Chapter 7
Chapter 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Dark Hobgoblin
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Keeh….”
His head slowly tilted upward.
“Keeehhh-!”
The Dark Hobgoblin raised its flaming sword high and let out a roar.
“Finally, we meet. Boss monster.”
Sein pulled himself free from the tree trunk and spoke.
It was an enemy that looked powerful at a glance.
A smirk.
But Sein was smiling.
‘Way too big for a hobgoblin. Its whole body is steeped in darkness.’
Moreover, the flames clinging to the sword in the Hobgoblin’s grip.
Even if this was a special variant capable of using abilities, it was a fact that it shouldn’t wield anything that threatening.
That thing was.
‘The monsters of today.’
A darkness-tainted, corrupted special variant.
Thud!
Sein drew his dagger as he eyed the approaching Dark Hobgoblin.
The blade was dulled from countless battles, its edge even rusted with goblin blood.
“Plenty good enough.”
But it was sufficient.
Thud! Thud!
The Dark Hobgoblin picked up speed.
Sein matched it, striding forward.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Tatat! Tatatat!
The two accelerated toward each other.
Boom!
They finally collided at the midpoint.
The flaming greatsword clashed against Sein’s dagger.
Whoosh!
He felt the searing heat.
‘Heat resistance.’
To Sein, it was nothing more than a warm breeze.
The ability of dragons, called the ultimate lifeforms.
A new heart forged through legend.
Thump!
It was the power of the Dragon Heart.
Moreover, Sein’s dagger, which seemed ready to shatter at any moment.
Rrrring!
It held firm even against that massive greatsword.
Vmmm!
A bluish glow.
Aura.
Boom!
But in the end, overpowered, Sein was sent flying back.
The Dark Hobgoblin pursued, swinging its greatsword, but it was too late.
“Keeh?”
Sein had already vanished.
“Keeehhh!”
Enraged, the Dark Hobgoblin swung its greatsword wildly.
‘Its intelligence has dropped even further.’
The voice came from right behind the Dark Hobgoblin.
It tried to whirl around upon realizing, but that too was too late.
Stab!
An aura-infused dagger plunged into the back of the Dark Hobgoblin’s neck.
And then…
Crunch!
Sein poured even more mana into his aura, using gravity to drive downward.
“Keeehhhh-!”
The Dark Hobgoblin thrashed and screamed from the agony in its back.
Sein slowly backed away, observing the Dark Hobgoblin.
‘Regeneration too.’
It seemed to possess even regenerative abilities that normal hobgoblins lacked; he could see the torn wound slowly knitting shut.
“Guess that’s not enough.”
He let out a regretful sigh, but Sein’s lips still curved in a smile.
How long had he waited for this?
Monster hunting?
Sure, he’d waited for that too.
But what Sein had truly awaited was.
Thump! Thump!
The immense power surging from his heart.
‘Dragon Heart, output release.’
This sensation of transcending humanity, becoming something else entirely.
Even when Sanctuary was just a game, he’d become addicted to that overwhelming thrill.
And now that it was reality.
“Kh….”
An indescribable satisfaction dominated his entire body.
“Khahaha!”
Pain vanished.
The system’s suppression vanished.
Even locked in this hellish prison, drowning in despair, Sein had waited for this day.
‘This place is definitely Sanctuary. If I ever awaken the power I possess….’
What sensation would he feel then?
Crackle.
Sein’s pupils shifted, like those of a lizard.
Right here, right now.
Squelch.
Sein felt like a god.
The hard ground cratered underfoot.
He used it as a launchpad, channeling even greater mana into his soles.
Boom!
Sein shot toward the Hobgoblin like a cannonball.
*
*
*
The Dark Hobgoblin, a monster among monsters, lay defeated.
Its state was utterly wretched.
Hacked to pieces all over, it looked less like prey that had been hunted.
“More like it was experimented on.”
As if some mad wizard had toyed with it relentlessly.
Arin stared at Sein, the one who had reduced it to this.
His eyes briefly closed, as if mourning his quarry.
When they opened.
“…….”
Sein brimmed with even more refined mana.
‘He got stronger again in this short time?’
Growth that defied astonishment.
And Arin’s thoughts were spot on.
Smirk.
Sein was grinning.
‘Leveling up in Sanctuary is brutal, but boss monsters give a hefty chunk of experience.’
That’s why he’d waited.
Slaughtering goblins, luring out their leader to call the shots.
What Sein had done was a form of farming.
And now, he was harvesting the seeds he’d sown.
‘All my stats have risen substantially.’
In Sanctuary, you couldn’t gain stats through level-ups; instead, they came from hunting.
Especially the massive boosts from boss monsters.
‘Won’t get this twice, though.’
The gains from goblins and the Dark Hobgoblin were done.
No more lessons from foes he’d grown thoroughly accustomed to.
But what Sein had gained wasn’t just that.
Moments ago, felling the Dark Hobgoblin had triggered another level-up.
-Flashback.
The new ability he’d obtained there was.
“Hm?”
Dragon Fear.
The primal terror innate to the ultimate lifeform, now his to unleash.
Arin narrowed her eyes at Sein.
“Just now….”
She started to speak.
“Oh, so this is killing intent, huh.”
Sein cut her off.
“I’d heard about it from mercenaries, but you really need to get blood on your hands to use it like this?”
He scratched his head, then clapped.
“How about it, Arin? Is this right?”
He even asked her directly, so Arin shut her mouth.
“It’s a little different.”
“As expected of self-taught enlightenment? The path of genius is long and arduous.”
“…….”
Sein beamed innocently at Arin, as if proving his purity.
‘He doesn’t even know this much?’
But inwardly, he observed her just as he had the Dark Hobgoblin.
‘Well, the old empire fell, and its bloodline was wiped out.’
He was certain.
Because he was the one who’d severed it.
Over a century since then.
Legends and tales might preserve the imperial family’s uniqueness, but they weren’t the same as seeing and feeling it firsthand.
Even back when the old empire existed, dragons were already extinct—and now the imperial bloodline was gone too.
‘No one can recognize the power of dragons.’
If someone did, by then he’d be ready as well.
Even so.
‘I need to keep watch.’
Sein didn’t relax.
Just as Arin watched him, he would watch her.
*
*
*
At last, Sein declared the hunt over.
“…Great work, boss.”
Even Derun, who rarely showed emotion, looked exhausted from the marathon.
The hunt ended only after the darkness corruption reached his chest.
“Got everything there was to get.”
Stats from the goblins.
Stats from the boss monster.
Two flashbacks.
Leveling up from trash like goblins was impossible now.
Plus, in the heat of fierce combat, he’d tested the limits of his current body.
‘The Dragon Heart’s potential is limitless. Just need to conserve it for now.’
He’d checked his trump card.
Most crucially, this.
“Kh.”
Darkness corruption.
In this changed world unlike the one he knew, it was essential to confirm.
He’d learned the side effects as corruption deepened.
‘But the Dragon Heart is suppressing the darkness corruption. Means the degree depends on mana reserves.’
That was what Sein needed.
And with everything acquired.
“Let’s go.”
He could finally leave with peace of mind.
‘Once I fully control the darkness corruption, I can move freely.’
Sein walked leisurely, hands clasped behind his head, but his eyes were calm and sunken.
‘One thing nagging at me, though.’
Glance.
Arin, standing at the rear.
Only her.
That was when.
“Sein Demorus.”
“…….”
At Arin’s quiet call of his name, Sein carefully unclasped his hands.
“Yeah?”
But his expression and voice were as bright as ever toward her.
“…….”
Sein’s mind raced as Arin struggled to continue.
“…Um.”
“What? Spit it out.”
He still didn’t quite get Arin.
A powerhouse called the Legion Witch.
Her skill shredding a knight-captain-level fugitive mercenary was far beyond what his current self could handle.
But what bugged him most was her subtle gaze.
‘Nothing I can do about it now.’
If an opening appeared…
“…That is….”
“Hey, what is it? Just say it!”
“I have a request.”
“A request?”
Sein tilted his head at the out-of-left-field remark.
“…Um.”
“Ugh, seriously.”
“Dark… Hobgoblin…”
“What! Shit! What!”
It was the first time.
“The Dark Hobgoblin’s corpse…! Can I have it?!”
That coldly ruthless Arin making such a face.
Her eyes squeezed shut, body twisting bashfully—it was like a girl in love.
“……?”
Sein’s jaw dropped in bewilderment.
“Dark Hobgoblins are rare even among special variants. It’d be such a waste to just leave the body like that….”
Her voice barely a whisper in his ear.
“Ha, what’d I think it was.”
Sein turned away with an exasperated chuckle.
“Take it. But don’t forget—it’s a debt.”
“I won’t!”
What the hell was she thinking?
Before nightfall that day, Sein’s group reached a nearby territory.