Chapter 4: A Goblin Lost Its Life
Gauss didn’t rush to make the first move.
Instead, he first raised his ears, eyes scanning in all directions, observing the surroundings.
Aside from the stone the goblin sat on by the pool, there was no other obstacle—the terrain was open, well-suited for a head-on fight.
If he stepped out of the bushes he was hiding in, he’d be exposed to the sunlight at about ten meters from the goblin.
Ten meters sounded close, but if he sprinted and made noise, it would be enough for it to react—so he had to circle around to its back, then stealthily close in for an ambush.
And he had to hurry.
This goblin was taking a break from sharpening its weapon—attacking it before it could ready itself would be ideal.
Intentional versus unintentional, armed versus unarmed, plus his natural size advantage—combat should be one-sided.
Gauss’s mind raced.
Having formed a plan, he didn’t hesitate. He crouched and began inching forward, minimizing every sound.
Then he moved bit by bit until he was directly behind the goblin.
Once in position, he clenched the wooden spear in his hand—and whether from nerves or excitement, his hand began to tremble.
He swallowed.
He looked at the goblin perched on the stone not far away.
That little green-skinned creature faced away from him, scratching its foot with one hand while humming and grinding its stone spear—looking utterly relaxed.
Soon, the wooden spear in his hand would end its life.
Gauss inhaled deeply. In his past life, aside from insects he’d accidentally stepped on, he’d never taken a life—but now he was about to kill a living being, and he needed mental preparation.
Furthermore, the goblin, being a monster yet somewhat humanoid, made the act of killing feel heavier.
But it truly deserved death.
Gauss closed his eyes.
At the sight of the goblin, a childhood memory surged into his mind like a reflex.
When he was a child in his original body, over twenty goblins had raided his village.
Although the adults fought them off with pitchforks and sickles, an older girl from a neighboring family was taken—and never returned.
Her fate didn’t need much explanation.
And that was just one incident he’d personally experienced—in this land, similar tragedies had repeated for centuries.
Gauss opened his eyes again—but this time, there was no hesitation or doubt.
He pressed his right thumbnail hard against his index finger joint—the sharp sting stopped his hand from trembling, and steadiness returned.
He held his breath, stepped softly, slowed his movements, and crouch-walked out of the bushes.
Shield in his left hand, spear in his right.
At this moment, aside from birdsong and insect buzz, not another sound stirred.
Even the wind had quieted; the pool lay motionless.
Gauss crept to within about three meters of the goblin, and stopped—no further.
That was close enough—he could see the rough sweat-fine hairs in the green folds of its skin, and the twitching muscles as it breathed.
Standing up slowly, he resembled a child playing statue in his past life, restraining his movements until his body freed itself from stiffness.
When there was no trace of rigidity left, he drew a deep breath—then suddenly launched himself!
One large step forward!
His toe struck the ground hard, the rebound force propelling his body forward.
Leaping in three steps beaten into two, he landed atop the stone.
The goblin, absorbed in sharpening its spear, seemed startled by such sudden noise—it trembled and instinctively tried to grab the stone spear pressing on the rock.
But Gauss, fully prepared, wouldn’t give it that chance.
He stomped down hard with his right foot, driving his full weight onto the wooden shaft of the stone spear.
The goblin missed—grasped nothing—and immediately stretched its hand to touch…
Gauss thrust the wooden spear at that moment—the goblin, turning around in fright, barely twisted away, but the sharp wooden tip still grazed its waist with a slash.
The goblin stumbled back a few steps, eyes still fixated on the stone spear.
Gauss kicked the stone spear backward.
It flew several meters away.
Now, for the goblin to retrieve its weapon, it had to get past him.
But he would not give it the chance to rearm.
Facing this now unarmed goblin, he cautiously stepped forward twice and jabbed the wooden spear again.
Unfortunately, under threat of death, the goblin took advantage of its small frame to dodge narrowly and even closed in during the spear’s stiff forward motion.
Gauss’s heart raced, but his hands didn’t falter.
Instinctively, he swung the small round shield in his left hand, knocking the goblin down.
“Waa waa waa! Waa waa!”
The round shield had a larger surface area—the goblin couldn’t dodge and was slapped away, tumbling before it shakily got back up.
The sharp pain in its waist enraged it, and it let out sharp, screeching roars.
Those sharp fangs and splattering foul-smelling saliva at such close range made Gauss’s pupils contract.
Even without a weapon, the goblin lunged with clawed arms, trying to harm him with its gray, pointed nails.
In the next instant, Gauss thrust the wooden spear forward with force.
“Pshk!”
This time, the goblin couldn’t dodge.
The spear tip, after a moment of resistance from its skin, stabbed deep into the goblin’s body.
Bright red blood sprayed from the wound like a mercury fountain.
It instantly soaked Gauss’s arms and clothes.
A soft, obstructing sensation transmitted up the wooden shaft, while blood flowed slowly along the wound and down the spear.
“Yaaah!!!”
Even with its abdomen pierced and life force draining rapidly, the goblin gritted its teeth and pressed forward toward Gauss along the spear.
Even in its dying breath, it tried to attack him!
But most of its strength had faded. Its strike was feeble—the clawed hand merely tapped Gauss’s round shield, causing no harm.
“Yaa... guh... yaa...”
After releasing that attack, the goblin’s cries turned into sputtering gasps, like a broken bellows.
They locked in place for a few seconds longer before its arm slackened, its body losing the last bit of strength and collapsing over the spear.
Its struggle hastened its own death.
Gauss swallowed hard.
The violent thrashing and raw ferocity had left his breathing heavy, his heart pounding as if it might leap from his chest.
Was it dead?
He saw it no longer move, yet dared not relax.
He kicked to pull the spear out, sending the goblin’s corpse flying, then jabbed repeatedly into its chest, over and over, until the torso was a bloody mess.
Only then did he stop.
It should be truly dead now, right?
Gauss’s body suddenly went limp—perhaps from using too much force—he collapsed onto the stone with exhaustion.
Looking down, his front was stained with blood; his hands too. He could even smell the foul stench of goblin blood.
There was never anything elegant about a battle between bottom-tier adventurers and monsters.
He gulped.
The goblin’s frantic unwillingness and madness still echoed in his mind, making his scalp tingle.
His mental endurance wasn’t that bad—he just needed time to adjust.
Glancing at the goblin, now just a cold corpse, and the bright red sticky blood on his hand—everything felt surreal.
This wasn’t a game.
Nor an adventure.
It was real killing.
He sat in silence for a while.
Once his breathing calmed down, Gauss’s uneasy heart over this first kill had gradually steadied.
Humans were remarkably adaptable.
Even though he still felt a bit off, he had come to accept taking a goblin’s life with relative calm.
“Goblin *1 killed.”
“Monster Encyclopedia officially activated!”
“Total monster kills: 1. First blood achieved. Reward: Mage class cantrip [Mage Hand] unlocked. Intelligence +1. Next milestone: 10 total monster kills.”
“You have killed 1 goblin.”
“Title unlocked: ‘Goblin Hunter’. This title will level up with more kills.”
“Current effect: Nemesis. Deal 10% extra damage in combat against goblins and related evolved species.”