Chapter 29
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Gate
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‘Might as well see this through to the end.’
Now the only monsters left were the goblin shaman and two hobgoblins. When I returned to the goblin village, the goblin shaman had just finished chanting and unleashed a new spell.
Worried it might be an offensive magic, I tensed up, but then a familiar scene unfolded—one I’d seen many times before.
Red smoke poured from the shaman’s staff and clung to the hobgoblins’ bodies. Their eyes glowed red, and veins bulged across their skin.
“……Berserk?”
The hobgoblins’ transformation was identical to the berserk state I’d seen on orcs. Whatever the mechanism, the goblin shaman had clearly buffed the two hobgoblins with berserk.
“Kuooo!”
As expected, they charged at me several times faster than the hobgoblins I’d faced on the school rooftop.
Meanwhile, I was still under the slow curse, moving slower than usual.
Purely in terms of stats, we were evenly matched. And there were two of them.
I tried casting Illusion just in case, but whether due to berserk or something the goblin shaman did from behind, it wore off instantly.
Escape was tough, and Illusion didn’t stick. I had no choice but to go toe-to-toe with raw power.
‘Damn, did I waste points on Intelligence? I can barely use it.’
Fortunately, I’d seen a similar situation before. Specifically, it reminded me of the fight in Kage Gatsu Season 1, Episode 5.
In that episode, Kage Gatsu battled three Iga ninjas sent to assassinate the daimyo. Their skills were no joke, putting him in real danger.
It was the episode where Kage Gatsu’s ingenuity turned the numerical disadvantage around, or he might’ve lost.
Recalling his movements, I quickly hurled darts at the two hobgoblins.
Sure enough, both blocked them easily. Well, precisely, the left one deflected mine cleanly, while the right one fumbled a bit.
‘Even among hobgoblins, stats vary, huh.’
The left one seemed specialized in agility, while the right leaned toward strength or stamina.
I made a snap judgment and circled wide to the right in a half-moon arc, peppering the right hobgoblin with darts as I went.
Kwang!
The machete—its jungle blade—spat sparks as it batted away the first dart aimed at its chest. It barely dodged the second aimed at its head.
But the third, flying low at its instep, it neither blocked nor evaded.
Puk!
“Keeek!”
The dart pierced the hobgoblin’s foot. Its charge halted instantly. With its foot nailed to the ground like that, it had no choice. Either yank the dart free or rip its own foot open.
“Kruk!”
As the right hobgoblin stopped, the left one hesitated and slowed too.
To pursue me, it had to pass the right one blocking the path.
In that gap, I pulled a javelin and flung it at the goblin shaman.
Shweeeek!
“Kuheok!”
The javelin speared straight through the goblin shaman’s chest. Trembling, it clutched the hole in its torso before collapsing backward, dead.
No surprise there. It was the same strike that’d one-shotted an orc. Even slowed by the curse, no mage-type like a goblin shaman could tank it.
Psssh—
“Kruk?”
With the shaman dead, the slow curse lifted, and the berserk aura drained from the hobgoblins.
After that, it was a cakewalk. Taking down two hobgoblins without shaman support was child’s play.
“Phew. That was a close one.”
I survived because there were only two hobgoblins. One dart pinned both their feet at once.
But I couldn’t count on that luck next time. The other villages had at least four hobgoblins each, and over sixty regular goblins.
“Worry later. Loot first.”
[Hobgoblin’s Jungle Machete (F)]
[Attack Power 12. Durability 12. Weight 1.5]
I spotted the hobgoblin’s machete but left it. No inventory space anyway, and my training sword hit harder.
One thing was clear: Earth-made gear outclassed this stuff.
[Hobgoblin’s Magic Stone (F)]
[Hobgoblin mana is concentrated within.]
“A magic stone? Nice. Scoring something this rare here.”
Magic stones were ultra-rare, dropping from maybe one in every hundred monsters.
The lower the monster’s rank, the rarer they were. Almost never from 1-star goblins.
“How much is this worth?”
The hobgoblin’s stone was ping-pong ball-sized, with faint mana inside.
Their value depended on contained mana, but since this was my first, I couldn’t gauge it.
“An expert can appraise it.”
I stowed the magic stone and checked my status window.
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 10. (11.2%)] [Mana 0/10]
[Strength 28, Agility 28, Vitality 30, Intelligence 28]
The orc gave me 5% before. This village sweep added 6%.
A single goblin village matching an orc felt absurd, but difficulty-wise, it tracked.
‘Fifteen more villages, and I’ll level up?’
Problem was, nearby villages totaled maybe five.
One down, so four left. And the western one was triple the size—too much for me solo.
‘Can’t hit 2- or 3-star zones swarming with monsters either. Sigh. Only gate training in four months for extra EXP?’
If I had that luxury, I wouldn’t be raiding villages alone.
“Wait…… Didn’t it say there’s a gate near the village?”
[Yes. Mana fluctuations detected inside the goblin village.]
“Wanna check it out, but it’s late. Just scout the location.”
A large hut stood in the village center—likely the shaman’s lair.
Inside was a small gate. Size, shape, color—all like the one at school.
Faint mana leaked from within. Maybe that’s what drew the goblins here.
‘Dungeon inside, huh?’
Dungeons were monster-packed, or so I’d heard. Perfect for grinding EXP.
* * *
‘Alright. Let’s step in.’
Next morning, I cautiously entered the gate, equal parts excited and wary.
The interior surprised me—barely different from outside.
‘Hut? What? I definitely entered the gate…….’
Before I could figure it out, someone burst in.
“Kruk!? Krarak!”
A goblin shaman. Spotting me, it freaked and bolted outside. Chaos erupted as goblins swarmed the hut.
“W-what?”
Before I could react, they poured in. Instinctively, I threw darts.
“Damn it! Why so many?”
Each dart dropped a goblin, but they refilled faster than I could throw.
Darts ran dry amid the frenzy.
“Kee-gik!”
They were in my face now. I gripped my shuriken in dagger mode.
Shuriken were throws primarily, but could double as daggers in a pinch.
“Keeek!”
Dual-wielding shuriken, I slashed incoming goblins wildly.
At first, I cut them down before they closed. But as they piled on—one, two, three—my movements tangled.
Then.
“Urk!”
A goblin’s dagger grazed my forearm. Chill ran down my spine. Would it be a bad wound like the hobgoblin’s?
‘Injury’s…… not deep!’
Lucky. Just bruising. Not to dismiss it, but for a blade cut, it was mild.
‘Thanks to pumping Vitality?’
Higher Vitality boosted base defense, nullifying weaker hits. Like goblin attacks on orcs.
The bronze dagger’s attack power topped at 8, goblin strength max 10. My Vitality? 30.
‘Can tank these no problem.’
Confidence straightened my technique. I guarded vitals like fingers and head, body-checking the rest.
I’d bruise head to toe, but pain was an old friend.
Soon, goblin corpses filled the hut. Fewer live ones as bodies piled.
Victory tilted my way. Then—boom!—the roof caved.
I dodged as something gray smashed through. Innocents died instead.
“Kuek!”
Dust settled, revealing a berserk-buffed hobgoblin atop the goblin pile.
‘Slow curse would suck…….’
I scanned outside for the shaman.
It wielded a forearm-long bronze sword, barking at goblins. No chanting.
Relief mixed with doubt.
‘Why no slow curse?’
Come to think of it, the berserk hobgoblins weren’t that threatening. Weaker than yesterday’s.
No—goblins too, way frailer than before. Something was off.
“Kraaak!”
Two hobgoblins raged at me. No time for deep thought.
Clear the immediate threats first. I hurled a shuriken—testing reaction speed like yesterday.
Unexpected result.
“Kruk!”
One barely parried; the other took it in the throat and dropped.
That clinched it. These hobgoblins were leagues below yesterday’s.
“Whatever it is, gate monsters are weaker than outside ones?”
I threw another shuriken to finish the remaining hobgoblin, then charged the shaman with a javelin.
It ditched slow curses, swinging its bronze sword. A mage daring melee…….
Puk!
One light thrust ended it. Far easier than the outside shaman.
“As expected…… weaker than yesterday’s. What’s going on?”
EXP confirmed it—less than before.
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 10. (14.2%)]
Yesterday’s 6% vs. today’s measly 3%. Same village wipe, yet half the EXP meant half the monster quality.
‘Gate monsters weaker than outside ones?’