AWAKEN

THE GOBLIN KING sniffed the air, his enormous nostrils producing a gust of wind and a plume of smoke with every snort. At the same time, hot breaths escaped through the gaps between the yellow tusks jutting from his jaw. The giant creature slowly turned its massive head from side to side, as if tracking a faint scent lingering somewhere nearby.

However, with the slaves curled up and hidden within gaps between much larger rock formations, the Goblin King struggled to pinpoint their exact location. An irritated snort burst from his nostrils, followed by a low growl as the giant finally decided to begin his search.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

Standing tall, every step taken by the hundreds-of-kilograms monster sent tremors through the cavern floor. The Goblin King moved slowly. From time to time, he had to lower his head while passing beneath the cave ceiling, where countless stalactites hung overhead with their sharp tips pointing downward.

"GRRRR..."

His growl echoed throughout the cavern as the giant bent down to peer into every crevice he passed. For a brief moment, his vertical pupils widened, only to narrow again when he found nothing. Their sharpness resembled that of a serpent's eyes. He continued forward, inspecting one rocky gap after another while constantly sniffing for the scent of his prey that still lingered in the air.

Elsewhere, the slaves could only shrink further into their hiding places. It was as if they wished their already-cramped bodies could dissolve into the stone itself and become one with the rocks concealing them. Everyone knew the effort was futile. Judging from the heavy scraping sound of the spiked club being dragged across the ground, combined with the increasingly violent tremors accompanying the giant's footsteps, it was only a matter of time before they were discovered.

At this point, only a miracle could save them.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

No one dared to move, let alone attempt to flee. Their legs had long since gone weak. Even at full strength, the Goblin King would have caught them with ease, considering the immense distance covered by each of his strides and the sheer reach of his gigantic arms. As a result, they could do nothing but tremble pitifully, like small animals hiding from a predator stalking its prey. Their dirty, calloused hands instinctively clamped over their mouths, while their lips were bitten hard to keep themselves from screaming by accident. Even their breathing became shallow and restrained until their faces turned red. Everyone knew that the slightest mistake would reveal their exact location to the monster.

Unfortunately, with only a few broad strides, the Goblin King quickly reached the slaves' hiding place.

Without even looking, anyone who was still alive and whose ears still functioned could tell that the creature was standing less than two meters away. The giant's heavy breathing was far too clear. Even while holding their breath, they could smell the foul stench pouring from the monster's mouth more strongly than before.

No...

Please don't come this way...

The slaves offered the same silent prayer. Tears quietly streamed down pale faces stained with dust and blood. At a moment like this, there was nothing they could do except pray to the gods who seemed to have ignored them for so long.

Yet the Goblin King began lowering his massive body once more.

The next second, those enormous yellow eyes widened and met the terrified black eyes of one slave who had frozen in shock.

"H-Hic!"

A choked whimper escaped him before he could stop it.

The Goblin King responded with a grin so wide that it seemed he had finally found the source of the fresh blood scent he had been searching for all this time.

"GRAAAAAAH!!!"

CRASH!

The creature's roar exploded through the cavern, deafening everyone as the stone wall shattered beneath the sudden lunge of its massive arm. Fortunately, the slave possessed decent reflexes and immediately ducked out of the way.

"Aaaaaaaaaah! Stay away! Get away from me!" the slave screamed hysterically.

Using both her hands and feet, she scrambled away in blind panic. Unfortunately, her terror caused herself to trip over a loose stone. In an instant, her body pitched forward and crashed hard onto the ground.

"Ugh!"

"HEY!"

a familiar, powerful voice rang out from the distance, drawing everyone's attention—including the Goblin King's, whose head immediately snapped toward the source.

The captain of the soldiers, whom everyone had assumed was already dead, was somehow still alive. Blood continued to pour from the countless wounds covering his body. Yet, miraculously, the man merely staggered for a moment before stubbornly forcing himself back to his feet.

It took several seconds for him to regain his balance, using the spear in his hand as support. His battered face was swollen and drenched in blood, but it did nothing to diminish the resolve in his raspy voice.

"I'm not dead yet."

After saying that, his gaze swept across the battlefield, taking in the sight of his fallen soldiers.

Almost none of them remained whole.

Most of their bodies had been torn apart and scattered across the blood-soaked ground. Some were so badly mangled that it was impossible to identify who they had once been.

The sight made the commander's breathing grow heavy.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment of mourning before speaking with unwavering determination.

"I won't let all of you die in vain."

His feet spread apart.

His body gradually lowered and leaned forward.

Then, gripping his spear tightly, he leveled its tip straight ahead.

The stance seemed to be understood by the Goblin King as a challenge.

The creature's grin widened even further.

Having found a more interesting prey, the Goblin King immediately forgot about the slave he had nearly caught. Turning around completely, he faced the captain head-on. His towering frame straightened to its full height as he looked down upon his opponent with blatant contempt.

The next moment, the monster's arrogant roar shook the cavern passage.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAH!”

***

Unaware of what was happening deep within the dungeon, every human on the surface continued struggling to survive in their own way.

The farmers were one such example.

For reasons unknown, the land that had once been fertile had lost the nutrients it once held. Cracked and barren, it stretched as far as the eye could see. Under such conditions, crops could barely grow. Even the seeds they planted carried no guarantee of ever sprouting.

The knights who had been helping with the work could only let out weary sighs when one of them muttered, "It seems this harvest will be worse than the last one."

They were almost ready to give up.

Their calloused palms were covered in deep abrasions from repeatedly hauling iron buckets filled with water from the river, as the irrigation system no longer reached several fields. Drought was the cause. If they wished to avoid starvation as food prices continued to rise, they had no choice but to work together, even if their efforts only brought slight improvements.

After all, not far from here, famine had already become a disaster claiming countless lives, especially in neighboring territories.

The churches and temples reported that the lines of citizens seeking food grew shorter with each passing day.

It was clearly not good news.

The region's income had not improved.

That left only one explanation—mass deaths caused by starvation.

Some people had likely fallen ill.

Others had become too weak to carry their empty bowls and stand in line waiting for their turn.

Even among those who still came, many wore hollow expressions and deathly pale faces.

And after waiting for hours, their reward was often nothing more than a single piece of hard bread.

If fortune smiled upon them, they might receive a bowl of cold soup containing a few small chunks of potato and corn, though such occasions were exceedingly rare.

If misfortune struck, even that piece of bread could be stolen by those who had received nothing at all.

Especially when passing through the narrow, filthy alleyways—the lawless corners of the city where prolonged hunger had stripped people of their humanity.

Whenever such things happened, everyone chose to look away.

In the end, no one could truly judge the lengths another person would go to in order to survive.

***

Just like what was happening inside the dungeon.

With practiced efficiency, the captain extended his left hand, reached into a pouch attached to the side of his silver armor, and pulled out a hard object.

It was a rune stone, small enough to fit within the palm of his hand.

Its surface was covered in ancient engraved symbols. A faint bluish glow pulsed from within, dim yet unmistakably visible even in the darkness of the cave.

With this, the slaves' painstaking efforts to gather crystal shards—and the sacrifices of every soldier who had fallen—would not be in vain.

"At the very least... I'll deliver the crystal shard quota."

The words left his lips as he tightened his grip.

CRACK!

A tiny fracture instantly spread across the entire rune stone, brilliant blue light bursting from the widening cracks.

Then, in the next fraction of a second, a beam of light illuminated the cavern, followed by an explosion powerful enough to shake the earth itself.

KABOOOM!!!

A wave of nearly white-blue energy erupted outward, sweeping through the surrounding area while carrying clouds of dust and shattered rock in its wake.

The resulting wind whipped through the captain's hair, sending every strand fluttering wildly.

The moment the surge of mana enveloped his body, the ground beneath his feet fractured instantly, cracks spreading outward in a circular pattern.

Veins bulged across his skin as immense power suddenly flooded through his body.

His power … Had been activated.

This was the first time Ennis had witnessed someone's strength increase so dramatically within such a short span of time.

"What kind of power is that?"

SWOOOSH!

The captain's body shot forward in an instant, like an arrow released from a drawn bow, practically flying toward his target.

The stone floor beneath his feet exploded and cracked from the force of his acceleration, leaving behind a cloud of white dust and scattered debris.

A silver radiance enveloped its blade. As it swung through the air, it carved a straight streak of light, resembling a divine weapon forged by the gods themselves. Blood continued to stream from the countless wounds covering his body, yet the man showed not the slightest sign of slowing down.

His eyes remained locked onto a single target.

The Goblin King.

Then, with every ounce of strength he had left, the captain thrust forward. The muscles in his arms contracted sharply before his spear shot through the air.

WOOOSH!

Unfortunately, the captain's movement had been anticipated.

The giant goblin reacted first. Its enormous body was already airborne a fraction of a second later, having launched itself high into the air with a powerful leap.

But in the end, gravity always pulled everything back down.

And the Goblin King's reaction was exactly what the captain had planned for. From the very beginning, that attack had never been intended to hit.

It was merely bait.

The Goblin King realized this too late when his eyes caught the human's sudden movement. The man's forward momentum abruptly ceased. Without warning, the captain slammed his right foot into the stone floor, forcefully halting his advance before twisting his body into a new angle.

The muscles in his arms tightened once more. This time, he poured even more power into the motion. Driving his spear upward.

SWOOOSH!

Panic flashed through the Goblin King's eyes. Instinctively, the monster raised its massive black spiked club to attack, Both weapon finally clash.

KABOOOM!!!

The collision unleashed a violent shockwave that blasted outward in every direction. The cavern echoed with a thunderous roar. The ground trembled as though another earthquake had struck. Dust and shattered stone exploded through the air, forcing the hidden slaves to shield their faces while coughing violently. For several seconds, nobody could see clearly. Then something suddenly shot across their field of vision. Another deafening impact followed.

At first, everyone assumed it was merely a large boulder that had been sent flying. Only when the dust cloud began to thin did they realize the truth.

The object was none other than the captain.

His body hung limply after smashing into the ground and being dragged several meters across the cavern floor. He finally came to a stop directly in front of the slaves, who had not taken her eyes off the battle even once. Blood sprayed from his mouth every time a choked cough escaped his throat.

The attack had failed.

Even with his enhanced power, he was still bound by the limits of a human body. He simply could not compare to the raw strength of the Goblin King. In the end, the monster's block had sent him hurtling backward instead.

"T-That's impossible..."

Several slaves gasped in disbelief. The hope that had briefly ignited when they saw the captain rise again was instantly extinguished.

If even he could not defeat the monster … then who could?

As if confirming their fears, the Goblin King landed heavily upon the ground once more, sending another tremor through the cavern. Its attention shifted. Those bloodshot yellow eyes turned toward the slaves, who had forgotten to conceal themselves properly in their shock. The creature quickly remembered what it had momentarily neglected.

Its huge nostrils flared once again. The Goblin King sniffed the air repeatedly before moving toward the source of the delicious scent of fresh blood.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

Each step shook the cavern floor. Then, upon reaching one of the rock crevices, the giant stopped. It was the very crevice where Taffi had curled up in the deepest corner. Though the child was small, filthy, and nearly hidden from sight, the Goblin King found him immediately the moment it lowered itself to peer inside.

The instant Taffi realized he had been discovered, the trembling throughout his body abruptly ceased. Not because he had calmed down. But because the terror had become too overwhelming. His black eyes could only stare blankly at the Goblin King's enormous fingers reaching toward him. A dark shadow engulfed him as the distance between them rapidly disappeared. By pure reflex, the child squeezed his eyes shut.

Tuk.

However, after waiting for what felt like an eternity, Taffi felt nothing touch him. Slowly, he cracked open his eyes.

The massive green hand was still hovering directly above his head. Yet the shadow covering him gradually receded as the Goblin King slowly withdrew its outstretched arm. Taffi couldn't understand what was happening. Then his ears picked up a faint sound repeating over and over again.

Tuk.

Tuk.

Tuk.

Through blurred vision, he saw pebbles and fist-sized stones striking the Goblin King's back. The giant creature slowly turned around. Its attention was now completely focused on Ennis. The crazy woman who had boldly chosen to attract the monster's attention.

"Is she insane?" one of the slaves whispered as he cautiously crawled out of the rocky crevice.

Another slave doing the same merely shrugged. "Who cares? This is our chance to escape."

And they seized that opportunity immediately.

One after another, the slaves began sneaking away as quietly as possible.

In the end, they knew staying behind meant certain death. They needed to leave this place as quickly as they could.

Ennis didn't seem to mind.

In fact, it was almost as though that had been her intention all along.

There was only one problem.

Taffi had become completely paralyzed by fear. The child remained curled up inside the crevice, hugging his trembling body tightly. Everyone else was too busy saving themselves to notice. Not a single person looked back. Their eyes remained fixed on the light shining from the dungeon king lair entrance.

Yet just as one of the female slaves was about to take another step toward freedom, she suddenly stopped.

"Hey... where's Taffi?"

Being the last person in the group, she was the first to realize their numbers didn't add up. Quickly counting the survivors, she discovered the smallest among them wasn't there. Her head immediately turned back. Only then did she notice that Taffi had never left his hiding spot.

"That stupid kid ...."

Frustration instantly surged through her. Without thinking, she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"TAFFI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET OVER HERE!"

However, Taffi didn't move.

That left the woman feeling both panicked and confused at the same time.

Instead of taking advantage of the Goblin King's diverted attention and running toward the others, the small child remained completely still. Even from a distance, the woman could clearly see how tightly Taffi was hugging his knees, to the point that his shoulders were trembling. His eyes stared blankly at the Goblin King, who seemed interested in Ennis.

Seeing his condition, the woman hurrying toward Taffi with quick, silent steps.

The goblin king sensed the scent of fear and panic coming from TAFFI, so he turned and shifted his target..

The moment she reached Taffi and roughly grabbed his small hand, the Goblin King's eyes suddenly widened and locked onto her. Its vertical yellow pupils instantly expanded, reflecting the images of the two humans whose faces immediately turned deathly pale.

A cruel grin slowly spread across its face.

As though seeing the two small creatures frozen in fear was the most entertaining sight imaginable.

And as if to make the game even more interesting and challenging, the monster deliberately gave them time to run before unleashing a savage roar as a warning that their time limit had begun.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

The Goblin King's voice shook the entire cavern, sending a light tremor through the ground that nearly caused the woman to stumble several times. Fortunately, adrenaline and instinct allowed her to regain her balance each time she staggered. She forced her legs to move faster.

However, Ennis, who was watching from behind, had no intention of standing by and doing nothing.

Her eyes immediately swept across the surroundings, and within moments she spotted a sword that remained intact among the fallen soldiers' corpses.

Without hesitation, her hand seized the hilt as her body shot forward. Then, with the muscles in her thighs tightening as her knees briefly bent, Ennis launched herself powerfully from one rock to another.

The moment she reached the creature's shoulder height, her strongest leg pushed off with all its strength, sending her body soaring through the air toward the Goblin King's back.

At the same time, she rotated the sword in her grip and swung it downward, the sharp edge aimed directly below. She used the momentum of her fall to increase the force behind the strike, hoping to pierce the Goblin King's thick hide.

STAB!

Half of the blade instantly sank into flesh.

The Goblin King staggered violently, finally abandoning its pursuit of its prey.

"GRAAAAAAH!”

The Goblin King's roar thundered through the cavern once more, this time far louder as rage mixed with the sharp pain erupting from his right shoulder.

The giant's massive body trembled and staggered wildly, crashing into the cave walls several times. Still hanging from the embedded sword, Ennis was dragged along with him. Her body swung violently from side to side, and the relentless shaking inevitably slammed her against rock after rock. A sudden wave of dizziness struck her. Her grip weakened further.

Yet just before her fingers slipped free, Ennis witnessed something difficult to believe.

The Goblin King's foul-smelling blood dripped from the wound in his shoulder and flowed down his body. Part of it splashed onto her clothes. Some of it even landed on her neck. And somehow, it was absorbed by the necklace she was wearing. The pendant's color changed instantly. Like clear water corrupted by a drop of poison, it gradually transformed into a deep, blood-red hue.

This ....

SNATCH!

Ennis had just begun trying to understand what had happened when her body was suddenly seized by the Goblin King's enormous hand. Apparently, the creature had finally realized where the nuisance clinging to its back was hiding.

For a brief moment, Ennis thought her body would be crushed apart as the giant fingers tightened around her. She struggled desperately. Kicking. Twisting. Even attempting to injure the creature's palm however she could. Then, seemingly displeased by her resistance, the Goblin King decided to lift her high into the air.

And in the next moment—

BOOM!

Her body was slammed violently into the ground.

"KEUGH!"

A startled gasp escaped her lips as she struck the hard stone floor with enough force to bounce several times. After crashing through scattered debris, she rolled backward across the ground before gradually coming to a stop.

The pain spreading throughout her body was so overwhelming that she didn't even have time to react before noticing the Goblin King charging straight toward her.

The spiked club that had been dragging along the ground suddenly rose high into the air. It was about to swing.

Every instinct in Ennis's body screamed danger. Anyone could tell what would happen if a human was struck by that weapon. Their body would be completely pulverized. Without thinking, Ennis immediately raised both arms to protect her head.

BAM!

A powerful impact echoed throughout the cavern corridor. The sound was so loud that her ears rang for a moment.

Yet …

That was all.

No crushing pain followed. Especially not from the front of her body.

Her head snapped upward immediately to find the reason. At this distance, there was no way the Goblin King could have missed. And indeed, the giant club was directly before her eyes. But it had been stopped. Blocked by a crimson barrier that had somehow formed into a dome-shaped shield around her.

"A shield?"

Her eyes widened in disbelief. The possibility had never crossed Ennis's mind. Not even once.

That necklace was apparently far more than a simple keepsake from the Demon King.

Even stranger, the weakness that had plagued her moments ago was fading. Her body felt invigorated. And her tolerance for pain had increased dramatically.

"Don't tell me … has my power returned?”

That question was answered only by the Goblin King's relentless barrage of attacks.

BONK!

BONK!

BONK!

His massive club repeatedly slammed into the shield, growing faster with each strike as more brutal force was poured into every swing. Yet the shield didn't even tremble, let alone crack, as though those impacts were no stronger than a gentle breeze drifting through the air.

Perhaps this was the first time the Goblin King had encountered something capable of withstanding his deadly attacks. Confusion was clearly written across the green monster's face as he repeatedly glanced back and forth between the club in his hands and the crimson shield protecting Ennis. For a moment, he growled in frustration, visibly irritated by his failure but unwilling to stop.

"GRAAAAAAH!!!"

His fury echoed through the cavern once more. Annoyed that the prey standing right before him remained completely untouched, the Goblin King finally changed his approach. He no longer gripped the spiked club with just one hand, but with both. His stance shifted as well. Rather than raising it overhead for a downward strike, he pulled it far behind his body, preparing a side swing from back to front to generate far greater momentum.

The moment Ennis noticed the change in his movements, she had no intention of simply sitting there and watching. Besides, she had no idea how long this shield—or this power—would last. As long as she still possessed it, she intended to use it to defeat the Goblin King as quickly as possible.

A longsword suddenly appeared in Ennis's mind.

"I need a weapon."

The next second, the crimson shield began to shrink. For a brief moment, it moved erratically, like liquid blood rapidly changing shape. Its tip extended and sharpened, instantly materializing the very thing Ennis had just imagined.

The woman was instantly stunned.

Even the Goblin King froze for a moment.

Neither of them had expected something like that to happen so quickly.

"This necklace... it can read my thoughts," Ennis muttered as she grabbed the sword's hilt and tightened her grip around it. The handle fit perfectly in her hand, like the return of an old companion that had once accompanied her through countless battles. "It can transform into any weapon, as long as I can imagine it."

However, her moment of amazement was cut short by the Goblin King's growl as the monster charged forward once again.

Its spiked club swung toward her at tremendous speed, carrying a violent gust that tore through the air.

At the same moment, Ennis moved.

ZHASH!

The sword swept upward in a single fluid motion The swing was steady and precise, slashing powerfully from bottom to top. And cleanly severing one of the Goblin King's muscular arms, which was as thick as a tree trunk.

The strike happened so quickly that it took several seconds for the creature to realize that the object crashing onto the ground with a heavy thud was its own arm.

The severed limb, as large as a fallen tree, hit the ground alongside the spiked club that slipped from its grasp. Thick black blood erupted from the shoulder stump like a flood bursting through a broken dam. Some of it splattered across the rocky floor. The rest sprayed over the surrounding stone pillars. The Goblin King stared at its own shoulder as if unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Then, far too late, the sensation of pain finally reached its brain.

"GRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

A roar of agony shook the cavern corridor, creating echoes and tremors at the same time.

The giant staggered backward several steps while clutching the remains of its shoulder with its only remaining hand. Yet the blood continued to pour out without stopping. Losing its balance, its left knee slammed into a massive boulder, causing it to stumble before finally dropping to one knee.

Its attention was no longer on Ennis.

And that was clearly the perfect opportunity to finish it.

Not wasting such a golden chance, Ennis tightened her grip on the sword's hilt until her knuckles turned white. The sound of cracking stone echoed beneath her feet as she kicked off the ground with tremendous force.

In an instant, her body shot forward. The three-meter distance vanished in the blink of an eye.

The Goblin King tried to rise. Its remaining hand reached toward the approaching Ennis.

But it was too late.

SLASH!

Ennis's crimson sword moved first. The blade spun through the air, delivering a second strike that was even faster and cleaner than the first. A thin line appeared across the Goblin King's vein-covered neck. For a moment, nothing happened. The Goblin King simply froze in place. Then, slowly, dark blood began to seep from the black line encircling its neck, flowing down over its throat and the back of its neck. Its head started to slide sideways.

And then—

THUD!

The head, as large as a wine barrel, crashed onto the rocky ground and rolled several meters before finally coming to a stop among the battlefield debris and the corpses of its victims.

Meanwhile, the headless body remained motionless for several seconds. Then black blood erupted from the severed neck. And at last, the entire body of the Goblin King collapsed.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact shook the entire dungeon. A massive cloud of dust billowed into the air. The stone pillars trembled, along with the stalactites above, several of which snapped and plunged into the ground below.

However, Ennis's attention had already been completely drawn toward the dazzling blue light appearing before her. A rectangular magical panel materialized in midair, followed by the appearance of letter after letter until they formed several lines of text. The message stated that her level had increased.

"I see ...."

Ennis nodded in understanding. This status panel had appeared to display her achievement after killing the Goblin King. Which could only mean one thing.

"This necklace grows stronger every time I kill more monsters.”