Chapter 4: The Hunt Begins
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 4: The Hunt Begins
“Damn it, at this rate, we’re all going to die… all of us…”
“No way…”
“If we complete this ‘Tutorial,’ can we get out of here?”
As expected, the situation was chaos. Shouts and screams echoed inside the cave, as if they had no idea that making noise would get them discovered.
“I think that’s probably it. The situation isn’t all bad. You all heard it, right? That voice talking about a quest.”
“I heard it, but…”
“It seems they call those monsters that attacked us earlier ‘goblins,’ but to kill them… That’s impossible. We’ll… we’ll all die.”
“No. It’s possible if we all work together.”
I felt like I’d heard a similar conversation before. A man named Lee Sangjun had definitely been the one to rally people back then, too. I remember him driving many of his comrades to their deaths just to save his own skin. He somehow survived the Tutorial, but I never heard what happened to him after he reached the continent. He probably died trying to pull the same stunt, but that was no concern of mine right now.
I could charge in and fight immediately, but there was no need to spill unnecessary blood. I wasn't sure what they were discussing, but their voices were gradually getting quieter. After such an exhausting day, they were likely getting drowsy.
“Chieftain… when do we go in? Kireuk…”
“We wait a little longer.”
“Kireuk… Understood.”
The goblins weren’t complete fools; they didn’t shout like they had when we first set out. We hid deeper in the forest and waited. After a little more time passed, the cave fell completely silent. Then, with a rustling sound, four able-bodied men armed with swords and shields slowly emerged from the cave.
‘Night watch.’
“Tsk.”
I had hoped they would all fall asleep without posting sentries, but it seemed they weren't that stupid. Still, this was good enough. I slowly extended my hand toward the goblins. They immediately passed their daggers to me.
Perhaps because I had advanced to a Goblin Warrior, my grip felt much stronger.
“Hey, man. I’m gonna go take a piss.”
“Let’s go together, just in case. Two is safer than one.”
Just then, two of them started to walk away from the cave entrance. I gestured to five of the goblins watching me—the five most loyal ones.
When I made a motion to seal my lips, they nodded in understanding.
Just as the five goblins began to slowly vanish into the shadows, I put all my strength into my arm and hurled a dagger at one of the men.
With a swoosh, the dagger flew straight into the space between the seated man’s eyes. He instantly fell backward. Seeing his companion collapse, the other man screamed.
“Aaaaargh!!! Ambush!! The monsters are—gurgle.”
Before he could finish his sentence, a dagger buried itself in his throat, and he collapsed. Startled, I glanced around and saw the female goblin staring at her own hands in shock.
She did it.
It was a moment that called for praise, but there was no time. I quickly led the remaining clan members toward the cave.
“Enter the cave!”
“Kireuk… Kireuk!! Kireuk!!”
“What?!”
“Wha-what’s happening?!”
Screams erupted from the already dark cave. I could even see a few people scrambling out in a panic.
“You and you, take care of the ones who ran.”
“Understood, Chieftain. Kireuk.”
“Leave it to us. Kireuk.”
As we rushed into the cave, I saw people pushing each other, desperately trying to get deeper inside.
“Hic… Save me… Please, save me.”
“God… Please save me.”
“Everyone, we have to fight back! We have to fight back!”
The face of the man shouting from a mediocre spot—not at the front, but somewhere in the middle—was definitely Lee Sangjun’s from my past. I couldn’t count how many times I’d wanted to shove a blade into that face back then. It seemed time hadn’t changed him. The way he kept running his mouth while pushing others forward was truly something else.
‘Stupid bastard.’
His skill at inciting others wasn’t bad, but it was a grave miscalculation to think it would work in an extreme situation like this. It would have been far more effective to lead by example with a shield. But there was no way a coward like him would ever do that.
“We can win if we stick together!”
“Those with swords and shields, move to the front! The rest of you…”
“Aaaaaaaaargh!!!!!”
He kept shouting, but to humans gripped by terror, his words were falling on deaf ears. This tactic was especially effective against deserters like them.
A dark cave, screaming humans, and monsters laughing with inhuman voices. It could have been a scene from a horror movie.
Fighting back would have improved their chances of survival, but only a few even thought of raising their swords. Lee Sangjun, screaming his lungs out from the back, clearly had no intention of taking a blade for anyone else.
“If we stick… Gack!”
His chatter was getting annoying, so I threw a dagger. He immediately collapsed, making a gurgling sound as blood filled his throat.
“Kyaaaaaaah!!!”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!”
Every step we took forward, they scrambled to take a step back. Even in this situation, there was a clear path to survival. If those with shields had formed a wall at the front of the cave and pushed forward, while the others with swords engaged us, they might not have won, but they could have opened an escape route. Of course, a few would have certainly died… and I couldn’t guarantee our side would suffer no losses, either.
The problem was…
‘Who would be the sacrifice?’
It was common sense that even with a shield, the first one to charge would draw the most attacks.
If they’d had the courage to overcome fear, they wouldn’t have run from the first battle. As if to prove my point, even those with shields and swords were desperately trying to push their way into the middle of the crowd.
It was a pathetic sight, like people trying to cram themselves onto a packed subway train.
“Get out of my way!!! Move!!!”
“Fuck… please…!!”
“You… you have a shield!”
“You’re a man!!”
I could even hear them shouting as they started fighting amongst themselves. It seemed they still didn’t realize that everyone here was going to die.
“Kireuk… Kireuk…”
“Kireuk… Kireuk… Kireuk…”
The goblins steadily pushed the humans toward the cave wall. The sound of their laughter echoed through the cave, a relentless chorus that seemed like it would never end.
Then, finally, the goblins threw themselves at the humans.
“Aaaaaaaaargh!”
*
Aside from one goblin killed by a blind swing of a sword, we had no other casualties. It was a battle that yielded a score of thirty-eight kills, not including the one human I captured alive for a few experiments.
“We are the Blood Dagger Clan! Kireuk!”
“If you listen to the Chieftain, good things will fall into your lap! Kireuk!”
Thanks to the victory, the goblins shouted and praised me the entire way back to our territory. What’s more, after this second battle, two more goblins from the clan completed their evolution.
One chose to become a Goblin Archer, the other a Goblin Warrior. The one who became a Goblin Archer was the female goblin I had a deep connection with. It seemed that watching me throw the dagger had awakened her to the true pleasure of ranged attacks, as she was overjoyed, holding a very crude-looking bow. The other was the one who had shown a fair bit of courage, contrary to his stated desire to learn my ruthlessness. In our clan, which was mostly filled with rather passive goblins, he seemed suitable to place at the vanguard.
Fortunately, my efforts to instill pride in the clan beforehand seemed to have paid off, as neither showed any intention of leaving. Instead, they were looking at me with eyes full of respect. The female goblin’s gaze, in particular, was making me flustered.
“But Chieftain. Kireuk. Why are we taking the human? Kireuk.”
“He’s definitely going to eat her alive. Kireuk. I heard some goblins like that.”
“The Chieftain doesn’t eat humans. I heard he only eats goblins who died in battle.”
“I heard it’s to console the spirits of the dead goblins.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at their words. I had no idea where that nonsense about consoling the dead had come from.
Smiling, I slowly walked on. Beside me, a woman, bound tightly, was glaring at me. I had fashioned a makeshift rope from vines found in the forest to tie her up and gag her, but tears streamed endlessly from her eyes.
After we had our fill at the site, we carried all the remaining bodies back to the encampment. As we drew closer, I could see several goblins murmuring as they sensed our approach.
“It’s them! The ones who went out earlier!”
“Kireuk! They brought back food! They brought humans!”
“There are so many! Kireuk.”
They all stared at us blankly, as if looking at heroes. My goblin subordinates, who hadn’t expected such a welcome, had smiles spreading across their faces.
“We are the Blood Dagger Clan! Kireuk!!!”
“The Blood Dagger Clan!”
“The Blood Dagger Clan has returned from the human hunt!”
“Our Chieftain is amazing!”
The five goblins, who had taken a liking to the name ‘Blood Dagger Clan,’ had been shouting it nonstop. One of them was the one who had just advanced to a Goblin Warrior. As they kept shouting and encouraging a response, the goblins following behind them also started shouting for no reason.
The female goblin who had evolved into an archer walked proudly beside me, her bow slung over her shoulder. She was sticking a little close, and because of that, I could hear the other goblins whispering.
“Mev is so pretty. I’m jealous of the Blood Dagger Clan’s Chieftain. She must be the most beautiful of all the Green Skins.”
“I’m so jealous. Kireuk.”
It turned out she was considered quite a beauty in the goblin world. Apparently, her beauty had exploded even further after evolving into a Goblin Archer. That must have been why she gave me such a fierce look when I rejected her offer to mate.
For now, it was none of my concern, but if she continued to evolve, there might be a good outcome, so I decided to keep a closer eye on this goblin named Mev.
And so, thirty goblins entered the encampment, carrying the corpses of humans. I was carrying the still-living woman, who kept squirming, either out of fear or anger, as the goblins continued to cheer.
It was just a minor battle, but the way they settled in after entering the camp, they looked like triumphant generals returning from a great victory. Their foolishness made me laugh a little.
In any case, the other goblins were craning their necks, watching us with curiosity, but none of them dared to touch our spoils. Had everyone been starving, it might have been a different story, but since they were already full, they acknowledged our prize. Of course, the fact that the Blood Dagger Clan’s strength had increased was also a reason.
Just as we were basking in the joy of our safe return, I saw a goblin, larger than the others, approaching me.