After Kai and Cedric had been stealthily making their way toward the Goblin Commander's location for a while, they finally stopped and hid behind a distant building.
"Stay here for a second, I'll take a quick look and see how strong it is." Kai then slipped away once again.
From time to time he paused for a few seconds, waiting for the right moment to move forward, as low-level goblins patrolled the area.
A minute later…
Kai finally reached a fairly large park inside the city. There he hid in a corner and saw numerous goblins busy with construction work.
Judging by the half-built fences and watchtowers, he guessed they were trying to establish a village.
In the middle of the bustling area stood a massive throne made of wood.
Above the throne sat the Goblin Commander, about 2.7 meters tall, clad in crude metal plates that enhanced its defenses. Its appearance resembled that of a Goblin Captain, though larger and marginally more ferocious.
When Kai looked at Goblin Commander and checked its stats, he suddenly had a roller coaster of emotions as he felt happy, worried, confused, etc., at the same time.
He believed he still had a chance to kill it, albeit lower than he'd hoped.
The commander was only slightly stronger than the weakest of its type, so the odds were still within an acceptable range.
[Goblin Commander]
[Level]: 26
[Race]: Goblin
[Rank]: 1st Echelon
[Stats]: Strength: 183 / Agility: 169 / Physique: 163 / Sense: 139 / Mana: 101 / Magic: 104
[Skill]: Tyrant's Fortitude (1st Echelon level 2)
→ [Tyrant's Fortitude (1st Echelon level 2): Reduces incoming damage by 30% for 10 seconds, but movement speed drops by 30% for 60 seconds.]
'Fortunately, it only has one skill, and it's not even a particularly good defensive one.' Kai thought to himself when he looked at the skill's information.
If it had an attack skill, the chance of killing the Goblin Commander would be lower, as Kai and Cedric might even get killed by the goblin first before they could kill it.
After gauging the commander's strength, Kai spent a while running countless combat simulations in his mind, trying his best to make the perfect plan and the backup plan while he was at it.
Two minutes later…
"Tch, our chance of killing it is now at 20%." Kai muttered as he clicked his tongue, feeling dissatisfied that the highest chance was only 20% at best.
Even so, despite his low chance of killing it, Kai felt relieved as his chance of dying while trying to kill the Goblin Commander was also pretty low since it only had a defensive skill.
Sigh!
'Let's do it.' Kai exhaled deeply and finally decided to lock in on killing it, thinking that an opportunity like this didn't come twice and he should take every opportunity since he needed to become stronger as soon as possible.
There were a few reasons why Kai really wanted to get stronger very quickly.
First, he naturally wanted to protect his family to the best of his ability.
Second, he wanted to prepare for potential disasters, such as the unexpected dungeon break that should have occurred a month later, which really shocked him.
Third and last, Kai intended to settle the score with someone who had ratted him and nearly killed him.
Unfortunately, the matter about taking revenge could only be set aside as Kai definitely wouldn't be able to take revenge in a short time.
The person on whom Kai sought revenge had already become an extremely powerful awakener, easily among the world's top hundred. By now that person had reached the Third Echelon and would soon advance to the Fourth.
That was why Kai could only take one step at a time since he was confident that it shouldn't be that long before he could take his revenge.
Subsequently, Kai went back to Cedric's place as he wanted to tell him about the good news that the Goblin Commander wasn't that strong and they should be able to kill it.
However, their chance to kill it has reduced a little bit, but Kai told Cedric that it was only a few percent at most.
Naturally, Kai didn't lie when he said that the chance had decreased 'a few' percent.
After all, the definition of 'a few' generally meant that it was more than two but less than 'a significant amount'.
Since Kai thought that the decrease of 13% was less than 'a significant amount', he 'technically' wasn't lying to Cedric.
When Cedric heard that their chances had decreased a few percent, he was somewhat relieved since it was still within his acceptable range.
Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "What's your plan now? Let me hear it first."
Kai nodded and outlined his strategy in detail, along with several backup plans in case anything went wrong.
After Cedric heard the plan, he was delighted as he thought that his chance of dying would be slim if Kai's claims about his healing ability proved true.
Pondering for a few seconds, Cedric asked Kai. "Is your healing ability really that good? Don't misunderstand me—I'm just curious, that's all."
Kai raised an eyebrow and smiled, as he thought about something.
"Of course. I'll show you just how strong it is." Kai said with a chuckle, then opened his shirt.
"W-what are you doing? I'm telling you now. I already have a wife!" Cedric blurted out when he saw Kai start to undress.
"Get the fuck off!" Kai frowned and kicked Cedric in the stomach, forcing him to take a few steps back.
"I just don't want to stain my shirt when I demonstrate it." Kai explained, unsheathing his sword slowly and placing its tip against his belly as if preparing for seppuku.
The reason Kai went so far as to display his healing capability was not purely to show its effect but for another purpose.
Kai heard that Cedric's wife was infertile since he had remembered who Cedric was.
That was why he wanted to prove his healing ability was so great it could cure anything, provided he was strong enough.
In this way, Cedric would naturally think of his wife's problem, as Kai knew Cedric had been searching for a cure.
Naturally, Kai had the confidence that he could cure it, as his intuition told him that he was able to do so.
When Cedric saw what Kai was about to do, he frowned, unable to fathom why the young man would go as far as stabbing himself.
Kai only smirked before stabbing himself into his stomach.
'Fck, that hurts like hell.' Kai thought, gritting his teeth and instantly regretting his decision.
Subsequently, Kai quickly pulled the sword free and smiled at Cedric.
"Watch!" Kai said as he used his [Heal] skill.
The stab wound closed almost instantly, fully healed in less than a second.
Wiping the blood from his abdomen, Kai looked at Cedric. "See? I'm a man of my word. I never lie."
Cedric opened his eyes widely when he watched that the wound was healed in less than a second.
He then thought about something before asking Kai with a hopeful expression. "Can your healing ability really heal anything, as you said?"
"Of course! As long as I'm strong enough, I can heal anything as long as you're not dead yet!" Kai chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "That's why, you don't worry about it because as long as you're not killed with one move, I can heal you instantly at that time."
'Finally, the bait has been taken.' Kai thought to himself as he knew that Cedric had taken the bait judging by his expression that's full of expectation.
"Uhmmm, that's not it." Cedric pondered for a second before asking Kai again. "Can you do me a favor?"
Kai raised an eyebrow and showed a 'confused' expression. "What is it? Do you have an internal injury or something?"
"It's not me, it's my wife. She's infertile." Cedric shook his head with a bitter expression.
He then continued asking as he clenched his fist tightly. "Do you think you could heal my wife's infertility?"
"Oh? I believe I should be able to do that." Kai showed a 'surprised' expression and nodded calmly.
Cedric immediately became overjoyed and came in front of Kai, begging him to help him. "Really? Can you help me heal her after this?"
"I'll even give you my armor as payment, regardless of the outcome." Cedric suddenly continued as he was afraid that Kai would reject him.
"Alright, alright. I'll help you later when I have the time and you don't need to pay me with anything for it. It's not a big deal anyway." Kai chuckled and shook his head.
'Finally, I've found someone that could become a backup plan in case something unexpected happens.' Kai sighed in relief, thinking that he had achieved one of his small goals.