An unexpected encounter, When the map lies

The morning after the slime ambush felt… lighter. Maybe it was the level-up high.

Or maybe it was the fact that no one tried to kill or cuddle me in the middle of the night.

Vanni had the cart packed before sunrise. The old man moved like a professional—quiet, fast, and always five steps ahead.

He handed each of us a small pouch containing glowing green candies.

“Regeneration Candy,” he explained. “Chew one in an emergency. Heals your wounds in seconds. I made ‘em myself back in the old guild days.”

“Kinda reminded me of these magic beans that regenerate you from my favorite anime series”

“Emergency only,” Lyssa added with a glare. “Magic like that has side effects.”

“What kind?” I asked.

“You don’t want to find out,” she said flatly, which only made me want to find out more.

We loaded up and hit the road, the rickety cart creaking beneath our weight. Luffy trotted beside me, tail flicking with curiosity. Naomi was unusually quiet, occasionally humming some tune from her goddess school days. Lyssa rode up front, arms folded, hoodie pulled over her head like a fantasy monk.

I sat on the edge of the cart, watching the forest blur by. I started to think about my old life and how far I’d made it since arriving here. Honestly I was glad I was so obsessed with weight trading in my old life, turns out it helped me a lot here in this adventurous lifestyle.

Although A creeping feeling stirred in my gut.

Something didn’t feel right.

According to Vanni, the road to the forest village should’ve been safe. Guarded. Blessed even.

But it wasn’t.

Not anymore.

We passed rusted road signs, torn banners, and a collapsed watchtower that looked like it had been chewed through. It looked as if there had just been a war not too long ago.

“This path used to be well-traveled,” Vanni muttered, scanning an old map. “But now… the forest is too quiet.”

Too quiet indeed.

No birdsong. No rustling. No insects.

Even the wind felt like it was holding its breath.

Luffy growled low.

Lyssa suddenly stopped the cart.

“I feel something,” she said.

She hopped down and knelt in the dirt, pressing her palm against the soil.

A ripple shimmered through the grass.

“An illusion barrier,” she muttered. “Advanced. Whoever put this here didn’t want travelers seeing what’s ahead.”

“Which means we definitely shouldn’t go through it,” I said, already backing up.

Too late.

Luffy bolted through the illusion with a snarl, tail raised, teeth bared.

“LUFFY—wait!”

We all scrambled after him.

The forest on the other side was… gone.

In its place stood a massive crater, torn into the earth like the world itself had been wounded. Trees were snapped in half. The air stank of ash and iron. Blood stained the stones.

Weapons littered the ground—broken swords, cracked shields, shattered staves. Corpses, mostly adventurers, were strewn about like discarded dolls.

“What happened here this looks like a war zone, there’s so many bodies”

“I don’t know but we should be very careful I sense the opposite of Divine aura. There’s a dark and evil aura here.” Lyssa muttered

And in the center of it all…

A throne made of bones.

Towering. Horrific. Decorated with skulls and scraps of rusted armor.

But the throne was empty.

“Lyssa who would do such a thing”

“I don’t know Ren this place looks very dangerous we should head away and take a detour”

Luffy smelled the throne then ran back to my arms whimpering.

We heard rustling coming from the woods.

“Hide everything we don’t want to know what’s coming let’s take the horses and carriage and hide behind the trees for now” Vanni yelled in panic

We sat behind trees and bushes masking our presence waiting to see what would appear.

Man you’d think my luck would be good in this new world but just as I thought. I had crappy luck regardless.

Coming out of the other side of the woods appeared A beast.

Massive. Hulking. Skin like gray-green iron. Eyes burning crimson.

He wore a jagged crown of warped steel.

And around his neck hung a necklace of human skulls.

[LEVEL 40 – GOBLIN KING: MOK’RAGH, THE DESERTER]

My breath caught.

Naomi gasped audibly.

Lyssa immediately tackled us behind a shattered log, throwing up a magical barrier.

“He’s not supposed to be here…” she whispered, visibly shaken. “Goblin Kings live in deep dungeons. Not the overworld.”

“So why is he here?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, staring pale-faced at the monster. “But that one… that’s a deserter. It left its dungeon on purpose. They’re smart. Tactical. Cruel.”

Vanni stared at the throne, grim.

“I’ve only seen one before… twenty years ago. It wiped out three guilds before they finally brought it down. And this one’s even bigger.”

“So what do we do?” Naomi asked.

Silence.

Even Luffy, brave little guy that he was, had his tail tucked between his legs.

Vanni checked the old map again, then looked at the rocky cliffs flanking the road. “No way around. Not with the mule and cart.”

“We leave the cart,” I said. “Go on foot?”

“And risk starving with no supplies?”

I clenched my fists. “Then we distract him.”

Everyone looked at me.

“Ren,” Lyssa said sharply, “that’s suicide.”

“We’re sitting ducks here. If he sees us and attacks, we all die. But if we split up, maybe someone can draw him off just long enough for the others to slip past.”

“That someone being you?” Naomi asked.

I gave a bitter smile. “I’ve got a habit of nearly dying, apparently.”

Lyssa gritted her teeth.

“I’m not letting you throw yourself away.”

“We need time,” I said. “Just a few seconds.”

That’s when the Goblin King stood.

His eyes flared red.

His nose twitched.

He sniffed the air.

Then—

He turned.

Toward us.

Naomi’s eyes widened.

Lyssa whispered, “He sensed the mana shift… from my barrier…”

“RUN,” I said.

The Goblin King’s roar shattered the silence.

A guttural, monstrous sound.

He raised his massive cleaver.