The Hobgoblin was nowhere to be seen within his line of sight.

Before him were ordinary Goblins, picking up daggers and spears as they swatted away the demonic energy (Magi) to close in on him.

“Ah… haa… please… save me…”

Behind them lay the women who had fallen to the state of mere playthings, forcibly violated, and children whose limbs had been torn so severely it was impossible to tell if they were still breathing. Finally, there were dozens of Goblins who had already collapsed into cold corpses after gasping for breath against the Magi.

The number of those approaching was seven or eight at most. Since these were the lowest of the low among mobs, he could practically beat them to death with his bare hands.

Keyal, his body reinforced by Magi, twisted his lips into a crescent-shaped smirk. Stretching his arm out, he gave a thumbs-up and then slowly tilted it downward with a fishy grin. It was a declaration of war against the surviving Goblins trying to block him as an intruder.

“Kahaaaak…!!!”

It was an overt act of mockery toward the monsters who were baring their teeth and drooling, looking ready to pounce at any second.

‘They’re still just Goblins, after all.’

Those already encroached upon by the Magi couldn’t move properly. Except for the ones in the front, the rest didn’t even dare to attack. They clutched their heads, praying that this being who spread such foul energy would simply disappear. They prayed in the pitch-black cave where sunlight never reached, ignorant of the fact that no one would save them. Even if they fled outside, it wasn’t as if anyone would save a monster—more likely, someone would kill them just to make a quick buck.

The ones in the front were licking their lips, testing the waters. However, their bodies were trembling, and they couldn’t easily bring themselves to approach. You might wonder why they were just standing there when they should have attacked by now.

The answer was simple.

Goblins are low-intelligence creatures.

But they are wicked.

To them, every action is driven by instinct, and they spend their time seeking cruel amusement. However, they do understand the concept of the food chain. They are the definition of “weak to the strong and strong to the weak.” They grovel before those more powerful than them, but the moment someone appears weaker or shows vulnerability, they swarm like a pack of dogs to tear them apart.

That is the Goblin way.

Suddenly, a stunted Goblin in the center let out a bizarre roar. Of course, it was too pathetic to be called a roar, and it couldn’t even reach Keyal through the barrier of Magi. Keyal could launch an attack whenever he wanted, but they couldn’t move or approach easily.

Why? Because he was stronger than them.

“Kerheuuuk!!”

The Goblin clicked its tongue in frustration.

‘Yeah, keep trying. It won’t reach me anyway~’

Keyal feigned a throw of a transparent blade made of condensed Magi at that Goblin, only to actually hurl it at the one behind it. The head of the Goblin clutching its skull exploded, instantly staining the den with blood. The front row of Goblins, now sweating profusely and terrified, turned their heads toward their headless comrade.

But hadn’t he said it? It was already too late.

Keyal immediately grabbed the crown of the middle Goblin’s head and drove a “soccer kick” straight into its philtrum. The Goblin’s neck tore; its body felt like it was being split in two by a single blow without it even knowing why. It looked more bewildered than pained.

The Goblin fumbled with its torn limbs, trying to lift its head back up, but Keyal—determined not to give it a second to breathe—grabbed its torso and ripped the head clean off. He tossed the torso toward the Goblins cowering in the back.

“Kerhaaaaak…!!!”

The head, he “fed” to the remaining four in the front who were glancing between their weapons and him.

“Kerheuuuk…!?!!”

“Ubuuuk—!!!”

He literally shoved it into their maws.

“How is it? Does your boss taste good~?”

The Goblins began foaming at the mouth and gagging. Because they were small—barely the size of a human forearm—and were huddled together like a single Hobgoblin rather than standing in formation, such an impossible feat was achievable.

As the eyes of the gagging Goblins turned bloodshot and their pupils vanished, leaving only the whites, Keyal slammed them with all his might against the wall.

“Kahaaaak…!!”

Along with the head.

‘Total noobs~’

The boss Goblin’s head, which had been chewed on by the four Goblins before being slammed into the wall, was crushed beyond recognition. The four Goblins pinned behind it had already met a cold death, crushed by head-sized bricks falling from the wall that had crumbled under the force of the impact.

“Bug. Cleared!”

Drenched in blood, Keyal hummed a tune as he pushed open the door to the quiet guild.

“I’m back!”

Keyal greeted them cheerfully, holding his hand out as if for a high-five.

“Uh… we-wel… co-co…”

The employee stood there, stammering like someone who had lost their ability to speak. She looked troubled. Seeing her like that, Keyal found it even harder to suppress his excitement.

On his way out of the Goblin Den, he had run into two Hobgoblins returning to the cave. The Hobgoblins were beyond bewildered to find a man drenched in the Magi and the thick, lingering scent of their kin’s blood. However, Keyal, who was already high on the “Half-Demon” buff, rushed them and delivered a satisfying “smash” right to their rounded maws.

The thick torsos of the Hobgoblins bent like bows. They left this world as they slammed into the ground, their heads disappearing with a pop!

It was beyond thrilling; it made his knees tremble with excitement. In his life on Earth, he had been a weakling, less than an extra. But here, he had taken down 3-meter-tall Hobgoblins in a single blow!

‘Man, I can’t get enough of this.’

He had been literally skipping through the forest since leaving the den. Entering the Adventurers’ Guild didn’t change his mood. The employee found Keyal’s optimistic demeanor jarring, especially compared to the other adventurers who were broken in body and spirit.

‘Oops.’

Noticing the woman’s complexion turning pale, Keyal quickly corrected his behavior and began walking toward the reception desk.

‘Haha… let’s stop here.’

Any more would be “cringe.” He decided to wrap it up. The fact that jokes were flowing so easily in his mind was definitive proof that he still hadn’t fully controlled his excitement.

‘But seriously, how can I not be hyped about this?!’

Clearing his throat, he stopped in his tracks, bowed his head, and offered an apology.

“I’m sorry. I got a bit too excited.”

“Ah, n-no, it’s fine. I was just a bit… taken safe…”

Startled by his sudden 90-degree bow, the employee raised both arms and waved them as if to tell him to stop. Only then did he straighten his back and let a slight smile play on his lips.

The interior of the Adventurers’ Guild should have been filled with the familiar scent of blood and the pungent smell of medicine. Yet, for some reason, the guild was eerily silent. It was as if someone had intentionally chased all the adventurers out.

“Is there… no one else here besides me today?”

He had left for the quest immediately after registering. That was only about an hour ago. It wasn’t that long, and it was only noon. From the perspective of the guild and its employees, returning after an hour is like returning from the restroom during a company dinner. But everyone had vanished in just one hour? And so perfectly?

‘Something smells fishy…’

Perhaps realizing where his eyes were scanning across the tables, the employee’s awkward smile suddenly vanished into a stiff expression.

“U-um… over there…”

She pointed toward something behind his back.

“…?”

Then, the sound of footsteps reached him. It was a clicking sound against the dark wooden floor, like high heels. Reflexively emitting Magi, Keyal spun around.

The lights were out. It was dark, and he couldn’t see anything. Yet, there was a familiar, strangely peculiar scent. A silhouette gradually drew closer, its body trembling as if sobbing.

“Is it… is it really… Master?”

No, she really was sobbing. Tear drops fell to the floor. Her voice, clear and pure as a bell, made him momentarily hallucinate that he was in a deep forest rather than a guild hall.

Keyal Klein summoned a transparent sword and took a combat stance. The distance between him and the mysterious woman narrowed alongside the slow sound of her shoes.

“Ah… ah… it is Master. Master’s Magi… the proof of our lovely Master… ah… ahhh…”

Her long hair fluttered in a cold wind that seemed to blow from nowhere, undulating as if underwater. It was a soft bluish-green, almost like a light turquoise. She wore a long, tailored cloak and a top made of a material that looked like royal silk from a medieval civilization.

“Haa… ha… sob… Master… Master… Master…”

Two pointed, twitching ears.

Squeeze.

“Whoa…?!”

“…….”

“Haaa… Master… Master, I really, really missed you…”

She hugged him tightly, like a child clinging to its mother. She wasn’t just vaguely familiar; he could recognize her at a single glance.

The employee had gone silent. Keyal, whose mouth was hanging open like a dried fish, slowly and carefully wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Uh… er… Elena?”

The first hero he had recruited while playing the game—the legendary “Edric” Guild’s first and strongest Elf character.

“What on earth is…”

“Haaa… please don’t go anywhere now… I… I will protect you… Master…”

He had just had a miraculous (?) reunion with the very first hero he had ever recruited in the game.

‘Uh… so, that’s one hero… checked off, right?’