NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3.2
She pulled out the twigs lodged in their skulls and patted off the blood and the brain matter on them.
It was a one-sided fight with no major issues.
Goblins were stupid and weak.
There was no unexpected situation, such as the goblins suddenly using magic or an unexplainable power that couldn’t possibly be called upon by their weak muscles.
At this level, I can safely fight them head-on.
Far away, Jihye is obscured by the trees, but visible to me on the hill.
Three goblins are slowly walking this way.
Did they hear Jihye and the goblins fighting?
In fact, the reason I didn’t reveal myself before the battle wasn’t just because I believed in Jihye.
I wanted to get to know the goblin’s combat power completely.
My encounter with a goblin was just for a moment.
I did not know if I was able to escape last night simply because I was faster or because of the goblin’s mercy.
And this observation confirmed that it was the former.
I should be grateful to Jihye.
In a way, it was like using her as my test subject... I feel no guilt at doing so, though.
“Jihye!!”
“…! It’s Jihoo!!”
The shirt stained with goblin blood contrasted by her bright smile combined to give off a unique charm.
A voice full of affection welcomes me.
I thought of something related to her as she responded with her delightful smile.
I know Jihye better than anyone in the world.
She would never miss me to this extent.
***
“Kieeaaag!!!”
The goblin grabbed the branch that pierced its body and went mad.
As it moved, blood splattered in every direction.
I smashed it in the neck with my wooden stick.
“Kak... Agag, eugh, eugh...”
Its limbs trembled as if its nerves hadn’t been severed just yet.
So I hit it on the head hard.
And then the goblin drooped.
“Haa... Haa... Ha.”
My first battle in another world was a success.
Jihye touched my outstretched palm while also taking a deep breath.
“What is this... Isn’t it too fucking easy...?”
The three goblins who were peacefully strolling through the forest were annihilated by our merciless surprise.
Every time I swung the branch side to side, the goblins went tumbling to the ground one by one.
The first time taking a life did not feel very moving.
My heart didn’t constrict with guilt, and I didn’t even bat an eyelid at the propensity for violence hidden deep within my subconscious.
Just an ‘Ah... Is he dead?’ to confirm the facts to some degree.
The only thing that bothered me was the smell of blood and intestines that had splattered on my clothes.
“Geg...”
Jihye took the smell of iron differently and vomited helplessly.
“Firstly... Should we wash?”
We would wash our bodies and clothes in the river right beside us.
But movement in water is restricted, so we decided to have one watch the surroundings while the other was washing up.
The forest was as calm as last night, giving off an atmosphere that made it hard to believe that a battle had just taken place.
The damp air was stagnant and repulsive, reeking of blood and corpses.
“…”
What kind of world is this?
Is it a world that really exists?
Are we in a fantasy ?
It’s probably not a virtual reality created by my brain as I sit inside a cylindrical tube.
The goblin was also very weak, like the most standard weakest isekai monster.
If we had met orcs and ogres here, it would probably have been us who became mangled corpses.
After killing the monster, I was almost expecting to hear a ‘Ding! Acquired experience! Level up!’ all of a sudden, but sadly that did not happen.
It’s a different world without the aid of the renowned ‘status window’... Usually, stories like this aren’t easy in the beginning.
As long as we understood that monsters would appear in this forest, we must gather as much relevant information as possible in order to survive.
I took a close look at the dead goblins while remaining vigilant.
Does it have something...
Well, this is a bit awkward...
Come to think of it, you bastard, what were you trying to attack us with?
It wasn’t even carrying a branch, let alone a knife or tool.
So, was it going to use its fingernail...?
Turning over the corpse with a stick, I discovered a surprising fact.
This goblin had no fingernails or claws.
To be precise, it was as if they had been forcibly removed.
It would be hard to be hurt even if one were to be scratched by these hands.
I alternated washing up with Jihye.
After simply twisting my pants and squeezing out the blood, I went into the river and came out right away.
In that short space of time, she too discovered some important information.
“They have no incisors and canines. The gums are hollow, it looks like everything was pulled out except for the molars. There are no genitals either. Judging by the traces they must have been castrated...?”
“······This.”
There is something higher that manages the goblins.
It was information that naturally made us nervous.
***
We quenched our hunger with glucose candies and headed downstream along the river to look for a town that might not even exist.
While walking, I met a rabbit drinking water.
‘Is that a monster too?! It might suddenly jump up and kick out its back foot. Or maybe thousands of rabbits will swarm us and gnaw on us...!’
I was very nervous, but the rabbit ran away as soon as it spotted us.
And on the way, we met another goblin.
This guy ran towards us like before.
I faced it head-on.
Using the thick bag as a shield, I braced my legs and waited.
In order to find out the goblin’s attack strategy, I was thinking of taking a calculated risk and receiving its attack once.
The goblin came right in front of me, swinging its arm wildly and hitting my bag.
‘·······’
It felt like a child throwing a tantrum.
The shock wave barely even reached my body.
I pushed the goblin over with my bag and then broke its leg by punching it in the thigh with a club.
Jihye’s weapon then pierced the heart and took its life.
It was a clean kill.
Although I haven’t seen the status window pop up yet, since this could very well be a world where you get stronger every time you kill a monster, we agreed to kill each enemy alternately if possible.
“...It’s really weak...”
“Honestly, wouldn’t fantasy dragons in this world be at the level of crocodiles then?”
If that is to be the case, becoming a harem king won’t be a far-fetched dream either.
How many hours have passed?
When it seemed that it would soon become evening, we found a village.
However, it was not a human settlement. “Kiruru. Kiruk!”
“Kieak. Kir. Kiruk!”
Eight goblins are gathered in the centre and are repeating some strange behaviour.
It feels like I am watching a very primitive religious ceremony.
What stands out more than that is the two people tied to the centre of the circle drawn by the goblins.
“Eup, oops! Oops!”
“…”
Black hair and a grey school uniform.
If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, those are definitely my classmates.
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