episode_0022

Ji-aah―!

With a surge of azure magic, that sensation once again resurfaces.

The feeling of the flesh completely shifting to another world.

It was an overwhelming wave of magic commonly described as ‘crossing the gate.’

“Uh, feeling a bit dizzy?”

“…! A-are you okay?”

Approaching me first was Meonyangi, who had been waiting inside.

She playfully punches my back with a cute fist, similar to a massage punch…?

‘…Should I keep pretending to be more hurt?’

Yes, let’s intentionally act like it hurts more.

Opportunities to experience Meonyangi’s playful punches don’t come often.

“…Hehe.”

“…Are you really okay?”

Ah, I can’t control this laughter.

She, who was giving me a sharp look, casually removed her hand.

Huh!? No way!!!

“Oh, no! I’m dizzy! Please continue!”

“…Are you sure about that?”

“Just 10 more times!!! Please!!!”

“Mewww. Alright, just 10 more times…”

Amidst the blissful happiness, I diligently activated [Sense of the Unseen Lv.1].

Injecting magic, a crimson wave spreads out wildly as if eagerly awaited.

‘Here we go again.’

Adjusting my breathing, I controlled the range and output.

After trying it a few times, I realized that [Sense of the Unseen] could expand and contract like a living amoeba.

‘…This could be even more useful if used properly.’

Anyway, enough thinking.

I looked around, refreshing my memory of this place.

“Goblin Habitat (E)”

A dungeon of grade E, one level lower than the goblin lair (D) I entered with Moonbora.

However, there’s no substantial difference between the two.

It’s just a matter of whether beast-type mobs appear or not.

Naturally, it’s a place with poor difficulty and rewards.

‘Its feature is probably the giant lake for some reason.’

But there are no fish monsters here.

Sometimes, rare fish imbued with magic are caught by hunters who enjoy fishing.

Then why did I choose this place?

If hunting is the goal, there are much better dungeons overflowing with creatures.

‘It’s simple.’

Because what I seek exists here.

*

“…Sehaya.”

About 20 minutes into our walk, Meonyangi leading the way quietly stops.

Her two tails, tied like a belt, move as she stands alert, her cat ears perked up.

A faint magic emanates from her, possibly triggering [Cat’s Intuition].

“Enemies. I’m not sure how many. Probably goblins.”

I decided not to mention the exact number of three.

Although I already saw through it with [Sense of the Unseen], I’m not tactless enough to blatantly state it.

I turned my gaze towards where Meonyangi pointed.

Eyes that were watching through the bushes flicker.

Realizing they’ve been spotted, one of them jumps out with a rustle!

“Kekk!!!”

With a distinctive roar, the brute rushes towards us.

Green skin, a truly repulsive face.

A small body resembling a five-year-old boy.

And even a rusty hatchet likely discarded by hunters in his hand.

A typical goblin appearance.

‘…Damn it.’

However, there was one unexpected thing.

It was the physical characteristic of the creature.

‘…Wait, is it female?’

I barely contained the urge to roll my eyes at the indication of her gender.

Damn it. Am I going to take mental damage from this repeatedly?

Should I just smack this guy?

“Meonya. Monsters like goblins don’t have genders, right?”

“Green Skins like goblins do have some individuals with genders. Anyway… Here they come. Let’s engage.”

After finishing her words, Meonyangi drew her shield and rushed forward.

Clang!

A clear, resonant sound of metal.

Mi-nyangi cleanly blocked the crude axe that was swung by the goblin’s hand.

“Kya-ruruk!”

The screaming goblin swiftly pounded the shield with the hand axe.

Mi-nyangi silently blocked like a mountain, without any damage.

The goblin, seeing her flawless defense due to her repaired equipment and perfect condition, grew tired in reverse.

“…Kek…Kek.”

The moment the axe stopped to catch its breath.

Mi-nyangi swiftly moved her hand to her waist.

Swish―!

Thud―!

“Kek!”

Like a hunter anticipating an opportunity, she drew a dagger.

The reversed blade pierced precisely through the goblin’s neck.

Green blood splattered everywhere, blocked by the shield.

Just as she smiled satisfactorily at her clean move, a red signal flashed near her forehead.

‘Are they coming out now?’

Two creatures sensed but not appearing.

Suddenly rising to seize the opportunity, the two figures lifted their bows tightly gripped in their hands.

A crude but somewhat usable short bow.

Clothes slightly better than the first slain creature.

A belt adorned with a glass bottle presumed to contain poison.

As Moonbora had mentioned, it was an evolved species: [Goblin Archer].

“Ker-rurk!”

“Kaeng!”

[Goblin Archer is casting ×2]

[Special Effect: Coated with crude poison. is enchanted.]

Two arrows flew accurately towards me.

I should dodge normally, but instead, I bent my waist preparing a skill.

Because I knew without a doubt that she would block it.

Shashak-!

Unexpectedly, Mi-nyangi appeared like lightning in front of me, firmly holding up the shield.

Tang-tang! Arrows bounced off into the distance.

Simultaneously, Mi-nyangi’s shout became a signal.

“Seyaha.”

“Huh!”

Kwaduk-!

She exerted force on her front paw.

A strange power gathered in the handle of the hilt, veins bulging on her hand.

An energy akin to blazing flames surged through her palm. ‘Mana’ responded to my will once again, manifesting its unique phenomenon.

Something alien and distinctive flowed into the sword deep within my body.

A more powerful wave of energy resonated than when I first used [Ryucham].

Instinctively realizing this was the power of ‘Runes,’ I embraced this power and transformed my entire body.

Kwaduk.

The ground slightly cracked.

Simultaneously, my body ‘charged’ forward.

[ is activated. Final power of the fencing skill increases by 100%.]

[ is activated.]

[ effect is added. Skill is endowed with . Physical damage increases by 20%, speed by 20%.]

Unstoppably flying in a straight line, my body itself was a forceful mass.

Srrung―!

Containing that speed and mass, swinging the sword was undeniably a ‘decisive strike.’

“…Kek?”

“…Keruk?!”

The two goblin archers were greatly astonished by my sudden approach.

Seemingly attempting something, but it was already too late.

Shuk―!

A silvery sword strike.

With clean cutting force, the necks of the two goblin archers spun skyward.

Wow, even I find it impressive.

Alright, should I stop like this…?

‘Huh? What’s this…?’

My feet wouldn’t stop?

Thud-!

“Ah, damn it!”

“…Seyaha!”

Mi-nyangi, surprised to see me crashing into a tree right in front of her, rushed over.

“Are you okay?”

“Ugh. I’m fine. Ouch…it hurts.”

Wiping away a tear that formed while rubbing her forehead.

“This is your first time using ‘Runes,’ right? I haven’t tried using Runes myself, so I don’t know much, but they say it takes a long time to adapt. Especially for [Charge], which moves directly. You’ll need a lot of practice.”

“…Yeah.”

Characters in “Gosla” thought they would adapt easily, but it wasn’t as easy as they had hoped.

“…I need to consider the ending position of this skill.”

Otherwise, I might end up using a forward vision and self-destructing.

[ effect is added. Increases action speed during combat. However, it also increases the consumption of health and mana. Current stack: 10% (max 100%)]

A morale-boosting additional effect that follows.

However, since the battle was already over, it was a meaningless effect.

“Shall we butcher them?”

“Yeah, I’ll help.”

*

Swoosh―!

As I assisted Meonyangi in butchering, I pondered deeply about [Ryu Charm].

This debut in using [Runes] was an unparalleled stage.

Not only was the power impressive, but having weaknesses compensated for was truly satisfying.

“Originally, Ryu Charm’s lack of agility made it difficult to aim…”

Securing mobility with the [Charge] skill exceeded my expectations.

The speed stat of a ‘Goblin Archer’ is 8.

While this may not seem high, due to the long-range position and keen eyesight, the effective perception of the lacking speed stat rises to 9-10.

“Failing to counter that and getting cut down is enough to pass.”

However, issues became apparent.

It’s something I can work on like the difficulty controlling direction from before.

The biggest problem is the increased mana consumption.

“It feels like it’s increased by about 20%.”

In Gosla, merely possessing [Runes] without using them often leads to increased mana consumption. When runes are equipped to skills, mana consumption rises further.

Especially with many options or rare runes, this increase escalates, sometimes demanding entirely different resources.

“Such as vitality.”

Perhaps the [Kappa Rhino] I consumed, being a C+ rare rune, seemed to have a larger cost.

Except for some exceptions, [Runes] do not inherently provide ‘stat boosts’.

Having many high-grade runes doesn’t guarantee success; excessive mana consumption could render one ineffective.

Ultimately, fundamental abilities must be supported.

“…Originally, Ryu Charm three times in a row. But now, twice seems to be the limit.”

I should raise my mana stat quickly.

I need to acquire other skills usable with [Eye of the Reverse Heaven].

If I exhaust my skills after just a few uses, I fail as a dealer.

“…Impressive.”

“Huh?”

At Meonyangi’s sudden praise, I concluded my contemplation.

She pointed to the cleanly severed neck of the archer.

“As expected, Seha is amazing. I felt it even when we first formed a party together… Seha’s swordsmanship is… truly remarkable. With Charge added, cutting down enemies in an instant is so cool.”

Taken aback by the unexpected compliment, I relaxed slightly.

“Look at this. It’s been cut so cleanly. Not a single piece of bone sticking out? I’ve seen attacks from other melee dealer classes, but… someone with such sharp cutting ability like Seha is a first.”

“…Uh, um…”

“Seong’s swordsmanship is different. I shouldn’t belittle myself, right?”

With a bashful smile, Meonyangi blushed slightly and scratched her cheek.

“I’ll work hard.”

“Huh?”

“…To stay by Seha’s side… even more.”

“……”

Meonyangi blushed even more after speaking, seemingly embarrassed.

Her two tails and ears swayed gently.

*Sob!*

Feeling overwhelmed by emotions, I couldn’t resist and placed my hand on Meonyangi’s head.

Then, I gave her an affectionate pat.

“…Y-Your, your hair is messy.”

“Grrr…!”

“M-Meow…”

*

Clang―!

With the distinctive metallic sound of iron, the goblin archer’s torso was cleaved in half.

“Meonyang, pass me a dagger.”

“Yeah.”

Without hesitation, I kicked the chin of the archer and shattered it, then cut off the extended tongue with a knife, collecting it in a slender jar at my waist.

Inside the jar were gathered the venom used by archers and the tongues of goblins.

“Sehaya. I was actually curious…”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you collect goblin tongues? That’s not profitable. It’s even toxic, and… no one really values it.”

It’s a fact.

The valuable things from goblins are their eyeballs that become ingredients for magic potions and the stones in their torsos.

“It’s fine. We need that toxicity.”

“…?”

5 minutes later.

Continuing to advance, I sensed that I had reached the desired location in the slightly altered foliage.

Turning to the side, an unnaturally dark alley appeared.

And next to it was a wooden sign stuck in the ground with “Warning” written on it.

“I’ve arrived properly.”

Without hesitation, as I headed towards the alley, Mnyang, who had been leading, suddenly ran up, flapping her wings.

Whack!

She embraced my waist and tried to stop me from going.

“Se-Sehaya! It’s dangerous here! This isn’t the regular route.”

Her worried gaze was nothing short of endearing.

I chuckled and ruffled her head.

“Don’t worry, Mnyang. This is the right way.”

“M-Mnyang? B-But this path…”

“That’s right. It’s a place where no one goes.”

That’s why it’s also where the treasure lies.

“It’s the Hidden Pthys.”