The Goblin thought.
‘I have to be acknowledged by the Owner.’
The Orc, who had already been acknowledged, grew stronger every day under the Owner’s blessing.
He was even called away somewhere every time to spend time together.
In contrast, he himself…
He was no different from being abandoned.
No blessing was given, and he wasn’t even called.
‘If I become useless… I’ll be thrown away again.’
Remembering the life he had led after being abandoned by the Goblin tribe, he clenched his fists and his eyes burned with determination.
The Goblin wanted to become stronger.
To do that, he had to perfectly carry out the mission given by the Owner.
He packed his gear to explore around the Mana Stone Mine.
The Poison Needle and Poison given by the Owner were prepared, ready to fire at any time, and he left the mine.
“Should I try going this way today?”
He moved in a direction he hadn’t gone yesterday.
Whooosh!
Pushing against the chilly wind, he widened his eyes, searching for things the Owner might like.
A Magic Stone lying on the ground.
A flower blooming between the grass.
He shoved anything that looked special into his pocket as he moved forward, and soon a familiar place appeared.
A scene where stems were stretched between the trees like a fence.
“Dryad’s Forest.”
This was the domain of a race called Dryads.
It was also known by another nickname: the “Forest of Death.”
Because once you entered, you could never return.
“…What’s this?”
The tree stems, which should have been tightly woven to keep outsiders out, had been torn by something, and there were traces of something walking into the forest.
Fwoosh!
Fwoosh!
Flames surged up from inside the forest.
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
“Uaaaaaaa!”
Screams echoed throughout the forest.
The Goblin swallowed nervously and began to think.
Should he run away?
Shaking his head, he pulled out his Poison Needle.
‘I have to find out what’s going on.’
Whoever was targeting this place might invade the Mana Stone Mine.
He had to confirm who they were and report it to the Owner.
The Goblin gripped the Poison Needle tightly and began to move.
Looking at the footprints left on the ground, it seemed to be those guys.
Destroyers of the Forest.
Ogres.
As far as the Goblin could remember, there was only one Ogre tribe nearby.
‘Burukan the Destroyer.’
Just recalling the name made his body tremble.
A powerhouse on par with the Ruler of the Mine.
However, he quickly calmed his trembling body.
After all, it was the Owner who had killed such a ruler in an instant.
Even if someone like Burukan showed up, the Owner would surely win.
‘Just have to check if it’s really them and then leave.’
As he moved deeper inside, something began to come into view.
A vast field was ablaze.
On the burning field, a massive Ogre was swinging a club at the Dryads.
“Kkaaaagh!”
“Uoooooo!”
Some Dryads grew thorny vines to ensnare the Ogre and fought back using poisonous plants.
But they were outnumbered by far.
Many Dryads lay collapsed on the ground, and as the fire devoured the surroundings, the Dryads could not muster their full strength.
As time passed, the Ogres began to overwhelm them.
‘Time to go back.’
He had confirmed the situation, so he just needed to quietly slip away.
The Goblin cautiously stepped backward.
Ogres were stupid, so as long as he was careful, he wouldn’t get caught.
He slowly retreated until he was at a safe distance, and just as he turned to run—
He spotted a huge Root Fruit.
Woooong!
The Goblin licked his lips as he gazed at the Root Fruit emitting faint mana.
‘Health-Giving Root!’
Everyone who entered the Dryad’s Forest came for this Health-Giving Root.
Eating it made you incredibly healthy.
You became stronger.
And it granted special powers.
It was hard to get past the Dryads’ vigilance to obtain it, but if you could get one, it was something every monster desired.
‘The Owner will love this, right?’
The Goblin grabbed the Root Fruit, which was as big as himself, and ran with all his might.
After a long sprint, he escaped the forest.
He ran all the way to the Mana Stone Mine before finally stopping.
Panting as if he might die, an Orc approached.
“What’s that?”
“It’s mine. I’m going to report this to the Owner myself. Don’t touch it, you pig!”
“Suit yourself.”
Kang! Kang!
The Orc swung his pickaxe indifferently, then vanished in a flash of white light.
And not long after—
The Owner and the Orc returned together to the Mana Stone Mine.
“O-Owner! I picked up something amazing!”
The Goblin beamed as he reached out toward the Health-Giving Root he’d brought.
“…Please save me.”
At the unfamiliar voice, the Goblin’s head snapped around.
There, a girl who looked like a Human Girl was sitting.
“W-who are you! Where’s my root! Give it back!”
Arriving at the Mana Stone Mine, the Goblin was beaming brightly as he pointed behind him.
A little girl was there.
She looked about ten years old, but she wasn’t an ordinary human.
Her arms and legs were a deep green, and she wore several flowers in her hair.
[Give me back my root!]
[…I’m useless now. I’m just a worthless thing.]
【Uwaaa! I said give me back my root!】
Seeing the Goblin grab the girl by the collar and shake her, I nodded at the Orc.
“Get him off her.”
The Orc separated the Goblin from the girl.
Left alone, I gazed at the girl and activated the Golden Dragon’s Eye.
[You use Golden Dragon’s Eye.]
[Fryra (D)]
- The only survivor of the Blue Flower Dryad tribe, and daughter of the Queen.
- Left alone and extremely frightened.
- Overall stats: D
- Potential: SS
- Possessed items: None
- Possessed skills: Elixir Cultivation (D), Touch of Nature (B), Overgrowth (D), Rampage Touch (D).
Maybe because the Dragon Lair (EX) had leveled up, Fryra’s Status Window was much more detailed.
What caught my eye the most was—
‘Elixir Cultivation?’
She could grow Potions?
[A Raid Event has occurred.]
[Raid Event]
- The Destroyer of the Forest, Ogre Chieftain Burukan, is searching for the missing Dryad Queen’s daughter.
- Option A: Hand over the Queen’s daughter to Burukan and maintain a friendly relationship with him.
- Option B: Protect the Queen’s daughter and become enemies with Burukan. Burukan will attack this place, but you can appoint Fryra as a Guardian.
“…Is there even a need to hesitate?”
If I appointed Fryra as a Guardian, an Elixir field would unfold.
What use was being friendly with an Ogre?
[Time remaining until the raid: 1 hour 32 minutes.]
That’s a rather ambiguous amount of time.
[P-please… save me.]
Fryra looked at me with desperate eyes.
“If you become mine, I’ll save you.”
[…But you have to avenge me. Against those who killed my family.]
“Of course.”
[I swear loyalty to you.]
With that, a message appeared.
[Would you like to appoint Fryra as a Guardian?]
Yes.
[You appoint Fryra as a Guardian.]
[With the Dragon’s Blessing, Fryra’s rank temporarily increases.]
“Alright, then shall we prepare for war? Goblin.”
【Yes.】
“Tell me in detail what you saw.”
At the Academy, they teach all sorts of things.
One of them is strategy.
Assessing the enemy’s numbers and characteristics, understanding their habits, and leading your side to a perfect victory with no casualties— that’s the main lesson.
‘The enemy is dozens of Ogres.’
Ogres were monsters that often appeared in dungeons, so there was plenty of information about them.
They looked similar to Orcs.
But while they were physically similar, they had worse physical balance and intelligence than Orcs, but possessed overwhelming brute strength.
Overall combat level: E.
But the Chieftain, Burukan, was said to be on par with or slightly above the Ruler of the Mine.
If the Goblin was right—
Just stopping the main force was something the Orc and I could handle by ourselves.
But as taught at the Academy, you mustn’t let your guard down.
In a dungeon, anything could happen.
This place was no different.
“Fryra. Do you know why the Ogres attacked your tribe?”
【They wanted a thousand-year-old Mandragora.】
A thousand-year-old Mandragora?
【In human terms, it’s an Elixir. If you eat it, you can surpass your own limits.】
“Is there a hundred-year-old Mandragora too?”
[Yes. That won’t let you surpass your limits, but it can push you up to the limit.]
I had to raise at least one level.
Ogres were D-rank.
Chieftain Burukan was C-rank.
That made it hard for the Orc to overwhelm the Ogres.
I needed to find a way to overcome the numerical disadvantage.
‘First… let’s promote the Goblin.’
I opened the Goblin’s Status Window and checked the detailed stats.
[Dexterity: E]
[Stamina: E]
[Accuracy: F]
[Penetration: E]
[Magic: F]
I had about four million won left in my account.
There were two stats I needed most right now.
[Increase Accuracy to D rank.]
[Increase Penetration to D rank.]
Now, the Goblin’s Poison Needle would work.
“Fryra. Can you explain your abilities in detail?”
【I can accelerate plant growth and make them attack aggressively.】
“Can you give me a concrete example?”
[Just take out one Fire Herb from that pouch over there.]
Fryra pointed at the Goblin’s pouch.
Normally, the Goblin would have protested, but for some reason, he was in a good mood and obediently took out a Fire Herb and handed it to Fryra.
Fryra accepted it, placed it on the ground, and put her hands over it.
Wooooong!
Green threads danced around the Fire Herb.
And the Fire Herb began to grow rapidly.
So that’s Overgrowth.
The suddenly enlarged Fire Herb couldn’t withstand its own heat.
The petals melted, and flames shot in every direction.
[Step back.]
At Fryra’s words, we stepped back.
KABOOM!
The Fire Herb exploded.
The ground shattered, and stone dust flew everywhere.
The power wasn’t overwhelming, but I got the idea of how to use it.
“Alright. I’ll explain the plan now. Orc and Goblin, you two are the key.”
【Yes!】
【Leave it to us.】
“Lure the Ogres, and Goblin, use your Poison Needle to take down as many Ogres as you can. Orc, you herd them all into here. Got it?”
[Yes!]
[Understood.]
I checked the time.
“Let’s begin.”
I sent the Orc and Goblin outside and stayed inside the cave with Fryra.
“Take this.”
I handed Fryra a Sun Sunflower (Low Grade).
“When I give the signal, make it explode. It’ll have more firepower than a Fire Herb, right?”
[It’ll be dangerous.]
“Don’t worry about that.”
【Okay.】
I checked the time calmly.
I couldn’t monitor the situation outside, but I trusted the Orc and Goblin and waited.
Before long, a commotion reached my ears.
[Hurry… Hurry up! You stupid pig!]
[You idiots! Going into the cave? Khahaha! Chase them down!]
The sound grew closer.
“Fryra. Get ready.”
Fryra nodded and used Overgrowth on the Sun Sunflower (Low Grade).
The Sun Sunflower (Low Grade) grew rapidly.
Meanwhile, the Goblin and Orc ran into the cave and joined me.
Rumble!
At the cave entrance, ten Ogres and an Ogre larger than the rest appeared.
Chieftain Burukan, wielding a heavy axe and clad in leather armor.
“To think you’d lure us here. Khahahaha. I’ll kill all of you and take the Queen’s daughter!”
[The Queen’s daughter is here! Kill them all!]
[Oooooooo!]
As the Ogres charged all at once—
“Now.”
I signaled Fryra and activated Absolute Barrier.
A translucent shield enveloped Orc, Goblin, and Fryra.
And the Overgrown Sun Sunflower (Low Grade) released intense heat toward the Ogres.
Woooooong!
KABOOM!
An explosion incomparable to before swept through the cave.
As the smoke cleared—
The only survivor, Chieftain Burukan, gritted his teeth, his skin charred black.
【I’ll kill you all with my own hands!】
Maybe because I’d eaten a Frost Heart, I still had plenty of mana left.
With the small fry dealt with, I could use my mana freely.
I gathered all my mana and recited the activation word.
“Gravity Hand.”
KABOOM!
Chieftain Burukan’s head exploded.
His headless body collapsed to the ground.
[Raid Event has ended.]
[Burukan’s death has brought chaos to the forest. Stronger enemies will attack. Prepare for the raid that will come in the near future.]
Heh.
“Looks like I’ll have to work hard to make money.”
Well then, shall we start the loot distribution?
“Guys, let’s go collect the spoils.”
With the Goblin and Orc, I walked to where the Ogres’ corpses lay.
Burukan’s pouch.
When I opened it, something with a fist-sized root and a brilliant aura was inside.
【That’s the thousand-year-old Mandragora.】
He didn’t eat it, but just kept it?