Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: I Was Just Lucky
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One Shaman Goblin and the three goblins under its command.
That one must be the boss of this place.
'Are they stronger than regular goblins?'
The levels themselves weren't that high.
But the Shaman Goblin's skills were a bit concerning.
'Telekinesis, huh.'
Goblins didn't have overwhelming power.
But letting my guard down wouldn't end well.
"I'll take the shaman. You handle the rest, okay?"
"Of course, Master."
-Bang!
Hilde grabbed her spear and charged at the goblins.
"Kik! Kyaha!"
The shaman thrust out its staff and shouted something.
The goblins immediately rushed forward.
'I'll take it out in one quick strike.'
I dodged them and leaped to the side.
Kicking off the cave wall, I shot straight toward the shaman in one breath.
"Kihee?!"
'Without the shaman, those guys are no different from regular goblins. And vice versa!'
The defenseless Shaman Goblin, now without its guards.
I hurled Adol right at its face.
"Kik!"
-Halt!
The shaman thrust its staff forward.
The flying knife stopped dead in midair.
'So that's its skill.'
Probably using the telekinesis from its equipment.
But I'd already anticipated it, so no big surprise.
"If it's weapons you want, I've got more."
I channeled the momentum of my charge and swung the rabbit bone dagger down from above as I dropped from midair.
-Crack!
The shaman raised its staff to block.
"Ki hahaha!"
Unfortunately, the bone dagger lacked power.
It couldn't fully shatter the staff.
But this was enough.
'Come back.'
The telekinesis released, and the knife that had fallen to the ground returned to my hand.
I stabbed straight into the shaman's chest.
Splurt!
"Kiheek?!"
I felt the bones shatter and pierce its innards through my hand.
I slashed the knife sideways.
Slash!!
Its body tore open wide, blood bursting out.
The shaman staggered as if trying to cast a spell, then collapsed to the side.
'Not a big deal after all.'
Of course, if Adol was my only weapon or if I hadn't known about the telekinesis, I might have panicked.
Luckily, I was prepared, and its attacks weren't that threatening.
"Hilde..."
"Ah, Master! You've finished it!"
I turned my head, and the goblins were already down.
She'd handled them effortlessly, regardless of what I was doing to the shaman.
"You didn't get hurt?"
"Thanks to the spear you gave me, it was easy!"
Hmm, unlike my Adol knife, it probably didn't have any special effects.
Wasn't I the one who got enhanced instead?
'Still, it's a good spear.'
Hilde had the leg strength to chase down rabbits anyway.
Goblins weren't much to her from the start.
"Is this the last of the goblins?"
"Probably."
-Ding~
'Oh, the rewards are pretty generous.'
500 points from a single quest!
Now I had 800 points total.
And a guaranteed C-Grade gacha ticket to boot!
'Among what I've pulled so far, the only C-Grade or higher are the Adol knife, Ability Use Permit, and Hilde.'
The system hands out points generously, but the odds are crap.
In that sense, a guaranteed C-Grade might be better than a vague amount of points.
'Plus, the rewards aren't just that.'
I picked up the staff lying in front of me.
"Isn't that the one the shaman was using earlier?"
"Seems like it has a decent skill embedded in it."
I properly appraised the staff.
"Hmm, grade 'D-.'"
Lower than both my Adol and Hilde's spear.
The description even says the effect is weak due to wear.
'The short lifespan is concerning too. And if I have to hold it to use it, the utility's iffy.'
Still, having it wasn't a bad thing.
I stored the staff in my inventory.
"Hilde, sorry, but could you move the goblin corpses outside?"
"Yes, Master. What about you?"
"I'll check what's deeper in the cave."
"Ah, won't that be dangerous?"
I shook my head at Hilde's worried expression.
"The clear message already popped up, so it should be fine."
Of course, I'd be cautious, but there shouldn't be any major threats.
Hilde nodded and started dragging the goblins out energetically.
'Alright then.'
I headed straight deeper into the cave.
It was short, so I arrived quickly.
Reaching the inner chamber, I narrowed my eyes.
'Not a bust... but too late anyway.'
There really was a person there.
But there was no movement, not even a breath.
"No pulse. Pupils are dilated too."
A woman with long hair splayed out.
Her clothes were stripped off, and her body was covered in wounds.
From the state of her, she'd probably been used as the goblins' plaything.
If the goblins had cared for their spoil enough to give her water, she might have lasted until now.
But goblins weren't that smart to begin with.
"Revenge is done, so closing her eyes peacefully... that'd be meaningless."
Once a person's dead, that's it.
What happens after doesn't matter to the corpse.
Revenge and all that is just self-satisfaction for the living.
It meant nothing to a body that would return to dust anyway.
In a shipwreck situation, survival or death is all down to luck.
Pitying her was arrogant and indulgent of me.
'I got lucky, and she didn't. The goblins got lucky for a moment, but that was actually their misfortune.'
I killed the goblins for my own safety too.
I'm no different from them at the root.
'From the goblins' perspective, I was the monster.'
Anyway, this woman's presence meant something significant to me.
'The key point is that other people exist on this uninhabited island.'
I'd even considered this might not be Earth.
The sudden gacha ability and the island's ecosystem were both far from normal.
'I thought maybe I was the only human on this planet.'
But this woman opened up new possibilities.
'There might still be survivors on this island.'
Honestly, not the most welcome news.
In an apocalypse, humans are dangerous enough without saying it.
In a survival scenario, people are more threatening than most beasts.
Well, with Hilde and my abilities, I'd win anyway.
'For now, just focus on surviving.'
Thinking about it wouldn't change anything.
I was too busy staying alive myself to worry about others.
I left the woman to Hilde and searched the goblin lair.
'Goblins, so probably nothing great. But with a boss around, something might turn up.'
The lair was filthy, not even properly cleaned.
Rummaging through the junk, I found a few familiar items, a smartphone, and more.
The smartphone was shattered all the way inside.
Even if it were intact, no electricity meant it was useless.
'Does radio signal even work here anyway?'
Animal bones, clubs, slightly shiny stones.
More searching turned up only trash.
'I had hopes since it was a shaman. Guess it's still just a goblin at heart.'
As I clicked my tongue in disappointment, something caught my eye—a wooden plank.
Waterways and a roughly sketched forest.
And in the corner, something was painted extra black.
'A goblin made a map and kept records...'
Half worry, half curiosity stirred in me.
Plus, crude as it was, it was still a map.
'I haven't mapped the terrain well enough myself yet. This could be useful.'
I planned to explore anyway.
Might as well check what that mark is while I'm at it.
"So the useful stuff boils down to these leather handcuffs and the map."
The handcuffs were probably for binding prisoners or women.
They could've made weapons with that effort instead.
Or maybe their lust elevated goblin intelligence.
"Anyway, this cave itself is pretty usable. Might make it my base, even if it takes time to clean."
For that, I'd need to clean the cave and deal with the goblins quickly.
As I pondered what to tackle first amid the sudden workload increase,
"Master! I've moved everything outside as you asked!"
Hilde came in smiling, job done.
But as she approached, her gaze stopped on my hand.
Precisely, on the handcuffs there.
"What's up?"
Hilde shyly tilted her head to the side.
"No, it's just... even I don't know much about goblin play... but if it's what Master wants..."
No, why was this pretty face saying something so terrifying?
Goblin play? What the hell was that?
Tie up Hilde so she can't resist and pound her goblin-style until she begs for mercy?
Fuck, that's hot as hell?
"Huff! Huff!"
A woman was crashing through the underbrush, running for her life.
Her throat was parched, her legs trembling.
Her stamina was at its limit, but she couldn't stop.
Better than dying or becoming a goblin's toy.
'Why the hell are there goblins here of all places?'
How many hours ago had she spotted the goblins?
Spotting them early enough to escape like this was lucky.
"Hoo!"
After running for what felt like ages, she finally stopped once she confirmed nothing was pursuing.
She'd never go near that goblin nest again.
"...I'm hungry."
As tension eased, her starving stomach roared back to life.
She hadn't eaten properly since arriving here.
"Wish they were natives instead of goblins."
Of course, no guarantee fellow humans would be friendly.
But right now, she'd sell her soul or body for food.
"Haa~ No way there'd be people on an uninhabited island with a goblin nest."
The woman sighed and got up to walk.
Precisely in the opposite direction from the goblin nest.
She had no idea that, in the meantime, a man had wiped out the goblins.