Chapter 8

The Hobgoblin moved.

He swung the club horizontally in his hand.

Sora hastily took a step back.

“Gya!” “Gih!!”

The remaining Goblin exploded from the boss's attack.

The wind pressure from the club brushed against Sora’s cheek a moment later.

“…………”

I didn’t think he would kill his comrades without hesitation.

Or perhaps, the Hobgoblin doesn’t even recognize Goblins as comrades.

Now, all the Goblins were gone.

Only the Hobgoblin remained.

While carefully observing the opponent, Sora slightly crouched.

The previous attack was visible to the naked eye.

(There’s a chance of winning if I can keep up with his speed... right?)

If I get hit even once, I’ll probably be torn apart like the Goblin earlier.

I could feel the immense power of the Hobgoblin’s attack.

Fighting an equal or superior opponent without getting hit even once.

This is a difficult quest.

I doubt any adventurer would take on this challenge.

It’s fine to run away. No one would mock me if I ran now.

But Sora’s fighting spirit remained unshaken.

(I will become stronger!)

There’s never a safe hunt.

If I run away every time it gets a little dangerous, I’ll probably run away from any difficult challenge.

I’ll develop a habit of running away.

This applies to studies, sports, work, everything.

There’s no growth in a future where I only do what I can.

That’s why Sora challenges himself.

To turn the impossible into the possible.

“Wooooo!”

He let out a roar, dispelling the oppressive atmosphere.

In the next moment, the Hobgoblin lunged forward.

(—So fast!?)

The Hobgoblin raised his club.

Sora hastily took a step back.

But it was too late to escape.

He crouched down instinctively.

The next moment,

—*Smack!!*

The club whizzed past his head with a terrifying sound.

Cold sweat trickled down Sora’s back.

He crouched reflexively, but if he had been even a split second slower, he would have lost his upper body by now.

(The boss who wanders isn’t slow at all!?)

This was completely different from what he had heard.

Sora inwardly protested against the rumors.

However, you can’t know the truth without seeing it with your own eyes.

Sora switched his mindset and raised the threat level of the Hobgoblin to the highest rank.

(This is going to be tough...)

While keeping his eyes on the opponent, Sora brought up his status board.

Fortunately, his level had increased by two since he last raised his stats.

Name: Sora Tensui

Lv: 8 → 10 Rank: E

SP: 10 → 0 Class: Intermediate Porter

STR: 11 → 17 VIT: 11

AGI: 13 → 16 MAG: 0 SEN: 9 → 10

Ability: [Accelerated Growth] +

Skills: [Complete Drop], [Limit Break], [Inventory]

Equipment (Effects): —

He allocated SP to AGI for safety and to SEN for alertness while the Hobgoblin was observing his movements.

He allocated the remaining SP to STR.

Raising VIT a little probably wouldn’t make much difference against the Hobgoblin, so he ignored his durability.

Preparations were complete.

He had done everything he could at the moment.

Sora took a deep breath.

He focused to avoid missing any of the opponent’s movements.

The opponent moved.

(I can see it!)

Thanks to the increased AGI, he could now clearly perceive the Hobgoblin’s attacks more clearly than before.

But it was still a close call.

He dodged the attack and closed the distance in one swift motion.

He struck the Hobgoblin’s side with all his might while the Hobgoblin was still in the stance of swinging his club.

—*Thud!*

The counter hit perfectly.

The flesh on the Hobgoblin’s side caved in, and the sound of bones breaking echoed.

He dealt damage.

But the Hobgoblin didn’t stagger.

The Hobgoblin recovered from the initial stiffness and began to counterattack.

Sora, on the other hand, was still in the stance of his full-force strike, frozen in place.

The roles were reversed.

As if to say so, the Hobgoblin swung his club horizontally.

(—Trouble!)

There was no time to escape.

Sora was blown away by a direct hit from the club.

He flew about five meters and fell, rolling on the ground twice, three times.

“Ugh... ugh...”

His head was spinning.

He couldn’t immediately grasp his current position.

(My body is fine... that’s good.)

Despite receiving such a powerful attack, he only had bruises.

This was because Sora took a step forward just before the attack hit, causing his body to be struck by the least powerful part of the club, the base.

If he had been blown back even a little, Sora would have been shattered to pieces.

The thought made him shudder.

As his consciousness cleared, he immediately got back on his feet.

He might have a concussion. His footing was unsteady.

But the opponent wouldn’t wait for him.

The Hobgoblin approached with astonishing speed.

He would be knocked away in another split second.

At the last possible moment,

Sora’s body moved on its own.

He lowered his head to dodge the attack.

He didn’t flinch at the sound of the air being crushed, *Bam!*, and circled around.

Sora wrapped his arm around the Hobgoblin’s neck from behind.

“Gah!?”

He squeezed the neck with all his might.

The Hobgoblin dropped his club.

He tried to tear Sora’s arm off with all his strength.

If he was peeled off now, there would be no second chance.

Or he might be slammed to the ground while still being held.

The worst-case scenarios flashed through his mind.

If he let up even a little, he would be dead.

When he became aware of the Grim Reaper standing behind him, his arm tightened even more.

It was fine if he got injured. It was fine if his arm broke.

But,

(I don’t want to die!!)

He clenched his teeth and desperately squeezed the neck.

“Wooooo!”

He let out a roar and put even more strength into his arm.

Then,

—*Crack!*

A sound of something breaking was heard in his arm.

At that moment, the Hobgoblin’s hand hung limply.

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