That’s a good sleeping face . Well then, goodbye . I killed another Hobgoblin with a slash from Greed .
That was the 45th kill . Ohh?! All at once, my body felt satisfied . Just like that, the helpless waves of hunger faded away . I was finally released from the state of starvation . In the dimly lit forest, I leaned against the large tree nearby with sigh of relief .
“Fate . If you are resting, climb up this tree . Rare as it may be, a Hobgoblin might be awake and walking around in the middle of the night . Your ability boosts from the state of starvation have disappeared . Neither your smell detection nor red eyes are effective now . ”
“That’s true, alright!”
Just like Greed suggested, I climbed up the tree I was leaning against and sat on a broad branch .
“It should be fine if I hide here . Moreover, I had to defeat a fairly large amount of demons to satiate this hunger . ”
“That’s how it is . In certain cases, the state of starvation will turn your mind crazy, making you attack anyone without hesitation . It cannot be released so easily . If you dislike it, hunt demons regularly and let the Gluttony skill consume their souls . ”
“Ah, I’ll do that . This hunger, I don’t want to experience it a second time . ”
I lay down on the branch and took a break . The moonlight shone through the gaps in the branches and leaves into the forest . Damp and a little chilly, it felt comfortable after having moved around so much .
When I looked at the ground below, I saw the occasional Hobgoblin pass by . Although they were not nocturnal, there seemed to be a few of them actively keeping watch . It was a good thing that I followed Greed’s advice .
After I felt rested enough, I was about to descend when the ground began to shake slightly from something huge approaching . The footsteps grew louder as a figure proportionate to the sound appeared, taking on the form of a huge goblin . It was more than twice my height tall . The colour of its skin seemed to be turquoise . In his hand was a club that appeared to be roughly hewn from a large tree in the forest .
“?!”
As the moonlight hit the club, my face instinctively tensed . It was covered thickly in blood and flesh .
Furthermore, looking at what he held in his other hand made me feel nauseous . It had most likely become unrecognisable from being beaten many times with that club, however, it was undoubtedly a human .
Ordinary humans would not visit the Hobgob Forest so late at night . Hence, the corpse he was dragging belonged to one of the skilled warriors who I had seen at the outskirts of the Commercial District before I left the capital . Being that arrogant, and yet you still died!
Nevertheless, the fact that this had happened to a skilled warrior who should be experienced with the dangers of night hunting, that massive goblin must be considerably powerful .
As he passed under the tree where I was, I felt curious about the strength of such a huge goblin, so I used the
Goblin King Lv30
HP: 21000
Strength: 24000
MP: 5230
Spirit: 4560
Agility: 11200
Skill: Auto-recovery
Goblin King?! Is that so…
The other servants in the Heart Family had mentioned this . The Goblin King was the boss of all the goblins here and was said to be extremely strong . Since there were very few of them in the forest, the chance of encountering them was incredibly low, however, meeting them was akin to preparing for death . Of course, this demon could be easily defeated by a Holy Knight . Yet, ordinary warriors would die instantly from a single hit…
His status was definitely different to the Hobgoblins . The skill also seemed useful . I used
Auto-recovery: Wounds are healed at regular intervals . Fatal wounds cannot be healed .
Ohhh, this was a good skill . With this, I could continue fighting even if I suffered minor injuries . I wanted it!
With my current status, I would not be able to kill him . As I wondered how to act, the Goblin King walked deeper into the forest . He was a rare monster type, few in numbers . Even if I wanted to challenge him again after powering up, it would be pointless if I could not find him again .
Alright, I made a decision . I climbed down the tree silently and pursued the Goblin King . He was the king of the forest . It was a grand sight to see him walking forward so calmly .
There were no Hobgoblins near the Goblin King . They probably ran away after noticing the footsteps . Looking as if he owned the place, his destination was a small clearing in the middle of the forest, covered in flowers . In the centre stood a single dead tree . Sitting down and leaning back against it, the Goblin King rested his club on the ground .
Crunch crunch… I could hear disgusting sounds even at a distance from my hiding position in the trees . The Goblin King was eating the defeated warrior as though it was delicious . Occasionally, the munching and bone-cracking sounds reached my ears . Ugh… As I was feeling ill, Greed spoke .
“Why are you making a fuss over something so ordinary . ”
“…Well because…”
“Surely you knew what happened to those defeated by demons . Like that, they would be a delicious meal . To monsters, humans are delectable . Especially human children…”
“I get it, stop already . I knew that . But, this is the first time I’m seeing it . ”
Demons ate humans . I understood that . However, being aware of that was different from actually seeing it in person . It was more shocking than I had expected to witness the devouring of such fresh meat .
Calming myself down for a while, I looked back at the Goblin King again . I felt alright now . He was still munching messily .
If I was attempting this challenge, the optimal tactic would be to attack from his blind spot in the back . Since this flower field was an open place, there was nothing to hide behind . Cautiously observing the Goblin King, I proceeded to sneak from tree to tree until I was directly behind him . The one thing between us was the giant dead tree, and only the Goblin King’s shoulders were visible .
“Be careful from here on . ”
“Yeah . ”
Paying close attention, I stepped into the clearing . As before, the Goblin King was busy with his meal . Feeling nervous as my heart rate soared, I kept my breathing soft and quiet . Finally, I succeeded in reaching the dead tree . From behind, I heard his munching sounds closely .
“Fate, do it now!”
Greed signalled me through the
Arghh─!
I did it . I sliced off his log-sized right arm . Greed warned me against being relieved by the success of the first strike .
“He has not died yet . Retreat quickly!”
I jumped backwards as the Goblin King swung his club and smashed the large dead tree at the position I was at just a moment earlier . The hit was so powerful that the ground sunk in and shattered stone pieces flew out from the collision . If I had been hit by that, I would probably have died .
“That was dangerous . I’m saved . ”
“It’s too early to be relieved . He’s coming . ”
Bleeding heavily from his right shoulder, the Goblin King raised the club with his remaining left arm . Just as I was wondering how to dodge it, Greed spoke .
“Believe in me . A club like that poses no threat . ”
“In that case!”
I put my faith in Greed and dashed forward, attacking in a single movement . The Goblin King’s hand was cleaved off along with his club . This sharpness was amazing . I should keep going and finish this quickly . Continuing with my attack, I raised the black sword as I leapt upwards .
Arghh─! The Goblin King fell to his knees with a roar . What remained of his left arm had also been cut off . Despite being severely wounded, he still glared at me as I pierced his face with my sword . A sickening wetness drenched my hand, yet I paid no heed as I pushed the blade further in . Pulling it out, I shook off the Goblin King’s blood on my sword .
In previous fights, my opponents and I had been on equal ground . I had not experienced this sense of tension from monster hunting up until now . The knowledge that I might die had constantly swirled in my mind . So, I felt a greater sense of accomplishment from surviving this battle . Perhaps this was the real pleasure of monster hunting . Now that the tension had dissipated, I sank to the floor as Greed spoke .
“Well done . With this, your status has accumulated quite a substantial amount . In this case, let’s open my first rank . ”
“First rank?”
“My new form . By absorbing my user’s status, I can add a new form . What will you do? Will you try it?”
“How much of my status is needed?”
“The moment you met me is your starting point . If I take all the power you have gained since then, I can open my first form . ”
In other words, in order to strengthen Greed, I had to return to the state I was in when we met even though I had grown so much . On further inquiry, I found out that the first rank could be achieved with my current status, however, for the second rank, the third rank… Each time I raised his rank I would need to relinquish a higher status .
Ultimately, the user’s mentality was the trigger, and if I chose not to open his new form, I lost my qualification to use Greed . That’s right, I had to choose to either strengthen or release Greed right now, right here .
“I must do it right now huh…”
“Indeed . It is unavoidable as you are my user . In the same way that you cannot escape the hunger from your Gluttony skill . ”
Geez, when I asked Greed how much he was going to absorb, “Since I am greedy, I will consume almost all of it,” was his response .
“Will you strengthen only yourself, or strengthen me to walk along this path with you? Choose! I will tell you now, you will not regret making me stronger . ”
Well, it was unnecessary to consider this any longer . Greed was my only partner . If we could become stronger together, he would be even more dependable .
“I understand . Please do it . ”
“Well then, here I go!”
As though my consent became a contract, the black sword began to glow . At the same time, I felt my body losing power . When the light died down, there was a black bow in my hand .
“This is my first form, type: magic bow . From now on, I will be be your power both as a one-handed sword and a magic bow . ”
I used
Fate Graphite Lv1
HP: 121
Strength: 151
MP: 101
Spirit: 101
Agility: 131
Skill: Gluttony, Appraisal, Mind-reading, Concealment, One-handed Sword Technique, Two-handed Sword Technique, Strength Enhancement (small), HP Enhancement (small), HP Enhancement (medium), Auto-recovery
Chapter end
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