The two goblins gave Wakasha no chance to catch his breath. Still swinging their clubs, they charged at him again, one from the left and one from the right, trying to pin him in a pincer attack.
Wakasha knew he could not keep defending passively. He had to go on the offensive. Otherwise, sooner or later, they would wear him down and kill him.
His gaze sharpened as he locked onto the goblin rushing in from the left. The moment it got close, he twisted aside and dodged, then drove his short sword toward its leg.
The goblin failed to react in time. The blade stabbed into its leg, and it let out a shrill scream before stumbling and collapsing to the ground, unable to get back up.
Seeing its companion fall, the goblin on the right grew even angrier. Roaring, it swung its club viciously at Wakasha's head.
Wakasha seized the opening. He ducked low, slipped under the blow, rushed in close, and thrust his short sword into the goblin's neck.
"Giiiii—!"
The goblin let out one final scream. The short sword pierced its throat, and black blood burst out, splattering all over Wakasha. The sickening stench nearly made him vomit.
The goblin convulsed a few times, then went limp and collapsed beside the other two.
Wakasha stopped moving, braced himself against a nearby tree, and panted heavily. His chest rose and fell violently. The pain in his arm was getting stronger. Black blood and filth smeared his body, giving off a foul, nauseating odor. He looked utterly disheveled.
This was the first time he had ever seen blood up close. Even if the target had been goblins—monsters guilty of countless evil acts—it still made him feel deeply uncomfortable.
In his previous life, Wakasha had lived in a peaceful era. He had never harmed any living thing beyond livestock, let alone fought like this.
The battle had only lasted a few short minutes, but it had drained all his strength and pushed his nerves to the absolute limit.
It took Wakasha quite a while before he finally calmed down.
He looked at the three goblins lying on the ground, his expression complicated.
He understood now. In this world, the strong preyed on the weak. If he wanted to survive, he had to learn how to kill. He had to become stronger.
If he had not struck hard enough, the one dead right now would have been him.
But the most important thing now was finishing them off.
These three goblins were not fully dead yet.
Wakasha walked over to the goblin whose leg he had stabbed.
"Waaah! Waaah!"
The goblin lay half-kneeling on the ground, chattering desperately, as if begging Wakasha for mercy.
Wakasha took a deep breath. Earlier, in the middle of life and death, there had been no time to think. But now, with a living creature in front of him and death only a moment away, he needed to steel himself.
And goblins, as monsters, still looked somewhat like humans. That only made the burden of killing feel heavier.
But it really did deserve to die.
Wakasha felt no pity at all for monsters.
An enemy was an enemy. A monster was a monster.
And monsters deserved death.
When Wakasha opened his eyes again, all hesitation and doubt had vanished from them.
He pressed the nail of his right thumb hard into the knuckle of his index finger. The sharp sting steadied his trembling hand until it was firm again.
Then he raised the short sword and drove it straight into the goblin's brain.
"Wah!"
The goblin let out one last cry, its eyes widening as it died.
And the instant it died, Wakasha's eyes widened too.
Because he could suddenly see inside his own mind.
And inside his mind… there was a panel.
Could this be the legendary system that almost every transmigrator was supposed to have?!
What? He was a reincarnator, not a transmigrator?
Hey, reincarnation still counts as crossing over, doesn't it?!
[Monster Killed: Goblin. Obtained 1 EXP.]
[Achievement Unlocked: First Blood. Random Skill Obtained — Spell-like Ability: Concept Armament (Deathbird).]
[EXP acquired. Personal Status Panel unlocked.]
[Congratulations on stepping onto the path of monster hunting. From this day forward, let monsters learn to fear your name from the depths of their souls.]
A kill-for-EXP panel?
Wakasha had read plenty of novels with this kind of progression system in his previous life. It was one of his favorite types, actually.
He tried opening his personal status panel with his mind.
[Name: Wakasha
Race: Pureblood Human (No bloodline bonuses)
Class: None
Challenge Rating: 0
Strength: 4 (physical power, carrying capacity, explosive force, and other kinetic output)
Agility: 5 (body flexibility, dynamic coordination)
Constitution: 4 (endurance, stamina, recovery from injury, cardiopulmonary metabolism)
Intelligence: 6 (memory, thought, mental power)
Perception: 6 (senses, intuition, judgment)
Charisma: 5 (presence, affinity, appearance, physique)
Skills —
Spell-like Ability (Supernatural Ability): Concept Armament · Deathbird LV0 (0/1)
EXP: 1]
Without hesitation, Wakasha used his single point of EXP on the system-granted skill, Concept Armament.
[Concept Armament · Deathbird LV1 (0/1000): A manifestation born from one's own soul. Can summon the armament "Deathbird" (handgun/staff). The strength of the Concept Armament is related to skill level and the user's corresponding attributes. Current bonuses: Armament cost -5%, Power +5%.]
Wakasha felt a faint warm current pass through his body, but it vanished almost instantly.
In its place came something else—an instinctive understanding engraved directly into his mind.
He raised his right hand.
A handgun appeared in his grip, its shell pure black, decorated with a purple-gold emblem resembling some kind of crow-like creature.
Wakasha stared at the gun in his hand. He had never even touched a firearm before, yet instinct told him this was the weapon he was best with.
It was like an extension of his hand.
[Equipment: Deathbird (Concept-Bound)
Type: Staff (Handgun)
Abilities:
1. Mental Armament: Can consume a fixed amount of mental power to automatically generate bullets. Base bullet power = Intelligence × 1.1 (base 1 + level 0.1). Power can be adjusted by altering the amount of mental power consumed, with a maximum output of 150% of base power.
2. Spell Loading: Can use spells the user possesses as a foundation, altering the effect of basic bullets and firing spells as bullets.
3. Gun-Fighting Style: While in combat, the user may equip one additional melee weapon without suffering a penalty.]
Wakasha raised Deathbird and aimed it at the other two goblins, both still barely alive on the ground.
Bang!... Bang!
[Monster Killed: Goblin. Obtained 1 EXP.]
[Monster Killed: Goblin. Obtained 1 EXP.]
Wakasha looked at Deathbird in his hand. There was no recoil at all.
Then he glanced at the 2 new EXP points he had just gained.
The look in his eyes changed instantly.
Killing gave EXP?
Then there was no choice.
It was time to unleash catastrophe mode.
Goblin Slayer?
Wrong.
He was going to become the cause of Goblin Extinction.