The Syntax Sorcerer

5: John's Desperate Gambit: The Goblins' Fiery Fate

John was deep in concentration, pondering on his new magical discovery, when he heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. He turned to see a group of four goblins emerge from the foliage, their faces contorted with anger and grief.

John's heart raced as the goblins approached, their accusatory glares boring into him. "Oh no! Crikies! What do these goblins want with me?" he thought, beads of sweat forming on his brow. A sickening feeling twisted in his gut as he desperately fought the urge to release his bladder out of sheer terror. Despite his newfound magical abilities, John was utterly terrified. He tried to console himself with the thought that he now possessed magical abilities, but the only evidence he could muster was a cushioned bench, doing little to quell his overwhelming fear. In a desperate attempt to defuse the situation, John blurted out, "Wait! Look at this comfy bench I'm sitting on! It used to be a plain old log, but I transformed it into this plush, inviting seat with my magic!" One of Garite's subordinates couldn't contain his laughter. "Hahahah! Is that all your magic can do? Turn things into furniture? Ahahaha! Pathetic!" The mocking goblin's guffaws were cut short by a sharp glare from Garite, who silenced him with a growl. "Our tribesman has been slaughtered!" The tension in the air thickened once more.

The leader of the group, a fierce-looking goblin with a scar across his cheek, stepped forward and pointed an accusing finger at John. "You!" he snarled. "You killed my brother!"

John's eyes widened in shock and confusion. "What? No, I didn't kill anyone! There must be some mistake."

The goblin leader, who introduced himself as Garite, shook his head. "There is no mistake. We found my brother's body, impaled on a tree branch. And we followed your tracks here."

John froze, overcome by anxiety. He remembered the goblin he had encountered earlier, the one who had tripped and fallen onto a sharp branch. "Listen, I can explain," he said, obviously trembling in fear. "It was an accident. Your brother, he tripped and fell. I tried to help him, but it was too late."

Garite's face twisted with rage. "Liar!" he roared. "You expect me to believe that? My brother was an experienced scout. He would never have been so clumsy."

John backed away, his heart pounding in his chest. He could see the fury in Garite's eyes, the grief and pain that had been transformed into a burning desire for revenge.

"You will pay for what you have done," Garite declared, drawing his sword. "I will find your family, every last one of them, and I will make them suffer as I have suffered. And you, human, you will die the most cruel and agonizing death imaginable."

A morbid thought flashed through John's mind as he stared at the enraged goblin leader. "Damn! I'm screwed!" he thought to himself, a bitter chuckle escaping his lips. "Well, at least I don't actually have any family in this new world. But wait, what will actually happen to me if I die here? Will I respawn like in a video game, or will I be trapped in some sort of twisted afterlife?" The absurdity of his own thoughts struck him, and for a brief moment, he almost forgot the gravity of his situation.

John barely had time to react before Garite and his team were upon him, their weapons flashing menacingly in the dappled sunlight that filtered through the trees. Garite smirked, his sword whistling through the air as he thrust it forward, the razor-sharp blade mere inches away from John's head. A bright glint caught John's eye, drawing him into a squatting position. Upon closer inspection, he discovered a unique gold-colored coin half-buried in the dirt. As he pocketed the coin, the shift in his center of gravity caused him to lose his balance, and he wobbled unsteadily on his feet.

Remembering the perilous situation he was in, John refused to stand up, his mind racing to come up with a plan. A sudden idea struck him, and he rolled to the side, following it up with a forward spin dash to create some distance between himself and his attackers. One of Garite's subordinates called out, "Boss! Be careful, it appears this human trash has some skill. I just witnessed it with my own eyes, he dodged your blow like it was nothing and got behind you."

Garite snarled in reply, "Shut up, idiot. Of course he has skill, ordinary humans can't harm our tribe members. Now get over here and help me kill him." John felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead as he realized that if he hadn't spotted the coin and picked it up, he would have already been dead. The realization sent tremors through his body, and he began to tremble uncontrollably.

Garite's group swiftly fell into formation like a trained group of veterans, their movements precise and coordinated. John gulped, a sense of dread washing over him. "Is this the end?" he wondered, as the goblins dashed at him from all angles. His life, short and insignificant in this new world, began to flash before his eyes. In that moment, time seemed to slow down, and John felt a strange sense of acceptance wash over him. Perhaps he wasn't meant to live very long at all in this world, could it all just be a dream.

As the goblins' blades drew closer, mere inches away from ending his life, a sudden thought popped into John's mind. In a last-ditch effort to survive, he decided to employ a new code script, hoping that it would be enough to save him or at least slow down his death.

world.modify({ target: "time", set: "stop", duration:"20 seconds"});

As the code executed, John watched in amazement as the very fabric of reality responded to his will. The world around him inverted, color and movement fading away until everything from the goblins to the trees stood eerily still, frozen in a moment of time. Relieved, John cautiously stepped outside the attack range of the goblins, observing them from about three meters away.

When time resumed its normal flow, the goblins clashed into each other, the sudden force throwing them to the ground in a tangled heap. They scrambled to their feet, confusion etched on their grotesque faces as they looked around wildly. Garite, their leader, spoke gruffly, "Where did that filthy human go? How did he disappear?"

One of Garite's subordinates pointed a gnarled finger towards John and yelled, "Boss! He's over there!"

A smirk played on John's lips as he took in the bewildered expressions of the goblins. Mustering up what little confidence he had, with a trembling hand and the click of his fingers, his voice quivering as he uttered a final, desperate incantation, hoping against hope that it would be enough to save him from his impending doom.

world.modify({ target: "goblins", range-radius: "5 meters", body: "engulfed in flames", duration:"20 seconds"});

As the code activated, John watched in fascination as the very fabric of reality shifted and warped. Glowing motes of energy coalesced around the goblins, swirling faster and faster until they ignited into searing flames that engulfed the creatures. Agonized screams ripped from the goblins' throats as they ran about in a frenzied panic, their flesh blistering and charring. After a mere ten seconds, they collapsed to the ground, writhing in excruciating pain. The flames continued to lick at their bodies for another ten seconds before finally extinguishing, leaving behind the blackened, crisp remains of the once-threatening goblins. As the flames died away, John stared at the charred, smoldering corpses of the goblins, his mind reeling as he tried to process the horrific scene before him. He could scarcely believe that his frantic, last-ditch effort had indeed succeeded in vanquishing the menacing creatures.

As the flames died down, leaving behind the charred remains of the goblins, John took a moment to catch his breath. He surveyed the scene, a mixture of awe and disbelief at what just happened. Unbeknownst to him, a lone goblin scout had been observing the entire encounter from a distance of about ten meters. The scout's eyes widened in horror as he witnessed the human's terrifying display of magic, his body trembling with fear. He had never seen anything like it before, and the thought of facing such a formidable foe sent shivers down his spine. Realizing the importance of this information, the scout quickly turned and fled, determined to report back to his village about the strange human with the ability to vanish and set enemies on fire. He ran with all his might praying not to be discovered.