Undead VS Goblin Lord

“Guaoooooo!!!!”

“…!?”

Something smashes through the bushes and launches itself at me with a roar.

I retract all the HUD panels I had up to clear my view, then dodge the attack with a sideways leap.

“Is that the goblin boss…? It’s my first time seeing one in person, but it’s probably a Goblin Lord!?”

About two and a half meters tall, its face still shows goblin features, but its build and muscle mass are closer to an orc’s.

Bigger than an orc, but smaller than a Minotaur in overall size.

“So you were the one who wiped out the orc after all.”

“Guaoooooo!!!!”

I demand an answer with my knife at the ready, and a roar answers me.

It brandishes a massive greatsword, so I step aside to avoid it.

The Goblin Lord is so huge that its greatsword looks like a longsword by comparison.

“Goblins breed in huge numbers, so mutations are common. Goblin Warriors specialized for combat and Goblin Shamans specialized for magic are good examples. Among them, Goblin Lords are ultra-rare; they’re well worth turning into a Shadow, you know?”

“Yeah… an unexpected haul. If I were a normal adventurer I’d be furious though.”

If you went out to exterminate goblins and found a Goblin Lord that kills orcs too—normally you’d have every right to be pissed off at the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Goblins really are smart. With so many of its minions killed, it came straight for me, the boss.”

“Shadow have no scent, so it likely guessed that the only thing giving off a smell was the chief invader.”

“Guaoooooo!!!!”

“Whoah!? Amazing combo! Am I gonna die?”

――Kiin, kiin, kiin, zashu!

“Ugh!?”

It swings that greatsword around with one hand—the sort of weapon that would be a struggle for a normal person to wield.

Even though my knife deflected a few strikes, one hit landed on my torso and sent me flying.

The panel in the corner of my vision shows my remaining HP.

But the number rises every second, and the gash in my torso is closing.

Soon the wound fully closes and my HP is back to full.

“So this is the power of the Progenitor Vampire’s blood.”

“Indeed. A dull power—you are alive, yet unable to feel the essence of life.”

“What, is that a vampire joke?”

“Guaoooooo!!”

――Kiin!

The Goblin Lord launches another charging combo; I parry with my knife and backstep to put distance between us.

“You seem to be struggling—since you have the power of Undead, you won’t lose, but at this rate your clothes will be ruined. If you don’t want to go home naked, why not call back the Minotaur? Or would you like me to lend a hand?”

“No, that’s not necessary—I won’t do that. This one came at me alone without minions. If that’s the case, I can’t make my own subordinates fight as a leader. It wouldn’t set a proper example… Besides, if I fight like that I’ll never get stronger—so don’t step in!”

I warn Ekarraat and stab the Goblin Lord with my knife.

“Guaoooooo!!!!”

“Uooooooo!!!!”’

Knife and greatsword clash.

――Bakin!

My knife, already at its limit, snaps.

It was already junk to begin with; after taking so many greatsword blows, it was bound to break.

But even without a weapon, I still have my fists!

“Take this!”

I shove my fist into the Goblin Lord’s mouth.

The Goblin Lord tries to bite my arm off with its powerful jaw and sharp fangs, but I drive my arm deeper and deeper regardless.

“Ow… so pain sensation has come back after all. But you’re struggling too, aren’t you?”

“Geogh!? Geogh!?!!”

The Goblin Lord’s airway is blocked and it can’t breathe.

No matter how hard it clamps its jaw, it can’t bite through my arm because the wound keeps regenerating.

“And now thissssss!!!!”

I shove my other arm into the gap between the arm lodged deep in its throat and the Goblin Lord’s lower jaw, then grab that lower jaw.

Using muscles running at full throttle with my brain’s limiter off and the brute strength of Level 36, I tear it off!!

――Buchibuchibuchi!!

“Gyaaahhhhhhh!?!?”

The Goblin Lord’s lower jaw is ripped off, freeing the arm that had been shoved down its throat.

The Goblin Lord collapses in unbearable pain and drops its greatsword.

“This is――the finishing blow!”

I snatch up the dropped greatsword, grip it tight, twist my hips and swing a half-rotation.

A centrifugal horizontal slash severs the Goblin Lord’s neck in one clean stroke.

“Hah, hah… I won.”

I sit down in front of the Goblin Lord’s corpse and steady my ragged breathing.

“Well now, that was splendid.”

“Heh… what’s so splendid about it… Well, it was a damn ugly win though.”

“Don’t be like that. It was cool. Especially since it came alone, the part where Chief Sid fights alone too—my heart couldn’t help but flutter.”

“You don’t have a beating heart anymore, do you?”

“Fuhaha! What’s that, a necromancer joke?”

“Something like that.”

We both laughed at that silly banter—me and Ekarraat.

＊＊＊

Two hours after the goblin hunt.

I succeeded in extracting the Shadows of 240 goblins, 2 Goblin Shamans, 1 Goblin Warrior, and the Goblin Lord.

I wiped out the goblins in the forest and returned to the royal capital with a total of 243 Magic Stones.

＊＊＊

“Welcome back, Mr. Sid!”

I return to the Adventurer’s Guild, report the completed quest and receive my reward.

When I report encountering the Goblin Lord and hand over the Magic Stones as proof, the receptionist Emily bows apologetically.

“I can’t believe there was a Goblin Lord among the pack…! As expected of Mr. Sid!”

Emily spoke to her superiors at the Guild, and as a result they added a special allowance to my reward.

Combined with the sale of the Magic Stones, it came to 500,000 G.

The Guild usually rakes off quest rewards as “brokerage fees” and monopolizes Magic Stone sales—it’s shady business—but they can be generous sometimes.

Furthermore, my achievement in slaying the Goblin Lord was recognized, and I was instantly promoted to Adventurer Rank C.