Vol 2 Chapter 33 – Warrior Transformation【Exile to the Empire Arc】

Rakan Temple had two entrances—south at the front and north at the back—with the courtyard positioned between them. The High Goblin in question had taken up position in this courtyard, reading a book.

The first party that couldn’t wait and charged in must have let their guard down at the sight. And the “Reckless Rookies” from earlier seemed to be using a flash bomb-like item to exit once and re-enter from the north.

The guild kindly taught you things, but they didn’t warn you. In other words, they’d give you the basics, but if you didn’t understand beyond that, they were essentially telling you to “go die.” In that sense, Roy, who had properly pointed things out, was on the lenient side.

After thinking it through, he concluded that rather than pursuing them, executing a pincer attack would increase those guys’ survival rate.

Distance-wise, Roy’s party was closest, so they began their strategy meeting.

“They’ll enter from the north. We’re coming from the south. We’ll time our entry for when the north door opens.”

Sarina spoke up at Roy’s proposal.

“You mean we’re working together with those guys?”

“If anything, we’ll be the ones matching their timing.”

“What are our odds?”

“Since it’s a goblin, fifty-fifty.”

Silence…

“He apparently understands language. If he can comprehend words that take us years to learn in just a few months, that’s a threat. We absolutely cannot let our guard down.”

“Acting like that never happened is hilarious… Honestly, I want to say no, but I’ve got nowhere else to go, so I’ll tag along.”

“Any other objections?”

Sophia raised her hand.

“What about our formation?”

“Sarina and I will be vanguard, Manabu and Sophia mid-guard, Yukino rear-guard.”

“Why am I mid-guard? Last time you said I’d be vanguard.”

“Your right hand is injured, Sophia. I can’t push you too hard. If the vanguard collapses, I’ll have you provide support.”

“I see. Understood.”

Next, Yukino raised her hand.

“Um… what should I do?”

“Survey the battle situation and report anything concerning. Also, I’m counting on you for healing injured members and supporting us with Blessing Breath Shield. The enhancement level increased and the shield got a floating function, right?”

“Oh, that’s right! Ehehe, I’ll do my best supporting everyone!”

And so they took their battle positions.

Roy slowly opened the door to the courtyard and checked inside.

(Those guys haven’t arrived yet. I’ll aim for the moment they come out of the opposite door.)

Roy extended his shadow as far as it could reach, then dropped the holy sword into the shadow at his feet. The holy sword was swallowed by the shadow and entered launch standby. Once in the shadow, the holy sword could be launched from any position in Roy’s shadow. Dodging a holy sword flying out from behind—from a shadow, no less—wasn’t something just anyone could do. In a sense, it was a guaranteed hit.

After waiting several minutes, the Reckless Rookies (working name) flung open the north door and attacked with their respective weapons.

Roy didn’t miss this timing and went on the offensive. He launched the holy sword from his shadow that had approached its limit!

Thunk!

It magnificently pierced the back, but didn’t penetrate all the way through. And the goblin’s next action was faster.

Without hesitation, it pulled out the holy sword from its back and threw it at the rookies. Roy used the holy sword’s characteristic “Holy Sword Summon” at the last possible moment before it hit them, recalling it to his hand.

The goblin showed slight surprise, but kicked up a bench lying on the ground with its toes and blocked the swordsman’s frontal attack.

The swordsman immediately switched out, and the spear-user tried to pierce the goblin without delay, but it read the move, grabbed the shaft, swung him around, and slammed him into a nearby pillar.

The spearman slammed into the pillar coughed up blood and collapsed. Without a mega potion or Feo Heal-class magic, he wouldn’t last long with those injuries.

His axe-wielding companion flew into a rage and entered a “wood-splitting” stance, but the goblin was already in position to thrust a short sword. It displayed agility and judgment unthinkable for a goblin.

Roy gave the attack order.

“Manabu!”

“Got it! Stone Lance!”

When Manabu provided support with Stone Lance, the goblin switched to a sidestep.

“Yukino!”

“Yes! Blessing Breath Shield!”

The Stone Lance hit Yukino’s shield, changing its trajectory and stabbing into the goblin’s abdomen. The goblin crushed the embedded Stone Lance with its hand, then caught Roy in its sights and started laughing.

“Kukukuku… Well, well, if it isn’t the brat from that time!! This scar you gave me is starting to throb!”

The goblin suddenly began speaking, and at the sudden surge in its fighting spirit, the Reckless Rookies started backing away.

“If those guys retreat, we’ll have to fight it head-on… Everyone, stay sharp!”

Everyone nodded and adjusted their formation. Understanding Roy had no intention of conversing, the High Goblin sat down on the spot, slapped its knee, and raised its voice.

“Hahahaha! That’s so like you. Back then too, you appeared without a sound and suddenly slashed at me. Now that I think about it, wouldn’t a warrior’s exchange have been appropriate?”

Kind-hearted Yukino couldn’t bear it and asked Roy.

“R-Roy-san… it’s calling you?”

“Ignore it. Maintain our pace.”

“O-okay, understood.”

The goblin continued talking.

“Well, listen. Since birth, my kin have looked small to me. Whether I was lucky or not, I survived and grew stronger. Enough to lead some companions, you see.”

True, the goblin horde Roy and Yukino had faced was small-scale, but it was led by the goblin before them. But in the end, it was just a goblin horde—they were so fixated on Yukino they didn’t notice Roy behind them and got wiped out.

“After you defeated me, I spent time in ruins. There were tons of books there. I couldn’t read at first, so I devoured picture books. From then on, I got hooked on books! I read tactical manuals, understood them, and put them into practice. It’s far more fun than violating women!!”

Behind the talking goblin, Roy’s eyes caught the rookies retreating with their fallen companion. When Roy signaled “go” with his eyes, they showed slightly frustrated expressions before fleeing north.

Then, the goblin suddenly stood up and deployed a magic circle—a stone wall emerged from the ground and blocked the north door. Apparently, it had deliberately let them escape.

“Done buying time, are we? Well, the long talk ends here. Back then, you told me to ‘prepare myself’… Those words, when I was certain of victory, were humiliating. So this time, I’ll say it!”

“Humans! Are you ready? Let’s begin round two!”

Despite taking significant damage—one holy sword shot to the back from Roy, one Stone Lance to the abdomen from Manabu—the goblin stood up and blocked Roy’s group with an overwhelming fighting spirit.

Vol 2 Chapter 34 – High Goblin Battle【Exile to the Empire Arc】

He observed the monster before them once more.

A High Goblin with a diagonal scar from head to chest. Unlike regular goblins, its skin was gray and it stood about as tall as Roy. It had no potbelly—instead, defined abs forming an impressive six-pack.

Numbers meant nothing to this monster, which had the adaptability to handle multiple opponents by maximizing use of nearby objects. Moreover, it possessed the boldness and confidence to seal the door the Reckless Rookies escaped through with earth magic, preparing the battlefield for its fight with Roy’s group.

The sound of Roy’s footstep crunching the courtyard soil rang out. After formulating a strategy in his mind, Roy extended his shadow to Yukino’s position in the rear and gave quiet instructions.

“Yukino, put spare throwing knives in the shadow. I have a secret plan to crush its arms.”

“O-okay. Please don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

Yukino transferred throwing knives from her Item Box to Roy’s Shadow Pocket.

The High Goblin stomped its left and right feet in turn and held its short sword at hip level. This was combat preparation, having considered that Roy’s group had some kind of strategy.

His hand holding the holy sword nearly trembled with tension.

The High Goblin moved first. A straightforward thrust with the short sword—Roy deflected it with his sword, but the High Goblin comboed from its collapsed stance into a roundhouse kick.

WHAM!

Roy crashed back-first into a shelf in the courtyard. Sophia stopped Yukino as she tried to run over.

“Yukino! Don’t take your eyes off it!”

“But Roy-san!”

“He might have some cracks, but he can still fight. Right, Roy?”

With a clatter, Roy stood up. He immediately sprinted to Yukino’s side, then slashed once.

CLANG!

It was a thrown short sword aimed at Yukino, whose attention had become scattered. The High Goblin that threw it grinned.

“Yukino, if you’re going to heal, at least come with Blessing Breath Shield in floating pursuit mode. If you show an opening, it’ll target you like that.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it. You came from a world without combat in the first place. You can’t handle it suddenly.”

“Roy-san…”

(Roy-san was so strict at first, but why has he been so kind lately…?)

As Yukino thought this, she snapped her flushed face back to attention and turned forward.

Roy decided to request support from Sophia and Sarina.

“Sophia, sorry about your hand not being healed yet, but attack from the right.”

“I may not look it, but I’ve been training to wield my spear with my left hand. Not as well as my right, but I’ll show you results.”

Roy nodded, then gave Sarina instructions too.

“Hate to admit it, but I can’t beat it one-on-one. I need your help too, Sarina.”

“Seeing you make a troubled face feels good, but I’m in danger too if this continues, so I’ll help. I just attack from the left, right?”

“That helps. As expected of Sarina.”

“Don’t call me so casually… Really…”

“Alright, let’s go!”

(It’ll probably try to grab Sarina’s spear based on appearance. Sophia’s spear is the Holy Lance Longinus—when it thrusts, light magic swirls around it. Even I wouldn’t want to touch that. If you touch it, your hand will probably be in bad shape.)

(But it doesn’t know—Sarina’s weapon still retains some properties from before purification.)

A simultaneous attack from left and right. As expected, the High Goblin grabbed Sarina’s weapon and tried to throw it toward Sophia.

But—

CRACKLE!

The High Goblin froze the moment it grabbed Sarina’s spear. The answer was simple: Sarina’s spear had the characteristic of purple lightning, so it could become electrified at the wielder’s will anytime. Of course, not as much as the Demon Lance Keraunos from before purification.

Then Sophia’s spear pierced through the High Goblin’s left arm and reached all the way to its heart. The High Goblin lost strength and fell to its knees. If it would just collapse like this, they’d be golden, but…

“GAAAAAHHHHH!!”

“Of course you’d stand up!”

The High Goblin grabbed Sophia and threw her, but Manabu was waiting ahead with a mud wall made by earth magic.

THUD!

The cushioning worked perfectly and Sophia avoided the impact. With Sophia too far away, the skewering holy lance “Returned” and the High Goblin’s left arm became free.

Sarina immediately disengaged, and the High Goblin bet its last flame of life, repeatedly throwing powerful punches at Roy.

When Manabu tried to provide support with earth magic, Roy stopped him with his hand. The outcome was already decided, and Roy accepted the one-on-one to at least let it have its remaining life.

The first blow was blocked with Shadow Shield, and the counter-effect caused spikes to protrude, destroying the High Goblin’s left arm.

For the second blow, Roy countered with the strategy he’d tried to use earlier. He bound the thrown right arm with Shadow Prison, then launched multiple throwing knives Yukino had loaded inside.

“Guh!!”

The High Goblin didn’t seem to feel much pain. Only groans leaked from its mouth now.

When Roy released Shadow Prison, the High Goblin’s right arm had countless throwing knives stuck in it, looking like an iron maiden.

“That technique… truly a nasty technique. Not Iron Maiden, but Shadow Maiden, I suppose… Magnificent. My complete defeat.”

Saying this, the High Goblin knelt and looked up at the sunlight streaming into the courtyard.

“We goblins are always jealous of humans… Despite being as fleeting an existence as us, you possess nobility and passion.”

“More of them are scum though.”

“Don’t steal my dream.”

“Dream?”

“A wish. Next time… I want to be born… as a human…”

The High Goblin became particles of light while still kneeling, leaving behind a gray magic stone at the end.

“…I’m sure you will be.”

Roy spoke those words to the gray magic stone in his hand.

◆　◇　◆

Supplementary Note

Skills already introduced, but here’s a reminder:

Shadow Shield – Only about 60% as strong as Yukino’s Blessing Breath Shield. However, when defense succeeds, spikes emerge from the shield’s surface and damage the attacker.

Shadow Prison – An enhanced, developed version of Shadow Whip. Numerous shadow bands emerge from the ground and wrap around the target like a mummy to restrain them. Since the High Goblin was a stronger opponent, Roy limited the effect to its arm to increase effectiveness.