Black Flame Dragon's Incarnation and Goblin (2)
Black Flame Dragon's Incarnation and Goblin (2)
#
The map of the route to the Witch House had been partially erased. In other words, filling it in would get me that much more pay. Come to think of it, Lize had mentioned something like that too.
'Ah, Yoo-jin. Would you perhaps be needing something like this?'
As she spoke, Lize had held out a small box.
'What is it?'
'Well, this is...'
A soft whisper, as if telling me to come closer. She gestured as though she didn't want anyone else to hear.
'This is an artifact that draws the terrain onto your map. You just hold it over the map at the right spot, and—ta-da! The pen inside moves on its own and draws the picture like this! Normally, this would be about 25 silver... but right now, I'll give it to you for 22 silver!'
'Ah, no. I don't think I really need it. Where I'm headed isn't that far...'
'You may not need it now, but! A promising adventurer like Yoo-jin is bound to head into the deep floors later, isn't that right? Think of it as an initial investment! It's only been on the market a short while, so I can cut you a deal like this, but who knows what the demand will be like later? By then, you won't be able to get it even if you want it!'
Lize fired off the pitch like a machine gun. The harder she pushed, the more my desire to buy evaporated! She even shifted her necktie aside to give me a subtle glimpse of her cleavage...
'No. I don't need it... I'll be going now. See you later...'
I said that and hurried out of the reception area. I thought I heard Lize clicking her tongue behind me, but it must have been my imagination. It had to be my imagination....
It couldn't be helped, because it really was an item I didn't need. If I wanted to draw a map, all I had to do was overlay the minimap UI onto the map and trace it.
Lize's attitude felt strangely familiar... Right. With only a little exaggeration, she had the aggressive salesmanship of a pushy cell-phone dealer. Life in another world wasn't so different after all.
-Rustle.
The sound of underbrush being parted came from somewhere.
The claim that the terrain changed was clearly not an empty statement. Trees that hadn't been there before dotted the landscape, and weeds that had barely reached the knees now stood waist-high. If the area had been a meadow suitable for an outing before, now it was a swamp of weeds I had to push through.
Come to think of it, hadn't they said that not just the terrain but the monsters' habitats changed too? Carnivorous rabbits had rampaged around here before, I thought. If that was the case, then now...
"Kee-shah-shah-shahk!!!!"
Goblins.
The goblins had reappeared.
The first time I'd encountered goblins in this other world had been in that Goblin Fucker's dungeon. But these guys gave off a different vibe from those.
Filthy green skin, long noses and ears. Vile eyes and a mess of teeth. Their appearance wasn't much different from back then. But their equipment was. They carried edged weapons from who-knew-where. Swords, sickles, and clubs studded with spikes. So rusted that any wound would risk infection.
Hell, there was even a glint of intelligence in their eyes.
"Kee-rrrrk... kee-shahk... ker-rrrk..."
The proof was in how they constantly exchanged glances with the ones around them as they slowly tried to encircle me. They even lowered their stances to keep their heads from sticking out of the underbrush. Natural camouflage, composed of green skin and grass.
I could tell immediately that these were different from the monsters I'd encountered before. Come to think of it, they'd said monsters in surface dungeons were pathetic compared with those in the Great Labyrinth. The ones I'd met before were simply idiots that charged straight ahead.
Put another way, the ones I'd fought until now had been small fries.
"...."
Now the bastards had even silenced their voices, slowly matching their pace as they surrounded me. It was time to shove the minimap into a corner and focus on what was in front of me.
I drew my sword. Not the Holy Sword I always held, but an ordinary iron sword I'd brought along. The awkward feel of the grip heightened the tension. Real combat, faced entirely alone, without Reni or Yuri.
The creatures lowered their stances even further when I pulled out the blade. No more murmuring now. Only silence filled the standoff.
-Vwooooong!
I activated Vibrating Hand. I'd never seen Sword Aura firsthand, but judging from the descriptions, it was probably similar to the Super Vibration Blade I used.
-Pee-yoooooong!!!
A strange bursting sound rang out as the sword's vibration intensified. A definite difference from the Holy Sword. But by no means a bad one. The family armory, was it? A genuinely usable piece had landed in my hands.
"Kerrrr..."
I could feel the goblins tensing up at that eerie resonating sound.
Good. This seemed doable. With cutting power that sliced through trees like tofu, one per strike...
-Ping!
"..." "..."
...The sword broke?
#
-Ping!
"Well, fuck."
The sword broke.
I'd used Super Vibration Blade as usual, but the blade made a pee-yoong sound and shattered into pieces.
Shit! Right! I'd heard of something like this! What was it called? If an object's natural frequency matched, resonance or something could cause it to shatter!
Like how the Techno Mart building almost collapsed because of a group fitness workout called Tae Bo at the health club, or something?
But damn it all, that phenomenon just had to apply to the sword I brought! Who could've known!!!!!
"Kerrrrk?"
Apparently, I wasn't the only one incredulous. The goblins looked around at each other with blank expressions.
"Kerrk. Kerrk. Kerrrrk."
"Uh, um. Goblins? Can't we talk this out?"
"Sonuvabitch. Moron. Serves right. Kill."
"You sons of bitches."
With those words, they rushed me. These fucking bastards! Like the petty little shits that epitomized the Strong Against the Weak, Weak Against the Strong passive, they attacked me from every direction at once!
"Die!"
-Crunch!
First, I drove my fist into the face of the goblin charging from the front. Perhaps because my Strength was several times that of an ordinary person, my punch transformed its face into something that had once been a face with a sickening crunch. Yes! Real-time Polymorph!
"You ugly little shits! I'll give you all group plastic surgery today!"
"Kieeek! Moron! Bigot!"
"Where the hell'd you learn a word like that! Kh-heck?!"
A horrifying sensation slipped through a gap in my armor. The damn bastard had bitten my elbow!
"Kee-eh-ehhh!"
"Hhk!"
One after another, the goblins grabbed my legs and clung to me.
"Y-you goddamn shits!"
My Strength was high, but when five goblins at a time swarmed my arms and legs, I inevitably reached my limit. Goblins were trash mobs, but there was no answer to sheer numbers! No matter how much of a Zealot I was, I couldn't defeat ten Zerglings!
"Kee-eh-ehhk!"
"Agh! You dog bastards! Biting me with your filthy teeth!"
The moment blood sprayed, the scent drove the goblins to claw at me even more furiously. As if realizing bladed weapons wouldn't work, they tore at me like mad, trying to rip off my armor. Like they were trying to rape me!
"Meat! Eat yummy meat!"
And before me, a goblin that looked like the leader was charging, wielding a rusty sword! W-was I seriously screwed right now?! If I became goblin food like this, the girls would....
"!!!"
Fuck! That couldn't happen! In that case...!
[Electric Finger]
"Kee-eh-eh-eh-eh-ehhhk!!!!!"
"Grrraaaaaaah!!!!!"
I wrapped Electric Finger around both hands and feet and flailed my limbs wildly! Electricity also ran through my body wherever the goblins touched me, making me feel as though I were inside a microwave. My skin itched from underneath!
When I used Electric Finger to caress my girls, its output was automatically limited. When I used it on myself, however, no such limiter existed; the maximum output went straight into me. That was why I'd always been careful about using it in combat, but this time I had no room to hold back.
My hair must have become a lightning-strike perm by now. I could almost smell something like burning protein.
The only saving grace was that the goblins weren't particularly good conductors, so a hefty portion of the electric shock had been attenuated.
"Grrrhhh..."
"Kee-rrrk... kee-rrrk..."
"You sons of bitches... I just bought this armor today..."
Staggering, I managed to look around. The area was full of twitching goblins.
The one with the sword had gone flying after my electric-shock kick, but even so, being the leader-type, it had staggered back up and was still aiming its blade at me.
But I'd also been hit by my own electric shock and was in a state where movement was considerably difficult. If we clashed head-on like this, it'd be injury at best, death at worst. No. I couldn't let that happen.
Carefully, I predicted the path the bastard was likely to charge along.
"Kee-eh-ehhhk!!!"
Good. Like the monster it was, it charged honestly without a single feint!
"Kee-ehhk?!"
I kicked up dirt to block its vision, and the creature hesitated. I had been waiting for that instant. I immediately summoned Invisible Hand and seized it by the throat.
"Kerrrrrrk!"
The goblin leader dropped its sword and clawed frantically at Invisible Hand. It was useless. No matter how violently it abused the hand, I felt nothing through it.
When I first acquired Invisible Hand, I'd despaired over the lack of tactile feedback. Now, however, I was grateful that I did not have to feel that filthy creature.
"Son of a bitch! Let go! Let go!"
Even its legs flailed as the goblin thrashed. And there, through a gap in its hide rags, I saw something foul dangling and swinging.
"You son of a bitch. What're you showing me... You're dead."
Blood and the thrill of battle. The realization that I might have died, and the slight fear born from that realization. Madness born from fear. The madness consumed me.
I picked up the rusty sword the goblin had dropped.
"You shitheads... where do you get off charging at me with your filthy ugly mugs? You need to be exterminated."
"Krrrr... Krrrk! Son of a bitch! Moron!"
"Time for a mass neutering."
"...Kerrrk?"
I tightened my grip on the sword.
...
"Kee-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-ehhhk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Gya-ooooooooooooh-ooohhhk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Reh-hweh-eh-eh-eh-eh-ehhhk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"