novelraw Chapter 7 : Monster
Chapter 7 : Monster
Chapter 7: Monster
Robin often went to Hope’s Peak to practice swinging his wooden sword.
It was a place where just looking out over the wide, stretching plains made one feel good.
However, this time, he turned toward the foot of a mountain slightly away from the Hope’s Peak.
“Robin, let’s look around just a bit more and then head back.”
“Yeah. I’m not planning to overdo it.”
It was his first time climbing the mountain that bordered the Hope’s Peak.
It was such a common mountain that it didn’t even have a name—people simply called it “the back mountain,” “the wild hill,” or “the mountain with the ridge,” each in their own way.
There were rumors that monsters appeared there, but few had actually seen one.
A few years ago, the lord had led a large-scale subjugation, after which sightings had noticeably decreased.
Even so, hardly anyone ventured into the mountain.
At most, a few herb gatherers or hunters climbed it now and then.
“This place feels different from the Hope’s Peak.”
“Honestly, even kids like us coming all the way here isn’t something you see often. Look around—there’s no one here.”
Just as Jeremy said, the surroundings were filled only with trees.
Since it was a mountain where people rarely tread, there was no clear path, and it was easy to lose one’s way.
The higher they climbed, the more complex the terrain became, and when it grew harder to remember the way they came, Jeremy pulled out a yellow cloth from his bag.
“If we tie ribbons like this, it’ll be easier to find our way back down.”
Once he tied the cloth to a branch, the indistinguishable trees became much easier to tell apart.
“So that’s why you brought so much stuff. But where’d you get that from?”
“Hmm… don’t ask about the source. What matters is that we get back safely.”
Judging by how he cleared his throat and avoided eye contact, it was obvious he had taken it from the general store.
Even after an hour of climbing, there was no sign of Lina.
“Robin, are you still going to keep searching?”
“We can’t help it. I feel bad for Mr. Jacob, but we have no choice but to go down.”
“Yeah. You can’t just go searching with nothing but her description. I was wondering what I’d do if you insisted on staying longer.”
At Jeremy’s words, Robin gave a faint, bitter smile.
He knew the chances of finding Lina were slim, but going back without any results made his heart ache.
Having once known the despair of being left alone, Robin’s steps felt heavy.
Rustle.
About thirty minutes after following the yellow ribbons back down, something stirred behind them.
Remembering the time he had been frightened by a rabbit, Robin calmly drew his black sword.
Jeremy reached for something in his bag, but when he saw what had made the sound, he simply raised his wooden sword.
It was a baby boar.
“Squeee.”
The little boar, its fine fur streaked with stripes, squealed softly.
As they got closer, they saw it was injured and bleeding.
“Maybe there’s a boar nearby.”
The baby boar stumbled downhill before collapsing.
Blood flowed from its wound—it had clearly been attacked.
“It didn’t even get to grow up… poor thing. Let’s bury it, Robin.”
When Jeremy asked if he had a shovel, Robin said nothing and merely closed his eyes.
After a moment of thought, he spoke.
“We’d better get down quickly.”
Before Jeremy could even respond, Robin grabbed his hand and started heading down.
Their pace quickened until they were running.
Jeremy didn’t know what was going on, but seeing Robin’s tense expression, he focused on getting down.
“Haah… haah… let’s rest for a bit at the Hope’s Peak.”
Robin only stopped once they reached the flat, open Cape where there were few trees.
Jeremy collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, and lay there for a while.
Robin, though not tired, waited patiently for Jeremy to recover.
As he lay there, Jeremy thought about it—the fact that the baby boar had been alone and wounded was strange.
He began to understand why Robin had run back in such a hurry.
“There’s a predator in that mountain more dangerous than a boar, isn’t there?”
“I can’t be certain, but… there might be a monster.”
‘If there really is a monster, this isn’t something we can handle.’
As Jeremy sat up, Robin continued.
“As far as I know, there’s no animal in that mountain capable of hunting a boar. Only hunters—or monsters—would do that.”
“It could’ve been caught in a hunter’s trap.”
“It’s not easy to catch a boar with just traps. Maybe a baby one, but adult boars take at least three strong men to handle. They’re pretty smart, too.”
“So by process of elimination, that leaves only a monster.”
They waited, watching to see if a hunter carrying the boar would come down from the mountain—but it was in vain.
Not only did no hunter appear, there wasn’t another soul in sight besides Robin and Jeremy.
With nothing more they could do, Robin felt a heaviness in his chest.
To ease the frustration, he picked up his wooden sword and began swinging.
“Robin, aren’t you tired? You just ran all the way down from the mountain.”
“No, I’m fine. I guess all the regular training’s been paying off.”
As he swung his wooden sword, the tightness in his chest gradually faded.
At least in that moment, he could shake off his tangled worries.
Jeremy, watching Robin’s strikes, soon stood up to follow along.
Though he was pessimistic about finding Lina, his dream of becoming an adventurer was genuine.
He needed to be able to protect himself, so he had no objection to practicing the sword.
Rustle.
While they were absorbed in their swings, movement stirred near the slope of the mountain.
Wondering what it could be this time, they turned—and saw a strange creature.
Its skin was rough and green like tree bark, its height similar to Robin’s, and it wore nothing but ragged leather like a torn sack. It was a goblin.
When their eyes met, the goblin’s long, pointed ears perked sharply upward.
“To think we’d actually run into one.”
Jeremy pulled out a slingshot from his bag, loaded it with a stone he’d prepared, and waited.
Robin, holding his black sword, tensed up.
He had never fought a monster before and couldn’t think clearly about what to do.
“Don’t move until I tell you, Jeremy.”
At Robin’s command, Jeremy froze.
‘It’s not a wild animal. If it’s a monster, we should avoid a fight.’
“Grrk?”
Unaware of Robin’s thoughts, the goblin revealed itself fully and began to approach.
It held a stone axe in its hand.
Though small, its lean, taut muscles made it clear it wasn’t to be underestimated.
“Robin, can you kill it?”
“…Yeah.”
Surprisingly, Robin’s heart was calm.
Ever since he’d resolved to find Lina, he had known he might have to face a monster.
When he imagined facing a monster hostile to humans, he had always pictured himself frozen in fear.
But when it actually happened, he was startled by how calm he felt.
‘If I don’t kill it in one strike, the goblin will scream. Then the others nearby will come running.’
Fully grasping the situation, Robin fixed his eyes on the goblin.
The goblin, which had approached out of curiosity, now had hostility in its gaze.
It was only as tall as an adult man’s waist, but Robin and Jeremy were around the same height.
Though similar in size, the goblin had a weapon and muscles.
As it slowly closed the distance, the goblin suddenly broke into a run.
“Now!”
Jeremy fired his slingshot toward the goblin.
The stone struck the goblin square in the forehead, snapping its head back for a moment.
Before firing, Robin had already kicked off the ground, and in a flash, he brought the black sword down over the goblin’s head.
Slash.
Blood gushed out along the blade that had cleaved into the goblin’s skull.
But the strike hadn’t finished it—the goblin thrashed wildly, swinging its stone axe.
“KyAAAAAA!”
Robin panicked.
Though he had practiced downward strikes endlessly, he hadn’t been able to split the goblin’s skull.
Its bones were tougher than expected, and Robin’s strength fell short.
To avoid the axe, he released the black sword and retreated.
Now, all he had left was his wooden sword.
‘This is bad.’
He raised the wooden sword toward the goblin, though he knew it would hardly help.
It was so light that there was no way it could hit as hard as the black sword.
He watched the goblin carefully, ready to run if he had to—but the creature staggered forward a few steps and collapsed.
It seemed the blow to its head hadn’t been insignificant after all.
When Robin pulled the black sword from its skull, blood spurted out like a fountain.
“Phew… that was close. Are you okay, Jeremy?”
“I’m fine. But we have to get out of here—more goblins will be coming soon.”
They started down from the Hope’s Peak, but goblins were already shouting and chasing them from afar.
“Run, Jeremy!”
The goblins, seeing their dead kin, were enraged.
Robin and Jeremy ran with all their strength, but the goblins were fast.
‘At this rate, they’ll catch up.’
Even as they neared the city, the goblins didn’t stop.
Maybe they had never fought humans before—they showed no fear.
“Jeremy, got any bright ideas?”
“Damn it! I don’t know! Let me think!”
The distance between them and the goblins was shrinking.
A chill ran down Robin’s spine.
Acting on instinct, he ducked—just as a stone axe swept horizontally over where his head had been.
He halted abruptly, then thrust the black sword toward the goblin’s heart.
Slash.
This time, the blade sank in all the way without resistance.
The goblin, stabbed through the heart, foamed at the mouth and fell.
When Robin pulled the blade free, bits of flesh and blood came out with it, but a quick shake flung the flesh off.
As he finished off one goblin, another approached.
Jeremy’s slingshot shot threw its aim off, and Robin slashed horizontally across its eyes.
“KyAAAK!”
Learning from his earlier mistake, he aimed not to kill but to disable.
Splitting skulls was beyond his current strength, and stabbing the heart made it hard to pull the sword out.
Before another goblin’s stone axe could hit him, Robin dodged and ran.
“Robin, don’t get caught! Run like your life depends on it!”
“I’ve never even nursed before—how can I run like that?!”
“You’re cracking jokes now?!”
Robin meant it sincerely, but Jeremy’s expression wavered between laughter and despair.
He thought Robin was joking to lighten the tension.
They descended the foothill and reached flat ground.
By now, the city guards were visible in the distance, yet the goblins didn’t stop.
‘These things really have no experience fighting humans.’
Goblins were small enough that an ordinary adult could drive them off with a farming tool.
And yet, they kept chasing relentlessly.
Even as they neared the city, they didn’t give up, confirming Robin’s suspicion.
“Over hereee! Help usss!”
Jeremy shouted toward the city.
The guards, who had been idle moments ago, began to stir at the sound.
“Jeremy! How many are behind me?!”
“Five!”
“Good! Go ahead and get people!”
Robin slowed his pace, dodging sideways just as a stone axe swung down behind him.
“Robin! What are you doing?!”
“If I don’t, we’ll both die!”
He dodged the axe strikes and drew the goblins’ attention toward himself.
“Don’t die! I’ll bring help!”
Jeremy sprinted toward the city.
Robin turned and ran—not toward the city, but to the side.
Fortunately, all five goblins went after him instead of Jeremy.
“Take this!”
Without looking back, Robin hurled his wooden sword behind him.
“Grrk!”
By luck, it struck one goblin in the face, knocking it down.
Right now, what Robin needed most was time.
He didn’t have to defeat them himself—soon, the guards would take care of it.
“Stop following me!”
Two axes swung toward his head from both sides.
He dodged one and blocked the other with his black sword.
Clang!
Robin was forced back, unable to withstand the goblin’s strength.
In an instant, five goblins surrounded him.
‘Is this where I die?’
Jeremy was nowhere to be seen—he had gone to get the guards.
All five goblins swung their stone axes at Robin at once.