âNo, it has to be you. The only one that can evenly match my Goblin Elite is that dragon.â
Well yeah butâŠ
âYou donât have to fight me specifically, right. You can just find one of the other guys.â
âOther guys? Those âother guysâ only tamed their monsters a few days ago, thereâs no way theyâd be able to fight evenly.â
â⊠Well, it would be better if you dueled him, for everyoneâs sakes.â
âDo I have to?â
âPersonally, I would prefer you to duel him.â
ââŠHaa, fine I get it. I just have to do it, right.â
In an area slightly apart from everyone, we confront the pig & Goblin Elite. Lime is with everyone else, who have surrounded us in a circle to watch the battle. The referee is Sasha-sensei.
âNow then, we will start the duel. The height limit isâŠabout that tree.â
She points to a tree nearby. Roughly, 5-6m huh. Thoseâre some pretty tough conditions. One of Ruuâs best techniques, a nose dive drop attack, canât be used huh.
âHey, isnât it boring with just a duel?â
âWhat?â
âLetâs bet something on it. For exampleâŠlike our monsters.â
âSomething like that, no way hell I would. What bullsh*t.â
âWell, I thought youâd say that. Come to think of it, that dwarf friend of yours. Now, I wonder what sheâs doingâŠâ
ââŠKeep Triss out of this.â
âThatâs up to you.â
ââŠFine. But, itâs not a bet unless there are two parties, yâknow.â
âI bet my Goblin Elite. If you win, boil it or grill it I donât care.â
His attitude of treating the Goblin Elite as an object gets on my nerves. Seriously, heâs so good at pissing people offâŠ
âNow, beat down that dragon!â
âGaâŠâ
The Goblin Elite swayingly steps forward. That guy, thereâs something weird about his lookâŠThereâs no light in his eyes, or should I sayâŠit feels like his soul is deadâŠNo way, did that pig break his soul and forcefully tame him!? No wonder thereâs a strength imbalance.
âGo, Goblin Elite! Show us the swordsmanship that brutalized droves of goblins!â
âGyau âŠâ
Goblin Elite looks at us with lifeless eyes. In his eyes I feel as though I see him saying, âPlease, kill me!!!ââŠ. No, heâs actually telling me to kill him. Heâs mourning, âI donât want to kill my own kin anymoreâ.
ââŠOne thing, can I ask one thing? The one that made this guy kill goblins, was it you?â
âWho else is there but me? Huh huh huh, even when I remember that I get the chills. A goblin, single-mindedly killing its own kind as they run away. Donât you think itâs hilarious?â
âI see, Iâm relieved to hear that.â
I jump on Ruuâs back, and pat her head. She immediately stands up, and scowls at not the goblin but at the pig.
âNow, come at me goblin. You and your master, Iâll read both of your last rites!â
âGua A Aaaaa !!!â
And with that, the duel for both monsters began.
The first one to make a move, was Goblin Elite. Running low to the ground, it pulls out its sword and thrusts at us. Putting mana into Ruuâs wings, we escape into the air.
Goblin Elite jumps into the air and tries to cut us down. While dodging the downward slash, Ruu turns around. She whips the goblin away with her tail.
âGuuâŠâ
Before being slammed to the ground, Goblin Elite fixes its posture in midair, and slams its sword into the ground to use as a brake. Seems like he guarded against the attack, and hasnât taken a lot of damage.
Now itâs our turn. After I collect mana into Ruuâs wings, she rushes in. Just like that we try to assault the goblin, but he shifts to stand perpendicular to Ruu, and repeatedly thrusts with skillful timing. We stop attacking, and retreat into the air.
Goblin Elite makes another jump attack. We dodge, and make a nosedive claw attack the moment he touches the ground.
Goblin Elite dodges Ruuâs claws by jumping aside. It scratches him slightly, but doesnât look like it was very effective. The goblin then kicks off the ground, and brings his sword down from above. We canât avoid this, so we concentrate mana into one wing, and deflect the sword.
âGagaga!â The large sword slips along Ruuâs scales. After its blow is deflected Goblin Eliteâs stance is left wide open, so we swipe Ruuâs tail into his stomach. The goblin takes it head-on and is blown away by the attack.
âNice, and the response?â
âGuruâ
âA square hit, huh. Donât let your guard down, after all a cornered beast is at its most dangerous.â
Goblin Elite stands up while spitting blood. It shouldâve been a lot of damage, but he looks perfectly fineâŠAs expected of monsters, I suppose.
âWhatâre you doing! Stop fuddling around, get going!â
Pig sends mana to the goblin. At first itâs repelled, but he forcefully jams it into the goblinâs body. The Goblin Eliteâs power grows, but at the same time wounds are quickly appearing all over his body. Damnit, forcing your way around like that!
âWeâre going, Ruu! Letâs finish this!â
âGuru!â
We soar into the sky, and accelerate at once towards the Goblin Elite. Despite being wounded, he hurriedly takes a stance and lets loose a flurry of sharp thrusts.
âRuu!â
âGuru~u!â
While folding her wings, Ruu makes a full spin sideways. We can hear a nasty âgyari gyariâ grating sound as the sword scratches Ruuâs scales, but we continue into a frontal charge. Ruu bites the goblin in the torso, and pushes him to the ground.
âStop the duel.â
âW-W-W-What did you say!!!???â
Nn, whyâre you so surprised by that? Thereâs nothing to be surprised about.
âWhy did my goblin lose! It beat over one hundred goblins!?â
âGoblins donât have that much mana. Just because you beat however many, doesnât mean youâll get that much stronger.â
âWha!?â
âAlso, dragons and goblins are different grades as monsters. Itâd be a different story if you properly raised it, but with forcefully taming it, thereâs no way you could win.â
âW-w-w-wh-wh-wha!!!???â
Ooh, his face is getting redder and redder. Probably full of rage and shame. Serves you right.
âMkay then, Iâm gonna help myself to this goblin then.â
ââŠThe hell Iâll let you, like hell Iâll let you!â
Suddenly, the pig sends mana to the Goblin Elite. The Goblin Elite lying prone on the ground jumps up, faces towards me, and comes at me with his sword.
âUwah!â
âWhatâre you doing! Stop him!â
âHahahahaha!!! Who the hell would just hand it over to you, Iâll give him to you in exchange for your life!!!â
Doing things like going berserk in desperation, what a complete asshole! Itâd be a pain to harassed by him later, so I should crush him here.
Hiding behind Ruu, I place my hand on her back and move her mana. I gather the mana in her vocal cords and say,
âRuu, release all of the mana at once, and roar at that pig!â
âGuru! Suuu⊠âGAAAAAAAA! ! ! ! !â â
Shockwaves are generated from Ruuâs mouth, and I give it direction so it flies straight at the pig. Itâs easy to give directivity, and all I have to do is direct it in the same direction with Magic Hands.
The sound cannon hits the pig, and sends him flying in a spiral. Because the mana flow was interrupted, the Goblin Eliteâs movements also stopped.
How is he?
ââŠHeâs only fainted. It appears to have hit in a good spot. Good griefâŠthis is why spoiled noble brats areâŠâ
Having confirmed the pigâs pulse, Sasha-sensei lends him a shoulder.
âTodayâs lesson is now complete, please continue training individually. Also, you.â
She points a finger at me,
âThis time I will not question your actions due to the life-threatening situation, however that was clearly overkill. Once more, and you will be expelled.â
âRoger, I just put a little too much power into it.â
âPlease do not answer questions you have not been asked, unless you want me to cut off your tongue? One more thing, please do something about that goblin. Itâs already your monster, isnât it?â
After saying her piece, Sasha-sensei takes the pig somewhere. Alright then, shall we go over to Goblin Elite.
Goblin Eliteâs body is worn-out, and is full of wounds. Even though it has been released from the pigâs control, it sits on the ground and doesnât move. What does it want to do, does it have any thoughts?
ââŠGuâ
Goblin Elite looked at me, and murmurs only one word. With only that, I understood what he wanted to do. No, I was made to understand.
ââŠAre you sure? You wonât regret it?â
ââŠGuâ
âGot it.Lime, câmere.â
I place Lime in front of Goblin Elite. âWhat should I doâ, Lime asks me.
ââŠKill him, and devour him.â
ââŠ?â purupuru?
âAhh, itâs fine. I told him Iâd read him his last rites, after all.â
âIf thatâs the caseâ, Lime responds by jumping onto him. Without any resistance, Goblin Elite is letting things be.
Looks like Lime decided to kill him by breaking his neck, as it is wraps around his neck. Just before Lime wrings, Goblin Elite looks at me,
âGobu⊠GuâŠâ
ââŠDonât thank me, I havenât done anything to deserve itâŠâ
A light snapping sound occurs, and the light from Goblin Eliteâs eyes disappears. Like that Lime wraps the whole body, and begins to digest it.
âGuru âŠâ
âMm, Iâm fine Ruu. Thanks for asking.â
Just like that, Lime digests Goblin Elite. When it finishing eating everything down to the bones, Lime begins to tremble.
âLi, Lime!? What happened!?â
Limeâs body starts to change. What was a mandarin orange shaped body, sprouts up to my waist height. It splits to the left and right, while the bottom splits into two limbs. There, stood a human-shaped Lime.
It tries to walk towards me, but midway falls flat on its face. I hurry over and stand it up.
Are you okay? UmâŠLime?â
ânod nodâ
Ooh, Lime is nodding. Looks like it got a little smarter, as its thoughts are clear.
âWhy did your form change? Because you at Goblin Elite?â
ânodâ
Of course itâs thatâŠMustâve had a ton of mana.
âOther your body changing, have you become able to do anything?â
ânod nod!â
Lime steps away from me, and lets out short punches and kicks. Rather than a punch, itâs probably better to call it a scratch though.
âSo you can use melee combat now huh, can you use a sword?â
ânodâ
Lime shows me its arm. Its shape is like a sword, but only the surface is hard, while the inside is soft.
âIt needs to be harder, or it canât be used. Canât I just hand you a sword?â
âshake shakeâ
Canât hold one eh. Well, not with those hands I guess.
âAlright then, letâs increase the amount of metal being eaten. Ah, can I increase the solvent ratio too?â
ânodâ
âI see, then letâs go back and have lunch. Ruu, whatâll you do? Going hunting after this?â
âGuru!â
âI see, be careful. I wonât forgive you if you come back injured.â
âGuru!â
Saying that, Ruu flies off. Now, shall we head back too. There isnât much metal left over too, so letâs go get some more later.
âWow, so thatâs Lime-chan.. It transformed~.â
âItâs become like a person-dearimasu. Can it speak-dearimasu?â
âNo, it canât speak yet. Rather than that Triss, you werenât harassed by any strange people were you?â
âThere was no such thing-dearimasu. Did something happen-dearimasu?â
âNah, itâs fine if nothing happened. So, were you able to get unneeded swords?â
âYes, I got the failed goods-dearimasu, butâŠThese things, what will you use them for-dearimasu?â
I receive the unusable swords, which were made in smithing class, from Triss. From ones with warps here and there, to ones that were not sharpened well, I took a large amount of swords.
âIâll feed them to Lime, look.â
When I toss a sword to Lime, it catches it in both arms and plunges it in its body. Ooh, the dissolving speed is increasing. All thanks to eating that Goblin Elite.
âYou canât just eat only metal, mkay. Here, eat some plants too.â
I feed it poisonous plants too, and mix solvent into water. Umm, make it a little strongerâŠabout this much?
âIs this much okay?â
ânod nodâ
It drinks water with large gulps, and in the blink of an eye 1L of water has been finished. Itâs slapping the tub, so I guess it wants more.
âWait a moment, Iâll put in some more. Here, Iâll leave the plants here.â
When I come back after drawing water, Lime was starting to eat the next sword. Itâs gotten a lot faster at dissolving itemsâŠ
âEven if you donât eat so fast, the swords arenât going anywhere. Eat slowly.â
After that Lime continued to eat swords, and finished a total of 4. Apparently, its appetite also seems to have increased. Weâve run out of plants too, so Iâll need to get more huh.
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