The scout stared at Adam with exhausted, trembling eyes; her body still shaking from the mad sprint that had nearly drained her.
Adam simply stood there with his calm, unreadable, expression.
Her thoughts tangled in confusion.
How has he survived up to now?
His essence capacity was practically nonexistent.
Someone like him shouldn't even be able to escape a goblin, much less survive deep inside Gob Valley.
A dark thought suddenly crept in, freezing her spine.
What if his group encountered the same monster we did?
She swallowed hard.
She didn't know this boy.
She wasn't even sure he could fight.
But she assumed that he must have suffered the same nightmare as her.
And as she opened her mouth to ask, the grass behind Adam parted, with the black goblin stepping out.
It still had That same twisted smile and those intelligent predatory eyes, With blood still dried across its claws.
All the air left the scout's lungs in an instant.
Her instincts screamed at her to run; to use the last drop of essence in her body to escape.
But then she looked at Adam again.
He wasn't moving.
He just stood frozen in place.
"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!"
But Adam didn't budge.
Not even an inch.
The scout's heart sank.
He's frozen in fear…
The black goblin stalked forward, its steps slow, savoring the moment.
Its gaze fixed mostly on Adam, lips curling as it licked them in anticipation.
"Shit."
Her thoughts spiraled.
She contemplated fleeing and saving herself, or staying and fighting long enough for the boy to escape.
Her brows knotted in agony, before they slowly relaxed.
As a grim smile formed on her face.
"No regrets."
She owed Adam nothing.
Saving herself was the smarter choice, she was a trained combatant, and he was someone with barely a trace of essence.
But guilt poisoned her heart, for she had not stayed back to avenge her group.
Yes, it had been logical.
Yes, it had been survival.
But it hadn't eased her conscience.
Now, finally, she had a reason to fight again.
If she had once run to save her life.
Then this time she would fight to save a life.
She dropped into a low stance, reversing her grip on her single dagger conduit.
Her Three-Star Martial Spirit materialized behind her, the hooded shadow looming protectively.
Then,
She lunged.
Her dagger shot toward the black goblin's neck, barely inches away from piercing it.
But in that short moment, a clawed hand snapped around her throat, killing her momentum instantly as her martial Spirit shattered into mist.
Her legs kicked helplessly as she was lifted off the ground, choking.
The goblin tore its gaze from Adam and looked at her struggling form with cruel amusement.
Its grip tightened, bones groaning under pressure.
Just a bit more and…
A voice cut through the clearing, cold enough to freeze blood.
"You have the guts to act so brazenly in front of me."
Before the goblin's head made a full turn,
SHNK!
Its wrist was severed in a single impossible slice.
The scout fell to the earth, coughing violently and clutching her bruised throat.
When she finally looked up, Adam and the goblin were gone.
There was only empty grass and the echo of that icy voice lingering in the air.
The scout spun in place, searching frantically, but there was no one.
Only the swaying grass and the fading echo of her own heartbeat.
For a moment she wondered if she had imagined everything.
Because what her mind was telling her; what she thought she'd seen, felt impossible.
Her memory replayed itself sharply.
As the black goblin choked her, her eyes, fading and panicked, landed on the boy.
She was aiming to signal him to escape while the monster was distracted, but her eyes widened in shock at what she saw.
Instead of seeing the expected frightened and terrified youth, she saw a killing intent that resembled the cold, ravenous hunger of a demon from hell.
It was so dense that it made her forget the fingers closing around her throat for a moment.
It wasn't the intent of a Martial Apprentice.
Not even of a Martial Warrior.
It was the intent of someone who slaughtered without hesitation and found comfort in death.
And the instant she noticed that cold aura,
The boy vanished.
One moment he stood there.
The next, he disappeared like an afterimage torn from reality.
And now she was alone.
****
Just beyond the clearing.
The black goblin smashed into the dirt, skidding across the ground.
Adam stood a few feet away, posture relaxed, expression unreadable, and knife loosely in hand.
As joyful as he felt torturing monsters, he didn't want anyone to witness it.
If the kill was quick, he wouldn't care if people saw.
But what he planned for this creature was not something meant for spectators.
The goblin clutched the raw stump of its severed right hand, glaring at him with cold calculation. Their was no fear, only caution.
Adam's eyes narrowed.
"So that's what's happening."
He took a step closer, observing it like a puzzle.
The goblin shifted its footing, every muscle ready to react.
Adam continued calmly despite the goblins reaction.
"The rift is mutating."
Mutant rifts were common knowledge, even to someone as low-class as him.
But common knowledge didn't mean common occurrence.
A mutant rift's chance of appearing was one in a thousand.
Yet Gob Valley had become one.
It explained everything.
"This explains their weird actions earlier."
He spoke almost casually, as though teaching the goblin of its origins.
"When a rift begins mutating, the monsters inside first turn on each other, cannibalizing to gather the energy they need to mutate."
He raised his knife slightly, emerald eyes reflecting the goblin's twisted form.
"They would also instinctively avoid anything that threatens their mutation. Developing some sort of sixth sense."
Adam's lips curled faintly.
"Hence why those earlier goblins ran the moment they saw me. Because meeting me means death. And death means no mutation."
He gestured toward the black goblin.
"But after mutation?"
He smiled wider.
"That instinct fades."
And indeed, this mutated goblin showed no fear.
Even after having its hand severed.
Even knowing it stood no chance.
The goblin still snarled and bore it fangs at Adam.
Adam's joy sharpened.
"Just because you mutated to a higher level, you think highly of yourself?"
The goblin's snarl deepened.
Adam stepped forward slowly, each movement seeming to drip with ice.
"I was getting bored of how your kind were terrified before I even lifted a finger."
His voice lowered into something darker.
"So you're a breath of foul fresh air."
The black goblin met his gaze, hatred burning within them.
As Adam towered over it.
A heartbeat passed.
Then,
"Arghhhh!!!!!!"
A feral, agonizing scream ripped through the grasslands.
A scream that sounded like it belonged to a forsaken soul from hell.
****
[Authors Note]
Bonus chapter if we reach 10 reviews.
Thank you for reading.