The Little Beast and Savage Beak (1)

Thrillzhak.

He was, in a word, a mutant.

A goblin so clever his intelligence surpassed even that of humans.

He was sharper than any goblin, tougher than any goblin.

And yet, at the same time—

He was more wretched than anyone alive.

"Kruk!"

Thrillzhak let out a low growl as he dredged up the humiliation of that day. The scar that had carved through one of his eyes still seemed to throb.

He spoke as if chewing the words to pieces.

"I... am great."

The great grand shaman Thrillzhak.

He would carve into the history of this continent exactly what kind of being he was.

"Kyaaaaaaak!"

Thrillzhak curled the corner of his mouth as he gazed at the flames embroidering the pitch-black night sky.

Ten years of preparation.

The time had come to take revenge for every day spent in humiliation and disgrace.

Now the continent would burn like that sky.

And today was the beginning.

"Sky... essence... take...!"

"Kruk!"

"Kieeek!"

As Thrillzhak's staff glowed with an eerie light, the goblins' pupils flooded red.

"Kieeeek!"

"Krwa-krwa!"

In an instant, the goblins—steeped in madness—began to pursue Savage Beak.

And a few hours before Savage Beak and Thrillzhak met—

"Grrngh!"

A small beast with leopard-spotted fur was toddling through the underbrush.

A tiny but fierce baby predator with a wolf's keen sense of smell and a rabbit's nimble movements!

That was me.

I pressed my body flat against the ground and watched the front carefully.

There stood a humanoid monster.

The ones who had come after Big Bro Beak's hideout ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were goblins.

Their levels were a full twelve.

I would have been shocked before, but not anymore. Thanks to leveling up to four after catching that crow, I could see their detailed information.

What now?

Using my small frame, I hid in the brush and watched them.

There were quite a few. And they were searching the undergrowth like they'd read a martial arts novel, casting a net of heaven and earth.

They'd already ransacked Big Bro Beak's nest and realized the spiritual medicine was gone. As their encirclement slowly tightened across the entire forest, I finally understood how a protagonist being chased by the Demonic Cult must feel.

"Grrn."

But you clumsy monsters.

When it comes to nets of heaven and earth, this body—a former aspiring novelist—knows far better than you.

It means you're ten years too early to catch this tiger.

Go!

Using it so often had raised the skill's level. The muscle fibers woven into my special body tightened taut, and my body—poised for ambush—shot toward the goblin like a bullet.

"Kruk?!"

Puhak!

My claws, aimed at a gap in his breathing, sank into the goblin's windpipe. The goblin, realizing too late, raised a crude blade—but the fight was already over.

Thud. Drag, drag, drag.

"Kruk?"

I dragged the goblin scout, still wheezing a deflated scream through his punctured throat, into the brush. A few nearby goblins glanced over, but I hadn't been spotted yet.

Idiots!

A net of heaven and earth is something only martial artists who can sense qi can pull off. It's not a tactic half-baked monsters like you can copy!

"Chomp chomp chomp chomp!"

Ahh, that's the stuff!

I took the goblins down one by one, using Predation in between to raise my level. Doing it this way also restored some of my stamina, so it was very safe.

This wasn't a tightening net at all—it was an infinite respawn EXP event!

Big Bro Beak! Just hang on a little longer!

I allowed myself a bit of leisure at the goblins' surprisingly clumsy movements, imagining my reunion with Big Bro Beak.

Oh my, little brother! What on earth happened here?

When ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Big Bro Beak arrives, shocked by the goblin corpses strewn everywhere, I'll tell him:

Nothing... happened at all!

That was the dream I had.

A refreshing scene where, like a novel's protagonist, I brilliantly break through the net of heaven and earth and wipe them out instead.

"Kruk!"

"Kieeek! Kiek!"

"Grrngh...!"

But reality, as always, was tougher than expected.

Had I underestimated them too much? They couldn't even communicate properly, so I'd let my guard down. They didn't even keep basic two-man teams, so I thought they were just trash mobs.

Who would have imagined that was their strategy?

"Kruuk!"

Whoosh! An arrow from a goblin archer sliced past me with a sound of cutting wind. I barely dodged it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with the Sensitivity I'd gained from the rabbit and fled, only for—

Slash! This time a goblin warrior's blade came crashing in from the front.

"Grrngh!"

I instantly activated Leg Strength Enhancement, stealing their rhythm as I dove in. Then I swung my right foot with everything I had.

Puhak!

Over my front paw, swung from a distance, a shadow-like form draped itself. A predator's foreleg sheathed in refined muscle.

The goblin warrior was torn apart helplessly by the claws of a great tiger that had achieved Gigantification.

"Kruuk!"

As the goblin beside him was shredded by a slash that shot out like sword qi, even a goblin warrior had no choice but to back away in fear. He retreated, swinging his sword defensively.

But in the moment he hesitated, I had already slipped inside and was biting into his thigh.

What you're looking at is my afterimage, you bastard!

This was the advantage of Instant Transformation. With my size flipping at will, they could barely gauge my position.

"Krwa!!"

"Ptooey!"

Disgustingly foul!

I roughly chewed the goblin flesh that had entered my mouth and ran with my back to him.

Thwip! Thwip thwip!

The merciless goblin archers' arrows immediately pursued me. The goblin warrior made an excellent meat shield, blocking the arrows in my place.

Thud—the one who'd blocked the arrows collapsed limply, but I couldn't celebrate. As his blood spread on the wind—

"Kruk!"

The other goblins' eyes flooded red, and they madly chased after me.

That's right.

Goblins weren't martial artists, so they had no sense of qi. But they had the wildness unique to monsters—the ability to track the scent of blood.

To those lunatic goblins, a scout was nothing more and nothing less than a suicide bomber who died first to reveal the location.

These—these crazy bastards!

I panted heavily as I dove into the brush. Gigantification was great and all, but it burned through way too much stamina. It wasn't a great skill for dealing with goblins that poured out endlessly no matter how many I killed.

And on top of that—

The goblin archers and warriors had higher levels than the scouts.

Damn them!

If there's a Demonic Cult in this world, it's the goblins.

So this is why they go on about nets of heaven and earth?

I suddenly respect martial arts masters. How the hell did they escape this?

Dirty bastards! Come at me one-on-one!

Of course, I'll still ambush you.

"Grrrngh!"

I laid down a low infrasound and lowered my body. This low-frequency sound tended to spread wide, which actually made it harder to pinpoint my location. The goblins would get scared by the fierce predator's breathing right next to them and run away.

......

"Kruk! Kruk!"

"Kieeeek!"

Or not. Damn it.

Still, something was off. The goblins with bloodshot eyes chasing the scent of blood clearly weren't normal. Were monsters always like this?

Even so, losing all reason and trying to kill me is going too far! Are you zombies? Is this not fantasy but an apocalypse?!

I killed the goblins in front of me one by one as I ran forward as fast as I could.

.

.

.

Damn it. I miss you, Big Bro Beak.

My stamina was reaching its limit. Things might get really dangerous now...

I don't know when I started relying on someone else.

I steeled myself. These weak thoughts keep coming because I'm a modern person. If I were a real tiger, I would have made those goblins clearly understand who the master of this mountain is.

So think. How can I survive?

...Is that really the only way?

Usually, the method protagonists in martial arts novels use when in crisis is "growth." Accidentally falling off a cliff and finding a fortuitous encounter. Getting stabbed and collapsing, only to break through their limits.

In my case...

Well, I did have one method that would allow that kind of "growth."

I calmly regulated my breathing and watched their movements. I had come deep into a forest I'd never been to before, and the problem was that the area was full of goblins. I didn't know how long I could keep running like this.

Naturally, I couldn't help but think of the trump card I'd held in reserve.

But.

A last resort should only be used as a last resort. I don't know why. The protagonists survived that way, so I'm just following along.

And soon, I would understand the reason.

"Kyaaaaaaak!"

A piercing, high-pitched cry rang out from the sky.

He's here!

I jerked my head up.

It was astonishing. A thrill ran through my entire body, a feeling of dopamine flooding my system.

Whoosh!

The sky was turning red. The roar of an enraged bird of prey crushed the air, and the surrounding goblins were swept away at once by powerful wingbeats.

Truly overwhelming martial might.

I couldn't help but wonder if that was really Big Bro Beak.

Boom!

"Gyaaang!"

Holy crap!

I greeted him with joy. I was so happy that if I could write novels again, I'd want to make Big Bro Beak the protagonist.

Then—

"Kyaaaaaaaaak!!"

Landing on the ground, he unleashed a roar of pure rage directed at me.

Guardian of the Essence?

I looked up blankly at the predator wreathed in flames.

Bro...?