Chapter 5 – Eating

I am currently hiding in the grass. This place is near the goblin prairie entrance. A little way ahead of me, I saw a goblin sitting cross-legged and yawning. The height of this small monster is around my waistline. Its skin is green and it’s wearing tattered clothes which seem to be stolen from humans.

The enemy relaxes its guard, not noticing me. Although I am watching the surrounding area, there are no signs of its brethren. I hold my breath and sneak behind the goblin.

And then I used [Appraisal] skill.

・ Goblin Fighter ・ Level  3 Endurance: 30 Physical Strength: 40 Magic: 10 Spirit: 10 Agility: 30 Skill: Physical Strength enhancement (Small)

Goblin Fighter, huh? ….Apparently, there are several types of these guys. Its status is lower than me. I also checked its skills.

Physical Strength enhancement (Small) : When executing a physical attack, a small bonus will be added.

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A skill for status correction? There’s probably (Small), (Medium), and (Large) versions. These kind of useful skills, I want to gain them quickly.

The goblin got drowsy and then fell asleep. This is a heaven-sent chance!

I dash out from the grassy area, closing in on the goblin at once. It seems to have noticed my footsteps and tried to turn around, but it’s already too late.

Aiming at the neck, I swing the black sword Greed, slicing off the goblin’s head with a single arc of my sword.

The goblin died without being able to resist or letting a out a voice.

Then I heard an inorganic voice in my head.

[Gluttony skill activated][Endurance +30, Physical Strength +40, Magic +10, Spirit+10, Agility +30 has been added] [Physical Strength enhancement (Small) has been added]

Alright! To confirm it, I checked myself using .

・ Fate Graphite ・ Level 1 Endurance: 151 Physical Strength: 191 Magic: 111 Spirit: 111 Agility: 161 Skill: Gluttony, Appraisal, Concealment, One-handed Sword mastery, Physical Strength enhancement (Small).

It increased, it increased! Yeah, I’m getting stronger. While I was celebrating my status and skills joyously, Greed laughed scornfully.

[For just a goblin, you’re way too happy. If you get that happy whenever you defeat one of them, we will be here until sunset.]

[Spare me, I’m just happy that I can defeat a monster for the first time]

Certainly, if I was a warrior I wouldn’t be as excited. However, I’m just a normal human who has had lived being frightened of monsters until yesterday. There is a sense of freedom when our positions have reversed. (TL Note: From the hunted to the hunter)

As evidence that I have defeated the Goblin, I cut off both its green ears. The Kingdom gives rewards to those who have subjugated monsters, so if you bring the proof to the established facility, you can exchange it for money.

It should be 10 coppers for a goblin. It’s better than the daily wages of the gatekeeper job that I was doing before. The warrior job may be dangerous, but it’s better at earning money. I throw the goblin’s ears into the hemp bag that I had prepared in advance.

Well, onto the next one. While staying vigilant and advancing, I noticed two goblins were walking in an open area. One of them is a goblin fighter holding a sword. On the other hand, the other goblin is only holding a big shield. Rather than just being curious about it, I used right away.

・Goblin Guard ・ Level 3 Endurance: 40 Physical Strength: 20 Magic: 10 Spirit: 10 Agility: 10 Skill: Endurance enhancement (Small)

I see, its endurance is only slightly more than the goblin fighter. Moreover, as if to match its status, its also has the endurance enhancement (small) skill. If I fight carefully to avoid my attack being guarded, I will manage somehow.

I hide myself in the shadows of the grass from the two of them. Well, which one should I defeat first? It would be better to defeat the goblin fighter who has an offensive weapon. However, if I fail, they will notice me and it will become a battle where I’ll surely be distracted by the goblin guard.

Although I gained power, I’m still not accustomed to fighting yet so I want to give it a try.. I’ve decided, I’ll defeat the goblin guard first.

I aim at the moment when the two of them part and are some distance away from each other.

Now! Even though I flew out when the goblin was facing towards the other side, the goblin guard noticed me with its sharp sense and quickly set up its shield. With the way things are going, my sword will be repelled… is what I thought.

The goblin guard screamed. There was no resistance, I was able to cut through the shield. The black sword Greed seems to be sharper than it looks. If this is the case, I can attack one-sidedly.

[Gluttony skill activated] [Endurance +40, Physical Strength +20, Magic +10, Spirit +10, Agility +10 has been added] [Endurance enhancement (Small) has been added]

While I listened to the inorganic voice, I rushed to the other remaining goblin. Of course, the goblin fighter at the other side has already noticed me and threatens me by swinging its sword.

You can swing as much as you want. I don’t care, I swung my sword at the goblin fighter’s sword.

The goblin fighter fell down with his white eyes wide open.

[Gluttony skill activated] [Endurance +30, Physical Strength +40, Magic +10, Spirit +10, Agility +30 has been added]

Nn? The skill wasn’t acquired this time. Ah, I see. Is it because I already have the skill, so to avoid overlaps, the skill was not added? If I want a new skill, I have to hunt a different monster. Just gaining the status points alone is delicious enough though.

After that, I hunted down 25 goblin fighters and 10 goblin guards. The sack where I was keeping the goblin ears slowly became full. I checked my current status by using .

・Fate Graphite ・ Level 1 Endurance: 1371 Physical Strength: 1451 Magic: 481 Spirit: 481 Agility: 1051 Skill: Gluttony, Appraisal, Concealment, One-handed Sword mastery, Physical Strength enhancement (Small), Endurance (Small).

Oioi, my endurance, physical strength, and agility has reached 4 digits! As for magical and spirit power, it seems they didn’t increase much because my enemies’ statuses were low. Fufufu, it’s unbelievable when I compare my current status with the me of yesterday.

But, I’m curious about something. My own level. Even after I defeated a lot of monsters and gained a lot of experience, it wouldn’t be weird if my level rose too. However, my level hasn’t moved at all from level 1. When I was racking my brain thinking about it, Greed laughed.

[It’s the effect of the Gluttony skill. The people who have that skill are breaking the God’s rules, so they won’t be able to receive experience values] [The God’s rules, what do you mean…?] [It’s as you are now. The way you kill the monsters and deprive their status, is because of a skill that denies the concept of God’s rules— It’ll also negate the effect of the concept of leveling too. These kind of people don’t receive the blessing from God. Their status will remain at level 1]

And then, after some time passes, Greed speaks up again. I wonder if he was thinking about something?

[Moreover… No, it’s nothing. It’s about time, shouldn’t we return to the Royal Capital now?]

He stopped in the middle of his sentence, leaving me curious. But, I have to go to Roxy’s residence at noon. I finished the goblin hunting and returned to Royal Capital Seyfat. Raising my status to the fourth digit should be enough for today. Next for monster hunting, I’ll go hunt Hob Goblins in the forest which is located a bit further from here.. Since the Hob Goblin is a high-ranking goblin monster, I will be able to receive better stats and more skills.

Let’s go back to the Royal Capital Seyfat.

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