Chapter 10

The goblin, as its name suggests, is small in stature, about the same size as a ten-year-old child.

Its skin is a dark green, and it has a large mouth that splits to the ears and eyes that move incessantly, making it a sight that is hard to forget once seen.

During the day, it moves sluggishly, but becomes more active as dusk falls.

This is said to be because the goblins, a subhuman race, are the followers of the goddess Larumoor, who governs despair and endless darkness.

They usually wander deep in the forest, but occasionally appear near forest roads at dusk, so caution is necessary.

Despite their ferocious nature, they are cunning and excel at ambushes, taking advantage of their small stature.

They always move in groups of two or three, working together to surround their prey.

They may look deceivingly weak, but they are quite strong, and a blow from their swung cudgel can easily shatter human bones.

There are also quite a few people who have lost fingers after being bitten carelessly.

Underestimating a goblin and being overwhelmed is a common cause of death among novice adventurers.

Toll had already been engaged in combat with three goblins for nearly ten minutes.

The dense foliage made the surroundings quite dim.

The roots of the trees, which had not been exposed to sunlight, were knobby and twisted.

Stepping on them carelessly would surely result in an ankle injury.

Furthermore, the deep green moss spread in places, making it difficult to maintain a firm footing.

One of the goblins in front of him raised its cudgel with a shrill cry.

Slightly out of sync, another goblin leaped from the right, just above the ground.

Being grabbed by one foot would be fatal in the current situation.

Another goblin, which had climbed a nearby tree at some point, silently dropped onto Toll's back, shaking the branches.

If it clung to his back, the small stature of the goblin would make it impossible to reach with his weapon or shake it off.

It was a thoroughly calculated way of fighting, taking full advantage of their small size.

Toll saw through the ambush from the side and behind by the busy movements of the goblin's eyes in front of him.

Ducking under the cudgel, he threw himself to the left front.

Rolling forward, he struck the goblin's right knee.

As he stood up, he slammed the wooden sword into the goblin's unprotected back.

The goblin, with its kneecap shattered and spine broken, groaned and stopped moving.

From either side, the other two goblins ran forward, crouching low.

Toll chose the one on the left.

When facing multiple opponents, it is disadvantageous to stay in one place for too long.

The best strategy is to keep moving and try to engage in one-on-one combat as much as possible.

As he circled to the left, Toll knocked the goblin's arm away and changed the trajectory of his sword to thrust it into the open face.

The goblin, with its left eye pierced by the sword, let out a loud scream.

The soft eyeball and mouth are easier to penetrate with a blade than other parts.

If he took one more step, the blade would reach the brain, but Toll stepped back, fearing it would be grabbed.

Another goblin, which had stumbled over its companion's back, leaped at him.

Reacting quickly, Toll raised his sword to sweep its foot.

But the goblin, now accustomed to Toll's movements, kicked the sword away in mid-air.

The goblin clung to Toll's shoulder, opening its jaw wide.

Just before his throat was torn, Toll called out his companion's name in a calm voice.

"---Sora"

It seemed that the monsters were not the only ones who had become accustomed to the movements.

With the signal to release, the girl's magic protected Toll.

---<Reversal>.

The row of goblin teeth, just before they touched Toll, were all blown away at once.

A disassembling knife, which had been pulled out from its sheath at some point, was thrust into the goblin's right eye.

The thin blade bent when it hit the skull, but after pushing it in to the hilt, it was quickly restored to its original shape.

Toll twisted the deeply embedded knife mercilessly.

The goblin, with its brain stirred, fell lifeless.

Toll pushed it toward another goblin that was approaching, swinging its cudgel.

The spine and knee that he had broken earlier seemed to have healed.

He thrust his knee into the goblin that leaped at his waist.

Perhaps due to the <Reversal>, the goblin that had tried to cling to Toll fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The lone remaining goblin pushed its companion's corpse with its cudgel and approached Toll.

The cudgel, swung down, was deflected by the wooden sword and went sideways.

The sword, returning from below, struck the goblin's exposed jaw.

As the goblin staggered, the sword was swung down again, and the blade, changing its trajectory, struck the temple.

The wooden sword was deeply embedded in the goblin's head, which was shaking and staggering.

The goblin, letting out a final groan, released its cudgel.

But Toll did not let his guard down, knocked the goblin to the ground, and pushed the sword deeper.

The monster, convulsing violently, finally died, green blood oozing from its eye socket.

"......Is it over?"

"No, not yet."

Toll approached the one that had been knocked down by a knee strike.

He slammed the wooden sword into its neck.

The goblin, which had been lying face down, raised its head with a muffled scream.

The eye that had been pierced and the nose that had been broken were already healing, with flesh swelling up.

Without hesitation, the wooden sword was thrust in again.

The last goblin, with its head impaled, died with its arms outstretched and teeth bared.

"Alright, you can come out now, Sora."

"Okay. Good job, Toll. Oh, you're bleeding from your neck!"

"Ah, a tooth must have hit it."

With a touch of his hand, the wound disappeared without a trace.

Sora, relieved, let out a slow breath.

Sora's <Reversal> did not nullify all attacks.

She knew this well, but seeing Toll injured was still hard on her heart.

She would like to take his place, but that was something Toll would never allow.

Falling into a dilemma, the girl reaffirmed her resolve to do her best with what she could do now.

"Wow, they look really evil up close, don't they?"

As she poked the goblin cautiously with the tip of her staff, Toll handed her the disassembling knife he had taken from the corpse.

"Yeah, what do I do with this?"

"Start with the right ear. It's proof of the kill."

"Ah, I see. Like this?"

Sora, who grew up in the countryside, took the knife and cut off the goblin's right ear without hesitation.

"Next is under the neck, around the jaw. There, that's it."

"It's cut, Toll."

"Feel around with your fingers for something hard."

"Ah, is this it?"

What Sora pulled out was a long, bumpy stone, about the size of a thumb, and it was translucent like a crystal.

"What is it? A goblin seed?"

"Ah, you got it. That's a magic stone."

A magic stone is said to be a pure form of the divine energy contained in miasma, which has solidified within the bodies of subhuman and spirit monsters.

On its own, it has no practical use, but when combined with magic stone tools, it can produce various effects.

The trade in magic stones is one of the main pillars supporting the border town.

"Wow, that's amazing. But my hands are all sticky."

"Just wipe them on the moss for now."

Sora wiped the green, slimy magic stone on the moss at her feet.

Then she let out a curious voice.

"Hey, there's a shell on the ground. Toll, is there a hole in your bag?"

"That's what they ate."

"Huh? Are these shells tasty?"

"Don't eat them, you'll get sick."

The snails inside the whelk shells are a favorite of the goblins.

These snails, known as whelks due to their appearance, live deep in the miasma forest, and their shells, which are harder than usual, are often used as containers.

Incidentally, five of them can be sold for one copper coin, but Toll usually washes them and uses them himself.

The spoils of this battle were three goblin ears, two magic stones of the lowest rank, and six whelk shells.

The goblin cudgels, being just thick branches, were only useful as firewood.

"Are you not taking the meat back?"

"The meat of subhumans is said to be unpalatable. No one will buy it."

"I see. That's a bit wasteful, isn't it?"

The goblin corpses would dissolve and disappear after a while.

This is said to be because they return to the miasma and are reborn anew.

If the corpses were taken back and mourned, the number of goblins might decrease, but this was prohibited.

The reason given was that it could lead to the spread of disease, but the real reason was related to magic stones.

If the supply of magic stones decreased, it would be a problem for both the town and the adventurers.

"It was easier to take care of them than I thought. Shall we look for the next one?"

"Okay. I'll do my best to make sure Toll doesn't get hurt next time!"

"Don't worry, I can heal. It's more helpful if you focus on taking them down."

"Ah."

If Toll had been alone, he would have had to run and fight the three goblins for a long time.

While Toll can face most opponents, this is only possible when he can concentrate on the one in front of him.

No matter how skilled he is at dodging and counterattacking, it is difficult to keep dodging attacks from blind spots for a long time, both physically and mentally.

But with the current combination of Toll and Sora, they could deflect attacks that they couldn't avoid and heal wounds immediately.

This party was proving to be more capable than Toll had expected.

"Hey, Toll, am I being useful?"

"Yeah, I'm counting on you, Sora."

Hearing the words she wanted to hear, the girl beamed.

The two companions continued deeper into the forest.