Chapter 1. The Golden Goblin
“I’m off.”
Leaving the empty, silent house, I habitually muttered a hollow farewell into the air.
Emerging from the damp, musty basement, I tapped the sword at my waist in a familiar rhythm as I made my way to the enormous portal before me.
“This is getting old…”
365 days a year. For 10 straight years, I hadn’t missed a single day of work. This place, more like a workplace than a home, was filled with both love and hate.
“Entry is starting!!!”
Abyss. About two hundred years ago, it appeared along with a phenomenon called the Great Cataclysm—a realm from another world.
The world changed drastically with the appearance of the Abyss.
Endless monsters within the Abyss, knowledge from other dimensions discovered through the Abyss, celestial beings who watched over us while crossing between the Abyss and other worlds, and countless treasures lying dormant within it.
This day, marked as the start of the so-called Fifth Industrial Revolution, ushered in the era of the Great Hunters. I, too, became one of these hunters.
Though, I’m at the bottom of the food chain, an [F-] rank hunter.
As I stood in line to enter the Abyss, I quietly brought up my status window.
『Status Window
Name: Shin Juha
Title: Goblin Slayer [F+]
LV 10 (0%)
Stats:
Strength (Normal): F- (15/100)
Stamina (Normal): F- (21/100)
Remaining Points: 0
Unique Ability:
[???]
Skills:
[Basic Swordsmanship (Normal) LV7], [Power Strike (Normal) LV8]』
A pathetic status window, to say the least.
I barely acquired two of the four essential stats known as Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Endurance, yet I’ve been stuck at [F-] rank for 10 years.
As for my unique ability, I don’t even know if I actually have one.
In short, I had no talent as a hunter.
While I stared blankly at the status window, lost in thought, my turn came.
I handed over my hunter license to the entrance inspector.
“[F-] rank hunter, Shin Juha, confirmed. Please proceed.”
With a light check, I began to move.
Without hesitation, I stepped into the swirling, massive portal resembling a black hole. The sensation of floating washed over me as an odd discomfort crept in.
〚Transferring to designated point, Tutorial Zone-11!〛
Along with a message from the system, my surroundings shifted.
“Yo, Shin Juha! You’re on time again today. Here, have a canned coffee.”
“Ah! Thanks.”
As soon as I arrived at Tutorial Zone-11, I was greeted by Park Joo-cheol, another [F-] rank hunter like me.
Maybe it was because we were in similar situations? Or was it just sympathy?
Among the people living this miserable life at the bottom, he’s the only one I’m close with.
Though I’ve been stuck here for 10 years and he for just 3, having a shared experience made it easier for us to form a bond, and we quickly became friends.
That said, the extent of our friendship was simply meeting up before hunts, sipping a cheap coffee, and chatting for a bit.
Neither of us had the money to waste on things like drinking or eating meat after a hunt.
He had sick parents to take care of, while I had a sick younger sibling I was responsible for.
“Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
As I took a sip of the cold canned coffee, Park Joo-cheol lowered his voice.
“You know Bald Moon from Zone 7, right?”
“Oh! The friendly bald guy? Yeah, of course. I even hunted with him a few times early on.”
He, too, was a man living a bottom-feeding life, just like me.
A man who had spent his life trapped in the alphabet of [F-], unable to escape the tutorial zone.
He made enough money to survive, but it wasn’t a good life by any stretch.
“Why? What happened to Mr. Moon? Something bad?”
When something happens to a hunter, there are only two possibilities.
They’re either dead or they hit it big.
Since hitting it big in this miserable tutorial zone was nearly impossible, my thoughts naturally leaned toward the former.
But what Park Joo-cheol said next was shocking.
“You really don’t watch the news, do you? Mr. Moon caught a Golden Goblin and turned his life around! He got at least 10 unique-grade treasures and sold them at auction. He’s retired now!”
“What!!!”
My eyes nearly popped out of my head.
“Did he really find and catch a Golden Goblin?”
“Yeah, pure luck, man. The Golden Goblin has only appeared three times worldwide… well, four now. And Mr. Moon was the one to find it! He already sold off all the treasures, bought a building in Gangnam, and even built a mansion in the countryside.”
I gulped down the rest of my coffee, smacking my lips in envy.
How great would it be if I had that kind of luck? In this life filled with nothing but misfortune, how amazing would it be to finally get a break?
As if reading my thoughts, Park Joo-cheol chuckled and slapped my shoulder.
“Hey, wake up! Luck like that is too much even to dream about for people like us. Let’s just get today’s hunt over with. We’ve got to hit 15 kills today, and it’s gonna be tough. Got everything?”
“Yeah, this isn’t my first hunt.”
“Alright, good luck!”
I watched Park Joo-cheol disappear after patting me on the shoulder, and I stood up with a bitter laugh.
He’s right. People like us, who live such unfortunate lives, will never experience that kind of luck.
“Let’s just make some money!”
Tutorial Zone-11 is a forest. There are only three types of monsters here.
Horned rabbits, Poison Snakes with venom, and finally, the Goblins, small devils.
The strongest of the three is, of course, the Goblin, followed by the Poison Snake, and lastly the horned rabbit.
As for me, a hunter who’s been doing this for far too long, my prey is the Goblin. Of course, I’m not strong enough to take one down purely with skill, but…
It’s the monster that brings in the most money, so I have no choice but to risk my life hunting them.
Navigating through the forest, which I could now walk through blindfolded, I headed toward my personal hunting ground.
Shhh!
As soon as I arrived at the spot, perfect timing—a Goblin respawned right in front of me.
〚Common (F-) Rank LV 7 Goblin has respawned!〛
As the system message appeared, a Goblin materialized in a burst of light. Its green, murderous eyes locked onto mine.
-Kiieeek!!!
Without hesitation, the Goblin, ever the low-level monster, lunged at me with a dagger in hand.
“Alright, let’s do this!”
I drew my sword from my waist.
In the past 10 years, the monster I’ve hunted the most is the Goblin.
I’ve fought them so many times that I don’t even need to think about how to handle one anymore—my body knows what to do by instinct.
Clang!
But there was always an unbridgeable gap in physical ability between me and the Goblin, meaning I was always on the losing side.
“Damn! You green midget!”
The average Goblin stats fall between F- (40-50).
If its stats were closer to 40, I could manage. But based on the strength of its attacks, I could tell this Goblin was closer to 50—a strong one.
“Damn, but I’m not giving up!”
What I lack in stats, I make up for with experience.
And the stronger the Goblin, the bigger its mana stone—meaning more money. I wasn’t about to give up.
I’ve faced danger like this countless times in this job.
-Kiaaak!!
Frustrated by its repeated failed attacks, the Goblin’s eyes flipped in rage.
Low intelligence and extreme temper were the defining traits of the Goblin race. The creature’s [Rage Explosion] skill had triggered.
Seeing its body glow red as its stats increased, I quickly stepped back out of its attack range.
“Phew, I almost broke my arm.”
Forcing the Goblin to use [Rage Explosion] meant half the battle was over.
“Now I just need to throw this.”
I took out a blood-soaked piece of chicken wrapped in plastic from my bag and tossed it toward the rampaging Goblin.
-Kyaaak!!!
The Goblin, completely lost in its fury, slashed wildly at the fallen meat.
“Phew, today’s my lucky day.”
Now, all I had to do was wait for the [Rage Explosion] skill to wear off.
After all, the [Rage Explosion] skill came with a significant penalty, typical of [Common-F] rank skills.
Ten minutes passed in an instant, and by then, the chicken had become unrecognizable.
-Creek….
Finally, the skill helping the creature ended, and the green body collapsed onto the ground.
“Hehe…”
Perhaps it sensed its death was near.
As I walked toward it with a satisfied smile, the creature flailed in fear, desperately trying to fight back.
“Quietly hand over the magic stone and die!”
In the end, it lowered its neck under my sword and vanished.
〚Common-Rank [F-] LV 7 Monster – Goblin Dead〛
〚Contribution 100%〛
〚Reward: Purple Coin ×1, Common-Rank [F-] Magic Stone ×1〛
〚Experience 0 – Reached Tutorial Level Limit!〛
The only things it left behind were a purple coin and a tiny magic stone.
“Oh ho~! This one must’ve been pretty strong; the stone’s purity and size are decent!”
The first hunt of the day was a huge success. Now, all that was left was to gather herbs in the forest until the goblin respawned.
“Every little bit helps!”
Though the herbs weren’t worth much, they were a decent source of income for someone like me, who was in desperate need of money.
With that, I took out my gathering tools from my bag and started walking.
At the time, I had no idea that I was walking straight into the jaws of a tiger, ignorant and excited by my successful hunt.
“Hm~ hm~ hm~”
I was in good spirits. As I gazed at the box full of herbs, I hummed a tune.
The box was packed with nearly twice as many herbs as usual, and I held it tightly, treating it like a precious treasure.
“Looks like I can finally afford a bowl of black bean noodles today.”
With the crushing hospital bills hanging over me, treating myself was nearly impossible. But today, luck seemed to be on my side.
“Well, it’s my birthday, so I guess a gift like this is only natural.”
Still humming, I packed up my gathering tools and started heading back to the spot where the goblin would respawn.
I thought it was just a lucky day, feeling joyful and trying to forget my miserable reality for a moment.
Yes, that was my mindset.
But even the heavens didn’t allow me this small, insignificant piece of good fortune.
Rustle! Rustle!
Suddenly, the bushes shook, and I heard something approaching.
Instinctively, I drew my sword and started scanning my surroundings.
Even though it was the tutorial, this was the Abyss, a place filled with monsters and death!
Only a rookie would make the mistake of letting their guard down here.
‘Please, let it be nothing.’
Preparing to flee, I stared into the forest.
Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
The sound of something rushing toward me grew louder, and within seconds, a blood-covered figure burst through the bushes and collapsed in front of me.
Thud!
The figure tumbled across the ground like a discarded doll with its strings cut, eventually coming to rest with its head buried in the dirt.
“Cough! Cough! A…si…stan…ce.”
“Hey! Park Joo-cheol! What the…?!”
To my shock, the figure was Park Joo-cheol. The problem was, his left arm had been severed, and his entire body was soaked in blood.
“R…u…n…”
Gasping for breath, he struggled to open his mouth, as if he were moments from death.
“What are you saying? What happened…?”
“Run!!!”
With his last breath, he screamed a final warning, and his body went limp.
“Huh?”
Panicked, I checked his pulse, but Park Joo-cheol was no longer breathing.
I shook him and slapped his face, but his eyes remained closed.
He was clearly dead.
Even though I had seen death countless times, watching my closest friend die right before my eyes…
“Ugh!”
I felt sick, and my head spun.
“R…run?”
A lucky day? A fortunate day? A happy birthday?
Those thoughts had long vanished from my mind. The only thing left was the overwhelming fear of death.
Once again, the heavens had denied me even a shred of luck today.
“Y-yeah, I… I need to run!”
Just as I thought that and was about to move my shaky legs—
Rustle!
It was already too late. A figure emerged from the bushes.
〚Elite (Uncommon)-Rank [F+] LV 14, Special Field Boss: Enraged Hobgoblin Karaktus〛
It was a hobgoblin, twice the size of a normal goblin, with bloodshot eyes filled with madness and bloodlust.
Before me stood an F+ rank field boss, a hobgoblin.
“W-why is there a field boss in the tutorial…?”
Death. Death was standing before me.
Tremble!
My body shook uncontrollably. Though it was mine, I couldn’t control it.
Time slowed down as all my senses sharpened in the presence of death.
-Kieeeaaah!!!
The creature was furious, its previous toy too weak to be satisfying. But its eyes lit up when it found me, a new plaything.
“Aaahhh!!”
There was no time to hesitate.
Just before fear completely consumed me, I managed to force my body into motion and began running in the opposite direction of the hobgoblin.
-Krraaak!
But was it too late?
Swish!
The hobgoblin’s giant axe flew toward me.
Slash!
The axe severed my left arm cleanly.
………!!!!!
In agony, my body collapsed as I ran.
As I let out a silent scream, I saw what used to be my arm rolling on the ground like discarded trash.
-Kyakakaka!!
Was it enjoying the sight of its prey collapsing? Was it showing off its strength?
Swish! Thud!
Another swing of its axe struck my body again.
Ah… is this how I die?
It had been a miserable life. The world was cruel, and happiness had never been meant for me.
Thud!
My left arm, my right leg, half of my stomach, and my left eye—all were taken by the hobgoblin’s playful swings of its axe.
I could feel death. I could sense the end drawing near.
‘Ah… I don’t want to die.’
Flashes of my hopeless life crossed my mind, memories of times when I thought it would be easier to just die.
Yet ironically, now that death was imminent, my will to live exploded.
I dragged my broken body, struggling like the goblin that had died under my sword, desperately trying to escape.
I crawled and crawled, pulling myself away from the hobgoblin.
-Kikikik!
It wasn’t hunting me to kill. This was a game, a hunt, and entertainment.
Finally, I reached a massive tree and stopped.
-Keieek!
The creature had decided this game was over.
Its giant axe was coming down on my head.
But just before it struck, my hand touched the ground beneath the tree.
〚You have discovered a Hidden Stage!〛
〚Forcibly entering!〛
In an instant, a black vortex swallowed me.
Thud!
My dying body vanished, and the hobgoblin’s axe struck the ground in vain.
-Kieeek!!!
A furious, frustrated howl echoed through the Goblin Forest in the 11th region of the tutorial.
〚Hidden Stage: The Golden Goblin’s Tower Discovered!〛
I couldn’t feel anything.
My vision was already half-consumed by darkness, my nose filled only with the scent of blood, and my ears were ringing incessantly.
As my vision dimmed, I saw a cavern full of countless items and golden creatures.
With my last ounce of strength, I reached out toward something, guided by the voice in my head.
-Kieek?
-Keek!?
-Krayak!
Clunk!
I grabbed something and pressed it. That was the end.
My time had run out, and my body lost its strength and collapsed.
Beep!
But the miracle my final struggle created was immense.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
-Kieeek!
-Keeek!
The golden goblins screamed and ran away in a panic. But it was too late.
The reason for their fear—the bomb in my hand—exploded.
Boom!!!
Everything in the cavern, the golden goblins, my dead body, and the bloodstains I left behind, was obliterated.
〚The subject of the achievement has been confirmed dead, and the special perk of forced regression is now activated!〛
Time, which had been cut off, started to flow again. The clock, which had stopped, began to turn backward, and my life started anew.
Flash!
“Gasp!”
And so, I regressed to the day I awakened, 10 years ago.
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