Arata: “That was close.”

Just in the nick of time, it seemed.

The iron dagger I hurled in the heat of the moment struck true, burying itself in the Goblin Emperor’s eye.

For now, I left the Emperor screaming in pain and rushed over to the Guild Master.

Arata: “Are you alright, Rei-san?”

Rei: “……”

Rei-san, who had been under the Emperor’s restraint, was in a near-death state.

She couldn’t even respond when I called out to her.

Her HP was below ten percent.

I gave her an emergency potion I had bought, which restored her enough to be able to converse.

It couldn’t heal missing body parts, but it seemed to be quite a useful remedy.

Rei: “…Arata-san?”

Arata: “Looks like you’re okay now. Can you stand?”

Rei: “Yes… Somehow”

Rei-san insisted she was fine, but it was clear she was still affected by the damage.

There was no strength in her legs as she tried to stand.

And her complexion was poor.

If I didn’t lend her my hand, she looked like she might collapse.

I checked the status of the other adventurers who had accompanied Rei-san.

The one who seemed to be a magician was okay.

Just paralyzed by fear, unable to move.

He should be able to move soon.

The swordsman was merely unconscious, his HP not significantly reduced.

Even the heavily injured-looking tank seemed fine, with about 60% of his HP depleted.

Well, having 60% of your HP depleted was indeed a precarious situation.

When I PKed yesterday, severing an arm reduced the HP by 20 or 30 percent.

Just because there are no visible wounds doesn’t mean everything’s fine. His shield and armor are shattered, and he may have broken a few ribs.

Goblin Emperor: “Gaaaahhh!”

Arata: “Huh?”

Just as I finished assessing the situation, it seemed the Emperor had recovered from his stunned state.

Rei-san’s shoulders tensed at the beast-like roar.

In the Emperor’s remaining eye, I could see a deep-seated hatred and rage.

And of course, it was directed at me.

Arata: “Rei-san… Please, don’t speak of what you see here.”

Rei: “Eh? Wait, Arata-san!”

Leaving Rei-san, who tried to stop me, behind, I faced the Goblin Emperor.

But really, the town of Loine had bad luck.

Or was it me who had the bad luck?

After all, I got caught up in a stampede within a week of reincarnation.

The likelihood of the boss monster appearing in a stampede is generally known.

For goblin-type monsters, the Goblin King is the boss about 90% of the time.

In the remaining approximately 10% of the cases, the Goblin Emperor appears.

This isn’t absolute, as there’s a small chance that an Earth Dragon or something similar could appear as the boss.

At least that was fortunate.

If a dragon-type monster was the boss, I would have been anxious about whether it could be taken down by the third wave.

But with this, it looks like it will end quickly.

Goblin Emperor: “Graaahh!!!”

The Emperor’s opening move was a charge.

It’s a move with many openings, easy to counter, but the current situation was dire.

Dodging and attacking would be the best strategy, but if I did, Rei-san behind me would be in danger.

I took out an iron dagger from my inventory, a backup I had kept.

It’s a shame to use a piece of equipment worth 10,000R as a throwing dagger.

I must remember to be sure to collect it after the battle.

I snapped my wrist and threw the iron dagger.

Seeing this, the Emperor cancelled his charge and took a defensive posture with his great axe.

Unless the Emperor is in the middle of certain attacks or has an opening afterwards, he will certainly guard against abilities or ranged attacks.

Especially in close combat, you must be careful.

If you use an ability without thinking, the attack will be blocked and you will receive a devastating counterattack during the aftermath of your ability.

The Emperor’s vision was blocked as he took his guard stance.

At the same time, he cancelled his charge and stopped in his tracks.

He entered into the pattern.

As he stood still, I used the ability 『Shrink』 to close in.

This ability is an upgraded version of 『Dash』, and becomes available at 【Body Technique】 level 5.

I leaped behind the Emperor and drove a 『Slash』 into the back of his knee.

A critical hit occurred, but the damage was not significant.

Still, it caused a stun.

This was the result of days of combat and testing against monsters.

One of the confirmed conditions for a critical hit is a strike to a vital point.

Attacking the head, neck, or joints will almost always result in a critical hit.

Moreover, stun is closely related to the sensation of pain.

In the game, you could stun an enemy by dealing a certain amount of damage to a certain part, but now you could achieve it with a single strike.

If the enemy is stunned, there’s no need to worry about a counterattack after guarding.

— Ability 『Enchant: Thunder』

【Thunder Magic】 is unlocked when both 【Fire Attribute Magic】 and 【Wind Attribute Magic】 are risen to level 5.

『Enchant: Thunder』 which is within level 3 of Thunder Magic is an ability that imbues your weapon with the thunder attribute for a certain period of time.

My iron sword was now enveloped in a bluish-white effect, as if electrified.

Monsters of the goblin variety mainly have a weakness to fire attributes.

However, the Goblin Emperor’s weakness attribute is lightning.

— Ability 『Arc Slash』

Aiming for the neck of the Goblin Emperor, who is in a stun state and on his knees, I strike with the Iron Sword.

The critical damage due to attacking a vital point is increased by 1.45 times due to the effect of 【Assassination Technique Lv.5】.

The damage is doubled due to the matching weakness of a lightning attribute attack.

Furthermore, because the current Emperor is in a stun state, the damage inflicted is doubled.

The total damage amounts to 5.8 times.

Of course, I have allocated SP to my status attributes to maximize the effects of abilities such as 『Arc Slash』 and 『Enchant: Thunder』.

The Iron Sword slashes through the thick neck of the Goblin Emperor.

The Emperor’s HP gauge, which should have been 200,000, is shaved off by more than half in a single blow.

A scream.

The Goblin Emperor’s neck was almost half torn off from that blow.

With its HP is reduced by half, it enters a state of rage typical of boss monsters.

— 『Earthquake』

A special motion used by the Goblin Emperor when transitioning into the rage state.

He lifts his large ax high and slams it forcefully into the ground.

The earth splits.

Countless rocks fly around the surroundings like bullets from the impact.

Immediately, I activate 『Shrink』 .

Unlike 『Dash』, 『Shrink』 includes an invincibility period of 0.2 seconds immediately after the ability is activated, during which enemy attacks are not received.

If you activate 『Shrink』 at the right timing, there is nothing to fear from 『Earthquake』.

Now, I have returned to where Rei-san is.

If it goes like this, the same routine will be repeated, and the conclusion will be reached.

The Emperor’s attack is — a rush.

This is the end.

I take out an Iron Spear from my inventory and throw it.

If he guards against this—

Goblin Emperor: “GUOOOOO!!!”

No way… he’s not going to guard?

The Goblin Emperor does not guard against the incoming Iron Spear but takes it in his shoulder as is.

The enchantment persists during the effective time even if the weapon is swapped.

Of course, the Iron Spear had a lightning attribute added to it.

Despite bleeding heavily from the neck and having the Iron Spear, which attribute he’s weak against applied to it, stuck in his shoulder, the Emperor does not stop.

I see.

This is a monster freed from the game system.

It’s not simply that they gained the perception of pain and became weakened.

Monsters have acquired a thinking mind and have also acquired the cunning to greedily pursue victory.

Overcoming pain and the fear of death, the Emperor tries to kill me.

But—

Arata: “That’s too bad.”

Goblin Emperor: “GYAAAAA!!!”

— 『Thunder』

The basic magic of 【Lightning Magic Lv.1】.

The Emperor, who received it in his remaining right eye, lets out a scream of agony and stuns.

In the end, what I do remains the same.

Approach with 『Shrink』.

Activate the ability 『Arc Slash』 on the Iron Sword.

Arata: “Thank you. Thanks to you, I can become stronger again.”

Goblin Emperor: “—AAAAGH!!!”

In his final resistance, the Goblin Emperor’s arm, which forcibly canceled the stun, approaches.

Without rushing, I cancel 『Arc Slash』 and evade with 『Shrink』.

To the neck of the Goblin Emperor, who fell prone, I swung down 『Arc Slash』 once again.

 

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『Subjugation of the Boss Monster《Goblin Emperor》』 — Achieved

Award 【Giant Killing】 acquired Award 【Giant Rock Axe】 acquired

Successful repulsion of the Stampede

Award 【Hero】 acquired Award 【Hero of Loine】 acquired

 

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