William used his hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light.
A few seconds later, he started hearing a low grunt. A green-skinned creature not more than 4 feet tall with pointy ears and a small circular face was munching on the stinky fish greedily.
William was fascinated with this. The talk about other realms was true! He pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
「According to the information provided by the goddess Athena, this other-realm creature is the grade-1 monster, Goblin.」
The goblin's face was hideous, its stubby nose was covered in boils and thick mucus rolled down to its mouth with yellow, crooked teeth. It resembled a child suffering from kwashiorkor with its slim limbs and protruding stomach. A small piece of animal skin covered its lower half as it held a thick wooden stick about 9 inches.
Athena stood back and declared with all seriousness, "Starting today, William Maxton, the human celestial shall undergo a series of battles. The fastest way to learn is to gain experience. Defeat this grade-1 goblin monster."
"Gur?" The goblin wondered what it was doing in this foreign place.
The magic circle merged to the ground like it was painted on the floor.
William ran to the place he kept the Sword of Radiance and quickly entered a battle stance. All the cells in his body were jumping with an unexplainable feeling of excitement mixed with awe.
Athena was relatively close to the goblin and upon seeing such a beauty, the goblin couldn't control itself. It was about to spring in Athena's direction before it felt an ominous and vicious foreboding coming from the 12-year-old-looking girl that made it freeze on the spot and let out a low screech filled with fear.
Athena folded her arms and looked down at the goblin as a great mountain that cut the sky would to the measly humans that attempt to climb, she declared, "Don't you have any foolish thoughts. He is your opponent. If you defeat him, I will allow you to leave."
The goblin turned to William sharply and screamed then charged at him fiercely.
…Calm down, I need to calm down. William reminded himself as he remained in a defensive position.
The goblin monster was fast, faster than William expected, but he smirked and confidently thought, Father is way faster than this…
The goblin monster sprung into the air to strike William on the head.
William expected this. He smirked and thought, 'Just like Guts', before swinging his sword vertically.
The goblin monster flipped sideways mid-air and dodged William's sword with its bludgeon still heading towards William's head…
Tum!
William wore a blank expression as he blinked a few times, his eyes rolled up and his body fell limply.
Thud!
The goblin had a perplexed look on its face, it didn't expect this human to be this weak! It turned to Athena only to see her covering her face and shaking her head in disappointment. It turned back to unconscious William and its eyes gleamed when it landed on William's shoes.
…
About 10 minutes later, William woke up with a throbbing pain coming from his forehead.
"Ugh…" William raised his hand to touch the bump on his head.
"Welcome back, princess." Athena was sitting in a corner of the storage room, reading a book.
At Athena's mocking comment, William started recollecting the events that happened prior. He was beaten by a grade-1 goblin in one hit!
William felt like digging up a hole and burying himself in it. He wanted to say something but stopped and continued sulking. He wanted to give an excuse but he knew Athena wasn't stupid. He just said, "Athena…"
Athena sighed and closed the book she was holding then said, "I expected this already. But we still continue whether or not you lose. Get up and try again."
…Yes, she's right. I should just keep on trying again and even if I fail, I can learn from my mistakes to build experience. William had regained his vigor. He jumped up from where he sat and gripped the hilt of the sword tightly.
The sword wasn't perfect for William because of his current age and height. He quickly realized it and instead took his father's long but immensely slim sword that even fit in a cane.
Athena dropped another dead fish in the middle of the magic circle and summoned the same goblin from before.
"Let's do this." William encouraged himself and charged at the goblin as it ruggedly ate the fish.
William ran with all the speed his muscles could produce. Aiming for the goblin's neck, he slashed the slim sword vertically.
Woosh… The goblin sharply ducked.
William had a surprised look on his face. When compared to the goblin, he wasn't even half as fast.
The goblin made a circle with its feet with its right hand on the floor.
Pa! It had only managed to kick William's forward leg to the side a little.
William lost his balance as the goblin forced him to split. He wobbled like he was about to fall, "W-Woah…"
The goblin's movements were so fluid and connected, that they didn't miss a heartbeat. Now, its left leg was heading for William's crotch!
The whole world around William slowed down. William immediately knew that this was the universe's way of mourning what he was about to lose. He looked at the vicious expression on the goblin's ugly face, he muttered his last words, "P-Please…"
Boom!
Crack…
The goblin showed no mercy. William's thighs pressed together and his lower legs formed a triangle as he covered his 'little brother' and screamed out in pain before his eyes rolled up once again. He fainted.
Athena shook her head with sympathy for William. She went to William and made a cross in the air with tears forming at the side of her eyes, "He was a disgusting perv, but… but underneath all that, he was a good man."
"I'm not dead yet you stupid midget!" William screamed like a shark ready to devour its prey.
"Ahahahahaha…" Athena burst out laughing with tears at the corner of her eyes. She slammed the ground and surrounding walls multiple times.
William just laid where he was, comforting his little brother. He didn't have the strength to deal with Athena.
About five minutes later when Athena had calmed down she said to William, "At first glance, a goblin might just be a grade 1 creature but for it to survive in its realm where they either hunt or get hunted they need to learn to use all they have. Goblins aren't born with extraordinary regeneration or have innate speed."
"Now, get up and fight!"