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Chapter 12
I pulled the trigger toward the goblins writhing in agony as the flames devoured them across the field.
Each time I dispatched one with my dry, expressionless face, a message popped up before my eyes.
[You have defeated a Goblin Soldier.]
[You have obtained 50 coins.]
…
[You have defeated a Goblin Soldier.]
[You have obtained 50 coins.]
Thanks to that, there was no need to go around confirming kills.
These messages were essentially death notices announcing the enemy’s demise.
I pulled a new magazine from my plate carrier, reloaded, and fired again. Beside me, Jung So-mi was just as busily blowing off goblin heads.
Bang— Bang—
Slash— Slash—
Between gunshots, I could hear Hwang Hye-joo’s sword slicing through goblin flesh.
A trembling muzzle, a hesitant blade.
And from her pale face, I could feel her hesitation radiating.
I paused my shooting for a moment and glanced between Jung So-mi and Hwang Hye-joo.
As soon as I went quiet, both turned their eyes toward me.
“Not easy, is it?”
Jung So-mi tried to hide her feelings but realized quickly it was pointless before me and confessed.
“Was it… that obvious?”
“Our bodies reveal plenty, even without words. Hye-joo, you…”
Hwang Hye-joo quickly averted her gaze, seemingly misunderstanding that I was criticizing her.
I smiled gently and offered advice.
“You’re both doing fine. Just keep forcing yourselves through it.”
“Will it… get easier if I keep killing?”
At her question, I shook my head.
“You’ll adapt. But it’s the world that’ll get better, not you.”
Her eyes flickered with realization.
She gripped her sword tighter, her gaze now firmer than before.
The three of us resumed the goblin hunt.
The air grew thick with the stench of burning goblin corpses.
Amid it all, two heavily burned goblins began to rise to their feet again.
These two were much bulkier than the others—a new kind of creature, clearly of a higher rank than the “soldiers.”
The fact that they staggered toward me despite their wounds proved as much.
“Nice eyes you’ve got there.”
“Grrrrrr…”
At my words, one bared its teeth.
“Getting mad at a compliment, huh? Guess we really can’t communicate.”
“Senior, this isn’t the time for jokes.”
“I know. I’m just observing.”
We took some time to study the newly appearing monsters.
Collecting useful data wasn’t curiosity—it was a professional habit.
“And we don’t need both of them for that.”
Without hesitation, I fired into the closer goblin’s forehead.
[You have defeated a Goblin Elite Soldier.]
[You have obtained 100 coins.]
A soldier gives 50 coins, an elite twice that.
I memorized the goblin price tags and glanced at Jung So-mi.
“I’d been wondering what these guys were called. So, ‘Elite Soldiers,’ huh.”
“Grrraahh!”
“Heh, no need to glare like that.”
I smiled, but my eyes stayed sharp, and the creature flinched.
Whether human or monster, showing fear before a fallen comrade was the same.
“Check its weak spots for me, will you?”
She nodded, raising her pistol. Then she pulled out her smartphone.
I was about to ask why—until I saw what she was doing.
She began recording a video of the goblin elite.
“December 27th, 2024. Time is 13:48. Recording observations on Goblin Elite Soldier.”
She turned the camera toward me, silently asking for permission.
I nodded.
I’d been planning to send a battle report to Mr. Choi anyway; this could serve as evidence.
Good—this’ll be useful proof.
She kept her distance while scanning the creature from head to toe.
Covered in pus, the thing was barely alive, only able to growl weakly.
“Hmm…?”
As I examined it carefully, my eyes went to its armor.
That’s… plate armor, isn’t it?
A bit different from what I knew.
Though scorched by explosions, it hadn’t melted or warped at all—suspiciously sturdy.
Well, only one way to find out.
I switched my SCAR rifle to semi-auto and fired a single round at its chest.
The impact made it stagger, but the armor remained intact—no cracks, no holes.
“Grrrrr!”
“Ah, my bad. Should’ve counted down first. Anyway…”
As expected, that armor wasn’t ordinary.
It was either crafted with advanced technology—or made from some mineral unknown to Earth.
That’s when Hwang Hye-joo spoke up.
“Se-hyun, may I share my thoughts?”
“Go ahead.”
“First, it doesn’t seem to have regenerative abilities.”
“Hmm, valid point. Continue.”
“And its fire resistance looks low.”
“Fire resistance?”
“It’s a game term—like a stat. Monsters strong against fire are said to have high fire resistance.”
I nodded. Another thing learned.
Then Jung So-mi spoke.
“Senior, I’ve finished analyzing its weaknesses. It’s the head and the right chest.”
“The head’s an obvious one, but that right chest must be where its magic stone is.”
Remembering when I’d extracted a core from a Hellhound, I borrowed Hye-joo’s sword and slashed at the elite’s right shoulder.
“Grrrrr!”
“Ah, right. Forgot to count again. But tough body you’ve got there, huh?”
The sword barely bit into it. From the feel of it, its body durability was weaker than an ogre’s but tougher than a regular goblin’s.
After gathering all the information I could—
Click.
—I aimed my rifle at the battered goblin elite.
“I’d love to test your full strength, but with that body… you’re done.”
Bang.
“Well fought.”
The bullet pierced its forehead, and the creature fell backward. A message appeared.
[You have defeated a Goblin Elite Soldier.]
[You have obtained 100 coins.]
[Total funds: 1,900 coins]
[Level up!]
[Received loan capital: 4,000 coins]
[Total funds: 5,900 coins]
Finally, level 4.
Taking down two elites solo paid off.
“Did you two level up?”
They both nodded—level 2.
Jung So-mi said she’d received three stat points and one skill point upon leveling.
“Um, Hye-joo?”
Not knowing how to allocate them, she turned to Hye-joo for advice—the most game-savvy among us.
“Usually, you should raise stats related to your skills. As for skill points…”
She thought for a moment before continuing.
“It’s not efficient to upgrade existing skills right now. Going from ‘Beginner’ to ‘Intermediate’ takes five points, and we can’t afford that.”
“So?”
“Better to learn a new one. Look for a 1-point [Job Skill] or [General Skill] for immediate growth.”
…Ugh, that stung.
As a loan shark, points were my weakness—I tuned them out and extracted the magic stone from the goblin’s chest.
I also stripped off its armor—too valuable to waste since it had deflected bullets.
But once I fully removed it, something surprising happened.
“…!”
An [Item Info] window popped up.
[Mass-Produced Plate Armor of the Enslaved Dwarf]
Type: Armor
Grade: High
Durability: 76/120
Effect: HP +5 / Strength +3 / Physical Defense +20
I quickly called Hye-joo over.
“Hye-joo, come take a look at this.”
“This is…”
“Yeah.”
“It’s an item.”
While we were talking—
“Wait, wasn’t the other elite wearing armor too? I’ll go get it.”
“Check its weapon while you’re at it.”
Jung So-mi examined the other elite’s armor and sword, as well as the goblin soldiers’ weapons.
“Senior, only this armor counts as an item.”
“Perfect. We won a battle, so loot’s only fair. Let’s keep it.”
I looked at So-mi, then asked Hye-joo,
“By the way, what’s ‘Defense’? And ‘Physical’?”
“‘Physical’ refers to attack type. If it specifies that, there must also be magic defense.”
She added that defense seemed to indicate the armor’s sturdiness.
“Unlike in games, wearing it doesn’t make your whole body invincible. Otherwise, bullets wouldn’t have pierced unprotected areas.”
“I see… that makes sense.”
She clearly knew her stuff—another reason I was glad to have recruited her.
Then she said while packing up the armor,
“Still, this probably has much higher defense than our bulletproof suits. As long as it doesn’t stink. I saw a water tank earlier—should I wash it?”
I told her to go ahead. There were no enemies nearby anyway.
Left alone, I stood guard near the school gate.
Then a notification arrived:
[Player Han Se-hyun’s 4th video, “Explosion Is Art,” has been uploaded to Pedomena Universe.]
[Player Han Se-hyun’s 5th video, “Even a Psychopath Shakes His Head at This Player,” has been uploaded to Pedomena Universe.]
Two videos from this battle—Pedomena was really milking it.
Someone’s gotten greedy.
I didn’t like being used as a money-making tool, but to pay off my unescapable debt, this was my only path.
I tilted my head back, glaring at the sky.
Hey, you up there. Enjoying the show of us struggling?
As if answering, the bright midday sun gleamed down mockingly.
I raised my middle finger toward it.
“What are you doing?”
I turned to see So-mi and Hye-joo, freshly washed armor in hand.
Embarrassed, I muttered something about “a broken finger” and checked the armor.
They’d scrubbed it so clean it gleamed like new.
“You two worked hard—one of you should wear it.”
“Oh, no. You should have it.”
“Alright then…”
When I took it, So-mi’s face betrayed slight disappointment.
I smirked and handed it back.
“I don’t offer twice.”
Then Hye-joo mentioned that her video had been uploaded too.
So-mi’s had as well.
“Both of you—your second videos?”
Hye-joo shook her head.
“No, my first. The ogre fight didn’t get uploaded.”
Probably because she hadn’t shined enough that time.
Then So-mi pouted.
“Looks like the zoo’s got another exhibit.”
A little later, we left the school and headed toward a nearby apartment complex.
The evacuated buildings were silent and eerie.
“That one looks good.”
Passing through an empty parking lot, we entered the senior citizens’ lounge below the management office.
The neatly arranged room was filled with a chill.
“Ugh, it’s colder in here than outside.”
“I’ll see if there’s anything to cover us.”
So-mi turned on an electric mat, and Hye-joo brought blankets.
Meanwhile, I sat against the wall and opened my [My Videos] tab.
[My Videos]
2 vs 1 against a Goblin — Views: 2,817,561
Bus Driver on Doomsday, Day 1 — Views: 2,285,188
Killed an Ogre at Level 1 — Views: 2,155,763
Explosion Is Art — Views: 314
Even a Psychopath Shakes His Head — Views: 297
The 4th and 5th videos surprised me—people from the other world started watching the moment they went up.
So, someone out there is waiting for my uploads, huh.
It almost felt like I had fans—like a famous YouTuber at the height of his fame.
I looked up at the 3rd video.
Its views were rapidly catching up to the 2nd.
I expected as much—it had gone viral when I achieved an “Achievement.”
Still, it was too early to be satisfied.
The world’s most-subscribed YouTuber, Beast, racks up over 100 million views per video—in just a week.
That’s the kind of record we should aim for.
Given the payout system, 2 million views only yield 200 coins.
So, how do I boost views?
This wasn’t my field, and now wasn’t the time to think about it anyway.
GROOOAAAR—
A deafening ogre roar echoed from nearby, snapping me out of my thoughts.
