I was sitting on the plain, and in front of me, the spoils were neatly piled up.
Goblin weapons—swords, spears, bows, cudgels—and even the crude crown of a Hop Goblin.
‘Hundreds of Orbs of Growth have been collected.’
To make sure no one was skimming off the top, I assigned about ten people to supervise the tally.
For Awakened Ones, the distribution of ‘Orbs of Growth’ was more important than money.
“Now, there’s nothing more left.”
The students gradually gathered, reporting the completion of the task, then sat down before me. Soon, all the students were gathered around.
“411 Orbs of Growth, 51 swords, 47 spears, and too many cudgels to count.”
Park Hayeon had organized a team to count the spoils and sort them by type for easier distribution.
“Since our total number is 65, we’ll distribute the Orbs of Growth at six per person, and the remainder will go to me and Park Hayeon. Any complaints?”
The crowd remained silent. There was no reason for grievance. Spoils are distributed differentially based on rank and contribution, and technically, Park Hayeon and I should take even more than this.
“Well, that’s settled. Regarding the remaining spoils, let’s just discard the cudgels. They’re tough to carry and I doubt they’ll sell on Earth. Any objections?”
The majority of students raised their hands. No one wanted to drag the useless cudgels back to base camp.
‘I should’ve instructed not to collect them in the first place.’
Before transmigration, while in the military, I hated doing unnecessary tasks just as much, but here I was, doing the same. Managing this efficiently seems to require a lot of expertise.
“Since there are injured students, those who are fine should carry two spoils each.”
Although not seriously wounded, some students had bruised armor from the impact, which hampered their movement. Carrying two spoils might be heavy during travel, but they can set them down during combat; and considering they’re miniature-sized gobling weaponry, it’s manageable.
“So, let’s take a short meal break and then thoroughly clean out the goblin village.”
We all sat on the plain, eating combat rations and simple foods. The grass and soil were all grey, making the place feel eerily ominous and alien.
“Hayeon, is your leg alright?”
I noticed during the spoils distribution that she was limping slightly.
“Hmm? Oh, it’s fine. I got hit by a spear, so it seems my pelvis is slightly twisted. I’ll rest for a few days and it’ll heal, so don’t worry.”
“What about the potion?”
“I don’t think it’s wise to use it here. A potion is practically a second life, meant for real critical injuries.”
Park Hayeon was truly acting like a protagonist. I pulled out a potion from my bag and handed it to her.
“What’s this?”
“It’s my personal potion. It has nothing to do with the students, so use it for your injury.”
“Ah, okay…thank you…”
She took the potion with both hands, as if it were something precious. Her poverty was evident in her expression.
We spent the mealtime like that.
“Let’s head out now. Though I believe I’ve already wiped out their entire army, we need to stay alert!”
Based on the students’ still seeing everything in grey, it was clear we hadn’t met the clearing condition yet, so I proposed cleaning up the goblin village. The hidden stage was already cleared, and the gate would function as normal.
Still, the reason I insisted on heading to the goblin village was because I had something to find: the ‘Immortality’ skill and Dragon Bones. Even though in the game it was only mentioned briefly, if it were true, it would be a real jackpot.
I led everyone to the goblin village. The village consisted of primitive wooden houses and huts.
“What is this…?”
“Isn’t this amazing?”
The students marveled at the sight of the village. Were they impressed by the civilization level of the goblins?
No.
The goblin village was full of weak-looking young goblins and female goblins, numbering over a hundred. Though likely of lower rank compared to the warrior-class goblins we encountered on the plain, they were still monsters that dropped Orbs of Growth when killed. My intentions in bringing the students here weren’t purely selfish.
‘Time for an experience boost!’
I instructed the students to surround the village from all sides as we entered. Our numbers were far fewer than the goblins, so our encirclement would have gaps, but it was better than nothing. Not doing so would make catching escaping goblins much harder.
I looked to my sides.
The children were visibly excited.
It was time to let them loose.
“Let’s go!”
Waahh—
At my command, the students on all fronts charged into the village, shouting.
*
Goblin village.
“Kerrrruk?”
“Kerrrr.”
The offspring of the Hop Goblin, a Half Goblin, woke up in his hut.
Being the half-breed son of a Hop Goblin father and a giant mother, his bed was filled with females, even his own mother.
“Kerrr. What’s the matter?”
“Kerrruk. Kerrrr.”
“Kerrrr!”
The goblins were in disarray, explaining that an overwhelming number of giants had invaded the village. The Half Goblin instantly realized that his father, who had led all his troops, must have been defeated.
When he stepped out of the hut, the village was already filled with giants slaughtering goblins indiscriminately.
“Kerrruk. Those heartless giants, killing defenseless females and children!”
As he spoke, his fellow goblins were being slain in real-time. The young goblins armed with cudgels rushed to attack the giants, but their efforts were futile. Every time the giants swung their swords, the goblins were split in half or decapitated.
“Kerrruk. Is that the leader? Kerr.”
The Half Goblin saw a red giant in the center of the village, furiously swinging a spear at the goblins as if he had a personal vendetta. The Half Goblin prepared for battle, donning a wooden bark armor and grabbing the best spear he had (which was crude by human standards).
The Half Goblin, being a giant hybrid, was about twice the height of a regular goblin.
‘I must defeat this guy and turn the tide of the battle. My father always said I wasn’t ready, but that’s because he’s an inferior pure-blood goblin.’
Due to his large stature, the Half Goblin held a superiority complex over pure-blood goblins. He even looked down on his own father.
“Kerrruk. Come out here, leader! Let’s fight one on one!”
The threatening Half Goblin twirled his spear. His mind was consumed by thoughts of heroically defeating the enemy commander and establishing a new legend as a general.
Meanwhile, Shinnoda was surprised by the sudden challenge from a goblin. Judging by the aura, he wasn’t even B-tier, but C-tier.
There was no way he could be on Shinnoda’s level.
“Since you speak, you must be a Hop Goblin, eh? The son of the chief?”
Shinnoda was inwardly astonished. Not only the Hop Goblin, but this goblin in front of him spoke Korean.
He decided to talk it out.
“Kerrruk. I am the general now. Kerr.”
“So, you’re here for revenge on behalf of your father?”
“Not really. Thanks to you, I’m the new general now. Kerrruk.”
The frown inside Shinnoda’s helmet deepened. It seemed this goblin lacked any filial piety, which was truly disgraceful.
“If you’re going to charge at me when you could just quietly escape, you’re incredibly foolish.”
Shinnoda couldn’t understand him. The Hop Goblin he battled earlier was worthy, despite being the enemy. However, this son was utterly repulsive. The fact that the goblin spoke Korean piqued his curiosity, but the naive and annoying speech annoyed him to no end.
“Kerrruk. That’s…”
So, he decided to kill him.
Shinnoda surged forward, pushing off the ground.
The earth was churned up as dirt and grass flew. In the blink of an eye, Shinnoda was in front of the goblin, thrusting his spear.
“Kheeeeh!”
The last thing the Half Goblin saw was the giant’s spear piercing through his chest. He hadn’t even seen the attack coming.
“Keekh. Kerrr.”
Blood gushed from the punctured wound.
“Kerrruk. You’re too arrogant to be of any use. Do you think you’re an ogre? Kerr.”
As the Half Goblin lay dying, the reprimands his father had given him earlier ran through his mind. Being the son of a chief, he had always lorded over others and had never learned humility.
Soon, the Half Goblin’s breath ceased. With this, all the ‘Hop Goblins’ of the ‘Gigantic Forest’ were exterminated by Shinnoda.
“Kill all the goblins, and gather the spoils in one place! Park Hayeon, you’ll manage this while I go check something out.”
Shinnoda loudly announced for everyone to hear, and then quietly informed Park Hayeon that he would be leaving temporarily.
“Huh? What are you checking out?”
“I’d rather not say. It won’t take long. About an hour? Meanwhile, you manage the sorting of spoils.”
“…Okay.”
Park Hayeon obediently listened; this wasn’t the first time he’d acted so mysterious.
Shinnoda scanned the battlefield for the giant cat, easily spotting it due to its prominence.
“Isiah-senpai, follow me. It’s time to get that skill I mentioned last time.”
Isiah, who had just crushed the head of a goblin with her foot, perked up her ears.
“Nya? Nyaaom.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Shinnoda headed toward an area beyond the goblin village where an immense magical aura emanated from. It was comparable to the ‘Resurrection Relic’ of the demon Astaroth he had faced before, which remained in the dungeon, leaving him with regret.
“Nyaaoo. Nyaaoo.”
The giant cat followed the paladin.
—
