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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Runein (3)
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The goblin's scowling face was so utterly repulsive that even a saint would feel the urge to sock it one good time.
"...It really has such an infuriatingly punchable face."
Much less Cheisi, who was no saint.
đŹ Commentsâ Viewer-lolololololâ Viewer-Whoa, look at that mug -This is what a goblin looks like
The viewers were even less so.
Keeek!
As if provoked by Cheisi's grimace, the goblin let out a guttural screech and charged.
Seeing the goblin swing its massive club down, Cheisi raised her dagger.
It was an attack slow enough for even an ordinary person's reflexes to block easily.
"Eek...?"
But Cheisi's body staggered from the recoil after blocking it.
At the same time, her health dropped by a considerable amount.
Whether due to the difference in attack power or because she'd tried to block a club with a dagger, the defense hadn't worked properly.
"Looks like I should focus on dodging this."
With that judgment, Cheisi dodged the goblin's next attack.
But dodging came with its own problems.
"...Not enough time to deal damage."
Even wielding that huge club, the goblin's movements were too quick to ignore.
The interval between swinging the club down and pulling it back wasn't enough for Cheisi to close in and strike.
Maybe it wasn't the goblin that was fastâmaybe Cheisi was just slow.
đŹ Commentsâ Viewer-Dodging while dealing damage will take forever -But if you don't dodge, the hits hurt too much -Shouldn't she level up more first?
"No... I think I can take it."
There was a clear difference in speed.
She could win like this, but it would drag on for a while.
Suddenly, it hit Cheisi.
She couldn't speed herself up right now, but she could slow the enemy down.
That poison needle she'd dodged earlier was still stuck in the tree, wasn't it?
A poison needle with a 30% slow effect. She didn't know the exact amount, but it would definitely help in combat.
Cheisi pulled the small poison needle from the tree.
She had no way to launch it, but she didn't need to.
As long as she could apply the poison, what did it matter?
Cheisi gripped the slender, arrow-like poison needle like a dagger.
Keyeek!
The goblin raised its club.
In the brief opening after Cheisi slipped out of the club's path, she switched from her dagger to the poison needle, closed the distance, and jabbed the venom-coated tip into the goblin's skin.
Keek?!
The goblin staggered once and wildly flailed its club.
Cheisi swiftly put distance between them.
The goblin, its green skin flushed completely red with rage, glared alternately at Cheisi and the needle stuck in its shoulder before yanking it out and hurling it at her.
With no proper throwing motion and the poison's effect already kicking in, it flew noticeably slower. It didn't even reach Cheisi, thudding weakly to the ground.
And just like that, Cheisi could feel the fight getting much easier.
The gap between the goblin swinging its club and recovering had massively widened. In other words, the damage window had exploded in length.
Cheisi's dagger tore into the goblin mercilessly. It was slowed to the point where even a total newbie who had never learned dagger techniques could exploit it easily.
Keeeeek! Geek! Gek...
Finally, the goblin collapsed to the ground and dissolved into a burst of white light.
â SYSTEM NOTIFICATION âYou gained 60 experience points.
Cheisi picked up the loot.
đ LOOT: Goblin's Poison Needle RodA weapon favored by Poison Needle Goblins. It's covered in goblin saliva from repeated use. Grade: Common Type: Loot / Weaponđ LOOT: Spare Poison Needle RodA weapon carried as backup by Poison Needle Goblins. They often forget they even have it, so it's always loaded with a fresh poison needle and has never been used. Grade: Common Type: Loot / Weapon
A couple more loot items dropped besides those, but they didn't seem useful for anything but selling.
Cheisi tossed the saliva-covered poison needle rod and picked up the rest along with the spare one.
She stowed the loot in her inventory but kept the spare poison needle rod separate.
"Three more Poison Needle Goblins to go until level 3, right?"
Now that she'd figured out how to use the poison needles, she could hunt them on sight.
Cheisi soon spotted four more Poison Needle Goblins and turned them all into bursts of white light.
Finally, 300 experience points accumulated.
And then, she leveled up.
đŹ Commentsâ Top Commentâ Viewer-Finally level 3!!â Viewer-ggg -gggggg
Cheisi looked down at her body.
"Feels like my body got a bit lighter now that I've leveled up."
Level 3 was the goal Cheisi had set. It was also the condition for the quest from Dante, and sometimes you needed a breather instead of just grinding mobs nonstop.
"Now that I'm level 3, I'll head back to the village to resupply..."
As Cheisi tied her dagger to her waist and turned to leave, she spotted a pair of eerie eyes staring at her from deeper in the forest and froze.
Kuruk?
Cheisi's eyes lit up.
A new monster. It held a club like the Poison Needle Goblin, but this one's skin was purple, and it had two horns on its head.
Cheisi checked the monster's info.
đč Twin GoblinA goblin that proudly boasts its two horns. Level: 4 Grade: Common Experience: 150
"...I'll take this one down before resupplying."
Seeing the purple goblin's experience value, Cheisi changed her mind.
It was worth about 2.5 Poison Needle Goblins. Too good to pass up.
Kuruk?
The goblin paused to size her up, but the moment Cheisi drew her dagger, it flew into a rage and charged.
As if proving its superiority, the purple goblin swung a slightly larger club, and its speed was subtly faster too.
"Definitely quicker, but..."
It couldn't match a cat's reaction speed.
Cheisi dodged leisurely, seized the damage window, and used the goblin poison needle again.
The 30% slow from the goblin poison needleâCheisi, who was using it, felt it the most keenly.
With its movements visibly sluggish, dodging became much easier, and the damage windows felt generous.
The heavily slowed club swings were no longer a real threat to Cheisi.
"Wish I had a bunch of these stocked up."
đŹ Commentsâ Viewer-Poison needles are god-tier -fr -What kind of poison even is this? Anyone know?
She even had the leisure to catch her breath and chat idly with the viewers.
Kkuruk!
Unhappy with how things were going, the purple goblin stomped the ground.
Leaves rustled, and suddenly another goblin burst from the forest.
It had purple skin too, but instead of a club, it clumsily brandished a short dagger.
Cheisi frowned and checked what kind of goblin this new foe was.
đȘ Dagger GoblinA two-goblin combo that travels with Twin Goblins. Fast-moving and adept at ambushes. Aware of its speed advantage, it uses a dagger instead of a club. Impressive for a goblin. Level: 5 Grade: Common Experience: 200
With the arrival of the slightly smaller second goblin, Cheisi understood the true meaning of "Twin."
Not because of the two horns, but because it was a duo.
"Keeek! Die!"
With a bizarre pronunciation, the new goblin lunged at Cheisi.
Kkuruk!!
The club-wielding goblin joined in, and the two goblins' pincer attack beganâor rather, a 2v1 beatdown unfolded.
"...This won't work."
Cheisi definitely felt the fight had gotten harder.
Their attack timings meshed perfectly, leaving her too busy dodging to find any damage windows.
She couldn't just tank up close either. Club hits hurt even if blocked, so she had to dodge those, and while blocking dagger strikes as much as possible to squeeze in damage, her health still drained faster than she could deal it.
Plus, the new goblin was level 5. The level where her trusty poison needles might not work.
She was at a disadvantage in every way.
đŹ Commentsâ Viewer-This looks tough -Gotta resupply and come back -No wonder the XP is so juicy
"...Time to bail."
Cheisi made her call. This was straight-up impossible.
Abandoning the hunt and retreating, she explained her plan to the viewers.
"I'll sell the loot, grab a new weapon from the smithy, and come right back."
She'd hit level 3.
She'd met one condition for getting a special weapon from Dante, and selling her loot so far should cover the rest.
That might make it doable.
đŹ Commentsâ Viewer-Coming right back? -Gonna take down the Twin Goblins?
Glancing at the chat, Cheisi replied.
"Yeah. Gonna kill 'em. The XP is tasty, and more than that, they piss me off. Wanna take 'em out quick."
Having to give up the huntânot by choice, but because she was too weakâleft Cheisi a bit irritated.
đŹ Commentsâ Viewer-...scaryâ Viewer-She's pissed -Cat hunting instincts ă·ă·
Only after seeing the chat did Cheisi realize her voice had dipped a bit.
At the same time, the word "instinct" caught her eye.
'Instinct, huh?'
She wanted to turn those purple goblins into white light right now.
Just like how her mouth watered at the smell of fish or her tail swished at good news.
Cheisi thought she was obsessing over prey and regretting letting it slip away just like a real cat would.
'...Probably instinct.'
If so, it was simple.
If this feeling was instinct, all she had to do was follow it to the endâsnap those goblins' necks.
Cheisi glanced at the two purple goblins that had chased her a bit before giving up and trudging back, then headed to the village.
âââââââ
Back in the village, Cheisi headed to the Adventurer's Guild she'd seen the sign for to sell her loot.
"What brings you here?"
The guild receptionist eyed Cheisi with a tired voice.
"Here to sell some loot."
"Just leave it over there."
Cheisi dumped the loot from her inventory onto the spot the man indicated.
As the slime and goblin drops piled up, the man gave them a perfunctory glance before handing her a pouch.
"We're selling Red Slime Potions for one silver each. Want one?"
"Uh, I'm kinda short on cash. No thanks."
"Got it."
Cheisi checked the pouch. It was filled with copper coins. Counting them: thirty.
"...Kinda less than I expected."
Checking the broadcast time, about 40 minutes had passed. Roughly, 30 minutes of hunting for 30 coppers.
â Viewer-Like one per minute, right? -Stingy as hell
"Still, thirty covers what's needed for the quest."
The gold pouch went neatly into her inventory.
â SYSTEM NOTIFICATION â30 coppers have been stored in your inventory.
Confirming the notification, Cheisi left the guild and headed to Dante's smithy.
"Oh! Been waiting for you!"
Dante's face lit up the moment he saw Cheisi.
"Hi, Dante."
Cheisi completed the quest.
Dante beamed, told her to wait a sec, and ducked into the back of the smithy.
When he returned, he held a "special weapon."
đŹ Commentsâ Viewer-lolololololâ Viewer-No way the special weapon is THAT, right? -Lmao yes it is
The viewers burst out laughing upon seeing what the weapon was.
It was laugh-worthy.
"...What even is that?"
Cheisi asked, utterly baffled.
"What else? My special-made weapon. Knew you'd come back stronger, so I finished forging it ahead of time!"
Dante laughed heartily as he carefully set the weapon down in front of Cheisi.
Cheisi stared at it blankly.
It was a hammer.
A hammer with a handle and heads on both sides for smashing down.
But it was giganticâway too gigantic. Cheisi would have to stand on tiptoes to match its size.
â Viewer-How is it bigger than her?? -fr lolololol
"What do you think? Like it?"
At Dante's words, Cheisi snapped out of her daze and shook her head vigorously.