Perhaps it was because there was no longer any cover behind him, or maybe it was the terrifying aura he felt coming from behind.
Theo’s back was instantly ice-cold, and sweat soaked through his coarse clothing.
"Run!"
He struggled to move his trembling, wobbling legs.
He scrambled and crawled away at a slow pace.
The towering monster behind him seemed to follow silently, neither fast nor slow.
"Boom!"
From the corner of his eye, he saw a spot he had just passed, where large chunks of dirt were flying up as a massive spiked hammer struck the ground, leaving a huge pit in its wake.
If it had hit him, it surely would have left a bloody hole.
"Is this monster toying with me?"
Theo felt a deep sense of despair in his heart, but recognizing this, he still had to cooperate with its "game," struggling to escape from the woods.
However, the pain from the wound beneath his ribs slowed his running pace.
"Stab!"
Suddenly.
He felt a sharp pain in his thigh.
Looking down, he discovered a small stone had somehow embedded itself into his thigh.
Sharp, piercing pain traveled from the wound to his brain.
Every time he moved his thigh, the sharp stone twisted in his flesh and nerves, making him nearly faint.
He sat on the ground.
No longer wanting to move.
He watched as the tall, forest-green monster approached with a huge hammer, its yellow-toothed mouth sneering with a mischievous and mocking expression, and a sense of bitterness surged in Theo’s heart.
He slowly closed his eyes, as the fear of death and pain wrapped around him like invisible tentacles, binding his entire body tightly.
The surroundings suddenly became very quiet.
One second...
Two seconds...
After some time, the expected, excruciating pain of being smashed into pulp did not arrive.
Have I already died?
He opened his eyes.
What he saw was perplexing.
The originally ferocious, demon-like, fierce green-skinned monster suddenly stopped in its tracks, standing completely still, its gaze fixed directly behind him.
For some reason, he could read in the monster’s human-like eyes, a deep hint of apprehension and... fear?
What happened?
Before he could ponder further.
A clear laugh echoed from behind him.
"Serdur, I’ve won."
Theo turned to look.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, spilling into the forest.
A handsome young man dressed in a black robe, brushing aside the leaves, walked slowly in with a pristine white magic staff in hand.
The tip of the staff glowed with a blue light, an energy locked firmly on the distant, towering monster.
The hazy light casting upon him added an otherworldly aura to his presence.
And beside the tall black-robed youth, an even taller snake-man in leather armor slid into view.
Its lower half was a thick snake tail, golden scales reflecting the blinding sunlight, causing him to squint slightly.
Am I dreaming? A final fantasy before death?
Theo couldn’t discern if what was happening was a dream or reality.
"I haven’t seen a Big Goblin in a long time." The half-snake man responded with a raspy voice.
The two moved with unhurried composure.
With every step they took, the Big Goblin retreated a step.
The Big Goblin, having reached the stage of an Elite Demon, had moved beyond the chaotic, savage mindset of low-level goblins.
It had gained some capacity for thought.
It could sense an oppressive aura emanating from the human and the snake-man opposite.
Especially the human, whose mere sight made its legs heavy as lead.
Though not particularly tall, his form seemed to grow grander in its sight.
Faintly, it caught a whiff of something terrifying yet unpleasant.
As if countless of its kin’s unwilling wails and curses entwined around that human’s body.
It felt as if, on some level, the other inherently had a restraining hold over it.
Run! Run quickly!
Its brain screamed warnings, reminding it of when it had first encountered that fearsome jackal-wolf in the forest.
Gauss approached the villager, ensuring his safety.
He turned to speak with Serdur.
"Serdur, can I take on this goblin?"
In Gauss’s judgment, the Big Goblin wasn’t particularly threatening, and it was a new entry for his collection.
Noting that encounters with Elite Goblins were still rare as of yet, he didn’t want to pass this up.
Ordinary goblins were common, but elite-level goblins weren’t.
At least near the Human Kingdom, it was so.
Some suggested that these ordinary goblins invading human territories were "weaklings" driven out, as the true elites among goblins were often gathered by higher-tier demons.
"Alright, Captain." Serdur smirked; he was also curious to see Gauss’s strength.
All this time, his understanding of Gauss’s power was based on an instinctual feeling, estimating that he could be a threat, but the specifics of his combat style were unknown.
In truth, the two should have been running drills together these past days, but Gauss was also recovering from injuries, barely moving, and with no proper location, they hadn’t practiced together.
Taking on this ordinary low-level one-star mission wasn’t without the intent of a practice warm-up.