Chapter 11

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 11: The Goblins Are Too Big (1)

“Ar… Are goblins usually this big?”

Yeongwoo turned his head at Yechan’s trembling voice.

“…I wouldn’t know. It’s my first time seeing goblins up close too.”

Despite the somewhat silly conversation, there wasn’t a trace of laughter on their faces.

The reality of a two-meter-tall goblin standing right in front of them, whether a figment of their imagination or not, was undeniable.

And not only was it towering in height, but its arms were massive with muscles and veins protruding prominently. The armor covering its head, chest, and abdomen barely showed any space for a blade to penetrate.

‘This is problematic.’

Yeongwoo couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that perhaps his assumptions had been completely off the mark.

He stayed here under the assumption that the monsters wouldn’t be too powerful since hunting them was the only method of acquiring karma points.

But the present reality seemed to contradict that…

–Keeiik!

Soon enough, the group of goblins noticed Yeongwoo and Yechan, emanating a threatening stance.

“Sh-should we… fight?”

Yechan’s question sounded almost like a scream, already devoid of any vigor.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo tightened his grip on his shield, preparing to step forward.

“Is there any other way?”

Before Yeongwoo could finish his sentence, the goblins aggressively stomped the ground with their iron boots, charging towards them.

–Keeiik!

–Kirruk!

The intimidation from the twelve goblins, each standing at a towering two meters, was overwhelming.

With every movement they made, their colossal shadows overlapped Yeongwoo’s and Yechan’s, as if they had already begun the slaughter.

“Ah… Ah…!”

“…?”

Yechan’s voice sounded peculiar, and as Yeongwoo turned to look, he saw the trembling grip on his spear.

Barely able to stand, legs not firmly planted on the ground, barely maintaining balance.

Seeing this, Yeongwoo felt a surge of dread course through his body.

“You idiot, are you out of your mind? Do you want to die here? Get a grip!”

Even if they fought with all their might, it was uncertain if they could prevail. Yet, despite Yeongwoo’s urging, Yechan only wavered, showing no sign of taking action.

As a result, a string suddenly snapped in Yeongwoo’s mind.

“Kang Yechan! Are you trying to commit su***de again?”

Then…

“Huh…?”

A startled Yechan glanced at Yeongwoo, wearing a complex expression.

He had understood what Yeongwoo had just said.

|Eliminations: February 1, 2039, 8:36 PM, killed a customer while working at a bar, then committed su***de.

It was his previous, or rather, original destiny written in the destiny records.

“Ah.”

Just as a glimmer of determination seemed to dawn in Yechan’s eyes, the goblins pounced on them.

–Kiieeek!

Without a chance to assess Yechan, Yeongwoo had to raise his shield in defense.

The colossal blade of an axe was hurtling straight towards his head.

Moreover, the Gumi Sword Technique, that usually activated whenever he was about to be attacked, was now failing to activate.

‘Is it only effective in one-on-one combat?’

In that split second when the future seemed murky, a resounding clang echoed.

Kkaaang!

The moment Yeongwoo gritted his teeth as he saw his future getting darker.

Clang!

The goblin’s attack rebounded off the outer rim of the shield.

‘Huh…?’

And then Yeongwoo realized.

‘It’s not as strong as I thought?’

Although his elbow was sore from the impact on the shield, it was not because he lacked strength.

It was simply because joints were not strong.

Right now, his strength and endurance had increased fivefold, but his durability remained unchanged.

Which meant…

‘I don’t lose the battle of strength…!’

Recalling the axe blade that had been effortlessly deflected, Yeongwoo swung his shield forward.

Whoosh! Thud!

The sound of metal striking metal reverberated.

Because of the goblin’s towering height, the shield struck its upper chest plate instead of the head.

–Kkrruk!

Surprisingly, the missed strike was not entirely ineffective.

–Kyaaah!

The expression of the goblin visible inside the helmet contorted ferociously.

Then, Yeongwoo realized that the opponent’s chest plate had been dented.

‘This bastard is in so much pain that can’t even move right now.’

Yeongwoo glimpsed a potential turnaround and his determination surged.

But the opponent was a group of twelve goblins, after all.

Whoosh!

A massive blade came flying from the right side in a brutish manner.

“…!”

Shivers ran down Yeongwoo’s spine as he instinctively extended his Early Bird to assume a defensive posture.

Unconsciously, he tilted the blade similar to what the hologram of the Gumi Sword Technique had done recently. It was an unintentional act, reproducing the most successful defensive stance he had experienced.

Clang!

Soon enough, the goblin’s blade, meeting the Early Bird, slid down the silver-sloped surface.

In fact, it was only possible because Yeongwoo’s own strength had increased to match his opponent’s strength, but he himself was unaware of this fact.

What mattered to him right now was only…

‘The… Timing!’

He sensed the timing for a counterattack.

Swish!

Although it wasn’t perfect, Yeongwoo managed a swift counterattack, reminiscent of when the Gumi Sword Technique had been activated.

The Early Bird, previously pushed downward by the opponent’s blade, shot back up like lightning.

Pitt!

With a sharp sound, the tip of the Early Bird darted through the goblin’s helmet.

–Kwaaaak!

The goblin screamed strangely as it collapsed backward.

Of course, another one immediately rushed forward, spewing out hot air, but Yeongwoo was no longer intimidated.

He felt like he could handle this one too.

* * *

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Goblins.

Like dragons, they were creatures of imagination, but set as far less fortunate monsters.

Practically synonymous with ‘low-level mobs,’ they appeared in various media and were as recognized as dragons.

Moreover, due to most creators adopting the settings from ‘Dungeons & Dragons,’ their popularized appearance was remarkably consistent.

Hence, Yeongwoo and Yechan could readily identify the figures of the creatures that were now standing before them.

Generally small in stature, with green or brown skin, and having pointed ears and noses, they were a wicked race.

However, the goblins in front of Yeongwoo were anything but small.

“Haah, hah!”

With his lungs feeling like they were going to explode, Yeongwoo squatted on his knees, driving the Early Bird into the ground.

He wasn’t sure how many minutes he’d been fighting, but one thing was certain.

‘If I hadn’t invested karma into Endurance, I might have died. Even alone, I’d have exhausted my stamina and died.’

At least nine, maybe even ten goblins, he had directly faced.

This was the maximum length of combat achievable with an 97 Endurance.

“…Phew.”

Breathing didn’t calm down easily.

Yeongwoo looked across, seeing Yechan sitting a distance away.

‘He’s quite tough too.’

In fact, the moment the goblins attacked, Yeongwoo hadn’t expected Yechan to survive.

He had merely hoped he’d take down at least one of them to assist in the fight.

The harsh rebuke of “Are you trying to commit su***de again!” was in fact Yeongwoo’s own desperate attempt to survive.

‘I should apologize after this is all over.’

In that tense moment, being able to taunt him with his ‘previous fate’ had been due to Yeongwoo being the more cunning adult , relatively speaking.

At least, Yeongwoo felt sorry for thinking that way.

Sighing, he lifted his body, which celebrated its 34th anniversary this year, from the ground, glancing at Yechan, who was seated at a distance.

Kang Yechan, a 19-year-old male.

Unlike Yeongwoo, he was unarmed, having dropped both his spear and shield.

Even when Yeongwoo approached, he didn’t attempt to reach for a weapon. Placing the Early Bird back in its sheath, Yeongwoo spoke up.

“I… I’m sorry for earlier. I was harsh.”

Upon which, Yechan turned his head.

“No, Mister. If you hadn’t said that, I might have done nothing and just died. And, more importantly…”

Yechan stopped there, looking down at his hands.

He was replaying the moment when he had single-handedly brought down the unbelievably strong goblins with his own two hands.

“…I could kill them too, those bastards. I couldn’t have imagined.”

“Of course, I said you could.”

Saying this, Yeongwoo awkwardly chuckled without Yechan noticing.

Strictly speaking, this was merely a successful bet due to sheer luck.

But ultimately, he had survived again this time, just as always, expecting a reward for his challenge.

‘That’s right. The karma…’

As Yeongwoo glanced back, considering the possibility of rummaging through the goblins’ pockets,

Shiriring.

The corpses of the scattered goblins dissolved into the air.

“….?”

“Huh?”

Yechan was also taken aback, immediately standing up. Shortly after, twelve small lights flashed from the spots where the goblins had vanished.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Then a very familiar sound was heard.

Cling.

“….!”

The sound that instinctively made Yeongwoo take a step back.

Chrrr!

It was none other than the sound of karma pouring out in the form of coins.

“These crazy bastards.”

Yeongwoo cursed towards the unknown world as the coins began to fall all around him.

Then, a thought struck him.

‘Wait a minute.’

Something seemed off.

‘How many coins are dropping per goblin? Isn’t this too few?’

After frantically collecting the coins, Yeongwoo realized the total karma dropped by the twelve goblins was only 240,000.

In other words, precisely 20,000 karma per goblin.

Of course, considering that 1,000 karma equated to one point in stats, it was by no means a small amount.

‘But 1,000 karma is also a person’s lifespan. So, roughly…’

240 people could survive a day with this amount.

“….”

Yeongwoo didn’t know the exact population of Gumi City.

But even if it wasn’t in the millions, wasn’t it in the tens of thousands?

‘No matter how much give-and-take there was, about half should have survived… But the karma released is too little compared to the remaining number of people.’

No, this wasn’t just a small amount.

The number of light pillars Yeongwoo had confirmed back then was at least around a hundred.

A simple calculation would mean 24,000 people’s worth of karma.

Even if there were more groups of light pillars beyond visible range, it would still be ridiculously insufficient to save a population in the tens of thousands.

In other words,

‘No matter how much people engage in monster hunting, the vast majority will die due to unpaid taxes.’

He realized that monster hunting was never meant to be a device for releasing karma into circulation.

Even if the entire population of Gumi City engaged in monster hunting, the majority would inevitably die without acquiring karma.

‘What the hell is this? Is this just a confirmed end?’

He was overwhelmed by a staggering sense of dismay.

Sure, a few superhumans capable of monster hunting could continue to survive by reinvesting karma. But what would be the point if everyone else died in the meantime?

“…Ha.”

In shock, Yeongwoo wasn’t even picking up the coins, prompting Yechan to cautiously approach.

“What’s wrong, Mister?”

Yechan couldn’t even guess that Yeongwoo was reverse-calculating the total karma released in Gumi City.

Yeongwoo looked at Yechan with a bleak expression.

“It seems like we…”

But Yeongwoo couldn’t finish his sentence.

Suddenly, a quest notification appeared in the silent surroundings.

Ding!

[Epic] “Dilemma”

{Mission} Track down and defeat or repel the mutants.

{Reward} Mutant equipment, a vast amount of karma.

{Special} This quest is triggered for residents who possess records of monster kills.

[Translator – Peptobismol]