The goblins were getting closer, their eyes gleaming with malicious glee.
Kyle smiled—a cold, calculated expression. His gaze snapped to the nearest goblin.
His eyes flared crimson. "Attack the boss."
The goblin flinched, its eyes widening. Then, its small feet pounded against stone as it rushed forward, spear raised, screaming with fear.
The massive monster roared in confusion as this tiny creature charged it. It waved its axe and cut the little green creature in half.
But it didn't stop there. Another goblin charged, then another, and another.
Dozens of goblins threw themselves at their boss without caring for their lives. Their only goal was to cut, stab, bite, and kill the huge monster.
The boss roared in shock, swatting them aside with brutal swings. Goblin bodies were crushed, torn apart, sent flying across the cavern.
Leo stared in disbelief. "What the?!"
Mira's eyes widened. "Did they... turn on it?"
"Doesn't matter!" Alara snapped. "It's our chance!"
They moved.
Alara slashed again and again, each strike landing deeper as the boss struggled to fend off the relentless swarm.
Leo rammed his shield into its side, throwing it off balance, while Mira hurled fireballs at him.
Kyle stayed back without rushing in, just watching. He wasn't stupid. This thing could kill him with a single blow.
Instead of risking his life to kill it, he could make these ugly green creatures fight for him. This was the fighting style he had always wanted.
The boss's movements slowed. Its breathing grew ragged.
Its wounded shoulder—already damaged long before this fight—was soaked in blood.
Alara saw it.
She stepped in, ignoring the pain screaming through her body, and swung with everything she had. Her blade tore into the injured shoulder.
The monster let out a furious roar and dropped to one knee. But it didn't go quietly—its axe came up in a desperate, brutal arc.
CRASH!
Alara was sent flying backward, skidding across the stone before crashing to a stop.
"Alara!" Leo shouted.
Kyle's eyes hardened. `Now.`
He snapped his gaze to the goblins still near him—those he had deliberately left alive.
`Finish it. Now!`
They obeyed. The goblins rushed the kneeling boss, climbing over its body, stabbing at its neck, its eyes, its chest.
The monster struggled—then stilled.
Its massive body slumped forward, crashing to the ground as the last of its strength left it.
Silence fell over the cavern.
The goblins collapsed around it—dead or dying.
Suddenly, the system screen appeared before Kyle's eyes.
[You have slain a Goblin Warrior]
[Unused Stat Points: +8]
[Shop Points: +180]
Kyle let out a slow breath. That was how he fought, and he wouldn't change it.
Before he could celebrate the result, a new system screen popped up in front of him.
[You have defeated an Evolved Monster for the first time, you received: A Mysterious Egg]
Kyle stared at the screen, his eyes widening slightly. `A Mysterious Egg?`
He examined himself and searched for the egg, but he didn't find it. Instead, he saw a strange tattoo on the back of his hand.
The tattoo was strange, in the shape of three golden eyes with black embroidery around them.
`What is this?`
Suddenly, the system screen appeared as if it were answering his question.
[The Mysterious Egg has been contracted. You can save it as a tattoo and take it out whenever you want]
`Contract?`
Indeed, Kyle felt a strange connection between himself and the tattoo on the back of his hand.
He focused his mind on the tattoo and commanded it to come out.
Suddenly, the golden-black tattoo glowed with a faint golden light. Kyle immediately covered the back of his hand to prevent the rest of the party from noticing.
Then, he felt a strange sensation poking the palm of his hand that covered the tattoo, as if something was trying to come out.
Kyle raised his hand slightly, allowing the strange entity to gradually emerge. After a moment, the light vanished, and a strange egg appeared in place of the tattoo.
He held the egg and examined it stealthily. It was small, looking like an ordinary chicken egg. But it was black with golden stripes decorating it.
He also felt something strange from the egg. He couldn't describe the feeling, but it was definitely not a good feeling.
`A Mysterious Egg... I wonder what it is?`
Before he could inspect it further, Alara groaned.
Kyle's attention snapped away from the mysterious egg.
She was already pushing herself up, her sword planted against the stone for support. Blood stained her shoulder and side, but her eyes were sharp—focused.
Mira rushed over, her green eyes wide with concern. "Alara! Are you alright?" She knelt beside the injured leader, her hands hovering uncertainly.
"I'm fine," she said through clenched teeth before anyone could speak. "Just... give me a second."
Weston was already at her side.
"Don't move," he ordered firmly, pressing his hand against her injured shoulder. Golden light flowed from his palm.
Alara exhaled slowly as the tension drained from her body. "...Thanks."
Leo stood nearby, his shield arm hanging loose, breathing heavily. "That was... intense."
He looked around at the carnage—goblin and boss alike. "What happened to the goblins? Why did they turn on the boss like that?"
Kyle glanced at the goblins' bodies scattered around them, then back to the party. He shrugged casually.
"Who knows? Maybe they panicked," he smiled as the mysterious egg dissolved back into the tattoo. "Once their leader got wounded, they lost control."
Leo let out a breath. "We were lucky."
Weston examined the boss, nodding slowly. "The boss was already wounded before the battle. The fight with the goblins must have reopened the injury."
"The wound must have been caused by the adventurers who accepted the mission before and died at his hands." Leo frowned.
Alara looked at the monster's corpse for a moment, then refocused on the rest of the team.
"What matters now is that we killed it and completed the mission." She said calmly, still sitting because of her injuries. "Take anything important from the cave and the bodies, then let's get ready to head back."