27 - Skill Stealing (5)

To Aria, expressing emotions was nothing more than a series of annoying distractions. She believed she'd already witnessed the worst possible outcome in her young life, so the only day her feelings would truly surge again would be when she exacted revenge on that demon, Andras.

Yet for some reason, every time she talked to the man right in front of her—Lev Denek—her ironclad resolve felt like it was being tested.

—If you trust me, nod.

Aria unwittingly bobbed her head. It was purely her own will.

"Good. I'll explain simply."

"...Yes."

Amid the distant cackling of the bandit horde, Lev kept his eyes fixed on them as he laid out all his guesses.

.

.

.

"So they're all in on it..."

"Yeah. Which means we need to pinpoint that coachman's location right now. If he's targeting us, he's still nearby."

"Understood."

It wasn't difficult. Aria had never specifically studied detection or surveillance spells, but for some reason, she'd been able to use them effortlessly ever since that day.

But how does this man know that?

It was her secret—she hadn't even told her academy professors. Most people probably just assumed she could only do holy and healing magic.

Pushing aside the sudden question that popped into her mind, Lev continued.

"Remove the surveillance spell on me..."

"..."

"And put it on the coachman instead. He's probably a monster disguised as a human."

"That man from earlier... a monster?"

Her heart wavered at those words. She'd said she'd trust him, but asking her to drop the spell? She'd come here precisely to confirm if he wielded black mana.

"That's..."

As Aria hesitated, Lev whispered quickly.

"If I'd wanted to kill him, I could've done it back in the carriage."

Thinking about it, that was true. Once he'd noticed, there was no need for all this. Aiming for the coachman from behind while he drove would've been easy.

Besides, he had a track record of one-shotting that enhanced rag elemental.

"The reason I didn't strike then was to earn your trust."

His deep, dark eyes persuaded her.

"Check it out. See who's really the monster."

"...Understood."

* * *

Aria closed her eyes and focused right in front of me. I scanned the distant bonfire, keeping watch on the bandits' movements.

Truth be told, claiming I could've killed the bandit from the carriage was pure bluff. Once I'd spoken to him first, my Hermit trait had deactivated. My crossbow was slung on my backpack, so by the time I nocked, aimed, and fired, he'd have plenty of time to react.

What kind of monster did this shitty developer turn a mere goblin into?

The bastard hadn't just tweaked the gimmick—he'd slapped it with F-rank individual value too.

"...Found him."

"Where?"

"By the small river behind the valley. He's letting the horses drink. The man's lying beside it."

Aria's voice was calm, but laced with fatigue. Probably from burning a ton of mana. Not the basic alert she'd slapped on me, but something like a full-area scan, almost clairvoyance.

"Drink."

I pulled a potion from my bag and handed it over.

"..."

"You decided to trust me."

She hesitated a moment, then downed it in three gulps.

"And yeah, just like you said..."

Her voice trembled slightly, shocked that my prediction was right—a monster disguised as the coachman, waiting nearby.

Even in Reincarnation Academia, Aria had PTSD from demons. For her to step ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up like this to save Edwin... what a remarkable girl.

"Cold?"

"No."

She said that, but peeking under her outdoor cloak, she was in a skirt—the kind for theory classes, not combat training. With the night chill setting in, it must've been rough.

I dug out a massive, straw-mat-like blanket from my bag.

"Over here."

"...Pardon?"

"I won't bite. Get close."

Too lazy to explain, I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her down. She was already drained, so she came easily.

"What are you—!"

"Shh!"

I pressed a finger to my lips and pulled the blanket over our faces. Even in the pitch black, I could feel her eyes shaking harder than ever.

Maintaining about a handspan between our faces—close enough to share breaths—I whispered to her.

"Can you do enchant magic?"

"...?"

In this rootless novel, Aria could handle healing, holy, and surveillance magic, so enchantments via holy magic should be possible too.

Her last exam had leveled her up, pushing holy magic to 3rd circle too. But that magic lit up the surroundings when cast. Using it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carelessly would give away our position.

That's why I bundled us up.

"......"

"Like what Hazel did for me during the exam."

"......"

She got my intent without me spelling it out. "...Yes."

Her dry, curt reply came as she began chanting holy magic.

-Shaaa...

True to her top-student diligence, the enchantment didn't take long.

National dish, as expected. Holy magic's a demon's weakness. Eternal truth, the root.

With Water Dragon's Blessing and Mainhwa's bonus damage on top, this combo's way stronger than against the rags. Hermit trait reactivated too—DPS meter about to explode.

Perfect...

I left the backpack and slung just the crossbow. Aria rose to follow.

She'd burned all her mana and lost body heat—looked rough.

"Good. You stay here."

"No. I'll go with—"

-Slump.

Her words cut off.

Like a scene from an action flick. Potion effect.

Aria overcoming her monster phobia comes later. What was about to go down was still too much for her.

Plus, seeing me Mainhwa might confuse her again.

I tossed the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blanket over her roughly and headed out to smash the bastard.

* * *

Meanwhile, by the riverbank, Dobrek gazed at the vast night sky and laughed.

No—roared with laughter.

An old goblin clan song passed down since childhood.

-Kill the men~♩ Rape the women~♪

He'd always been top dog, recognized for his high intellect.

But a frog in a well can only ever see fragments of the sky. It can't adventure the wide world.

That passivity was why goblins stayed low-rank monsters—and why they hadn't gone extinct.

But Dobrek chose differently. He thought himself unlike ordinary goblins. To awaken his potential, he infiltrated humans.

Dobrek was a name unique among countless goblins.

He loved human life, believed it his true place.

What'll that girl taste like~?

He used to just steal, but his disguise, stealth tricks, and silver tongue grew ever slyer.

Now he exploited them fully—tricking women who terrified goblins into letting him rape them, over and over.

And right before killing them... ta-da! He revealed he was a goblin...

That expression only in that moment... priceless.

"Krahahaha!!!"

Never got old. A whole new level of fun beyond goblin days.

Now he acted on his own will.

"Urgh... can't hold back."

He headed to the wagon's rear.

-Chop the men's limbs~♪

-Right in front of the man~ Rape the woman♩

A rhythm any goblin might hum. Vulgar as hell, he anticipated the prelude.

-Creeeak...

"Mmmph! Mmmph!!!"

Inside a wooden crate in the wagon, a bound woman. Tear-streaked face, dried and fresh trails.

It only excited Dobrek more.

"Oh? Told you to stay put, didn't I?"

Human guise or not, he was a monster at core. Dobrek grinned wickedly and sang his final verse.

"Rape and rape and rape..."

-BOOM!!!!

A massive flash flipped his body.

-Neigh!!

-Flutter!

Horses panicked at the explosion, birds fled the forest en masse.

He tumbled twice toward the riverbank, ending face-down.

"Guh... guhuk... fuck! What the—"

Worse pain than a bolt from a clear sky.

-Shrrk.

His groans mingled with his disguise unraveling.

His life's essence, everything he had.

"N-no... cough!"

All that remained: a small, scrawny green-skinned goblin body.

-Huff. Haah. Huff.

"C-can't... breathe..."

A huge hole in his tiny chest—forcing him to rasp through his throat. Barely.

-Crack!

"Grk!!!"

A brutal impact to his wing stump. No more groans.

-Gurgle. Gurgle. Gurgle.

Thrice, bloody froth bubbled from his throat.

A man stood on his back, left foot grinding down.

"You got no roots either, huh."

"S-spare—"

Dobrek's last sound: the crossbow's chilling clank.