Chapter 5 – Damn Goblins (3)
‘Stay calm…’
Even as his arms trembled from muscle pain, Kang Hyeon focused his mind.
‘The head, I must aim for the head.’
As his breath stopped, the tightly drawn bowstring of the crossbow was released.
-Whoosh!
The sound of the bolt cutting through the air was heard.
“Got it!”
The flying bolt lodged precisely in the goblin’s nape.
It was the same goblin that had struck Kang Hyeon’s neck yesterday.
The goblin hit by the bolt collapsed without even uttering a death cry.
“Kraaak?”
The remaining one looked at its fallen comrade with a bewildered expression.
Kang Hyeon wasted no time and rushed towards it.
“You die too!”
The goblin barely blocked the longsword Kang Hyeon swung with all his might.
Then followed several exchanges of attacks and defenses.
-Clang, clang!
Kang Hyeon deflected incoming sword strikes with his shield and swung his sword whenever he saw an opening.
Gradually, the small wounds on the goblin’s body, increased.
“This is the last!”
“Kaaak, kak..!”
Finally, Kang Hyeon’s sword accurately pierced through an exposed gap.
The goblin with the sword lodged in its neck slowly crumbled.
“Fi-finally..!”
At last, he had cleanly dispatched two goblins.
The moments of torture he had endured from the goblins until now flashed by like a panorama.
[Level up!]
A message was heard simultaneously.
▫Name: Kang Hyeon
▫Title: –
▫Level: 1 → 2 new!
▫Detailed Stats:
Strength 10
Agility 9
Stamina 9
Magic Power 14
Additional Stat Points: 0 → 1 new!
▫Unique Ability: Resurrection
▫Ability: Lowest-grade Swordsmanship (F)
▫Skills: –
“As expected.”
Kang Hyeon’s prediction was correct.
Leveling up was possible even in the tutorial.
“This time, let’s increase agility.”
Kang Hyeon decided to invest the stat point he gained this time into agility.
While strength and stamina could be increased simply through brute force exercise, he didn’t know how to increase agility.
So it seemed good to increase it with points when possible.
“Good. Let’s keep this momentum going.”
With the level up, all muscle pain and fatigue disappeared.
Now it felt like he could even defeat a group of three goblins moving together.
“Let’s go!”
Kang Hyeon clenched his fist and shouted energetically.
***
Ippotranslation
***
“Aaaaargh!”
The threshold of three goblins was high.
One with the crossbow.
One with the longsword.
He had taken down a total of two goblins, but in the end, he was knocked out by the last goblin hitting him on the back of the head.
It wasn’t death, but unconsciousness.
And then followed, the world of torture.
-Stop, I said stop! You’re really dead tomorrow night, you know? Aaaah!
Kang Hyeon was tortured for a whole two hours while tied with ropes.
Perhaps due to the increased stamina points and body recovery from leveling up, he didn’t die easily.
“Phew…”
However, Kang Hyeon didn’t do pitiful things like covering himself with a blanket and trembling as before.
“You bastards… Just wait. Today is the last day.”
His eyes only flickered with madness.
***
Ippotranslation
***
[Welcome to Kang Hyeon’s tutorial entrance]
Again, the white room.
And then the damp cave .
Kang Hyeon, who entered the tutorial, was about to rush out with his sword but stopped.
“Let’s increase stamina one more time.”
His current stats were Strength 10, Agility 10, Stamina 9, Magic Power 14.
If stamina increased from 9 to 10 here, all stats would neatly become 10 or above.
“Huff, huff”
After finishing his thought, Kang Hyeon began swinging his sword again.
Although nothing was certain, swinging the sword like this might not only increase stamina but also raise the rank of swordsmanship.
“Huaah!”
Before, his arms would go numb to the point where he couldn’t even hold the sword after just ten minutes of swinging. So he had to do other exercises or practice shooting the crossbow for a while.
‘But not anymore’
Now he had been swinging the sword for nearly twenty minutes, but it was still bearable.
Thinking it was quite a significant improvement, Kang Hyeon continued swinging his sword.
Ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times…
How many swings had it been?
At some point, Kang Hyeon stopped counting.
He was just swinging the sword in a state of selflessness.
When an unknown amount of time had passed.
-Ding!
[Your stamina increases by 1 due to efforts surpassing your limits]
“Bleeurgh!”
Along with the alert, Kang Hyeon vomited on the ground.
“Kuhup, it doesn’t seem like that much time has passed.”
Kang Hyeon wiped the vomit from his mouth with his sleeve.
“Isn’t this stat increase faster than before?”
Although it was just a guess without a clock, it was accurate. Today, Kang Hyeon had been swinging his sword for roughly over five hours.
The stat increased even faster than before when he had to exercise for over 10 hours.
The reason was Kang Hyeon’s determination.
By not resting at times when he would have rested before, he was able to push his body to the limit even more.
“Haha… What does time matter? The important thing is that it increased.”
▫Name: Kang Hyeon
▫Title: –
▫Level: 2
▫Detailed Stats:
Strength 10
Agility 10
Stamina 10
Magic Power 14
Additional Stat Points: –
▫Unique Ability: Resurrection
▫Ability: Lowest-grade Swordsmanship (F)
▫Skills: –
Kang Hyeon smiled satisfactorily while looking at his status window and lay down on the floor.
“Let’s rest well and finish today.”
And so, Kang Hyeon fell into a deep sleep.
***
Ippotranslation
***
“Great! Let’s go!”
Kang Hyeon woke up and stretched energetically.
His body felt stiff from tense muscles, but it was more bearable than before.
Kang Hyeon carefully examined his weapons.
He picked up the longsword that now felt familiar in his hand, the crossbow, and the shield reinforced with iron, heavier than before.
Well-armed, Kang Hyeon slowly entered through the door.
‘First, one with the crossbow.’
Reaching where the goblins were, Kang Hyeon calmly aimed his crossbow.
-Push!
The flying bolt accurately lodged in the back of a goblin’s head.
While the remaining one was bewildered, Kang Hyeon rushed at full speed and struck the goblin with his shield.
Hit by the iron shield, heavier than the previous wooden one, the goblin immediately collapsed with a concussion.
“Now let’s go through this tutorial comfortably!”
“Kieek..!”
The one struggling on the ground.
Without hesitation, Kang Hyeon thrust his longsword into its neck.
“Kirruruk…”
Kang Hyeon smiled as he watched the goblin spitting blood from its mouth.
“Yeah. This is how a tutorial should be.”
Pushing the goblin away with his foot and pulling out his sword, Kang Hyeon took a moment to catch his breath.
“Phew, let’s go!”
He had already confirmed the location of the three goblins from his previous death.
‘It should be around here…’
However, his movements were extremely cautious, as he would have no chance if he was detected first and all three goblins rushed at him at once.
“Keruk!”
‘There.’
Moving towards the direction of the sound, he saw three goblins laughing carefreely.
‘Even if I take out one with the crossbow, two will remain.’
Then he would have to face two goblins like last time.
‘Should I create more distance and shoot the crossbow twice?’
Kang Hyeon shook his head as he considered.
‘If I move too far and miss the first shot, it’s over.’
Kang Hyeon ultimately decided to take out one reliably.
Raising his crossbow, he carefully aimed at a goblin.
-Whoosh!
“Kek!”
A scream burst from the goblin simultaneously with the sound of the bolt cutting through the air.
‘That’s right!’
The flying bolt hit a goblin precisely in the head.
“Keeaak!”
“Keruk, keruk!”
The two remaining goblins who discovered Kang Hyeon charged while making horrific noises.
“Uaah! Come at me, you bastards!”
-Clang, clang!
Kang Hyeon banged his sword against his shield, psyching himself up like warriors on TV.
“Keruk, kiek!”
Voices like boiling phlegm.
The goblins’ hideous faces drew closer in real-time.
‘I need to use the terrain to make them come one by one as much as possible.’
His body was heated with excitement, but he no longer trembled like before.
-Clang!
He deflected an incoming sword with his shield while swinging his own sword simultaneously.
The goblin whose abdomen was slashed staggered back.
Meanwhile, he calmly blocked the sword swung by the other one.
“Die!”
Kang Hyeon quickly thrust his sword through the momentary gap that appeared.
A clean strike that pierced the abdomen without hitting bone.
“Kieek!”
The two wounded goblins retreated.
Seeing this, a smile spread across Kang Hyeon’s face.
‘It’s done.’
The flow had already turned in his favor.
Now he just needed to ride this momentum and push forward.
“You scared?! Huh?! Try running away again!”
There are a total of 5 goblins appearing in stage 2.
There are no more comrades left.
“You don’t have any more friends to call, do you? You bastards!”
“Keee!”
As if the goblins knew this too, they finally screamed and charged at Kang Hyeon.
-Clang, clang!
Kang Hyeon and two wounded goblins fiercely exchanged blows.
Kang Hyeon’s combat skills, which had greatly improved in the meantime, shone.
“Kek… Keruk…”
At last, the final goblin sat down bleeding.
Watching this scene, Kang Hyeon, who was panting, gripped his longsword tightly.
“Haa, ha… It was shitty meeting you.”
“Keee…”
“Let’s never see each other again.”
-Sq!
The downward strike practiced thousands, tens of thousands of times.
The goblin’s neck, cut by the sword, was helplessly severed.
[Congratulations. You have cleared stage 2]
[You gain 5 additional stats as a clear reward]
[You can choose a weapon as a clear reward]
[Ability Lowest-grade Shield Technique is created]
[Ability Lowest-grade Crossbow Technique is created]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
“Uaaah!”
Kang Hyeon threw down his sword and screamed like a madman.
“I did it! I won!”
He ran around shouting for a while as if he had really gone insane.
“You damn goblins! Do you know your place now?! Huh?! I’ll win everything if I go to the end! You sons of bitches!”
Only after Kang Hyeon cursed and let out his final roar did he slowly catch his breath.
“Huff, hoo… Right. Rewards. I need to check the rewards. Hahaha!”
Kang Hyeon laughed like a deranged person and opened his status window.
▫Name : Kang Hyeon
▫Title : –
▫Level : 2 → 4 new!
▫Detailed Stats :
Strength 10
Agility 10
Stamina 10
Magic Power 14
Additional Stats : 0 → 7 new!
▫Unique Ability : Resurrection
▫Abilities :
Lowest-grade Swordsmanship(F)
Lowest-grade Shield Technique(F)
Lowest-grade Crossbow Technique(F)
▫Skills : –
A quite diverse status window.
The most noticeable was the additional stats of 7 points.
“Wow… Suddenly I’m in a dilemma…”
Kang Hyeon fell into a happy contemplation while staring at it quietly.
“As I go towards the later stages, leveling up will become harder and naturally each stat point will become precious. What should I do…”
Kang Hyeon first checked what Agility was.
It was because it was difficult to intuitively grasp, unlike Strength and Stamina.
[Agility : Increases dynamic vision, reaction speed, and muscle utilization ability]
“Hmm…”
After contemplating for a long time, Kang Hyeon finally finished distributing his stats.
3 points to Strength.
2 points to Agility.
2 points to Stamina.
He used all 7 points.
“Great!”
After investing the stats, he felt like his whole body was overflowing with power.
“And… Oh! I got Shield Technique and Crossbow Technique?”
Kang Hyeon immediately checked his newly acquired abilities.
Lowest-grade Shield Technique(F)
Ability: Allows more effective use of shields.
Description: If you try hard, you might be able to block the knife of a neighborhood kid.
Lowest-grade Crossbow Technique(F)
Ability: Allows slightly more proficient handling of crossbows and increases shooting precision.
Description: It’s best not to attempt the lethal act of shooting an apple on someone’s head.
“Hmm…?”
Like the previous one, the status window felt very playful.
“Still, it’s better than nothing.”
Since he had already proven its effect with swordsmanship, the more abilities, the better.
“Lastly, I just need to choose a weapon.”
In front of Kang Hyeon were the same weapons that were placed at the start of stage 2.
“I guess getting familiar is better, right?”
Without hesitation, Kang Hyeon picked up the longsword.
Then, strangely, the sword disappeared in an instant.
At the same time, a message appeared before his eyes.
[The waiting time has expired. Exiting the tutorial]
***
Ippotranslation
***
Kang Hyeon, who had finished his 8th tutorial, got up from his seat.
“Hehe, I did it. I did it..!”
When he opened his eyes, he wanted to scream as usual, but he held back, thinking his sister might still be asleep.
-Bubble bubble
“Lulu~”
Kang Hyeon prepared breakfast while humming.
He seemed excited already thinking about how surprised his sister would be when she woke up.
-Coo coo coo coo coo
That’s when it happened.
Suddenly, the ground shook and noise was heard from outside the house.
At the same time, a message appeared in front of Kang Hyeon.
[Earth’s tutorial is ending]
[System usage becomes free even outside the tutorial]
[Dungeons are activated]
[Only awakened ability users can enter dungeons]
[If the dungeon is not cleared within a certain time, the dungeon door will open]
“What does this mean…?”
Originally, today was supposed to be the day the tutorial normally ended.
“Is it related to that?”
It was when Kang Hyeon was blankly staring at the message.
“Aaaah!”
Suddenly, a scream was heard from outside the window.
Kang Hyeon hurriedly ran to the window and opened it.
“Goodness! What the hell is this!?”
A huge door, seemingly over 3m tall, was standing right in front of the house.
The door, carved with all sorts of strange patterns, looked like an entrance to hell.
“Is this that dungeon?”
“Uh… It seems so.”
Kung A-Hyun, who had approached without notice, pressed close behind Kang Hyeon and looked outside.
“You saw the message, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I can see the status window here now…”
As Kang A-Hyun spoke with a serious expression, Kang Hyeon nodded.
“I guess so. The message said abilities would be granted… Ah, what about the time? Check time!”
[Time remaining until complete connection with the Harken dimension: 4 years 357 days 13 hours 59 minutes 51 seconds]
Fortunately, the time was decreasing normally.
“I guess this isn’t the beginning of the end or something.”
“Yeah…”
Kang A -Hyun, who was looking at the time together, nodded at Kang Hyeon’s words.
“You said your level went up and you got skills, right? Check your status window once.”
“Ah, right. Status window!”
At Kang A-Hyun’s words, Kang Hyeon hurriedly called his status window.
[You cannot use this yet as the tutorial has not ended]
“Huh..?”
Something seems to be wrong.