Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Golden Goblin - 3
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For a moment, I hesitated.
Should I clean up the goblin corpses?
There were too many to toss them all into the dimension gate one by one.
And then, noisy voices rose from below.
People were coming up.
"No helping it."
Now that goblins had been exposed, tomorrow's morning news would be plastered with the story for sure.
The gears were turning, and there was no stopping them now.
All I could do was grab what I needed, hide quietly, and watch the end times unfold.
I chased after Dingo toward the mountainside.
The fact that the goblins hadn't killed the police meant they had fled.
In other words, there were still unharmed cops around.
With goblins, police, awakeners, and now me—that made four groups wandering the mountain.
The outcome would depend on who ran into whom.
"If possible..."
I hoped the hobgoblin pack would run into me after their forces had been whittled down a bit.
It was selfish thinking, but unavoidable.
How long had we been racing along the forest path?
By the time Dingo and I were exhausted, a commotion reached our ears.
I hid with Dingo behind a tree.
Not far off, a few people were battling a goblin pack.
"Riot gear and a bow... People think alike, huh."
Surprisingly, a rock floated through the air.
Telekinesis?
Just how diverse could traits get?
One goblin took a rock to the back of the head and toppled over.
Another awakener loosed arrows in quick succession.
The shots weren't accurate, but they made the goblins flinch back.
The last one seemed confident in close quarters and was facing off against two goblins.
With a machete and a plastic shield.
"Hah!"
Kieek!
A bizarre shout mixed with the goblin's pained screech.
Goblins without paralyzing needles or traps were pathetically weak in a fight.
Where were the other awakeners, anyway?
Anyone with decent experience should've shown up by now...
Maybe the incident had blown up too big, and they were scared of getting nabbed by the police.
If they had stealth traits, they wouldn't get caught, but their combat power might be lacking...
"Should I help..."
But with three factions clashing, I risked getting attacked too.
As I pondered, a whistle blew from behind.
Damn, cops.
"Open the dimension gate."
I stayed hidden with Dingo, observing the situation.
Bang bang!
The police fired warning shots.
The hobgoblin pack, rattled by gunfire after repeated battles—probably suffering noise sensitivity—flinched.
That's when the telekinetic, busy hurling rocks, tripped over a tree root.
"Urk!"
"Watch out, sir!"
In that split-second distraction, the goblins bolted.
The awakeners tried to pursue, but halted as the police charged in.
"Don't move!"
"What the hell are you doing up here?!"
"We were just..."
"Seriously, how many times do we have to say it's dangerous... Go down, just go down."
"The monsters are getting away!"
"Go down first! The military's deploying—you wanna get shot?"
The mention of the military made the awakeners hesitate.
"But, boss, wasn't there someone else here?"
"No one's here! Let's move, hurry!"
They must've glimpsed my silhouette.
The police finally persuaded them and started leading them down.
"That was real superpowers just now, right?"
"Yeah... telekinesis."
"Whoa... so that stuff's real?"
"But we need to catch those things..."
Soon, silence fell around us.
"Dingo, let's go."
I emerged from the dimension gate and followed Dingo.
He'd recovered some stamina from the brief rest and bounded ahead eagerly.
Traces of the hobgoblin pack's movement were visible.
They were heading deep into the mountain.
We had to settle this before it got darker.
.
.
.
Night falls early in the mountains.
Thanks to that, Dingo and I ended up stumbling through the dark forest.
At least we weren't lost, thanks to Dingo's keen nose.
He was clearly worn out but kept charging forward.
Once this was over, I'd treat him to a ton of beef—not quite luxury, but plenty.
Bright lights flickered below the mountain.
Soldiers swarming, searching everywhere.
"They'll be up here soon..."
We had to take out the hobgoblin pack first.
For main planet monsters, they navigated the rugged terrain surprisingly well.
"Dingo, hang in there."
I patted his rear encouragingly.
It probably didn't help much, but he seemed set to push a bit farther.
Puppy bedtime was approaching...
After racing through the dark woods for a while, Dingo suddenly dropped low.
I sensed it instinctively too.
Had my heightened perception kicked in?
The goblins' foul stench seeped into my nose.
"Dingo, into the dimension gate."
I opened it, and he darted inside.
Now it was just me and the goblin pack.
But my eyes were accustomed to otherworld nights.
My boosted perception helped map the surroundings.
In the distance, hobgoblin shapes faintly emerged in a clearing.
Night vision goggles would've been perfect... After this, I'd grab some civilian ones.
"Building a nest, huh..."
Goblins were main planet monsters with a habit of returning to nests even after leaving.
No nest here must've confused them.
The hobgoblin probably ordered a temporary one.
Goblins seemed clever from their traps, but they were idiots at reading situations their way.
*We ran, so enemies won't follow,* they'd think.
I could see goblins scurrying about.
Their night vision was worse than mine, yet they moved fine.
This was my chance.
"Six in total..."
The golden goblin couldn't fight properly with that huge sack.
Likely out of paralyzing needles after multiple fights.
The hobgoblin wouldn't lead, so I only had four regular goblins to face.
Doable.
Too dark for a bow, so skip it.
I tossed the bow into the dimension gate, grabbed my machete and helmet.
Save pistol rounds if possible.
"Damn, can't see a thing."
Better than a paralyzing needle to the head.
Target: that sluggish walker.
Kill quick, hide in the gate.
When it strayed just enough...
I approached carefully and charged.
It weakly turned at my footsteps.
Now!
"Hah!"
I lunged, swinging the machete.
No finesse—just brute force.
But it worked; the goblin's shoulder split open.
It clutched it, emitting a grotesque wail.
Kieeek!
"Die!"
The machete half-severed its neck.
In agony, it flailed, gripping the blade.
Its skinny arm split wide, blood gushing.
Kiaaaak...
I kicked it off and yanked the machete free.
Opened the dimension gate and dove in.
Kiaak!
The hobgoblin, sensing me, rampaged.
*Check over there quick!*
Big body, but classic goblin cowardice.
Three excluding the golden one trembled toward the gate.
Out of needles, confirmed.
Nothing to fear.
"Hup!"
I thrust my spear with full weight, piercing a goblin clean through.
It died without twitching.
Right in the heart spot.
Pulled it out; the body hit the gate and dropped.
"Aha."
So that's what "exclusive" meant.
Humans and monsters couldn't use my gate.
Dunno why animals could, but whatever.
The other two backed away in fear.
I burst out, stabbing again.
The metal blade's sickening slice through flesh and bone traveled up the shaft.
Disgusting, but endure.
Three goblins left.
As I moved to hide again, the rest fled.
Noise from below.
Soldiers already this far up?
"Damn."
Panicking, I stowed the spear, drew Kwon’s gifted pistol.
19 rounds.
Racked the slide and pursued.
Golden goblin couldn't run well with the sack.
Aimed, but too dark.
Had to close in.
"Huff, huff!"
Breath ragged from exertion.
Finally spotted the golden goblin.
It had tripped following the leader, torso exposed.
Thud, thud!
Pistol rounds punched its upper body.
It keeled over dead.
I snatched the sack mid-stride.
"Dimension gate open!"
Whispered toss; it vanished inside.
Dingo was resting beside it, fine.
Now just hobgoblin and one goblin left.
Catching my breath, a chill hit me.
Looked up: black shadow charging.
Hobgoblin!
Kuoook!
Its roar, attack, and my dodge simultaneous.
I rolled across the ground, escaping its range.
Slammed into a tree trunk.
"Oof!"
Spine stung; head spun.
Survival Thirst activated instantly.
I aimed carefully at the roaring hobgoblin.
Kaaaak!
Fighting monsters, I always thought: no roar, win rate up 10%.
I didn't miss it gripping its weapon, bellowing.
Trigger squeezes; dull bangs echoed.
It collapsed mid-charge.
Two more to its head.
Then the last panicking goblin.
...
+18 Points
+New Skill: Terrain Sense
"Terrain Sense?"
Never expected to pick up this skill here.
It lets you intuitively grasp and navigate terrain you've visually scanned.
No more tripping over obstacles.
Perfect for an apocalypse littered with zombie corpses and debris.
"I got a nice perk too."
Not a hobgoblin skill, but whatever.
Items... Oh, gloves turned into an item.
In Sera, Dexterity ties to hidden stats like accuracy and crit.
Higher Dexterity means better hit chance.
"Fewer misses now."
Noise from below.
"Over there!"
"Quiet! Didn't you learn stealth? Secure the perimeter! Hold if anything shows!"
You're the loud ones.
I slipped into tree shadows, opened the dimension gate.
Dingo licked my hand as I entered.
Survival Thirst faded; crushing fatigue hit.
Want to check the sack, but...
"Sleep first..."
I collapsed onto the mattress.
Felt Dingo pull up the blanket.
Good boy.
.
.
.
"Ngh..."
Woke refreshed, but back ached.
Tree impact pain, but bearable.
"Gotta live with it."
Pulled back the blanket; Dingo stretched, staring expectantly.
Those reward-hungry eyes.
"Hold on, just checking this."
Heart pounding.
Like a kid unwrapping Santa's gift?
Inverted the sack, shook it out—heavy items tumbled.
"Whoa... Golden goblin indeed!"
Two police revolvers.
Golden goblin loves shiny stuff.
Opened the cylinder: different-colored blanks.
"Never even fired 'em."
One blank, four live rounds.
Unfortunately, incompatible with Kwon's semi-auto.
Loot more from the station later.
What else...
Spotted a gleaming silver knife.
"Ooh..."
Didn't expect this here.
Indestructible means exactly that—unchanging.
Even immune to Metal Plague.
Not impervious to physical force, though.
Devs didn't implement ceramic blades, making mithril knives essential.
Emerald knives worked but had low durability.
"This ran 100P... Damn expensive."
Good to have anyway.
Where'd the golden goblin get it?
Impossible for their civilization to craft.
"Surface is oddly bumpy..."
Like aggregated and smoothed grains.
Human knives are mirror-smooth.
Compared to the old goblin knife I'd looted before.
"Similar."
Different effort, but same maker vibe.
Who made these?
Rest: 5 Sun Apples, Shade Grapes, Guca Fruit Powder, vegetable oil.
"Oh... Not bad."
Shade Grapes boost night vision.
Pair with Terrain Sense—no night falls.
Guca powder and oil: more the better.
"Good for 5 uses."
Rest was rotting meat, withered fruit—trash.
"Still, revolvers and knife make Golden Goblin worth it."
Doubt the dead one agrees.
"Status window."
"Nice."
Satisfied, Dingo barked *wang*.
Hungry but too shy to nag his owner.
I petted him.
"Let's eat. Beef when we get home."
Ate, changed into hiking gear.
Time to exit the gate, but soldiers might linger.
Opened it: early morning.
"No soldiers... They collected the hobgoblin corpse too."
Descended the trail.
Remaining troops stopped me, but "night hiker" got me a quick pat-down and release.
Suspicious stuff stashed in the cave beforehand—clean.
At the parking lot, police tape and dozens of people camping.
A few reporters rushed me.
"Excuse me, where are you coming down from?"
"Know anything about last night's incident...?"
"Uh, just a hiker. Went up at dawn, coming down now."
They deflated and left.
Classic hiking outfit eased suspicions?
"Whew..."
Reached the SUV below and finally exhaled.
Wasn't sure how it'd go lost in the woods, but ended well enough.
But goblin corpses remained.
Home, TV on: world in uproar, as expected.
Golden Goblin - 3 End