I Entered Magic Academy With F-Rank Stats

Chapter 10 - First Kill

Ryan ran with them for several meters before realizing something was wrong.

The Blight Goblins that had been shambling slowly moments earlier suddenly picked up speed.

More of them also began turning toward the group.

“Stop running!” Ryan shouted. “Slow down!”

Marcus stopped and turned around, clearly annoyed.

“What’s your problem now?”

“You’re pulling more goblins toward us.”

Ryan pointed across the courtyard.

“Watch their speed. When we walk, they move slowly. The moment we run, they speed up too.”

Marcus gave a short laugh.

“You want everyone to stop because of a guess?”

“He’s right,” Evelyn cut in.

Her wand was already raised in Marcus’s direction, though she hadn’t cast anything.

“Blight Goblins were designed with low mobility. If candidates could simply run while the goblins remained slow, most people could circle around them and this exam would be meaningless.”

She looked toward the creatures surrounding them.

“Blackthorn made their speed adjust to our actions.”

Several members of the group immediately watched the nearby goblins.

Now that they had stopped running, the creatures approaching them really had slowed down again.

One candidate spoke up.

“They’re right, Marcus. We should move slowly.”

Marcus clearly didn’t like it.

But this time, no one supported him.

He finally lowered his sword.

“Fine. Maintain formation.”

The group began moving at a steady pace toward an area of the courtyard with fewer goblins.

At that speed, they only attracted eight or nine Blight Goblins at a time.

That was far more manageable.

Knowing the enemy’s weakness, however, didn’t make the fear disappear.

When the first goblins came within twenty meters, several candidates’ hands started trembling.

The stench coming from the creatures grew stronger.

Rotten flesh.

Damp leather.

Something sour Ryan couldn’t identify.

Their growls mixed with the scraping of long claws against the stone ground.

Ryan felt the back of his neck tighten too.

These weren’t training targets waiting to be hit.

They were actually trying to tear them apart.

Suddenly, a streak of white light shot out from the center of the formation.

Evelyn’s Arcane Bolt curved through the air before slamming into the side of the nearest Blight Goblin.

A small explosion followed.

Half of the creature’s body was thrown several meters away before the rest collapsed motionless onto the ground.

Everyone fell silent.

Evelyn frowned instead.

“Too far right. I was aiming for its head.”

Ryan stared at her for a moment.

With forty-six total attribute points despite looking physically ordinary, he was beginning to understand where most of Evelyn’s stats had gone.

Intelligence.

And probably a lot of it.

Evelyn’s attack immediately reduced the tension in the group.

When the next Blight Goblin approached, the melee fighters were far more prepared.

Swords.

Axes.

Daggers.

The weapons struck one after another.

Their movements were clumsy and untrained, but the creatures really were weak.

Three or four attacks were enough to bring most of them down.

Ryan quickly noticed another problem.

With only three points in Strength, his normal attacks were still too weak.

If he tried to kill a goblin by himself, he would probably need five or six clean strikes.

No one was going to give him that much time.

Ryan watched a Blight Goblin being attacked by Marcus and two other candidates.

After taking three hits, its movements became unsteady.

Ryan raised his dagger.

He felt strength gather in his arm before flowing into the blade for a second or two.

[Power Slash activated.]

The moment Marcus pulled his sword back for another strike, Ryan stepped in from the side and slashed his dagger across the goblin’s neck.

Crack!

The creature collapsed.

[Optional Mission I: Kill 5 Blight Goblins.]

[Progress: 1/5.]

Marcus whipped his head around.

“Hey! That one was mine!”

Ryan stepped back with an apologetic expression.

“Sorry. I thought you needed help.”

“You—”

Marcus didn’t get to finish.

Two more Blight Goblins were already closing in.

Ryan shifted his attention toward them, hiding the small smile on his face.

Power Slash could only be used about once every minute.

And he was too weak to start fights on his own.

But there was no rule saying he had to do all the work himself.

If Blackthorn only cared about the finishing blow, Ryan had already found the fastest way to complete his mission.