Golden Experience

Without being told, Rare had already crouched down in the shade of a tree.

It seemed that Tankman was unable to withstand the giant goblin’s attack, as he was crushed and stuck to the ground.

If they had intended to fight, instead of casually observing, they should have preemptively blown away the log house. Once they gave time to an opponent they knew was superior, their fate was sealed.

There was no way for them to recover after losing the tank.

One by one, they were slammed to the ground by the giant goblin’s club. Tankman and Hourai, who were the first to be attacked, seemed to be still alive, but they were repeatedly struck by the giant goblin who noticed them.

Light leaked from the dented ground shaped like the club. It was death for them.

If they had initiated with magic, causing some status ailment damage, prioritized evasion over defense against the club’s attack, and concentrated the attack on one leg to first deprive it of mobility, the battle might have been a bit better. But that’s something that can be said because it was observed from behind. It’s difficult to win suddenly against opponents who use such instant death attacks. It’s a one-shot kill.

Regardless, with their current abilities, even if they tactically maneuvered perfectly, it was uncertain whether they could win. Even if they could win, it would take hours to reach a resolution. In short, they lacked the power.

The giant goblin seemed to have noticed Rare and was staring intently at her. There was no sign of letting them escape, but she had no intention of running away.

Mare was also lacking in power, but she had weapon capabilities that more than compensated for the difference. Mare had already taken care of the nuisance, and now it was just a matter of killing without mercy to see what would happen to the territory.

“[Hellflame].”

Magic was cast centered around the middle of the log house and the giant goblin.

If this goblin had noticed Rare, it would have been good if it had attacked, but for some reason, it was waiting patiently. Perhaps it was deliberately giving up the initiative.

Fortunately, thanks to Tankman, the combat style of the giant goblin had been figured out to some extent.

If it was going to let her take the initiative, it wouldn’t hurt to take advantage of its kindness.

Even if she thought she could win, she couldn’t afford to be careless. Rare would teach the same thing she learned from players to this boss.

The flames licked the surroundings, expanding the square a little. The log house naturally turned into ashes, and the giant goblin also suffered burns all over its body. The damage itself didn’t seem significant, but luckily, it seemed they were able to inflict a bad status.

Burns would persist until healed, causing slip damage based on the area and severity. If there was natural recovery exceeding the slip damage, burns would heal over time, but it seemed this goblin lacked such recovery power.

The goblin turned around to see the log house reduced to ashes and rushed towards Rare.

It seemed more angered by the destruction of the log house than by pain or damage. To be concerned about the log house during a life-threatening battle, either it still didn’t think it would lose, or…

…Because it never truly dies. In other words, it’s a player.

She narrowly dodged the kick delivered with the momentum of the charge.

The trees where Rare had hidden were kicked along with the surrounding ground, soaring into the air.

Without confirming that, Rare quickly moved to the goblin’s supporting leg in the fleeting moment before the kicked leg returned, making three cuts on the Achilles tendon.

“Gah!”

The goblin couldn’t help but crouch down, holding its kicked leg. There was no sign of a follow-up attack. Swinging its arms seemed to be just a reflexive action.

It was wide open.

“[Blaze Lance].”

However, Rare didn’t approach carelessly. They swung down the halberd and cast a spell.

If this goblin were a player, there might be some kind of act.

If Rare patiently chipped away at its LP from outside the range of its attacks, she should eventually defeat it. There was also slip damage from burns. If the body structure was the same as humans, getting up should be difficult. At least, it shouldn’t be able to charge again.

Despite attacking from behind, the goblin was crouched, clutching its chest as if waiting for something.

Reinforcements, perhaps?

Even if reinforcements came, if they were the level of trash mobs encountered before arriving here, it wouldn’t be a problem. They could dispose of them effortlessly while finishing off the giant goblin.

After that, Rare repeatedly hit the goblin with attack magic, but it showed no significant reaction.

Or perhaps it’s already dead.

No, it’s certain that it’s alive.

Occasionally, it twitched slightly and, if one listened closely, muttered something.

And then.

“…[Necro Revival]!”

“What!?”

As soon as the goblin shouted some words, a pitch-black darkness erupted, enveloping its body and swirling around.

It wasn’t a dim darkness like the [Curtain of Darkness]. It was true darkness that absorbed all light, making it impossible to see through.

In an unexpected turn of events, Rare gritted her teeth, realizing that this wasn’t her original body. If it were the [Demonic Eyes], she might have been able to observe more closely.

Rare kept her eyes focused, watching the situation unfold.

Even though the goblin was covered in darkness, it should still be there. Rare could have followed up with more magic attacks to finish it off. But curiosity took that opportunity away.

The darkness quickly dissipated. Rather, it disappeared as it was sucked into the center.

In the center stood the goblin, now slightly smaller in size.

The bulky, muscle-packed body resembling a muscle doll was gone. It was more like a slim matchstick figure. The body was composed of bones, skin, and thin muscles pulled to the limit. Its height had also shrunk to about two meters. If you ignored the face, it could even pass for an elf. Due to its dark skin, it could be considered close to a Dark Elf. Rare hadn’t encountered a regular Dark Elf, so she didn’t know for sure.

The face no longer looked like a simple goblin. Emaciated cheeks, exposed fangs, and red light glowing in sunken eye sockets. The closest image would be a mummy. However, since it was made from a goblin’s skull, it was far more grotesque than a human mummy.

The [Necromancy] skill acquired by Rare, or rather, Mare, whispered.

This thing is undead.

Someone had mentioned that the boss would undergo a second transformation or something like that. But to actually do it…

Despite the opponent’s appearance, Rare had forgotten that this boss could also control Skeleton Goblins.

This meant that, despite its physical appearance, it should have aspects of a necromancer. The culmination of that was probably the current situation.

Rare didn’t know about a skill called [Necro Revival], but it was undoubtedly a skill unlocked in the [Death] tree under certain conditions. Its effect was probably to resurrect oneself as an undead. It might have been a single or double transformation, perhaps an upgrade to a higher form.

“…I didn’t expect the day to use this to come so soon. Is it my luck, or is it your misfortune?”

It spoke.

Considering Deas and Sieg, it wouldn’t be surprising for a goblin mummy like this to speak. However, judging from what it said, it was clear that it had either anticipated or schemed this development. The fact that it mentioned luck indicated a high possibility of scheming.

If an NPC was as intelligent as this, it would have spoken before. In fact, its underling, Gaslark, conversed fluently.

So, it intentionally didn’t speak until now. At least, NPCs wouldn’t have any benefit in doing so.

The boss of Neuschloss was a player. Discovering dungeon owners other than herself was good, but the situation wasn’t favorable.

Revealing Mare’s true identity and offering cooperation might be considered, but there was no guarantee the opponent would accept that.

…No.

Even if they eventually established a cooperative system, Rare would likely feel the urge to land a punch first.

Besides, revealing their true identity and asking for cooperation would seem as if they were cowering in fear of the opponent’s resurrected form. That was not acceptable.

So, they had no choice but to fight. And winning was the only option.

However, the first form of the giant goblin was suitable for a surprise attack, and they were fortunate to seal its movements. However, against this slender mummy, the same approach wouldn’t work.

This player was clearly reincarnated. It was surprising that there was a means to reincarnate through skills, and they risked activating it in their near-death state. It didn’t seem like they intentionally weakened themselves.

At the time of the giant goblin, its stats were probably much higher than Mare’s. Even in terms of speed, if it were a competition, Mare wouldn’t be able to catch up, especially with its charging speed.

The strength to swing a log with one hand, vitality to survive even after stabbing the heart, didn’t need to be mentioned.

INT and MND were unknown, but if they had invested experience points in the [Death] skill tree, there was a possibility that MND had been increased. Resistance checks for an undead target, as induced by the [Death] skill, were both done with MND.

Additionally, the fact that the opponent’s body had shrunk was problematic. Relative to the opponent, it could be said that the target had become larger.

Rare couldn’t be sure about the opponent’s physical combat skills and player skills, but in close combat, having similar body sizes usually made it easier. Considering the possibility of increased AGI and DEX on the opponent’s side, it was not guaranteed that Rare could easily evade as before.

“…You’ve been doing whatever you wanted. You’ve crossed the line. Until now, you might have been invincible with that weapon and skill, but that ends here. Die.”

I refuse.

If the opponent were an NPC monster, it wouldn’t matter even if I died. I learned from the conversation that the Tankman guys from earlier were a fairly well-known party in this area. Without Rare’s help, they wouldn’t be able to approach the deepest part of the dungeon. Even weakened due to death penalties, they and other parties wouldn’t casually get here.

So, leaving Mare’s body here for an hour wouldn’t be a significant issue.

However, if the boss in front of me is a player, it’s a different story.

Moreover, this monster speaks so fluently. It’s a monster that probably doesn’t even have production skills, yet it builds a log house, wears clothes, and wields a weapon like a club. The high level of intelligence is something even Rare, who knows the opponent is a player, can sense.

In front of such an intelligent monster, leaving my body untouched for a full hour is akin to asking it to strip my equipment. Common sense dictates that I should avoid such a situation.

Moreover, with the acquired [Subordinate] skill and the numerous minions this Goblin Mummy controls, it might consider the possibility that Mare is someone’s minion NPC. Currently, it likely thinks I’m a player based on the situation, but if the body doesn’t disappear, it would probably start suspecting that Mare is an NPC.

Yet, it’s impossible to suddenly regain composure and use [Summon] to bring Mare back. Suddenly disappearing from view would be as unnatural as leaving the body unattended for an hour.

I let curiosity get the better of me, watching the enemy’s transformation scene without interruption. I should have stopped it.

I now understand.

In old Japanese live-action shows, the reason enemies don’t interrupt the hero’s transformation is that of curiosity. They end up defeated due to the curiosity of wondering what cool form the hero will transform into. And now, Rare is about to join that group.

“…I’ll pass on that.”

“Huh? Well, of course. It’s natural not to want to die.”

It’s not that, but since it’s not incorrect, I won’t correct it.

Even if I think I can win, I must not let my guard down.

I feel like telling my past self from a little while ago not to say such things.

I have many questions. Why is the goblin here well-developed? What are the acquisition conditions for [Necro Revival]? However, there’s no way to ask.

Besides, there are plenty of good experimental subjects for verification. I can give experience points to Gaslark and its minions, conduct various experiments in different scenarios. It’s something to add to the to-do list when there’s a substantial amount of accumulated experience points.

Even at this stage, is the goblin still planning to yield the initiative to Rare, or is it just talking about killing without showing any sign of attack?

Or did it acquire skills that excel in countering or taking advantage of later actions, unlike before? But, unlike earlier, I can’t bring myself to attack first without knowing the opponent’s physical abilities.

As Rare, following the principles of the family’s martial arts that prioritize self-defense, it’s generally easier to let the opponent take the initiative. Taking the initiative should only happen when the opponent’s hand is somewhat revealed or when I can swiftly eliminate them regardless of their hand.

“…What’s wrong? Don’t you want to die? Aren’t you attacking?”

“…Aren’t you going to kill me? Aren’t you attacking?”

The opponent is also wary of Rare. Despite talking about luck earlier, it seems strengthened considerably by [Necro Revival].

Nevertheless, it’s this cautious. It seems sealing the opponent completely in the first form left quite a trauma.

“…Alright. At this speed, you won’t be able to dodge like before!”

Just as I thought it was ready, the Goblin Mummy was where Rare had been standing.

However, Rare wasn’t there. There’s no fool waiting without dodging, despite declaring they’ll do attacks that can’t be dodged easily. If I start evading in response to the opponent’s first move, I can dodge in a straight trajectory. If there’s a significant difference in AGI making it impossible, it would be helpless, but fortunately, the difference doesn’t seem to be that large.

Considering the distance between us and the opponent’s speed, even if the opponent saw my evasive actions, correcting the trajectory wasn’t easy. It was a calculated dodge, assuming that my actions would be visible.

“Are you dodging this one too!”

Even if it’s fast, the opponent’s speed is slower than single-target magic. Dodging is not difficult if you can read the trajectory of the attack.

And the opponent is semi-naked, with no unnecessary fat. The movements of the muscles are clearly visible. In this game with high reproduction accuracy, for Rare, who is sullying the position of the family’s martial arts representative, it’s more challenging to overlook the signs of action.

…It’s good that the difference in strength isn’t so great that I can’t even see the moving figure.

However, if the opponent attacks unarmed, the naginata is not suitable. The range doesn’t match. Yet, I can’t outmaneuver the opponent with my range either. The opponent isn’t weak enough for that.

If it’s unusable, it would only get in the way. I dropped it at my feet while still holding it.

“Have you given up!? If you’re not using it! Just put it away! Hey!”

Quickly delivering kicks and thrusts, the Goblin Mummy targeted the vulnerable spots. If it can do that, I’ll counter while narrowly dodging attacks.

The attacks of the Goblin Mummy are simple but efficient. Although its movements don’t seem like those of someone trained in martial arts, it’s undoubtedly accustomed to combat. It seems to have extensively played this type of game.

As encounters like this have increased lately, it’s an era where you can’t afford to be careless in both real life and virtual reality. It’s fortunate that the family business is thriving.

“My main job isn’t the naginata.”

I enjoy swinging the naginata, but it’s just a hobby, not my main occupation. The naginata teacher is not my grandmother but an acquaintance of my grandmother. In other words, it’s a pastime.

I’ve become accustomed to the opponent’s speed. I’m learning the patterns of its attacks. I’m used to dealing with formidable opponents with significantly different physical abilities barehanded.

“Hey!?”

From the opponent’s perspective, they might wonder why they were caught despite the slow movements. They knew it, but for some reason, they acted according to the opponent’s plan. That’s what they think. However, it’s different. I skillfully maneuvered to not let the opponent realize, setting traps. After everything is over, they’ll feel like they should have seen it, but that’s all.

Those who have honed their skills independently are undoubtedly strong but very straightforward. They’re even easier to deceive than amateurs.

The Goblin Mummy soared high into the sky through its cleverly distorted power and eventually fell.

“What the hell! Does it even have a throwing skill!”

However, the damage wasn’t as significant as I thought.

Abnormal strength combined with abnormal lightness. Due to this unreal body characteristic of the Goblin Mummy, I couldn’t inflict substantial damage. Moreover, its VIT must be high. Using the opponent’s strength to capitalize on falling damage from a throw seems impossible.

However, with Rare’s stats, it’s challenging to deliver enough damage with simple strikes to knock it out, and joint techniques might be returned with only a STR difference.

… I see, this is hopeless. I feel like I want debuff items now.

I admired Wayne and the others who faced the calamity without hesitation a little.

In the face of a significant difference in abilities, all techniques are meaningless. It’s also a skill to fill that gap, but Rare—Mare doesn’t have it. The kind of techniques I just used, which promise damage bonuses by the system, won’t work.

Even with a slight difference in abilities, against opponents like the current top-class party, it seems these techniques won’t be effective. It’s natural, of course. If that were possible, there would be no point for Rare to earn experience points.

The Goblin Mummy, wary of my throwing technique, stays away, providing an opportunity to create distance.

With my original body, this half-baked undead would be a one-shot with Sacred Magic, but stating that now won’t change anything.

…No, wait. There’s nothing to do about it. It’s a fact.

T/N: she does call him ‘tankman’, the name Takuma (タクン) is similar to ‘tankman’ (タンクマン)