Yujun Yields the Golden Goblin

Yujun had a reason for yielding the Golden Goblin to Sertiphs. He already knew exactly how the fight would end.

Buffed by dozens of the Heavenly Race, Sertiphs surged in with his pure-white sword raised. The blade carried considerable power. That was all it carried. Crack! The Golden Goblin's fist shot out like lightning, and Sertiphs dropped unconscious.

"A-are you insane!"

"Save him!"

"Cover us! Three of you, grab him and fall back!"

The celestials panicked and unleashed a barrage of magic at the Golden Goblin.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In the midst of it, several of them hauled the unconscious Sertiphs up and retreated.

"...What just happened?"

Sertiphs came to almost at once, and those were the first words out of his mouth. The Heavenly Race said nothing.

"I asked what happened."

"All I can say is that the Golden Goblin's fist was vicious..."

"So I was knocked out by that thing?"

"Yes."

"It seems unarmed combat is its specialty. I let my guard down because it had no weapon."

Watching from a distance, Yujun let out a hollow laugh. If it had been a hand-to-hand fighter, it would have been wearing gauntlets. It was fully armored, yet it had neither gauntlets nor a bladed weapon — he should have predicted as much. It was a clear measure of how recklessly Sertiphs had rushed in.

And the disaster just now had happened because the Golden Goblin's physical stats were overwhelmingly high, not because its bare-handed fighting was anything exceptional. Most of the celestials watching from the outside would already know that.

"It seems we will all have to attack together."

At a subordinate's words, Sertiphs nodded with a grave expression.

From then on, Sertiphs and the Heavenly Race waged a fierce battle against a Golden Goblin that did not even have a weapon.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

Crash! Crash!

Not a single attack so much as scratched the Golden Goblin's body. Its flesh was hard, yes, but more than anything, the Golden Goblin was fast. Fast enough to dodge every spell, and the celestials who closed in for melee were routinely beaten senseless — knocked out, or killed on the spot.

"Whoa..."

"What is this? Why doesn't it even flinch when we hit it?"

"It must have gained tremendous power in exchange for a penalty that keeps it from using weapons. Abilities like that turn up now and then. But this is broken enough to more than cover the downside. I've never seen anyone throw punches like that."

They did not even know the Golden Goblin had originally used a sword. That was why they were laboring under the misconception. Every trace of the golden sword was sitting in Yujun's inventory, so the mistake was only natural.

Sertiphs exploded.

"Hundreds of us took the field, and we are struggling against a single creature? Does this make any sense?"

It was not a matter of carelessness. The Golden Goblin was simply strong, and simply fast. This was not an opponent that numbers could overwhelm.

The Heavenly Race's numbers plummeted. The Golden Goblin did not even seem tired; if anything, it was moving faster than before. Thrown off by that increased speed, the celestials could find no answer. In a flash, fewer than fifty of them remained.

Sertiphs had no idea what to do. Then he happened to glance back and saw Yujun quietly watching.

"I would ask for your help."

"Weren't you the one who told me to hand it over?"

"I took the Golden Goblin too lightly. It seems we cannot manage without your aid."

"Then send every one of the Heavenly Race away, and step back yourself. I'll take the Golden Goblin alone."

"But..."

"But what? You're not even helping. You just want the contribution, don't you? You've already landed a few hits, so even if I finish it you'll still get a little contribution. Be satisfied with that and go."

"I am ashamed..."

"You should be. I'm done talking. Now."

Sertiphs nodded and ordered the Heavenly Race to retreat. There was nothing more to gain by being greedy. Event or not, if they lost their lives, every bit of contribution they had built up would vanish with them. Humiliated, Sertiphs left the field.

"There it is."

"Found it!"

"Get it!"

Even after that, a few more bands of celestials came looking, only to be slaughtered outright by the Golden Goblin.

Only when Yujun sensed no further presence nearby did he step in front of the Golden Goblin.

"You again."

The Golden Goblin's mouth twisted. Its opponent was the human who had shattered its weapon, but after effortlessly killing so many of the Heavenly Race, its confidence had soared. It launched a preemptive attack without hesitation.

First it tried a kick with that long leg. Because of its height, even a middle kick sent the tip of its foot screaming toward Yujun's head.

Yujun drew every ounce of strength into the hand gripping his sword.

Shhk.

The leg that had lashed out at the speed of a flash of light was severed.

"Kh..."

The sword had not merely pierced the Golden Goblin's incredibly hard hide. It had passed clean through the leg. Visibly rattled, the Golden Goblin hurled itself backward. Lame in a single instant, it let out a heavy sigh.

"Truly a ghostly hand. A swift sword even my eyes can barely follow..."

For the first time, the Golden Goblin spoke fluently. Yujun answered in kind.

"I broke your sword. Why would your leg stay in one piece?"

"..."

There was sense in that. The Golden Goblin nodded before it realized what it was doing.

Yujun stared blankly at the one-legged goblin, lost in thought.

Honestly, something this strong... I'd like to make it a summon.

Seal it in the Absolute Sealing Orb and tame it properly, and it would make a fine summon. However, the condition for ending the event was to slay the Golden Goblin. Under a condition like that, even if he subdued it and locked it in the sealing orb, the system was unlikely to acknowledge the clear. From his experience with the game, the odds of that were one hundred percent.

There's no open slot anyway. No point getting greedy.

Balrog and the Blood Lord were already more than worthy as summons. The Blood Lord especially. Once he could command the Blood Lord's vassals as well, it would be no different from gaining a vast army.

Balrog could not be ignored either. It was the one Sertiphs had said possessed an extremely high expected growth. And Yujun was curious what would happen if he fielded Balrog as a summon against the Demon God Worshippers.

Kill it.

He meant to end the event before any more players swarmed in. With Super Concentration active, he was all but invincible.

Fifteen swords formed in the empty air and leveled themselves at the Golden Goblin. It was an encirclement so dense there was no path of retreat, and no room left to move at all.

"..."

When the swords that had mercilessly destroyed its own blade numbered more than ten, the Golden Goblin's face went ashen. It searched frantically for a gap between them and tried to dive through.

In that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instant, its body split into dozens of pieces.

Slash!

Dozens of chunks of flesh, and a torrent of blood, sprayed across the ground.

Naturally, his level did not rise. But another message was there to greet him.

He had gained stats as an achievement reward.

Something like that happened exactly once before...

He had hoped for an item, but this was not bad either. With his items and titles, he could inflate his stats dozens, even hundreds of times over. And the real reward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had not yet been given. What he had just confirmed was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only the achievement reward.

Yujun scrubbed hard at both eyes. Had a duplicate message popped up? He was fairly certain he had seen two messages about obtaining a Transcendent Stone. He looked again just in case, but it was absolutely no mistake. He opened his inventory and confirmed that two Transcendent Stones were there.

How can I receive two of the same item?

And it was the Transcendent Stone he had wanted so desperately. He had stormed the Demon King's Castle and suffered through every hardship there was just to get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one of these...

Yujun checked the Mythic equipment as well. He was not expecting much, but he still had to see what kind of item it was.

An item with a level 600 requirement... and no set effect.

The armor he was already wearing was better. It was a set, and it carried a level 630 requirement. In the end, wasn't receiving help from No-Pay Casual Gamer a far more efficient way to obtain items?

Sorry. Thank you. I love you, No-Pay Casual Gamer.

That help — not given of his own will, and incapable of being given of his own will — was something Yujun was always grateful for.

It felt as though the reward had been small, but that was only small in quantity. In quality, it could never be called small.

It was already over with two Transcendent Stones.

It would not be an exaggeration to call it a surplus reward. The value of a single Transcendent Stone defied imagination. He had obtained two of them. Dissatisfaction could not have arisen if it tried.

And what he had gained was not only the Transcendent Stones. His level had risen sharply, and he had obtained gold as well.

The gold is a bit disappointing. I'll get far more later by mining it myself.

For the moment, he offered it up at once as a sacrifice and raised his mana. The increase in his pure Magic stat was 30. If he thought of it as something he had gotten for free, it was tremendous luck.

Above all, becoming the master of the Golden Temple was the greatest harvest of all. The flowers of the Golden Flower Garden, which could almost be called infinite — he now held the authority to possess them. He could come to the Golden Flower Garden and pick flowers whenever he wished. He had not expected the reward he had anticipated least to turn out this well.

You really do have to live a long time to see everything.

He decided not to use the Transcendent Stones right away. His armor was still more than serviceable, and because it was a set, spending a Transcendent Stone on it now felt like a waste.

The moment the event ended, Yujun was expelled from the Golden Flower Garden and returned to Heaven, where he had been. Looking around, he found his companions, every one of them wearing a bewildered expression.

Kim Yohan laughed as if he could not believe it.

"You already caught it? You finished it, right, Yujun?"

"Yes."

"You're seriously insane. Just how strong are you trying to get? How about sharing some of that with me?"

"You did not do a single thing. You have no right to speak so."

"And you do, old man?"

"I gave young Yujun a great deal of counsel. He applied that counsel and brought the Golden Goblin down safely, did he not?"

"You're far weaker than Yujun, so what advice... A dog walking by would laugh. Honestly, it was probably a little funny in person, too."

"Impossible. He respects me. Does he not?"

Dokgo Minsu looked at Yujun with desperate eyes.