Black String of Fate

In the deep, dark forest of the outskirts, a boy lurked on a tree, hidden from the sight of all wild animals. He was keeping an eye on a small outpost, poorly made from sticks and stones. There were green midgets surrounding the border of the outpost, holding weapons made from sharp stone.

'It's quite a decent size for a hobgoblin outpost. Let's take care of these before bothering with the missing party.'

Xavier picked up a stone he had found lying around and tossed it some distance away at a boulder.

*CLANG*

The noise was loud compared to the quiet forest, so it attracted the attention of 6 hobgoblins. They rushed in with their stone weapons ready, unaware that they wouldn't even get a chance to use them.

From the trees above, a boy jumped down with his sword pointed directly at the skull of a hobgoblin. The green creature couldn't even react before his head was skewered. All the green heads turned in his direction, their instincts on full alert. But, it was no use.

*Slash*

The beastial instincts of weak creatures like hobgoblins could never match someone like Xavier. They weren't born with claws, fangs, or a tough hide. They only had rudimentary skill with weapons, but because that's all they had, they could never match up to Xavier, no matter their numbers.

Even Xavier was surprised as to how easily they died. Unlike the strong hides of wild monsters, intelligence-type monsters such as hobgoblins are weak to physical attacks. His sword could easily behead them in a single stroke.

Soon, with just a few swings, a puddle of blood and dismembered corpses of hobgoblins had formed around Xavier. He plucked out a few leaves and cleaned his blade, going back to the trees. He planned to ambush once more like this, but after a few hours, no hobgoblin ventured out of the outpost.

'Hmm… These hobgobs are just rank 2 in the first place. Only the chief can give me a bit of a challenge.

Should I make it more fun and just rush in there? I can kill them all… Yup, no point in playing sneaky. I need difficult tasks to grow in the first place.'

Deciding that, he jumped out of the tree and walked to the small opening that was meant for the gate. He saw that the hobgoblin scouts had noticed him approaching him, and some even threw a few stones, but he didn't care. He simply dodged the stones and leisurely reached the main gate.

At the front of the gate, he saw a spectacle that just made him more excited.

'Oh? They are prepared for me…'
Discover tales at m|vl|e|mp|y|r

In the front were about 20 hobgoblins who looked a bit fitter than the ones he ambushed, and they held shabby iron swords too. Xavier recognized them as Hobgoblin Warriors, a peak rank 2 monster type.

Xavier slowly unsheathed his sword, getting in a basic stance. He released his killing intent, which was enough to aggravate the dumb creatures into attacking first.

He cleanly dodged all attacks that came towards him and struck at vital organs. His attacks were heavy, fast, and unpredictable. He danced around the battlefield as if he had eyes at the back of his head. He even played around with his expertise, countering and deflecting the attacks such that they struck their fellow hobgoblins instead.

'My swordsmanship… Its essence is transforming. For the past few quests, I've noticed this change. I used to be reckless, sacrificing the flesh to go for the bone type of swordsman. But now… I'm calmer. The sight of blood doesn't excite me as much. Rather, I find it much more fun to destroy my enemies with unmatched skill.

Objectively, I'm no longer a demon hounding for blood, but a simple swordsman.

Yes, I'm a swordsman. That's all I am. A great swordsman who is in harmony with his blade.'

Xavier was lost in his thoughts as his body kept moving and slaying hobgoblins left and right. It wasn't like he was completely untouchable, but the minor injuries he suffered were quickly being healed with his Innate Gift.

Before he even noticed, he was standing in a field of corpses, with the ground stained red. Xavier looked around to see the destruction he had caused, and seeing the fear the leftover hobgoblins were showing him, he smiled.

'Who could've imagined I'd gain enlightenment while causing the doom of these green bastards? Haha, my talent still manages to surprise me.'

Unlike his magical talent, Xavier was well aware of his sword talent. Enlightenment was supposed to be something that was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for a warrior, but for him, it was a frequent occurrence.

'Well, anyway. Just the chief and some elite warriors are left, right?'

Xavier looked at the hobgoblin that was about 6 feet tall, a humongous size for their species. It had bulging muscles and a sword with a quality that could compare to Xavier's own. Behind him, there were smaller hobgoblins, but they were also big for their species, just not as big as the chief.

They were kitted out in full iron and a shabby sword, unlike the chief who had his whole body exposed while holding a bastard sword.

'Ho? Look at that, a formation. I might have to be a bit careful. The chief is peak rank 3 and the full-kits are intermediate rank 3.'

The remaining hobgoblins had assembled close to the chief, making a battle formation. The chief raised his sword and shouted something in a cryptic language, and the full-kits rushed in followed by the chief.

Xavier closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He relied on his Intuition, otherwise, he'd die if he believed his eyes. In a swift motion, at the exact moment all the full-kits attacked, he threaded out a way for his sword to reach the chief. He would take on serious wounds, but it was the most efficient way.

*SLASH*

The hobgoblins celebrated when their attacks landed, but it was short-lived, as they found out Xavier's attack also landed, and on the one person they were supposed to protect.

The chief was utterly dumbstruck seeing the sword sticking out in his heart. He couldn't believe that he was caught off guard without even crossing blades once. Never had he met a human whose first thought would be to go for him when so many swords aimed for their neck. But, even after suffering such grievous injuries, his sword had not lost strength at all.

In fact, the injuries seemed like minor scratches with the way they were already healing.

It was just not natural.

Just like that, the chief fell to his knees and died, without even having a chance to display his fearsome strength. It expected an epic battle between the human and him, but it never imagined a vain death like this.

Xavier then quickly finished off the full-kits and the rest of the hobgoblins, who were distraught and had lost all will to fight. After making sure that every single hobgoblin was dead, he looked at the dead chief's hollow eyes for a moment.

'Expecting an honorable fight in real battle? This dumb creature deserved to die.

Well, let's look for the missing party now.'