Chapter 7: The Second Evolution
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 7: The Second Evolution
Watching the man run, I glanced back toward the ongoing battle. I had considered the possibility that he might have the courage to run back and warn them it was a trap, but it seemed he wasn't that brave.
The sight of him shouting that he was on their side was almost laughable. If he was going to act like that, I figured I could use him a couple more times. I called Mev over and spoke quietly.
“Mev.”
“Yes? What is it, Chieftain?”
“Go to Goff and tell him not to kill that woman.”
“Ah… okay…”
Her voice was hesitant, and her gaze was strange. It was the look of someone who truly thought I had peculiar tastes. I spoke to her again.
“It’s not because of any peculiar tastes. Don’t think like that. Just go deliver the message and come right back. If you keep doing a good job, I’ll reward you well.”
“Ah!… Okay! Kkireuk! Kkireuk! I’ll work hard!”
Perhaps it was the influence of being in a goblin’s body, but Mev looked surprisingly cute as she giggled, “Kkireuk, kkireuk.” I then took my subordinates and began to pursue the man who had fled.
“Chieftain… we don’t get to fight? Kkireuk… I want to fight, too.”
“Leave this side to the others. Just follow me.”
“I want to fight, but I will obey the Chieftain’s command. Kkireuk.”
He looked a little dissatisfied, but his jaw would drop when he saw what was about to happen. The man was frantically changing his path as he fled. Judging by the sword and shield he carried, he seemed to have completed his class change into a basic warrior. However, his senses weren’t very sharp, as he hadn’t noticed us yet. It wasn’t surprising, given that we were tailing him from a considerable distance, maintaining a fixed gap.
After running for a long time, we finally arrived at a camp.
‘Bingo.’
I couldn’t help but smile. My goblin subordinates, knowing they had to be quiet, did their best to hide their excitement.
“We wait here.”
“Kkireuk… Kkireuk… Understood.”
We quietly set up an ambush near the entrance. As expected, the man who had fled first was shouting loudly.
“We’re leaving this place! We’re getting out of here right now!”
Not a bad choice. Now that he’d been found out, putting as much distance between us and them as possible was the right move. The people he’d brought with him were likely his most capable fighters, so this would be a huge loss of combat power. Just as I predicted, they hastily packed their things and started heading for the entrance. Of course, “things” mostly consisted of the fruit and food they’d eaten yesterday, but they clutched it all as if it were precious.
This was clearly a group with the will to fight, as even those without swords and shields were holding crude wooden spears.
Mev, who had arrived at some point, began to draw the string of her bow, nocking something that could barely be called an arrow. The moment she fired, the camouflaged goblins would spring out from both sides.
“Move, move! Dammit… Dammit…”
And then, Mev’s arrow flew toward the man named Kim Hangyul. Like the class-advanced warrior he was, he quickly raised his shield to block it… but he seemed utterly unprepared for the goblins that came rushing out next.
“Go!!!”
“Kkireuk!! Kkireuk!!! We are the Blood Dagger Clan!!! Kkireuk!!!”
“Kkireuk… Charge!”
As I and the first of my five most loyal goblins to evolve charged forward, the humans holding crude spears began to panic. The attack began with a thrown dagger, and their formation crumbled in an instant.
From the dense undergrowth, goblins shorter than the grass itself continuously thrust their swords and daggers, sending some of the humans into a complete panic. With our green skin and camouflage, many died without ever knowing where the attacks were coming from.
“Kkireuk!! Kkireuk!!”
“Aaaaaaaargh!!!!”
Deciding that a vanguard was needed rather than fighting from hiding like in the first battle had been a good choice. Thanks to that, I seemed to have created an environment where the others could run wild. I took the sword in my hand and slit the throat of a man thrusting a wooden spear at me. Blood sprayed out, drenching my face.
I grabbed his wooden spear and threw it at a man a little farther away. Power surged through my arm as the spear pierced one of his eyes, pinning him to the ground.
“Aaaaaaaargh!!!!!”
“Our Chieftain is strong!!”
The head and body of the goblin who had been cheering at the sight were separated. The one who had killed the goblin was the class-advanced human. I immediately raised my sword and rushed him.
The physical abilities I’d gained from evolving into a Goblin Warrior weren’t bad. Neither of us had any formal training, and we had both likely just completed our class changes. The human’s stats were probably a little better than mine, but comparing me to a newcomer who had just arrived here was an insult to my experience. I may have been third-rate, but my experience was real. I may have been weak, but after surviving for ten years, I was different from these guys who had just been thrown into this world.
“You fucking monster!! Die!!!”
He must have instinctively realized I was the one in charge, because he rushed toward me, swinging his sword. But it was sloppy. I precisely struck his sword with the hilt of my own crude one, then drove my blade straight through his neck.
“Kegh… kegh… kegh…”
“You should always keep your shield up, you idiot.”
“The Chieftain!! He got the human leader!!!”
“The Chieftain of the Blood Dagger Clan got the human leader!!”
The goblins continued to fight, cutting down humans or tearing at them with their teeth. I glanced back and saw Mev hastily firing arrows. As the battle raged on, I kept track of how many I’d killed, and a piece of information surfaced in my mind.
[Quest - Let’s Go Hunting!: Many humans still survive in the Tutorial Forest. Continue to hunt them. (29/30)]
There was just one spot left. I quickly moved and swung my sword at a man who was still resisting.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
His scream echoed, but I was far more excited for the voice I would hear in my ear moments later.
[Quest Complete.]
[Quest - Let’s Go Hunting!: Many humans still survive in the Tutorial Forest. Continue to hunt them. (30/30)]
[Excellent. You have defeated a class-advanced human with a crude strategy! A special class is now available. You have successfully completed the second quest. You will rank up as a quest reward. Please select a species to evolve into.]
[1. Intermediate Goblin Warrior]
[2. Goblin Assassin]
[3. Hobgoblin Warrior]
[Special. Goblin Commander]
Just as I expected. The first thing I felt was relief that I wouldn’t have to live as a goblin forever. For now, it was only a Hobgoblin, but if I kept gaining experience, I felt I could soon evolve into a decent species. It was more advantageous to evolve into a species that resembled a human as much as possible, rather than mindless brutes like Trolls or Ogres. The best choice was to aim for a body with proportions most similar to my old one. I might have to infiltrate a city someday, so I absolutely had to evolve into a similar species. For hot-blooded guys like Goff, being an Ogre wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t my style.
I began to mull over the four options. In my past life, my class was ‘Intermediate Swordsman.’
If I took the warrior path, there was a high chance I would eventually become a swordsman like before. There was the bonus of ‘Evolution,’ but it was still the most likely outcome. The problem was whether being like before was good enough. With my past experience, it was a given that I would become stronger, but having felt my own limits, I couldn’t help but be dissatisfied.
Even so, the problem was that none of the other options were particularly appealing. Option 1 showed that I could continue to upgrade my abilities as a goblin, but my small frame was a definite limitation. Right now, I had to evolve into a higher species no matter what.
The same went for the assassin. A goblin’s body, slightly smaller than a human’s, was decent for an assassin, and if I continued down that path, I could become strong enough to see it through to the end. But I couldn’t stay in a goblin’s body forever. In fact, I hated the idea of staying in a goblin’s body.
That left the ‘Special’ Commander and the Hobgoblin Warrior, which would let me evolve into a higher species. The choice was obvious. It wasn’t that Commander was unappealing, but I had no particular strengths in leadership. For now, personal strength had to come first. The same went for the Intermediate Goblin Warrior. It would make me stronger in the short term, but for someone with my vast experience, it offered no real long-term merit.
Right now, taking the higher species evolution path was the most advantageous. I stopped deliberating and immediately pressed 3. Just like before, a creaking sound began to emanate from my body. My muscles expanded, and my body instantly grew heavy, as if it had absorbed water.
“Ugh…”
But the evolution process was fast. Soon, I began to feel that my body was a little larger than a goblin’s. My line of sight was a little higher. My skin, now a duller shade of green, greeted me. Naturally, my forearms were much thicker, too. My equipment hadn’t changed, but that didn’t matter for now. Once I got to the continent, I’d be able to use better items.
“Ah…”
My voice was a little different, too. I could feel that I had definitely gotten stronger. If I had chosen Intermediate Goblin Warrior, I might have been able to move my mana circuit, even if only slightly. As a Hobgoblin Warrior, it seemed I couldn’t move my mana yet. I could feel a faint sense of it deep inside, likely due to my experience, but it seemed my proficiency was still at zero.
It would be difficult, but if I trained, I could probably become an Intermediate Warrior and then evolve.
I glanced around and saw a few others who had finished evolving, jumping around excitedly. They had all chosen Goblin Warrior or Archer.
“I changed, just like the old Chieftain!”
“I’m a vicious and valiant Goblin Warrior, just like the old Chieftain!”
“I’m an archer, like Mev!”
It would have been nice if a few had chosen shaman… It was a little disappointing, but I felt it wasn’t my place to dictate such things. Even if I forced them to become shamans, it was unlikely to be effective if they didn’t have the aptitude for it. Mev was a bit smarter than the others, but the rest were on the dumber side.
Having them become shamans would be a disaster for us.
In any case, the chattering goblins looked at me with surprised eyes as I slowly rose to my feet. As expected, they started making a huge fuss.
“Kkireuk!! Kkireuk!! The Chieftain turned into a Hobgoblin!!”
“Our Chieftain is a Hobgoblin!!”
“He is the King of Goblins!”
Leaving the cheers of the somewhat cute creatures behind me, I began to look for promising individuals. Unfortunately, it seemed Mev and one of the five loyal ones still needed a few more kills to evolve. The loyal one was overjoyed to see my evolution, while Mev puffed out her cheeks, as if the distance between us had grown.
However, seeing her tentatively approach, it seemed that, for better or worse, she would continue to make advances on me. I turned to my clan members and spoke.
“Secure the humans and clean up the area. We’re heading back.”
“Kkireuk…!! Kkireuk!!”
“Understood!! Understood!!”
“Victory! Victory!!”
I walked in silence. My growth rate was fast. Naturally, I couldn’t be anything but pleased. If I could evolve into a decent species and obtain a good unique ability during this tutorial, I wouldn’t be treated as one of the weak on the continent.