Rabbit Eyes 2 – Against a Goblin

“COUGH!”

Blood splattered out of my mouth as I choked on something in my throat. In a delirious daze, I found myself unable to move my body at all. I’m lying on a puddle of my own blood in shock.

How did this happen?

The faint tremors below was the last thing I heard before the ground in the shelter caved in and completely collapsed. To be more precise, the earth seemed to have flipped itself. At least it felt that way as my body was swallowed underneath, resulting in a free fall in a bloody splatter.

At least, that was what I expected. But my body was strangely intact. Although I still felt like most of my bones were crushed internally, it was still abnormal that I had survival that fall that lasted hundreds of meters. Perhaps this was the effect of becoming a ‘player’? As long as my HP remained above 0, I wouldn’t enter a critical state. That too, wouldn’t remain true for long I presume. It was already hard to breathe in this state.

Here I am in this vast cave. The small sliver of light coming from above which seemed to be where I had fallen from, was already beginning to close up. Before long, darkness returned to these depths. That phenomenon almost seemed like the entire cave was a living entity.

…Self restoration? Where is this place!?

My head was disoriented, but at least I could make out the fruits scattered around me. They must have fallen down with me.

I slowly wriggled my body over to a berry and bit on it—

It didn’t do much. The Pletuplant attempted to recover my stamina, but it seemed like the hemorrhaging was draining even more than it could provide.The faint glow over my body dissipated in seconds.

[You have taken 1 damage from being in a poisoned state.]

—Shit! Poison?!

My eyes wandered around in a panic, and to my surprise I found salvation. I crawled over to a bed of yellow leaves with my remaining strength. 

What was something like this doing here?

[ Everleaf – Rare Material]

[Consumable: Slightly aids in HP and poison recovery.]

[Mana Stimulant IV: Consuming Everleaves in excess may cause mana circuits to mutate.]

I had a lucky break, and didn’t think twice before I ate one.

A minty, thyme taste, swallowed with blood pooling inside my mouth.

[You have consumed an Everleaf.]

[You are slowly recovering from Goblin’s Poison.]

[You are slowly recovering HP.]

It’s showing signs of healing, but… its effects aren’t immediate. In this vulnerable position, I feared for the worst as I caught the articulate name of the poison.

Sounds of small footsteps approaching from my back. 

Bringing a chill to my spine.

Garbled speech, and imprecise intonation; their deep and guttural clamors were like the noises a child would imagine hearing under their beds. And as they got closer the stink from their nasty bodies entered my bloodied nose.

Turning my head back slowly…

My body froze as my mind immediately recognized what the creature was.

Short green-skinned creatures five feet in height, with a hideous face that had glowing orange eyes and a sloven mouth. The short sharp fangs which jutted out of their jaws outlined their carnivorous nature.

—A Goblin.

The goblin widened its hideous grin as soon as it met my gaze.

It’s going to eat me!

The poison wasn’t wearing off fast enough. The unpleasant coldness pulsated through the blue veins around my open, festering wounds whenever I tried to move.

Seeing my futile actions, the Goblin seemed to cackle in delight. It brandished a jagged, rusty knife and slowly moved towards me. A monster. A monster. A real living monster…!

As if struck with some sort of realization, my body began to twitch and move violently. My hands started to stuff as much as I could into my body.

[You are moderately recovering from Goblin’s Poison.]

[You are moderately recovering HP.]

Not enough, I need to move!

The Goblin seemed to take delight in my actions, as it never tried to stop me. It spat on the jagged edges of the knife, coating it with a dark purple liquid.

Goblin’s… Poison! My hands moved even faster as my heart beat increased. Adrenaline shot through my body.

[You have consumed an Everleaf.]

[You have consumed an Everleaf.]

A strange feeling welled up within me, as if something inside my blood was threatening to burst out. But I didn’t stop eating.

I ate.

[You have consumed an Everleaf.]

And I ate.

[You have consumed an Everleaf.]

[Warning. Your mana circuits are becoming increasingly volatile.]

AND I ATE— My mouth began to feel dry. My head feels fuzzy. 

Something is happening to me.

[You have consumed an Everleaf.]

Eventually, a foreign current started to course through my veins. Along with a stream of new stimulants, the feeling of numbness was expelled from my body. A string of announcements rang out in my head. But what’s important, was—

[You have recovered from Goblin’s Poison.]

The stinging sensation started to fade away from my limbs, and a burst of energy entered me. Suddenly, my body felt lighter…?

A dagger shot towards my chest at that moment.

I quickly tilted my head over my right shoulder to evade it, missing the blade by just a few millimetres.

“GURAHHH?!” The goblin’s monstrous eyes widened in astonishment, but it did another quick sweep across my neck in an attempt to slit my throat. 

A fraction of that small movement was caught in my eyes, but I still wasn’t fast enough. I inclined my body to move my chin back, barely making it with a small laceration— Blood splattered onto the ground, and a searing pain crept onto my throat. 

It had nicked my throat.

[You have been inflicted with a small amount of Goblin’s Poison.]

“Tch!” Still, its overextended reach right now created an opening. Using my left hand, I clenched my fist into a punch and rammed it straight into the side of its body! 

“UGRAHHH?!” I felt some resistance, as the goblin spat out some fluids of its mouth. Staggered by the sudden impact, the knife was blown out of its hands and landed into a crevice on the ground.

I took the chance to take big steps backwards, painful exhales escaped my mouth as I gripped around my neck to stop the bleeding. But the goblin was already raring to go before I could catch my breath.

“KIAAHHHHRGHH!” Moss green spit splattered out of its mouth as the goblin immediately continued pursuit. Its yellow slitted eyes turned even sharper as it closed the distance.

No way. It has… more weapons? 

Two daggers were drawn from the back of the greenskin!

However, these ones were different. Unlike its first knife which couldn’t be appraised, these were larger, longer and sharper. Weapons used by humans.

It’s fast. I can’t outrun it!

Is there really no way out? Think… think!

I stopped running and turned towards the goblin just a few steps away from me.

This is… a battle of life-and-death. 

As I looked at the goblin lunging forward with its knife, time seemed to slow down in that moment.

I’m going to lose if I retaliate head on. 

This goblin is far stronger than me in both physique and agility. From my previous punch, I could tell that its body was pretty strong despite its appearance. If a Level 1 could survive a fall of considerable height, I couldn’t even imagine being able to make it, a Level 8 monster bleed.

This world works like a game. Numbers meant everything. I should accept it. As I am now, it is impossible for me to overcome these odds.

… …Game…

Numbers.

My eyes widened in realization. There was that!

“KIEEKKK!” 

The faint outline of red visible only to me, I could see it hovering over one of the daggers it was holding. The weapon looked flawless at first glance, but only to the goblin. 

At the moment the edge of the blade was about to reach me, I took a leap of faith… and slid down! The dagger barely missed the top of my head by a few inches, but the goblin was prepared this time. It reacted without delay and attempted to connect its second attack.

“Kkruuahh?!”

As it swung around, the goblin saw the thing in my hands. The small knife that had flown off into a crack on the ground.

The goblin smirked in that brief moment, sure of its victory. 

After all, how could its own unassuming weapon best these daggers?

And so it swung. The two lightweights clashed, and—

The blade disintegrated into tiny pieces. 

The goblin’s dagger had caved in to the simple knife it had used earlier.

“!!” 

The knife swung down and cut into its shoulder. 

This is it. 

“Dieeeee!!!” I lined up a straight punch towards its gut without hesitation.

But to my despair, the goblin recovered instantly. It wouldn’t be caught unprepared a second time. The other dagger shone faintly and swung towards my heart, far more quicker than my fist.

Was it some kind of skill? I stared blankly as the knife thrusted forward. 

I’m not going to make it.

…What———

…Inches before my chest, the blade stopped. 

For a brief moment, I thought the goblin’s eyes had turned red.

Whatever that was happening to it, I couldn’t care. Taking advantage of its inability to move, I pummeled the greenskin down to the ground.

This seemed to have broken off its reverie. But the goblin was visibly confused as to what had happened to itself too. I didn’t give it time to recover this time.

I took its own knife and stabbed through the throat. Blood splattered along my arm, and the goblin tried to move its arms towards me. But I put even more strength and pushed the blade even deeper.

The goblin’s movements dulled, its arms now writhing in pain.

I took out the blade and stabbed into its body again.

“KURAAAAKKK!”

Stab. Even deeper.

“K…iiiik…!”

Stab. Deeper.

“…i..iiia…kk…”

Deeper—

The goblin’s body slid down, and fell lifelessly.

[You have defeated a goblin! +28 EXP.]

[You have leveled up! +1 SP. +5 AP]

I did it.

I killed it, and I survived.

The relief I felt seemed to have returned the fatigue into my body. I leaned against the goblin’s body and caught my breath. My heart was still pounding incredibly hard from the adrenaline.

My plan had been fairly simple. The breaking of the goblin’s weapon was by no means a coincidence. I recalled the equipment’s information.

 [ Rusty Dagger – Equipment]

[♦ One-handed Dagger – 8ᴀᴛᴛ] 

[✠ Durability: 1/20]

A game mechanic, ‘Durability’ that destroyed weapons past their durability points. The goblin, which was not a player, was unable to see it. Against a monster which fought in close range, it was a gamble, but in the end it paid off. I was able to gain a small window to counterattack and defeat it. The goblin didn’t make things easy, as I was sure that if I let down my guard at any moment, it would’ve killed me without hesitation.

As I stared back at its corpse, I couldn’t help but recall the look in its eyes before its death.

I wonder, why did it suddenly stop moving at the last moment?

Previous | Index | Next