Chapter 28: The Green Goblin Clan
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 28: The Green Goblin Clan
The Green Goblin Clan’s settlement was just as I had imagined. Green Goblin flags were planted everywhere, and so many glittering objects were scattered about that coins and jewels lay even around the tattered tents. It seemed they only collected them, with no thought given to organization. Anyone who stumbled upon this settlement would surely think they’d hit the jackpot. Of course, that’s only if they could actually win a fight against this clan.
In my past life as a human, after the Green Goblin Clan had annihilated a group of summoners, the Sword Saint had dispatched high-level summoners to deal with them. But seeing their settlement, located at the very edge of the deep western forest, I could understand why they had failed to find it.
I couldn’t be certain, but I could feel the traces of high-level shamanistic magic.
“Welcome to the land of the Green Goblins, Blood Dagger, the warrior who has lost his honor.”
Countless goblins were already lined up in formation before we even arrived. It felt less like the warm welcome we received in the Land of Glory and more like they were burning with curiosity about our strength.
“F-Finally! The Green Goblin Clan has a brother clan!”
“A brother clan lives in our settlement!”
It seemed that in the eight years the chieftain had been active, not a single clan had chosen to ally with the Green Goblins. Much like being rejected by the Giant Wolves, this must have been a rather painful memory for the clan. By resolving two of their long-held desires, I had, in a way, become their benefactor. Thanks to that, quite a few eyes were now fixed on me.
“Kkirik. That cool Orc riding the wolf is the chieftain of our brother clan.”
“He’s… handsome. I want to mate with him. Kkirik. Kkirik.”
Hearing voices like that, I started to feel a little anxious. I’d noticed it with Mev, but it seemed my face was quite popular among Green Skins. Hearing the other goblins’ chirps, Mev, the Fairy Sprite Archer, sidled up to me, warily eyeing her future rivals.
“An ugly girl is stuck to his side.”
Once, she was Mev, the great beauty of the goblin tribe. Now, she was just a fairy, loved only by those with peculiar tastes. It pained me to hear her described that way, but I saw no need to show it, so I entered the settlement with their chieftain.
Just like in the Land of Glory, it seemed they had received word of our arrival and prepared tents for us. Thanks to them, the Blood Dagger Clan didn’t have to bother setting up our own tents after a long journey. Of course, I had no intention of resting for the next two or three years, so I immediately went to find the Green Goblin. After receiving permission to enter his tent, I stepped inside. It was enormous. The interior was so stunning it made my jaw drop.
Countless gold coins were piled up inside. The chieftain was lounging comfortably on the heap of gold as if it were a chair. The sight of the coins he had tirelessly collected was truly breathtaking. I opened my mouth to speak to the goblin sitting atop the pile, ready to tell him everything I had been thinking about since the Green Goblin Clan’s first battle.
“Green Goblin.”
“What is it, Blood Dagger? You must be weary from your long journey. You should get plenty of rest…”
“It’s nothing important. I just came today to tell you about my future plans.”
As I began to speak, the Green Goblin’s expression shifted into one of considerable interest.
“Hmm… You want me to assign my clan’s elite goblins to you? Kkirik kkirik.”
“That’s right. It would be even better if they are warriors who have received the blessing of the God of the Battlefield.”
It was a ridiculous idea, but the method I had chosen was ‘private tutoring’—perfect, intensive, one-on-one training. One elite goblin from the Green Goblin Clan would be assigned to every three members of the Blood Dagger Clan. If they were goblins with Unique Abilities, it would be even more advantageous, as it might awaken the potential in my own clan members. The training would be three days a week. For the first month, there would be no days off. The rest of the time, we had our own work to do, so we decided to focus on personal training and leveling up through ‘hunting.’
“There’s no problem, as long as you bring me plenty of shiny things.”
“However, it might take some time to acquire the things you want, Green Goblin. Is that acceptable?”
“It doesn’t matter, Blood Dagger. A warrior like you, who values honor so much you cast away your own name, would never break a promise.”
Honor meant nothing to me, but if he wanted to think that, it certainly felt good.
“In any case, I’ve heard your proposal for your clan members. Kkirik. Kkirik. But what will you do?”
“I would like to entrust myself to you.”
“Kkirik. Kkirik. Kkirik!”
He had clearly known I was going to say that. It seemed he just wanted to hear it from my own mouth. His expression was one of pure delight. It wasn’t the condescending superiority of someone looking down on me, but rather the simple pleasure of a fledgling chieftain from another clan coming to him for guidance. I imagined that, without me, this was something that would likely never have happened again for the Green Goblin Clan.
“I like the sound of that. Kkirik. Kkirik. Kkirik. Do you have any other questions?”
“I do. That ability to make shiny things flash. I’m curious how you obtained it.”
This was what I was most curious about. I desperately wanted to know how to obtain an ability befitting that level of power, not some cheap skill like ‘HP Increase.’ Innate potential was important, and so was a special class. But a Unique Ability was absolutely essential.
Only when race, class, and ability were in perfect, efficient harmony could one truly be called strong. For me as a human, HP Increase might have been an inefficient Unique Ability. But imagine if a Minotaur, a creature that had pushed its physical stats to the absolute limit, possessed it. In its own way, that would be a ‘nightmare.’
The Green Goblin before me was the same. An agile goblin, a trait that allowed him to turn shiny objects into flashbangs, and a class I suspected was either thief or assassin. The balance was perfect.
Hearing my question, the Green Goblin nodded and continued.
“Well… I think it’s right to say I realized it naturally… Kkirik… Perhaps it was when these shiny things I’m lying on began to pile up.”
Just as I thought.
Even in my past life as a human, I had naturally looked into various ways to obtain a useful Unique Ability. Some said they responded to desire, while others claimed they responded to specific ‘repetitive actions.’ Looking at him, it was certainly convincing. The desire to make shiny things even shinier. The repetitive action of constantly collecting gold coins. The God of the Battlefield had clearly rewarded him for what he wanted.
When I awakened HP Increase, it was at the very moment I had escaped a near-death crisis. It must have responded to my ‘desire’ to live.
It doesn’t respond to vaguely fabricated or intentionally repetitive actions. After leaving the Green Goblin’s tent, I continued to wander around.
I needed to figure out what I truly wanted. The Greatsword Too Large to be a Sword was strapped to my back. The Bloodsoaked Dagger hung at my hip. A cheap longsword was crossed over my back as well.
I had, in any case, grown stronger.
For a brief moment, I had even held my own against the ‘Queen of the North’ for several hundred exchanges, and my body, forged by the Tutorial, had become even more powerful. I could feel my magic circuits and strength were more enhanced now than they had been during the Tutorial. I stepped out to the back of the settlement and swung my sword, a meaningless motion.
Whoooosh.
The heavy greatsword cut through the air with a dull roar. It felt much lighter than when I first got it.
‘What I truly want.’
To get stronger, obviously.
I slowly recalled the image of that fight. The Queen of the North back then. Could I win against her now? In an instant, the greatsword, longsword, and dagger sliced through the empty air. The Queen of the North’s thrusts were like flashes of light. I knew she would aim for my vitals, and it felt as if she understood my every move.
Those six steps back then.
They were meaningless now. The reach of my greatsword was long enough to match her spear. If she closed the distance, I would pressure her with the longsword. If she got even closer, the dagger.
And yet, the Queen of the North does not fall.
‘Fuck…’
Even in my imagination, she wouldn’t go down. She was surely growing stronger, too. A sense of pointless anxiety washed over me, and I continued to swing my sword.
It was like I was shadowboxing. I brought the greatsword down in a wide arc from above, then immediately let it go. That attack was definitely blocked. But I instantly drew the longsword from my back and struck at her left flank.
That, too, is blocked. Next the dagger, then the greatsword again, then the longsword again. The clamor of clashing blades echoed through the forest.
‘Get stronger.’
I will get stronger, no matter what. I want to fight and win. I don’t want to die the same way I did in my last life. The Queen of the North wasn’t the only one I wanted to fight. There was Goff, who sometimes showed his fighting spirit towards me, and even the Green Goblin and Storm Shadow. And beyond them, the Great Tribe Leader, Agar.
And so, the morning came.
*
As morning broke, the day began in earnest. Just as I had arranged with the Green Goblin the day before, the Blood Dagger Clan began learning how to use daggers from the Green Goblin Clan’s elites. Thanks to this, the settlement felt a little more lively.
Actually, ‘lively’ wasn’t the right word. It was more that my clan members were screaming under the brutal, non-human training methods, but no one complained.
They knew.
They knew that we were currently at the bottom of the food chain, and to get stronger, we had to learn. Their training method could hardly be called training. They just fought. They just fought under the banner of the Great Tribe Leader. Archers and mages like Mev and Jung Hayeon at least pretended to learn something from the Green Goblin Clan’s shamans and archers, but those who chose the assassin class had no choice. They learned by stealing techniques while fighting. That was all.
Even the archers and Jung Hayeon joined the brawl after their lessons. And I, at the center of it all, stood facing the Green Goblin.
“Kkirik. I don’t know how long it’s been since the settlement felt this energetic. It’s not just you, Blood Dagger. All of your tribe members here are already fine warriors.”
“I appreciate you thinking so.”
There was no need for words. In my human life, what were the chances of being taught by the Sword Saint or the Queen of the North? Receiving one-on-one instruction from this Green Goblin was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I looked at him and slowly adjusted my weapons.
“Then, I’m in your hands.”
“Kkirik! Kkirik! Kkirik! Of course.”
He looked at me, playfully twirling a dagger in the air. He couldn’t have been more than a third of my height, yet the pressure he exuded was immense. When he nodded and charged toward me, it was like a bolt of lightning. Left, right, left again, up.
And then he vanished from my sight.
‘Ah!’
In that instant, my body was slammed into the ground. I couldn’t even tell where the attack had come from. All I knew for sure was that I’d taken a blow to my leg. I glanced up to see the Green Goblin smiling, a dagger pressed against my throat.
‘Fucking… monster.’
“You’re quite good. A fine warrior. I’d say you’re definitely stronger than I was when I first came here. I’d heard rumors about the new brothers, but there are truly many talented ones. Kkirik. Kkirik.”
“I lost so pathetically. I don’t see what’s so fine about that.”
“Usually, brothers who have just arrived on this continent can’t even see me. The same goes for some chieftains. You, Blood Dagger, weren’t perfect, but you were definitely tracking me.”
If he were human, I might have thought he was just being considerate, but his expression didn’t seem like he was lying. Still, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated. I looked at him with eyes burning like fire and spoke again.
“Let’s go again.”