CH 36

Day 23 – Morning, the cave.



Yup, fish is the best for breakfast. However, I’m not the same as I was before. Humans grow and evolve day after day, and so did I. My cave life is not the same it was before, that is because I brought soy sauce with me. Mmn, fried fish with soy sauce. This is the stuff. I’m glad that I went to that town. I really am.



Next is some modest mushrooms gathering and gob sweeping. While I was away their number grew like crazy, while mushrooms became harder to find. Yup, this calls for a major cleanup. They are like mold growing in a bathroom. Though in fact, it’s not them that are fungi but the mushrooms, but I shouldn’t be bothered by such details.



I won’t use magic, only my own body. Running, bashing, flanking, sweeping, leaping, thrusting, kicking, striking.



I head deeper and deeper into the forest. Levels of goblins also keep rising. Only my level won’t rise at all. Well, I didn’t kill the soldiers so I probably didn’t get any XP from them, but I killed enough small fries around the town to call it a wholesale massacre, yet my level is still 9.



「Wow, I never came this far. I think goblins will easily die if I put some poison in their den. I wonder if the general store has any?」



The gobs just now were level 19. They are stronger than some weak orcs, even though they are just gobs.



Because of weapon skills, I thought that Level Wall occurs every 10 levels, but turns out, it’s every 5.



After level 15 enemies get noticeably stronger. I can’t take them head-on without magic, so I have to dodge, stagger, parry, distract, and shoot.



Adjust my breathing, remain calm, continue moving, continue running.



I already gathered a mountain of magic stones today. All of them are probably E rank. If I take them to the guild, they will go bankrupt. It will be a huge uproar if they have to take a loan.



Oh my? We have something of a different league here. It’s pretty big. Appraisal.



Goblin King A



AGE １９

Lv ２３



HP　　　 　　１１０

MP　　　　　 　３１

ViT　　　　　１５５

PoW　　　　　１５６

SpE　　　　　　４９

DeX　　　　　　２２

MiN　　　　　　１１



InT　　　　　　　４

Luｋ　　　　 　２５



Martial Arts:「Hammer Lv 7」「Hard Hit Lv 6」 「Ramming Attack Lv 4」「Iron Wall Lv 1」



Skills:「High Sexual Vigor Lv 8」「Harden Lv 4」「Intimidating Lv 3」「Fear Lv 1」



Items:「Wooden Club」



Hmm, it’s a King. A class higher than a Leader. Will Bitch Leader also eventually evolve into Bitch Queen? She’d probably become even noisier.



The king swung its club. Ooh, it’s my first time seeing a goblin that doesn’t raise a club overhead. Can the idiots evolve to become this intelligent as well? They might be actually getting even dumber with each level up. Eventually receiving the 『Muclebrains』skill.



I can evade it with my speed, but exchanging blows with it would kill me. It’s something completely different.



I slowly raise my Staff? and calmly close the distance, and wrapping it in mana for a mere moment, swing it down. I don’t need speed, just a good, clean slash.



This is the best I can do. Though the attack landed, but it’s pretty close. And it easily killed the goblin.



If this doesn’t work then nothing will.



If I can pull this off, then it’s fine.



Yes, it’s a practice.



I head deeper into the forest.



Oh, it’s a Potential Mushroom, I have not seen them in a long time! I still remember how delicious it was when I tried it for the first time. I immediately begin grilling it while walking deeper and deeper into the forest.



「Yeah, a forbidden combination of a Potential Mushroom and soy sauce, the taste is absolutely supreme.」



However, as I head deeper into the forest, I encounter more and more Goblin Kings. Is it really fine to treat kings like this? Is it fine for them to pop up all over the place like that?



My MP isn’t going down at all and my HP is full, the fights are close but I’m winning somehow. In a moment, in one hit, but it’s quite close.



I just thought butー



・

・

・



I think I went pretty deep, but are there even deeper areas? For a while I’m getting kings over level 25? Why are kings not boss monsters? Just what is a king? Isn’t it strange to have a bunch of kings around and then some even higher king? Just what are you taking the kings for? Is it some kind of King Game?[1. TL Note: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konpa#King_game] Played by goblins? I’m not playing that! Never! Isn’t this a punishment game? Or actually, if everyone is a goblin king, then when asked「Who is the king?」Everyone will reply! Everyone is a king?!



If goblin kings are this strong, then a kobold king will kill me. Absolutely impossible. I can’t imagine any other outcome than getting my head chomped. That’s because kobolds are always going for the head. It’s really scary. A sudden attempt to bite off my head is really scary. It’s terrifying.



But they are too strong to serve as practice targets. I can’t trade blows with them and have to take them down one by one. Taking the initiative and closing the range, and cutting them down moments before they will act. If something goes wrong even a tiny bit, I’m dead. How should I put it, it’s like niche marketing, but a niche tactic. Enter a tiny gap and make a killing, kind of? A super short distance version of my sneak attacks, in fact, what I”m doing didn’t change that much.



I probably came as far as I can, should I go for kobolds after noon? But I don’t want to meet the kobold king. I mean they will certainly try to chomp on my head. And as I walked with those thoughts, I found 3 goblin kings, and they are Lv29.



Yeah, I’m done if they surround me. I can kill one of them at the start, but after that, it’s over. They will pincer me. I can kill one but will die after that. It can’t serve as training, right?



While thinking so I still take one step forward and take a swing, slash. Then closing for half a step closer I pierce another one through the neck.



Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, that was really close, I will certainly die if I try it one more time, not possible, no no no no, absolutely no, it was really close, too close…… Half a step…… My whole body is covered in goosebumps. My clothes are drenched in a cold sweat. It’s too absurd, it’s like a combination of bullet hell with a fighting game. One misstep and I’m done. Both the timing and the distance are way beyond too close. There is no room for a mistake, not even an inch.



Since I annihilated every monster I found on my way here, the way home shouldn’t take as long, but if I want to return before noon, I probably should turn around right now? If this is the deepest part of the forest, then this was the boss of this forest? Then where is my treasure chest?! No drop at all?! Well, if they were carrying treasure chests they would’ve been too easy to kill.