Bug?

Okay, so far so good.

Tamashi was currently engaged in a cat-and-mouse fight with two of the remaining goblins, evading their attacks carefully and with precision, never getting too close to them out of caution.

He could see Kengo running away from the largest goblin—presumably the leader—after their fierce one-on-one clash.

He had been hesitant to proceed with this plan, mostly because it put Kengo in a lot of danger. Goblin leaders were usually much more massive than the rest of the pack, and no matter how much Kengo worked out, he would never be able to overpower the leader with pure strength—at least not right now, before he had the chance to enhance his body with the System.

Jumping back and deflecting one of the goblins’ spear with his own, Tamashi finally spotted Himawari and Mika running toward him, circling the two goblins so as not to get spotted.

Even though Tamashi could have dealt with the two goblins alone—although not without difficulty—it was much better for the girls to help him instead of Kengo, since both of them were mostly powerless against the goblin leader. By aiding Tamashi in defeating the two smaller goblins faster, they could then all rescue Kengo and beat the goblin leader while it was alone.

When Himawari was finally in position, she didn’t waste any time, nocking an arrow and aiming at the goblins, waiting for her opportunity to strike.

Mika stood beside her, pointing her small wooden wand in the same direction, chanting the incantation for the debuff spell. It wasn’t needed in the end, though.

Noticing his mother and sister were prepared to strike, he countered an axe swing, but this time, he didn’t leap away. Instead, Tamashi thrust his spear into the right foot of the axe-wielding goblin, temporarily immobilizing it. Only then did he jump back, distancing himself from it.

The goblin cried out in pain, its revolting shriek invading Tamashi’s ears. It quickly pulled the spear out, but by that point, it was already too late.

Not even a second after it removed the spear’s tip from its instep, Himawari’s arrow hit right in the goblin’s mouth, penetrating the goblin’s neck and coming out on the other side. The goblin died mere moments after.

Noticing it was suddenly outnumbered three to one, the last remaining goblin’s expression shifted from hunger to fear. After a few seconds of hesitation, it spun around and started fleeing.

However, by turning its back to Tamashi, it left itself completely vulnerable to attacks from behind.

Tamashi had retrieved his spear right after Himawari’s arrow hit its mark; now, without wasting any time, he hurled it at the escaping goblin. Although his aim was a bit off, Tamashi still managed to pierce the goblin’s left calf, thus effectively pinning it to the ground.

Even when Tamashi dismissed his spear and called it back to his inventory, the goblin, now sprawled on the grass, was still desperately trying to crawl away, still longing to preserve its life.

If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought you were more than just some monster created by the System...

Tamashi forcefully suppressed that tiny amount of pity he felt in his heart for the suffering goblin... before plunging his spear into its neck, hitting the brain and killing it on the spot. Its corpse lay lifelessly on the now blood-stained grass, a reminder of today’s battle and Tamashi’s victory. And yet, he didn’t feel particularly proud of himself; in fact, he didn’t feel much of anything at that moment.

“Let’s go,” directed Tamashi, shifting his gaze to Himawari and Mika. “We still have to help Kengo.”

Mika followed right away without saying a word, but Himawari lingered for a bit, regarding the dead goblin with a particular expression. Her azure eyes were dull and distant, as if in deep thought.

“Mom?” called Tamashi, his tone neutral. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, of course,” stated Himawari flatly. “It’s nothing.”

She quickly caught up with them, and they jogged to where Kengo was currently fighting the goblin leader; well, there wasn’t much fighting anymore—rather, Kengo was shamelessly running away and avoiding the leader, stalling for time and waiting to be rescued. He had lost his shield at some point, and the huge goblin's massive battle axe was missing from its deformed hand, so it was chasing him with a large knife instead.

No matter how much Tamashi wanted to just idly watch this hilarious scene, he knew his brother’s life would actually be in danger soon, since there was no way Kengo had higher stamina than a goblin leader.

Not wasting any more time, Tamashi rushed forward, his simple steel spear in hand, heading to face the goblin leader with Kengo.

By the time Tamashi got close enough to intervene, the leader was only a few steps behind Kengo, who was still empty-handed for some reason.

“Kengo!” shouted Tamashi at the top of his lungs, his voice a bit frustrated. “Dismiss your shield into your inventory and re-summon it!”

“Oh...”

Realizing he could’ve had his shield pretty much the whole time, Kengo suddenly stumbled, rolling on the ground a few times, giving the goblin leader the perfect opening to finish his adversary.

Before it could, however, Tamashi thrust out his spear, aiming at the goblin’s exposed neck. Unfortunately for him, the goblin noticed the attack, dodging right before it pierced its skin and flesh.

Blue sparks of light were slowly forming in front of Kengo, meaning he would soon have his large shield on him. Tamashi stood on the goblin leader’s other side, cutting off its escape path—not that the leader had any intentions of fleeing.

The large green monster roared louder than what Tamashi had ever heard from any goblin, then dropped its knife—its only weapon—to the ground, letting it sink into the soft dirt.

Huh?

Tamashi was taken aback by the leader’s bizarre behavior. He had fought many goblins, as well as goblin leaders, in the past year, but never had he seen them abandon their only remaining weapon willingly.

Something’s wrong...

Their buff green foe raised its right fist and struck its chest two times, staring straight into Tamashi’s azure eyes with its own.

For the first time in more than half a year, Tamashi felt true fear creep into his very soul—literally. His body trembled and his knees felt weak. It took all his willpower to just stay standing right then and there.

The goblin leader’s dark yellow eyes seemed to ignite aflame as he glared at Tamashi with unrestrained malice. No. Not just malice. There was something else... It was subtle, but when Tamashi finally noticed it, it was impossible to ignore.

“H-how is this even possible? Is this a bug?!”

It was a will. It was intent. It was... consciousness. The determination to avenge his fallen comrades.

Somehow, to Tamashi’s absolute horror, the goblin leader managed to become aware of itself. As if its mind and soul had been bound by chains all this time, preventing it from truly acting according to its own will, and only now was the goblin truly free.

It was supposed to be impossible. It wasn’t even supposed to be a concept that could exist. The monsters were meant to be just that—monsters. Evil beasts were meant to provide XP and loot for the players using the System. But was that all there was to it?

Tamashi felt numb, but had no choice but to snap out of his reverie, since the now self-aware goblin leader was charging at him with ridiculous speed.

With barely enough time to react, Tamashi jumped clumsily to the side—but it wasn’t enough.

Usually, goblins preformed brainless charges with their weapons raised high, so when you dodged the attack at the last second, their momentum would carry them some distance away, giving you time to think over your next move or counterattack right away.

This goblin leader, however, was different—one of a kind.

Noticing his panicked evasion, it cleverly slowed down, so when Tamashi was in the air, the goblin’s charge already came to a stop. Now, its foe—Tamashi—was lying on the ground utterly defenseless, practically inviting it to give him a punch or two.

Fortunately for Tamashi, the goblin had nothing but his fists; unfortunately for him, those fists were more than enough to do some serious damage.