“Gugaaah—!”
A short, sharp scream echoed through the cave.
Rosie thrust the wooden short spear viciously into the goblin's chest.
Then, with a kick to its stomach, she sent it flying backward along with the spear, crashing into another goblin.
She reached for her waist with her right hand, drawing her short sword with a crisp shriek of metal.
Stepping forward, she saw the knocked-over goblin scrambling frantically to get off the ground.
The short sword was already upon it.
The tip pierced through the cartilage of its throat, emerging from the back of its neck.
Rosie twisted her wrist, giving it a half-turn before pulling it out. The blade left the goblin's neck with a spray of warm blood.
Clutching its throat with both hands, the goblin kicked its legs a few times on the ground before going completely still.
Without even taking the time to check if it was dead, Rosie thrust the torch in her left hand forward violently.
The orange-red flames sliced an arc of light through the dark, sending a blast of heat and flickering light straight into the face of the goblin to her left.
“Gaah!”
The goblin, which had raised a stone axe to strike, was dazzled by the sudden blaze and instinctively recoiled.
In that exact split second as it shielded its face, Rosie made her move.
Twisting her hips, she drove her short sword forward at a tricky angle, slipping right between the goblin's arms to plunge precisely into its left eye.
There was a moment of resistance as the point pierced the eyeball before squelching through, sinking deeper until it struck the bone behind the eye socket.
A dull, sticky resistance transmitted back along the blade.
She gave it a twist, but the blade was wedged tightly in the bone crevice and refused to budge.
Decisively letting go of the hilt, her right hand reached out like lightning to snatch the stone axe from the blinded goblin's hand.
Her gaze locked onto another goblin nearby trying to sneak up on her with a short spear.
Leaning back, she harnessed the full power of her core and hurled the stone axe.
The axe sliced a swift, forceful arc through the air, striking the goblin dead center in the chest.
“Gugah~”
The goblin collapsed in the tunnel, twitched twice, and stopped moving.
【Learned Level 1 Throwing】
“Huh?”
Rosie let out a grunt of surprise.
She had spent ages poking with the short spear without learning a thing, yet a casual throw had instantly unlocked a skill.
“Gugu-gaga!~”
The remaining goblins broke completely.
Screaming in terror, they dropped their crude weapons to the ground with a clatter and bolted deeper into the cave as fast as their short legs could carry them, not daring to look back.
Rosie stood in place, listening to the frantic footsteps and shrieks fade away down the tunnel.
Exhaling a long breath, she shook out her right hand. The sudden burst of intense action had left her forearm slightly sore.
Walking over to the goblin she had speared through the eye, she planted a foot on its chest, grabbed the short sword's hilt, and yanked hard.
With a faint click, the blade came free from the bone crevice.
Rosie turned the blade, inspecting its edge under the torchlight.
Near the tip, a chip the size of a pinky fingernail had broken off, and a thin crack extended downward toward the middle of the blade.
The next time it hit something hard, the blade would likely snap right along that crack.
“...Cheap second-hand junk really doesn't cut it.”
She sighed, though her tone held neither anger nor regret.
She hadn't expected to buy an heirloom weapon for a few silver coins anyway; for it to last until now before chipping was already getting her money's worth.
Fortunately, the goblins had been driven off.
A notification box popped up before her eyes.
【Successfully repelled the goblins. Reward Title: Goblin Slayer】
【Goblin Slayer — Accumulate kill progress by slaying goblins. Once the gauge is full, you can acquire one Trait of a goblin. Current Progress: 0%】
A goblin trait?
Rosie blinked in surprise.
What trait could these weak little goblins possibly have that was worth learning?
Unarmed, even with her physique from her previous life, she could probably take on ten of them.
Unable to come up with an answer, she didn't dwell on it for long.
Besides, the progress bar was still at zero, far from full. She'd find out when the time came.
She sheathed her short sword, scanned the corpses and the ground around her, and picked up a discarded wooden short spear.
This spear was slightly longer and straighter than the previous one, feeling fairly comfortable in her grip.
It would serve as a temporary replacement weapon.
Raising her torch, Rosie continued deeper into the cave.
If there were any stray goblins cowering in some corner, she could use them to build up her progress bar.
To her slight disappointment, she didn't encounter a single living goblin as she proceeded.
The creatures had clearly been terrified out of their wits by her swift killing spree, hiding themselves deep inside some branching tunnel.
Truly the lowest tier of cannon fodder—swarming when they had the upper hand, but scattering completely the moment bodies started falling.
After walking through a tunnel roughly twenty meters long, the space ahead suddenly opened up.
The cavern expanded into a relatively spacious underground hall about three or four meters high. A few thick stalactites hung from the ceiling, and the ground was fairly level.
In a corner of this hall, Rosie spotted several piles of provisions stacked against the wall.
Spilled wheat flour covered the ground, along with shrivelled cabbages, mud-caked radishes, and several strips of dried meat from an unknown animal.
There was even a broken-handled clay jar tilted against the corner, which might have once held oil or alcohol.
These were likely the stolen goods the chief had mentioned.
Just as she was about to check for other exits around the hall, the flickering torchlight swept over a dark corner, catching a small silhouette flitting at the edge of the light.
Rosie instantly raised her short spear, pointing the tip directly at the corner.
“Looks like one got away!”
Her voice echoed briefly in the cavernous hall, laced with chilling intent to kill.
The small shadow in the corner visibly shuddered.
Then, a shrill, high-pitched voice called out from the darkness.
“Sp-spare me! I'm not a goblin!”
“A talking goblin is still a goblin, and all goblins die!” Rosie growled fiercely.
“No, no! I really am not a goblin!”
The figure pleaded frantically, its voice choked with tears.
“Let me step into the light! Look at me—I'm really not a goblin!”
Cautiously raising both hands, the figure took step after step out from the corner and into the ring of torchlight.
It really wasn't a goblin.
Emerging from the shadows was a humanoid creature... about the size of a human child.
Her face carried an expression unique to adults; the fine lines at the corners of her eyes and the curve of her lips revealed that her true age was far greater than her appearance suggested.
Her dark brown hair was braided into a thin plait pinned behind her head. She wore a dusty, mud-stained old leather coat, and a small pouch along with several oddly shaped tools hung at her waist.
A halfling.
Legend had it that their ancestors were distant relatives of humans, but after living among hills and woodlands for generations, their bodies shrank over time, evolving into nimble forms suited for weaving through forests.
They usually earned a living through farming, crafts, or trade, though an adventurous few preferred to pack their bags and travel far and wide.
Rosie didn't immediately lower her spear.
“What is a halfling doing here? What's your connection to those goblins?”
Her tone remained cold and interrogative.
Hearing this, the female halfling actually relaxed a little.
At least she wasn't about to be run through on the spot.
Lowering her hands from above her head, she patted the dust off her chest and spoke in a high, squeaky voice with a distinctive halfling accent:
“Emily has nothing to do with the goblins. Emily is an archaeologist investigating the ancient ruins here.”
“Investigating ruins inside a goblin lair?” Rosie didn't bother hiding her skepticism. “Do you really expect me to believe that?”
She thrust the spear forward a notch, its tip practically touching the halfling's nose.
The latter hurriedly backed up half a step, waving her hands frantically.
“It's true! Emily speaks Ancient Gnome, so Emily can communicate with those goblins! They think Emily is a goblin too!”
“Gnome?” Rosie repeated the word.
The halfling quickly added, “Ancient texts record that during the ancient era, goblins were actually called gnomes and possessed a mighty civilization!”
Rosie fell silent for a moment.
Images of those little greenskins flashed through her mind.
Jagged yellow teeth, crude leather loincloths, dung-coated spears, and a morale that shattered at the first sign of death.
Then she tried to imagine the “ancient gnomes with a mighty civilization” described by the halfling.
She couldn't connect the two at all.
It was as absurd as someone telling her that a stray dog rooting through trash for slops was the same species as a king sitting in a royal palace.
“Deep inside this cave is an ancient gnome ruin! Emily can take you to see it!”
Seeing Rosie lost in thought, the halfling seized the chance to add.
Ancient ruins.
The words flashed brightly in Rosie's mind.
An adventurer's instinct told her that "ruins" was roughly synonymous with "good loot."
Regardless of the type, ruins were bound to contain something valuable.
Equipment, jewels, ancient knowledge, lost technology...
As Rosie was pondering, the translucent panel lit up silently once more.
【Optional Adventure Quest: What Is History?】
【Investigate the ancient ruins with the halfling. Reward: Unknown】
An unknown reward?
This piqued Rosie's interest even further.
She lowered the short spear away from the halfling's face, pointing it toward the ground.
While she didn't put it away entirely, it was a clear signal of goodwill.
She glanced at the halfling. “Your name is Emily?”
The halfling nodded vigorously. “Yes! Emily Greenstone. It's a pleasure to meet you! Um, may Emily ask your name?”
“Rosie.”
“Hello, Rosie.”
Emily turned and walked toward a partially concealed, narrow opening in a corner of the hall.
“Follow Emily! The entrance to the ruins is right over here. Emily promises you'll see things you've never seen before!”
Rate on N.U.
