The goblin thought that because he had called for his ogre masters, he would be spared.
Foolish.
Minori looked down at the cowardly, cunning creature trembling before him, his expression impassive.
"Even if their intelligence mimics that of humans..." Minori muttered quietly to himself."...they still lack cognition. Lacking in understanding. Unable to grasp even the simplest reality before them—and yet, they try to threaten others."
Minori chuckled coldly, then moved.
Without warning, he raised his foot and delivered a powerful front kick.
Bang!
The big goblin screamed, his body crashing against the trunk of a massive tree.The heavy impact tore open his half-healed wounds, fresh blood spilling as he wailed in agony.
"Aaaahhh! It hurts!"
"I surrender, great human lord!"
"Please—please spare me!"
The goblin's sharp, grating voice echoed through the ancient forest.
Minori narrowed his eyes, annoyed.
"You're noisy."
"If you make another sound," Minori said, lifting his iron sword lazily, "I'll kill you."
The goblin's mouth snapped shut.
Shaking violently, he clutched himself beneath the tree, black pupils wide with terror.
Minori walked toward him unhurriedly, sword dragging slightly against the ground with a cold rasp.
When he reached the goblin, he stopped, looking down like one might observe a particularly irritating insect.
"Good. At least now we can communicate."
"Y-Yes! Great human master!" The goblin whimpered.
"Your name," Minori ordered curtly.
"M-Muguo, my lord! My name is Muguo!"
"Muguo. 'Wood Fruit'?" Minori raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, my lord! Because I love eating the fruits from trees..." the goblin stammered.
Minori waved a hand, silencing him.
"I don't care for your life story."
"Tell me—what are you doing here?"
"I—" Muguo hesitated, his face twisted in panic.
Minori narrowed his gaze slightly.
"Don't try to lie. I know you belong to the 'Gigu Tribe' of big goblins."
The moment Minori uttered the words "Gigu Tribe," Muguo's body convulsed in fear.
Terror replaced the desperation in his eyes—he couldn't comprehend how the human knew such a secret.
In the next instant, Muguo's cowardice overwhelmed him.
Tears streaming, he spilled everything.
The story was simple.
In the months of June and July, goblins entered their peak breeding season.
However, breeding big goblins was far more difficult than breeding ordinary goblins.
Thus, big goblins would often mate with common goblins to increase their tribe's population, even if the majority of offspring would only be regular goblins.
Still—the success rate was far higher than between big goblins themselves.
Muguo had been sent to the forest's outskirts to select healthy, promising goblins to bring back to the Gigu Tribe.
That was his mission.
And it was during this task that he encountered Minori, who was effortlessly slaying goblins alone.
Muguo, believing Minori to be easy prey, had attempted to summon his ogre masters.
The rest was history.
While Muguo spoke, Minori quietly accessed the goblin's information using a minor appraisal technique.
[Ability Sheet]
Natural Talent: [Player]
Overall Level: 11Lv
Experience: 2620/5000
Professions:
Basic: Warrior 1Lv / Priestess/Priest 1Lv / Pharmacist 1Lv / Alchemist 1Lv / Magician 1Lv / Thief 1Lv / Guerrilla 1Lv / Forest Priest 1Lv
Intermediate: Sword Master 10Lv
Skill Points: 17
Passive Skills: Item Box, Slashing Enhancement (10%)
Active Skills:
Warrior: Instant Reflex, Fourfold Slash, Quick Slash, Stealth, Tracking
Magic: Papermaking (Lv1), Heating (Lv1), Minor Healing (Lv1), Magic Arrow (Lv1), Smellless (Lv1), Camouflage (Lv1)
Professional Skills: Medicine, Alchemy
Minori studied the sheet calmly.
"Forest Priest... and Guerrilla Soldier?"
It was an unexpected discovery.
He had originally suspected Muguo might be a druid or some primitive shaman.But instead, the goblin had mastered two rare base classes.
—
The "Guerrilla Soldier" class was typical among jungle-dwelling subhumans—good at reconnaissance, stealth, and ranged attacks.Skills like [Tracking] were standard, but still quite useful.
The "Forest Priest" class, on the other hand, was exceedingly rare among goblins.
Even elves rarely produced them.
From the brief clash earlier, Minori judged that Muguo's personal combat ability was mediocre.Neither profession had reached a high level—likely around 6 or 7Lv at best.
The magic [Camouflage], for example, was effective only in a jungle environment and lacked the versatility of second-tier spells like [Invisibility].
Still—
Minori's expression remained calm, even as thoughts raced through his mind.
Rare classes could be exploited.
New magic systems were worth studying.
He could make use of this.
At that moment, Minori noticed something odd.
Earlier, during Muguo's flight through the forest, the goblin had navigated dense undergrowth effortlessly, almost unnaturally so.
That wasn't normal for a big goblin.
It hinted at something else—a magic item, perhaps?
Minori's crimson eyes sharpened slightly.
Under his silent, chilling gaze, Muguo trembled like a leaf.
Eventually, with great reluctance and obvious pain, the goblin unclasped the necklace around his neck.
It was simple: a rough vine cord, from which hung a small, bleached-white bone the size of a ping-pong ball.
Muguo offered it up with both hands, bowing low.
"My lord... this is the treasure of our Gigu Tribe..." he whimpered.
Minori accepted it wordlessly, examining the primitive charm with cold, calculating eyes.