NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19
The most frequently encountered monster in the cursed realm was the goblin.
However, while facing these goblins, I learned something I hadn’t known before.
“Rear guard! Goblin wolf riders!”
“Prepare for a breakthrough!”
“Damn them!”
Shaahh, Chwaak!
“These bastards, how did they tame wolves like this?”
The giant wolves, which frequently appeared in the cursed realm, were being tamed and controlled by these goblins.
Kiiing, Kking…
“It’s a shame. These creatures, which are typically noble beasts, are being tamed by goblins.”
Although it wouldn’t be much different if they were tamed by humans, it was hard to understand why these beautiful creatures, wolves, were being trained by goblins when seen up close.
“We also find it quite strange. I’ve heard of greenskins taming wolves in the West, but I never thought goblins were the ones raising them,” said Jack, the hunter from Helmart, a ranger from the West, with a hint of fascination.
“I thought it would be orcs, much larger than goblins, who would be taming them,” Jack added.
Indeed, considering the size of these massive wolves, which were even bigger than typical wolves, it was hard to imagine goblins, much smaller in size, could be the ones taming them.
“It’s a shame. Can’t humans tame them?”
“As far as I know, there have been attempts, but all of them failed,” Jack replied.
“Probably,” I said.
Taming wolves as livestock had already failed on Earth. Unlike dogs, wolves had a much stronger wild nature.
These giant wolves were even closer to horses in size, but like wolves, their wild instincts would likely be too strong to tame.
“It’s a shame, but I guess we’ll have to hunt them down and skin them,” I said.
Although I said this, the thought of taming such creatures was alluring. The idea of riding or fighting alongside giant wolves was thrilling. But thinking about it wouldn’t help, so I dismissed the thought and opened my status screen.
“Since I’ve found the goblin village, maybe it’s time to start this.”
[Trial of Courage – Goblin Slayer]
[Prove that goblins are no longer worthy opponents.]
[Slay over 400 goblins alone.]
In the cursed realm, I could challenge even more difficult trials. I decided to take on one of these trials.
“Captain of the Guard, prepare the troops.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. We will prepare to attack the goblin village.”
“No, I just said to wait. I will handle the attack alone.”
“Pardon?”
The captain of the guard was taken aback by my sudden statement.
“I’ll make it clear, Captain of the Guard. You and the army will remain here until I’ve killed every last one of those goblins. Do not intervene unless I fall and become unable to fight.”
“B-But Your Majesty, even if they’re goblins…”
The captain of the guard was about to say that facing an entire village alone was too much of a challenge.
“No objections. I will do it alone. Those who disobey my command will face severe punishment. Understood?”
“…Understood. Please, if it becomes too dangerous, do not hesitate to ask for assistance.”
Having seen my stubbornness up until now, the captain of the guard no longer tried to stop me.
Other knights and soldiers seemed uneasy when they heard that I would be fighting alone.
“Let’s begin.”
I wasn’t recklessly charging in without any confidence.
[Divine Power of Courage – Blessing of Strength]
[Divine Power of Courage – Swift Speed]
[Blessing of Battle – Mana Heart Activation]
[Battle Blessing – Master of the Sword]
…
[A total of 11 blessings are active.] [2,321 holy power has been consumed.]
I had cast a large number of buffs by expending a significant amount of holy power.
With the considerable investment of holy power, I already felt overwhelming strength.
“Here we go!”
Thud!
I immediately charged toward the goblins gathered at the entrance of the village, feeling that every second of the buff time was precious.
Kwang!
Keeeek!
Kreeek!
“Wow… This is too strong!”
The power far exceeded my expectations.
It felt like I had crashed into them with a car.
“This is more than doable!”
Shouting with excitement as goblins flew back upon impact, I continued my assault.
Slash!
Chwak!
Slash!
There was no grand battle against the goblins.
I simply swung my sword, and one goblin after another was sliced like trash.
The goblins couldn’t dodge the attacks, and they couldn’t block them either.
They weren’t fast enough to avoid it, and even when they tried to block, they were cut right through, sword and shield alike.
“Throw the nets! Throw the nets!”
“Surround him! Fire arrows!”
Despite the overwhelming difference in power, the goblins didn’t give up immediately.
They threw nets, surrounded me, and tried to stab or slice me with spears and swords, while simultaneously shooting arrows or poison darts.
But I had prepared for this moment.
[Amplifying Aura, Neural Acceleration activated.]
[The perceived speed of time begins to slow down.]
The flow of time around me started to slow down drastically.
Using the aura, I accelerated the recognition speed of my body’s nerves.
As a result, it made everything around me feel as though it had slowed down, while I remained at full speed.
“Perfect!”
Swish!
Slash, crack! Ping! Whoosh!
I dodged the enemies’ attacks, which had slowed down to the point where I could almost yawn at their sluggishness, and I only struck them down.
To the goblins, however, it must have seemed like I was moving at lightning speed.
[Neural Acceleration cooldown!]
[To use Neural Acceleration again, more time is needed.]
However, because it was such a powerful technique, there was a penalty after using it.
I couldn’t maintain it for long due to my physical limitations.
-This human! Too fast! Too strong!
-A monster! A monster!
As dozens of goblins were instantly taken down, the others began to panic.
Already at a disadvantage, their morale crumbled, and they were soon trapped in the vicious cycle of defeat.
[Currently 42 goblins slain.]
“Still a long way to go.”
The mission required me to slay 400 goblins.
It was easier than I expected, but with numbers on their side, I had to brace for a prolonged battle.
Even I could become exhausted from fighting too long, causing my combat effectiveness to decrease sharply.
But I had prepared for that as well.
[By defeating enemies, ‘Blessing of Punishment – Unyielding Crusade’ restores a small amount of vitality.]
[‘Blessing of Protection – Combat Fatigue Reduction’ alleviates accumulated fatigue.]
I had already applied buffs that allowed me to recover vitality as I defeated enemies.
Thanks to that, I didn’t tire easily, even if the battle dragged on.
Though it took a considerable amount of holy power to maintain, it was proving its worth.
Growl!
“Ugh, these damn wolves are becoming more of a problem.”
As time passed, the goblins became less of a threat.
Realizing they couldn’t defeat me, the goblins were more focused on fleeing to avoid the one-sided slaughter.
But the wolves they had tamed charged at me aggressively.
Killing the wolves wasn’t difficult.
But they created trouble for me for another reason.
[Additional Objective: Do not kill the wolves tamed by the goblins, release them instead.]
A suddenly added objective.
For some unknown reason, the condition was to not kill the wolves, but to release them.
It would have been fine to ignore the additional objective, but honestly, not revealing what the reward was felt like cheating.
After all, it’s human nature to want to complete it just because you’re curious about the reward, right?
“I don’t intend to harm them, so just get lost!”
Clang!
Luckily, the wolves would retreat and flee if I just beat them up a little.
At first, they were braver than the goblins, but once they felt the power difference, they began to fear.
[All the giant wolves in the Goblin Village have escaped.]
[Additional Objective Completed]
[The additional objective has been completed, unlocking the ‘Test of Courage – Silver Wolf King’.]
“Oh?”
After chasing away all the wolves that kept attacking, the additional objective was finally completed.
The reward was unlocking another Test of Courage.
There were still many Tests of Courage I hadn’t chosen yet, so I felt a bit disappointed—but—
[This Test of Courage is classified as ‘Legendary’.]
[All quests of the Legendary grade or higher offer more special and abundant rewards.]
“If it’s something like this, then it’s different.”
If the condition was unlocking a quest with better rewards, then it wasn’t disappointing at all.
Of course, if this keeps happening, it might become troublesome, but if the Legendary quest rewards are decent, there’s no reason to refuse them.
[400 Goblins Slain!]
[Test of Courage Completed.]
[3,292 Holy Power Acquired.]
[By completing the test, you have earned the Blessing of Courage. Your combat power and combat skill proficiency have increased.]
[Current Combat Power Estimated: 3,621]
[You have acquired the ‘Neural Acceleration Specialization’ skill.]
Soon, I completed the Test of Courage by fulfilling the main objective.
Slaying 400 goblins wasn’t as difficult as I expected, and I finished it faster than anticipated.
I had hurried to complete it before my buffs ran out, though.
“The rewards aren’t bad.”
Considering I expected it to be much harder, the rewards were quite satisfying.
I had also recovered far more holy power than I used at the start for the buffs.
The fixed reward for the Test of Courage, which increases combat power, was about a 200-point boost.
It might sound like a small amount, but for a single quest reward, it wasn’t insignificant.
“Plus, a new skill and a Legendary quest. This is quite the generous reward.”
I was definitely satisfied with the rewards.
However, at first, I expected a more grueling battle, and the lack of danger during the fight left me with a feeling of disappointment.
It felt like I was more seeking trials for thrill than growth.
But I guess strength is addictive.
It’s like once you get hooked on weight training, you keep pushing for heavier loads.
“You’ve been waiting a long time, Captain, and Stella.”
“No, Your Majesty. I’m just glad you’re safe.”
After checking the rewards, I returned to the spot where my forces had been waiting as per my orders.
Both the Captain and Stella were secretly impressed, having witnessed me single-handedly bring down the Goblin Village.
While they weren’t as surprised as the soldiers, they still looked at me with awe, as if mesmerized.
“Well, I was confident from the start, so it was just a matter of doing what I said. No need to worry, right?”
“…Still, as your guards, we can only ask you to take care of your safety, Your Majesty.”
“I understand your concern, Captain.”
Understanding something and following orders are two different matters, though.
“Anyway, Jack, there’s something I need you to handle.”
“What is it, Your Majesty?”
“I have a target to track in the magic realm.”
“Here? Is there someone specifically you wish to pursue?”
When Jack expressed doubt, I nodded and replied.
[Test of Courage – Silver Wolf King]
[Track and defeat the Silver Mane, the king of the wolves.]
“It just appeared. It’s time for a wolf hunt.”
There was no time to rest. I still wanted to grow stronger.