"Luckily I followed."

A shadow flashed. Several goblin heads rolled off. Blood sprayed a moment later.

Tahina saw a black cloak flutter. Before her stood an elegant, imposing figure. He held a slender longsword. A golden masquerade mask covered his face—part noble dancer, part midnight swordsman.

*Weird getup for broad daylight. Never heard of anyone like this in town.* That was Tahina’s first thought.

She snapped back to reality. Whirling around, she began detoxifying and staunching Kelly’s wounds. True healing required divine magic—reserved for church clerics.

Lanche sheathed his sword. He glanced at his outfit. A faint stain marred the cloak’s hem.

"Still not perfect," he muttered inwardly.

Lack of combat experience remained his biggest flaw.

As for strength? He felt terrifyingly powerful.

Since age five, he’d known: he wasn’t trash. He was special.

All he needed was time. His strength would reveal itself.

No training required. One glance, and he mastered others’ techniques.

Unfair? Maybe his isekai reincarnation earned him divine favor. Lanche didn’t know. He still waited for a voice in his head to assign quests. None came.

"Thank you for saving us," Tahina finally said.

"Th-thank you…" Kelly whispered, head bowed, utterly broken.

"No big deal." Lanche flamboyantly flicked his bangs. His voice shifted—dripping with over-the-top anime flair. *Absolutely unrecognizable.*

Tahina offered an awkward smile, withholding judgment on the stranger’s quirks.

She still preferred Lanche’s usual calm, youthful charm.

"Gaaah!" A goblin dropped from a tree, stone club swinging at Lanche’s skull.

"Watch out!" Tahina cried.

Lanche smirked. As if sensing it behind him, he caught the creature’s wrist. Slammed it down. Stomped. Snapped its neck.

"Sly little beasts. Treat them like humans in combat."

Tahina nodded grimly. She knew this truth well.

Goblins used their skin like ghillie suits—vanishing into grass and treetops. This one had hidden half a chapter before striking.

*Created by gods to replace humanity?* The joke held bitter truth.

"Let’s check the cave," Lanche said.

"Can you walk?" Tahina helped Kelly up.

Kelly nodded. The dark cave entrance gave her purpose: she had to find her comrades’ remains.

Inside, Tahina conjured a fireball atop her staff for light.

More goblins lurked in the depths.

Lanche moved like a shadow. His fist struck a green-skinned runt’s chest—like punching a bratty kid. The goblin flew backward.

Sword in hand, he carved through them with brutal simplicity.

*New-gen legend: One-hit KO. 99,999 damage.*

*Monotony needed spice.*

His dusty, forgotten costume—finally useful when a maiden was in peril.

"Incredible," Tahina breathed.

A flicker sparked in Kelly’s eyes. *I can grow stronger. I can reach his level.*

At the deepest chamber, they found the team’s remains. Gnawed. Unrecognizable.

And a hollow-eyed girl. Alive, but covered in wounds. Her bare body told a brutal story.

"Akana… ended up like this…" Kelly’s strength vanished. She slid from Tahina’s grip, collapsing to her knees.

Tahina failed to catch her. But there were no tears left to spare. She turned away, unable to look.

Lanche stood silent, heart aching. He’d skimmed manga with such plots before. But reality? Seeing a girl shattered like this… He erased those fantasies from his mind.

Scanning the cave like a game map, he spotted a hidden crevice. Inside: goblin pups huddled together. And a bound girl on the ground.

Her swollen belly silenced him.

He’d never heard the truth: goblins didn’t just rape and kill. They bred with human women.

"Kill me…" The pregnant girl’s cracked lips moved. Her eyes held no light. Only death as salvation.

"Born into this world… its cruelty keeps rewriting my limits." Lanche’s voice was low. He stepped forward. Granted her release.

His first kill. No time to dwell on it.

"Aaah—!" Kelly wailed on her knees.

She knew adventuring was dangerous. But not *this*.

The goblin pups trembled in the shadows, eyes pleading.

Lanche cleared the cave without hesitation.

*Leave them, and a new horde rises. Villages burn again.*

Goblins bred among themselves—and with humans. No reproductive barriers.

*So alike to us. Too alike.*

"Who’s next on stage, Kami?" Lanche murmured.

Silence answered.

Could the gods even hear him? Or did they watch everything, feigning deafness?

What play did they want? Was he just an actor? Or a special guest dragged from another world?

"Boring." His mood soured again.

Kelly clutched Akana, sobbing.

Akana held her back. Tears wouldn’t come. But she had an anchor now.

"Let’s go," Tahina whispered. She couldn’t endure this place another second.

She helped both girls stand. Tried wrapping Akana in clean cloth.

Akana shook her head violently—refusing anything touched by goblins.

Kelly held her tighter. Swallowed her tears. *I have to protect her now.*

The four limped out of the cave, wounds visible and hidden.

Lanche and Tahina carried scars deeper than skin.

"My first adventure… leaves such a bitter taste. How will you repay me?" Lanche sighed inwardly. His adventuring dreams were already buried.

*Good behavior from now on. Please spare me.*