Chapter 141

141 Don’t waste beast materials, please! part After learning so many different skills unrelated to battle and leveling them up, Ryu’s body was aching to grow but it lacked the energy to do so. That’s why when he disabled his passive skills for the first time, he experimented a sudden raise in all his stats and he was finally able to become stronger.

As far as he knew there was only one method to increase one’s maximum energy, and it was killing something. Ryu never liked killing, taking the life of other beings just to become stronger wasn’t something Ryu would do, but things were different if it was fighting for his own survival. By killing the criminals that attacked him, his maximum energy increased my leaps and bounds.

A new unencumbered Ryu found himself running at an impressive speed through the bushes in the forest near the goblin’s village. His pathfinding skill allowed him to traverse without difficulties and yet, the goblins were able to follow his pace.

He couldn’t understand why would the adventurer’s guild tag them as weak beasts, because after all he had seen at their village they were neither weak nor beasts. The only difference with humans was that they spoke a different language, but other than that they were able to create a society, build houses and take care of their own.

And that was precisely what they were doing now, whenever the horns sounded it meant there was some danger nearby.

“Are you sure it’s ok for me to come with you?”

“Yes, warrior come, you see and learn”

Ryu had been awake for less than two hours when he decided to join the goblin’s hunt, this wasn’t only because he wanted to somehow repay the kindness he had received, but also because he couldn’t stand the thought of eating their food again. The cold bubbling purple soup they gave him tasted so bad it could be considered a method of torture.

“Lizard!”

.....

The goblin running next to Ryu exclaimed after sniffing the air.

Ryu grabed his cursed sword by the hilt instinctively, it felt similar to when he kissed Mia. It was as if his energy was being drained little by little, but now he was able to tell the amount of energy he was losing and it was nothing to be worried about.

A loud hissing sound let the leader know it was time to stop. Every goblin followed the command without fail and the only one who kept running was Ryu who couldn’t see the signal due to the difference in size.

While the goblins saw the tallest of their kin lifting his hand high above their heads, for Ryu they all looked the same and they were so small that it would have been difficult for him to see it even if he jumped. What he did notice, though, was the sudden silence behind him and he turned back to see what was going on.

Ryu wasn’t really a skilled hunter, but he knew the slightest sound could trigger an attack, he had seen the consequences of being caught off guard by beasts and didn’t feel like going through that again.

The goblin commanded his army without a single word, only hand movements, gestures and low growls. Everyone seemed to understand and they scattered around, except for Ryu who remained nailed to the ground.

Every single goblin was either climbing on a tree or hiding on a bush so Ryu tried to do the same.

‘This human is worthless’ Grok told Thoba in their language, but Thoba shook her head.

‘He’s just different, if you discriminate him for that you’ll be just as bad as the ones who treat us like beasts”

‘But he’s so ugly’ Lauda giggled just a bit too loudly, earning her the scolding look of Bardun, the goblin leader.

Ryu heard that conversation, but for him everything sounded just like growls and snarls.

After activating his stealth skill he hid beind a tree and took a peek at the beast in front of them

It was an enormous quadruped black lizard

>Megalania Rank B (healthy)

A system message popped in front of him, after he unintendedly activated his consider skill. A smile appeared on Ryu’s face when he noticed his system had become a lot more reliable after his fight against the criminals who tried to capture them.

It was the first time Ryu saw a B rank beast and there was nothing he could compare it to, but one thing he knew for sure, the goblins were no match for that thing.

The goblins finished surrounding the beast before he could warn them and Bardun sent the signal to attack. Dozens of goblins came out of their hiding spots at the same time and jumped on the unaware lizard. It happened so fast it didn’t have time to react and simply tried to shake them off.

They were all sent flying into the distance, but not before being able to land their attacks against the defenseless creature. It would have been a great strategy, but after all that effort and sacrifice there was a single scratch on the lizard’s back.

It was so small it didn’t even draw blood.

“Stop! it’s a B rank beast!”

Ryu shouted in despair, but it was too late.

Once the megalania became alert it was able to easily spot the goblins, even the ones in hiding, after sticking it’s tongue out. Like many reptiles, this beast was able to smell the air with it’s tongue, it was so precise that skills like stealth and concealment were useless against it.

Hundreds of goblins rushed in to encircle the creature with their wooden spears, the stronger ones seemed to be wearing stone tipped spears but even those were unable to actually do any harm. Even if Ryu wanted to help, they all moved so quickly it would have been imposible for him to land a hit without accidentally hitting an ally.

Goblins were dying in the most gruesome ways right in front of Ryu, who could only watch in despair as they were eaten, stomped or hit by the creature’s tail.

> Megalania (Healthy)

It’s name still appeared in green letters, which meant they weren’t even close to kill it.

“You no fight?”

Bardun, the goblin leader, asked Ryu.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, but I don’t see an opportunity, If I hit the megalania I might hurt someone. Aren’t you worried your soldiers are dying?”

“Warriors die good deaths”

Bardun replied without a trace of empathy. For them, it was considered an honor to die protecting the village and they happily threw their lives in numbers fearlessly. Contrary to human’s way of thinking, Goblins were fierce warriors and weren’t scared to face their own demise, the only thing they cared about was the greater good. In short, as long as the village was safe, everything was fine.

It wasn’t unusual for beasts to get into goblin’s territory, it was much more common than humans who only ventured far into the forest a few times a year. They always dealt with humans the same way they dealt with everything, sheer numbers.

It was Bardun’s idea to do things differently, when he fought against Ryu he realized something none other of his species did. Despite all humans looking the same, they were different from each other. His fight against Ryu proved to him that there were some honorable humans and he might be able to communicate with them.

The mere thought of humans being intelligent didn’t cross their mind, they were seen the same as beast. They were vile, cruel, they killed without a reason and never attempted to communicate. Even though Ryu and Bardun didn’t talk during their fight, they communicated with their attacks and some sort of mutual understanding was formed that day.

Ryu was taken by surprise and Bardun didn’t have any reinforcements, he was training younglings at the time and couldn’t rely on them.

It was the first time in more than a hundred years that a goblin had survived a fight one on one against a human, not only that, he even picked up some tricks from Ryu. Goblins were short lived creatures and because of that they were fast learners.

Surviving a fight against an adult human was a feat so incredible, it earned him the title of goblin hero and within a week he had become the leader of his village, on top of that he got many wives and was treated like a king.

All the expectations of his people were placed upon his shoulders, but there was something he didn’t count on.

As luck would have it, a strong beast, stronger than any they’ve ever faced, found it’s way within the forest and got too close to their village and if Bardun wasn’t able to kill it, all the honor he obtained would turn into shame instead.

He watched in disbelief how even their strongest warriors were swatted like flies and the only thing they’ve achieved so far was filling the beast’s stomach.

He took a glance at Ryu, pondering if he should ask for his help, but decided against it. The goblin village was already doomed and the only thing he could hope for now was a honorable death.

He jumped out of the bushes wielding his sword, it was small but it looked huge in his hands, and slashed at the beast’s neck drawing a short red line. He let himself fall with a satisfied smile, he had accomplished his duty as a goblin and now he was free to die a warrior’s death.

The megalania barely even felt the attack as an itch and tried to reach for its neck with its front paw, hitting Bardun unintendedly and sending him to fly into a tree.

Blood was dripping and whatever was left of the goblin slid down the tree slowly.

Ryu couldn’t wait any longer, if he didn’t do something every single goblin around him will end up throwing themselves to their deaths.

“Retreat!”

A loud shout echoed in the forest.