## Chapter 113 – (4)
Goblins, huh.
It seems like the image people have of goblins is pretty much the same across the board.
Whether it’s the ones I saw in fantasy worlds or the ones right in front of me now, they don’t look much different.
Green skin, long noses, short stature.
It was a familiar and nostalgic appearance.
“Uh, what should we do?”
Jaehoon asked, looking at me.
And I said curtly, “What do you mean, what should we do? We have to kill them.”
My nonchalant answer surprised both of them.
“…Kill them? Wouldn’t it be better to wait until they disappear?”
Even Eunjeong said that.
I was a little taken aback by their reaction.
Didn’t she attack the goblins first in place of Jaehoon in the original story, taking them down in one go?
Maybe even in the original, she didn’t really want to fight deep down.
But she stepped up for the sake of the timid Jaehoon.
[Wall: Jaehoon, Childhood Friend, Compliment]
I could feel that sentiment clearly from the wall.
Just seeing that wall made me realize that this quest wouldn’t be easy.
“There are three goblins, and three of us. We won’t lose, no, we can’t lose.”
When I said confidently, the two of them looked at the goblins and nodded.
I took out a baseball bat from the suitcase I had lugged all the way here.
Of course, I had a jungle knife I made when I was in the fantasy world in my inventory, but I limited the use of that weapon to only when it was absolutely necessary.
I didn’t want to attract too much attention from the Constellations.
And this baseball bat was enough for goblins.
“…I’ll go first.”
I felt frustrated with Jaehoon and Eunjeong, who were hesitating and taking deep breaths, so I brushed past them and stepped forward.
Both of them were flustered but followed me.
“Kereuk?”
One of the goblins discovered me approaching and made a phlegmy sound.
I swung the baseball bat without a moment’s hesitation.
“Homerun!”
Thwack.
With a rather crisp sound, the goblin was hit in the head with the bat and died.
It was different from the fantasy world.
The dead goblin didn’t leave a corpse behind but turned to dust and disappeared.
[You have acquired 1 point.]
[You have defeated a goblin for the first time.]
[You have acquired an additional 10 points.]
I earned some points along the way.
First time, huh? Lucky me.
This was a reward that even Eunjeong didn’t get in the original story.
By the way, what on earth was I saying?
I couldn’t even understand the words coming out of my own mouth anymore.
But strangely, I felt good.
It felt so refreshing.
I almost rode the momentum and took out the goblin next to me as well.
“Haha… Eunjeong, let’s try it too.”
“Okay.”
My bizarre behavior seemed to have eased the tension of the two of them a little.
They started fighting the goblins, following my lead.
It wasn’t even much of a fight.
The fear of goblins came from their numbers and the fact that they ambushed.
In the current situation, if we fought them one-on-one, we couldn’t possibly lose.
Moreover, both of them had received skills useful for combat as rewards for their performance during the tutorial.
Both of them took down a goblin in one hit.
It was a lackluster victory.
However, both of them had unpleasant expressions on their faces because of the unsettling feeling of killing a goblin for the first time.
That’s how the first hunt always is.
“Move. It’s getting dark.”
When I urged them, the two of them finally came to their senses and entered the building.
Jaehoon, who said it was his house, stopped in front of a door on the second floor and opened the door lock with a familiar touch.
The house wasn’t big.
I had guessed as much from the outside, but it wasn’t big enough for three people to live in.
“…I guess using the stronghold ticket here is…”
I understood why Jaehoon was anxious.
Coming from a large shopping mall to his own house, he must have felt like it was a waste to use the stronghold ticket.
But this place wasn’t a bad location.
I used the stronghold ticket without hesitation.
The two of them were surprised by my sudden action and said to me.
“D, did you just use it?”
“…You were going to give it to us, weren’t you?”
Jaehoon was flustered, and Eunjeong was angry, but I raised both hands and gestured for them to calm down.
I had a reason, after all.
Only then could I provide them with information in earnest.
“Do you know the effect of the stronghold ticket?”
“Huh? Isn’t it just to create a safe zone from monsters?”
Right, they received the stronghold ticket as a reward, but the people who received it could only guess what the stronghold ticket was actually for.
There was no other explanation.
That’s why it took quite a while in the original story for the detailed information about the stronghold ticket to be revealed.
“You’re half right.”
Jaehoon’s guess wasn’t bad.
It was actually partly correct.
“Half?”
“Yeah, the stronghold blocks not only monsters but also Constellations. Constellations can’t interfere with the people in the stronghold, they can’t see or hear them.”
“…It blocks Constellations? Why?”
Jaehoon asked back, saying that blocking Constellations might not be a good thing.
Eunjeong didn’t say anything, but she seemed to agree with Jaehoon’s opinion.
Yeah, they might feel that way now.
Because the Incarnations and Constellations weren’t actively involved yet.
Constellations basically only sponsored humans and sent messages, so they were easily seen as good beings, but the reality was different.
Most Constellations don’t act for the sake of humans.
Even the Goddess of Justice, who maintains a good relationship with humans, doesn’t place much importance on human lives.
If a human does something unjust, she will order them to commit suicide or order another Incarnation to kill them.
Even if it was a mistake or there were unavoidable circumstances, there were no exceptions.
Because justice is more important to the Goddess of Justice than human lives.
That’s the kind of being she was.
“Don’t trust the Constellations.”
It was a statement I could make because we were in the stronghold.
The two of them nodded as if they were captivated by the serious words I had uttered.
And I told them about the next mission as promised.
“The next mission is to collect points for 24 hours.”
“Points, like the ones we got when we defeated the goblins just now…?”
“That’s right.”
That was the core of the next mission.
The mission would be announced in two days.
The mission was simple.
A simple mission where you just had to defeat monsters and collect 10 points.
If you had hunted monsters in advance, you could clear the mission as soon as it started.
But those who had been hiding together in a place where people gathered for the past two days had to be prepared for hardship.
Because they would have to compete with other people for the monsters.
Moreover, there was one more factor that accelerated the competition.
“If you kill a person, you get the points that person had, plus 1 point.”
“…That means.”
I nodded.
You can kill people and steal their points.
You can even clear the mission by killing 10 people who have no points.
“Surely… no one would do that.”
“Yeah, usually not.”
No matter how chaotic the world had become, it was still the first mission.
There was no way there would be such crazy people.
However, there were crazy Constellations.
If you fail the mission, you die, that guy has 9 points, if you kill a few people, I’ll sponsor you with a skill.
Some Constellations incited people to kill by spreading false information or making sweet temptations.
That was also the reason why the number of Constellations increased from the first mission.
To see that stimulating sight, to create it, and some Constellations to stop it.
That’s why Constellations actively intervened from the first mission.
For the record, there is actually no penalty for failing the mission.
However, if you start missing missions a few times, you will only become obsolete because you can no longer get stronger due to the increasing difficulty of the missions.
And the world that has turned into the weak will be harsh.
Anyway.
“That’s ridiculous, why would anyone do that…”
Jaehoon muttered in surprise after hearing my words.
It’s useless.
You shouldn’t try to understand the Constellations.
They were beings that humans couldn’t understand in the first place.
“Then we should defeat the monsters in advance.”
“As expected, our Eunjeong is smart.”
“…Please refrain from saying ‘our Eunjeong.’ Seriously.”
“…Okay.”
I unconsciously used honorifics because of her serious voice.
I was just going to agree and say it was right.
Why did those words come out like that?
“And what we said here is a secret to both of you. To people and to Constellations.”
I gave the two of them a final warning, and we unpacked our luggage and went outside.
To collect points in advance.
In many ways, the goblins around here were unlucky.
Because they happened to be wandering around this area and encountered a natural disaster.
In just one day, we hunted over thirty goblins.
Originally, we were only going to hunt 20 goblins, which was 20 points for the two of them to pass the next mission.
But we ended up hunting about ten more to save a woman who was being chased by a group of goblins.
“Thank you for saving me!”
“…Ah, damn it.”
“Pardon?”
“…Nothing.”
I unconsciously cursed when I saw the woman I had saved.
Why was she being chased by goblins?
Was it before she made a contract with that Constellation?
As the two who had dealt with the goblins approached, the woman ran up to Jaehoon and hugged him happily.
Jaehoon was flustered, and Eunjeong blatantly annoyed, pulled the two apart.
Those two wouldn’t know.
That the person they saved was one of the main villains who would commit massacres in the future.
