“Guardian?” The unfamiliar word sparked a question.
“Still haven’t reached it? Interesting. And yet the system activated—is that the work of a variable?” The Goblin Lord, wearing an old crown, kept muttering incomprehensible words.
Through that, I could realize something.
‘He knows something—a secret.’
He seemed to know about the Tower’s secrets and the Realm of the Unknown, things I didn’t know.
“Pitiful. It seems the system was forcibly opened due to the variable, but that too is fate. Regrettably, I must dispose of you, who holds potential. That is my mission.”
Commonly, goblins are thought of as a species of low intelligence, acting purely on instinct for food and reproduction.
That was indeed the case.
The goblins I had seen on the Gritia Continent in the past treated helpless humans as prey and objects for breeding.
But the Goblin Lord before me was different.
The will he conveyed was deeper than that of a human, a primate.
That meant…
‘Strong.’
Since I first transferred to the Gritia Continent, I had never once thought a goblin was strong.
I had faced countless chieftains and variant goblins, but that thought never changed.
Goblins are a weak species—at best, living shields used as arrow fodder on the front lines thanks to their astonishing reproduction rate.
That was all.
But the Goblin Lord before me was different.
Intelligence that goblins should not possess.
And above all the aura that naturally emanated.
That was… Karma.
A heavy karma that could even threaten me.
Karma accumulated by a goblin?
I could hardly believe it, yet I had no choice but to believe.
Even I, merely human, had accumulated karma over a thousand years to reach where I am now.
Just because it’s a goblin doesn’t mean that a being with a similar situation to mine cannot appear.
The Goblin Lord stared at me piercingly and said, “You are… I see. I thought something was strange. You… were one of the candidates.”
Candidates?
Still incomprehensible words.
It seemed I had quite a lot to hear from him—information.
But Seo Jun couldn’t see that deep inner side.
That was… a kind of confidence.
When someone who had no talent discovers they do, arrogance naturally arises.
Arrogance is poison to growth.
To be precise, it’s the worst factor that hinders growth.
One must objectively evaluate oneself and see the inner nature of things.
That’s why I had instilled that into him from time to time.
But was it because he was too young?
Or because of the talent he suddenly gained?
Seo Jun overlooked that point.
Merely because of the goblin’s appearance.
Because of the confidence and arrogance stemming from the goblin species, he launched an attack at the Goblin Lord.
“Flawless Slash.” The motion and form were perfect.
It was undoubtedly the most perfect slash he could accomplish.
But—
“How dare you!” The Goblin Lord bellowed, as if a child had intruded into an adult fight.
-Swoosh
He swung his crude club.
It was obviously a crude wooden club that would break with even a little force.
But it broke Seo Jun’s sword, which had completed the form of the Flawless Slash.
Not content with that, he burst forth with a fierce momentum and charged toward his body.
In that fleeting moment—
-pop
My body leaped across space.
That was the fastest speed I could muster.
But—
‘Not enough.’
Seo Jun’s movement was unexpected.
Thus, a slight error occurred.
Time… was insufficient.
In reality, the gap between the Goblin Lord and me wasn’t that large.
But Seo Jun’s sudden intervention widened the disparity considerably.
The bastard was faster than me.
If I just watched this attack as things were, Seo Jun would die.
But—
‘No!’ That cannot happen.
Seo Jun is a sprout I am nurturing as humanity’s hope.
He is not a talent meant to be trampled here.
I must protect him no matter what.
That is the path to repay the debt I owe humanity, even if just a little.
Therefore—
I leaped.
I leaped again.
This was not an ordinary leap.
A movement that defied even time.
In an instant, I jumped through space to close the distance.
A hair’s breadth.
“Clang”
My sword and the Goblin Lord’s club collided.
And then—
“BOOM”
From the shockwave, “Ugh—” Seo Jun was pushed back helplessly.
It was an attack as intense as the shockwave following a nuclear explosion.
“Foolish!” But it was an overreaching attack by anyone’s standards.
I had forced myself to close the gap, and as a result, I left an opening.
And that was a golden opportunity for the Goblin Lord.
The club shot fiercely toward my abdomen, which had exposed a gap due to my collapsed balance.
I knew it.
But—
‘I can’t block it.’
Why is an opening an opening?
It’s an opening because it’s not the moment to defend.
If there were a difference in skill, it wouldn’t have been difficult to defend the opening.
But the bastard’s skill was outstanding—not much different from mine (rather, I was at a disadvantage, so it was not easy to defend his attack that exploited the opening).
Therefore I couldn’t stop the club from hitting my abdomen.
“Kuh!” I groaned at the pain I hadn’t felt in a long time.
-thump
I was sent flying just like that.
As I rolled pathetically across the ground, “Die!” The Goblin Lord pursued me.
He also knew that I was an opponent who could stand against him.
Therefore, to not let go of the momentum he had accidentally seized, he launched a fierce assault.
-Bang, crash
The club struck the ground.
Even while being flung away, I twisted my body to dodge his attacks, but it wasn’t easy.
Due to the forced movement, “crack”—bones twisted.
“snap”—muscles and ligaments tore.
An opponent I couldn’t guarantee to win even with my best effort.
But one mistake had given him an opening, and he didn’t let go, dragging the battle in his favor.
The club and sword in our hands clashed, and once again a shockwave enveloped the area.
The fierce assault ended.
We looked at each other, having widened the distance.
“It’s a shame.” It was the Goblin Lord who spoke first, “You could have been a good opponent for me.”
He looked as if victory was already in sight.
“If it’s such a pity, couldn’t you have gone a little easy?” I did not deny it.
Because—”drip, drip”—blood was flowing down my grip.
Although I was still alive like this, I had suffered enormous damage from the earlier exchange.
We were evenly matched, or I was slightly inferior.
But if I took this much damage from the first clash, closing the gap was practically impossible.
The moment I moved my body, my entire being screamed.
One variable had caused the worst possible situation I could imagine.
“M-Master!” Having belatedly realized what he had done and the Goblin Lord’s power, Seo Jun screamed.
“Ugh.” I spoke to that kid, “If you underestimate them just because they’re goblins, just because of their appearance, this is the result that unfolds.”
I had no intention of blaming him.
It was a process he had to go through someday.
It’s just a pity that it became this worst-case scenario, but if he can gain deeper insight because of it, that’s not bad either.
“Develop the eye that sees the inner self. Open your Insight Eye so that you do not repeat mistakes like this one.”
To my words, “…I will keep that in mind, again and again!”
“Good. That’s enough.” Although the situation had turned unfavorable, I was satisfied that I had imparted insight.
Of course.
“And don’t worry. I won’t lose.”
The Goblin Lord.
He looked at me, sensing victory he said, “There are no variables.”
He wasn’t entirely wrong.
There were no variables needed for his victory.
That couldn’t be helped because my body was broken.
If it were only temporarily broken, I could overcome it by any means.
But my opponent was the Goblin Lord.
An attack from someone who had reached a similar level to me had damaged not just my body but also my soul.
Fighting an equal with both body and soul broken was like striking a rock with an egg.
“All that remains is… your victory.” The Goblin Lord raised his club.
An aura like the sound of metal vibrated through my bones.
But at that moment, slowly and clearly, the air current changed along my spine.
“Seo Jun.” I looked at him with my blood-covered face and asked, “Seeing your despair, it seems you think I will lose.”
It wasn’t just the Goblin Lord who was confident of victory.
Seo Jun also sensed the Goblin Lord’s victory and my defeat.
“That’s…”
“Don’t say it’s because of yourself.”
“That’s why you’re sloppy. You haven’t opened your Insight Eye yet.”
Slowly, I picked up my sword.
The blood-soaked blade was so worn it couldn’t even reflect light, but at its tip contained my heart.
“From now on, I will show you. The sword that sees with the heart.”
That single declaration silenced even the Tower’s laws.
The sword did not rise.
Instead, my consciousness and soul extended in a straight line.
The Goblin Lord reacted.
In an instant, he raised his club and brought it down with full killing intent.
“BOOM”
The ground collapsed.
A shockwave became seven layers of ripples, sweeping in all directions.
But I was no longer there.
I hadn’t disappeared—I was simply unseen.
I moved with my heart, and with my spirit will, I began to cut the world.
Behind the Goblin Lord—a sword appeared silently and gently touched his heart.
“…What is this?” He tried to block with his club, but the spirit sword was on a level beyond physical resistance.
“I see your karma. Your anger, your longing, your desire. And I will cut it.”
First cut.
The karma of slaughter that had massacred countless species in the past was split apart.
Second cut.
The karma of a throne that had reigned by betraying its own kin was torn away.
Third cut.
The peak of arrogance that believed itself superior to humans was shattered into pieces.
The Goblin Lord didn’t scream.
He simply stared blankly at his own hands, as if confronting an unbelievable reality.
Where the sword had passed, no wound remained.
But his inner self, his heart, the root of his existence, was crumbling.
That was when the final strike rose from the black abyss.
It was as if the heart itself had revealed itself as a formless blade.
“The heart does not hide the truth.”
A single ray of light passed through.
The moment that light passed through the Goblin Lord’s chest—
“Rumble”
The giant goblin’s form crumbled away like mud.
The club, the crown, the weight—everything disappeared.
“Hoo—” I let out a breath.
The spirit sword was not a blade but my realization, both mercy and judgment.
Seo Jun’s eyes trembled as he watched that sight.
The movements of those called strong, the battle itself—just watching it brings inspiration.
He must have realized it.
The spirit will transcend the physical body.
That was what I wanted to show him.
At that moment, for the first time, he realized that I was not simply strong, but one who understood the world.
“Remember this, Seo Jun.” My sword stabbed into the ground, “The heart is sharper than the sword.”
And it was heavier and more brilliant than any single blade.