Part-277

  As his body recovered, he thought back to the information his system had provided. The Foolish Hobgoblin had funneled all its stats intth. That expined why it had been able to hit him so hard. But strength wasn’t everything. In its focus on power, the creature had left itself vulnerable in other areas.

  Speed. Agility. Tactics. Those were the keys to defeating this brute.

  James stood up, dusting off his clothes. His body was healed, thanks to the dungeon’s respawn meics, but his pride was bruised. Still, this wasn’t the first time he had been knocked down. And it wouldn’t be the st. What mattered was getting back up and learning from the experience.

  The Foolish Hobgoblin was exactly that—foolish. It relied on raw power, but it cked strategy. It didn’t think. It just hit.

  James took a deep breath, a new sense of determination washing over him. This fight wasn’t over. He would return to the Final Se, and this time, he wouldn’t let his fidence blind him.

  This time, he would fight smarter.

  He flexed his fingers, feeling the familiar weight of his sword in his hand. The hobgoblin may have been strong, but it wasn’t invincible. It had weaknesses, and now that James uood them, he would exploit them.

  He strode forward, ready to face the challenge once more.

  This time, the Foolish Hobgoblin wouldn’t stand a ce.

  The pale afternoon light filtered through the sts of James’s bedroom blinds, casting stripes across the cluttered floor. He sat on his bed, surrounded by the remnants of his training: worn-out workout gear, crumpled snack ers, and a glowing tablet dispying the **Foolish Hobgoblin**’s stats. Each attempt to defeat the boss echoed in his mind, the memories of being swatted aside pying on a loop. No matter how much he traihe brute's overwhelming strength had thwarted his efforts time and again.

  James ran a hand through his hair, frustration simmering just beh the surface. He needed a strategy, a way to exploit the boss's singur focus on power. The goblin was a fool, and fools made mistakes. He leaned forward, studying the s, mentally repying the moments when he had lost—trying to pinpoint the critical missteps.

  Suddenly, his phone buzzed, pulling him from his thoughts. It was a message from Ryan.

  *Hey, man! Just wao send you the schedule for the Judo petitioart tomorrow! Don’t fet to be there early!*

  James’s heart raced at the remihe National Judo petition was finally here. They had been training for months, and now it all came down to this. He quickly typed a reply.

  *Got it! I’ll be there as soon as I .*

  The excitement coursed through him, momentarily distrag him from his ret failures. He couldn’t let the pressure of the petition add to his frustration with the dungeon. He knew he had to partmentalize his thoughts—focus oorrow, theurn to the dungeon after.

  James stood up, shook off the lingering heaviness in his chest, and made his way to the dining room for dinner. As he ehe familiar sts of home filled his senses—spiced chi and steaming rice wafted through the air.