Hazuki was strolling casually through the forest, enjoying the shade when—
He spotted something.
A lone goblin was crouched down, poking at some weird crab-like monster.
Hazuki grinned.
"Heh. Easy prey."
Without hesitation, he leaped forward, sword raised high.
"DIE, GREENISH SHIT!!!"
With one clean slash, he cut the goblin down.
The creature let out a short scream before collapsing.
Hazuki grinned victoriously.
Then—
He struck a dramatic pose.
"MEET THE LEGENDARY HERO!!!"
Silence.
Then—
From inside the bushes,
A dozen more goblins suddenly poked their heads out.
Hazuki's smirk faded instantly.
His eye twitched.
"…Oh shit."
The goblins blinked.
Then—
"GUKIII!!!!!!"
They ALL charged toward him.
"AHHHH SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!"
A stone flew past his face, barely missing him.
"SHIT! THESE GREENISH MONSTERS KNOW HOW TO THROW!?"
He glanced back.
His eyes widened.
"THE FUCK!? IS THAT A SLINGSHOT!?"
A goblin in the back grinned wickedly, pulling back another shot—
More stones came flying toward him.
Hazuki zigzagged, trying to avoid them, but—
THUCK!!!
A stone smacked him right in the forehead.
Hazuki froze mid-step.
His eyes twitched.
His brain rebooted.
The goblins cackled, preparing another shot.
Hazuki slowly raised a hand to his forehead.
Then—
"YOU LITTLE SHITS."
His anger exploded.
"HOW DARE YOU THROW STONES AT ME!?"
His sword gleamed under the sunlight as he pointed it at them.
"I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE GREENISH SHITS OR NOT—"
His face twisted into a manic grin.
"YOU'RE DEAD!!!"
With a maniacal laugh, Hazuki charged straight at the goblins.
The goblins froze in fear.
Then—
"GUUKKIII!!"
They screamed and ran for their lives.
Hazuki sprinted after the goblins, sword raised high.
"DON'T RUN, YOU GREENISH SHITS!!!"
The goblins screeched, scrambling through the bushes.
Hazuki's grin widened like a lunatic.
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY CALL ME!?"
The goblins glanced back, terrified.
Then—
Hazuki threw his arms wide and laughed like a maniac.
"CRAZY GUY!!! GYAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
The goblins screamed louder, running even faster.
One tripped over a root. Another dropped its slingshot in panic.
Hazuki kept chasing them, his laughter echoing through the forest.
"NO WAY TO RUN!!!"
Hazuki grinned wildly, his sword gleaming as he slowly approached the last goblin.
The creature trembled, back pressed against a tree—
Nowhere to go.
Hazuki licked the edge of his blade, eyes filled with madness.
"You…"
He pointed the sword at the goblin.
"You're the one who threw that stone at my head…"
His grin stretched wider.
"HYAAAAARRHH!!! I DON'T THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE THIS TIME!"
"G-GUHIII!!"
The goblin's final scream echoed—
SLASH!!!
Hazuki's sword cut through the air, ending the fight.
A moment of silence.
Then—
Hazuki exhaled deeply, feeling satisfied.
He rested his sword on his shoulder and slowly walked through the forest again, whistling casually.
Like nothing happened.
Hazuki kept wandering through the forest, sword resting on his shoulder.
But—
There was nothing.
No wolves.
No horned rabbits.
No goblins.
"Oi… where are all the monsters!?"
He grumbled, hands on his hips.
"Damn it!"
Frustrated, he kicked a nearby stone—
A big one.
Meanwhile… On the Road Nearby
A bandit group was blocking the path, surrounding a terrified woman.
The leader, a grimy-looking guy with a scar on his cheek, grinned.
"Hello, beautiful~ How about—"
WHOOSH!!!
A high-speed rock CRASHED into his face.
"GUEH!!—"
He dropped instantly, knocked out cold.
The other bandits froze, eyes wide.
The woman blinked.
Silence.
Then—
They all slowly turned their heads…
Looking toward the direction the stone came from.
A deep, monstrous roar echoed through the forest.
The trees shook. Birds scattered into the sky.
The bandits' faces paled.
They whipped their heads around, searching for the source of the terrifying sound.
Meanwhile…
Not far away, Hazuki let out a long, exhausted sigh.
"Haaaaaaa… damn it, there's nothing here…!"
To them, the sound of his sigh twisted and echoed through the dense forest, making it ten times louder.
It didn't sound like a human sigh.
It sounded like a massive, ancient beast awakening from its slumber.
The woman didn't even hesitate.
She grabbed her belongings and BOLTED down the road.
She didn't care about the bandits anymore.
She wasn't running from them.
She was running from whatever the hell just made that noise.
The other bandits started sweating.
"W-What the hell was that!?"
"S-Screw this, grab the boss! WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE!"
They completely forgot about their stolen loot—
Instead, they rushed to grab their unconscious leader, flinging him over their shoulders.
Then—
They RAN FOR THEIR LIVES.
Hazuki strolled lazily from the forest toward the road, still grumbling about the lack of monsters.
Then—
He noticed something lying on the ground.
A big pouch.
"Hmm? What's that?"
Curious, he walked over and crouched down.
He peeked inside…
His eyes widened.
"Silver coins… and several items…!?"
For a moment, he just stared.
Then—
His face lit up.
"WOOOOOOOOO!!! LUCKY!!!"
"FINALLY!!! MY BAD LUCK IS OVER!!!"
He grabbed the pouch and hugged it like it was a gift from the God.
Somewhere, the bandits were still running for their lives, completely unaware they had just 'donated' to Hazuki's survival fund.
"Yeah! No monsters, but lucky me—I got the loot!"
Hazuki clenched his fists in excitement, looking up at the sky.
"THANK YOU, UNIVERSE!!!"
Not wasting another second, he bolted back into the forest, making sure no one saw him with his 'newly acquired' fortune.
His grin stretched wide as he ran.
"Mine, all mine!"
Once deep enough in the trees, he plopped down, hiding behind a bush.
With a sly smirk, he opened the pouch again.
His eyes sparkled.
Inside the Pouch
Silver coins.
Jewelry.
Some random trinkets that might be worth something.
Hazuki started counting.
1… 2… 3… 10… 25…79
Halfway through, he stopped.
His brain hurt.
"Whatever… all I know is this is more than what I have in the bank."
He tied the pouch shut and threw it over his shoulder.
"Man, better deposit this into my account… WOOOO!!!"
With renewed energy, Hazuki marched toward the town, his mind already making plans.
"First thing I'll do—secure this money. No way in hell I'm losing this."
( End of Chapter )