The sudden tremor stemmed from a resonance at the level of his soul. A line of text formed by dark golden light instantly surfaced deep within Raine’s consciousness: [You have attained Enlightenment of the Specialty, "Rival’s Perspective".]
An indescribable sense of epiphany flooded Raine’s mind alongside the words, as if some dormant instinct had been abruptly awakened. With no time to examine what Effect the "Rival’s Perspective" actually had, or even to feel joy, survival instincts forced him to immediately direct this newly acquired Power toward the mortal enemy before him: the Bear Goblin grinning hideously as it brandished its Nail Head Hammer.
At the exact moment he locked his attention completely onto the Bear Goblin, a bizarre change occurred. His line of sight underwent a sort of metamorphosis. It no longer lingered merely on the opponent’s knotted muscles, filthy fur, and ferocious bestial face. Empowered by the Specialty, a supernatural intuition allowed his gaze to peer into certain "marks" branded deep within the opponent’s flesh.
In his current vision, several areas on the Bear Goblin’s massive body began to light up. It wasn’t physical luminescence, but rather a faint glow representing "fragility" and "flaws"—something only his Perception could detect. The most conspicuous spot was located on the inner side of the opponent’s thick left thigh.
When Raine focused on that faint glow, an even more miraculous sight appeared. He could "see" atop the opponent’s muscle fibers a deformed scar formed from a previous tear and healing process; compared to the tight muscle tissues surrounding it, it appeared exceptionally vulnerable. He could even "see" old cracks on the internal bone, looking as though it had suffered Piercing from some sharp weapon.
In a trance, fragments of time and space began to reassemble in his mind.
His consciousness was pulled back to a certain stormy night. In a stench-filled lair, the Bear Goblin before him—then in the prime of its life—had gained the upper hand in a bloody ritual competing for mating rights. Pinning its rival beneath it, it let out a roar of imminent victory.
However, the defeated’s counterattack was extremely insidious. In its dying moments, the opponent suddenly grabbed a rust-mottled Long Spear and viciously thrust it through the inner side of its left thigh. The spear tip tore through muscle and fractured bone, bringing a jolt of severe pain that it would never forget. Although it later used its Sharp Teeth to end its opponent’s Life Force, the lingering puncture wound remained permanently etched into its body from then on.
"So the ’Rival’s Perspective’ can see an opponent’s old wounds?" Raine’s spirits jolted. His pitch-black eyes, previously blurred by blood and sweat, were now extraordinarily bright. This had to be the Ranger talent that the Sloppy Ranger once mentioned!
He stared intently at the glowing area on the inner side of the Bear Goblin’s left thigh, as if to brand that fragile structure into his mind.
Just a few steps away, relying on its beast-like intuition, the Bear Goblin seemed to sense an inexplicable threat.
"Bug, I’ll gouge out your eyeballs!" it roared furiously. That seemingly robust left leg violently stepped forward as the heavy Nail Head Hammer tore through the air, sweeping straight toward Raine’s waist.
Almost at the exact moment the opponent exerted force, Raine’s "Eagle Vision" activated once again.
BUZZ—
The flow of the world began to slow down, but a mental stinging sensation also surged forth like a tide, nearly drowning his willpower. He forcibly steadied his mind and, facing that sweeping lethal arc, abruptly leaned forward to sprint.
The Nail Head Hammer whistled past his back, carrying the wind of destruction. The spikes on the hammerhead tore away shreds of fabric along with a burning pain. That near-miss of a lethal threat made every hair on his body stand on end. But he successfully breached the Bear Goblin’s inner guard; he was now within arm’s reach of its massive body.
Raine cast all his exhaustion and pain to the back of his mind. His waist and abdomen instantly exerted force as he viciously stabbed his new Short Sword toward the inner side of the opponent’s thigh—that glowing weak point.
SQUELCH—
The sensation transmitted from the tip of the sword was completely different from the sluggish resistance felt when piercing tough fur earlier. The sharp blade effortlessly tore through the fragile scar tissue, driving straight in along the muscular pathway left by the old wound, until it wedged firmly into that stale crack on the bone.
"AWOOO!!" A mournful, agonizing howl exploded from the Bear Goblin’s throat.
This wasn’t just the intense pain of its flesh suffering Piercing; it also reawakened the terror of that rainy night years ago, when it had nearly died from a massive hemorrhage caused by the leg wound. Its left leg felt as if all the Power had been instantly drained from it. Its massive body uncontrollably tilted to the left, crashing directly to its knees.
Yet, it was a Bear Goblin with a tenacious Life Force after all; the intense pain entirely triggered its ferocity instead.
"Damn bug! I’ll tear you to shreds!!"
With bloodshot eyes, ignoring the excruciating agony radiating from its left leg, it relied on its right leg to forcibly steady its stance. Its free giant claw kicked up a foul wind, lunging for Raine’s head like iron pincers.
Raine gritted his teeth and forcefully yanked out the Short Sword wedged in the opponent’s leg bone, drawing out a spray of boiling beast blood. His footwork nimbly pivoted. While ducking to evade that lethal swipe, he had already circled to the Bear Goblin’s rear flank. That was a blind spot the opponent could hardly turn to defend due to its leg injury.
Immediately after, Raine used every ounce of Power in his body to lunge forward with his sword once more. This time, the target was aimed straight at the back-side of the Bear Goblin’s neck. A flash of sword light fleeted by, successfully passing through that brown-furred neck!
"Urgh!"
The Bear Goblin’s roar came to an abrupt halt, leaving only the deflated, wheezing hisses in its throat. It vainly flailed its claws, attempting to turn around, but Raine had beaten it to the punch, twisting the Short Sword in his hand.
Those dark yellow pupils, filled with astonishment and unwillingness, stared fixedly ahead, quickly losing all their luster.
THUD!
Its massive, hill-like body finally lost all support entirely, crashing heavily onto the ground. Dark red blood gushed from the wounds on its neck and leg like a small stream, rapidly dyeing the floor beneath it crimson.
Raine staggered back two steps, propping the Short Sword against the ground just to barely keep himself from collapsing. He panted violently, every breath tugging at the pain wracking his entire body, as sweat and blood mixed on his forehead and continuously dripped down.
He had done it. In a desperate situation, relying on his newly attained Enlightenment of Power and the decisiveness to risk his life, he had slain a formidable Bear Goblin all by himself!
"Raine, nicely done!" Kaelin caught sight of this from the corner of her eye.
An indescribable shock, followed by a surge of exhilaration, poured into her nearly exhausted body like a Potion of Giant’s Power. Her emerald green eyes, previously dulled by fatigue and pressure, abruptly flared with a sharp radiance. That black-haired figure, though tottering yet still standing tall, appeared exceptionally imposing in her eyes.
Since Raine had independently slain a Bear Goblin, what reason did she have to fall here—she, who bore a heavy mission and was determined to break open that Magic Seal to achieve her goal?
An unyielding fighting spirit reignited from the bottom of her heart. Her wrist, tightly gripping the Longsword, became much steadier, and her originally scattered Sword Techniques re-condensed their sharp edge.
On the other side, the Dwarf had likewise noticed the battle’s outcome.
He forcefully deflected his opponent’s heavy blow with his Shield. Seizing the gap, he cast a glance in Raine’s direction. The corners of his mouth, hidden beneath a thick red beard, twitched slightly as he let out a mutter mixed with approval and battle intent: "Tsk! Earth People kid, I underestimated you!"
This murmur was drowned out by the thunderous clashing of weapons, but the acknowledgment that surfaced in his light brown eyes did not dissipate. For that Earth People kid to actually take out such a troublesome Bear Goblin by himself—that level of strength and resilience had earned the Dwarf’s heartfelt respect.
At the same time, an unyielding drive surged up within him. If even a young kid of the Human Race was so fierce and valiant, then he—a former member of the "Solid Stone" Clan, even as an exile—still had blood as unyielding as the mountains flowing through his veins. Before washing away his disgrace and reclaiming his glory, how could he possibly fall to these filthy, long-haired monsters?
For a moment, Kaelin and the Dwarf’s will to fight soared once again. They let out a low roar almost simultaneously. The sword and axe in their hands danced with even wilder ferocity, and the tide of battle, which had gradually been falling into a disadvantage, began to show signs of reversing.
But right at this moment, a new commotion echoed from outside the inn’s front doors.