The goblin charged towards me, throwing his spear and leaping high into the air, simultaneously throwing his shield just as I dodged it. I had to roll backwards, and as I was about to stand up, the goblin spun his body, tripped my leg, and grabbed the back of my shirt, slamming me to the side.

Trying to endure the pain surging through me, I quickly tried to get back on my feet to regain momentum. However, the goblin didn't give me a chance and instead delivered a powerful blow to my face, followed by a strong kick to my body, sending me tumbling forward.

Through my blurry vision, I saw him calmly walking over, picking up the spear that was stuck in the ground along with his shield.

He then turned to me, waiting in place with a wide smile. "Get up, human. This fight is not over," he said in a voice that sounded raspy and heavy, as if he were a heavy smoker.

Unlike the two goblins who remained silent behind him, wearing the same grin, watching their leader take control of the situation.

Feeling the pain coursing through me, it reminded me of my days practicing Muay Thai.

The blood flowing from my broken nose was one of them.

I smiled, feeling the wet red liquid dripping down, wiping it away with the back of my hand, rekindling a sensation I hadn't felt in a long time.

The feeling of wanting to destroy your opponent.

I assumed a fighting stance, raising my right leg and both hands in front of my face.

The goblin understood and charged forward.

This time, it spun its body, swinging the spear from the side, but I dodged it by lowering my body.

I stepped forward, seizing the opportunity when its side was exposed, delivering a powerful strike to its left ribs, followed by a series of quick combos to its body and face.

Finally, I kicked its left thigh, causing it to kneel on the ground. I spun my body to gather momentum and delivered a strong kick to its head, sending it flying to the side.

Not stopping there, I ran closer, dodging as the spear swung again.

A little bit late, and my body would received a deep gash.

Seizing the opportunity while I stepped back, the goblin struck with its shield, directly hitting my right arm as I tried to protect myself.

I held on as tightly as possible to avoid falling, wincing in pain as I felt my bones crack from the impact. I took a few steps back, which the goblin did not allow me to have.

He continued his charge, throwing his shield towards my right side, forcing me to dodge to the side and receiving a swing of the spear to the left side of my head.

My vision became slightly blurry and shaky, as if an earthquake had occurred.

Trying to regain focus, I summoned a mana shield right between us to create some distance and to calm my throbbing head, which I was certain was bleeding from the impact.

I'm lucky that the goblin didn't immediately use the sharp edge of its spear to kill me. But at the same time, I'm worried, knowing that this goblin seems to be playing with me.

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In the moment when it gets bored, that's when I could lose my life.

I need to find a way to at least make it unconscious so that I can go and find them.

"What's the matter, human? Is that all you have? You shouldn't be wandering around here if that's all you can do. If I really wanted to kill you, you would've been dead from the start. Come on, don't bore me. You know what will happen, don't you?" He taunted, with the same smirk on his face.

Damn it, I know I can't argue with that, but hearing it directly makes my blood boil.

Is this all I can do?

How can I help the three of them if I can't even handle a goblin?

I can't go on like this, but what can I do?

Think, Zent, don't let that goblin embarrass you.

Ah!

"For a monster, you sure are clever with words. I never thought primitive creatures like you could use your mouth so well. I thought you only used it to eat rotten food," I taunted, successfully making the goblin's eyes twitch with suppressed anger, seen from his tight grip on the spear. "What's wrong? Can't handle it? Admit it, you're nothing more than lowly creatures beneath humans."

In that instant, he leaped forward, throwing his shield towards me, which I dodged to the left. Then, I swiftly rolled forward as he thrust the spear.

In less than a second, he quickly turned around and swung the spear, which I managed to block with my left foot. This caught him off guard as he noticed a small shield appearing on the outer side of my leg.

Not wanting to miss this opportunity, I stepped forward, strengthening my fist where I had gathered energy from my newfound ability. I unleashed it, striking the left side of his body with a powerful blow.

A thunderous sound erupted, accompanied by a powerful surge of energy, sending a cloud of dust into the air. The two goblins behind had to shield their eyes from the dust while trying to ascertain the fate of their leader.

When the dust finally settled, not far ahead, they saw the large goblin coughing up blood. He collapsed forward, hitting the ground with a loud thud, devoid of the energy to rise again.

Beside him, I was panting heavily, exhausted after expelling such an unexpectedly immense amount of energy. I had merely attempted to convert the energy that allowed me to move swiftly and jump high into a concentrated burst when focused in a single point.

I never thought my technique would work.

Perhaps I was fortunate, but unfortunately, the goblin lying limp before me was not.

Did I just successfully face my first opponent in this world?

But just as I was about to feel proud of myself, a word hit me like a sledgehammer. My eyes widened, my heart raced, and my breathing became erratic.

"Father!" the two goblins cried out as they ran towards the fallen giant. "Father! Open your eyes! Father!"

Father?

So, are these two small-sized goblins actually children?

Wha.. W-what have I just done...

I can't think anymore, my head feels like it's spinning violently, as if a raging storm is brewing inside it, causing my body to fall helplessly to the ground, unable to gather any strength even just to stand.

I-I have just killed... I've killed a parent in front.. of their children.

Hah..

hah..

hah..

What? It can't be true, right?

I... I killed... No. He's still alive, I didn't hit that hard, I... I'm sorry. I... I didn't know...

"You! You killed our father! He just wanted to take us for a walk after working for a month! Why did you kill him! YOU DAMN HUMAN!" shouted one of them, whom I couldn't see.

Then, cries.

That was all I could hear in the midst of this forest.

A loud scream calling for their father to come back, a scream that felt like thousands of knives slicing through my chest, then doused in acid and clawed in search of a feeling, a feeling called remorse.

I don't know what to think anymore. I truly believed they were just goblin warriors on patrol and not a small family. I thought those two goblins were just small-sized goblins like behind the screen...

"Then, if they were the goblins you thought they were, like in a game, would you not feel guilty?"

No, I, I thought... They were monsters, evil creatures that needed to be killed.

"They and us are no different, you know? Humans are even far worse than them. So, are we not monsters worthy of being killed, as you said?

Deserving to be annihilated?"

I... I don't know. I don't know! I DON'T KNOW!

"Zent! Zent! ZENT!!"

I looked to the side and found Celine standing there with her two friends, looking at the young goblins with sympathy.

Rio covered her mouth with her hands, unable to contain her shock, while Rayven kneeled beside them, paying respects to their father.

"Let's go home."