Goblin Hunt
Kang Minwoo quietly observed.
“H-how... how does it look...?”
I was silently checking out Soyeon's appearance in that red bikini armor.
She was really pretty.
So I snapped some photos right away.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
“B-Boss...?”
“It's seriously pretty. Let me take a few more shots. Strike this pose for me, please.”
“Y-yes...”
Soyeon shyly took the poses I asked for.
Thanks to that, I got some great photos.
“All done...?”
“Yeah, all done. Let's head to the dungeon.”
“Okay... But... like this? Nothing to cover up with...?”
“No need. We'll get there quick.”
“It's close?”
“Not super close. Today's dungeon is in Gangwon-do.”
“But you said we'd arrive soon?”
“Yeah.”
“How?”
“Warp Gate. Instant teleport device. You know, the kind that shows up in games all the time?”
“I know, but... that stuff really exists?”
“It does.”
It was a facility that didn't exist in the game.
None of my party members had teleport abilities.
Couldn't use teleportation,
or extract it to make items.
But.
Things were different now.
Because I had teleport abilities.
I could extract and use teleport powers however I wanted.
...Which let me build a Warp Gate.
But.
I had no intention of revealing all that.
My abilities as Kang Minwoo the boss were just two.
Creation
Barrier
...That was the concept.
So I glossed over the Warp Gate as something my amazing creation skills made possible and kept explaining.
“See the world map over there?”
“Yes!”
“See the marked points?”
“Yes! Korea's got them per region, and overseas at least one each... No way... those are all Warp Gates?!”
“Right.”
“Whoa... so... we could do a world tour with Warp Gates?”
“We could. By the way, Warp Gates are one of the employee perks. Use 'em freely. Totally free.”
“Free?!”
“Yeah.”
“We can travel the world for free?!”
“Yep.”
“Like, if I crave sushi, pop to Japan for lunch?”
“I'd totally approve that.”
“Whoa... this is employee welfare...?”
“Pretty good, huh?”
“Yes! Amazing! I always wanted to travel abroad when I had free time! Free world tour! I'm so happy!”
“But it's work hours now. Let's get to it.”
“Yes!”
I activated the Warp Gate.
And just like that.
We teleported to a deep forest in Gangwon-do.
“Whoa... that was fast? Power of the Warp Gate?”
“Pretty good, right?”
“Yes! Love it! But... where's the Warp Gate? Can't we go back?”
“It's right here. And yeah,we can go back.”
“Here? I don't see it?”
“You wouldn't. That's normal.”
“Normal?”
“Warp Gates connect to the secret base. Gotta hide 'em from outsiders, right?”
“True.”
“So I added perfect stealth. Invisible, and it ignores most detection skills.”
“Perfect stealth? Then how do we find it?”
“Put this on.”
I handed Soyeon a bracelet with a black gem embedded.
Click!
She equipped it right away.
And then.
A Warp Gate appeared where there'd been nothing.
“See it?”
“Yes! I see the Warp Gate!”
“Easy to use. Step on the platform and touch the black gem. World map pops up.”
“Got it!”
Soyeon touched the black gem and checked the world map.
“Tap wherever you wanna go. Give it a try.”
“Yes!”
Soyeon warped to another location.
And.
Came right back.
“How was it?”
“Whoa... we can really use this every day?”
“Of course.”
“Boss! I'll work so hard! And earn tons of money!... Uh... um...”
Soyeon blushed and trailed off.
I could guess what she was about to say.
'Gonna hit Japan for otaku stuff every time I get paid.'
Soyeon was a full-on otaku.
Anime, manga, novels, games—she loved it all.
No money before, so she just consumed.
But now.
With paychecks coming.
Debt to pay, sure,
but Mom's hospital bills were handled.
She could pay debts steadily
and splurge the rest on hobbies.
Buy figures,
all sorts of character merch.
Grab whatever caught her eye in Japan.
...She was thrilled at the thought.
“Soyeon?”
“Yes?”
“Playtime later. Work now.”
“Yes!”
“We're going straight into the dungeon. Get ready.”
“Yes!”
Han Soyeon scanned her surroundings with her sword drawn.
She checked the ground,
and any traces nearby.
She figured she'd use knowledge from games, anime, and manga to track the goblins.
'Hmm...'
She had no clue.
There were goblin traces, sure.
She could tell they were nearby.
But pinpointing locations? No way.
So.
She gave up on tracking by traces.
“Phew...”
She took a breath and asked.
“Boss.”
“Yeah.”
“We just gotta catch goblins, right?”
“That's right.”
“Safe even if a whole group rushes us?”
“Totally safe. Goblins can't break my barrier, and if an S-rank dragon pops out or whatever, we've got escape routes. Go wild.”
“Okay... then...”
She tensed her core and yelled at the top of her lungs.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”
And then.
She heard goblins swarming in.
“Whoa... luring 'em with a scream... where'd you get that idea?”
“I've pulled aggro with sound in games a ton. Figured it'd work IRL too... and it's way better than expected.”
“Obviously. Goblins are monsters that go nuts for human women. They'll charge at any female voice.”
“Real goblins... do that stuff...?”
“Almost eroge goblin levels. But no worries. I've got you.”
“Yes. I trust you.”
She wasn't scared.
Boss was there,
and if it got real bad, she could transform to Phoenix and bail.
She charged straight in.
Raised her sword as she rushed the goblin pack.
And.
Swung with all her might.
Swish!
But.
No goblin took the hit.
“Huh...?”
The goblins dodged nimbly.
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!
They hammered her body at high speed.
But.
Damage: zero.
The boss's barrier blocked everything.
So she charged again.
'No need to defend or dodge. Just attack! Attack only!'
She swung her sword furiously with that in mind.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
All swings missed.
“......”
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
All swings missed.
“......”
No matter how much she swung, she couldn't land a hit.
“Kikikikikik!”
“Kukukukuku!”
The goblins mocked her while swinging their clubs nonstop.
“This... this...!”
Irritation built up fast.
“Hit! Hit already!”
Every time a goblin dodged and laughed, her rage piled on.
“You fucking bastards!!!”
She was so pissed she forgot the boss was watching and cursed out loud.
“Die! Die!”
She poured her fury into the sword swings.
Ah.
Won't work.
Ting!
She tossed the sword aside.
And.
Clenched her fist.
Recalling the Phoenix sensation, she swung her fist.
Puk!!!
She finally smashed the face of a goblin that had dodged everything.
“Guh...!”
The rush from that one hit electrified her.
But.
She wasn't stopping there.
Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!
She swung her fists like a maniac, venting every bit of built-up rage.
Goblins started dropping one by one.
She stomped the survivors to make sure they were dead.
She felt mana gathering in her body.
But.
It wasn't enough.
She could tell she needed more mana to awaken.
So she fought even harder.
“Die! Die!!”
She dashed around, punching every goblin she saw.
Puk!!!
“Kieeeek!”
Every goblin face-smash released her pent-up stress in a pop!
Mana built up,
stress melted away.
Whoa...
This is good?
...With that thought, she beat the goblins senseless.
Forgot the boss was watching, rampaged like a total psycho.