*
"Are you sure he's alright?"
"What do you mean?"
Kim Jeong-ho answered, looking at the Academy instructor who was asking him with a worried expression.
The Academy instructor pointed to the monster tied up in front of Kim Si-woo and said.
"I don't think he's a suitable opponent for his level. Since he's still a freshman, I'm trying to avoid dangerous situations as much as possible."
The instructor muttered, worried about Kim Si-woo.
He was one of the cadets who initially gained notoriety as the Academy's worst, but recently emerged as a super rookie after awakening.
He had heard other instructors praising Kim Si-woo highly, but Instructor Kang Do-hyun didn't know much about Kim Si-woo.
He had heard that he recently received good evaluations and entered the top 300, but still, a cadet is a cadet, isn't he?
He did come in second in the last time attack evaluation, but he thought that was only possible because Lee Da-eun, the runner-up, was there.
No matter how talented he is, it hasn't been more than a few months since he awakened, has it?
It seemed too dangerous for an inexperienced Hunter to face him one-on-one.
If he started with a surprise attack, there might be a slight chance of winning, but wouldn't he have to face him in a completely open field with pure skill and no intervention?
"So, you're saying that cadet is in danger?"
"That's what I think. Many Hunters ignore goblins, but goblins are goblins, you know."
Instructor Kang Do-hyun muttered, looking at the tied-up Hobgoblin.
A typical goblin was one of the weakest monsters, belonging to F-Rank.
If you only consider the combat power of a single individual, it's weak enough that even a newly awakened F-Rank Hunter can easily handle it.
However, unlike other monsters, they had intelligence. They knew how to use their heads, so they divided their roles and conducted combat.
The larger the group, the higher the danger rating of the goblins.
It was common to hear stories of low-Rank Hunters underestimating groups of goblins and getting defeated.
'No matter how many there are, if the Rank difference is too great, the numbers are meaningless. But...'
What was in front of him was a Hobgoblin.
Hobgoblins, known as the higher species of goblins, were on a different level from ordinary goblins.
The difference in intelligence was significant, and Hobgoblins, like humans, fought by subdividing roles such as warriors, archers, and sorcerers, and knew how to use tactics.
Therefore, one always had to be careful when facing a group of Hobgoblins.
Their strength was also different. If ordinary goblins were F-Rank, Hobgoblins were classified as C-Rank, making them relatively strong.
As with all monsters, there were individuals that were weaker or stronger than the average Rank.
'That's definitely not a normal Hobgoblin...'
It was twice as big as a normal Hobgoblin, with bulging muscles and scars.
The items held by the Hobgoblin, who knew how to use tools, didn't look ordinary at all.
"It's not a normal Hobgoblin... It looks too dangerous."
"You don't have to worry about that. There are several A-Rank Hunters around here. What big deal could happen?"
Kim Jeong-ho checked Jia Unnie standing behind him. The story had already been told in advance, so she would take care of that goblin if a dangerous situation arose.
Instructor Kang Do-hyun, unaware of this fact, could only look at Kim Si-woo with a worried expression.
"But..."
As Instructor Kang Do-hyun said, that Hobgoblin was no ordinary goblin.
It was the leader of a large group, a Champion Hobgoblin.
It was a monster that had been prepared in advance by the master's instructions before the cadets arrived.
'He said he wanted to check out that cadet. I set aside a B-Rank monster as he told me to...'
It was such a dangerous guy that injuries occurred while capturing him yesterday.
The sight of him rushing in, consumed by madness after his tribesmen died, made him shudder even now.
It was a monster that was too high-level for a cadet who was only around 300th place to face. If it hadn't been for Yoon Seung-ah's instructions, he would have honestly stopped it.
'Definitely interesting?'
After actually witnessing the cadet, he thought that an interesting result would come out.
Perhaps because he was a cadet that the master was directly interested in, he definitely looked different. On the outside, he seemed to be around C-Rank, but he was hiding his strength.
If you only considered the energy he actually felt, he seemed similar to or even stronger than the Champion Hobgoblin.
He heard that it hadn't been more than a few months since he awakened, but with that rate of growth, he understood why the master was interested.
'But I don't know what he's really like.'
Among the cadets, there were many cases where cadets with outstanding potential were comparable to or even better than top-Rank Hunters when comparing only their stats.
Even if they put in the same amount of effort, people had different potentials, so it was common for Hunters with shorter careers to surpass the Ranks.
Does that mean experience is meaningless?
That wasn't the case. No matter how outstanding your abilities and physical abilities were, they were meaningless if you couldn't use them properly.
He acknowledged that the growth rate of the cadet in front of him was frightening, but could he accumulate that much experience?
'Of course not, but he's a guy the master is interested in.'
Compared to the green cadet, the Champion Hobgoblin tied up there could be called a veteran Hunter.
The countless scars engraved on his body showed that this goblin had crossed the line between life and death dozens of times.
No matter how weak an individual was, you could never ignore them if they had accumulated that much experience.
'I wonder if that guy can even use swordsmanship.'
Wasn't it just recently that a new guild member who had been careless because he thought it was just a goblin was seriously injured?
It was a monster that was too strong for a cadet to face, but for some reason, he felt like Kim Si-woo could handle that guy.
Looking at his relaxed expression and gestures, which didn't tremble at all, he looked similar to most experienced people.
If he was wrong, he was going to rush in and kill the goblin right away.
"Alright then, is everyone ready?"
"Yes!"
"Begin!"
At the signal, the Grim Reaper guild members who had been restraining the goblin released the ropes.
*
The Champion Goblin identified the humans surrounding them.
Didn't his appearance look like a slave thrown into an arena?
He was enraged by the fact that he, who had been the leader, had become a slave in the arena.
"Gobueueueu..."
He had learned from his parents about beings he could face and beings he couldn't.
Other goblins wouldn't have questioned it much, but he was different.
Why couldn't they face that monster?
He always questioned it, and it didn't end as a question.
They weren't weak, they could also become strong.
He didn't avoid and fought against monsters that other goblins would have run away from.
Childhood bravado, he had overcome dozens of near-death experiences because of the thoughts he had.
Other goblins might have already given up, but he didn't give up.
Every time he overcame a near-death experience, he thought about what he had done wrong, overcame his fear, and challenged himself over and over again.
Overcoming dozens of near-death experiences, he was able to obtain a body like steel.
The moment he realized a special power, he proved that he could hunt even opponents bigger than himself.
When he came to his senses, all the Hobgoblins around him were following him.
Chieftain, that's right. He had become the strongest goblin.
He thought there was no one else to face, but the humans who came last night were different.
They were smarter than him and didn't fight fairly.
He tried to crush them with his two arms and sword, but they didn't give him a chance.
A one-sided massacre, he became a prisoner without even fighting properly against tools and magic he had never seen before.
Watching his tribesmen wailing for help, he sharpened his blade of revenge, but there was no way to take revenge.
Because he was weak.
Why did he lose, what should he have done then?
Why were they keeping him alive?
He kept asking himself questions that had no answers.
No matter how hard he tried to find the answer himself, no answer came out.
But he decided not to care. He would take revenge on the humans who massacred his tribe.
He would survive by any means and take revenge. The Champion Hobgoblin drew his sword.
A sword made by grinding the bones he had obtained after defeating the giant monster that threatened his tribe.
He had killed everyone who stood in his way with that sword.
Although he had failed before, he would rise again.
His heart started beating faster and his muscles started growing bigger. The clear blood vessels that were exposed looked like they would burst at any moment.
"..."
The Champion Hobgoblin swung his sword to tear apart the man in front of him.
The sword, with all its might, tore through the air and flew with a fierce momentum.
He thought it would end in one blow, but the opponent responded to his attack as if it were natural.
When the collision occurred, a powerful shockwave was created that made the hearts of those around him tremble.
__What... what is that goblin...
__Look at the muscles on Si-woo's arm...
__Is that what you're noticing right now?
__Shouldn't we stop him?
__The instructors are there... and the Grim Reaper guild members too....
Sparks were being created as their sword auras collided. A power struggle had begun.
As the goblin gave strength to his whole body to cut Kim Si-woo in half, Kim Si-woo also responded and used his strength.
Their massively swollen arms told each other of their strength.
"What kind of goblin is..."
Their strengths were similar, but Kim Si-woo's sword aura was stronger.
The goblin instinctively felt a threat from Kim Si-woo's sword, which moved strangely for a moment, and stepped back.
Kim Si-woo's sword narrowly cut through the air, and a faint wound was engraved on the goblin's chest.
It was a tingling sensation, but the goblin didn't panic.
"Gob..."
His instincts kept telling him to rush in and tear that human apart right away, but the goblin maintained his composure.
If he rushed in like before, he would definitely be defeated. He suppressed his instincts.
Why was his sword pushed back?
He looked at the sword of the opponent in front of him. Unlike his own rough and erratic sword aura, it was stable and regular.
The sword aura that shone on the goblin's sword became clearer the moment he thought he was controlling himself.
"Is that really a goblin?"