The goblin, its eyes now just ruined sockets, fell to the ground writhing in pain. Park Jin-ho descended on it like a hawk, plunging his dagger deep into its neck.
[You have defeated a goblin!]
[Experience points +4%]
[Quest progress: Goblin 75/100]
[Remaining goblins until quest completion: 25]
Ignoring the system messages, Park Jin-ho rolled clear just as a dagger slammed into the earth where he had been. He sprang to his feet, buried his blade in the ambushing goblin’s chest, and pivoted, his eyes already seeking the next threat. It was a constant, fluid dance; a single moment of carelessness meant death.
His gaze swept the area. The goblins were backing away, their faces twisted in fear. All the creatures nearby had been killed. He could finally afford a moment’s breath.
I can take a breather for a moment.
Catching his breath, Park Jin-ho called up his status window. He had already reached Level 4. His fingers flew across the interface, allocating his new stat points.
For now, I’ll go all-in on Agility.
Each level-up granted two stat points. After reaching Level 4, he invested all six of his accumulated points, watching his Agility skyrocket from a base of 3 to 9.
Agility is the most important stat right now. Strength, Intelligence, Luck—none mattered as much at this stage. Agility governed not only his evasion but his attack and movement speed as well.
Park Jin-ho turned his head, his gaze falling upon the other humans thirty meters away. Their side of the battlefield was a chaotic meat grinder, a gruesome tangle of limbs awash in a spray of red and green blood.
“Die, you monster bastards, just die!”
Over there, it was a desperate brawl. Here, Park Jin-ho stood alone amidst a pile of goblin corpses, as if in a completely different world.
But it’s inevitable. These people are facing goblins for the first time in their lives. It wasn’t easy for anyone to kill. Goblins were terrifying, intimidating creatures. In the face of such raw fear, most people simply froze.
Park Jin-ho understood that feeling. He, too, had run away multiple times during his first life.
But running away won’t solve anything. It had cost him two regressions to learn that brutal truth. Fleeing might buy time, but it would never change the situation. The angels would release the goblins, and a fight was unavoidable.
Moreover, this sprawling grassland was a cage. Though it seemed spacious, invisible barriers hemmed them in on all sides.
Like a rat trapped in a box. Even if we can evade the angels’ gaze, we’re still trapped.
The only escape from this hell was to complete the quest. And even then, only the first half of the survivors to succeed could return. The system sent back only the fastest. Hesitation was a death sentence.
It was better to kill as many goblins as possible than to run. Killing one hundred alone was a daunting task, but Park Jin-ho knew it wasn’t impossible.
Having other people around helped. It spread the goblins’ attention, which was good. To put it nicely, it dispersed the threat. To put it bluntly, they were meat shields.
People will start to feel it sooner or later.
Park Jin-ho snatched a fallen dagger from the grass and threw it in a single, smooth motion, burying it in a distant goblin’s forehead.
Of course, teamwork is the answer, but the system doesn’t reward participation trophies. Only those who contributed most to a kill got credit. Still, two heads were better than one.
Humans had another advantage besides that. Goblins were barely half the size of an adult, smaller even than the middle schooler who had been brought here. In terms of reach, humans had the upper hand. Although humans didn’t have weapons like the goblins’ crude clubs and daggers…
Park Jin-ho’s gaze fell to the ground. If we had proper weapons, the situation would be different. For now, the blades scattered across the blood-soaked grass were all they had.
But even then, it would be difficult for them to fight like me. He and the others had one thing in common: their basic stats were identical, all starting at 3. Regardless of whether they were muscular or thin, all humans began on an even playing field. In theory, that meant anyone could move as he did, but…
It won’t be easy. It takes a lot of experience to become this proficient. Unless you were an assassin from a movie, it was impossible to move like this without practice. And now, with his boosted Agility, the gap between him and everyone else was even wider.
Well, now that I’ve caught the angels’ attention, shall we finish this?
As Park Jin-ho advanced, the nearby goblins began to back away. He couldn’t help but grin. He scooped up another dagger and flung it without aiming. It slammed into a goblin’s chest, and the others recoiled at the sight of their comrade writhing in pain.
“Aren’t you coming to me?” he muttered.
The goblins kept retreating. Park Jin-ho picked up another dagger and threw it. Another goblin fell. Still, the creatures backed away, shivering. He watched them for a moment, then sighed.
“If you’re not coming, then I’m coming to you.”
In a blur of motion, he closed the distance and unleashed a flurry of deadly strikes. Green blood splattered in all directions.
As he defeated the last goblin before him, Park Jin-ho was met with a flood of notifications.
[You have defeated a goblin!]
[Experience points +4%]
[Quest progress: Goblin 100/100]
[You have completed the first round of the quest!]
With a hundred goblins defeated, Park Jin-ho was enveloped in a translucent column of light, a protective barrier that isolated him from any remaining monsters. The first round had been easy, he thought, relieved. The barrier’s appearance meant he had cleared the round; failure to do so within the time limit meant immediate disintegration.
Everything is going according to plan. I did go a little crazy with the goblin slaying, but I needed to get the angels’ attention and claim that top spot, Park Jin-ho admitted to himself.
His efforts had paid off. A congratulatory message appeared.
[Congratulations! You have completed the quest in first place for this zone!]
[Congratulations! You have completed the quest in first place for the entire world!]
[Your nickname will be included in the rankings.]
Being the first to finish definitely helps, he thought. The faster one completed each round, the greater the ranking. Rewards were distributed accordingly, with the top three players in both the zone and world categories receiving the most coveted prizes.
Rewards are given according to your ranking for both the zone and the entire world. Claiming the top spot in the latter grants the best rewards, he mused. And I, out of 1.8 billion players, am the first to complete this quest.
A moment later, another message appeared before Park Jin-ho, detailing his rewards.