Chapter 102: Pause

Jackson moved through the forest at an increasingly astonishing speed, his figure weaving between towering trees and dense patches of undergrowth. With every step, his body seemed lighter and more responsive than before. The improvements to his physical attributes had begun to show their effects, allowing him to cover distances that would previously have required considerably more time and effort.

However, he wasn’t searching for goblins this time.

His target was another student from Golden Radiance Academy.

Preferably, someone with hostile intentions.

Jackson had no particular desire to steal from his fellow students, but he wasn’t naive enough to let meaningless principles interfere with his growth. If he encountered someone who intended to harm him, taking their weapon would hardly trouble his conscience.

In fact, given the condition of his twin daggers, acquiring another knife had become a priority.

As Jackson continued through the forest, the other students were far from idle. Every participant had entered the portal to compete for a place among the top fifty, and none wanted to return to the academy empty-handed.

The problem was that the goblins weren’t willing to serve as convenient targets.

As the students intensified their attacks, the surviving goblins grew increasingly furious. Rather than continue engaging their enemies in straightforward confrontations, they began taking full advantage of their familiarity with the forest.

They moved through the undergrowth in small groups, attacked from unexpected directions, and retreated whenever they encountered opponents they couldn’t defeat. Fallen branches concealed pits, narrow paths led into ambushes, and the dense vegetation provided countless opportunities for the goblins to strike before disappearing into the trees.

It was a crude but effective guerrilla warfare strategy.

The students might have possessed superior equipment and cultivation, but the goblins knew the terrain far better than their invaders. They understood which paths could support a rapid retreat, where the ground became unstable, and how to exploit the forest’s natural obstacles.

For those who had entered Golden Radiance Academy through family wealth and expensive resources rather than genuine combat ability, the situation quickly became dangerous.

Some struggled to react when goblins attacked from their blind spots. Others panicked after falling into traps, wasting their strength on frantic counterattacks while their enemies withdrew and prepared another ambush.

Before long, dozens of students had found themselves on the verge of death.

Fortunately, the academy’s monitoring system detected their dangerous situations, allowing the supervising personnel to intervene before the worst could happen. One after another, the endangered students were rescued and removed from the assessment.

But for those who remained inside the portal, the competition continued.

Jackson paid little attention to the distant commotion. He had his own priorities, and every minute spent wandering aimlessly was a minute wasted.

Just then, he suddenly stopped.

A faint disturbance in the surrounding magical energy had caught his attention. The fluctuations were coming from somewhere ahead, accompanied by the unmistakable sounds of combat.

Jackson turned his head toward the source.

Judging by the intensity and pattern of the magical fluctuations, the person fighting up ahead was undoubtedly another student from Golden Radiance Academy.

A glimmer of interest appeared in his eyes.

Let’s see who it is.

He moved closer, carefully avoiding the more exposed sections of the forest. When he reached the vicinity of the battle, he slowed down and concealed himself behind the thick trunk of an ancient tree.

Then he peered through the foliage.

The moment he recognized the person standing in the clearing, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Veronica Green Soul.

In the clearing ahead, Veronica stood surrounded by a group of goblin warriors.

There were more than six of them, each wearing crude leather armor assembled from scraps of hide and roughly stitched material. Their weapons varied in shape and quality, ranging from battered swords to sharpened wooden clubs.

Yet their eyes all carried the same expression.

Unrestrained fury.

They glared at Veronica as though they wanted nothing more than to tear her apart, their mouths revealing rows of yellowed teeth whenever they snarled.

At the center of the group stood a particularly large goblin.

Its build was noticeably sturdier than that of its companions, and its battered armor suggested that it had survived more than a few battles. From the way the other goblins positioned themselves around it, there was little doubt that it was their leader.

The goblin leader’s gaze traveled over Veronica from head to toe before settling on her face. A cruel smile spread across its features.

"Human, you’ve slaughtered members of my race like rats..."

Its voice was harsh and guttural, carrying a hatred that seemed to have accumulated with every goblin killed by the invading students.

"But that ends here. You’ll help us replenish our numbers!"

It bared its teeth, then turned toward its subordinates.

"Guards, break her limbs and take her back to the tribal grounds!"

The moment the order was given, one of the goblin warriors charged forward.

The creature carried a sharp sword roughly three feet long. It raised the weapon high above its head, its ugly face twisting with excitement as it rushed toward Veronica.

The blade caught the light filtering through the canopy.

Veronica didn’t move.

From beginning to end, her expression remained completely indifferent. Neither the goblin leader’s threats nor the sight of the charging warrior seemed capable of disturbing her composure.

She watched the approaching enemy as calmly as someone observing an uninteresting performance.

The goblin warrior closed the remaining distance, its sword descending toward her head.

Then something extraordinary happened.

Just as the creature entered Veronica’s attack range, its body abruptly froze.

The sword stopped in midair.

The goblin’s legs remained suspended in the middle of a step, its expression locked in a mixture of aggression and anticipation. Even the muscles in its arms seemed to have ceased functioning, leaving it completely motionless for a brief instant.

It was as though someone had pressed a pause button on the creature itself.

Veronica moved.

A silver flash crossed the clearing.

The next moment,