Madeline Territory and the Goblin Girl
Winz and I stared at the mural in disbelief.
Even I was shocked, but Winz—who had read and mastered countless books—looked like she was breaking into a cold sweat. It was understandable. I had never seen anything like this either.
Besides the mural, the walls were packed with paintings that seemed to prophesy creation or apocalyptic myths. And that was all there was.
Footsteps echoed.
Even if we searched further, nothing else appeared.
“What… did we just see?” Winz asked.
“I’m not sure, but I think we saw something we weren’t supposed to.”
“No, when did this get here? I’m certain we’ve never seen it before!”
“Let’s get out of here first.”
I grabbed the flustered Winz and decided to leave. The underground air was stale and thin.
As for me, my mind was already cracking.
The mural should have shown something about the protagonist. Instead of anything about the protagonist, it recorded the final boss like some predetermined future—still holding the Life Tree!
I had set out on this adventure to stop the final boss. Seeing it recorded that way made me feel like I was going insane.
Rumble, crash!
Suddenly the temple shook as if it were about to collapse. What now?
While I tried to stay calm, space suddenly twisted and split Winz and me apart—like the ice walls used by some game moderator.
“My lady! My lady!”
“I’m fine, don’t worry. Stay there!”
I looked around. Getting out of here came first.
Then a voice echoed in my mind.
Invader of the ruins, did you intend to learn the truth and return alive?
“What?”
This is your inevitability. This is the inevitable existence!
“Why? Are you going to snap your fingers with a gauntlet now?”
What a joke.
The ground shook violently. Sand gathered frantically before me and formed a single shape—a lightly armed soldier from a desert nation. Of course, it wasn’t human; its skin texture felt alien.
Could it be…?
World’s Interference
Objective: Defeat the Desert Tracker.
Reward: All Stats +3, Emblem of the Upright
I didn’t know what the reward was, but if I wanted to live, I had to fight. The Desert Tracker was one of the regular soldier classes. It slowly turned to face me.
“You bet on this, right? Let’s finish it in one go!”
I summoned my sword and leaped back, putting distance between us while preparing my draw technique. I was going to end this in a single strike.
Tatatat, pew!
[Blink]
But the Desert Tracker used Blink, closed the gap, and swung its curved blade. The blade sliced through the heavy air in a horizontal arc. I hurriedly raised my sword to block, then twisted aside for a horizontal slash of my own.
The tracker spun once to dodge and fluidly thrust its sword. “Tch!”
Clang! Clang!
When I dodged to the opposite side, it suddenly delivered a spinning kick.
Smack!
The blow landed on my shoulder, but I quickly retreated. We circled each other slowly, glaring, neither attacking.
It looked like it wasn’t attacking, but I knew better.
This thing closes the distance the moment I try anything. Yet if I stay fully alert, it doesn’t come.
This had gotten seriously difficult. A Desert Tracker should be the kind of opponent you could kill with a single sword swing. Normally, ruins had guardians—defensive mechanisms that appeared to protect the site from intruders. But this one was far too strong. Unless there was a dungeon nearby.
Yet this wasn’t that.
Swish, swish-swish!
The tracker zigzagged closer. I backed away, trying to read its pattern first.
Once I figure out its pattern, you’re finished!
Tap, whoosh!
It lunged, torso extended. When I sidestepped, it pulled back just as unnaturally.
What? It was deliberately not attacking? Was it planning to just watch me retreat?
A hollow laugh escaped me. This bastard was playing mind games.
Look at that—it knows I’m trying to read its pattern and counters perfectly. Crazy son of a—
Clicking my tongue, I stepped forward and threw a punch. Of course, it was at a distance where my fist couldn’t reach. As the tracker tilted its head and tried to dodge, I sneered.
“It’s a gun, you bastard! Bang!”
Bang, bang!
Pew, pew-pew! Bang!
I fired with Aileen fused to my gauntlet. The tracker was helplessly pushed back, riddled with hits. It was clearly badly wounded. Where my energy bullets struck, its body turned to sand and crumbled away.
Tatatatang! Pew, pew-pew! Bang!
I kept shooting. The damage wasn’t fatal, but it was meaningful. Meanwhile, the tracker had no way to counter this harassment.
Finally, it seemed to make a decision and used its only tactic.
[Blink]
It appeared at my side with Blink. I raised my sword to block, but it vanished again—probably appearing behind me. I spun and threw a punch. When I tried to shoot, it dodged and slipped into the opening. Its curved blade gleamed as it prepared to strike.
“That’s exactly what I wanted.”
The moment it swung down with all its might, I was already ready. Gripping my sword with both hands, I thrust straight forward with everything I had.
[Origin Divine Art – Phoenix Slayer]
Thud, whoooosh!
The perfect counter landed. Before its blade could reach me, the tracker’s abdomen was torn open, spilling sand. I followed up immediately.
[Origin Divine Art – Comet Sword]
The finishing blow bisected it cleanly. The tracker simply disintegrated.
Urgent Quest “World’s Interference” Cleared!
All stats increased by 3!
Acquired “Emblem of the Upright”!
The moment the quest cleared, I was reunited with Winz. We climbed onto the bike together, ready to escape the ruins.
Nothing beats long-range harassment against a bastard who tries to read your patterns!
As we sped up, Winz slid closer and smiled.
“I believed in you, my lady! Ufufu♥”
“Thanks for that. But… your chest is bouncing a lot.”
“My heart always beats, doesn’t it?”
“No, I mean… Winz, your chest is so big. It’s really obvious when it moves.”
Even at my careful words, Winz only laughed and accelerated further.
“I could make it even more obvious, you know? If I just… peel off a layer.”
“Shut up. Let’s hurry to Madeline!”
The emblem I received was just a four-leaf clover-shaped badge. I pinned it to my chest anyway. It might come in handy somewhere.
After cresting a hill, the gates of Madeline Territory came into view not far ahead. Once we passed through, we would be in Madeline.
We reached the gates. The soldiers asked simple questions about our identities and let us through without trouble. Just as we were about to move on, someone blocked our path.
“Hah, look who it is. An old acquaintance?”
It was Allen. Why was Allen Inarius here?
Winz and I stared at him with surprise and clear displeasure.
“Allen? What are you doing here? Got hired again?”
“This is my jurisdiction.”
“Anyone would think you’re a sheriff.”
“Isn’t a fixer basically the same thing? Nothing difficult about it.”
I openly mocked him. “Don’t laugh too much. When someone as unlikable as you smiles, it’s not even funny.”
“How troublesome. I’m not used to being disliked by someone so young.”
“You’d better get used to it. From someone who calls himself an adult.”
We glared at each other, full of venom. There was no way things could ever go well between us. His very existence was rotten. Even his name annoyed me.
Allen clicked his tongue. “I don’t know why you came here, but I’ll be watching. Remember that.”
“You? With what right?”
“For now, let’s just say I have that qualification… Go on.”
I smiled at the retreating Allen. “Well then, farewell, oh mighty one.”
That was how we entered the streets of Madeline. It was freer and more crowded than Womenchester. Still, compared to Womenchester, it felt like a rural village—oxen pulling carts, people saddling foals.
“When did that man arrive here?” Winz asked.
“More importantly, why is he here? I have a bad feeling about this.”
We rode the bike straight through Madeline Territory. People’s eyes naturally followed us.
“Whoa, what is that? So cool!”
“Faster than a horse, looks like. Amazing.”
“Are they magic engineering researchers?”
“I want to ride it too, heeung.”
We stopped at a nearby inn first. As Winz walked ahead, she bumped into someone.
Thud!
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“Agh, watch where you’re going!”
Though hooded, a glimpse of yellowish-green skin showed. A goblin woman?
I watched the retreating goblin girl, then slowly released my energy.
[Origin Divine Art – Flash Step]
I used Flash Step to catch up and grabbed her by the nape.
“Aack! What the— You’re catching goblins now?!”
“So what if I catch a goblin? They’re basically cockroaches.”
“You… Are you a racist too, huh?!”
“Not really, but looking at you, I might become one. Why the hell are you stealing other people’s coin purses?”
I held her upside down and shook her violently, like beating the dust out of a freshly washed blanket. A heavy coin purse dropped from her.
“Oh my, isn’t that my coin purse?!”
“Be more careful next time, Winz.”
I returned the purse to Winz and tossed the goblin girl aside. She ground her teeth.
“Tch… Who the hell are you two? How did you notice?!”
“Me? From now on, I’m the crazy bitch who’s going to enjoy torturing you.”
When I smiled brightly, the goblin girl’s face turned pale.