Goblins—
These creatures, infamous like cockroaches, can be found in nearly every realm associated with "Western fantasy."
Short in stature, they are inherently greedy and vile. If not for their abysmally low average intelligence, one might even describe them as "cunning" and "deceptive."
With a strong inclination toward "evil" and primitive intellect leading to low productivity, their survival often hinges on "plundering" and "stealing."
Moreover, the absence of females in their race forces them to reproduce by abducting the females of other intelligent species.
This trait alone has granted them a reputation across the multiverse more reviled than even the demons of the Abyss or the devils of Hell.
Individually, goblins are weak. A common farmwife with a pitchfork can easily dispatch an unarmed goblin.
Yet, as hunter Maggie had described earlier—
These little pests are like stray dogs roaming the town.
A single one poses no threat, but once they gather in numbers—dozens, or even hundreds—their courage and destructive capabilities increase exponentially.
They ambush caravans, raid villages…
And when a goblin horde grows large enough, an elite individual naturally emerges to take leadership.
Left unchecked, they could eventually grow into a kingdom-level catastrophe.
The goblin tribe that the "Rotten Fish and Shrimp Squad" was tracking had not yet reached the scale of plundering towns.
But clearly, they had already become bold enough to attack humans proactively.
The proof lay in the rapidly cooling corpse of their gnome companion—the one who always cracked inappropriate jokes.
"Roar!!!"
A beastly howl suddenly erupted in the forest.
Orc-blooded warrior Gagu leaped up like a startled jungle predator, gripping his blood-stained battle-axe tightly.
The sudden ambush and the death of his teammate seemed to have awakened a primal fury in his mixed-blood veins.
His canines elongated, his muscles bulged and turned crimson—signs that he was entering a berserker state.
Maggie, the squad's swiftest member, reacted immediately.
Almost the moment the dark wooden club emerged from behind Elky's head, he sprang into action.
Shouting a warning, he slung his longbow onto his back and nimbly scaled a towering oak tree, disappearing into the dense canopy above.
By contrast, Shanan was the slowest to respond.
For over thirty years before his reincarnation, he had spent most of his life sitting—first in a classroom, then in an office. He had never even killed a chicken.
Even in this life, he had been nothing more than an honest farmer toiling under the sun.
One moment, he was trying to coax more information about this world from Elky.
The next moment, the gnome's skull was shattered before his eyes, brain matter splattering onto the ground.
Shanan's mind went blank. Though instinct made him grip the sword on his lap, his body remained frozen, as if paralyzed.
Until—
"Whoosh!"
A sharp gust of wind brushed his cheek, leaving a stinging sensation.
An arrow shot from the treetops, piercing through the shadows of the forest.
"Agh!"
A shrill scream sounded behind him.
Shanan snapped back to reality, his senses flooding back in an instant.
There was no time to thank Maggie for the timely assistance. He turned around quickly—
His pupils shrank.
Two hunched figures stood behind him.
Dark green, rough skin covered in sores. Blood-red eyes brimming with malice and deceit. Their frail limbs were wrapped in filthy brown rags, their wiry muscles tensed beneath the grime.
Somehow, two goblins had crept up behind him unnoticed!
If not for Maggie's intervention, he would have met the same gruesome fate as Elky.
A chill ran down Shanan's spine as he instinctively tightened his grip on the rough-wrapped hilt of his sword.
"Waaah!"
With their stealth foiled, the goblins hesitated.
One had its foot impaled by Maggie's arrow, pinning it to the ground.
Cowardly by nature, the creatures seemed to lose their nerve.
Yet, they still raised their crude wooden clubs threateningly at the young human before them.
The rusted iron nails embedded in their blackened sticks glinted dangerously in the firelight.
Shanan's mind flashed back to the sickening sight of Elky's crushed skull.
A surge of primal fear coursed through him, triggering an immediate reaction.
He lunged forward with his right foot, his sword arm bending as he gathered strength.
"Tap!"
His foot sank into the soft earth.
Like roots drawing power from the soil, a strange energy surged through his body, flowing along his bones and muscles, converging into his blade.
And then—
[Whirlwind Slash]
Shhhhk!—
A razor-sharp arc of silver light flickered through the air.
For a brief moment, time seemed to freeze.
The well-maintained blade, honed through countless repetitions, cleaved through goblin flesh, muscle, and bone like paper.
[Skill proficiency +1]
A translucent notification flashed in his vision.
Two distinct resistances traveled through his sword before vanishing almost instantly.
Shanan's single-handed blade had swept in a rising arc from left to right, just as he had practiced hundreds of thousands of times before.
Blood sprayed.
Falling onto the dirt were a severed goblin hand, half a skull, putrid intestines, and their foul, scalding blood.
The two treacherous creatures that had attempted a cowardly ambush—
Were bisected in a single stroke, as effortlessly as cutting through a field of wheat.
For a moment, the forest fell into dead silence.
High above in the treetops, Maggie instinctively loosened his fully drawn bowstring.
He stared at the shattered goblin corpses in the clearing, then shifted his gaze to Shanan, who stood catching his breath, sword lowered.
His Adam's apple bobbed twice.
A look of astonishment spread across his face.
"This guy… is supposed to be a rookie!?"