Chapter 28 – A Bit of Peace, Then a Lot of Goblin Murder

I Was Just Trying to Relax

After that weirdly deep conversation with the princess, the bell rang, signaling the start of the next class.

I stretched. "Welp. Time to pretend to care about lessons."

She gave me a long look before nodding slightly. "It was… an interesting conversation."

For her, that was basically saying "I enjoyed it."

Progress.

I smirked. "Yeah, yeah. Don't get all sentimental on me."

She rolled her eyes—which, honestly, was hilarious coming from her—before heading toward her classroom.

And just like that, lunch was over.

Simple. Normal.

If only the rest of my day stayed that way.

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Seria Shows Up Again (Thankfully Not Annoying This Time)

After school, I was on my way back when I heard—

"Hey, you."

I turned and saw Seria.

I mentally braced myself, expecting another round of interrogation, but—

She wasn't glaring.

Or acting all suspicious.

Instead, she just looked… normal.

A little tired.

A little curious.

But not "I think you're a secret villain" curious.

More like "I don't get you" curious.

She crossed her arms. "You've been keeping a low profile lately."

I shrugged. "I like my peace."

"Hmph." She studied me for a second before sighing. "You're still suspicious."

"Glad to know you still think so highly of me."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just don't cause trouble."

I grinned. "No promises."

She narrowed her eyes but didn't push it.

Instead, she just muttered, "See you later," and walked off.

…Huh. That was almost normal.

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The System Decides I Haven't Suffered Enough

I was halfway home when—

[DING!]

A blue screen popped up in front of me.

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[NEW SIDE QUEST ACQUIRED!]

✔ Quest: Hunt the Goblin Base Outside the City

✔ Objective: Eliminate the Goblin King

✔ Reward: Stat Boost + Unique Drop

---

I blinked.

Then sighed. "Of course it's f*cking goblins."

The sword hummed. "A base, huh? That's gonna be a pain in the a."**

I rolled my shoulders. "Eh. More experience, more skills. Let's just get it over with."

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Sneaking Into the Goblin Base

The goblin base was about an hour's walk from the city, hidden deep in the forest.

✔ Scouting from a distance, I saw… way too many goblins.

✔ The base was an old abandoned fort, reinforced with makeshift walls.

✔ Dozens of goblins patrolled the area, armed with rusted weapons.

And inside?

I could sense something bigger.

The Goblin King.

I didn't waste time.

I rushed the outer guards, slicing through them before they even had time to react.

Slash. Stab. Dodge. Counter.

The sword laughed in my head. "Oh, hell yeah. Now we're talking!"

Blood sprayed across the dirt as I tore through the goblins, my movements faster and stronger than ever.

✔ Enhanced reflexes from past fights? Check.

✔ Stronger strikes from monster blood absorption? Check.

✔ Battle instincts sharper than ever? Hell yes.

Within minutes, the outer defenses collapsed.

The moment the alarm went up, dozens of goblins swarmed.

✔ Archers fired from the walls.

✔ Warriors charged with rusted swords and axes.

✔ Some goblin shamans started chanting spells.

I clicked my tongue. "Tch. Annoying."

I dashed between the arrows, dodging with inhuman speed.

The sword guided my movements, striking exactly where I needed to.

✔ A goblin lunged—I cut its throat.

✔ Another tried to swing an axe—I slashed its arm off.

✔ A goblin mage fired a spell—I threw a dagger into its skull.

Bodies piled up.

But there were still too many.

And my stamina was starting to burn.

I clicked my tongue. "Alright. Guess it's time to eat."

Before another goblin could react, I grabbed it—and sank my teeth into its shoulder.

✔ Power flooded into me.

✔ My wounds started healing.

✔ My strength surged.

✔ New Ability Unlocked: Enhanced Night Vision.

The other goblins froze in horror.

I wiped the blood off my mouth and grinned. "Oh? What's with the faces? Keep attacking, dumbasses."

The goblins hesitated.

And that was their last mistake.

After cutting through the last wave of goblins, I kicked open the main doors.

Inside the abandoned fort, a throne of bones sat at the center.

And on it—

A huge, muscular goblin, clad in armor, gripping a massive greatsword.

The Goblin King.

It growled, glowing red eyes locking onto me.

"Human… strong."

I cracked my neck. "Yeah, yeah. Let's get this over with."

The Goblin King roared.

I grinned.

Time for the real fight.

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To Be Continued…