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“What’s wrong? You seem doubtful of our capabilities. As our magic instructor, you ought to have more confidence in us.”

“…Your group, particularly you, indeed show remarkable potential for magic. However, you’re still novices. In all my years, I’ve never seen a monster even consider slaying a «Boss Room» guardian for treasure. I shudder to think of the repercussions if ‘they’ ever find out about this.”

Mentor Nyanco glanced nervously around, his body visibly shaking, betraying his inner fears.

“By ‘they,’ do you mean ‘that person’? Don’t worry, we’ll just apologize when we see them next.”
“—Who is this ‘that person’ you keep mentioning?”

I was about to enlighten Mentor Nyanco, who looked puzzled, about the lady when Ninomae, leading our group, called out loudly.

“Brace yourselves! The Golem is approaching! Prepare for battle!”

Following Ninomae’s command, the Goblin Knights arranged themselves in formation behind him. The Goblin Mages and Sorcerers, including myself, advanced to our positions.

I ceased our discussion and moved to the center of the formation. In the distance, a metal golem, resembling a massive lump of steel, lumbered towards us. Its ‘red eye’ on an otherwise blank face fixated on us.

It was about three times bigger than Ninomae in both height and width, its heavy gait causing tremors with each step on the stone floor.

“Listen up, Mage Corps! Fall back behind the knights immediately after launching your first attack! Knights, your priority is to shield the mages! After the initial magic barrage, we attack in coordination with me and Ninomae. Mages, once your mana is replenished, resume your assault from a distance, targeting its weak spot. —Ninomae, you know where that is, right?”

“It’s the eye, isn’t it? Even a fool would notice it.”

I looked back at my team, who all nodded in understanding. When a weak point is that glaringly obvious, it’s hard to miss, whether one is a fool or a goblin.

I focused mana into the necklace around my neck, envisioning ‘fire’ between my open palms. This necklace, a crude ornament made from glittering stone fragments, known as ‘mana stones,’ served as a catalyst for magic activation. Initially, only five of us, myself included, showed any magical aptitude when we tested ourselves under Mentor Nyanco’s guidance. We had since dedicated our time outside of hunting to master magic, and it was now significantly aiding our hunts.

A fiery orb, the size of a goblin child’s head, materialized between my hands. Similarly, the mage corps conjured their own magic orbs —flames, light, lightning, wind— each about the size of a fist.

Everyone had their unique affinity, and it seemed unchangeable. Except for me, everyone was limited to just one type of magic. I, however, could manipulate five different attributes. Mentor Nyanco was astounded when he discovered this.

“Are you truly just a High Goblin?!”

One month into learning magic, I was only proficient with fire magic.

“Fireee!”

At my command, the mage corps unleashed their barrage of magic at the Metal Golem’s head. My fireball, leading the assault, was about to hit the Golem’s eye when it deftly moved its hand to protect the weak spot. My fire left only scorch marks on its forearm and dissipated.

The Metal Golem, undeterred by our attack, continued its advance, seemingly unaffected by the subsequent magical assaults.

“Hmm…”

The golem paused momentarily, its gaze shifting to Ninomae and then back to us.

“The thunder magic earlier, it affected the golem, didn’t it?” I queried.
“Indeed, it was thunder magic,” Ninomae confirmed.

Spurred by this revelation, I spun around, eyeing the Goblin Sorcerer with newfound interest. “Your magic works! Everyone, back him up! And you, focus on unleashing your most powerful lightning spells!”

“Understood,” came the chorus of agreement.

“Ninomae, let’s move!” I commanded, drawing my worn sword from my belt.

“Let’s do this!” Ninomae replied, gripping his aged axe. Together, we engaged the Metal Golem. Our rusty weapons rang out with a metallic clash against its body, growing increasingly battered with each exchange. Time was of the essence, and we pressed on.

I narrowly dodged its massive, hammer-like fists, continuously aiming for its eye, but my attacks were ineffective. The Golem’s defense was impenetrable. Then, a decisive moment arrived.

“Thunder Magic, incoming!” The call signaled our retreat.

Ninomae and I stepped back as a colossal bolt of lightning struck the Golem, pausing its movement.

“Now, Ninomae!”

“On it!” He lunged forward, aiming for the Golem’s eye. But the creature subtly dodged, sustaining only a dent on its face.

“Cra—gh!” Ninomae stumbled, momentarily thrown off balance.

Seizing the opportunity, the Golem targeted Ninomae with a swift blow.

“Darn it!” If only I could wield thunder magic. Setting aside the thought, I focused all my strength into a decisive sword strike, creating a shower of sparks that resembled miniature bolts of lightning.

“A spellblade?!” Mentor Nyanco’s astonished voice echoed.

Showered by my lightning strike, the Metal Golem halted mere moments before its attack could connect with Ninomae. Seizing the opportunity, I thrust my sword directly into its eye.

A surprisingly faint sound, like the subtle crack of thin ice, ensued as the eye splintered. Following that, the Metal Golem collapsed onto the floor, its form scattering like a puppet severed from its strings.

“Did we win?”
“Hmm. You did it, Ichijiku!!”

Triumphant cheers erupted from our group. In response, I raised my battered sword, acknowledging their applause. However, at that moment, strange music began playing, seemingly from nowhere. As we looked around in bewilderment, the scattered remains of the Metal Golem sunk into the floor, and in their place, a wooden chest appeared.

“Is this the treasure chest?”
“Indeed. And it belongs to you.”

Following Mentor Nyanco’s words, I approached the chest and opened it to reveal a sword inside.

“Ohhh. This is timely; my sword has become practically unusable now.”

I discarded my old, nearly edgeless sword and grasped the new one, pulling it from the chest. The blade was pristine, reflecting my face, which seemed to have become more human-like. My horns had grown, and my body had slimmed down to a lean, muscular build.

“You seem to have evolved. You’re no longer a goblin, but of the ‘Oni race’.”

Mentor Nyanco’s voice carried a tone of disbelief as he explained.

“And this sword, it appears to be a magic weapon. From the looks of it, it’s quite unique.”
“Oh?”

Curious, I channeled my mana into the sword, and it instantly transformed, taking on a spiral shape.

“What an odd weapon. But I like it, so no complaints from me.”
“Let’s head back. The Guardian will revive if we linger here too long.”
“What?! The Guardian can revive? Does defeating it again yield another ‘treasure chest’?”
“That’s correct… You’re not considering that, are you?!”

Mentor Nyanco, grasping my implied meaning, looked around in a fluster. Of course, I had already made up my mind.

“Well, since we have the chance, let’s gear up the others too. It wouldn’t be fair if I were the only one with a new weapon. Besides, I want to test the sharpness of this blade.”

While Mentor Nyanco seemed at his wit’s end, cradling his head in his arms, Ninomae and the others began excitedly preparing for the next battle. I swung my new weapon, the magic sword, joining in their anticipation.

In the end, with my new sword and the ‘spellblade’ skill I had awakened, we fought through 20 consecutive battles until hunger forced us to stop. After securing a decent cache of weapons and armor, we left the boss room. On a side note, Ninomae evolved into a ‘Troll’, growing over 2 meters tall, and also obtained a new giant axe. The others too had evolved into a higher rank species, High Goblins, following his lead.

◆◇◆◇

“Why, how the hell did you suddenly evolve two steps further into ‘Onikin’!? Wait, even almost all your group has become high-rank species…… and my god, isn’t this the super rare ‘Caladbolg’?!?”

It had been 2-3 days since our fight with the guardian. As usual, the lady visited us with mouth-watering delicacies like sandwiches and cream puffs. However, she seemed more shaken than usual. It appeared I had exceeded her expectations. Speaking of which, Mentor Nyanco, so deeply moved(?) by the lady’s beauty, fainted the moment he laid eyes on her, foam bubbling from his mouth.

“I have worked hard just for you! By all means—”
“I am not going to mate with you!!”

She quickly shut me down. Reflecting on it, that dim-witted human had mentioned something about a kiss.

“Umm… then, how about a kiss at least—ah, it doesn’t have to be on the mouth. I am fine with licking the sole of your feet as well.”
“You… Why is your character becoming more and more disappointing? It’s like you’re trading your intelligence for good looks with each evolution.”
“Huh, is that so?”

I couldn’t quite grasp the concept of ‘handsome’. Was she implying I had become stronger?

After her remark, the lady glanced at my comrades and the kobolds, who were excitedly indulging in the mountain of sandwiches and cream puffs. She sighed, as if resigning herself to something, and then extended the back of her right hand towards me.

“Well, I suppose I can let you kiss it as a token of your efforts.”

Uwooooooooooooo! Ecstatic, I thought, ‘Finally! After five months of existence, my first step towards winning over this beautiful woman!’

Kneeling down, I held her extended hand with trembling fingers and reverently kissed it.

Silence enveloped us.

“Gabu!” I exclaimed impulsively.
“Kyaaa! I’m going to be eaten!” she screamed.
“Muhaha, this demon lord shall devour you,” I declared, caught up in the moment.

My actions were so erratic, even I couldn’t understand what I was doing. All I knew was that something within me stirred the instant I touched her soft skin and caught a hint of her scent.

“Noooooooooooo!!” she cried out in alarm.

With surprising force, she punched me, and in an instant, I found myself staring at the dungeon ceiling, my vision blurred.

“You’re still alive? What am I going to do if you keep evolving like this! No, maybe I should nip this in the bud while I still can…” she fretted.

As her voice faded away, so did my consciousness.