"Good, now that we have this out of the, would you mind telling me your name?" Folen asked with his smile still shining. Judging from his voice tone, Damian knew that he was asked a question but didn't know what it was.

He felt cornered in a way if he revealed that he couldn't speak and they harbored any ill intentions towards him, they could easily plan how to get rid of him without his knowledge. On the other hand, if they wanted to help him, they could teach him how to speak their language.

"Could you say that again?" Damian asked, showing that he understood nothing of what the Corporal said. There's really no other choice. Folen was dumbfounded. How could he forget that he was talking to a human?

"Find me someone who can speak human or common, and take our guest to the public bath and prepare him a clean uniform," Folen issued to the guards as he bowed again to Damian before leaving the cell.

After some time, Led by the guards through a long dark corridor, Damian found himself in another small room with a banged-up metallic tub in the middle of it, filled with steaming water, a small copper bowl some soap lying next to the tub.

Drowning himself in a colorful cloud of bubbles, the calm and silence slowly sinking in his mind. His phone, which never left his side even when he took his showers. No internet or Wi-Fi to login from, roaring horns from the traffic. All replaced with whispers of the calm wind.

He knows nothing of this new world, Goblins & Elves. He only knew them from the games he played. But one thing is certain"-I need to be stronger and to get stronger, I need to learn everything I can about this world, the sooner, the better, I need to raise my Stats and figure my... STATS POINTS!-" Damian had thought before he summoned his Stats menu in a hurry.

"So I have the number +20 next to my Stats is how many stats I have gained after Leveling up. Every Level gives me 2 extra points I can spend to increase on stats.. in that case," Damian considered before he poured 10 points on Intellect. an abrupt in thinking occurred as if opening a door that stood in front of him the whole time yet he just noticed.

It seems that everything he sees, hears, and even smells, to the smallest detail, is stored in his brain. Not sure if he got smarter or just good at memorizing things. After washing and cleaning himself thoroughly, Damian admired his naked reflection in the shiny Plate nailed to the wall leaving a muddy mess behind. What caught his attention was the tattoo branded on his chest. At first, he thought it was the guards doing, but soon realized how similar the patterns were to the pendant his mom gave him. "scan."

Unable to scan

"That's odd," Damian said as he started to examine it with his hands, but stopped when he noticed another thing. His body seemed different. He looked somewhat more athletic. Could it be his stats also affected his appearance as well? One of the guards barged into the room, pulling Damian back to reality while he covered his genitals by reflex. "HEY, DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO KNOCK!!?," he growled, but the guard seemed unamused by Damian's behavior. With a straight face, he threw some clothes at Damian "kad tnaccat, dra Lunbunym fyhdc du caa oui." The words had no effect but narrow Damian's brows."-I guess he wants me to hurry up-"

After the refreshing bath, Damian now wore an off-white shirt with long sleeves he had to fold a few times so it would be hanging from his elbow and a small V-neck. The shirt was so long he had to tuck it under brown pants made from the same itchy thread as the shirt. And finished off with some dirty leather boots. "I look like an idiot," Damian sighed in defeat.

He followed the guard through the long corridor to find himself in a wide field with many elves walking around. Some training in combat and others sitting in a group chattering.

Killing intent

Damian froze for a moment as he noticed some of the elves giving him looks of hate and disdain. If looks could kill, he would've been stabbed many times over already. "-What's with these looks? I don't remember killing any elves-" But he remained calm and kept following the guard till he saw Folen standing in the middle of the yard.

As they reached Folen, both the guard and the Corporal exchanged words and bows before Damian was left with him. Then Folen signaled him to follow while he started chatting. Of course, Damian didn't understand a single word. "Did he forget I can't speak Elven?" it was a bit confusing. Damian didn't know if Folen was talking to him or himself.

After a little stroll, they both found themselves in a small hall with lots of long wooden tables filled with elves chattering and eating their meals. To Folen's surprise, he heard growls coming from Damian, whose face turned red. The corporal merely smiled at the young man's reaction.

After ordering for both him and Damian, they both sat on an empty table near the exit while Folen kept talking to Damian as if he was actually understanding. He only stopped when they started eating, and to Damian's astonishment, a window popped in front of him.

You have learned (25.4%) of -Elven language (Spoken)-