Chapter 29 …
Western Forest of Raven.
A hunting ground that even NPCs avoid and warn players about.
Unlike the wide-open Eastern Gate plains, this place is made up of dense forest that limits visibility, and it teems not only with goblins but also countless giant insects.
The monsters themselves were higher level, but honestly, that alone wasn’t the real problem.
It wasn’t like they were a completely different species tier, and even the giant insects were just tougher or trickier to catch — still killable.
The real problem was the forest terrain.
Rustle—
“Th-there! It ran that way! Catch it quick!”
“Damn it, what kind of monster hides behind rocks?!”
True to its title as “another world,” the AI was extremely advanced, and monsters driven by strong instincts knew how to use the environment.
“Gah! Above! Ambush from above!”
“Arrows from the bushes! Form up, quick!”
“Under your feet! Centipede!”
The aggressive-type goblins hid in the brush and began ambushes with poisoned needles, while the giant insects used their traits to drop from trees or strike from rock crevices.
That alone made the difficulty absurdly high.
There were already so many of them — add terrain-based ambushes on top, and players frequently found themselves dead before they knew what hit them.
Because of this, an unspoken rule formed in the Western Forest.
“Soloing the Western Forest? That’s just insane.”
“Listen carefully. In there, you must party. Doesn’t matter if you’re a hero-class or geared to the teeth.”
“Four-man party. Fill the roster completely.”
Form a party of at least three people.
Preferably hunt safely with a full four-person party — anyone who had set foot in the Western Forest knew this.
Of course, it didn’t apply to absolutely everyone.
“Well… if you don’t feel pain when hit and you’ve got damage that kills them in one or two shots, then sure — you don’t need a party.”
If you had the defense and damage to handle all those difficulties, terrain stopped mattering.
In fact, the monster-packed Western Forest would instead become the ultimate sweet farming spot.
“But do you think that’s even possible?”
“No way. Unless you’ve got myth-tier traits, top-tier DPS perks, hero-grade skills, and your gear is stacked Rare+ or higher.”
It was practically impossible, so players compromised with reality and formed parties.
Nobody wanted to act cocky and die for a death penalty.
“Party recruiting! Tank and DPS ready — need a healer and we go immediately!”
“Looking for one melee DPS! Ah… a rogue? Hmm…”
“Two people to run together till graduation~! Healer waiting!”
That was why the area in front of the western gate was overflowing with party recruitment.
In Arde, it had been for bonus benefits — here, it was for survival.
Whether someone had power-leveled at the eastern gate with gear or barely crawled to level 17, everyone here looked for a party.
“Tsk, we just need one healer… why are there none?”
“Healers aren’t popular. Good for party quests, but leveling’s rough. Honestly, it’s boring.”
“Sigh… maybe we just add an off-tank and go without.”
“Huh? Hey, look at that guy.”
Among the players recruiting party members, one nudged his companion.
“Ah, what now?”
“Another poor moth to the flame.”
“Ahh. That again?”
The annoyed companion turned his head — then nodded in understanding when he saw the man confidently entering the forest alone.
A crooked smile spread across his lips. It wasn’t pity or greed.
“Guys like that exist everywhere.”
It was pure mockery — or ridicule.
Anyone could tell with a quick search that soloing the Western Forest was suicide.
Even before that, the NPC warnings and the sight of everyone forming parties at the entrance made it obvious.
Yet those who insisted on soloing all thought the same thing.
“Even most rankers partied at this stage. What makes him think he’s different?”
“Well, maybe he’s trying to debut. ‘Soloed Western Forest’ — nice headline, right?”
I’m different from everyone else.
I just haven’t had the chance to prove it yet.
Either an idiot with baseless confidence — or someone trying to debut as a streamer and catch a guild’s attention.
“Everyone’s got a plan that sounds good.”
“Until they get smacked?”
“Exactly.”
One of them muttered in passing.
“Well… who knows. Maybe he’s some ultra-broken character with myth traits and legendary skills.”
The rebuttal came instantly.
“What, is he Melsal or something? No way.”
“Hey, didn’t a monster appear six months ago?”
“Ah… but that guy was a total freak. You think someone like that shows up twice?”
“…True.”
Because it was that unbelievable.
Statistically, it was far more reasonable to assume he was just another fool who didn’t know his place.
“Let’s just find party members.”
“Yeah, at this rate we won’t hit level 20 today.”
And so they stopped caring about the man who had walked into the forest.
It didn’t take long for him to fade from their thoughts.
Which was why they never imagined…
…that the man who entered the forest was still roaming inside perfectly fine.
* * *
Dense forest.
Deep enough to be nearly devoid of people — and in its depths, a bloody battle was unfolding.
Countless goblins surrounded a single man.
He was completely encircled — yet he looked relaxed.
Kieek!
The goblins, after watching cautiously, charged first.
But in that moment—
Stab—
Kieeek!
The man lightly dodged and drove his massive greatsword forward, making the goblin scream.
Kirrik! Kirik!
Enraged by their comrade’s scream, the goblins rushed him all at once.
A chaotic melee erupted.
And the one dominating the battlefield…
…was the man with the greatsword.
Whoosh— crack!
Thud! Slash—
There were no large, flashy movements.
He simply avoided incoming attacks with minimal motion or deflected them with the flat of his blade.
Then — stab or slash.
When a goblin slipped into extreme close range, he tilted his head to dodge, struck the philtrum with a lightly raised fist, then snapped its neck.
The entire sequence flowed naturally, almost mechanically.
When the exchange ended, three goblins lay dead.
One hit per goblin.
Ki… kirik!
Shock filled the goblins’ faces.
They had seen plenty of humans living in this forest—
—but never one this monstrously strong.
Kirik!?
Is this even possible?!
Even without understanding their language, the meaning was obvious.
But their shrieks weren’t just panic.
At their cries, new goblins began peeking out from the bushes.
Ambushers, lying in wait just in case.
“…As expected.”
Seeing the man shake his head, the goblins puffed their chests confidently.
Kik. Kirikik!
They were grinning, clearly thinking they had won.
Fair enough — four melee goblins still remained, and five ranged had just joined.
For a normal player, it would indeed be troublesome.
Fwoosh— thwip thwip!
Seeing arrows fly, the man — Dohyun — immediately angled his greatsword.
Ting— ting!
The arrows struck the blade and bounced away, and the goblins prepared to fire again.
The melee goblins didn’t stay idle either. They moved in to disrupt him.
But Dohyun was faster.
“Haah!”
He spun once—
—and suddenly hurled the greatsword at the ranged goblins.
Whooom—
Kieeek!?
They scattered in panic, never expecting him to throw his weapon.
But perhaps because it was so unexpected—
the goblin that had been about to fire couldn’t dodge in time.
The greatsword pierced straight through its head.
Kirik! Keek!
The ranged goblins shrieked angrily.
Meanwhile, the melee goblins smirked.
Dohyun had lost his weapon — good news for them.
And that wasn’t all.
[Warrior Set effect has been canceled.]
[Goblin is freed from the status effect ‘Intimidation’.]
Kiririk!
The strange pressure they’d felt vanished, and confidence surged.
Seeing right through their thoughts, Dohyun chuckled and pulled something from his inventory.
Shing—
“Who said I’m unarmed?”
It was an axe.
The “Honest Iron Axe of the Axe God” he’d obtained from defeating IfYoureMadTryItToo.
‘They die in one hit anyway — no need for the Warrior Set.’
Even if their level had risen, they were still fundamentally the Red Goblin tribe.
Their HP wasn’t even as high as the Blue Goblins of Raven Plains.
This axe alone was more than enough.
The melee goblins panicked at the appearance of the Rare-grade axe.
Kik! Kirik!!
As if it were a signal, the ranged goblins reformed and fired again.
But arrows — unlike poison needles — were something Dohyun could block with his eyes closed.
Whoosh—
Thud! Thud!
He instantly dove into the melee goblins, grabbed one by the neck and used it as a shield—
[Weapon Master effect removes weapon restrictions.]
[Adventurer effect allows use of the weapon’s basic skill.]
[You have used the axe’s basic skill ‘Downward Strike’.]
[Forest Red Goblin has been defeated.]
He tossed aside the arrow-pierced goblin and smashed another’s skull in one blow.
“Nice feel.”
It was his first time using an axe, but the impact felt better than expected.
Getting into the rhythm, Dohyun rampaged through the goblins.
No matter how many arrows they fired, he either blocked with the axe or used their own allies as shields.
To them, it was pure terror.
Kirik…!
In an instant, the melee goblins were wiped out.
Only four ranged goblins remained.
Having lost their will to fight, they turned and fled.
This was why forest goblins were so troublesome.
They were cunning — masters of using the forest, and they knew when to run.
But—
[Backstab activated.]
To Dohyun, who possessed the assassin’s ultimate mobility skill, it was laughable resistance.
Kirik…?
Appearing behind them like a ghost, he swung the axe—
—and the goblin’s head flew off.
It probably never even knew why it died.
Dohyun’s eyes darted quickly.
Two goblins fleeing in different directions.
Near one of them lay the greatsword he had thrown earlier.
Whooom—
Without hesitation, Dohyun hurled the axe at the opposite goblin, sprinted forward, retrieved the greatsword—
—and used Charge Slash.
Crack!
Slash—
[Forest Red Goblin has been defeated.]
[Forest Red Goblin has been defeated.]
[Axe proficiency has increased to Lv. 2.]
Perfect timing.
The moment Charge Slash cut one in half, the axe he had thrown finished the other.
All goblins — eliminated.
But he still couldn’t relax.
Ssshhhk—!
Something massive lunged at Dohyun’s back.
