After saving the file, Ash retrieved a gleaming new iron dagger from his inventory, a reward from Ronald for finding his lost dog. Offering a silent prayer to Lady Luck for good fortune, he cautiously approached the goblin.

But Ash clearly underestimated the goblin's long pointy ear, hearing simple movement behind him, the goblin, with a confused expression on his ugly, human-like face, spun around with a bewildered frown and saw Ash with a dagger in hand walking toward him tip-toe with an evidently ulterior motive.

"HUMI!"

The goblin goblin roared, a guttural beastly voice, but Ash could clearly understand his words filled with fear and anger. It seemed the goblin didn't have much confidence that he could kill the weapon-wielding Ash, he likely mistook him for a seasoned hunter.

"You damn goblin, how dare you throw a stone at my face? I will take my revenge now!" Ash yelled angrily, trying to muster courage, after all, before this, he hadn't even killed a cockroach, let alone a big, intelligent creature like a goblin. He charged at the goblin, but only took a few steps when he was greeted by a palm-sized stone to his stomach.

"F*ck, this is cheating! Don't throw stones during a fair battle, you coward," Ash complained, wearing a pained expression as the goblin's stone throw was quite powerful. He had probably practiced it a lot.

But the goblin obviously wasn't in the mood to listen to his nonsense. He grabbed more stones from the ground and continued to throw them at Ash. However, due to his nervousness, not only did he miss 90% of the time, but even the power decreased quite a bit.

Still, even a 10% success rate was enough to cause trouble for a noob like Ash. Just as Ash finished complaining, another stone hit his left thigh, eliciting a yelp of pain and forcing him to pause. But this clearly wasn't a wise choice, as when Ash stopped for a moment, he became a simple practice target for the goblin. The goblin, eyes gleaming with malicious glee, bombarded him with stones, which God knows where he was picking them from.

Ash, who had originally expected a wonderful battle, could only stare at the turn of events where he was pathetically pummeled by a goblin wielding mere stones. For once, he even doubted life, wondering if the little goblin in front of him was the protagonist of the novel with plot armor. Otherwise, how could such a bizarre thing even be possible? If there were an internet in this world, this incident would definitely become the reason for Ash's social death; at least, his meme would probably go viral.

After throwing stones until his hand got sore, the goblin finally ceased his stone barrage. He looked at the pitiful Ash, battered and bloodied, lying there, breathing heavily. Relief washed over him as the rain of stones ended. He attempted to get up from the ground with a murderous glint in his eye. However, would anyone in their right mind give their seriously injured enemy time to get up, adjust their mentality, and come near them so that if their luck was good, they could turn the tables?

The answer is obviously not. Unless you're bound by a cliché plot, no one would play jokes with their precious life. And the little goblin clearly isn't an idiot; he has no intention of letting Ash turn the tables or make a sacrificial attack at the final moment. So, before Ash could even stand up properly, the little goblin hurriedly picked up a wooden spear beside his bed and rushed toward him..

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Seeing the goblin coming at him with a wooden spear, Ash's face hardened. He tightened his grip on his dagger while enduring the throbbing pain throughout his body. Though the stones hadn't caused severe injuries, the blow to his head still had a significant effect. Rubbing his bleary eyes, he resolved to kill the f*cker in front of him, even at the cost of his own life. That bastard had inflicted a lot of pain on him in the past few hours, and Ash was now determined to take this battle to the extreme.

As the goblin approached, and was about to stab the spear in his face, Ash, who had been waiting for this moment while shielding his face with his arm, lunged at the goblin.

This time, it was the goblin's turn to scream "Cheating!" He couldn't comprehend such ruthless self-mutilation. Ash deliberately allowed the spear to graze his arm, using the momentum to wrench it from the goblin's grip. He then pounced, pinning the goblin to the ground while keeping the dagger gripped in his other hand.

However, the goblin wasn't one to accept his fate easily. After all, most goblins were no different than barbarians, except for their intelligence. Like wildlings, they fought fiercely for survival was in their nature, since most goblins believe in simple facts, if your fist is hard you are the king. Seeing that Ash was prepared to kill him, the goblin went berserk. Unable to use his hands, he opened his mouth and sank his razor-sharp teeth into Ash's thigh.

"AHHHHH!!!"

Ash, who had been contemplating where to stab the dagger, cried out in agony as the extreme pain shot through his left thigh. Glancing down, he saw a horrifying sight: the goblin had ripped a chunk of flesh from his thigh, exposing bone.

Things took a bloody turn. Ash, ready to dispatch the goblin, didn't anticipate receiving such a gruesome wound in return. Now, unless he wanted to endure this unbearable pain for the entire day and give Linda a heart attack, he had no choice but to restart the battle.

Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Ash gritted his teeth and, like a psychopath, squeezed the goblin's neck to restrain him. Then, with chilling composure, he began plunging his dagger into the goblin's forehead nonstop.

Blood splattered everywhere with each withdrawal of the dagger from the goblin's skull. Though the goblin was already dead after the first strike, Ash had endured too much, and even a common man, pushed to the limit, could do something shocking. It wasn't difficult for Ash, who had literally died twice at the hands of the little bastard beneath him, to vent his anger by stabbing until his heart was content.

[ *Ding! Congratulations, Host, for defeating a pitiful unarmed goblin.

You Earn 8 Exp points, and A pair of goblin ears.

Special Note: Please collect the goblin ears from the body yourself.

Remark: Even a child could fare better than you, at least they wouldn't rush an enemy unprepared. ]