The Champion's Sacrifice
This is the final stage.
Entering the 'Boss Room'.
Current Difficulty: Apocalypse
- Ding.
"...."
A faint vibration rose from the ground beneath my feet. The flow of air had changed as well, giving the place an entirely different atmosphere.
What a production.
Looking around, I noticed the landscape had transformed completely from before.
"...."
In the distance, a massive figure sat upon a throne of bone, gazing down at me with arrogant eyes.
"Look at this bastard."
I forced down my nerves and called out to it.
"Not coming down?"
"...Krrk."
The creature sneered at me, then raised the horn it held and blew it with all its might.
- Pwooooo!!
"Krrk!"
"Kerehrehk!"
From beneath the bone throne, a goblin army I hadn't seen before began marching toward me.
"Is this for real?"
So this was Apocalypse Difficulty? Even someone like me, who had never had anything to do with hunters, could only think one thing after seeing the scale of this force.
- A raid.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The community's reactions and the sheer gravity of the situation flashed through my mind once more.
- Pwooooooo!!
"Who picked the soundtrack for this guy?"
Watching the goblin leader enthusiastically blasting away on its horn—
Warning! The boss stage has begun.
"Champion, huh."
The creature's body was covered in thick muscle, its skin marked with countless scars and white tattoos that only added to its imposing presence.
"So I have to deal with the trash mobs first."
- Shwaaaak!
Without warning, a spear came flying at me. I dodged it with sheer reflexes. The goblin army was closing in fast.
- Thunk!
The crude spear embedded itself in the ground, marking the start of the battle.
Predator's Domain (Lv.3) has been activated.
- Saaah...!
Dark blades of energy began slicing through the air around me.
Shadow Slash
The attack pattern I had absorbed from the Goblin Assassin now manifested countless times within my domain.
"Kek...?!"
The lead goblin was instantly shredded by the slashes. The rest of the army, drunk on battle frenzy, charged forward without realizing what was happening.
"Idiots."
If they were going to come to me, I wasn't about to complain. Ranged attacks were hard to land anyway, and they didn't even need to worry about the domain's range themselves.
- Chaaak...!
Just as expected, the vanguard goblins that entered the domain were torn apart first.
Guess leveling up paid off.
The upgraded domain shredded through the front lines at a terrifying speed. What used to take time now happened in an instant.
"Keeeek!"
One goblin swung its weapon only to have its wrist severed. Before it could even scream, the domain's attacks ripped its body apart.
Performance is solid.
Satisfied with the domain's power, I moved toward a safer position.
"Kieeeek!"
The moment I stepped closer to the spearmen, they were sliced apart in seconds.
"No experience notifications, huh."
In the novels I used to read, the system would constantly announce experience gains. If this were following that logic, my ears would be ringing with alerts right now.
Shield-bearers, spearmen, swordsmen—all of them charged in with their own weapons, only to be ground down the moment they entered the domain.
"Come on in, all of you."
Of course, I hoped they'd keep a reasonable distance. If they got too close, I'd have to swing a weapon myself.
- Shwaaaak!
"Shit!"
A massive spear suddenly flew from an unexpected direction. I twisted my body in panic.
- Thunk!
The spear slammed into the ground and was immediately battered by the domain's effects.
I was more surprised by its shape and speed than the fact that it had been thrown. No ordinary goblin could have hurled something like that.
"Manners, where?"
My gaze naturally shifted to the bone throne where the Goblin Champion sat.
"Krrrk..."
Clearly displeased that its subordinates were being slaughtered, the champion had resorted to a rather cowardly tactic. Still in its throwing stance, it glared at me.
"KRAAAAAHH!!"
With a thunderous roar that shook the sky, it halted the goblins charging toward me.
"...."
The battlefield fell silent in an instant. Well, except for the goblins still being shredded at my feet.
Apparently, the boss had decided to come personally.
"Krrrk...!"
White steam billowing from its mouth, the Goblin Champion leapt from its throne.
- Fwoosh!
After tearing through the air—
"Kuuuk!"
The champion landed right in front of me.
- BOOM!
"Agh, my lungs..."
The dust kicked up by the landing washed over me.
- Whoooosh...!
Even that was quickly dispersed by the constantly active domain.
Performance is solid.
Self-cleaning air function included? Maybe I really was a blessed awakener.
"...."
The champion stared at me in silence before drawing the massive battle axe strapped to its back. The enormous weapon, the kind I'd only seen in games, slammed into the barren ground with a heavy thud.
"Come in."
I spoke as I always did. Every greenskin I'd met so far—including the Goblin Assassin—had reacted the same way to those words.
"Let's finish this quickly. I want to go home and rest."
I didn't even know how many hours I'd been stuck here. And I'd been dragged here straight from working in a mana-leak zone. Did the tower's owner even realize that what it was putting me through was basically torturing a hardworking laborer?
"Hurry up and get in here, you ugly bastard."
"...."
But the Goblin Champion didn't move despite my provocation. It simply stood there, just as it had from the beginning, its crimson eyes burning with primal fury as it observed me.
So this is what a boss mob is like.
I could feel its gaze scanning the domain that had been grinding its subordinates to pieces.
So instead—
- Step.
"...?"
Rather than charging blindly, the champion raised its hand and signaled somewhere. It extended its arm toward me.
At that signal—
"Kerrrrk!"
The archers standing atop the goblin fortress walls all loosed their arrows at once.
"How petty."
Countless black dots filled the sky, raining down like a storm to pierce my body.
But—
- KAGAGAGAK!!
Every single arrow was shattered and crushed by the countless slashes filling the domain before they could reach me.
"What's next?"
- Twitch.
For a creature with such a tiny brain, it had come up with a fairly clever plan. Since melee wasn't working, it had stopped wasting its subordinates and switched to ranged attacks instead.
But that was as far as it went.
"What are you going to do now?"
Even its ranged attacks couldn't penetrate Predator's Domain.
"Krrrk."
The Goblin Champion glanced behind it.
"...."
Countless goblins still remained, watching their leader with anxious eyes and bated breath.
Seeing that, I became certain.
If I take this guy down, it's over.
The boss monster assigned to this tutorial stage. Once I killed it, the stage would end regardless of what happened to the rest, and I'd be sent to the waiting room where the other challengers were gathered.
Then—
- Step.
The Goblin Champion took one step forward.
"....?"
Even knowing that none of its attacks would work, the champion willingly stepped into my domain, its eyes locked on me.
- Hiss.
A small cut appeared on its long, hooked nose. It had reached the edge of the domain.
"...."
- Thud.
"What are you doing?"
At that point, the champion slammed its battle axe into the ground and—
- Shwaaak...!
—stepped forward, entering the domain completely.
Shadow Slash
The absorbed slashes from the Goblin Assassin immediately tore into the champion's body. They struck its weakest points first—fingers, ears, toes, and the exposed green skin.
Flesh was ripped away, hanging in tatters as it fell to the ground.
Yet the Goblin Champion did not stop walking.
- Step.
With each step, its face became so bloodied that its features were barely recognizable.
- Step.
"Krrk...!"
The goblin army reacted to their leader's suffering.
"Huh?"
"Krrk, krrrk...!"
They foamed at the mouth, shouting something, but of course I couldn't understand a word.
"Kerrk!"
"Keuhhk!"
They could only wail from behind, watching their leader's final moments.
Why do I feel like the bad guy here?
No, why...?
"....Krrk."
Having finally reached me, the Goblin Champion—
- Thud.
—collapsed, its body painted red with the wounds from Shadow Slash, meeting its end.
You have defeated [Goblin Champion].
Congratulations! You have cleared all tutorial stages.
Calculating total score...
..
...
....
Would you like to move to the waiting room?
"Kehk! Keuhhk!"
"Kirrk!"
"...Hey, this feels weird."
Why did I suddenly feel like a mass murderer?
Leaving behind that deeply unfair feeling, I decided to enter the waiting room where the community's high-rankers would be waiting.