I'm Not an Alt

The message popped up the moment we entered the Hobgoblin Forest. The tip's contents were all things I already knew by heart.

Whether it's here or back there, a hobgoblin is a hobgoblin.

Yena and I stepped into the dungeon. It was unmistakably a different space from the 'open world' outside — this forest clearly wasn't just a region, but a game-like construct with its own rules.

"The time limit is forty minutes, but we'll be done in about ten."

Yena said this as she pushed boldly through the forest, spinning a small dagger around her hand. The blade whirled freely, without the slightest restriction, slicing clean through the greenish branches and trees blocking our path.

"Oh, right. You never asked about my trait."

"Ah, that's true."

And whose fault was it that I couldn't mention it? I shot Yena a sharp glare, and she gave me an awkward smile.

"So what is it?"

"One sec."

I quietly called up my trait window and read the letters that appeared before my eyes.

"Physical Enhancement Stage 3. It says all of my physical abilities rise dramatically."

"...Physical Enhancement?"

"Yes."

"Hold on! Stage 3?"

"Yes. It says Stage 3 right there."

Yena swallowed hard.

Ordinary Physical Enhancement traits worked like a kind of stat inflation — balanced and convenient, but for precisely that reason, they were generally considered underwhelming. Even that stat inflation didn't raise much, since most classes prioritized only two ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or three stats rather than demanding every single one.

In other words, it might be comfortable in the early game, but for veterans chasing ranker or pro status, it was a fatal trait. That was why veterans, whenever this trait came up, would immediately buy a fresh account and reroll the gacha all over again.

But what if it wasn't that 'small amount'?

What if the increase was so massive it blew past a predetermined limit?

Then its value would outweigh any unique trait in existence.

The chat window was in complete chaos. I swallowed a bitter smile.

Luck. Is that what this is?

Thirty years of scraping through near-death experiences and suffering beyond words — and then losing my original body entirely, only to return in Lily's. And they were calling that luck.

A hollow laugh burst out of me.

Yena stared blankly for a moment, then seemed to gather herself and thrust her dagger out toward the forest. An assassin's skill of some kind burst from the blade, mowing the trees down in a rustling sweep. Beneath the fallen timber lay hobgoblins squirming and dying.

"Let's clear the dungeon first. We can talk about that later."

"Yeah, let's."

Whatever the case, I had returned, and I would never go back to that place again. That was the only thing I needed to know.

The great hobgoblin chieftain had been an exceptional warrior. While still young, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he had become the strongest among his tribe, and by the time he passed into adulthood, he had even hunted colossal monsters more than ten times his own size. As the conqueror of hobgoblins, he had known no rival.

"Am I supposed to fight that?"

Until a moment ago, that is.

Hobgoblins crept toward us through the forest terrain, using it for cover. Their bodies were goblin-green, but with a peculiarity — orange stripes ran across them, and in their hands they carried daggers even sharper than a goblin's.

Yes — carried.

I flicked my spear shaft deftly and skewered the body of a hobgoblin lunging in ambush from between the trees. The creature, which had been hissing its guttural cry, died spurting paint-thick green blood, its weapon slipping from its grip.

Immediately after, more came for my back and from above.

Hobgoblins were extremely familiar to me. During my travels, there were two species I ran into so often I grew sick of them — one was goblins, and the other was hobgoblins. This goblin family was the kind that infested whatever world you got dropped into.

Shaking the corpse of the impaled hobgoblin off my twisted spear, I thrust upward and ran through a second one dropping from above. Then more came closing in. I wouldn't quite have time to recover the spear.

Or rather, I could have — but it would take some strain, and if I showed any more than this, that chat window that was already melting down would melt down even harder.

So instead of retrieving my spear, I snatched the throat of an oncoming hobgoblin with my bare hand. The creature thrashed and gurgled its strangled cry. I slammed it down hard into the ground.

KWAAAANG—! The impact rang through the silence-draped Hobgoblin Forest. All three were wiped out before they could so much as lift a finger.

"No items are dropping?"

"This is a dungeon, so unlike open hunting grounds, loot doesn't drop right away. You get your rewards all at once when you clear or fail the dungeon."

Yena said this with a astonished look, having finished off most of the hobgoblins herself. She seemed pretty startled, but in my eyes, Yena was quite skilled too. No matter how good her specs or equipment were, humans in that place had never been a particularly strong species. If someone at Yena's level had been dropped into that world, she would have counted among the continent's strongest.

"I'm not an alt character."

"I'm not a pro either."

The chat window burned on and on. Figuring they wouldn't believe anything I said anyway, I just shut it off.

Yena leaned her face up close to the camera with a great big sniff, her face filling the entire screen.

"Alright~ boys? I told you earlier, remember? Keep speculating and your necks are getting chopped."

Yena's ban-hammer rampage had begun. The stream still held a healthy thirty-thousand-odd viewers, but with follow-only chat and a chat cooldown per hour, the window gradually settled down.

Yena turned back to me with a proud look on her face.

"Dungeons come in two types. One is the 'Subjugation Dungeon,' where you kill the dungeon's monsters, watch a short story scene, then defeat the boss. The other is the 'Adventure Dungeon,' where you explore for hidden treasure."

"So this is a Subjugation Dungeon."

"Right. We've killed most of the hobgoblins, so the boss room should be open now. Take down the boss and the dungeon's cleared."

We walked on, deeper into the forest — toward the boss that waited within.

Unlike the other hobgoblins, who stood around 150 centimeters, this one was a full three meters tall if it was anything. In its hand was not a dagger but a thick, blunt greatsword, and its body bore far more orange stripes than any of its kin.

Kruk! The hobgoblin's breath billowed out, plainly visible in the air.

"Am I supposed to fight that?"

"Yes."

Yena said this and stepped back. Apparently, rather ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than fighting alongside me, she wanted to see more of my skill.

An instant later, a sonic blast erupted — kwak! I reflexively took a guard stance, and my body was shoved back, if only for a heartbeat.

...Pretty strong, actually?

I was far weaker now than I had been in the past, but the boss's aura itself was not something I could afford to dismiss.

"Low-level bosses telegraph their skill patterns in advance! So it won't be too hard!"

I gave a nod and slowly began to move my spear.