Chapter 8 : Goblin
Chapter 8: Goblin
The stone axe, its blade about the size of an adult man’s palm, swung toward Robin’s head.
In the moment he sensed death, the world seemed to come to a stop.
The stone axe flying toward Robin slowed to an almost unbearable crawl.
‘…I can see the goblins’ movements.’
Seeing how sluggishly they moved, Robin tried to dodge.
But even his own body refused to move, as though trapped in time.
‘Move!’
He could see the attack coming, yet his body wouldn’t respond, and frustration welled up inside him.
When the stone axe reached right before his eyes, he could clearly see death.
In resignation, he loosened his grip on the Black Sword.
The strength drained from his fingers, the power in his palm faded, and the muscles in his forearm relaxed.
At that final moment, the image of the downward slash stance he had practiced countless times flickered in his mind.
Before his head could give the order, his body reacted.
It was a body imprinted with endless training.
His body, now relaxed, raised the Black Sword on its own.
Kang! Kagagang!
Time, which had slowed, returned to its normal pace.
When he came to his senses, Robin had the Black Sword raised and was driving his knee into the goblin in front of him.
“Ke-kehk!”
The five stone axes that had been swinging down from above slipped from the goblins’ hands.
Whoosh, whoong.
The axes spun high into the air and clattered to the ground.
The goblins had no idea what had just happened.
‘No way… I did that?’
If not, it made no sense.
‘But how?’
Robin himself couldn’t comprehend what he had just done.
Time had clearly slowed. He had nearly died, then raised the Black Sword—and at the same time, lunged forward.
The goblin struck by the knee kick rolled across the ground.
The remaining four briefly scattered to retrieve their axes.
‘I don’t know what’s going on, but this is my chance.’
Robin immediately cut the throat of the goblin he had kneed.
“Ker-ruk…”
It went down more easily than when he had struck their heads or stabbed their hearts.
He saw another goblin picking up an axe diagonally from him.
Before it could ready itself, he stabbed it in the back.
“Kyaaaagh!”
This time, it didn’t die instantly.
He released the Black Sword and evaded its counterattack.
Perhaps because it had been stabbed in the back, its movements visibly slowed.
Thunk.
Robin kicked it squarely in the groin.
With a cracking sound, the goblin collapsed.
He pulled the Black Sword from its back.
Even as he grimaced at his own ruthless kick, he had no other choice.
‘Three left.’
Perhaps having witnessed Robin’s attacks, the remaining goblins didn’t rush in easily.
Robin held the Black Sword in his right hand and a goblin’s stone axe in his left.
“Just go already, you bastards!”
He had been lucky to kill two, but the remaining three were still a serious threat.
“Ker-ruk! Kerek!”
“Kekek!”
The goblins seemed to be chattering among themselves.
Hoping desperately that they would back off, Robin cautiously retreated a few steps.
Sensing his movement, the goblins charged.
“Take this!”
He threw the stone axe in his left hand.
One goblin was hit in the leg and fell.
He had aimed for its head, but his weak strength threw off his aim.
Now it was a temporary one-on-two situation.
Robin’s mind raced.
Should he keep retreating until the guards arrived—or settle this here?
The decision didn’t take long.
“Stop chasing me, you green monsters!”
Robin chose to fight.
The goblins attacked from both sides.
He recalled that earlier sensation.
He loosened his grip, and when the axe came into view, he lifted the Black Sword.
Kang!
This time, the goblins didn’t strike in perfect unison.
Because their timing was slightly off, he managed to deflect the axe from the right, but the one from the left crashed down and pressed against his Black Sword.
Robin let go of the sword and kicked the right-side goblin squarely in the groin.
With its arm wide open from swinging, the goblin couldn’t defend itself. Its “jewels” burst.
“Ker-ruk…”
He stepped on the foaming goblin’s body and snatched up its stone axe.
The goblin behind him picked up Robin’s Black Sword.
But as it bent down to grab it, Robin was already on his feet.
He hurled the stone axe at it.
Pwak.
This time, it hit squarely on the head.
He dashed toward the staggering goblin and kicked it in the groin.
The last standing goblin collapsed, frothing at the mouth.
He took back the Black Sword from its grasp and made sure it was dead.
“Kerrrk!”
The goblin that had been hit in the leg and tried to crawl after him froze when it saw Robin.
Its body trembling uncontrollably, it turned around and fled the way it came.
Seeing that, something inside Robin flared up.
He picked up a stone axe and threw it at the fleeing goblin’s head.
Unfortunately, it hit its back instead, but the goblin’s pace slowed.
Robin chased it and threw another axe, striking its head.
As it staggered, he plunged the Black Sword into its back and withdrew it. The goblin collapsed soon after.
“Haa… haa. I won.”
He had defeated all five goblins alone.
Robin couldn’t quite believe it, and he stared at their corpses several times.
It wasn’t a dream.
When the thrill of battle faded and the tension drained away, Robin slumped to the ground.
“Rooobiiiin!”
From afar, Jeremy and the guards were running toward him.
Jeremy couldn’t believe what he was seeing—even though he saw it himself. Robin had taken down five goblins.
‘He’s not even a grown man, yet he defeated five by himself…’
Unbelievable, but the proof lay before him.
There was nothing around except Robin and the goblin corpses.
And Jeremy had seen it while running toward him.
Even after witnessing it firsthand, it was hard to accept that Robin had fought five goblins.
‘Could Robin really be a genius?’
Among people, there were always those gifted beyond others in certain fields.
A merchant gifted in numbers, a farmer with an instinct for fertile soil—
And there were those born with talent for the sword. When such people trained, they became knights.
“Kid, did you really take down those goblins all by yourself?”
“Yes. I just got lucky.”
The guards, too, were astonished that Robin had defeated goblins.
However, they truly believed he had just been lucky.
It seemed far more reasonable to think that sheer fortune had saved a small boy rather than strength or skill.
Before the guards could come closer, Robin hid the Black Sword.
Instead, he held a wooden practice sword and a stone axe.
“Monsters appearing in the mountains will be reported to the Lord.”
“And when the Lord knows, will that change anything?”
It was a bold question, but perhaps because Robin had slain goblins, the guard answered him kindly.
“The subjugation force will be organized soon. Before long, the monsters will be wiped out.”
“Do you know about a girl named Lina who went missing? She’s nine years old, with her hair braided into two plaits…”
Robin described her appearance, but the guard shook his head, saying it was the first he had heard of it.
Not many resources were devoted to finding a single missing commoner child.
Robin felt anger rise, but Jeremy poked him in the side.
Thanks to that, his head cooled.
Only a short while ago, Robin had been begging on the streets.
No military force would move easily just because one child had died.
He suddenly reflected on how much his own circumstances had improved.
“I’ll look for the child you mentioned while I’m on duty. But… you shouldn’t expect too much.”
“Yes…”
Robin’s thoughts began to tilt toward the possibility that Lina might already be dead.
Noticing this, Jeremy forced a cheerful tone.
“Hey, sirs! Would you mind helping us carry the goblin corpses? We can sell them to Burt’s General Store.”
“Urgh, we’re city guards, not laborers.”
“I’ll give you ten cooper each if you carry them to the store.”
The guards muttered among themselves.
The one who seemed to be their captain nodded in agreement.
“Robin, you hit the jackpot. Five goblin corpses should fetch at least one silver.”
“Does Mr. Burt even deal with monster carcasses?”
“He used to be an adventurer, so there’s nothing he doesn’t handle. And since the Robert Merchant Company is coming tomorrow, we’ll be able to sell them.”
Robin realized Jeremy was trying to cheer him up.
He smiled in return.
It was a shame they hadn’t found Lina, but at least they had earned money.
For now, Robin was satisfied with that.
On their way back to the general store, people’s eyes followed them.
The guards were carrying the goblin corpses behind them.
Since there hadn’t been a monster sighting in some time, the people were curious.
“Monsters, huh? Maybe they’re the ones who took the missing children.”
“So many shops have closed ever since the kids started disappearing.”
Fragments of merchants’ murmurs reached Robin’s ears.
It seemed Lina wasn’t the only one who had vanished.
‘How scared must those missing children be right now?’
The thought pained Robin, but there was nothing he could do.
After facing death in his battle with the goblins, he felt his weakness more acutely than ever.
When Jeremy opened the door to the general store, Burt’s eyes widened.
“What’s all this?”
“They’re the goblins Robin killed! Boss, you buy monster corpses too, right? Please buy these. And give the guards ten cooper each.”
Though surprised that Robin had brought goblins, Burt saw the guards and realized it wasn’t a lie.
“Good work. Here, each of you, take ten cooper.”
The guards grinned at the unexpected extra pay.
“Call us again next time, kid.”
“Thank you, sirs.”
Robin bowed politely, and the guards left the shop.
When only Burt, Robin, and Jeremy remained, Burt went upstairs and returned with a white wooden stick.
He lightly tapped each goblin corpse, and they turned cold.
“Whoa! Boss, you even have an artifact?”
“It’s nothing special. Anyway, Robin, would it be alright if I paid you tomorrow? I’ll give you fifty cooper for all five.”
“Sure, that’s fine.”
“Good. By the way, what happened to their groins?”
Robin quickly averted his eyes.
Burt grinned at him.
Though Robin was still gloomy from thoughts of Lina, Burt’s laughter caught him off guard.
It was an expression he had never seen from him before.
Maybe now was a good time to ask if he could get a book from Burt.
“Mr. Burt, could you help me find a book?”
“What kind of book do you want?”
“A book about swordsmanship. I want to learn about knights and adventurers.”
“Puhaha!”
When Burt laughed, Robin didn’t understand why.
“First off, a book about swordsmanship costs whatever the seller wants. It’s not something a kid like you can afford.”
“Is it that expensive? How much are we talking about…?”
“There’s a wide range of swordsmanship books, but if it’s a proper manual, you’ll need at least one gold.”
One cooper could buy a loaf of bread.
One silver could buy enough meat for a full meal.
One gold was worth a hundred silver.
‘Learning swordsmanship costs that much money?’
“There are two ways to become a knight. You either pass the exam held every year in the Imperial Capital, or you serve as a knight’s squire and learn step by step. Most people train at knight academies before taking the exam.”
“What about adventurers?”
“You just register at the Adventurers’ Guild. Once you do, anyone can call themselves an adventurer.”
There was a faint trace of mockery in Burt’s tone.
He seemed to subtly look down on both knights and adventurers.
“I see. Thank you for telling me.”
Robin was exhausted from the fight with the goblins.
As he was about to head to his room to rest, Burt’s voice stopped him.
“You’re looking for the missing girl, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I know I’m not strong enough, though.”
“At least you’re not stupid. Once the subjugation force is formed, you might find her.”
“But the guards didn’t care about the missing children. I doubt the subjugation force will be any different.”
“Things change if you secretly follow them. If you want to recover even just the child’s body, that is.”
When Burt spoke as though Lina were already dead, Robin frowned.
Burt smirked at his reaction.
“You can read the books in the store. They’re for sale, so if you tear or damage them, be prepared to take responsibility.”
“...Huh?”
“You want to read more than just books about swordsmanship, don’t you? Jeremy, you can read them too whenever you’ve got time.”
“As expected of you, boss! You’re the best!”
“Thank you. I’ll be careful when I read.”
Taking it as a signal to leave, Robin went to his room.
Being allowed to read Burt’s books was an unexpected reward.
Robin wondered if Burt might possess an artifact that could read people’s minds.
“Robin, what are you going to do?”
Jeremy asked, but Robin didn’t answer right away.
“What about you, Jeremy?”
“Me? Honestly, going back up the mountain to find Lina would be suicide.”
‘I thought so.’
“But if you’re going, I’ll go too. You already saved my life once.”
He must have been referring to when Robin sent him ahead while they were being chased by goblins.
It had been the best option at the time, and Jeremy was grateful for it.
If it had been before their encounter with the goblins, Robin wouldn’t have hesitated to follow the subjugation force.
But now, he knew all too well how weak he was.
Even so, just once more—though she might already be dead—he wanted to reach out to a terrified child.
“Let’s follow the subjugation force.”
“I knew you’d say that.”