"W-what? Master? Did I hear wrong?"
"Nope. I really do want to hunt that Crimson Wolf."
To my nonchalant attitude and words, Goblin instantly went berserk.
"Master! Are you crazy! T-that's a monster even you can't compare!" he reprimanded.
His small body convulsed in a strange way, he stumbled his way in front of me. He spread his arms, seemingly to block me from passing through. To this, I stopped walking, and stared at his shaking figure.
"M-master, please be reasonable! Don't be stupid! You can never go against it! Let us go back home!"
His shouts reverberated in the still forest. Within his hoarse voice was a strong fear... that I could understand.
Suddenly, the image of a frail and baby-faced me, shaking in terror as if the sky was falling – overlapped with the disgusting goblin in front of me.
'If I remember correctly, when mother... No, I shouldn't think about that again.'
"You're being stupid."
I pointed at the direction he's blocking, at the same time, he turned his head to where I was pointing. Seeing nothing, he faced me with confusion.
"The dungeon is that way."
At my words, Goblin shocked face twisted my insides. I couldn't handle the sight, so I walked fast to past him without stopping.
'... I don't know about unbeatable.. but telling from Goblin's description, it should be at least one level above me.'
A higher level, even by one, is not something to joke about. According to Sheila, leveling up is not only a matter of exp. For a creature to level up, all of its attributes and skills must reach a certain level.
In my case, I need all of my attributes, as well as my skills, to reach the upper-limit. I first thought that it would've been impossible for me to level, but it seems the fruits I ate changed my fate.
Since I'm going to hunt a monster possibly many times stronger than me. I needed to prepare. Given my poor situation, only one solution came to mind.
After giving it more thought, I reached a conclusion.
'...With Goblin's charm, the difficulty should lower by a large degree.'
It was strange how Goblin managed to gather gang of girlfriends, considering that not even a day has passed since he met them. I mean, even in goblin society, it isn't that easy to gain a partner, right?
So, I hypothesized that it must have something to do with a skill of his. I tried checking what it was, however, only the description of Goblin appeared.
[ Goblin : A newly born goblin who is very loyal to his master. ]
'Speaking of goblin, where is he?'
I stopped walking, and turned to look for Goblin. Within my sight were a large spread of trees; each with the same lush of foliage and bark. However, there was no goblin.
'...Did he desert me again? That–'
Before I could finish my thought, a small and tired green figure entered the very end of my sight. It was walked, no– It moved very slowly. My eyes could make out that its wobbly legs was on the verge of kissing the ground.
"m-Masterrr!! W-w-haah-whaaiit!!" he shouted.
His desperate yells, a sound that could put you in hospital for weeks, sounded so miniscule to my ears(Which is a good thing).Because of the distance, my stomach was saved.
"M-maaster! I-imm coming! Wawhaait!"
"Yeah, just take your time" I shouted in response.
"Thhank you Masterr!!"
Thud
After he yelled, as if he was liberated from heavy shackles, he fell down unconscious on the ground. Seeing this, I couldn't help but break a sweat.
'Oy, when I said take your time, that doesn't mean you could take a nap.'
Still, Goblin is an important asset to my plan, and I couldn't bear to wait. Although the village wouldn't go anywhere, there's this unreasonable feeling that if I don't go now, I'll regret it.
'No choice, I have to carry him... sorry stomach...'
I ran towards his position, and the surroundings around me changed fast – fast enough to let me recognize my new found speed. Less than three seconds, I stopped a meter away from goblin, and clouds of dust rose as soon as I did.
I lifted his light body and rested it around the back of my head. The weird smell of rotten garbage brought chills. Seeing his head dangling at my right, I struggled to hold back throwing him off.
I was far from a masochist, I didn't like torture. So, I ran with all my might, leaving a trail of dust struggling to catch me.
I jumped pass the wide rivers, crossed the long stretch of forest in front of me. How much did I wish for everything to end.
However, my destination was still far, and that made me cry in the inside.
•••
"This is it... the dungeon I was looking for."
Seriously, that goddess is making way too much of a fuss. Looking at the dungeon entrance, a crude opening in the mountain, I was assured of my victory.
"According to the Goddess, the dungeon master here is very weak. Geez, if he is weak, why does she keep whining? What's weak is weak."
"Lord?"
"Ah, I was talking to myself. Anyways, you guys ready?"
"Yes Lord!"
In my eyes is an army of small, ugly, green creatures armed with a sword and armor. These goblins are my pride and joy. At first, I thought they were a hopeless bunch of dirt, destined to be trash cut to pieces by adventurers. However, with my unique cheat, I transformed them into a militia capable of hunting a level one beast.
Looking at them, I felt a sense of accomplishment.
"Now, follow!"
The goblins felt the vigor from my shout and they raised their swords before shouting in response.
"Yes!"
They organized themselves neatly; with those wielding shields at the front and behind them would be those wielding spears – followed by successively was the goblin archers.
I moved to the entrance of the dungeon, and my army didn't fail to follow behind.