Each Person’s Battle

The adventurer and the goblin warrior were locked in an evenly matched battle.

In a perfect condition, the adventurer would have had the advantage. However, the adventurer was fatigued, and his movements were slower, even when using his skills.

The goblin warrior, on the other hand, struggled against the adventurer’s skills. With no skills of its own and no formal swordsmanship training, the goblin swung its sword with sheer brute strength.

As a result, even though it was stronger in physical power, the goblin lost in terms of technique.

The goblin was unable to use the sword efficiently, and thus couldn’t make the most of its strength. Both combatants had small cuts all over their bodies, each exhausting their stamina in this prolonged battle.

The hunter adventurer and the goblin mage were sizing each other up, looking for an opening. When the goblin mage tried to cast a spell, the adventurer shot an arrow to interrupt him.

The goblin mage struck the arrow out of the air with its staff. Despite being a magic user, the goblin mage appeared to be quite capable in close combat as well.

The adventurer wasn’t able to abandon his bow and engage in close combat, it seemed. Both were stuck in a deadlock, unable to deliver a decisive blow.

The hunter’s quiver was nearing emptiness. Despite the deadlock, the hunter adventurer was now being cornered.

At first glance, it seemed like a deadlock, but with my ability to sense their positions, I could tell that the goblins were acting with intent.

Hey, adventurer. Don’t let the goblins beat you at the mental game.

While battling, the goblins were keeping track of their positions and were gradually guiding the adventurers to a specific spot.

The goblin mage began its incantation. The hunter adventurer fired an arrow to disrupt the spell, but the goblin mage’s spellcasting was faster than usual.

It seemed the goblin mage either had a skill to shorten the incantation time, or it had been deliberately casting slowly until now. After casting, the goblin mage failed to avoid the arrow in time, and it struck its shoulder.

The hunter adventurer, having failed to stop the magic, shouted for help, but it was too late.

A small explosion sounded, followed by the adventurer’s scream. The adventurer, hit by a fireball from behind, had his face burned and was writhing in pain.

The goblin warrior finished off the adventurer, slashing at his throat.

While fighting, the goblins had subtly led their enemies into a position where they could attack from blind spots with magic.

These goblins were so clever! And their resolve was extraordinary to be willing to sacrifice themselves in a suicidal charge or to take damage in order to cast their magic.

They were far bolder than the adventurers. Could it be that the raid on their village had triggered a switch in them?

The hunter adventurer, now alone with his comrades fallen, slowly began to retreat toward the forest. He seemed to be preparing to escape at the right moment.

The hunter adventurer fired his last arrow at the goblin mage.

As the goblin mage dealt with the arrow, the hunter adventurer seized the opportunity and started running toward the forest. The goblin mage struck the arrow from the air with its staff and began chanting again.

Suddenly, a small hole appeared at the adventurer’s feet.

The adventurer, tripping on the hole, seemed to injure his leg. His face showed despair as he limped, trying desperately to escape while favoring his injured leg.

However, just a short distance from the forest, the goblin warrior caught up with him. The goblin mage was close behind.

The hunter adventurer drew his dagger, ready to face the goblin warrior in a desperate final stand. It was a life-or-death situation. Just then, I burst out of the forest like a hero!

“I’m here to help!”

The hunter adventurer, whose face had been filled with despair, now had a glimmer of hope.

“Raaahhh! Take that, goblin!”

With that shout, I kicked the back of the hunter adventurer and sent him flying toward the goblin warrior.

Both the adventurer and the goblin warrior were caught off guard as they tumbled to the ground in a tangled mess.

I threw a stone from my pocket at the goblin mage and charged forward.

The goblin mage skillfully swatted the stone away with its staff, but in doing so, it was too focused on deflecting the stone and allowed me to close the distance.

Despite the arrow still lodged in its shoulder, the goblin mage was impressively composed. I kept my guard up as I approached it.

As I got closer, the goblin mage thrust its staff at me. The thrust aimed straight for my throat.

I dodged the staff, then grabbed some dirt from my other pocket and threw it at the goblin mage’s face.

Blinded by the dirt, the goblin mage froze for a moment. In that split second, I used the momentum from my charge to deliver a solid fist to the goblin mage’s chest.

The force crushed its sternum, and the goblin mage’s heart was destroyed. It spat blood and collapsed face down, motionless.

I stomped on its head to be sure, then turned to look at the goblin warrior.

The goblin warrior had pinned the adventurer to the ground and was slashing at his throat.

In a grapple, the goblin warrior, with its superior strength, had the advantage. On top of that, the hunter adventurer had already taken damage from my earlier kick to his back.

Though I was the one responsible, I couldn’t help but reflect on the situation somewhat distantly.

Covered in the goblin’s blood, I approached the enraged goblin warrior.

“RRAAAAH!!”

The goblin warrior roared, swinging its sword in fury. It was fine that it was angry, but its attacks were becoming sloppy.

I sidestepped its downward sword swing, closing the distance while using my left hand to snap my wrist and deliver an open-handed strike to its face.

The goblin warrior froze for a moment as my backhand struck it near the eyes.

It’s difficult to aim for the eyes in combat, especially with a moving target. It takes a surprise attack or another technique to stop the movement.

I had aimed for the goblin warrior’s eyes with an open-handed strike, hoping that the back of my hand or fingers would hit its eyes just enough to make it squint and disrupt its vision.

As the goblin warrior closed its eyes in reaction, the shock made its tears well up, distorting its vision.

The ideal would be to touch the eyeball directly, but even if it’s blocked by the eyelids, the impact will still make tears well up and limit the enemy’s vision.

This time, I did manage to make contact with the goblin warrior’s eyeball. It was only for a few moments, but that was enough to rob it of its vision. A few seconds of vulnerability is all I needed to finish off the goblin warrior.

I unleashed my attack on the goblin warrior, whose vision was now impaired. I consciously twisted my right arm as I swung it upwards.

My target was his groin.

At the moment of impact, I snapped my wrist. I struck his dangling testicles with my palm, sending them bouncing upward with a sharp, painful smack.

The sensation of rupturing his testicles reached my palm, and a faint, unpleasant odor filled the air.

“AAAGH!!”

The goblin warrior screamed, collapsing inwards, his knees buckling as he fell to the ground.

I delivered a brutal kick to the back of his neck as he crumpled. My foot felt the crunch of his spinal cord breaking as I executed the kick with all my might.

I maintained my calm, focusing on my surroundings with my awareness skill. It seemed like he was properly dead.

I approached cautiously and stomped on his head to make sure.

While being vigilant, I began stripping the adventurers and goblins of their gear. Only the adventurer leader and the hobgoblin remained.

I stood at a distance, watching the duel unfold between the two.

I thought about intervening at the right moment, but I didn’t want to risk them teaming up against me. It was simpler to deal with whoever survived in the end.

I gathered up the loot for easier transport and continued to observe the fight.

“GRAAAH!”

“Too slow!”

The hobgoblin, stronger and faster with its bastard sword, used its body’s twist and centrifugal force to accelerate its attack, striking the adventurer leader with a horizontal slash.

The adventurer leader didn’t take the attack head-on; instead, he angled his sword to deflect the blow.

His approach was one of pure defense, waiting for the hobgoblin to make a large opening before striking back.

It was the first time I’d seen an adventurer deflecting attacks in such a way. With the precise commands he gave, he seemed like a highly skilled adventurer.

However, even though he was deflecting, he couldn’t break the goblin’s stance or immediately retaliate after parrying.

His technique was still raw.

The hobgoblin had received a significant strike to its back. I thought it would bleed out and collapse, but surprisingly, the bleeding had already stopped.

There was no blood loss, but the pain must have been excruciating. However, it seemed like the hobgoblin was ignoring the pain, overshadowed by its fury.

Had there been more blood loss, perhaps the adventurer leader could have won. But, surprisingly, the hobgoblin was in better shape than I had anticipated.

Was the adventurer leader in trouble? I thought as I continued to watch.

Perhaps the adventurer leader sensed it too, because he made his move.

As the hobgoblin swung its sword down in a wide arc, the adventurer leader deflected it with a diagonal block and pressed forward.

He lifted the hilt of his sword, striking the hobgoblin under the chin and disrupting its posture. Taking advantage of its instability, the adventurer leader attempted to finish it off with a slash to its neck.

Just when I thought the adventurer leader had won, the hobgoblin leaned back, pushing off its chin, and fell further back, narrowly avoiding the sword. Then, it kicked out with its leg, sending the adventurer leader flying.

Since the kick was made from an unstable position, the force wasn’t enough to do serious damage. But it bought the hobgoblin enough time to get back on its feet and regain its stance.

The battle reset, and the same exchange of blows continued. Perhaps the adventurer leader had realized that he was losing stamina, or maybe he sensed an opening from their previous exchange.

He tried again, advancing from a deflection with a forward motion. This time, instead of lifting the hobgoblin’s chin with the hilt, he seemed to be aiming for a thrust to the vulnerable spot on the neck.

In a world where swordsmanship hadn’t developed much, it was impressive that the adventurer leader had mastered the art of deflection. I could understand his confidence in his technique.

He deflected the blow and moved closer, preparing to strike at the gap in the goblin’s defense. It could almost be called a special move. He had multiple patterns after advancing, no doubt.

But, adventurer leader… That technique you just showed me… You already revealed it.

Also, when you deflect the attack, your opponent’s imbalance isn’t fully exploited. You need to refine that further.

Had you put in more effort and perfected that technique, you might’ve won.

“GAAAAHHHH!!”

The adventurer leader advanced again, deflecting the hobgoblin’s attack while driving the hilt of his sword into its neck.

But, when you’re that close, it’s clear that you can’t attack with anything other than the hilt.

With the hobgoblin’s physical strength, it can easily withstand an attack with the hilt, especially one that’s coming from a mile away.

As the hilt struck its neck, the hobgoblin’s sharp teeth latched onto the adventurer leader’s neck.

With a sickening crunch, the goblin tore into his neck, and the adventurer leader fell, gurgling as he drowned in his own blood.

“HOOOOAAH!”

I took a deep breath to steady myself, then began walking toward the hobgoblin.

“You’re in bad shape, hobgoblin. I wanted to fight you when we were both at our best.”

“GRAAAAHHH!”

“I’m going to test how much stronger I’ve become using you as my opponent!”

With that, I charged toward the hobgoblin.