Chapter 206
Chapter 206
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: Hassan and Luna, Featured in the Newspaper
-----------------------------------------------------------------
With the explosion. Fly away!!
Those were his final words before a massive roar engulfed my ears.
Beeeep—.
Whoosh—.
Soon, my body felt like it was truly floating in midair.
Unfamiliar letters floated before my eyes.
『Grace: Night's Armor consumes 10 Karma Value to block fatal damage.』
『Grace: Night's Armor consumes 10 Karma Value to block fatal damage.』
『Grace: Night's Armor consumes 10 Karma Value—』
But the countless letters were soon obscured as my vision turned pure white, leaving nothing visible.
Everything around me was pure white.
It felt just like drifting through a white universe, devoid of any sense of direction or sensation.
What the hell is this?
Am I dying?
For a moment, fear gripped me. But it didn't seem like my life was in real danger.
Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to think and reason like this.
Sure enough.
As the blinding white light filling my vision slowly receded, the crumbling interior of the dilapidated cave came into view bit by bit.
"What the fuck."
The first thing I checked was my own body.
Were my limbs still attached? If so, were all my fingers and toes accounted for?
With the Night's Armor clinging to me, I couldn't tell for sure, but my body parts seemed intact, and there were no major injuries.
The only annoyance was a slight dizziness.
Of course, the dizziness was probably because I'd just revived dozens of goblins at once. I sent the revived goblins to scour every corner.
"Search everywhere."
Clack, clack.
But there was no sign of the hideous Gogrid, nor of the bastard Mezayer who had possessed his body.
"Whoa—."
That was one hell of an explosion.
It was a blast as big as the C4 detonations I'd seen in the military.
And yet, I'd survived unscathed right in its face.
Honestly, I was so stunned it didn't feel real.
Had using all my goblins as shields been that effective?
Sure, that helped, but it was probably the insane performance of this new grace from Lord Knox, the Night's Armor.
"Chaos Eternal—."
I chanted the weird incantation for the first time in a while. Letters floated into the air.
Ding—.
『Name: Hassan Lv. 22
Strength: 12
Agility: 4
Vitality: 6
Karma: 355 → 235
Grace: Blessing of Chaos | Shining Hand | Night's Armor』
My Karma Value, which had easily surpassed 350 just moments ago, had dropped to the 230s. Because the Night's Armor had nullified the impact by consuming Karma Value.
I never knew Karma Value could be used like this.
I'd agonized over whether to spend points on leveling up, but decided to save them just in case—and that choice was spot on.
If my Karma Value had hit zero midway, I might've lost an arm or leg, or gotten unlucky and died right there.
"Tch, this grace is seriously amazing."
Night's Armor.
As long as you have plenty of Karma Value, you don't need actual armor.
Is this what a mother-in-law's love feels like?
They say if your wife's pretty, you bow to the in-laws' gatepost. Wait, that's not quite the right proverb for this.
Anyway, my head was too excited to think straight amid the chaos.
The important thing was that I'd survived.
And that I hadn't gotten the body of Gogrid, who seemed like he'd make a fine undead.
All that remained on the ground were torn cloth scraps, dust, and the debris of my goblins.
Sparkle.
As I scanned the surroundings, I picked up something glowing amid the wreckage.
It was a staff embedded with a fairly large crystal orb—the same one the great goblin king Gogrid had swung like a club.
Flash.
The moment I picked it up from the floor, the black orb seemed to flicker with an eerie light, sending chills down my spine.
It's not cursed or anything, right?
Rustle.
Right then, I sensed movement from behind.
Was this Mezayer finally ambushing me? Phase two starting? I crouched low, bracing myself.
"Here, this is where Lord Hassan should be. By now, Lord Hassan has defeated the goblins' king and—."
At the cave entrance, caked in dust, Paranoya was leading a Small Shield adventurer inside hesitantly.
Oh, shit, busted.
In the Night's Armor, I looked every bit the villainous necromancer. If those guys saw me like this, it was obvious what would happen.
So I hurriedly dispelled the grace and unsummoned the goblins filling the area.
Crash—.
Paranoya emerged amid the collapsing bones.
"Lord Hassan, Paranoya has arrived. There was a huge shock that shook the cave just now—what on earth—."
Paranoya, who had been guiding the female adventurer while looking back, entered the room and met my eyes.
"Lord Hassan, where is Gogrid?"
"Well, I blew him up."
"Exploded...?"
Paranoya furrowed her brow, clearly confused. The scenario we'd agreed on had gone off-script, leaving her bewildered.
Then she seemed to get it all at once. "Ah—!"
"As expected, you obliterated that powerful silver-grade monster without a trace!? Such a merciless warrior—!!"
"Yeah, well, something like that."
I could only awkwardly scrape the cave floor with my shoe. Just then, voices echoed from afar.
"Kasiya! Kasiya, you here? Rescue team's arrived! Kasiya! Answer if you're here!"
"There was an explosion. She's definitely in this cave! Find Kasiya!"
"Why are there so many goblin corpses...?"
They must be the ones looking for the missing Iron Tier female adventurer. Her party, the Skardi or whatever?
Good thing I could leave the cleanup to them.
My plans had gone sideways in several ways. But I'd survived unscathed and gathered info, so maybe that was enough. As I tried to convince myself.
The adventurer trembling behind Paranoya—the Iron Tier woman named Kasiya—spoke up.
"You're... you're Hassan of Samaria from Mars Guild, right?"
"And you're Kasiya from Skardi Party."
"Y-you know my name? Even which party I'm in? We're just an Iron Tier party—."
Kasiya brought her hands to her mouth, shocked that I knew them.
Come to think of it, this was the first time she'd seen me without my mask. Officially, we were strangers.
I'd worried about raising suspicions, but her reaction was the last thing I expected.
"This is such an honor. Did you... come into this cave to rescue me...?"
"Yeah, well, let's say that."
As we chatted casually, several armed men burst into Gogrid's chamber.
All equipped with swords, shields, torches, and wearing iron and bronze necklaces.
Minerva Guild adventurers?
"Kasiya! There you are! You look surprisingly fine?"
"Still, better check for injuries. More importantly—."
They quickly checked Kasiya over, then turned their gazes to me.
"You—who are you? What are you doing down here?"
They didn't hide their blatant hostility. I get it—if I ran into someone in a dark cave like this, I'd swing first too.
I was pondering how to explain when.
"Please stop being rude to him!! He came into this goblin nest alone to save me!"
Kasiya, the Small Shield adventurer wrapped in a long towel-like cloth amid the crowd, spoke up on my behalf.
The men slightly lowered their weapons.
"He came here alone?"
"There are nearly a hundred goblin corpses. You're saying he killed them all by himself?"
"To be precise, he didn't come alone. Paranoya was with him...!"
"Killing over a hundred goblins solo. Wait—black hair, black eyes. And a Mars Guild bronze plate. You're Hassan of Samaria, aren't you?"
"Close enough."
"It is! Hassan the goblin slayer! Man, who knew someone could take down a hundred goblins alone."
"And not a speck of dust on his clothes. Impressive skills."
Even without much explanation from me, they seemed convinced I'd single-handedly massacred the cave's goblins.
"Anyway, she's safe—let's head back!"
"Hassan, was it? We'll hear more details about this back in the city!"
* * *
"Hassan, look at this. The newspaper's here."
Early morning.
Luna checked the mailbox she'd made herself. She'd found the delivered paper.
"Hassan, newspaper!"
Luna held it out to me. Honestly, I lacked the courage to open it.
"Nothing bad will be in there. Reporters wouldn't print unverified stuff!"
Still, with Luna stroking my back encouragingly, I unrolled the leather scroll.
The first thing I saw was.
Minerva's Newcomer Guild Skardi ? Entering the Goblin Nest to Solve the Growing Goblin Problem.
Their Journey to Rescue a Fellow Adventurer—.
It was all about Skardi Party, splashed across a full spread.
From braving the cave to find their missing comrade, to how captive adventurer Kasiya endured so long.
A heartwarming tale dominating the page.
"Hassan, just like you said—it's about Skardi Party! No mention of you?"
"Nah, no need to look that hard."
Right as I thought that.
"Ah—! Here's your name, Hassan...!"
On the next page, a huge headline detailed my story.
Hassan of Samaria Slays a Hundred Goblins Alone to Rescue Iron Tier Adventurer from Another Guild.
Does the long-standing rift between Minerva and Mars Guilds mean nothing to fresh new sprouts?
"Hmm..."
My name was really in the newspaper. I'd heard rumors and songs about me circulating in back alleys.
But seeing my story officially published for all to see felt oddly embarrassing.
"Hassan, you're amazing! But nothing about fighting the goblin king?"
"Yeah. I fought so hard, too."
"Hassan, was there really a goblin king? A really huge goblin?"
"Yeah, there was. And I took it down. Definitely."
Late last night.
I'd dealt with peddlers, reporters, and Minerva Guild reps swarming the yard.
They grilled me on the details, but since I couldn't spill everything, I said I'd defeated the goblin king, then barely survived a massive explosion.
I'd clearly stated I beat the goblin king.
But the reporters skipped that, focusing on goblin kill counts and the feel-good rescue of a rival guild's newbie party.
Unavoidable, since I hadn't recovered the head as proof.
A goblin king, huh.
Without evidence, it sounds like a kid's tall tale. But that giant orb upstairs proves my story.
"Tch, I really did take it down."
"I believe you, Hassan. And I'm just glad you came back safe—."
Luna pulled my head into a tight hug.
Had she been initiating contact like this lately?
Whenever I'd tried hugging her, she'd say, "Hassan, too hot!" and refuse. She's weak to summer heat.
In that sense, her comforting me felt heartwarming. Her chest seemed a bit fuller too.
Anyway, like Luna said, surviving and returning safe was victory enough.
Wondering if there was more about me, I flipped the pages with trembling hands.
Necromancer Appears?
The huge headline caught my eye. Scanning the article—.
Necromantic Traces and Hellish Mana Detected in Goblin Nest.
Further down: Minerva Guild's forensic team detected powerful infernal mana in the cave, and with the temple knights stationed in the city—.
As I anxiously skimmed the text, Luna spoke.
"Looks like the cultist is still lurking nearby. Scary."
"Yeah?"
"The world's going crazy. Business was finally picking up! And now these cultists keep showing up."
Luna must be anxious about danger lurking in the city where she was building her life.
What face would she make if she knew it was me?
I couldn't bring myself to tell her.
"Luna, don't worry. I've got you."
But that much I could say. That mysterious necromancer would never threaten Luna's safety—or any Sodomora citizen's.
I knew that better than anyone.
"Anyway, it's fun seeing your name in the paper. You're gonna get even more famous, Hassan!"
"Yeah."
Not the story I intended, but fame's fame? Luna kept flipping pages, genuinely amused.
"Never knew reading the newspaper could be this fun. Wonder if there's anything about me?"
She rustled through the pages, searching.
It reminded me of myself googling my name online.
But Luna lived quietly, so unless she ran an ad, there'd be nothing.
I opened my mouth to temper expectations—when.
"Ah—! Here, looks like there's something about me too—!"
Luna pointed to a small section.
"Your story's in there?"
We peered at the tiny page together. What was written there...
Was pretty surprising.