Roran watched as Ephraim approached the goblin king. Fearful of being caught in the ensuing battle and becoming a liability, he retreated far enough.
The goblin king's eyes narrowed at the human advancing toward it. With each passing second, its irritation grew.
'How dare this human not fear me?' it seethed internally.
Its anger was justified. Normally, humans would cower or flee in terror when facing him, and even seasoned adventurers would approach with caution. Yet, this human—this insignificant creature who had set its lair ablaze—showed no fear. Even knowing the goblin king's fury, he still dared to walk forward, unflinching.
Unable to contain its rage any longer, the goblin king, consumed by irritation and fury at the audacity of this human, charged toward him.
"RAAARGH!!!" The goblin king's roar echoed through the area, startling nearby creatures and sending them scurrying away.
Ephraim watched the creature charge at him, but fear didn't grip him. Instead, a slight thrill ran through him—he was eager to face an opponent head-on for the first time.
His last encounter with the three goblins had been cautious for his own safety. But now, knowing he had the advantage, he chose to stand his ground and fight.
Even though the goblin king was much stronger than Ephraim, he knew that it wouldn't be able to use its full strength. The damage from inhaling too much smoke and the burns it had sustained left it weakened.
In an instant, the goblin king was upon him, lifting the large club it wielded high above its head, ready to crush Ephraim with a single blow. It swung down with all the force it could muster, already picturing the human's body splattered beneath its weapon.
To its surprise, the human dodged the strike easily and even managed to land a shallow cut.
The wound didn't do much damage, but it made the goblin king even angrier.
Without slowing down, it swung the club sideways in another attempt to hit its target. The human stepped back twice to dodge and then slashed again, this time cutting the goblin's arm.
This didn't do much to the goblin king since his thick skin absorbed most of the damage, but the irritation he felt grew with each slash.
Again and again, the goblin king tried to smash or swing his club at Ephraim, but Ephraim dodged every attack and countered with a slash each time.
Roran's eyes widened as he watched Ephraim dodge strike after strike with an amateur's sword form.
There was no sign of the elegant techniques that adventurers loved to boast about—only raw instinct and precise timing.
"How is he doing this?" Roran thought, a mix of awe and disbelief crossing his features. Ephraim wasn't just surviving; he was controlling the fight.
What stood out the most to Roran was how helpless the goblin king seemed. Despite its massive size and monstrous strength, it struggled to overpower the human before it.
The goblin king was imposing, standing as tall as two and a half grown men stacked atop one another, with strength that rivaled at least three strong adults combined.
In stark contrast, Ephraim seemed small and almost fragile. His strength stat of 4 was akin to an average adult who didn't exercise much.
Yet, despite the mismatch, it looked as if he was the one dominating the goblin king.
The longer the fight dragged on, the more the goblin king's frustration surged. It felt a deep humiliation—something it was used to inflicting on others, not experiencing itself.
Ephraim sidestepped another fierce swing and made a quick slash at the creature's body. Suddenly, something dropped to the ground with a thud.
It was the goblin king's crotch…
A moment of silence followed before the goblin king registered what had happened. Overcome by rage and shock, it let out a deafening roar toward the sky… then, it collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
"Huh?" Ephraim stared at it blankly.
[You have killed the goblin king]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
Roran blinked, still trying to process what had just occurred. The powerful roar had echoed through the forest, only to end in anticlimactic silence as the goblin king fell lifeless.
"This is probably the first time a monster has died from anger, right?" Ephraim muttered to himself, his mouth twitching.
Roran laughed a little, unsure what expression to make. "Probably? I've never heard of anyone like that—not even among famous tales from bards…"
Ephraim sheathed his short sword and stepped closer to the fallen goblin king, examining the colossal creature's lifeless body. The battle had ended in the most unexpected manner, leaving both men slightly bewildered.
Ephraim let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "Did it die from high blood pressure? I almost feel sorry for it."
Of course, Ephraim knew exactly what had happened; he was simply amused by the outcome.
From the first slash, Ephraim had triggered Emotional Influence, a skill that magnified the target's emotions. When his sword made contact, he sensed that he could activate the skill, so he tried—and it worked.
At the same time, the accompanying Empathy skill sharpened Ephraim's sense of the creature's intent, allowing him to anticipate every move before it happened.
He repeatedly amplified the goblin king's anger each time his sword slashed or pierced its flesh.
The goblin king's enraged howls reverberated through the clearing as it swung wildly. Ephraim's heart pounded, but he remained focused, sidestepping each attack.
The sweat on his palms made the hilt of his sword slippery, but he adjusted his grip and retaliated, slashing at the beast's arm. The impact jarred his wrist, but he gritted his teeth and kept moving.
Normally, both skills shouldn't have been capable of causing such an outcome, but perhaps due to the already intense emotions the goblin king was experiencing, they became super effective.
Ephraim continued amplifying its anger until, at the last moment, the goblin king seemed to have suffered a stroke or something similar, triggered by high blood pressure, anger, and the earlier injuries it had sustained.
After the battle, Ephraim took a moment to catch his breath, the adrenaline still coursing through him. The notification of his level increase hovered in his mind, keeping him from having other thoughts for now.
He had gained seven levels, earning 21 unallocated points. With quick, decisive taps, he distributed them across his stats, feeling the faint rush of newfound power settle into his muscles and mind.
Now that his agility was sufficient for the time being, Ephraim felt it was important to invest in Endurance. He could already feel the strain from all the slashing and dodging earlier, especially after walking the entire day.
As for the decision to invest in Strength, he reflected on the battle and realized it hadn't been enough to deal significant damage to the monsters in this world.
As for the Luck stat, although it wasn't immediately obvious, Ephraim knew it had played a crucial role in today's battle.
For example, if the wind hadn't blown toward the cave, the smoke wouldn't have filled it so easily. Or if he hadn't found the goblins while they were asleep, things would have been much harder.
And if he hadn't randomly slashed the goblin king's crotch luckily, the battle would have likely dragged on longer, exhausting him further and increasing the chances of making mistakes.
He knew that making mistakes, especially in life-or-death battles like the one he just fought, could be fatal. These things could be a good example of his Luck stat affecting the choices that he made.
His last stat point he decided to place in his Intelligence stat, partly out of curiosity to test its effects. Though he already had some idea of what it might yield.
After allocating his stat points, his status page now looked like this:
[Name: Ephraim]
[Level: 10]
[Class: None]
[Race: Human]
[Title: None]
Exp: 21% / 100%
HP: 100
MP: None
Mental State: 80% (Slightly Stable)
Strength: 10
Agility: 8 (+2)
Intelligence: 5
Endurance: 10
Luck: 10
Skills: Original Sin (Incomplete), Identify Lv.1, Murder
He looked over his stats, feeling content. If he had to fight the goblin king again, he was confident that he could inflict more than shallow cuts and withstand the battle longer without tiring.
Aside from these improvements, he noticed he could now process information slightly faster—likely a benefit from investing in the intelligence stat, which seemed to enhance his mental agility during fights.
However, he was aware that his swordsmanship still left much to be desired. It was already fortunate that he managed to wield it without injuring himself, given his lack of formal training.
His attention was then drawn to a set of glowing words on the status page interface.
"Hm...?" He furrowed his brow, focusing on the curious new addition.