Jon could not stop his momentum contained within his spear thrust. The Malum Hobgoblin was unmoving even in the face of approaching lance-shaped projectiles, and the blindingly fast figure of Jon speeding towards it.

Jon possessed two forms of sensory enhancement, one visual, and the other a comprehensive enhancement to all five of his senses. His [Monstrous Intuition] born from a Fragment Of Instinct literally screamed at Jon, pleading for him to move away from his current position.

His Minerva-Sagacity Eyes were not able to pierce through whatever mental veil the Malum Hobgoblin possessed but could visibly perceive the dark-purple streams of fear natured spiritual energy bubble of the flesh of the Knight. Hon thought he heard the sounds of Avahni and Wilheim from behind him but concentrated on thrusting his weapon deeper and deeper into the beast.

Jon could hear the numerous thuds of pink-coloured lances striking the flesh of the Malum Hobgoblin. Although their individual effects might not pose much a threat towards the ten-foot-tall creature, Jon had launched over a dozen of them, each over a foot long and with a speed that exceeded what an uninitiated mortal could perceive.

Over half-a-dozen of the lance-shaped constructs, struck the hobgoblin, causing it to lift its head back and scream in pain. It shock to its system caused whatever ability it was about to manifest to waver in strength, prematurely releasing its fear natured spiritual energy.

[Le Mat Avancement] inflicted several instances of [Crying Fool] with each successful strike Jon had against the beast.

[Crying Fool]: Decreases the effectiveness of all abilities with the Sensory Trait and Perception Trait. Decreases stamina regeneration. Additional stacks have an additive effect [7].

The dark-purple spiritual energy expanded in the shape of a dome with the Malum Hobgoblin at the centre. Despite being exposed to the source of the ability, Jon persevered, [Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge] expending spiritual energy each second in order to resist whatever effects the Knight was trying to inflict on Jon.

Jon noticed that two notifications appeared in the corner of his vision, taking note of their name but ignoring their effects altogether.

[Fear Of Sound].

[Fear Of Earth].

The two debilitating effects struck Jon's mind with a force exceeding anything his mental construct had experienced before.

Whispers started echoing in the back of his mental construct, fear natured spiritual energy trying to break through the surface of the Sea Of Knowledge within him. Pounding sensations started reverberating within his mind, reminding Jon of woman screaming as a man hacked his way through a bathroom door.

The eighteen-year-old gritted his teeth, pushing Assail even further into the ten foot tall figure of the Malum Hobgoblin.

Assail had long since come into contact with the flesh of the hobgoblin, piercing straight through its thick, blubberous hide. The sheer amount of mass behind the creature was enough to give Jon pause, unable to move it backwards from its current position.

The effects of [Decadent Spear Blessing] creating a pseudo-physical construct from war natured spiritual energy beside the thrust. When Jon pushed the tip of Assail into the Malum Hobgoblin, a pale reflection of the Spear Of Verdant Cedar appeared alongside it, punching through flesh and muscle without any form of resistance.

It did not even take three seconds before the tip of Jon's weapon found purchase on bone, causing Jon to glance down at the Spear Of Verdant Cedar. Even with all the momentum Jon had placed behind this strike, his Mortal Ranked construct was unable to pierce through this Knight Ranked creature.

Although unsure whether or not the Malum Hobgoblin integrated a Fragment Of Marrow, or even a Fragment Of Bone, Jon suspected that the beast had somehow enhanced its skeletal structure.

[Monstrous Intuition] alerted him to a danger towards his left, prompting him to tilt his body backwards, narrowly avoiding an ashen-coloured hand from grabbing his arm.

'If it gets its hand on me I'm dead!'

Jon felt the faintest ripples of blood natured spiritual energy spill out from its Blood Mana Core, causing him to furrow his brows, gritting his teeth before deciding to disengage from the hobgoblin.

Jon attempted to pull Assail out of the beast, even attempting to kick of its chest, but found the muscles around the wound he had inflicted tense up, preventing him from retrieving his weapon. Jon would not have preferred to abandon his Fragment Of Spear, but instead his Fragment Of Intuition twitch, forcing him to slash out with Luin in response.

The Malum Hobgoblin used his physical enhancement ability to swing its arm at Jon in a wide arc, forcing the human to abandon Assail, instead using Luin to parry the wide punch.

The blood natured spiritual energy that surged throughout its enlarged arm was amplified with the wrathful glint in the eyes of the hobgoblin, aimed at smashing the head of this annoying little pest.

With a flourish, Jon held the Thulian Spellspear in two hands, feeling the bones in his arm creak as he placed Luin in front of himself, absorbing the punch with a metallic groan.

[Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits] and his [Monstrous Intuition] guiding him, allowing Jon to be propelled backwards towards Avahni and Wilheim, thrown backwards over a dozen metres from just that single punch alone.

Jon crashed against the sands but buried Luin's cross-shaped blade into the ground beneath him preventing himself from being thrown into the water once more. Despite the crimson dyeing his shirt and pants, Glaucus remained unmarred by blood or filth, glistening with a pale white light as it clung to Jon's shoulders and biceps.

'Shit! Its physical enhancements are beyond anything that I can accomplish, even with the combined effects of my Seir-Glacial Heart, Murmur-Glacial Marrow and Fragment Of War!'

'A single punch can throw me over a dozen metres. Its corruption eats away at Archetype Green with every passing moment. Blood poisons and flesh-eating fungi continue to find new ways to worm themselves deeper into my flesh, all the while having to resist the effects of its Fear Trait Aura!'

'All of my Mana Cores have less than half of my maximum spiritual energy. Even if I had Schwarz Eis by my side I would not be able to use by heart mutation or marrow mutation without expending all my ice natured spiritual energy!'

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'I need something more!'

Jon was not in an advantageous position.

Even with the assistance of Avahni, Wilheim, Sariel and Shamael, the others were not able to fight in close quarters, reliving some of the pressure that he faced.

Glancing back towards his four companions, Jon could see that Sariel and Wilheim had halted the effects of that spherical orb of corruption, now staring at the Malum Hobgoblin, expressions of apprehension marring their faces.

Narrowing his eyes, Jon watched as the Knight Ranked beast pulled Assail out of its flesh, forcing the human to dismiss the Spear Of Verdant Cedar before it could to anything to break the summoned weapon. Jon could not help but smirk as he watched the spear in the hobgoblins hand dissipate into tiny motes of green-coloured spiritual energy, clawing at it before turning towards Jon, snarling at the human.

Jon lifted his head and glared at the beast in return, his expression cold, but concealing a scorching wrath beneath it.

'Something has to change. This battle will remain will result in the five of us losing all of our spiritual energy before the hobgoblin. I have one fragment of choice still remaining, how can I turn the tide with just a single ability?'

Jon paused for a moment, thinking about the abilities he currently possessed. [Frozen End Art; Envelop Seas And Mountains In Ice And Snow] and [Imperia Spear Arts; Divine Spear Extinction] were Spell-Techniques used as finishers or as a last resort. Both of them required decent chunks of spiritual energy, the former only being able to be used once given how much ice natured spiritual energy Jon had remaining.

[False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation] was not viable in the moment. Perhaps after Jon became a Knight, he would be able to cast his ability at range, increasing its versatility, but for the time being it would remain on hold.

[Wrath Of Green, Piercing Wood Eruption] and [Temperance Of Green, Imperial Wood Barrier] were not even considered.

None of his other abilities possessed inherent offensive qualities to them, [Rhapsody Of The Cold Star] and [Requiem Of The White Star] increased his physical qualities but were not as useful as [The Fools Advance, Inversing Life And Death].

Jon took a small breath before glancing towards Wilheim and the others.

'Sariel is at the Fourth Initiation. Life. Shield. Space and Lotus Mana Cores.'

'Shamael is at the Third Initiation. Rot. Curse and Fungi Mana Cores. Interesting third Mana Core, but useless given our current situation.'

Jon could not pierce through Avahni's [Mine Is The Rivers And Oceans, The Seas And Rain] nor Wilheim's [Mine Is The Leaves And Trees, The Roots And Flowers]. He was no longer able to see the details of their status pages but scrambled to remember just what manner of abilities the lutin and floresiensis possessed.

'Fragment Of Concealment… Fragment Of Chrysanthemum… Fragment Of Brumal… Fragment Of Marrow… Fragment Of Ichthyosaur… Fragment Of… Wait a second, that's it!'

Jon felt his eyes widen, as he opened his task reward page and selected the Fragment Of Ichthyosaur as his desired task reward. The action did not go unnoticed by his four companions, nor the Malum Hobgoblin as it resummoned Carnis Ascia back into his hand.

Ru Luan Di and Titus Claudius noticed that Jon had manifested a fragment in his hand, the former noticing that the human was staring at his summoner.

"Avahni!" Jon shouted, throwing the Fragment Of Ichthyosaur towards his green-haired companion. The green-haired lutin lifted her head, hearing Jon yell her voice, watching as the human hurled something towards her.

The dark-indigo coloured gemstone, shaped into a peculiar-looking dodecahedron flew towards Avahni. Catching the Fragment Of Ichthyosaur in two hands, the lutin felt her eyes widen, lifting her head and gazing towards Jon with an indescribable glint in her eyes.

Jon did not need to say anything further, giving his green-haired companion a small nod before sprinting forward wielding Luin in one hand.

'I need to buy Avahni enough time to summon her Fragment Of Ichthyosaur!'

Jon did not hesitate to overload his abilities even further, lifting his hand towards the Malum Hobgoblin and chanting another Spell.

"I proclaim this battle to warrant the covetous-green sin of envy! Let thou desires within run rampart, the sweet taste4 of jealousy on thou tongue. Thou shalt fall before hungry maw of the envious, sacrificed upon mine heretical altar! The profane baptism that shall birth the destruction of virtue and the creation of what is mine!"

[Envious Is The Beast That Lurks Within].

Although Jon was not sure if the Malum Hobgoblin possessed methods of refining debuffs or transferring debuffs, at least he knew that the effects of his Fragment Of Invidia could not be cleansed.

[Branded Envy]: Brands a target with a tainted war natured spiritual energy. Individuals affected by [Branded Envy] will have their movements tracked within five kilometres of the caster. Reduces resistances towards war natured damages, afflictions, and debuffs.

[Invidia Maledictum]: Prevents the usage of the most recent ability for a short duration. War natured spiritual energy whispers horrifying jealousies and suspicions towards the mind and spirit, corrupting them with the green taint of envy.

The Malum Hobgoblin twitched, feeling the presence of the two debuffs take root within itself. Jon could feel his war natured spiritual energy linger around the beast, granting him a rough idea of what direction it sat in.

Sprinting towards the beast, Jon flourished Luin in two hands, creating numerous neon-pink slashes wherever he passed through. The eighteen-year-old gritting his teeth as he felt his Seir-Glacial Heart tremble in pain from overloading it, pushing himself even further as he charged towards the hobgoblin.

Jon ignored Sariel granting him an instance of [Thousand Lotus Blessing], noticing over a dozen pillars of stone and rock burst out of the ground beneath the Malum Hobgoblin. Wilheim's [Mountain Art; Earth Forest Erosion] trapping the beast within a stone forest, causing it to slash out with its hatchet, smashing the rising pillars of earth and it.

Jon used the presence of the stone forest to obscure himself, darting between the shadows of stone pillars, trying to find the blind spot of the beast. The hobgoblin released another wave of fear natured spiritual energy, causing Jon to bite his lip with enough force to draw blood.

The corner of his vision filled with System notifications.

He could feel his grip on [Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge] slip ever-so-slightly, as numerous different debuffs and afflictions took root within his mind and flesh.

[Fear Of Fire].

[Fear Of Light].

[Fear Of Love].

[Fear Of Virtue].

The human screamed, howling as if a beast trapped within human flesh. His inhibitions long forgotten as Jon sprinted straight towards the Malum Hobgoblin, thrusting forward with Luin in hand.

The Thulian Spellspear slashed through flesh, splattering the sands beneath the beast with a foul, yellow-coloured blood. The Knight swung its arm around to strike Jon in response but felt its fist collide within nothing but air.

Its eyes darted all around, trying to catch a glimpse of the human's shadow, but found its vision obscured with more and more rising stone earth pillars. The Malum Hobgoblin letting out a groan as Jon cut deeply into the back of its leg, almost severing tendons with his strike.

Every few seconds, Jon struck the Malum Hobgoblin, inflicting instances of [Crying Fool] and using the manifold effect of [Decadent Spear Blessing] to deal even more flesh wounds to the beast.

The thick-scent of blood filled the air, and Jon did not even realize the corners of his mouth turning upwards as he severed a finger of the Malum Hobgoblin.

With each step he took, he better understood the limitations of his flesh.

His mind was expanding, comprehending how thought correlated with movements. How imagination transformed into action.

Jon felt his [Monstrous Intuition] spike and lowered his centre of gravity, bending backwards to an almost unnatural degree as he avoided another swing at his torso. The eighteen-year-old placed his hands on the ground behind him, completing a handstand as he watched another barrage born from Luin's effect strike the beast.

Almost not noticing the fact that Archetype Green had just been annihilated.

'Fuck! More… I need more!'

Each thrust that Jon made caused blood to spill onto the ground.

Each slash that Jon made, caused howls of pain to escape the mouth of the Malum Hobgoblin.

Each time he cut open another wound, was another instance of [Crying Fool] inflicted upon the beast, reducing both its stamina regeneration, and the effectiveness of its Sensory Trait and Perception Trait abilities.

Jon could hear the building sounds of whispers enter his mind, the corners of his eyes bleeding from the overwhelming amount of stress he was placing his body under.

The human almost did not notice Avahni's summoning ritual being completed, and the terrible sounds of the Incarnation Of The Hunt roaring into the night sky.

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