He was surprised to see the metal plate that seemed to act as a carpet on this tent. This was the first time he saw something like this, thinking if this was just goblin's customs.
Still, he had a job to do, so he brushed the thought off and continued to fight the goblin. When he stomped the ground to leap forward, the metal echoed as though there was a gap underneath.
"Huh?" Theo looked down with a confused look. "If it's just a normal ground, it won't leave the echo as the soil would distribute the sound. This made him suspicious, albeit he had no time to investigate it as Enrica's shout resounded in his ears.
"Theo!"
The hobgoblin was about to hit her with his sword on top of his head, ready to swing it.
Theo flinched for a split second and used his Blink to appear on top of his sword. He covered his spear with Magic Power Expansion and hit the blade with all his strength.
The Magic Power Expansion created an explosion and pushed the sword down, resulting in the hobgoblin tripping and falling on his butt.
Theo used that chance to strike his muscular stomach and only managed to graze it due to the green aura. He even sent the Magic Bullets all over his body, but they caused only scratches that seemed to be nothing for the hobgoblin.
As if not liking Theo's attack, the hobgoblin hit him with his sword.
Theo received it with his spear and landed on the ground a few feet away.
"What were you doing earlier? The hobgoblin almost attacked me, you know." Enrica asked while furrowing her eyebrows. She was displeased, thinking Theo was trying to play with her life. After all, she knew the power behind those strikes wasn't that powerful to stop him from coming back up immediately.
She had the right to be protected because her role was his support in this fight. Just like her stopping the monster from launching another attack on Theo by taking its attention for a moment, she expected Theo to do the same instead of doing a game like this.
Theo also understood her concern and apologized. "Sorry. It was my mistake. I promise it's not going to happen anymore."
Enrica finally understood why her teacher, the pope, told her that he and Theo wouldn't be compatible. She sighed and said, "Never mind. I'm overreacting as well. For now, let's focus on defeating these two hobgoblins, shall we?"
"Yep." Theo nodded and used his Magic Augmentation again. With the Magic Power revolving in his body, Theo headed straight to the hobgoblin that had risen from the ground and roared.
When he was in front of the hobgoblin, Theo hurriedly raised his left hand and summoned the tombstones. "Three Great Defense."
The huge shield now had the boost from Theo's Magic Augmentation to take the blow. And as expected, it stopped the sword.
Theo couldn't help but smile as he muttered, "Let me try this to a rare class monster like this guy."
He looked him in the eyes as he formed an invisible thread in the air with his Magic Power, sending it to the hobgoblin's head. He even inserted his killing intent and bloodlust, enhancing it even further.
As soon as it reached the hobgoblin, he felt the sword loosen for a split second, allowing Theo to slip past the blade.
He arrived right on the bottom of the hobgoblin and swung his spear from below. He used his Magic Power Expansion to cover his spear, trying to cut the hobgoblin.
Unfortunately, the latter was stronger than Theo expected as his spear could only make a shallow wound from his stomach to his chest due to the green aura dispersing the Magic Power Expansion.
"…" Theo clicked his tongue and leaped back, reassessing his situation. He even used his Awareness again according to Hel's method to stop the hobgoblin's movement, albeit it became less effective than the previous one.
"As expected, it's going to be like this." Theo stared at the hobgoblin and muttered inwardly, "My current level is enough to influence its mind but only for a split second. At the same time, it will become less and less effective as time goes on. My level is still far from the Goddess since she can make one see their own death and trap them continuously."
However, Theo also received a notification from the aforementioned person.
[Progress is good enough. Continue.]
Theo widened his eyes in disbelief. The Goddess should have known about his circumstances, where he didn't have too much time to practice before the competition. Yet, she assured him that his progress was good enough.
Hel, in his mind, was strict about rewards and punishments. If that person did a bad job, she would punish and lecture them. On the contrary, if that person did a good job, she had no hesitation in giving honest praises.
And the fact that she rarely praised him made Theo smile.
Still, Theo became even more excited as he said, "This is not enough."
Theo took a deep breath and recalled the information about the green aura.
Skill: Body Aura (C)
Effect: Allowing the user to cover its body with a powerful aura. Depending on the Magic Power poured into the skill, it will be able to increase its toughness.
Getting a plan after taking another look at the skill, Theo leaped forward with his spear in front of him. The moment he arrived before the hobgoblin, he was about to get pounded by the powerful swing.
Once again, Theo activated Hel's Death Stare and paralyzed the hobgoblin for a split second.
But the latter managed to handle it even faster and continued its swing without a single pause.
A shield appeared on top of Theo's head as it was obviously Enrica helping him. Although he was grateful for the support, he had no intention of using this shield.
Theo simply ducked down and slipped past the hobgoblin's defense.
"!!!"
He licked his lips while thinking, 'Even though it's not that effective anymore, I can still taste its Magic Power and notice…'
'…the small fluctuation of the aura that covers your body, and I know the aura drops in this spot!' Theo moved to his back smoothly and pierced the hobgoblin's side, finally creating a deep wound.
"Kroar!"