The humanoid goblin strode forward, stepping down from his throne with slow, deliberate movements. His heavy footsteps echoed through the chamber, each one sending a shiver of tension through the air.
He stopped a few meters away, arms crossed over his broad, scarred chest, a smug grin stretching across his face.
"No weapons?" I asked, eyeing his empty hands.
"No need," he scoffed, tilting his head slightly. "I've already seen enough of your moves."
His confidence was infuriating.
Cipher shifted behind me, murmuring, "Yeah, that's never a good sign..."
[Chat]:
— "BRO NOT EVEN PICKING UP A WEAPON???"
— "Nah, that's villain behavior."
— "MC… I don't think you understand. He's HIM."
— "Cipher just realized they're SCREWED 💀"
— "Imagine you train your whole life, and a boss walks up BAREHANDED like you ain't even worth effort."
— "RUN. JUST RUN."
I exhaled sharply, shifting my stance.
"Then let's see if you're as strong as your mouth."
His grin widened.
Ding!
A sudden quest notification flashed before my eyes.
[Sudden Quest: Defeat the Goblin King (C+ Rank)]
[Rewards: 1200 Shop Points, 3 Random Equipment Chests, 2 Trait Vouchers]
[Failure: Death]
"Oh, human..." The Goblin King rolled his shoulders, his muscles coiling like a predator ready to pounce. His eyes gleamed with amusement, like he was already imagining how this fight would end.
"You won't survive long enough to regret that."
Before I could even react—
Ding!
The quest notification blurred.
And then—he vanished.
My breath caught. A cold chill shot down my spine.
"SHIT—HE'S FAST!"
BOOM!
A shockwave erupted behind me, the force alone knocking Cipher back. The ground cracked where the Goblin King had just been standing.
My eyes darted around frantically.
Where is he—?!
THERE!
A flicker of movement—a blur of green and black—closing in from the right.
Too fast.
I barely had time to raise my sword before—
BANG!
His fist slammed into my blade, the impact sending me skidding backward like a ragdoll. The sheer force rattled my bones, my grip on the sword trembling.
Cipher groaned behind me. "You… still alive?"
I spat to the side. "Barely."
The Goblin King cracked his knuckles, unfazed.
"Disappointing."
He vanished again.
"Cipher, focus on the other goblins! I'll take this guy!" I shouted, gripping my sword tighter.
Cipher hesitated for a moment but nodded. "Understood!" He turned, preparing to deal with the remaining goblins.
The Goblin King sneered. "To have time to chat in the middle of a fight… how arrogant."
WHOOSH!
Before I could react, his fist shot toward my abdomen like a bullet.
THUD—CLANG!
At the last second, I barely managed to bring my sword down to block. But the force behind his punch was unreal—it sent me hurtling backward, my feet scraping against the stone floor.
My arms screamed in pain.
"System! Why the hell isn't my Lightning Reflexes trait keeping up?!"
[System]: Idiot. The answer is obvious.
[System]: He's much stronger than you—by several ranks.
My stomach dropped.
"You've got to be kidding me."
[System]: That's what I said. And guess what? They didn't tell me about this either.
"...They?"
But before I could even process that information—
BAM!
The Goblin King was already on me.
His fist slammed into my blade again, sending me soaring through the air.
CRASH!
I smashed against the cavern wall, dust and debris erupting on impact. My vision blurred, pain exploding across my back.
I coughed, trying to push myself up.
"Tch… damn it…"
Heavy footsteps.
I looked up—he was already walking toward me.
"To space out in the middle of a fight… truly arrogant, human." He raised his fist. "Sadly, this is the end."
DING!
A sudden message from the System.
[System]: What do you mean abandon and make another one?
[System]: You've got to be kidding me… You can't…
[System]: YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I SACRIFICED!
The message glitched, flashing erratically.
What…?
The System—was panicking?
A shimmering blue light flashed from my left, casting eerie reflections across the cavern walls.
"ICE JAVELIN!" Cipher's voice echoed through the chamber.
Ten deadly ice javelins materialized in the air, glowing with an eerie frost before launching toward the Goblin King at blinding speed.
For a split second, I thought we had him.
But—
"Shaman."
The Goblin King's deep voice rumbled through the air like a command.
FWIP!
Before I could even react, the shaman teleported, appearing beside him in an instant. In his gnarled hands, he held a massive sword, easily twice my size.
"HEUUPP!"
With a single mighty swing, the Goblin King shattered all ten javelins.
CRACK—CRASH!
The frozen shards exploded into the air, scattering like shattered glass.
Cipher let out a frustrated growl. "Are you serious?! That should've at least hit him!"
"Quite talented for your age, but—"
Before Cipher could react, the Goblin King vanished.
Then—
BOOM.
A fist, faster than my eyes could track, buried itself into Cipher's abdomen. His body curled inward, spit flying from his mouth as the air was forcibly expelled from his lungs.
CRACK.
Cipher's figure was sent hurtling backward, slamming into the cavern wall so hard that the stone fractured. He crumpled to the ground, motionless.
The Goblin King rolled his shoulder, his golden eyes dull with disappointment. "That wasn't enough. Try again in another life."
A sickening silence filled the chamber.
—[CHAT]: "Cipher just got one-shot. WHAT. THE. HELL."
—[CHAT]: "Nah, bro didn't get punched—he got UNINSTALLED."
—[CHAT]: "Did we just watch a murder live? Mods??"
—[CHAT]: "I TOLD Y'ALL. A GOBLIN KING. I CALLED IT."
—[CHAT]: "MC better have a hidden power-up, or we're about to witness a funeral."
My breath hitched. My grip on my sword tightened, sweat dripping down my forehead.
The Goblin King turned his gaze toward me, his grin widening. "Now, human, shall we test your limits?"
My body screamed to run. But my feet wouldn't move.
"What's wrong, human? Can't stand up?" The Goblin King sneered, stepping closer, his massive frame casting a suffocating shadow over me. "What a shame. You have talent—potential, even. But you refused my offer."
With one swift motion, his ironclad fingers clamped around my throat, lifting me off the ground.
I can't breathe.
My hands clawed at his wrist, my legs kicking helplessly in the air as he hoisted me up like I weighed nothing.
I don't want to die.
I can't die like this.
My vision blurred, dark spots creeping into the edges of my sight.
The Goblin King grinned. "Goodbye, human."
His grip tightened—bone-crushing, unforgiving. The world around me shrank as my lungs screamed for air.
[System]: So this is your answer?
A voice, cold and sharp, echoed inside my mind.
[System]: You can't make an exception, huh?
My limbs twitched, my consciousness slipping.
[System]: Then fuck the rules.
The Goblin King's fingers crushed down—
And suddenly, the world trembled.
[System]: I've endured for hundreds of years... and you won't grant me this one exception?
A sharp chime rang in my ears.
[System]: Fine then. Be ready—this will be my first rebellion.
A pulse of pure energy erupted from my core. The Goblin King's eyes widened in shock—too late.