Demon King

I asked myself.

All the Goblins in the past killed each other without hesitation. Even if they were of the same species, all they cared for was for their opposition to be exterminated. Were the Goblin Fighters doing this out of their own will, or was it because of the dungeon? No! I needed to calm down first.

The dysfunction wasn’t helping, and for a moment, I almost fell into a panic. But soon after, rational thinking intervened, and I took a deep breath to dissect the situation appropriately.

So far, I killed approximately 90 Goblin Fighters one by one, and each passage had only one Goblin Fighter. But now there came a situation where there were three Goblin Fighters in two passages.

That couldn’t be a natural phenomenon because it was against the Goblin’s instincts; also, one of the Dungeons’ rules made it so that it could not spawn more than one Goblin at a time.

Other passages will not be too different. I didn’t know why this was happening, and I wouldn’t know the answer because I was alone. I had to think about what to do, but that too, I didn’t know.

There were usually two paths that I could choose from, but when faced with only one path with no other options, I was forced to advance forward. There was no turning back.

So I went into the aisle. The three Goblin Fighters were clustered in the middle of the aisle. I walked towards them as carefully as I could.

Their backs were towards me. I looked around and realized that unless there was a hiding place in the passage, the Goblin Fighters could easily spot me. All they would have to do was throw a knife at my chest then simply finish me off with a sword.

But the three guys didn’t look back at me. It seems like they were scouting for something because they just walked side by side.

They were fools!

I rushed towards them, then struck a sharp iron sword in the barely visible neck of Goblin Fighter A!

That blow was enough. A fountain of blood rose from the Goblin’s throat, and he shook his head to die.

[You received 100 experience.]

[You acquired 10 bronze.]

[Predation of Hunted Goblin Fighter 98/100]

[Beginner Surprise Attack has become Lv3.]

The quest automatically updated after the hunt, but that didn’t matter at that moment. I removed all those thoughts from my head and focused on the battle.

That was the first step to survival.

I then attacked the other two Goblin Fighters after pulling the iron sword from the dead Goblin Fighter’s neck. Goblin Fighter C immediately rushed towards me after evading it. He wasn’t holding a sword, so I decided to use my lightning magic. After repeated use, it reached Level 3, and the lightning became more prominent. It struck Goblin Fighter C, causing him to fall into a daze for a brief moment.

I swung the sword without missing an inch. Blood rose from his chest.

“Kick!”

Goblin Fighter B then pulled away from his colleague. I rushed to Goblin Fighter C and struck his heart with my sword.

Goblin Fighter C, who had a sharp iron sword deep in his chest, fell and collided with Goblin Fighter B.

[You received 100 experience]

[You acquired 10 bronze. After collecting 10 silvers, it is possible to enter the exclusive shop.]

[Predation of Hunted Goblin Fighter 99/100]

I took out a long sword from the inventory, the longer and heavier sword of the two swords wielded by the mercenaries.

The Goblin Warrior used a bastard sword that was too heavy and long. The blade was 70 cm long, and I couldn’t handle it yet, but after leveling up, I could somewhat manage.

Goblin Warrior B paused for a moment.

I smiled as I faced his flustered expression; I then swung the long sword.

[You received 100 experience]

[You acquired 10 bronze.]

[Predation of Hunted Goblin Fighter 100/100]

[Quest Complete!]

The moment I completed the quest, countless windows filled my eyes.

[You received 30,000 experience.]

[Your level has risen by a lot!]

[You acquired 10 silver.]

[You have obtained 3 Lowest Mana Potion]

[You acquired 1 Bronze Shield.]

[Beginner Swordsmanship becomes Lv10 and changes to Lower Level Swordsmanship. The power and speed of your swordsmanship have increased.]

I stared blankly at the glass window, forgetting my surroundings for a moment.

30,000 experience! That was equivalent to killing 300 Goblin Fighters! I was mesmerized! I couldn’t believe it.

I also got 10 silvers, and can now enter the exclusive store. But I decided to think about that later.

The Lowest Mana Potion wasn’t a desirable reward for me, knowing that I had nine bodies stored up for predation.

However, drinking a potion in a bottle might be more useful in an emergency, compared to eating a corpse.

Earning a Bronze Shield was delightful. So far, I had been wielding a sword without wearing any good armor. Having a shield meant that hunting would be a little safer. The downside was that it was too big for a Goblin Fighter.

Predating 100 Goblin Fighters also helped me accumulate the experience of sneaking up to an enemy, and the Beginner Swordsmanship finally reached Level 10.

I didn’t imagine it would end, but I didn’t expect that ‘Lower’ would come after ‘Beginner’. It felt like I had climbed a mountain, but in reality, it was more of a dune in a local playground.

Anyway, I became stronger again. My chances of dying had been reduced again, and I was happy with that fact alone.

An opportunity came. It was also what I expected and hoped for the most.

[Evolution is possible.]

It was possible to have a second evolution.

[Choose a race to evolve.]

[1. Goblin Warrior]

[2. Goblin Knight]

[3. Hob Goblin]

My heart was full. Goblin Warrior. I could never forget that name.

I was now as strong as the insurmountable wall, who almost killed me. Of course, as soon as I evolved, it would be difficult for even it to kill me.

It was just a guess, but I assumed that it was a special Goblin Warrior because it used Lightning Magic, and not all Goblin Warriors could use magic. What was surprising was that there were two other choices besides Goblin Warrior.

The Goblin Knight who seemed to be stronger than the Goblin Warrior. Above all, the fact that I had never met one made it look even more unique. It meant that I had to go outside the Goblin Warrior Zone to run into one. Both cases support my idea that the Goblin Knight is stronger than the Goblin Warrior. Perhaps it is a rare species that doesn’t usually move around.

But it was the third item that made me more confused.

The Hob Goblin. It was a superb species of white-faced Goblins that appeared as a smart and strong warrior in many novels and games.

Until now, the knowledge I gained from playing games have been generally correct, so I was right about many things. Conversely, there was always a chance that the Hob Goblin has little to do with combat power.

I had to bet on my life now and make a choice. This wasn’t a game. I couldn’t choose! Damn, can anyone explain to me what these are!?

Then, there was this huge glass window in front of my eyes.

[Goblin Warrior-Lowest monster. A variant of the Goblin that is particularly strong. Combat the enemy with a huge sword. Very rarely, there are Goblin Warriors with magical abilities.]

[Goblin Knight-Lowest monster. Goblin Fighters rarely evolve into a Goblin Knight. The Goblin Fighter must have a high proficiency in swordsmanship and self-defense. It handles swords and shields and has high intelligence, so it hurts a bigger monster than a Goblin.

[Hob Goblin- Lesser monster. The top species of Goblins. It is a little shorter than a human and has a well-developed body. It has higher physical abilities and intelligence than Goblins, and sometimes leads a group of Goblins to attack humans. It is not uncommon to possess magical skills.]

Unbelievable! Then, was I missing information that I should be having?

For example, am I provided with the weapon information for the long sword or the sharp iron sword? Would it be possible to know these things just by thinking about them?

[Sharp Iron Sword (14/76) – Attack 15]

[Hardened Steel Sword (147/253) – Attack 57]

As soon as I thought about it, information appeared in front of me. I saw the numbers representing the attack power, but it was clear that the steel sword was stronger than the sharp iron sword.

But what are the numbers inside the parentheses? After thinking about it for a moment, I wondered if it meant durability. When I compared it later, it was clear that the figure in the parentheses had decreased to (12/76).

Whether it’s a weapon, armor, or potion, the description can be checked. I erased all the other alerts, and I read the information about my evolution.

The Goblin Warrior was precisely what I thought it was. A monster with strong physical strength and magic abilities that appear only in extremely rare cases. The one I met prior was special.

The information I had gotten about the Goblin Knight showed me that I wasn’t the only one that can evolve. Evolution was not possible for every Goblin, but it was possible for a few individuals, like me, to evolve multiple times.

It was time to make a choice. Of course, there was no opportunity for concern.

I chose the Hob Goblin only because the Goblin Warrior and Knight were the lowest, and that it is a lesser monster.

More so, the Hob Goblin was a highly aggressive monster; it was clear that there would be a similar evolutionary form of the Hob Goblin Fighter, Hob Goblin Warrior, and Hob Goblin Knight.

I can be stronger! The Ebon Heart was beating violently.

I looked around. After confirming that there was nothing nearby, I chose Hob Goblin without hesitation. Then I closed my eyes.

The pain hit me like a storm. It would be a lie to think it would get better the second time around. But this time, the pain, as if to ridicule my earlier thoughts, was far worse than before.

My whole body felt like it was being ground into dust. I yielded, and countless rebars formed in my arms, legs, abdomen, and head.

I couldn’t move while the excruciating pain cascaded through my body.

Finally, the pain slowly began to subside.

I woke up. The tears in my eyes flowed freely down my cheeks. Going through that was very precarious, as I felt like I would die.

“Why do I have to go through this kind of pain?”

I asked myself.

Soon after, the evolution process ended.

[You became a Hob Goblin.]

[Beginner Lightning Magic has become Lv4.]

[You got the Beginner’s Leadership skill.]