Chapter 5: Battle to the Death with Goblins Part 2
With a prayer in my heart, I approached until he could see the entrance to the cave.
In front of the cave, a group of goblins wielding clubs appeared. Well, of course they would.
"Get out of my way! Move!"
The goblins were surprised by my words and stopped in their tracks, and I mowed them down. I used my staff to beat the ones that approached me.
"Your level has gone up."
"These useless guys! Move! Don't surround me."
A large goblin about the size of an adult human blocked my path. He had an axe in his hand, so he must be a higher rank goblin than the others. He's probably stronger than the small fry goblins...
I dodged the axe that was swung at me and swung my death scythe without hesitation.
"What! I won't be hit by such an obvious attack."
The higher ranked goblin tried to defend himself with his axe, but it was smashed into pieces and he died without much fanfare.
"You have learned axe technique."
"Your level has gone up."
"I don't have time to play around with the likes of you."
After defeating the higher ranked goblin with a single blow and dispersing the goblins who had lost their fighting spirit, I entered the cave.
The inside was lit by a fire and the visibility was better than I thought it would be. Goblins can't see well in the dark after all. I couldn't fight in the dark either. I was saved, but the stench was strong. It felt like the stench of excrement and death were mixed together and becoming stronger as I went deeper into the cave.
No new enemies had appeared since earlier...I had a bad feeling about this--!
Suddenly, the inside of the cave became as bright as daytime, and a fireball the size of a watermelon came flying at me. Damn, is it magic?
Fortunately, the fireball was about as fast as a dodgeball thrown by an elementary school student. In that case...
With Mikoto's Death Scythe, there's nothing I can't cut!
I slashed the fireball and it disappeared without a trace. I really did cut it...awesome!
"You have learned fire magic!"
I see... it's a fireball. The way to use magic flowed into my head.
Three goblins holding staffs, were surprised to be struck by a magic attack, and they froze. They seemed to be magic-using goblins. The two goblins that were waiting for the attack, panicked and resumed their chant.
"Fireball!"
I closed the distance with the goblin that had shot the fireball earlier, fired a fireball I had just learned and burned it black. The two goblins casting spells finished their incantation.
"Waterball!" "Wind Cutter!"
The two magic-using goblins finally finished their chant -- just one more step.
"Fireball!"
I neutralized the waterball with my fireball and tore apart the wind cutter with my death scythe.
"You have learned water magic."
"You have learned wind magic."
Only one meter remained.
"Thanks for the magic," I said and instantly killed the two magic-using goblins with my death scythe.
"Your level has increased."
I absorbed their souls and leveled up again.
"Your level has increased."
A scream was heard from the back. It wasn't from a goblin. There were still living people. My grip on the death scythe became stronger.
The cave expanded into a large space, and many paths seemed to branch out from there. It would be difficult to search all of them, but luckily, it didn't seem necessary.
At the end of the hall, a giant goblin, over two meters tall, sat on a throne that seemed to have been carved out of the rock wall. He was probably the boss. On his left and right, high-ranking goblins holding axes and magic-using goblins holding staffs stood by, and roughly 50 small fry goblins were scattered about.
And then... I searched for the humans, probably Fria's family, with my gaze. I found them, but they were with the boss. Even from a distance, it was clear they were heavily injured and unconscious. If they were alive, there was no time to waste.
Either way, what I needed to do remained the same. Before they could coordinate their efforts, I would make all of them my prey.
I took a sip of divine water and charged towards a group of goblins with my Deathscythe in hand. The goblins were surprised at my sudden appearance, but their boss quickly shouted in anger.
"Intruder! Don't let him get away!"
The goblins rushed at me all at once, but they were too slow. I cast spells like Water Ball, Wind Cutter, and Fire Ball, hitting them all with ease. Of course, I didn't accidentally hit myself with any of the spells.
"Your level has increased."
"Your level has increased."
Frustrated, the higher-level goblins and spellcasters stepped forward, but they were no match for me. I easily cut them down with my Deathscythe.
"Your level has increased."
The boss goblin momentarily looked surprised, but his expression soon turned into a fierce grin.
"You're quite strong. You've ruined our meal. Let's have some fun, shall we?"
The boss goblin spat out a human finger from his mouth. I felt my blood boil and something inside me snapped.
"You're my food. Be a good boy and let me eat you up! You're just small fry."
The boss goblin became furious and drew a sturdy-looking sword that was over a meter long. He swung the sword at me with unbelievable speed, and I couldn't avoid it.
With a loud metallic sound, I managed to block the sword with my Deathscythe, but I fell to my knees from the impact.
"You have learned Body Strengthening."
"You have learned swordsmanship."
I realized that the boss goblin's incredible strength came from his Body Strengthening skill. So, I activated my own Body Strengthening skill.
"What's wrong? You were so confident before. Hahaha."
The boss goblin pushed down on his sword with even more force, but then he suddenly stumbled.
"W-What's happening? My strength is... impossible!"
I pushed back against his sword with my Deathscythe and reversed it, then struck him in the back of the head with the hilt.
"Gebowaa!"
The boss fell to his knees as his dropped greatsword impaled the ground.
"What's wrong? You were so full of vigor in the beginning. Die!"
With a single flash of Death Scythe, blue blood sprayed from the boss's body, turning the ground into a sea of blood. After convulsing for a while, he collapsed and stopped moving.
"Level up!"
"Level up!"
A soul with a much brighter shine than other goblins emerged from the boss's body. This was promising. Without hesitation, I absorbed it with Death Scythe.
"Level up!"
"Level up!"
...As expected, my level increased considerably. Does the quality of the soul also improve with the monster's strength?
There are still a few weak goblins left, but I ignored them. Although it would be better to exterminate them, time was precious now.
The person lying on the ground was a middle-aged man. Was he Fria's and the Julio's father? His limbs had been torn off, and he was in a terrible condition, but he seemed to be barely alive. He was the one with the lowest survival rate.
As soon as I poured divine water into his mouth, his arms and legs grew back, and he returned to his original state as if in reverse. Divine water... it was unbelievable.
"Ugh... where am I...? Did I die?"
"Don't worry, you're alive and well. I'm Kakeru. I came to help by Fria and Julio's request."
"...Fria? Are Friar and Julio safe?... Thank goodness."
"I met Fria and Julio."
"Mariana and Tomas are captured too. I was the first to be taken out of the cage, and then he ate me... ah, my limbs... they're there? The wounds are gone... what happened?"
"Oh, your injuries were severe, so I used a recovery potion to heal them. How do you feel?"
"I've never heard of a recovery potion that can restore lost body parts... I'm sorry, I wasted a valuable item. I didn't introduce myself earlier, but I'm Ronaldo. I'm a traveling merchant."
"No, it's not a waste if we leave it unused. Please don't worry about it, Ronaldo-san. I told Fria the same thing, but if you could guide me around town, that would be sufficient. More importantly, we have to find the two of them."
"Right! I know the location. Follow me... whoa!"
I noticed Ronaldo-san looking around for the first time, and it wasn't hard to see why he was surprised. The pile of goblin corpses was a gruesome sight, and the stench was unbearable.
"Did you do all this alone, Kakeru-san? You're quite skilled for someone so young," he asked.
I was taken aback myself. I didn't expect to become this strong in such a short amount of time.
Ronaldo-san led me deeper into the cave, and we didn't come across any goblins.
"I hope Mariana and Tomas are safe..."
I heard Ronaldo-san mutter something that sounded like a prayer.
***
Name: Kakeru Watanohara (male)
Race: Human
Age: 17
Status: Free citizen
Occupation: Wanderer
Condition: Good
Level: 22
Health: 389
Mana: 2467
Attack: 389
Defense: 389
Agility: 389
Intelligence: 2467
Luck: 90
Skills: Instant Memory, Sketchbook<1>, Death Scythe<1>, Fire Magic<1>, Water Magic<1>, Wind Magic<1>, Swordsmanship<1>, Staff Fighting<1>, Archery<1>, Axe Fighting<1>, Body Enhancement<1>, Human Language, Goblin Language
Divine Protection: Death God's Protection