Agu stole a glance at Sakeer.
The moment he saw the faint smile on the human's face, he felt a surge of relief.
He was satisfied.
The powerful human had accepted their gifts and seemed pleased with his answers.
That meant—
Not only was there a chance to save Brother Muguo, but perhaps… just perhaps… this was the beginning of a connection with this formidable human.
At the thought, Agu's heart swelled with a mix of joy and pride.
Coming here had been the right decision.
Unlike his cowardly tribesmen—who cowered in fear, seeking protection from the very trolls that saw them as nothing more than livestock—he had dared to act.
"I must say, the information you've given me is quite useful."
Sakeer's voice snapped Agu out of his thoughts.
The human tapped the blade of his iron sword thoughtfully, his expression unreadable.
"So… what kind of reward should I give you?"
Agu's breath caught in his throat.
A reward?
That thought hadn't even crossed his mind.
"M-My lord, Agu needs no reward!"
His voice trembled slightly, but there was no mistaking the excitement hidden beneath his words.
With a hurried nod, he added eagerly:
"As long as my lord spares Brother Muguo, that is enough."
Then, as if summoning all his courage, Agu hesitated before glancing toward the treasure wrapped around Sakeer's wrist.
A small, round object, no larger than a ping-pong ball—yet to the Gigu Tribe, it was priceless.
Taking a deep breath, Agu pressed on:
"If my lord is willing to return our tribe's treasure… we, the Gigu Tribe, will serve you. We will investigate everything about the trolls on your behalf."
By the time he finished speaking, his voice had turned cautious.
Would the human consider this a fair trade?
Sakeer chuckled.
The warmth in his smile deepened, though there was something unsettling about it.
"A trade, is it? That's not bad at all."
He exhaled slowly, then nodded.
"Alright. I've decided on your reward."
At those words, Agu and the two hobgoblins beside him visibly brightened.
Was it really that simple? Just answering a few questions had earned them a reward?
They could hardly believe their luck.
But then—
Sakeer tilted his head slightly, as if pondering something.
"It would be a waste to use a fourth-tier spell on this…" he murmured to himself. "But I do need to test its power anyway."
Agu's excitement wavered.
What did he mean by that?
Before he could react, Sakeer raised his hand, palm facing the air before him.
The hobgoblins looked on in confusion.
Their faces were full of expectation—
Until Agu's expression suddenly changed.
A creeping sense of dread seized his chest.
Something was wrong.
His mouth opened—
But before he could utter a word—
"Heat Up."
Sakeer spoke two simple words.
A strange hum reverberated through the air.
Then—
FWOOSH!
The temperature skyrocketed.
A red light flickered at the center of Sakeer's palm, and within seconds, the air itself became a furnace.
The three hobgoblins froze—then immediately began to gasp and choke.
The once-cool jungle air had turned into scorching heat.
Agu tried to cry out, but the moment he inhaled, the searing air scorched his throat and lungs, rendering him mute.
His vision blurred.
The suffocating heat made his head spin, and within moments, even the pain itself faded.
The dark green skin of Agu and the other hobgoblins began to bloat and redden, their veins swelling and rupturing as their blood boiled within them.
A sickening steam hissed from their bodies, their flesh drying out at an alarming rate.
+55 XP gained.
+62 XP gained.
+63 XP gained.
The system notifications flashed in Sakeer's vision, confirming the inevitable.
The Heat Up spell was a continuous heat-based incantation—
Starting at 400 degrees, it climbed relentlessly, increasing by the second until it reached a staggering 1,200 degrees.
The hobgoblins stood no chance.
Their bodies shriveled, their limbs contorted, their once-living forms reduced to three smoldering husks.
And yet—
Even before their bodies completely crumbled to ash—
Sakeer could feel the heat licking at his own skin.
A sharp sting brushed against his cheeks, and without hesitation, he snapped his fingers—
Immediately canceling the spell and stepping back.
The scorching air rolled outward, an invisible wave of heat rippling through the surroundings.
In an instant, nearby branches curled inward, their vibrant green withering into a charred yellow as they cracked and crumbled into ash.
Sakeer instinctively drew in a breath, only for his lungs to be seared by the blistering heat.
A sharp, stinging sensation prickled his nasal cavity, forcing him to exhale quickly.
Even though the spell had been directed at the hobgoblins, the superheated air and expanding heat wave didn't discriminate—affecting not just the target but the caster as well.
"So, 'Heat Up' magic doesn't differentiate between friend and foe, huh?"
Sakeer pinched his nose, trying to suppress the tingling burn.
He hadn't even let out a scream, yet the three hobgoblins had already shrunk into lifeless husks—their once-solid forms reduced to brittle, dried corpses.
Only then did he glance at his own burning-hot palm, the lingering heat still smoldering against his skin.
"Even the caster suffers backlash... definitely different from normal-ranked magic."
His brows furrowed slightly.
"Good thing this was only fourth-tier magic. If it were anything higher, I'd be dealing with a lot more than just a burning sensation."
The mere thought sent a chill down his spine.
If he ever upgraded this spell further, the heat alone might consume even him upon casting.
"Unless I gain fire resistance—or, better yet, complete immunity—this magic becomes more of a liability the stronger it gets."
A fleeting thought, but an important one.
Behind him—
"A-Agu..."
A trembling voice broke the silence.
Muguo stood frozen in his arms, staring at the charred remains of his former comrades.
His fear-stricken face paled, his entire body shaking uncontrollably.
The realization hit him like a sledgehammer.
The human, who had just moments ago been smiling, seemingly reasonable, had massacred them without hesitation.
Crack!
A twig snapped underfoot.
Muguo flinched violently.
Sakeer slowly turned, his gaze settling on the terrified hobgoblin.
Then, he smiled—an easy, almost casual expression.
"Since you and Agu were so close…" he mused lightly. "Why don't you join him?"
Boom.
Muguo's entire body shuddered violently.
His throat bobbed in terror—
And then, a foul stench filled the air.
The hobgoblin's lower body went slack, betraying his utter terror.
His mouth opened—words tumbling out frantic and desperate, his voice a panicked wail.
"W-Wait! You said—!"
His words choked in his throat.
Then, in a frantic scramble, he lurched forward, desperately clawing at the dirt, trying to drag himself away.
"D-Don't kill me!"
"I-I can be useful! I know all about the smaller goblin tribes!"
"H-Human! You said—"
"You said you wouldn't—!"
Terror consumed him, his shrill screams filled with raw desperation as he crawled, trying to escape the inevitable.
But behind him, Sakeer's footsteps remained calm and steady.
Each step echoed like a death knell.
"A deal only works when both sides are equal."
His voice was unhurried, measured, yet carried an undeniable finality.
"If one side is too weak…"
His iron sword gleamed under the dimming light.
"It gets devoured by the other."
He sighed, shaking his head slightly.
"It's the same 'law of the jungle' you hobgoblins follow, isn't it?"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Agu understood that. He just trusted his own intelligence too much."
"What he didn't understand…"
He raised his sword.
"Is that humans aren't trolls."
Shuff~
Sakeer paused, his gaze flicking toward the sound.
Then—
Babble!
Something small burst out from the undergrowth, stumbling into the open.
Right in front of Muguo.
A familiar figure.
Sakeer raised a brow in surprise.
"Huh. You actually managed to keep up?"
It was the little Barghest.
The creature shook itself vigorously, ridding its fur of dust, before turning its dark, beady eyes toward the cowering hobgoblin.
Then—
Its lips peeled back, revealing small but sharp fangs, and it let out an aggressive snarl.
"Rar!"
The tiny creature bristled, baring its teeth as it growled fiercely at Muguo.
The sight was almost comical.
A tiny pup, acting as if it could take on a hobgoblin nearly ten times its size.
For a moment, Sakeer simply observed.
Then, a smirk tugged at his lips.
"Interesting."
He lowered his sword slightly, his gaze settling on the little beast.
"How about it? Want to take care of this one for me?"
The Barghest's ears perked up.
And then—
Its growl deepened, its pupils glinting with something almost… excited.
A wicked little gleam in its eyes.
"Roar!"
The little Barghest's black pupils flashed, its bone chains clinking softly as it lunged straight at Big Brother Muguo.
Bang!
"Get away from me!!"
Muguo, startled and panicked, swung his massive hand.
The impact sent the little Barghest flying backward, tumbling across the dirt.
Without hesitation, Muguo resumed crawling, desperately dragging himself toward the jungle's edge.
Despite his broken legs and severe injuries, the hobgoblin's dual-class status meant he wasn't so weak that the little Barghest could take him down easily.
Yet—
"Raar!"
The little beast let out a low growl, shaking off the pain as it scrambled upright.
It didn't hesitate.
Again, it charged forward.
But this time—
Instead of a frontal assault, it circled behind the struggling hobgoblin and sank its fangs into the vulnerable, wounded leg.
"AARRGH!!"
A piercing scream ripped through the air.
Muguo howled in agony, thrashing as the little beast ripped into his flesh.
A moment later—
Crunch!
A sickening snap echoed.
The hobgoblin barely had time to react before—
His leg was torn off.
Muguo let out one final, choked gurgle before his body slumped motionless onto the ground.
Sakeer exhaled softly, watching the scene unfold.
"Cowardice really does run deep in the hobgoblin race."
For all of Muguo's strength, he hadn't even tried to fight back properly.
If he had attacked head-on, the little Barghest wouldn't have stood a chance.
Yet, in the face of death, he had chosen to flee—
And that hesitation had sealed his fate.
The little Barghest stood there, its black fur matted with blood—all of it belonging to Muguo.
Despite still being in its cub stage, it had already begun to show the ferocious endurance characteristic of its kind.
Grrr~
A faint rumbling sound broke the silence.
Sakeer raised an eyebrow.
The little Barghest's stomach growled, its belly slightly sunken from hunger.
It blinked its dark eyes, gazing up at Sakeer with a vague look of expectation.
"I remember... Barghests are omnivores, right?"
Sakeer glanced at the creature, then lazily gestured toward Muguo's cooling corpse.
The little beast's eyes gleamed.
Without hesitation, it sank its teeth into the flesh, devouring the hobgoblin without a shred of restraint.
Sakeer watched, slightly taken aback.
In mere moments, Muguo—a creature more than twice the size of the pup—had been completely consumed, swallowed into the little monster's growing belly.
Its once flat stomach now bulged round and full.
Sakeer smirked.
"That's... quite the appetite. At least you're useful for cleaning up corpses."
After finishing its meal, the little Barghest sat down, its body clearly monstrous, yet its expression oddly pitiful as it gazed up at Sakeer.
It blinked.
Sakeer exhaled, stretching slightly.
"Alright. Time to go."
He glanced around the jungle, picked up his iron sword, and turned to leave.
But after taking a few steps—
He paused.
Then, he turned his head.
The little Barghest was still sitting there, staring at him.
Sakeer narrowed his eyes.
"Well? What are you waiting for?"
"Hurry up and follow."
"Awoo!"
The little Barghest stiffened, then its eyes brightened in an instant.
Without hesitation, it scrambled onto all fours and raced after him.
(End of Chapter)