"Urgh!"
A putrid odor wafted past Rey's nose as he reached the entrance of the Hobgoblin's base.
The clearing was right before him, and he already felt sick to his stomach.
'Goblins aren't particularly known for their hygiene, but this is on another level…' Rey crinkled his nose and narrowed his gaze.
His heightened perception made it difficult for him to ignore the stench, so he just had to endure it.
'Whatever! Let's just get this over with.'
Rey walked right past the entrance and soon found himself in a clearing.
The hallway had been plenty large enough, but compared to the massive auditorium he now stood in, it might have as well been a tightened compartment.
The expanse was large enough to contain thousands upon thousands of adult humans, with tons more room to spare.
And occupying this space were a horde of Hobgoblins waiting for him.
About three hundred of them.
'It's not surprising, considering how massive this place is…'
Rey thought that, but his eyes still widened at the sight of so many monsters in a single location.
Hobgoblins were a cooperative race, but this number was considerably large for a civilization.
'External factors such as disease, predators, and other things ensure that Goblin populations naturally dwindle.'
Adding that to their short lifespan, and they gave a perfect brew of why there weren't too many Goblins in the world.
'These ones don't have predators any longer, so that greatly improves their numbers…'
The question, however, was what happened to the previous apex predators of this Floor?
Rey only had to look around for a brief instant to know the answer.
'Ahh…' His eyes twitched a little.
He could see dog-like creatures—all of them in cages and pens—located in multiple corners of the massive clearing.
They had wild looks in their eyes, and it was clear they were monsters, but something about them seemed… domesticated.
'So the Hobgoblins conquered the NightWolves and turned them into their livestock…'
It was quite an efficient system, and Rey couldn't help but be impressed.
Most unintelligent monsters would just go around killing their enemies if they got the chance to, but the Hobgoblins were different.
'If I had to guess, they learned how to use the Orichalcum here, and they launched a counterattack on the NightWolves using their tricky strategy…'
Apex Predators hardly ever needed to use dirty tricks to win. They were naturally stronger than their prey, so it was a given that they would emerge victorious.
As such, the NightWolves were probably extremely surprised by the resistance that the Hobgoblins put up.
The Orichalcum was a very durable mineral, and it must have helped protect the Hobs from whatever Skills the NightWolves were dependent on.
'Fastforward a few months… maybe years… and this became the natural conclusion.' Rey smiled at the slimy green creatures before him.
Instead of utterly eliminating the NightWolves, the Hobgoblins kept them alive.
'They must have realized they could use them as an endless source of food. This way, the Hobs won't need to starve or feed off of dirt or one another to survive.'
From the way Rey saw it, these monsters were currently thriving.
Unfortunately, they were yet to do anything about their hygiene.
The feces of both Hobgoblins and NightWolves were dumped in a corner and left to rot.
It was disgusting, and seeing it caused Rey to gag. The Hobgoblins seemed to be enjoying themselves regardless, though.
Perhaps their nose had even adapted to like the smell.
'I almost feel bad for ruining your paradise, but I'm sure you've had a good run already.' Rey raised one of his hands.
He could see the hundreds of Hobgoblins draw their Orichalcum weapons and look at him with fierce resolve.
Their murderous gaze touched him slightly, but he wasn't letting up because of that.
'Why are they holding off on attacking me? Well, if I had to guess…'
Rey lifted his face and looked beyond the three hundred Hobgoblins before him.
Sitting on a throne carved from pure Orichalcum was a Hobgoblin that was coated in Nightwolf fur. He had a crown that seemed like a mixture of Orichalcum and Nightwolf bones.
He also had a necklace that combined the fangs and claws of NightWolves.
This important-looking Hobgoblin was fatter than the rest, and he was much bigger.
Rey determined that this was because he had access to more food than the rest, hence making him much stronger than the rest.
'He's their Chief, and right now, he's sneering at me.'
The Hobgoblin Chief raised the scepter in his hand—a stick made from Orichalcum, with a NightWolf Monster Core sitting on top of it.
'They can harvest Monster Cores too? Impressive!'
Considering the current numbers of the NightWolves, Rey could tell that the Hobgoblins would have had the chance of harvesting a lot of Monster Cores.
Depending on how long they had domesticated the NightWolves, Rey could imagine the Hobs possessing thousands of Cores.
'If I can have them, it'll be epic as hell!'
Rey began to grow more motivated with each passing second.
It seemed the Hobgoblin chief noticed his smile, because the next thing he did was to grunt loudly.
"GRIIIIK!"
All of the Hobs straightened up and tightly gripped their weapons the moment they heard this.
It seemed the Chief was telling them something.
"SKRIIK GUUUUJ KAUDI KRIK!"
The Hobgoblins had depraved expressions on their faces, and their mouths began to water soon after.
'Did he just tell me that they'll feast on my body?'
Thanks to being an Otherworlder, he could somewhat understand the general idea of what the Hobgoblins meant.
It wasn't like their words could be translated word for word with English, but Rey got the message regardless.
These things were savages, and their bloodlust was the real deal.
Any mistake he made here could cost him his life.
"SKRIIIII!!!"
The moment the Chief yelled this, pointing his staff at Rey, all the armed Hobgoblins roared and raised their weapons.
"SKUUUUUIUURRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!"
Rey could feel the air tremble, so he prepared himself for the inevitable.
'Here they come!'
*
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*
[A/N]
This is just an appetizer.
The feast is coming!
~RUMBLE!!~
The horde of Hobgoblins rushed to Rey in full assault.
Saliva rushed from their open mouths as they roared and chanted in words that Rey could not fully comprehend.
According to his knowledge, regular Hobgoblins didn't have any particular Skills.
Perhaps special variants of Goblins—like Goblin Mages and Goblin Champions—did, but not the foot soldiers.
Hobgoblins were simply stronger, more durable, and more agile versions of Goblins.
They were much smarter too.
"I shouldn't take any chances…" Rey whispered to himself as he raised one of his arms up in the air.
"… [Flare]."
~SHWIIIIIIIIINNNGGGGG!!!~
The instant he said that, a bright ball of light emerged from his palm and shot up to the ceiling.
Right before it touched the stony walls above, however, the ball exploded into a brilliant display of pure light.
"KRRRIIIIIIIAAAAAAKKKKKK!!!"
In this Floor, where darkness was the natural state of affairs for everyone, a mere glimpse of illumination was sure to stun the residents.
However, Rey didn't settle for a simple flicker of light, or a small display of luminescence.
Instead, he sent forth a flare that filled the world with such brightness that it seared through the extremely sensitive eyes of the Hobgoblins.
The result? Absolute blindness!
"KRIAAAKKKKK!!!"
As Rey heard their howls and screams of pain, he undid the [Blindness] Skill he had inflicted on himself.
Thanks to that, he wasn't affected by the sudden flare.
"Looks like you're all in agony." Rey found himself chuckling for some reason.
Looking at the creatures that desired to eat him now stumbling in the darkness felt amusing to him.
~ZTTTZZZ~
He slightly arched his hand, and a sudden burst of lightning appeared on it.
"Let me ease your pain."
Rey applied the [Greater Warrior's Mantle] to buff himself, while also increasing the intensity of the lightning formed by his [Greater Lightning Magic] Skill.
As his body grew in strength and speed, he readied his legs for an epic sprint.
'Let's go!'
~WHOOSH!~
Rey swiftly moved, almost as if he was the wind itself.
The lightning on his hand caused the very air to vibrate, and the feeling as he sped towards the confused crowd was electrifying.
Before a single Hob could recognize what had happened, Rey dealt the first strike to them.
~KRIIIZZZ!~
Lightning burned through their skin as he sliced off the heads of the Goblins before him.
Their weapons did them no good since they didn't know where to direct them to.
Seeing in the dark was one of their major advantages, and now it was gone.
Without their sight, they could only poke at random areas, unable to properly sense their enemy.
Unfortunately for them, since they were huddled in a group, their careless strikes ended up doing more harm than good.
"GUAARK!"
"KRIII?!"
"KUAAGH!"
The Hobgoblins screamed in pain as they began harming one another in a desperate attempt to kill the human invader.
As squishing sounds reverberated across the vast space, and blood flowed from the bodies of the Hobgoblins, Rey kept up his own assault.
Cutting through the horde proved easier than he expected
Sure, the Hobgoblins had Orichalcum armor, but it didn't protect their necks from being sliced through.
They could not resist.
They could only helplessly await their demise!
~FWOOOSSH!~
Once Rey got to the center of the Hobgoblin crowd, thanks to his deft maneuver and superior speed, he jumped to the air, gaining the perfect view from above the Hobs.
~BZZTTTZZZ!~
At this point, both of his palms were cackling with lightning, and he was grinning like a maniac.
The horrid smell of feces had now been replaced with burning flesh and sizzling blood.
Rey seemed to prefer this aroma.
"Lightning Rain!" As Rey cast the Spell, he directed his hands downwards.
~FWOOOOSHH!~
Flashes of electricity burst from his fingertips, causing them to dance around the powerless Hobs.
~ZZZTTZ!~
Lightning pierced through the heads and necks of the Hobs.
~KRRIAACK!~
Intense electricity, and the heat generated from it, eventually caused the Orichalcum armor the Hobgoblins proudly donned to overheat and explode.
~TZZZTT!~
More flashes of lightning descended from above, randomly targeting the Hobgoblins and striking them down where they stood.
"Hahaha! Hahaha!" Rey laughed in amusement.
"KRRIIAAAKK!!" The voice of the Hobgoblin Chief suddenly echoed.
His tone was aggressive, but it had a tinge of desperation etched within.
The Chief pointed upward, roaring and groaning in pure fury.
'Ah! Seems he noticed I'm right above them.' Rey's eyes widened slightly.
In response to their Chief's commands, the Hobgoblins raised their blades and spears and did the only reasonable thing they could do in such a situation.
They threw their weapons into the air, hoping they would at least be able to hit the being that reduced their numbers to such an absurd degree.
~WHOOSH!~
Blades sliced through the air, and while most were off by a wide margin, a few flew towards Rey himself.
However…
"[Phase]"
He easily passed through the attacks that were directed at him.
'Mana-infused attacks or refined Orichalcum would have affected the [Phase] Skill, but this is nowhere near that level.'
Once the first volley of their attack was complete, Rey resumed his slaughter.
~BZZZZZZZZZTTTZZZ!!!~
"Die! Die! Dieeee!!!"
Rey realized he sounded like a maniac, and the honest truth was that he didn't know why.
Was this a result of the pent-up stress he had been holding on for a very long time?
For a month now, he had been hiding his true nature and abilities from his classmates.
He felt so suffocated that it was sickening.
It was only in here—at moments like this—that he felt truly free.
Perhaps that had driven him to the edge of insanity.
Or maybe… he had always been this crazy.
Either way, Rey could not deny the honest truth.
'I… I'm having so much fun!'
And he didn't want it to end.
… Not yet.
*
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*
[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
At this point, I feel bad for the Hobgoblins.
It's all good, though.
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