Storm Growth
I draw the sashimi knife. Unwrap the bandages. Raise my Chegi. Combat Power: 790. Then I observe.
Mocking voices drift over from the side.
"Hey, buddy. You came to kill goblins with just a sashimi knife?"
"Do goblins look like humans to you? That tiny blade won't kill a single one."
I ignore them.
"You're right, Mr. Incompetent. If you don't want to die, don't stray from my side. That's how you'll survive. You look like the type who'd rather call for backup while shaking in fear, so you'd better stick close."
I keep ignoring them and observe. I scan for any goblin I can actually beat. Every single one has a combat power over 1,000. Not one below that threshold exists. Winning is realistically impossible.
But who am I? Fantasia's Fighting Dog. Fantasia's greatest fantasy. I dream of fantasy. The kind of fantasy that could actually happen in reality.
Whoosh!
"Ah, Mr. Incompetent! Charging in alone like that is dangerous!"
I rush the goblin with 1,002 combat power. Can I win? No. But if it's Baek Ji-hwan, maybe. As party leader, he'll try to protect me and be forced to use short-range teleportation to chase after and strike the goblin.
Slash!
"Acting alone is dangerous, do you understand?"
Baek Ji-hwan appears in front of me via short-range teleportation and swings his sword. A long, deep wound opens across the goblin's chest.
"Kiraak!"
Baek Ji-hwan is surprisingly clever. If he'd appeared from behind for a surprise attack, the goblin might have spun around and counterattacked. Appearing from the front instead startles it into freezing up. The goblin still seems confused about what just happened. It wobbles, then drops to its knees.
"Now, Mr. Incompetent. Let's get back in formation. Even if the goblins surround us, it'll be much safer—"
"It's not dead yet."
"What?"
Getting careless after thinking the enemy is dead is something you only need to do once. I don't make the same mistake twice in my life.
Whoosh!
I pivot at a right angle in front of Baek Ji-hwan, dodge past him, and swing the sashimi knife at the goblin behind. Target: the neck.
Slash!
Previous Combat Power: 420
Opponent Combat Power: 1,002
Combat Power Difference: 582
You have defeated an opponent who was nearly impossible to beat. Your combat power has increased significantly.
Combat Power Change: 420 → 920
And when I apply Chegi—
Combat Power: 1,750
Done. Now it's my time.
"Kieeeek!"
One goblin charges at Baek Ji-hwan in a frenzy. It must think he killed its kin rather than me landing the finishing blow.
Combat Power: 1,390
It was the strongest among the goblins. But to human eyes that can't see combat power, it's just another goblin.
"How dare a mere goblin charge without fearing for its life!"
Baek Ji-hwan vanishes again, probably using short-range teleportation. There's no better ambush than striking an enraged opponent's back. At least he's human enough to exploit openings.
But the combat power difference is 388? Even the Banana Men who died to a single punch of mine didn't have that kind of gap.
"What?!"
The goblin is frenzied, but no matter how stupid, when combat power registers that high, it gains corresponding instincts. It saw Baek Ji-hwan teleport once—did he really think it'd fall for the same trick again? Not a chance.
The goblin spins around and grabs Baek Ji-hwan by the collar.
"Kieek!"
It clenches its fist, ready to smash it into his face.
Part of me wants to mess with him a little. All goblins are the same, huh?Puhaha! Does this look like just another goblin to you? This is why you shouldn't be a brain-dead, crippled idiot. But I can't play games when lives are on the line. Baek Ji-hwan might be a bastard, but he's just an idiot, not a malicious one.
Thud!
I drive the sashimi knife into the goblin's arm. The arm clutching Baek Ji-hwan's collar goes limp as the tendons snap.
"Keaaak!"
The goblin screams in pain. I don't miss the opening and slam my fist into its large nose.
Smack!
The combat power gap isn't that big, so the goblin doesn't die easily. But this feels good to punch. Its nose is so big—I've got a new game to play. The same "nose nose nose nose" game kids play.
"Nose, nose, nose, nose~"
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
"Eyes!"
Smack!
"Keeek!"
Our goblin baby seems to enjoy it, shaking its head excitedly like it's playing peekaboo. This impact feels nostalgic. That's exactly how it felt hitting the sandbag when I learned kickboxing. How did I hit the sandbag again?
One! One-two! One-two-three-four! Jab jab! Liver shot!
Smack! Smack! Smack-smack-smack-smack! Smack-smack! Smaaaack!
"Ku… kumaaang…"
"Kuma? Why are you suddenly looking for a bear? Are you Japanese or something? Do we even have Japanese people in this world?"
"It's… kumang…"
"Weird. Since when do goblins speak human language? First time hearing that. Right, Baek Ji-hwan-ssi?"
Baek Ji-hwan nods blankly.
"See, even the veteran goblin hunter admits it. You can't speak human, can you?"
"Ki… kieeng…"
I pull the sashimi knife still stuck in the goblin's arm and finish it with a throat slash.
Previous Combat Power: 920
Opponent Combat Power: 1,390
Combat Power Difference: 470
You have defeated an opponent who was nearly impossible to beat. Your combat power has increased considerably.
Combat Power Change: 920 → 1,170
Current Combat Power: 2,223
"H-how… an incompetent…"
Baek Ji-hwan mutters in disbelief. Kid, that's because I'm not actually incompetent. Come to think of it, what did he call me earlier? Mr. Incompetent? This bastard needs to be taught a lesson.
"If you don't want to die, don't leave my side, Mr. Esper. That's how you'll survive, you know?"
"Y-yes, sir…"
Baek Ji-hwan answers while trembling, probably because he nearly died. This guy, who the hell was calling who a coward?
"U-uaaah! These bastards totally ate Black Spirit Squad! They smell like Black Spirit Squad!"
Meanwhile, Gu Ja-gon can't even swing his staff and is just screaming while running from the goblins. The others are too busy fleeing in terror to even try fighting. Pathetic bastards. At this rate, I'll be left to kill the remaining 98 alone. But I can't resist messing with Gu Ja-gon.
I dash over to his side and grin.
"What? They ate Black Spirit Squad? That can't be right. Maybe your nose is broken from fear?"
"Nooo! I'm sorry earlier, hyung! The smell the senior ate before—it's exactly the same coming out of these bastards' mouths!"
"Sorry, hyung? Hey, buddy. Your speech is a bit too casual, don't you think?"
"W-what?! I'm older, so I can speak informally!"
"Does age matter when death is staring you down? Actually, since you're older, dying first wouldn't be unfair, would it? I'll go save the others~"
As I turn to leave without hesitation—
"W-wait! No, please wait! Hyung-nim, this pitiful little brother begs you to save him!"
His speech level jumps straight to formal honorifics. A perfect curveball. 100 points for literary merit.
Crack!
The goblin harassing Gu Ja-gon dies to a single punch. My, my. I've gotten too strong.
"Th-thank you, hyung-nim…"
Gu Ja-gon bows his head repeatedly in newfound politeness.
"Yeah. If you're grateful, call me hyung-nim respectfully every time you see me from now on. Got it?"
"This crazy bastard… showing off like hell…"
"What was that?"
"N-nothing! How could I curse at hyung-nim?"
"You cursed, didn't you?"
"Hik!"
When I casually raise my fist, Gu Ja-gon flinches and shrinks his shoulders. Of course he does. Even though he couldn't scratch these goblins with his staff, one punch from me killed one.
"By the way, saving allies while killing all the goblins too…"
Chegi makes me stronger. But it hurts me just as much. The longer Chegi circulates, the greater the pain becomes. It's fine for now, but I can't guarantee I'll be okay after killing the remaining 97. And that's not all. Goblin shamans are intelligent. They won't sit still while their soldiers die. If I were commanding the goblins, what order would I give right now?
Obvious.
"My kin! From now on, ignore the other humans. Kill the man with the sashimi knife first!"
Honestly, the Fighting Dog's combat power growth is a bit inconvenient. The greater the combat power difference, the bigger the increase, so I'd like to fight while accounting for that to maximize my gains. But realistically, my stamina isn't enough to fight while constantly calculating that. The fact that I'm already turning this situation in my favor is fantasy enough—wanting more fantasy would be greedy. Starting the fight with fantasy is fine, but the progression has to stay realistic. Fighting 97 alone with a sashimi knife is insane.
"Gu Ja-gon-ssi?"
"Yes?"
"Mind holding this sashimi knife for a bit?"
"Ah, yes…"
"And lend me that staff."
"This staff?"
Gu Ja-gon hands over the staff with a dazed expression while receiving the knife. I grip the staff and swing it around wildly.
"Um, hyung-nim."
"What."
"I have a question."
"What is it."
"Have you ever learned staff techniques?"
"Nope."
I learned kickboxing, but never staff fighting. I'd love to spin it around flashily for style, but I can't since I don't know how.
"Then what are you doing with the staff? An unfamiliar weapon is poison, you know!"
Theoretically, he's not wrong. But there's a more perfect theory that overrides that correct statement.
"Then let me ask you one thing."
"What would that be?"
"Do you like games, Ja-gon-ssi?"
"Games? I've never played any."
"There's a saying in games."
"What saying?"
"'DPS crushes all.'"
Meaning, just crush them with damage.
I charge toward the approaching goblin horde. This distance should be enough. Gripping the staff with both hands, I twist my waist and swing like hitting a baseball with a bat.
Smack!
"Kek!"
One hit! I keep swinging the struck goblin like a broom, smack-smack-smack-smack!
"Keeek!"
Like sweeping autumn leaves with a broom, I send them all flying. About five goblins get caught in that single swing and collapse.
"Get it now?"
Current Combat Power: 2,375
"Hundreds of strategies mean nothing in front of overwhelming damage."