Click!
Snap——!
As the deadlock dragged on, the iron sword's blade slowly carved deeper into the ogre's crude wooden club.
In the end, the inferior weapon snapped with a loud crack under the edge of Minori's iron sword.
The broken piece spun through the air and landed far away, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
—
The ogre stared at the shattered stump in its hands with wide, bloodshot eyes, confusion and fear twisting its brutish face.
With intelligence barely above that of a goblin, the creature simply couldn't comprehend it—Why was this weak human food... stronger?
The ogre hesitated, taking an involuntary step back.
—
Minori's sharp eyes caught the opening.
The ogre's chest was wide open—defenseless.
Ignoring the numbing pain in his arms, Minori tightened his grip on the sword, angling the tip upward, and dashed forward like a released arrow.
Pssshk!
The iron sword's point plunged deep into the ogre's chest,piercing through decaying flesh and slipping between cracked ribs—driving upward into the monster's left heart.
—
"GRAAAAH!!"
The ogre let out a soul-rattling roar, its face contorted in agony.
Even mortally wounded, it still swung its massive arms, aiming to crush Minori where he stood.
At such close range, evasion by conventional means was impossible.
—
But—
A pale blue light flared around Minori's body.
"Instant Reflex—!"
In a flash, Minori's form flickered backward, retracing the path he'd just taken.
Time itself seemed to rewind for a moment.
Bang!
The ogre's great hands slammed together in empty air with a thunderous clap.
Meanwhile, Minori landed a safe distance away—his iron sword yanked free, leaving a gruesome, gushing wound behind.
—
The ogre staggered, blood pouring freely from the ruined chest cavity.
It roared and lunged clumsily toward Minori, its movements growing weaker with each step.
Yet, even with its heart pierced, the creature's monstrous vitality refused to surrender easily.
After a few more staggering steps, it crashed face-first into the earth.
Boom!
Dust and dead leaves scattered.
Even lying prone, the ogre's body convulsed weakly—clinging to life.
—
Minori did not move in to finish it off.
He remembered the lesson of the "Rock" team captain, Dosari—how reckless adventurers had paid dearly for underestimating dying enemies.
He watched coldly.
"Food that still bites back should just die where it lies," he murmured.
—
The battle over, Minori finally allowed himself to breathe.
Hiss—
He inhaled sharply.
Pain and numbness radiated through his arms, shoulders, and even his legs.A dull swelling ached in his muscles.
Side effects of using Instant Reflex.
The martial art forcibly reversed one's posture after an action, disregarding normal momentum—an unnatural motion that placed great strain on the body.
Glancing at his Status Panel, Minori noted:
HP: Unchanged.
He raised an eyebrow.
"So the backlash isn't severe enough to inflict HP damage... or at least, not yet."
Good to know.
Bzzt—
A new notification blinked:
Experience Gained: +320
Minori smiled faintly.
"Dead, finally."
Checking his stats:
Experience: 1271 / 1500
Defeating a goblin scouting group and now an ogre had significantly accelerated his leveling.
—
Minori shook the numbness from his arms and moved methodically among the corpses.
Drawing a knife, he severed the left ears from each goblin and the ogre—standard proof for adventurer guild bounties.
He also began searching the small goblin camp for loot.
Disappointingly, the "village" yielded little:rotting meat, broken bones, scraps of garbage.
Minori hadn't expected much.
After all, goblins and ogres were low-intelligence creatures.
Still, he had to be thorough.
Standing before the two slain human bodies recovered from the ogres' meal pile, Minori paused.
His gaze softened slightly.
Then he sighed, turned, and left without burying them.
—
Burial would be meaningless.
In a forest like this, beasts would simply dig up the corpses again.
Burning was too dangerous—it would attract unwanted attention.
Especially here, in the domain of far greater threats:The true ogre tribes who ruled this territory.
Night fell quickly in the Tob Forest.
Even during the day, the towering trees choked out sunlight.Now, under the faint moonlight, the world became a shifting mass of shadows and whispers.
The distant howls of beasts echoed through the dark.
—
Without night vision magic, Minori knew better than to move blindly.
He found a sturdy, thick-branched tree, climbed high into its arms, and concealed himself beneath the heavy black robe he'd purchased earlier.
Leaning against the rough bark, he adjusted his posture carefully.
—
It was not comfortable.
The branches dug into his ribs.
Every creak of the forest and shriek of insects kept his nerves taut.
Yet despite this—
Minori found a strange sense of peace.
Wrapped in the black robe, gazing up at the broken shards of stars through the canopy, he allowed himself a small smile.
"Compared to the days I spent as a beast of burden in my old life...""At least here, mastering power, I know what to expect."
Dangerous? Yes.
But also... liberating.
That warm feeling flickered—and then was snuffed out.
Minori's expression darkened as another thought surfaced:
The Great Tomb of Nazarick.
That unfathomable, overwhelming threat.
Somewhere out there—soon—those monsters would awaken.
And compared to them, tonight's ogre was nothing but an insect.