Five Goblins
A dark void, a space where a single crystal ball rested. A short distance away, a passage leading outward came into view.
"Is that it...?" Sihyun muttered, taking a slow step forward. He began to make his way through the passage.
A blindingly white space began to reveal itself. Standing in the center of it, Sihyun fell silent and scanned his surroundings. Soon after, Han Hyuk's voice echoed.
— You passed the first trial well enough. But the second trial still remains.
The second trial. It seemed it would take place right here in this white void. Han Hyuk's voice continued.
— It will be difficult. And... this is where most challengers die.
"But I won't die." Sihyun had committed his crimes while constantly dancing on the edge of death. He had crossed the boundary between life and death countless times. He was entirely confident.
— We shall see. That is not for you to decide. It is solely up to me.
Thud! Thud! Thud! In an instant, walls materialized along the passage of the white space, sealing it shut. It was now a completely enclosed room.
Screeech... From the center of the room, a tearing sound began to echo. *Crack, crack, crack.* It sounded as if the very fabric of space was being ripped apart like paper by unseen hands. And from that tear, slowly but surely—
Thud! A green hand gripped the edge of the tear, slowly dragging a body through.
"Kieeeeeeek!" Three or four monsters squeezed their way into the room. Looking at them, Sihyun blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Goblins?"
Kiek! Five goblins now stood before Sihyun, glaring at him with weapons in hand.
It was a highly cliché development. Hunting goblins for a first battle was a staple in the web novels Sihyun used to read. Among the countless "worlds" he had glimpsed before coming here, such scenarios were a dime a dozen. Usually, the protagonist would awaken as a Hunter and go on a winning streak. Goblins were the perfect benchmark for combat power.
However.
"This is ridiculous."
Though he was told he had awakened an Authority, he hadn't actually received any tangible power. He didn't even know what he had gained. All he had was...
"A single... dagger."
A dagger had materialized in his hand. As he stared down at it, Han Hyuk's voice rang out.
— I thought a dagger suited you best, so I placed it in your hand. How does it feel? Your very first choice of weapon since becoming an Absolute Proxy.
"It feels like absolute shit."
— Thanks for the compliment.
Sihyun quickly flipped the dagger into a reverse grip and assessed the formation of the five goblins. Looking at their positioning, they aren't coordinated at all. Are goblins just low-intelligence creatures? They seemed ready to charge blindly. Still, that was threatening enough. After all, Sihyun was just an ordinary serial killer.
*Dash!* He closed the distance rapidly.
*Kiek!* A goblin swung its blunt club.
*Clang!* The goblin's club collided with Sihyun's dagger. Sihyun deflected the blow slightly, forcing the club to swing harmlessly into empty air. Seizing the opening—*Slash!* He sliced open the goblin's shoulder.
*Kiek!* The goblin's arm went limp, dangling uselessly.
Just then, another goblin lunged, swinging a crude blade at Sihyun's head. *Whoosh!* He ducked, dodging the strike as the blade sliced through the space he had occupied a split second ago. *Slash!* He slit the throat of the blade-wielding goblin. Clutching its bleeding neck, the creature collapsed. That was one down. *Dash!* Sihyun leaped backward to reassess the situation.
*Kiek... Kiek... Kiek...* Realizing Sihyun was no easy prey, the remaining goblins hesitated, warily keeping their distance.
— Impressive. Your ability to pick them off one by one is quite extraordinary. You really are something else.
"Shut up, Han Hyuk."
— But you still have a long way to go. You are weak.
"..." Knowing the man would keep babbling regardless of what he said, Sihyun decided to ignore him entirely.
Four goblins were still glaring at him. Sihyun adjusted his grip on the dagger. "..." He focused his gaze on them. I feel like I'm starting to understand something... A strange sensation washed over him. As he stared intently at the monsters, he felt a faint, thin white presence... He couldn't quite put his finger on it. For now, he had to focus on the fight.
*Dash!* He lunged forward again and slit another goblin's throat. Enraged, the remaining three goblins charged at once. *Dash! Dash! Dash!* Sihyun retreated rapidly, stepping back again and again, before using the wall to pivot and evade their attacks. Infuriated by his agility, the goblins stamped their feet and let out furious screeches. "Kreeeeeeek!"
"That's it, keep getting mad." *Pant, pant, pant...* His breath was growing heavy. Fatigue was starting to set in.
— Tired already? What a weakling. A foolish proxy.
"I told you to shut up..."
— At this rate, you will die.
"...I won't..."
— Indeed. You are the Absolute Proxy, the talent I personally chose. You must not die. If you do, I will personally obliterate your very soul.
"..." It was a terrifyingly real threat.
*Dash!* He lunged at one of them once more. In that split second, he saw something resembling a line. A thin white line connecting him to the goblin. It was as if the line was predicting and tracing the trajectory of their movements. Surrendering his body to that line, he made a subtle movement—
Conditions for One Flash have been met.
Before Sihyun even realized he had swung his blade, his body had already moved with blinding speed, precisely slashing the goblin's weak point. A brilliant white light burst forth, enveloping both him and the goblin in a radiant glow. It was a skill. One Flash. That simple yet devastatingly elegant strike had found its mark.
"So this is... the power of an Absolute! This is fucking awesome!" Sihyun shouted in pure exhilaration. Just then, Han Hyuk's dry, unimpressed voice echoed throughout the space.
— Foolish. It is a mediocre skill at best. I can use techniques a hundred times stronger than that.
"...Unbelievable. You really have a talent for raining on someone's parade." All that was left was to finish off the remaining two goblins. It would be a piece of cake. Just as he was focusing his mind to trigger One Flash again—
*Crack...* The space tore open once more.
— I am sorry, Proxy, but do not think you will pass this trial so easily.
*Crack...* A massive, muscular red hand emerged from the tear.
— The path of an Absolute is long and treacherous. It can never be attained through simple means.
*Creeeeack!* The space shattered as if being crushed, and from the wreckage, a massive, dark-red figure of a giant goblin emerged.
— Therefore, you must overcome this trial with your life on the line. Now, show me what you can do.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!* Standing at least three meters tall, a Goblin Champion stood before him, snorting hot breath as it glared down at him.
A sudden chill ran down his spine. Pure, unadulterated bloodlust filled the air. *Boom!* The Goblin Champion slammed its club—which was easily one and a half times its own height—into the ground.
"Ugh...!" The shockwave distorted the space so violently that Sihyun found it hard to even stand. "How the hell am I supposed to beat that...!"
Just a short while ago, Sihyun had struggled against a mere half-dozen police officers. Defeating a monster like this with only a single basic skill like One Flash seemed utterly impossible. How on earth was he supposed to pull this off...?
*Thud! Thud! Thud!* "Fuck!" He felt a flicker of fear. But at the same time, a laugh escaped his lips. A murderous intent that completely eclipsed his fear took hold of him.
"Yeah, this is it. This is what I'm talking about." He gripped his dagger tightly. His gaze grew incredibly sharp as he glared at the beast. Tensing the muscles in his legs before exploding forward—*Dash!* He lunged straight at the monster.
*Clang! *Clang! *Clang!* He deflected the Goblin Champion's energy bolts with ease. It seemed the creature's magical attacks weren't all that formidable, considering he could parry them so easily.
"Fuuu—!" As the Goblin Champion swung its massive club again, Sihyun leaped backward to dodge. The sheer force of the swing sent a dizzying shockwave through the air, whipping up a violent gale. "Terrifying!" he muttered, though his face wore a manic grin.
He took a light breath in and exhaled slowly. In that instant, the air around him seemed to settle into a profound calm. The flow of time slowed down. The Goblin Champion's movements became crystal clear.
Conditions for One Flash have been met.
A faint, reddish glow began to emanate from Sihyun's eyes. It was a form of "energy," though not one he could properly control yet. It was a power unleashed unconsciously, born from his hyper-focus in a life-or-death situation. But because that energy was concentrated in his eyes, he could clearly see the "line" to execute One Flash. The thin white line stretched from his body and connected directly to the Goblin Champion's heart.
*Step... step... step...* Sihyun moved with incredible speed. Yet, from his perspective, his movements felt slow, precise, and deliberate.
*Dash!* The moment he reached the line, he aligned the trajectory of his dagger with it. One Flash was unleashed.
Even before the thought of slashing crossed his mind, his body had already moved in perfect harmony, dodging all of the beast's attacks. By the time he realized he had struck, he had already slashed the monster's heart twice, delivering a final, fatal blow to its neck, unleashing a torrent of dark blood.
Soon after... *Gurgle...* The Goblin Champion gasped, coughing up blood as it collapsed. Looking at the fallen beast, Sihyun snapped out of his trance. The hyper-focused state that had slowed down his perception vanished. *Whoosh!* The sound of rushing air flooded back into his ears. The ambient noise returned to normal speed, and Sihyun gasped for breath.
"Pant... pant..." Having consumed an immense amount of energy, his body was utterly exhausted. Staggering, he cried out, "I did it...!" He had won.
— You have passed the second trial. Well done. You actually know how to handle yourself.
"Damn right, you bastard! Do you have any idea how many people I've fucking killed? Probably more than you!"
— No, that is incorrect. My count is at least in the hundreds of millions.
"...Fuck..." Since it was a claim he couldn't possibly refute, Sihyun had nothing to say.
Just as he thought it was finally over—*Snap!* A sharp sound echoed. It was the sound of someone snapping their fingers. At that moment, a short distance away from Sihyun, Han Hyuk materialized, clad in his blood-stained red dobok. As always, the man with the severe scar on his cheek and a menacingly twisted expression smirked at him. Han Hyuk, the Absolute of the S.Y.S. Dimension Bureau, grinned.
"Well done. Having safely passed both the first and second trials, I suppose you believe you've survived."
"..."
Han Hyuk drew a katana. The blade materialized out of thin air, settling perfectly into his grip. As he gave it a light flick, a low, vibrating hum resonated through the air, as if the very space around them was warping. One look was all it took to know—he was on an entirely different level from Sihyun.
Han Hyuk spoke slowly. "But it is too early to celebrate. There is still a third trial remaining."
"And what is the third trial?"
"Survive a single strike from me."
"...What?"
Han Hyuk let out a weary sigh and opened his mouth. "I will repeat myself."
It was an unbelievable demand.
"Survive a single attack from me."
And it was an impossible task.