Chapter 11
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Is This a Bone?
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“Is this bone, by any chance?”
“Grrr.”
Confirming the building was empty, the goblin pack headed downstairs in search of humans. It was quite noisy outside. Their prey must have gathered there.
Amped up at the thought of hunting humans, the goblin pack descended to the first floor.
That was when they rounded the corner. Suddenly, a red iron club shot out and smashed into the goblin at the front.
Thwack!
Caught off guard by the ambush, the goblin collapsed without even reacting.
“Keeek!”
The goblin following behind instinctively thrust its dagger forward, then froze as the attacker vanished like smoke.
“Gruk!?”
That was when a human voice came from behind.
“Too. Slow.”
Somehow, the human had circled behind them. The comrade trailing at the rear must have already been taken out.
The goblin easily dodged the human’s attack and stabbed at his gut. Then, once more, the human’s voice rang out from behind.
“You guys really have no learning ability, huh.”
“Gruk!?”
The goblin turned around in confusion, and its vision was instantly filled with the red iron club.
Thwack!
* * *
“Grrruk…”
After dealing with the last goblin, a level-up message chimed.
[Level Up!]
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 6. (1.3%)] [Mana 2/6]
[Strength 16, Agility 16, Vitality 15, Intelligence 20]
[Unallocated Stat Points: 8]
“Nice. Let’s put all the new stat points into Strength and Agility.”
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 6. (1.3%)] [Mana 2/6]
[Strength 20, Agility 20, Vitality 15, Intelligence 20]
In an instant, my Strength and Agility hit 20. I had considered putting some into Vitality, but after a few battles, I changed my mind.
Once Vitality reached 15, I barely got tired anymore—even if my breathing got heavy, it recovered quickly. This should be enough to handle two goblin packs back-to-back.
‘In that case, it’s best to invest in Strength and Agility for any emergencies.’
Goblins were nimble and quick, and tricky to face in groups of three or more, but in pure strength or stamina, they were actually weaker than an average person.
Meanwhile, at level 6, my Strength and Agility had reached 20—twice that of a sturdy adult male. Now, I could probably take on three without skills.
‘Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll skimp on using skills.’
In the fight just now, I’d made full use of them.
I’d used Stealth to erase my presence while hiding around the corner, then ambushed one to send it to hell before using Illusion to sow discord among them.
The whole goblin pack was wiped out in under 30 seconds.
“Not as much time has passed as I thought. They might still be alive.”
That was when noise erupted from the stairs above. Instinctively, I hid.
“R-Run, quick!”
“Is Cheol-min okay? He won’t bitch at us for ditching him?”
“You idiot, that bastard’s as good as dead already. You think he can make it out of there?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry about it. He wasn’t a friend or anything anyway.”
“Right. And that fucker Kim Cheol-min was the one who beat up Sang-woo earlier. He deserves to die.”
The delinquents chattered noisily as they descended the stairs.
I’d been careless. If I hadn’t come up while clearing the goblins, they would’ve been caught and suffered horribly.
‘Speaking of which, does that mean Kim Cheol-min is still on the rooftop?’
From their talk, neither Sang-woo nor Kim Cheol-min seemed to be in good shape.
It might already be too late. Still, just in case, I planned to check.
‘He might still be alive.’
I cautiously headed up to the rooftop. I noted a gate had opened along the way but ignored it.
To close a gate, you had to enter and kill the boss monster—impossible for me alone.
‘Rescuing the people left on the rooftop comes first.’
Tense, I slowly climbed the stairs.
The rooftop door was smashed. The hinges were bent like taffy, and the iron door was dented in the center, sprawled across the rooftop.
Judging by the door, the culprit was a strength-specialized variant.
“Ugh!”
The sight of the exposed rooftop made me clap a hand over my mouth.
Kim Cheol-min—that Kim Cheol-min—lay on the ground with one arm severed. His eyes half-closed, foaming at the mouth, he mumbled something as he faded away.
I’d thought seeing him die would stir complicated feelings—hate mixed with pity, relief tinged with emptiness.
But in reality, I felt nothing. Or rather, I had no luxury for such sentiments.
“Grrrraa!”
Locking eyes with the hobgoblin’s feral glare chased all other thoughts from my mind. Only one instinct remained: survive.
“Kraa!”
The hobgoblin charged at me with its bloodied machete.
‘Danger!’
I rolled aside and used Illusion to create a phantom of myself. My plan was to lure it down the stairs with the illusion.
But the moment I activated Illusion, something was wrong.
“Urk!”
Just a brief use, and my head throbbed like it would split.
The longer I maintained the illusion, the worse the headache got—鼻血 even flowed.
“Gah!”
In the end, I couldn’t hold it and collapsed. The illusion vanished simultaneously.
“Grurk?”
The hobgoblin, which had started down the stairs after the illusion, paused and began climbing back up.
‘Fuck. I should’ve held out a bit longer. No, I shouldn’t have come up at all.’
From the looks of it, Sang-woo was already dead, and Kim Cheol-min was beyond saving. My pointless sense of justice had put me in danger for nothing.
‘Sigh. Being too nice is a problem too, huh.’
A moment of distraction let the headache subside.
[Illusion mental magic does not work well on targets higher level than you.]
“Tell me sooner.”
I wiped the nosebleed and got into position. No Illusion. My biggest weapon was gone. But I wasn’t out of options.
I scanned the surroundings quickly. Large ventilation fans were scattered across the rooftop. Big enough to hide an adult man easily.
‘Stealth to erase my presence—they won’t spot me.’
My only remaining play was to hide with Stealth and ambush when the hobgoblin passed.
The fans’ whirring helped mask my presence even more.
I ducked behind a fan, gripping the fire extinguisher in both hands. Its hefty weight felt a tad regrettable. Something sleeker would’ve been better.
‘Oh, right! I have the bronze dagger.’
I stowed the extinguisher in my inventory and drew the rusted bronze dagger instead. Then, I gripped it reverse-style and crouched low.
Switching weapons changed everything. The biggest difference was weight. Compared to the hammer-like extinguisher, the dagger was feather-light.
Unlike the extinguisher, its pointed tip was perfect. Though the blade was rusted, the core remained sharp. A solid thrust could be lethal.
‘Aim for the knee.’
The head was out of reach. The thing looked at least 2 meters tall. At under 170 cm, even on tiptoes, I couldn’t get there.
Plus, the head was a vital spot all creatures guarded fiercely. Even I’d block my head first if someone swung at me.
‘...That’s kinda sad. How many hits to the head did I take to instinctively cover it?’
Anyway, attacking the legs had clear advantages. Worst case, shatter a knee and run. If I could win, keep fighting.
“Grrr.”
I worried it might climb structures, but thankfully, it wasn’t that smart—it just prowled around aimlessly.
I focused on the sounds, tensing my legs. A stance to unleash all my power in one burst.
‘Come on!’
Finally, the hobgoblin’s shadow appeared around the corner.
‘Hup!’
I inhaled deeply and struck. Target: its left knee.
* * *
“Is this the place?”
Hunters poured into the school. Exactly 10 minutes since the gate opened.
3-star hunter and All-Kill Guild leader Lee Chun-bae spotted the teachers and students gathered on the sports field and let out a disbelieving chuckle.
“Unbelievable. Did they skip evacuation drills or what? What the hell are they doing here?”
“Help us! There are students on the rooftop!”
The teachers rushed over upon spotting the hunters. Lee Chun-bae clicked his tongue and grabbed the principal by the collar.
“Fuck! Hey, you old geezer, what the hell is this? Rounding up all the kids like you’re baiting monsters?”
“I-It’s not like that. We were just taking roll call.”
“You can do that in the shelter. Damn it, if casualties happen because of this, we’ll take all the heat again. Fucking hell.”
“S-Sorry.”
Seeing Lee Chun-bae’s foul mood, the over-seventy principal bowed his head in apology.
He had no choice—Lee Chun-bae was the head of All-Kill Guild, which ran this area.
For reference, All-Kill Guild was the mob outfit Lee Joo-hyuk had tried to join.
Originally called “Clean Sweep Crew,” they rebranded to All-Kill Guild after gates appeared.
Nearly all members were Awakeners, armed to the teeth with weapons and gear. Naturally, no one in the area defied him.
In Yangyang at least, Lee Chun-bae was king.
“Anyway, students on the rooftop?”
“Y-Yes, students.”
“They’re probably all dead by now.”
Glancing idly at the rooftop, Lee Chun-bae’s eyes widened at the sight of someone moving fast up there.
Someone was still alive. Not just surviving—they were fiercely battling a monster.
“What the…? Shit, looks like there’s a survivor.”
* * *
“Haa. Haa.”
Long story short, the ambush failed. Or rather, it was half a success.
I’d landed the knee strike. The dagger sliced perfectly through cartilage, half-severing the hobgoblin’s left knee.
That’s when I got cocky, thinking the ambush worked and it couldn’t fight back anymore.
Huge mistake.
The hobgoblin was a rare breed of tough bastard. Despite its shattered knee, it gritted its teeth and swung the machete.
Missing the dodge timing mid-attack, I hastily pulled the extinguisher from my inventory to block.
Clang-!
The extinguisher’s thickness and sturdiness blocked it easily. Thanks to my 20 Strength and Agility.
Without the boosted reaction speed, dynamic vision, and physical prowess, my head would’ve split in two.
Screeech-
But the crisis wasn’t over. Pushed by the hobgoblin’s strength, the extinguisher tilted, and the machete blade slid along its smooth surface.
Then it lightly grazed my right forearm.
Slice!
“Urk!”
The machete carved deep into my forearm. Blood spurted like a fountain, strength draining from my body.
I dropped the extinguisher and backed away, checking my arm. Bright red blood, even redder muscle, and stark white something contrasting it.
‘Damn, is this bone?’
Fuck. The flesh was sliced clean to the bone on my forearm.