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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: A Brutal Welcome
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The goblins made the first move.
They were just over a meter tall, small and nimble, capable of agile movements.
I calmly tracked their movements.
*Whish!*
The goblin at the very front, the one I’d punched in the face earlier, swung its knife, and I dodged it by sight.
At the same time, I tightened my grip on the axe raised in my hand.
*THWACK!*
"Krr-r-ruk!!!"
I brought it down straight. Red blood spurted like a fountain from the green monster’s carotid artery.
Even as it thrashed in pain, it swung its knife horizontally again.
I stepped back to dodge, then struck its neck once more.
*CRUNCH!*
Its head and upper body bid each other farewell.
*Thump. Thump.*
My heart pounded, and my breathing grew ragged.
I’d never killed even an ant in my life, but now I’d killed a monster that looked vaguely human, just over a meter tall.
The tingling sensation of the axe in my fingertips felt as if it was proclaiming that I had taken this life.
A strange feeling washed over me, but this was no time to linger on it.
"There's a damn lot of them. These bastards."
Human vision and concentration are limited; if you focus on one goblin, you can’t pay as much attention to the others.
And there were dozens of goblins.
One just died, so precisely, 23 of them. Meaning, 23 against 1.
Block one attack, and 22 more immediately fly your way.
*CLANG!*
While I was lost in thought for a moment, my head rang with a *zzzing*.
Was this what it felt like to be in a brutal interrogation?
It felt like an earthquake in my skull. The vibration came from a knife hitting my helmet.
If I hadn't been wearing a helmet, I would have just died. Fear briefly surged at that realization.
"Krr-ruk!"
Still, I didn't hesitate.
I immediately grabbed the goblin that had aimed for the back of my head, threw it off, and brought my axe down.
*CRUNCH!*
Two down.
The moment I turned my back, three more rushed at me. They weren't carrying weapons.
They latched onto my upper body, their feet wrapping around my lower legs.
It felt like lifting three sacks of rice at once.
But did they know this?
"Uwaaaaaaah!"
I was a man who could carry six sacks of cement at once.
I pushed off the ground like doing a jump squat and leaped into the air.
Then I shifted my center of gravity to my side and dropped straight to the floor.
"Kek! Ruk!"
The goblin clinging to my side took the weight of both me and two other goblins on its back as we fell.
I distinctly felt the vibration of the goblin's ribs shattering.
To one of the goblins still clinging to me with a bewildered expression, I gave the axe; to the other, my fist.
Five down.
Around that point, the atmosphere among the goblin horde was momentarily tinged with panic.
"Krrk, krrk."
"Ke-ke-krrk, krrk..."
I still didn't understand what they were saying, but it seemed they were hesitating to fight after seeing five of their kin killed in an instant.
"Yeah! Please don't come! Fuck! I'm tired!"
*'Come on, all of you! You motherfuckers!'*
Damn it. I couldn't even speak properly. But they wouldn't understand anyway, so it was fine.
Maybe it was because I was moving at 100% effort without pacing myself, but I could feel my stamina plummeting.
"Krrk! Krr-rrek!"
One goblin suddenly let out a loud cry, and the atmosphere among the other goblins gradually shifted.
"Krr-rek! Krr-rek!"
"Ke-ke-rek-rek!"
They roared loudly, just like ancient humans hunting mammoths with a single spear, rousing their fighting spirit.
*'Damn, what is it? Did they understand what I just said?'*
*'Who the hell is the mammoth here? It's probably not me—'*
There was no time to think. Dozens of goblins immediately charged all at once.
"Alright! Just come at me, all of you! Fuck it! Let's see who dies!"
Not to be outdone, I roared back and charged into the goblin horde.
I felt like I wasn't in my right mind either. This was a situation where I should have turned and run, but instead, I was charging straight into the goblins.
My breathing was ragged, and my body screamed in pain from all over.
But more than that, my head was cold and clear, and my heart pounded like it had only a handful of times in my life.
My mind, excited by a battle I'd never experienced before, vigorously secreted adrenaline, and my fiercely beating heart smoothly supplied blood throughout my body, enabling stronger and swifter movements.
*CRUNCH!*
The axe, swung with fierce speed, utterly destroyed one goblin and then sought its next target.
*Whoosh!*
Maybe it was because there were so many of them, but if I just swung, I was bound to hit one.
*Thwock!*
From the goblins' perspective, it was a similar situation. There were so many of them that if they charged with knives, one of them was bound to hit.
"Ugh...!"
"Krrk, krrk."
The goblin that had stabbed my thigh grinned, as if satisfied.
I clearly felt the shape of the foreign object embedded, tearing through flesh and muscle. It hurt. It hurt so much.
It hurt a thousand times more than stubbing my little toe on a doorframe!
"Hmph. Ugh..."
I gritted my teeth and suppressed the groan that threatened to erupt. Was it an animalistic sense, or just instinct? I felt it.
Here, I had to move nonchalantly. I couldn't show any sign of pain. I absolutely couldn't give them an opening. Suppress even a groan.
Move as if completely fine.
As if a mere stab wound like this was nothing!
"What are you grinning at, you bastard?"
The goblin's satisfied grin instantly froze.
*THWACK!*
Stepping forward with the stabbed leg, one step.
*THWACK!*
Approaching another step. Another blow.
*THWACK!*
If you keep slaughtering, even livestock will eventually go into a frenzy.
"Krr-r-ruk!"
As dozens of them charged all at once, the frequency of me taking hits steadily increased.
This time, my left shoulder. It was a different sensation from the one in my thigh.
It hurt like hell, but it was a vague kind of pain. The feeling in my left arm was gradually dulling.
*'...Poison?'*
There was no immediate way to deal with it. I just did what I had to do.
*THWAAAACK!*
A fountain of blood erupted as if bursting.
Beneath the dark cavern, a flesh-colored human and green monsters danced, drenched in crimson blood.
A crude dance, far from elegant. One might even call it a traditional performance of some savage tribe.
For every time my axe struck, a knife struck me four or five times.
Blood spurted with every swing of my arm, and chunks of flesh flew with every movement of my leg.
How long had I been on that stage of madness?
When I came to my senses, I was the only one left standing.
My body riddled with dozens of stab wounds.
"Krrk, ruk..."
I approached my trembling dance partner, who was crawling on the floor.
This one was the last.
*THWACK!*
The descending axe cut off its breath.
"I won. You motherfucking bitches."
I killed them all. Every single one, none left.
*'...I'm dizzy.'*
As the immediate danger vanished, all strength drained from my body.
To breathe properly, I threw off my helmet and pushed back my sweat- and blood-soaked hair.
Still, my breathing wouldn't calm down at all.
Was this what zero gravity felt like? My body felt like it was floating in the air. I couldn't move it as I willed.
*'Poison! It's the poison.'*
It was common knowledge even in games that monsters like goblins would put poison on their blades. Damn it.
When I lowered my gaze, my body was covered in cuts and stab wounds.
There were even knives still stuck, not having fallen out. I couldn't even fathom pulling them out.
*Thud.*
After swaying on my feet for a moment, I finally collapsed, bracing myself on the ground.
Damn it, how could I have won only to collapse like this? I couldn't just fall here.
Using my relatively uninjured right arm, I crawled forward like a commando, heading towards the men who had been savaged.
I didn't know for sure, but they were equipped with various gear. They were probably something akin to adventurers in a fantasy setting.
Based on common fantasy tropes, I figured there had to be at least one potion or antidote in their bags.
"Motherfucker."
But that expectation was thoroughly shattered.
I crawled across the floor, finally reached them, and rummaged through their bags, only to find men's underwear. It just ruined my mood.
My consciousness drifted further and further away, and my vision blurred as if soaked in water.
I knew instinctively. I was standing on the path of death.
One more step forward, and I would surely die.
Was this how I would die? Was this how my life would end?
Like this, meaningless...
"So-eun..."
As death approached, my younger sister came to mind.
But death seemed as cold as capitalism.
It didn't even give me time for my life to flash before my eyes; the flame of my life steadily flickered out.
My vision blurred, and my eyes slowly closed.
So I didn't see it properly.
"Is this... your doing?"
A refined, clear voice. My ears perked up at the enchanting tone, one I'd never heard before.
"Ugh, uh..."
"Hmm. Still alive, I see."
I tried to answer, but the words wouldn't come out properly. The poison had spread to my mouth.
I forced my closing eyes open to look at the owner of the voice, but my vision was soon obscured by darkness.
Judging by the last sight and sensation, someone had covered my eyes with a gauntlet-clad hand.
"You've suffered enough. Rest now."
At those words, the tension left me, and I instantly lost consciousness.
***
My consciousness repeatedly faded and returned intermittently.
"Aaaaargh! Ugh!"
"Ah! Are you awake? My apologies. I was trying to treat you, but I pulled the knife out incorrectly... This kind of treatment is new to me. Here, I'll pour some potion on you. It's a fairly high-grade potion."
As the knife was pulled out, tearing through flesh, a miracle of healing poured forth, only for the newly grown skin to be cut away by a clumsy mistake.
Horrible pain and comfortable relief alternated.
"Ugh-huh, uh-aaah!"
"Ah! Another mistake... I'm truly sorry! It wasn't intentional. I'll try to pull it out better next time. Here. Another potion."
"Aaaaaargh!"
"Still, it's a good sign that new skin is growing. The poison is almost completely gone. You've suffered enough. Oh, dear. Was there another knife I hadn't pulled out here?"
It was literally giving a disease and then medicine. This act was repeated dozens of times.
"Krrk, kkk..."
"Oh, dear, did he lose consciousness again...? May he go to a good place... More than that, this is more dangerous than I thought. I feel like I'm developing strange tastes..."
Nam Su-jin repeatedly lost and regained consciousness dozens of times.
***
"Are you feeling more lucid?"
Along with the clear, bright voice, my entire body ached.
I'd never felt muscle soreness like this even when doing manual labor.
I slowly opened my eyes, and a towering figure clad in pristine white armor came into view.
Leaning against the cave wall, with that height and build, she must have been well over 2 meters tall.
The massively puffed-up chest plate and the strange emblem embedded in its center were particularly striking.
At the same time, fragmented memories of everything that had happened to me while unconscious, at the hands of that Armored Knight, resurfaced.
*'Ugh...'*
Just thinking about it made my teeth chatter, and the bones where I’d been cut by knives felt cold.
A refined and charming voice? Bullshit.
Now, that voice sounded like a mad surgeon performing an operation without anesthesia.
Instinctively, I felt an urge to get away from that Armored Knight and run, but...
"I have received the grace of salvation. Thank you for saving my life."
I, Nam Su-jin. A man who, while he might treat mindless goblins without courtesy, knew how to show boundless respect to a person with intelligence.
Without her help, I would have surely died, pickled by poison among the headless goblins.
Even though she butchered my body, it was to pull out the embedded knives, wasn't it? And she even detoxified the goblin poison.
I quickly got up and bowed deeply, expressing my gratitude to the Armored Knight.
"It's nothing. I heard explorers help each other out. Uh, more importantly..."
*Ahem. Ahem.*
The Armored Knight unnecessarily cleared her throat and said in a hushed voice.
"...I'd appreciate it if you'd... put on some... clothes..."
"...Huh?"
I quickly scanned my body.
"Ah."
No wonder I felt so exposed.
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