A Goblin Loses Its Life

Gauss did not rush to make his move.

Instead, he first pricked up his ears and scanned his surroundings.

Other than the rock the goblin was sitting on, there were no obstructions around the pool. The terrain was open, making it suitable for a direct confrontation.

Once he left the bushes where he was hiding, there would be roughly ten meters of sunlit open ground between him and the goblin.

Ten meters sounded close, but if he made any noise while sprinting, it would be enough to alert it. He needed to circle behind it, quietly creep closer, and launch a surprise attack.

He also had to act fast, attacking while the goblin was busy sharpening its weapon. It would be even better if he could keep it from grabbing its weapon and assuming a fighting stance.

A prepared opponent against an unsuspecting one, armed against unarmed, coupled with his natural advantage in size—the battle should be completely one-sided.

Gauss's mind raced.

Once he had formed a plan, he did not hesitate. He immediately crouched and began moving slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Little by little, he worked his way directly behind the goblin.

Once he was in position, he tightened his grip on the Wooden Spear. Whether from nervousness or excitement, his hands began to tremble.

He swallowed.

He stared at the goblin sitting on the rock not far away.

The little green-skinned creature had its back to him. It picked at its feet while humming and sharpening its Stone Spear, looking utterly relaxed.

Before long, the Wooden Spear in his hand would end its life.

Gauss took a deep breath. In his previous life, aside from ants and insects he had accidentally stepped on, he might never have intentionally killed anything. Now that he was about to take a living life, he needed to steel himself.

And as a magical creature, the goblin looked somewhat human. That made the burden of killing it even heavier.

Still, it deserved to die.

Gauss closed his eyes.

The moment he had seen the goblin, a childhood memory had surfaced in his mind as though triggered by instinct.

When the Original Body had been a child, more than twenty goblins had attacked the village where his family lived. Although the adults had organized themselves and driven the goblins away with pitchforks and sickles, an older girl from next door had been taken away and never returned.

There was no need to say what had become of her.

And that was only something the Original Body had personally experienced. Across this land, similar tragedies had been countless over the centuries.

Gauss opened his eyes again. This time, however, there was no hesitation or uncertainty in them.

He pressed the thumbnail of his right hand hard into the knuckle of his index finger. The stabbing pain stopped his hand from trembling and steadied it once more.

Holding his breath, he lowered his steps and slowed his movements, half-crouching as he slowly emerged from the bushes.

Shield raised in his left hand, spear held in his right.

At that moment, aside from birdsong and the buzzing of insects in the forest, there was not the slightest other sound.

Even the wind had died down, and the pool was without a ripple.

Gauss crept to within roughly three meters of the goblin and stopped, choosing not to move any closer.

This was already close enough for him to see the coarse hairs in the folds of its green skin, as well as the shifting movements of its muscles with every breath.

Slowly rising to his feet, he moved as carefully as when he had played freeze games as a child in his previous life, restraining every movement as he stood and allowing blood to flow smoothly through his body again.

Once the stiffness had left his body—

He took a deep breath, then suddenly sprang into action!

He took a huge step forward!

The tips of his toes slammed into the ground, and the explosive recoil hurled his body forward.

Turning three steps into two, he leaped straight onto the rock.

The goblin, absorbed in sharpening its spear, seemed startled by the sudden loud noise. Its whole body jolted, and it instinctively reached for the Stone Spear pressed against the rock.

But Gauss had prepared for this long ago. How could he give it that chance?

He stomped down hard with his right foot, pressing his full weight onto the wooden shaft of the Stone Spear.

The goblin grabbed at empty air, then immediately tried reaching for it again.

But Gauss thrust out his Wooden Spear. The goblin, turning around, twisted aside by a hair, yet the sharp spearhead still grazed its waist with a hiss, carving open a wound.

Seeing the goblin retreat several steps while its gaze remained fixed on the Stone Spear—

Gauss kicked the Stone Spear backward.

The Stone Spear flew several meters away.

If the goblin wanted its weapon back, it would have to get past him.

But he would not give it the chance to reclaim its weapon.

Facing the disarmed goblin, he cautiously took two steps forward and thrust the Wooden Spear again.

Unfortunately, under the threat of death, the goblin used its small size to twist away dangerously. It even took advantage of the stiffness after his spear thrust to close in against him.

Gauss's heart sped up, but his hands were not slow. He instinctively swung up the Small Round Shield in his left hand and knocked it down in one motion.

"Wah wah wah! Wah wah!"

The round shield had a larger surface area. The goblin failed to dodge and was sent flying. It took a moment before it staggered back to its feet, dizzy and disoriented. The pain in its waist enraged it, and it continuously let out piercing shrieks.

The sharp teeth so close at hand, along with the foul saliva spraying through the air, made Gauss's pupils shrink uncontrollably.

Even without its weapon, the goblin still lunged forward, swinging arms covered in claws, trying to injure him with its sharp gray nails.

The next moment, Gauss fiercely thrust the Wooden Spear forward.

"Pshhk!"

This time, the goblin failed to dodge.

After meeting slight resistance from a layer of skin, the spearhead pierced into the goblin's body.

Bright red blood burst from the wound like a surge of mercury.

In an instant, it soaked Gauss's arms and clothes red.

A soft, obstructed sensation traveled through the wooden shaft in his hands, while blood slowly ran down the Wooden Spear from the wound.

"Yaah!!!"

Even with its abdomen pierced through and its life rapidly draining away, the goblin still gritted its teeth and pushed against the Wooden Spear as it continued toward Gauss.

Even in its final moments, it tried to attack him!

Unfortunately, most of its strength had already drained away. Its attack was weak and limp, and its swinging claws merely struck Gauss's Small Round Shield without causing any harm.

"Yah... yah..."

After releasing that attack, the goblin's voice came out in broken gasps, like a torn bellows.

They remained locked like that for several more seconds. At last, its arms went limp, and its body lost its final trace of strength, collapsing onto the Wooden Spear.

Its struggle had hastened its death.

Gauss swallowed. The fierce struggle and savage resistance bearing down on him made his breathing grow heavy without his realizing it, his heart pounding wildly as though it might leap out of his chest.

Was it dead?

The goblin was no longer moving, but Gauss still did not dare relax.

He braced his foot, pulled out the spear, kicked the goblin off it, then viciously stabbed its heart several more times. Only when its chest had become a bloody mangled mess did Gauss stop.

It should really be dead now, right?

Gauss's body suddenly went weak. As though he had exerted himself too violently just now, all strength seemed to leave him. He dropped onto the rock.

Looking down at himself, he saw that the front of his clothes was covered in blood, and his hands were stained red as well. He could even smell the foul stench of goblin blood.

There had never been anything elegant about battles between low-level adventurers and monsters.

Swallowing again, Gauss could still recall the goblin's unwillingness and madness from moments ago. His scalp tingled.

His mental fortitude was not that poor. He simply needed time to adjust.

Glancing at the goblin beside him, now nothing more than a cold corpse, and then at the sticky, glaringly red blood on his hands, everything felt especially unreal.

This was not a game, nor was it an adventure. It was killing that had truly happened.

He sat quietly for a while to recover.

Once his breathing had calmed again, Gauss's unease over taking a life for the first time finally eased somewhat.

People were highly adaptable.

Although he still felt a little uncomfortable inside, he could now calmly accept that he had taken a goblin's life.

"Goblin killed ×1."

"Monster Codex officially activated!"

"Monster Kill Count: 1. First Blood achieved. Reward obtained: Mage Class Skill, 0th Ring cantrip [Mage Hand]. Intelligence +1. Next stage: total monster kills reach 10."

"You have cumulatively killed 1 goblin!"

"Title obtained: 'Goblin Hunter.' This title will upgrade along with the number of kills."

"Current effect: Bane. During combat against goblins and related evolved races, damage dealt by attacks is increased by an additional 10%."