Chapter 7

30 minutes later, at Borun Village.

“Hiss!”

“Squeal!”

As Chan-seong swung his sword, a goblin screamed and rolled on the ground, then quickly turned into a blue light and disappeared.

Only the goblin's claw, an item it left behind, remained rolling on the ground.

Chan-seong picked it up and put it in his inventory, then looked around.

“Games are really different from reality. For one, even though one of them is being attacked… the other goblins don’t rush to help.”

“Kikikik… Kikik!”

“Kik!”

Defeat the goblin raiders who have invaded Borun Village!

Condition: Goblin Raiders 3/15

As soon as Chan-seong arrived at Borun Village, he saw goblins raiding the village.

The quest was automatically updated when the village chief, who had noticed Chan-seong, ran out and the battle with the goblins began immediately.

“Kikikik! Kikik! Gobgob!”

‘So… they are so focused on looting that they don’t even notice their comrades dying?’

While it was set up for the convenience of new players, Chan-seong interpreted it in a somewhat realistic (?) way and began to methodically slaughter the goblins.

‘The tutorial guy didn’t have any vital points, but these monsters do. Neck, heart, liver, chest… there are very small vital points implemented in realistic locations. If that’s the case, players should have them too, right?’

“Kiiiiik! Gobgob!”

‘The only thing that’s frustrating… is that even though I clearly blocked it perfectly, I still took damage.’

He blocked the goblin raider’s sloppy attack with a perfect and stable stance, but the game applied damage as a cold, hard number.

Still, he was satisfied that he could swing his sword and fight something, unlike in reality, and continued with the quest.

“Thank you! I’m really grateful.”

Agility: 16

Intelligence: 5

Health: 17

Magic Adaptation: 5

Luck: 6

[System - Quest Updated]

[Quest: Goblin Tracking Request]

Condition: You have driven away the goblin raiders who invaded the village! You must find the people who were kidnapped by the goblins before anything happens to them. Track the goblins who fled immediately.

“Tracking? Huh? …The footprints are glowing?”

The more he looked, the more he marveled.

Despite the realism, there were clearly game rules in place.

He marveled at the game’s realism but also noticed a sense of dissonance.

‘Now that I think about it… there were other players in the tutorial zone, but why are there almost none here? That’s strange.’

When he completed the tutorial and entered the Adventurer’s Guild, it was bustling with people.

But now, in this village, there were only a few players visible, and those few soon disappeared after killing some monsters, which seemed odd.

‘Ah, maybe it’s because it’s getting dark? After all, it’s not good to play games too late. The dark forest is quite scary, after all.’

The forest, now completely dark, was as dark and eerie as a typical horror game, making it a reasonable assumption.

‘This reminds me of training in the mountains at night. There were a lot of insect sounds and the sounds of animals that were released to restore the ecosystem.’

The green nature, which gave a sense of relief compared to the city, made Chan-seong feel even better.

“Let’s see, the footprints are…!”

Whoosh! Clang!

The sound of something slicing through the air. As soon as Chan-seong detected it, he drew his sword at an incredible speed and deflected it.

He then noticed it flying back into the darkness.

It was a crudely made arrow from a branch.

‘I thought it was moving slowly.’

He detected it quickly, but his physical abilities (status) were lacking, so he was at a disadvantage. Fortunately, the arrow’s velocity was low, allowing him to block it in time.

“Gob, gob?”

‘I found them! They must have known I would come and hid to ambush me. It’s a very smart strategy!’

Chan-seong’s eyes turned into those of a predator that has spotted its prey, and he detected the panicked goblin’s location.

He immediately used the skill ‘Sprint’ to rush towards it.

It increases running speed by 25% using stamina. The duration is 1 second per 1 stamina.

‘So, 15 seconds. I need to use ‘Double Slash’ which also uses stamina, so I have to be quick and efficient!’

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Gob, gob! Kiek!”

“Double Slash.”

He quickly killed the goblin he found because he suspected there were other goblins around.

And… his suspicion was correct.

“Kiiiiik! Gobgob!”

“Gobgob!”

“Kiiii!”

‘That’s right. This is normal.’

Whoosh!

Unlike the goblin raiders who invaded the village, the goblin archers in the forest began to shoot arrows at Chan-seong in unison.

Chan-seong skillfully dodged the arrows and closed the distance between the trees.

As soon as he saw a goblin archer within his line of sight, he swung his sword.

“Kiiiiik!”

‘Good. There are 3 goblin archers left…’

“Gobgob!”

“Kiiii! Gob!”

While Chan-seong was thinking and dodging arrows, something suddenly burst out from under the ground.

“Goblin Raider!”

The reputation of being a ‘Newbie Slicer’ was not for nothing.

Two goblin raiders suddenly burst out from underground tunnels, and the weapons they wielded were daggers coated with poison.

The concerns of the lead player, Min-hee, were not unfounded.

“Ugh…”

“Gobgob!”

Chan-seong did not panic or retreat when he saw the goblin raiders suddenly burst out.

He stepped on one of the goblin raiders and leaped over to the goblin archers.

“Hmm, that’s it. No more noise.”

Swish… Clank!

Although his sword was not stained with blood, he skillfully shook off the blood and sheathed it.

It seemed he had completely adapted to the game’s realism.

Meanwhile, new messages started appearing one after another in front of him.

Agility: 17

Intelligence: 5

Health: 19

Magic Adaptation: 5

Luck: 7

[System - Quest Updated]

[Quest: Goblin Tracking Request (2)]

Condition: You followed their footprints and they ambushed you. Fortunately, you repelled them, but you need to be more careful from now on. Continue tracking them.

‘There are more of these guys. Hmm… the ambush won’t work after the first time, right? No, the traps or ambushes might be different? Oh… that’s something to look forward to?’

The initial quest was just a facade to trick new players who had just arrived. The real cruelty of the course, known as the ‘Newbie Slicer,’ was just beginning.