Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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Calming down from my excitement, I rubbed my aching wrist and detached the goblin’s ear.

Beneath its murky green skin, red blood flowed.

I thought perhaps its different skin color signified some unique blood, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

I gathered the severed ear and examined the goblin’s appearance.

It had a bulging belly and thin limbs.

Its sharp teeth and claws looked quite threatening.

Its nose protruded forward significantly, just as I had imagined a goblin would look.

Was it about 100 cm tall?

Lucky for me, it was acting alone; if it had been in a group, I might have had to run away.

Seeing it trying to camouflage itself with leaves and branches, it appeared to have a high level of intelligence.

Only then did I realize.

This world was different from the one I lived in.

While I had known it in my head, having a direct encounter with a monster filled with fantasy elements was a first for me.

A vague feeling of anticipation for the new world that lay ahead began to grow.

“Hooh…”

I exhaled, shaking off a strange excitement.

Right now, I didn’t have time for this.

The request called for a total of 10 goblin ears.

I still had to deal with 4 more.

I buried the goblin’s body beneath the snow to erase any signs.

I confirmed that goblins possessed higher intelligence than expected.

They might realize their kin had been defeated and could track me down.

Better safe than sorry.

After completing the goblin’s cleanup,

I slung my bag over my shoulder and started moving again.

The pristine white snow was sapping my stamina more than traveling on flat ground.

Although I had spent my life in the mountains and fields, I couldn’t underestimate the harshness of a winter mountain.

As time passed, my breath came out heavier.

“Hooh…”

The white mist escaping my lips turned into snowflakes as it scattered.

Suddenly, I looked up at the sky and saw the sun setting in the middle of the sky.

I approached a nearby suitable rock and leaned against it.

The cold winter breeze was robbing my hands of their sensation.

When I moved my fingers slightly, I felt a slow response.

If I kept this up, I might end up with frostbite and have to cut off my hand.

I took out some cloth and bandages from my bag and fashioned a makeshift pair of gloves.

It wasn’t a pretty sight, but it was better than getting frostbite.

“Hooh…”

Breathing out, I hurried my steps.

As my ears began to feel muffled, it seemed I had climbed quite a height.

Looking around, all I could see was the expansive white snowfield.

While surveying the snowy terrain, I spotted an odd movement.

The snow was shifting as if something was hiding within it.

Frowning as I examined it closely, I realized the movement wasn’t just one.

At least two, no, three.

The shifting movements were approaching me.

In that moment, I locked eyes with one of the creatures that lifted its head from the snow.

Narrow, elongated yellow eyes glared at me.

What flowed from them was a primal wildness.

The moment I sensed the intent to harm and murderous intent, every hair on my body stood on end, and my hand moved towards the sword strapped to my back.

As soon as I became aware of the approaching creatures, the goblins that were buried in the snow halted their movements as well.

They were hunting, and the prey was me.

If it was one, I was confident. Even two seemed winnable.

But three?

I swallowed hard, envisioning the goblins’ sharp teeth and claws.

In the midst of this tense silence,

the snow suddenly surged, and the green shadows began to charge toward me.

“Keyeeek!”

With the first charge, new shadows ascended from the sides.

I didn’t even have time to throw off my bag on my back.

I quickly drew my sword and swung it forward.

Swish!

The drawn sword glimmered like the pale moonlight, emitting a sparkling flash.

However, I felt no sense of touch at my fingertips. The goblin that had charged at me was no longer approaching.

In that moment, new goblins attempted to approach from both sides.

I hastily retreated while swinging my sword.

The goblins didn’t close the distance. They seemed wary of the sword I was holding.

They understood the danger of the sword and appeared accustomed to group hunting.

It was suffocating.

“Keyeeek!”

The goblins shrieked threateningly, circling around me.

This was surely a tactic to disrupt the prey’s concentration.

As the fight dragged on, my sense of time began to blur.

I swung my sword and retreated, repeating the process.

Because I was conscious of their menacing claws, I couldn’t step too far into the fray.

At that moment, one goblin stepped deeper in than before and scratched my shoulder with its claws.

My body immediately responded to the attack.

The sword in my hand was pulled back and then shot forward quickly.

Slash-!

“Ack!”

The goblin, pierced by the tip of my sword, toppled backward and rolled in the pristine white snow.

Red blood oozed from its side. It seemed to have twisted its body just before being hit.

I took a step back and checked my shoulder.

However, contrary to my worries, there was no injury or pain.

The thick wolf hide I wore had protected me from the goblin’s attack.

Ah, I see.

This clumsily made wolf-fur hood was also serving as excellent armor.

I adjusted my grip on the sword and charged forward.

“Hiyaak!”

Since I was carrying a bag, I couldn’t move too freely. I advanced carefully, considering my center of gravity tilted backward.

The goblins appeared greatly startled but didn’t back off.

They thought they could defeat me.

The outcome of the fight was uncertain.

I targeted the goblin that was bleeding the most.

It was the one with a torn side, slowing its movements.

If I kept pressing, I could kill it.

With a mighty step, my center of gravity shifted forward.

Snow flew around in every direction as I propelled myself.

Though my bag rattled behind me, it didn’t hinder my swordsmanship.

From above, I swung down.

The pale moonlight fell from the sky.

Slash-!

With all my strength, the goblin’s shoulder crumbled, and red blood burst forth.

Rather than cutting, it looked more like I smashed its shoulder bone with my sword.

“Keyeeek!”

In that moment, two more goblins rushed at me from my side.

Their claws repeatedly scraped against my wolf hide, gray wolf fur scattering everywhere.

While the hide was torn white, its thickness and durability prevented it from being easily penetrated.

I instantly twisted my waist.

With that shift in weight, my body turned to face the back, and the sword naturally drew back.

In that moment, a green shadow swiped in front of me.

A sharp pain shot through my upper body, and I braced my right leg into the ground.

The momentum that started at my leg traveled up through my waist to both hands.

The moonlight that fell from the sky circled the ground and shot out in a straight line.

The tranquil flash pierced straight through the goblin’s chest.

My vision narrowed. The sounds of everything around me faded.

The cold chill from the wind vanished.

Even the aching pain I felt in my wrist disappeared.

A life-and-death battle.

The sheer pleasure brought on by this very situation clouded my mind.

In that moment, I sensed something faint.

My vision suddenly swivelled to the side, and my balance faltered.

As I struggled to regain my footing, I glanced around to understand what was happening.

Suddenly, the green shadow covered my sight.

Boom-!

A dull sensation enveloped my face, causing my body to sway once more.

Only then did I realize what was happening.

The last remaining goblin had thrown a punch at my face.

As I desperately regained my posture, the next goblin rushed at me.

But this time, I didn’t hold back.

The goblin was targeting my face.

The moment I recognized that fact, I took a large step and lowered my upper body.

Swish-!

In that instant, the goblin’s attack whooshed over my head.

I could sense its panic through its movements.

Instinctively, I extended both hands and covered its body.

With the sudden force, the goblin was sent reeling backward.

In that moment, a horrible stench rose, but I had no time to dwell on that.

I punched down onto the goblin.

The sword I had been holding vanished from my sight.

But my duty remained unchanged.

Using any weapon I could manage, I had to eliminate the foe that was showing its intent to kill.

I lifted my fist.

If I don’t kill it, I will die.

Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!

As I struck wildly, the goblin’s face began to crumble.

Blood splattered, and the bandages wrapped around my hand tore apart.

The goblin occasionally twisted its body, trying to resist, but it could not stop my onslaught.

Murderous intent dominated my entire being.

The sticky blood spilled into the snow, blooming crimson snowflakes.

Suddenly, I realized I hadn’t even been breathing.

“Haah…”

I released a heavy breath.

My vision returned to normal, and the dull sensations in my body began to sharpen.

The goblin’s face beneath me lay horrifically mangled.

I looked down at my trembling hands.

The once-white bandages were soaked red, clinging to my skin as if they were trying to exhale the sticky blood.

“Ha…”

Gazing up at the sky, I exhaled.

The heat that had filled my body began to dissipate, leaving me feeling utterly drained.

Weakness enveloped me completely.

In the end, I was the one left standing at the end of this fight.

A dazed smile escaped me as I sat amidst the fallen goblins.

The unbearable cold sent chills through my body.

After detaching the ears from the goblin corpses, I assessed my condition.

I wasn’t in a state to continue fighting.

The request called for 10 goblin ears.

I had collected 8, leaving 2 still missing.

As I pondered what to do next, aimlessly wandering the mountains,

I noticed a goblin corpse partially frozen in the snow.

Its arms, legs, and belly appeared to have been picked apart, probably attacked by another monster.

“What luck…”

I had good fortune.

I severed the ears from the goblin’s corpse and made my way down the mountain.