The moment the bde met flesh, I felt it.

  The impact was heavier—stronger.

  The axe didn't just cut—it sliced clean through the goblin's colrbone, splitting the creature almost in half.

  Blood spttered onto the stone floor.

  For a moment, I just stared at my own weapon, confusion fshing through my mind.

  That… shouldn't have been that easy.

  Elise seemed to realize it, too.

  We were stronger.

  Stronger than before.

  The goblins hesitated.

  They could tell.

  They could feel the difference.

  But we didn't give them time to think.

  Elise surged forward, her mace crashing into another goblin with terrifying force.

  I followed, an axe in one hand, another for my other hand.

  One goblin barely managed to raise its chipped sword in defense, but when my hatchet came down, it shattered the bde upon impact—cleaving straight into the creature's skull.

  Another tried to flee.

  I wouldn't let it.

  I grabbed one of my throwing axes and flung it.

  The crude weapon pierced the goblin's back, dropping it instantly.

  That left only the two elite goblins.

  They growled, gripping their weapons tighter, shifting into battle stances.

  Elise cracked her neck. "They're not running."

  I exhaled. "Good."

  And then we cshed.

  The first elite goblin rushed at me, swinging its curved sword.

  I parried, but the force behind its strike wasn't as strong as I expected. For the first time, I could tell—we were faster. Stronger.

  I let out a sharp breath and countered—a brutal, two-handed swing aimed at its side.

  The goblin barely twisted away, but I still caught its arm, splitting flesh open.

  It screeched in pain, staggering back.

  Elise wasn't struggling either.

  The second elite goblin tried to push her back, its bde smming into her shield again and again.

  But she didn't budge.

  Instead, she suddenly surged forward, bashing her shield into the goblin's face.

  Its head snapped back.

  She followed up with a crushing mace strike to its chest.

  The creature was lifted off the ground—armor denting inward from the impact.

  It crashed to the floor with a wet gasp, twitching before going still.

  That left only one.

  The elite goblin locked eyes with me.

  I grinned.

  And then, before it could react, I rushed in.

  One clean swing—my hatchet buried deep into its throat.

  A gurgled gasp.

  A twitch.

  Then silence.

  The battle was over.

  Elise and I stood amidst the bodies of our enemies, our chests rising and falling with heavy breaths.The exhaustion was still there, but something felt… different.I lifted my hand, flexing my fingers. I could still feel the raw strength in them.Elise stared at her weapon, then at me. "Kael… what the hell is happening?"I exhaled, looking at the carnage around us."We're getting stronger that was happening," I murmured.Her eyes narrowed. "This fast?"

  Something is going on, its only a physical training, but it made us gain this much power.I looked down at my bloodstained battle axe, then at the fallen goblin.The stench of blood and sweat mixed with the damp, musky air of the cavern. The glow from scattered dungeon crystals barely pierced the heavy shadows, casting flickering blue light over the jagged stone walls and the fresh corpses of fallen goblins.Elise and I stood back-to-back, panting, weapons slick with greenish-bck blood. More goblins emerged from the darkness, their yellow eyes gleaming with malice. Their guttural snarls echoed, a twisted chorus of hunger and rage."Six more," I muttered, shifting my stance as my fingers tightened around the hatchet.Elise rolled her shoulders, raising her shield. "Seven. There's one lurking near that rock."I exhaled sharply. "Of course you counted."The creatures shrieked and charged.The battle resumed.I sidestepped a goblin's wild swing, ducking under its jagged bde and countering with an upward ssh. My hatchet cleaved through its ribs, splitting bone and flesh, sending it crashing onto the cavern floor in a heap.At the same time, Elise blocked a downward strike from another goblin, her shield absorbing the blow before she retaliated—her mace smming into its knee, shattering bone and forcing it to the ground. She finished it with a brutal downswing, crushing its skull.It was as we fought that I suddenly remembered."Oh yeah, Elise," I called out, stepping back to avoid a thrusting spear from another goblin. "My mother wants to meet you."Elise faltered.For just a second, her stance wavered.And that second almost got her killed.A goblin lunged at her from her blind spot, its rusted dagger fshing toward her exposed side.Cng!Her shield barely swung in time to deflect the blow. The goblin shrieked in frustration, but before it could try again, Elise countered with a brutal swing of her mace, sending the creature crashing into the cavern wall.She turned to me, eyes wide. "What do you mean? Now?"I blocked another goblin's attack, twisting my body and bringing my hatchet down onto its shoulder. Bone crunched."Not literally now," I said, exhaling as I yanked my weapon free. "After training."Elise was still visibly surprised, but she didn't let it slow her down. She crushed another goblin's ribcage before gncing at me again. "Why?"I shrugged mid-swing, dodging a goblin's club and embedding my dagger into its throat. "She just wants to meet you, know who you are, and all that. She's curious about my companion."Elise's expression shifted—a mix of surprise and something unreadable. Her lips parted slightly, but she didn't answer right away. Instead, she refocused on the fight, bashing another goblin aside with newfound intensity.For a moment, she was quiet.Then, as the st goblin fell to the ground with a dying gurgle, she finally spoke."Okay."I gnced at her, watching as she wiped her bloodied mace against her sleeve. Her face was unreadable, her eyes fixed somewhere distant.Something about it made me curious.But I didn't press.Instead, I sighed, rolling my shoulders as I surveyed the battlefield. Goblin corpses littered the stone floor, their blood pooling around our feet.Another fight survived.I turned to Elise, smirking slightly. "Well, at least you have something to look forward to after this."She shot me a gre, but her lips twitched slightly—just the faintest hint of a smile."Shut up, tsk."And with that, we pushed forward into the depths once more.