Chapter 45: Goblin Nest

Qiu Nuoya crashed into the tall grass.

Before he could react, the three goblins casually lifted him up and took off running.

"W... Wait! You’ve got to be kidding me!?"

After being carried away, Qiu Nuoya twisted his body desperately and trying to break free. But the goblins were much stronger than he had expected.

They firmly gripped his arms and legs, leaving him completely unable to move as they carried him away.

"H... Help!"

The goblins were surprisingly fast.

Before Igor and Warren could react, the goblins including Qiu Nuoya quickly disappeared into the distance.

Fortunately, Mochi was still nestled safely in Qiu Nuoya’s arms.

The little slime trembled nonstop but made no sound.

Well, of course it was frightened.

Qiu Nuoya was terrified too.

Where are they taking him!?

The three goblins continued shrieking "Gigigigi!" back and forth, almost as if they were carrying on a conversation.

Unfortunately, Qiu Nuoya could not understand a single word they were saying.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

Although Qiu Nuoya struggled with all his strength, he remained pinned on his back as the goblins carried him deeper into the wilderness.

They finally arrived at a dimly lit cave.

As soon as they entered, the goblins roughly threw him onto the ground.

"Ow..."

"Gigigii!"

His entire body ached from being grabbed, dragged, and tossed around. But even Qiu Nuoya knew this was no time to worry about a few bruises.

He sprang to his feet and quickly looked around.

The sight made him shudder.

There were even more goblins than before.

The three that had carried him here stood near the cave entrance, now joined by several more.

The back of the cave was swallowed in darkness, making it impossible to see clearly.

However, countless pairs of glowing eyes shimmered from within the shadows.

How many are there?

At the very least, his instincts screamed that he absolutely must not go any deeper into the cave.

"Fireball!"

Qiu Nuoya immediately chose to escape.

He hurled a Fireball toward the cave entrance.

The goblins that had been blocking the exit scattered in panic to avoid the flames.

Seeing his chance, Qiu Nuoya dashed toward the opening. Then a desperate human scream echoed from deeper inside the cave.

"Help me!!"

"Someone’s here, aren’t they!? Please, hurry! Somebody help me!!"

Someone was inside.

Judging by the voice, it was probably a woman. But countless goblins stood between her and the exit.

Qiu Nuoya froze.

He knew the correct choice was to run and

His mind understood that. But someone deeper inside the cave was crying out for help.

What could he possibly do?

He was trapped in the body of a child, wearing poor equipment, inexperienced in combat, and he had never even defeated a single monster before.

Could someone like him really fight through a horde of goblins and rescue her?

As he hesitated, another terrified scream came from deeper within the cave.

The smartest decision would be to escape and bring back help.

He knew that.

But if he abandoned the person trapped inside and something happened to her, he knew he would regret that choice for the rest of his life.

He had been given a second chance at life.

He refused to spend the very beginning of it carrying a lifetime of regret.

Qiu Nuoya sprinted deeper into the cave, straight toward the countless goblins waiting ahead.

[ Nuoya, Nuoya... Aren’t we running away? ]

Mochi who had remained unusually silent until now finally spoke with an anxious voice.

Qiu Nuoya suddenly realized something.

That was right.

He could not drag Mochi into this reckless decision of his.

"There’s someone deeper inside who needs help. So..."

[ Does Nuoya want to save that person? ]

"Yes. I do."

[ Then throw us at them. ]

Qiu Nuoya could not understand what Mochi meant.

Did Mochi really mean for him to throw it into the middle of the goblin horde?

[ Nuoya, hurry, hurry! ]

"B, but..."

The goblins were already closing in.

Whenever Qiu Nuoya cast a Fireball, the goblins scattered to avoid it.

Hitting stationary targets and hitting moving ones were completely different matters.

His attacks were no longer very effective.

One or two goblins were burned and collapsed, but there were simply too many of them.

The surviving goblins quickly regrouped and began surrounding him from every direction.

[ Nuoya, not yet? ]

Qiu Nuoya hugged Mochi tightly.

The little slime trembled in his arms.

Would it really be okay to do what Mochi had suggested?

Slimes were supposed to be the weakest monsters of all.

If he threw Mochi into a crowd of goblins like this, wouldn’t it be crushed in an instant?

"No! I can’t do that. I’ll protect you, Mochi!"

[ Huh? I can’t? But there are lots of goblins. ]

"I know that!"

Qiu Nuoya’s face suddenly felt something brush past him.

Before he even had time to realize what it was, a second and third arrow came flying toward him.

The goblins’ archery was far from impressive. Aside from the first arrow that had grazed him, the rest flew harmlessly past and disappeared behind him.

Even so, when Qiu Nuoya saw several goblins standing ahead with bows drawn, a chill ran down his spine.

Because Igor had warned them about this on the way here.

"Goblins aren’t very intelligent. They normally can’t use anything except clubs. But if you ever see one properly wielding another weapon, run immediately. It means there’s probably a large goblin nest nearby, and a high ranked goblin species is likely present."

Now there were goblins carrying bows right in front of him.

There was no longer any doubt.

This was a goblin nest.

It was far beyond anything Qiu Nuoya could handle.

"Ah... ah..."

Fear spread through his entire body.

He had wanted to save whoever was trapped deeper inside.

He had believed he would regret running away for the rest of his life. But now he realized he had made the wrong choice.

"If you confuse courage with recklessness, you’ll end up seriously injured."

Igor’s warning echoed through his mind again and again.