Part-240

  Having accumuted 4 unallocated stat points, James felt a surge of excitement tinged with ay. He khat every decision he made regarding his stats would impact his future battles, and there was no room for mistakes. He decided to allocate the points evenly between his Strength (STR) aerity (DEX), bringing each up by 2 points. With his stats now reading STR: 55.9, : 56.1, DEX: 49.4, INT: 54.3, WIS: 51.3, and CHA: 102, he felt a rush of power c through him.

  The thrill of gaining more power was intoxig, but he khat this was only the beginning. With newfouermination, James stepped into the Level-2 Normal se. As soon as he entered, he was met with the sight of foblins—short, muscur, and wielding crude ons. Their eyes narrowed as they locked onto him, and without a moment’s hesitation, they charged.

  “Time to put this training to the test,” James muttered, activating his Sloth View.

  Immediately, everything slowed down. What was 60 seds for the real world stretched into 80 seds for him, giving him ample time to assess the situation. The first goblin swung its rusted axe at him, but James calmly sidestepped, catg the creature's wrist and twisting it with a practiced motion. The goblin howled in pain, and before it could recover, James delivered a powerful sp across its face, knog it off bance.

  The sed goblin lu him, brandishing a jagged spear. James parried the attack with his sword, the rhythmic training he'd undergohe day before allowing him to ter with a swift, precise ssh across the goblin's chest. It fell back, screeg in pain, and disied into smoke.

  The third goblin attempted to attack him from behind, but James anticipated the move. With a swift spin, he gripped the goblin by its neck, lifted it off the ground, and brought his sword down in a heavy swing that cut through flesh and bone alike.

  The final gobliated, fear flickering in its eyes. Its gaze darted around, searg for a way to escape. It was clear that the creature was terrified, its fear evident in its trembling body, wide, frightened eyes, and shalloid breaths. The goblin's heart pounded in its chest, its blood rag through its veins. It aralyzed by fear, uo move or think. James took a step forward, his gaze locked onto the goblin. "Are you going to make this easy, or are we going t this out?" he taunted, raising his sword. The goblin's fear intensified, its eyes widening in terror. It let out a low, guttural growl, its voice trembling with fear. It lu him, its movements frantid desperate, but its strikes were weak and inaccurate. James responded by driving his ko its stomach, watg with satisfa as it crumpled to the ground.

  As the goblin dissolved into smoke, James couldn’t help but feel a sense of exhiration. He had never felt this in tuh his body before, and every movement seemed to flow effortlessly from oion to the . He was starting to uand what eant when he spoke about finding rhythm in bat.