The Goblin's Defeat
He ran desperately, glancing back over his shoulder. The goblin was also running in a panic, its short legs pumping furiously.
I never imagined that the moment I stepped into the Tower, I'd be playing tag with goblins.
Still, maybe it was for the best?
The goblin's height, even if exaggerated, was only about 120cm, roughly the average height of an elementary school first-grader. In contrast, I had a height of 175cm, plus the physical ability booster from the Blue Dragon Heart Method. No matter how hard I ran, catching up to such a shorty seemed impossible.
Once the distance opened up, I took a moment to stop and observe the creature.
"Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will win a hundred battles." Hadn't our hero said that?
I turned my head in every direction, examining everything in sight, but there didn't seem to be anything that could be a weakness or something helpful.
Kii-eek!
Angry, huh.
There was nothing visible.
Or rather, if I looked around, shouldn't there be some weapon?
It felt like the only things in this space were green grass and green dwarfs besides me.
If there was truly nothing, then I'd have no choice but to fight hand-to-hand.
"Holding two short swords like a coward."
The two short swords the thing was holding irritated me.
Even a martial artist would run if someone had a sword, but this guy had two.
Moreover, the way it was aiming at my neck suggested it had already tried stabbing once or twice.
With that judgment made, I took a brief rest to recover my stamina and then started running again.
Keok?!
A surprised gasp came from behind, but I didn't stop.
"Even if you have a sword, what would you do if I ran away?"
Kii-eek!
Did it understand the words? The goblin went wild, raising both hands above its head and starting to run.
Unfortunately, with those short legs, catching up seemed impossible.
Still, since I couldn't run forever, I hurriedly opened the Parallel World Forum and posted a message.
The dwarf behind with two swords is chasing me!
What should I do?
The Sword Emperor Changgung reacted as if he had heard something impossible, then immediately posted a long comment.
The comment shaped like a lightning bolt made me stop running without realizing it.
I glanced back again. The goblin was indeed starting to look tired, panting heavily.
Indeed, there was no mistake in the Sword Emperor Changgung's words.
I wanted to ask more about what kind of nonsense this was, but the Sword Emperor Changgung stopped replying after that.
Then it was enough with just that.
"Run?"
Or was it "what now?" A mischievous thought briefly crossed my mind, but since climbing the Tower meant fighting monsters, I couldn't back down here. I ran as instructed by the Sword Emperor Changgung, turning to face it.
"Eh, whatever!"
When I ran with resolve, I immediately realized something was wrong.
First, it was fast.
Probably unconsciously using mana.
No, was the goblin slow?
The distance I had opened earlier shrank in the blink of an eye, and I reached the goblin in an instant.
At the same time, the phrase I had memorized from earlier qi circulation came to mind.
[Even if the sky is hidden by clouds, its prestige doesn't diminish.]
The palm rising from below hit the goblin's jaw instantly.
"Ke, he?!"
With tongue out, running, the attack to the jaw caused the goblin to bite its tongue.
Due to pain, its body went limp momentarily, and one of the short swords slipped from its hand into mine.
I grabbed the moving thing as if it knew who its master was, and swung it according to the Blue Dragon Sword Art form.
A crackling sound of flesh splitting, and with power far stronger than expected, the goblin was split cleanly in two.
Looking at that, I was dumbfounded and looked down at the short sword in my hand.
"This sword length and the cut part are completely different."
No matter how small the goblin, this sword wasn't enough to bisect it like that.
What the hell? Then along the sword, a slight vibration, electricity flowing, caught my eye.
With that, recalling the sensation from just now, I swung the sword in the air. Indeed, the grass a bit farther than the actual sword length was slightly cut.
Although not like the slimes seen in galleries or YouTube, since I had cleared the 1st floor without a scratch, I felt a surge of pride and waited for the reward that would soon appear.
Success in climbing the 1st floor!
◈ Contains a mana stone
The corpse of the split goblin had already vanished, replaced by a treasure box that had appeared in its place.
When I approached, the box opened automatically, and inside was a pouch containing a mana stone.
"This is it!"
This mana stone was what all hunters climbed the Tower for. Although not a huge amount on the 1st floor, selling it would end the life of suffering from living expenses.
But this alone wasn't enough.
Even if I just rotated through lower floors selling mana stones and joined the rice-eating club, it would be a successful life, but I had to see the possibility today.
The sensation when I cut the goblin earlier had been incredibly satisfying.
Of course, I'm not an emotionless psycho who doesn't react to such things, but the pleasure of perfectly executing the martial arts I've honed.
It was like fitting the last piece of a well-made puzzle.
Moreover, in this era where most hunters had given up greed and just rotated lower floors selling mana stones, shouldn't there be talent like me who kept climbing the Tower?
Thinking that, suddenly I was back in my one-room apartment from the 1st floor of the Tower.
It didn't feel real, but the mana stone pouch in my hand told me it wasn't a dream.
Then, what to do now.
Go to the Hunter Administration Bureau to register as a hunter and sell the mana stone?
No.
To revive the sensation felt while slicing the goblin, training was even more out of the question.
Right.
"Gallery mode."
I sat in front of the computer again and deleted all the rumors about the Tower's 1st floor in the Hunter Gallery as I had vowed earlier.
The punishment for deceiving the 100 million population of the Hunter Gallery with the lie that the 1st floor is a slime should never be forgiven.
I deleted all content related to slimes from the well-written strategy posts and the posts posted to look good.
Slimes? What lol lol lol The goblin was hiding and rushed at me, almost died.
I immediately posted the post.
The post has been censored.
"Huh?"