Chapter 7: Goblin’s Fang
The goblin’s eyes narrowed.
It could see Arthur limping and bleeding. He was clearly injured. Perhaps even more than it was.
It licked its lips again.
Arthur remained still, the club in his hands lowered just a little. He dragged his right foot and staggered somewhat, showing the goblin bit more weakness than he actually felt.
The little bastard was cunning, but was it more cunning than him? He didn’t think so!
And he was right. The goblin couldn’t resist when it saw that scene.
It finally opened its mouth and lunged forward, going for his right leg again.
But Arthur had been waiting.
He moved his leg sideways the moment the little imp moved, letting the creature pass just short of him, before he brought his club down with everything he had. Right across the goblin’s exposed back.
The crack that followed echoed through the trees as the goblin slammed down with a painful shriek.
But Arthur didn’t give it a second chance. He raised the club one last time and brought it down on its head with a bang.
Finally, the goblin hit the ground and stopped.
[Goblin defeated. +5 EXP.]
Arthur stood over its corpse, blood still dripping down his thigh. His arms shook and his breath was ragged now, but his eyes were still as steady as before.
He looked at the small green body that was now turning into motes of white light and muttered to himself,
"Nice try, little imp."
For a moment, he just stood there, watching the goblin’s body break apart into motes of light and scatter into the wind.
But then, something else happened, too.
The club in his hands began to shimmer, and before Arthur could tighten his grip around it, it had already crumbled into that same white glow and vanished from his hands.
"Eh...?" His eyes widened.
Then, a realization settled in his mind.
So the club was considered a part of the goblin’s body or whatever system ran this place, wasn’t it? It probably couldn’t exist without the little imp.
Still, Arthur didn’t mind it too much.
That thing was useful against the goblin, sure, but it was still a little too small for his own hands. Naturally, it was better than being empty-handed, but Arthur was going to replace it the moment he found a slightly thicker piece of log, anyway.
Then, his gaze fell on the forest floor where the goblin’s corpse had been just a moment ago.
Something had been left behind; A small, pale object that looked clean and almost glossy.
Arthur crouched to pick it up, then winced as pain shot through his leg again. His thigh was still bleeding where the goblin had bitten him. Still, he suppressed it and just read through the system notification that popped up the moment his fingers touched the small white tooth.
[Item: Goblin’s Fang
Rarity: Common
The unblemished fang of a goblin. Goblin warriors who’ve proven themselves on the battlefield often use their strongest fang to craft a dagger.]
The tooth in his hands was heavier than expected. It was roughly the size of his fist, but it was shaped like a jagged canine.
Oddly enough, it was larger than any of the teeth the goblin had bitten him with. If the little imp had any more teeth like this, Arthur was sure his entire leg would have been skewered. He would probably be the one lying on the ground instead.
He turned the fang over in his hand, inspecting it for a moment, before eventually slipping it into the pocket of his jacket.
No system alert followed.
Arthur stood up slowly, putting most of his weight on his uninjured leg and began to gather his thoughts.
No matter what, this was still a game, so his ultimate goal should be to level up and get stronger, right?. This was the fundamental rule every game followed, so he couldn’t be that much off with his reasoning, he guessed.
The problem was that he’d only gotten 5 EXP from the goblin just now. He didn’t know how much he needed to level up, but he doubted that another goblin would cut it.
Still, that little imp alone had ended up injuring him so badly to the point where his leg had almost been torn off.
Arthur took a deep breath, suppressing the pain and opened his status window.
Aside from his HP, which showed a glaring 34/50, everything else was still the same. There was no exp bar, so he really had no idea how far off he was from level 2.
He took another look at the wound on his leg and thought back to that [minor healing potion] the insectoid shopkeeper had shown him.
Perhaps he could exchange the ’Goblin’s Fang’ for one of those?
"...No way." Shaking his head, Arthur quickly discarded that thought a moment later.
It was a no-brainer, if he were honest. Even if the small tooth could really be traded for a healing potion, then what?
When all was said and done, he’d be right back to square one. He’d be empty-handed, and all he’d have to show for his trouble would only be 5 EXP.
No, it wasn’t worth it.
Arthur took a deep breath and took out the fang again.
It wasn’t just clean.
It was sharp.
And more importantly, it was intact.
’Unblemished’, according to the system.
He turned it over in his hand, inspecting it a bit more closely. It was smooth and gleamed faintly even in the dim forest light.
Arthur gritted his teeth and decided to give it a quick test before moving forward. He pressed its edge lightly against his thumb.
It bit in immediately. A shallow line of red rose across his skin.
"Ouch!" he hissed, looking at his finger.
This thing was usable, that’s for sure.
Letting out a breath, Arthur looked around.
There were no signs of any other goblins or players here.
He could still hear some faint, distant screams from the battlefield behind him, but none of them sounded too close.
So, there was just one thing left to do before moving forward. He took cover at the base of a tree and quickly began tearing his shirt apart.
His sleeve came off first, followed by a few long strips.
Arthur wasn’t exactly trained in first aid, but his bleeding needed to stop.
So he wrapped his shirt around his thigh as tightly as he could. It stung like hell, but he didn’t stop. With every twist of fabric, the pain deepened. By the time he tied the final knot, his fingers were trembling already.
Still, his makeshift bandage held somehow. It was enough.
Arthur pushed himself back up and shifted his weight slowly, pressing his right foot on the ground.
It still hurt, but at least he could move now.
Gripping the fang tightly with his right hand, holding it like a dagger, he took one last breath and turned back toward the trees.
Then he stepped forward, heading deeper into the forest.
...
Arthur moved carefully through the trees, and it didn’t take too long before he spotted a second goblin.
This one stood hunched near a fallen log, tugging at something Arthur couldn’t quite make out. It looked bigger than the first goblin, too, but not by much, and it seemed... distracted.
Still, Arthur didn’t move right away.
He crouched behind a thick patch of shrubs and observed the creature for a minute or two, waiting to see if there were any more of the bloodthirsty imps in the vicinity.
Once he verified it was alone, he made his move.
He stepped out into the open and let the leaves rustle beneath his feet.
Almost immediately, the goblin’s head snapped toward the sound, its yellow eyes locking onto him.
For a second, it didn’t move. It had been clearly taken aback by the unexpected visitor.
Then its gaze dropped to Arthur’s injured leg, to his bandaged thigh that was painted a dark crimson, and a crooked grin slowly stretched across its face.
Its pointy ears twitched once before the creature let out a shrill cackle that echoed through the trees.
It was laughing.
And then, it lunged forward.
Arthur didn’t move.
He watched as the goblin’s body stuck close to the ground, its limbs tucked close to its chest, while its eyes were locked onto his wound.
It was aiming for his thigh, just like the last one.
...Of course it was.
Arthur shifted his stance and let the imp come at him.
He could tell by now that goblins were greedy, malevolent little bastards who saw red the moment they spotted an enemy.
But this was good.
Arthur kept his eyes open and watched how the creature moved. There were no feints behind its lunge.
It was just a straight, savage dive for the same spot he had been bitten before.
The imp wasn’t smart. It was predictable. But it was also fast.
Still, Arthur moved just before the imp reached him.
He pulled back and sidestepped the goblin’s claws by twisting his torso, before he raised his right hand holding the fang.
Then he struck.
The curved tooth slammed straight into the goblin’s ribs, driving in like a knife cutting through butter.
Arthur felt no resistance as it sank in.
"Kiiiieeeeehhhh!"
A loud, painful shriek echoed through the forest, but it was too late.
[Goblin defeated. +5 EXP.]
