Fsshhhhhh!

Fshhhhhh!

One moment of inattention from Mamadou, and three goblins appeared in front of him.

He had no idea when they had gotten there or how they had managed to get ahead of him.

Grrrrr!

Two of them threw their spears.

Mamadou was forced to drop to the ground to dodge them.

"Shit!"

Mamadou turned pale.

There were three goblins in front of him, two approaching from behind, and he knew there were even more.

He no longer had a choice.

All he could think about was avoiding damage and escaping the moment an opportunity presented itself.

He still had two knives at his belt and his axe strapped to his back.

That reassured him.

This was still manageable.

Mamadou grimaced.

The range of a knife was too short.

Using one would force him into close combat, and there was no guarantee the knives could even wound these goblins.

At worst, he decided to use them as projectiles.

He threw one at a goblin and rushed forward.

The goblin at whom the knife was flying casually knocked the projectile aside with his club and charged toward Mamadou.

Mamadou clicked his tongue.

That attack had been useless.

The goblin leaped straight at his face.

Mamadou narrowly dodged by jumping.

Since he could read his enemies’ intentions, evading was possible.

He passed over the goblin’s head and grabbed his second knife.

Just as he was about to drive it into the goblin’s eye—

Another goblin, wielding an axe similar to his own, swung at him.

Mamadou blocked the blow but was sent flying backward, and his knife was knocked from his hand.

To reduce the impact of the fall, he rolled across the ground and immediately got back to his feet.

He would not be able to recover his knives in time.

And he did not want to use his axe just yet.

In the end, he decided to fight seriously and use his skills.

He also abandoned the idea of avoiding close combat.

After all, in this situation, he had little choice.

Besides, it would be a good opportunity to test the limits of his abilities.

[Charge Skill]

One of the goblins met Mamadou’s charge head-on.

A strike from a club intercepted him and launched his body over the goblins.

As he descended toward them—

[Fang Skill]

This time, the skill was blocked by another goblin.

But it came at the cost of the axe that had intercepted it.

Krak!

A cracking sound rang out as the wooden handle snapped and the stone blade shattered into pieces.

They’re well coordinated for ordinary monsters, Mamadou thought.

And that irritated him.

Especially because he could feel a gaze fixed on him.

He knew someone was completely toying with him.

Swoosh!

A spear struck his shoulder and tore through his skin.

Mamadou was struggling against three goblins, and they had already used up their spears.

He prayed that it wasn’t what he thought it was.

But in the end, his prayers went unanswered.

A fourth goblin charged toward him.

Mamadou turned around with a cry.

"Argh!"

The goblin swung its axe.

Mamadou used Fang.

But unlike before, this was a feint.

The collision Mamadou expected never came.

Using his other hand, the goblin struck him across the face with a backhand blow.

Mamadou immediately got back up.

He was trapped.

And he had accumulated numerous injuries.

He quickly reassessed the situation.

Although he did not have time to check his status, he knew his Life Points had dropped considerably.

I only have three offensive skills.

One of them can only be used under certain conditions.

I can’t use Fang however I want.

Every time I use Claw, it gets blocked.

All I have left is my axe.

What do I do?

He didn’t have time to think further.

A goblin rushed in and slashed his back.

"Eeeeeek!"

"Rrraagh!"

He unleashed Fang at the goblin’s face while simultaneously leaping forward.

To his bitter disappointment, the only result was a shallow scratch on the goblin’s face.

That skill had suddenly become useless.

As time passed, the presence watching him grew more and more oppressive.

Then six more goblins appeared.

Mamadou shuddered.

It was as if the heavens had decided that today would be the last day of his life.

Among them appeared one particularly imposing goblin.

Unlike the others, he carried neither spear nor axe.

Only armor made from animal hides.

Yet Mamadou could tell, without even evaluating him, that he was the most dangerous one present.

The massive goblin—the Goblin Chief—crossed his arms while the six others advanced.

They spread out into a circle.

Caught in the encirclement, Mamadou’s chances of survival dropped even further.

The Goblin Chief seemed to be saying something to him, but Mamadou could not understand a word.

"Show me something else. You’re weak, and yet these guys are taking too long to kill you. Clearly, you’re no ordinary monkey. Is it because you come from that mountain? That’s strange. If you really come from there, I wonder what you’re doing so far from your territory."

"????"

To Mamadou, the goblin might as well have been casting some kind of curse.

His face certainly didn’t help.

Of course, the Goblin Chief hoped Mamadou understood him, because he had already judged the monkey to be intelligent.

"Hmmmm."

The Goblin Chief sniffed.

He expected the monkey to surprise him.

Even if they could not communicate, he was convinced that the monkey before him could understand.

"I hope you’ll show me something else before you die."

Mamadou was exhausted.

He decided to ignore the imposing goblin observing from afar.

After all, he could not understand whatever nonsense the creature was babbling.

Instead, he focused on finding a way to escape.

If only I could get closer to the trees.

All I’d have to do is distract them, climb up, and run toward the mountain.

But the problem was that he was trapped inside the circle and quite far from the nearest trees.

It was as if the goblins had planned everything.

Mamadou swallowed nervously.

He could not come up with a strategy.

He would have to rely on instinct and luck.

He decided that even if he had to sacrifice a limb, he would at least preserve his life.

Mamadou narrowed his eyes.

"Here it comes!"