Chapter 97: Explosive Strength

There was a clear difference between challenging a powerful opponent and being thrown into a confrontation with an enemy they had virtually no hope of defeating.

The teachers exchanged uneasy glances, waiting for the dean to reconsider.

Dean Maxwell remained silent for a moment.

Then he finally nodded.

"When a student is truly on the verge of life and death, we will intervene."

.....

Jackson pushed his body to its absolute limits, twisting, dodging, and throwing himself out of the way whenever the goblin shaman attacked. Even so, he could barely keep up with the creature’s relentless assault.

The monster might have been a mystical spell user, but its physical strength was equally terrifying. Its enormous frame moved with surprising speed, and every punch sent a violent shockwave through the air. The force alone was enough to disrupt Jackson’s balance, making it difficult for him to maintain a stable footing, let alone launch a counterattack.

He had faced dangerous opponents before, but none had ever put him under this much pressure.

This is the strongest creature I’ve ever fought.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the goblin shaman let out a furious roar.

"ROAR!"

Its muscles bulged as it gripped the wooden staff with both hands and swung with all its might. The enormous weapon tore through the air, producing a deafening whistle as it descended toward Jackson. There was no room to dodge. The attack came too quickly, and the surrounding fog left him with nowhere to retreat.

The staff struck him squarely.

Jackson’s body shattered into countless particles, scattering into the air as though it had been reduced to dust.

Yet the goblin shaman showed no surprise. Its hideous face remained expressionless, and its menacing pupils slowly shifted upward.

High above it, Jackson’s figure had reappeared.

He had once again used the Moon Shadow Transformation skill to escape a fatal blow.

Suspended in the air, Jackson gasped for breath. His eyes were bloodshot, his face pale as paper, and sweat streamed down his temples. His chest rose and fell violently as he struggled to regain control of his breathing.

He was furious.

Only a moment ago, when the goblin shaman’s staff had come crashing toward him, he had genuinely believed he was about to die. The sensation had been so intense that his heart had nearly stopped. Even now, with his body intact, the memory of that instant lingered in his mind like a cold hand tightening around his throat.

He hated that feeling.

He hated being forced into a position where his life depended on desperately evading one attack after another.

"Die, you bastard!"

Gritting his teeth, Jackson roared and thrust his hand forward.

Two flashes of light shot through the fog.

The Rank Two alloyed knives he had been carrying streaked toward the goblin shaman’s face, their sharp blades aimed directly at its eyes. The attack came from an unexpected angle, exploiting the brief moment when the creature’s attention was focused on Jackson above it.

However, the goblin shaman reacted almost immediately.

Its eyes narrowed, and one enormous hand shot upward. Just as the two knives were about to pierce its eyes, its palm swept across their trajectory, knocking them aside with a sharp metallic clang.

The blades failed to draw even a scratch.

Jackson had already anticipated this outcome.

His opponent was a genuine Peak Third Sequence monster with a physique that had been tempered to an extraordinary degree. The difference between their physical strength was simply too great. Expecting a pair of Rank Two alloyed knives to pierce its flesh would have been ridiculous.

Still, that had never been his intention.

The knives had served their purpose.

While the goblin shaman was occupied deflecting the attack, Jackson descended through the air and landed safely on the ground. His boots struck the soil, and he immediately shifted his weight, settling into a stable stance before the creature could launch another assault.

That brief opening was all he needed.

Jackson focused his attention on the monster.

Almost instantly, a translucent status window appeared before his eyes.

[Name — Arkthor Goblin Shaman]

[Age — 199]

[Talent — Explosive Strength]

[Realm — Peak Third Sequence]

[Spiritual Force — 95.7]

[Mana/Physique — 99.9]

Jackson’s eyes widened.

He had already known that the goblin shaman stood at the peak of the Third Sequence. But knowing its realm and seeing its actual attributes were two entirely different things.

A Spiritual Force of 95.7.

A Mana/Physique attribute of 99.9.

The numbers stared back at him, leaving little room for wishful thinking.

How am I supposed to defeat this thing?

The difference between their attributes was absurd. His opponent possessed several times his strength, and its formidable physique made ordinary attacks almost useless. Even with his combat experience and the Golden Brush, Jackson couldn’t simply ignore such an overwhelming gap.

Surely the academy will intervene...

Countless thoughts rushed through his mind.

For an instant, panic threatened to overwhelm him. He struggled to accept the possibility that he might actually die inside this portal, killed by a monster he had never expected to encounter.

Then came denial.

No. This can’t be right.

Finally, Jackson forced himself to calm down.

"No, what am I doing? The situation isn’t that bad yet. There must be something wrong with this goblin shaman. If it were truly at the peak of its power, given the difference between our strengths, it would have already crushed me to death."

His breathing gradually steadied as he reconsidered the situation.

He had survived several exchanges against an opponent whose attributes were overwhelmingly superior to his own. That alone suggested something was wrong. If the creature could unleash its full strength without restriction, Jackson doubted he would have survived long enough to examine its status window.

There had to be a reason.

And the truth was not far from his guess.

To escape the detection of the Gold-Rank professors guarding the academy’s assessment, the goblin shaman had ruthlessly sealed its own strength. By concealing its presence, it had managed to remain hidden inside the portal, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

It had intended to bide its time, remain undetected, and prepare for the right moment to act.

But everything changed when the students from Golden Radiance Academy entered the forest.

The young humans began slaughtering its people, cutting down goblins throughout the territory. Each passing moment brought the goblin shaman closer to losing everything it had sworn to protect.

It could no longer remain hidden.

Before those pathetic humans exterminated every last one of its brothers and sisters, it would hunt them down and slaughter them all.

To its surprise, the powerful humans it had feared were nowhere to be seen. Instead, it encountered only the academy’s young students.

With no Gold-Rank experts standing in its way, the goblin shaman had finally unleashed its murderous instincts.

It swept through the forest, killing every human unfortunate enough to cross its path.

And now, it had found Jackson.

Meanwhile, Jackson’s gaze remained fixed on the creature’s talent.

[Explosive Strength — Every third attack has a chance to multiply its force by two or three times.]

As he read the description, a glimmer appeared in his eyes.

"Here’s my chance..."

His attention sharpened.

The goblin shaman’s attributes were far too high for him to alter meaningfully. Even if he could somehow weaken its raw physical strength, the difference between their realms would remain a massive obstacle.

But its talent was another matter.

Unlike humans, whose fortified spiritual spaces could make their status windows difficult to alter, monsters were generally easier targets for his Golden Brush. Their innate abilities, powerful as they might be, were not necessarily beyond his ability to manipulate.

And the goblin shaman had just revealed a weakness he could exploit.

Jackson immediately took out the Golden Brush.

His fingers tightened around its familiar handle as he focused on the description of Explosive Strength. He didn’t need to rewrite the entire ability or make some extravagant alteration. A small change would be enough.

He raised the brush and carefully replaced one word.

Multiply.

Reduce.

With that single alteration, the meaning of the talent changed completely.

Every successive attack from the goblin shaman would now have a chance to suffer a twofold or threefold reduction in force instead of receiving a corresponding increase.

At every third attack, the creature’s strength would fall to a level comparable to Jackson’s.

The difference between their attributes remained enormous, and this modification wouldn’t magically transform Jackson into the stronger fighter. The goblin shaman still possessed a terrifying physique, years of combat experience, and countless ways to kill him.

But the change gave Jackson something he desperately needed.

Time.

Time to breathe, time to observe his opponent, and time to search for another weakness.

Most importantly, it gave him a chance to think of a way to survive.

Jackson lowered the Golden Brush and fixed his gaze on the goblin shaman.

The monster was still far stronger than him.

But for the first time since the battle began, Jackson had found a way to fight back.