"Monster."

  The word spoken by the bandit leader still lingers in my mind.

  I saw the fear in his eyes—clear and unmistakable. I wonder how he perceived me to utter such a word. Then again, a mere human wouldn’t have been able to produce such a monstrous roar in the first pce. Perhaps I went a little overboard, pouring everything into that roar without restraint.

  Yet, the notion of becoming something beyond human lingers in my thoughts.

  The scene before me does little to ease my internal struggle.

  Sitting with heavy breaths, my gaze falls upon the heap of corpses strewn before me. My broken sword drips with blood.

  Gradually, the moonlight above casts its glow over the scenery.

  Scattered across the forest ndscape, more than a dozen lifeless dire wolves lie motionless, their forms bathed in the pale light.

  .

  .

  .

  I've been doing adventurer work for a while now.

  The reason? Well, traveling alone across the open pins and into the wilderness has its downsides—mainly, the food. Eating pin, fire-cooked meat day after day is far from enjoyable. I long for seasoned meats, poultry, or perhaps even cheese.

  But how would I acquire such luxuries? There was only one way—I decided to use my inhuman strength and abilities to take on work typically done by adventurers.

  The dozen dire wolf corpses scattered before me were the result of one such job I accepted from a nearby vilge. The reward? Food—including cheese.

  The vilge, nestled at the foot of a mountain, had been pgued by dire wolves preying on their livestock and even posing a serious threat to their safety. When I offered my services, the vilge chief admitted they had little to no coin to pay me.

  That was fine. I assured them food would suffice as payment. And so, they agreed.

  "Now to get the evidence that I've finished the job," I muttered, cutting off the dire wolves' tails one by one and tying them together.

  "This ought to do it." With that, I turned and began my trek back to the vilge.

  By the time I arrived, several vilgers, including the vilge chief, were already waiting for my return. I held up the dire wolves' tails as proof of my success.

  "You did it… you actually did it," the vilge chief said, disbelief and amazement mixing in his voice.

  The expressions on the vilgers' faces were telling—shock, awe, and something else. They hadn't expected me to pull it off alone. But more importantly, in their eyes, I saw something familiar. Fear. The same kind I'd seen in the bandit leader.

  I chose not to dwell on it. Instead, I reminded the vilge head about my reward.

  "Ah, yes, yes! We've already prepared it for you," he replied hastily, signaling for one of the vilgers to bring it over.

  As promised, the reward was a basket filled with various food items.

  My eyes glistened as I looked through it, scanning eagerly for one thing in particur. Sure enough, nestled at the bottom was a rather rge chunk of cheese.

  "Nice," I muttered to myself, satisfied with the reward.

  "You must be a great adventurer to have defeated those wolves," the vilge chief suddenly remarked.

  Honestly, I felt a bit embarrassed by his praise, knowing full well that I was far from a real adventurer. I was just someone who had inherited unimaginable power from a supposedly cursed dragon.

  "A… I'm just a wanderer, nothing more," I said with a smile, downpying his compliment.

  "Oh, a great adventurer and a humble one at that. That’s rare nowadays—most would boast their name and demand a higher price," he continued, a hint of admiration in his tone.

  With that, my adventurer task for the day came to an end, and I prepared to continue my journey. The vilge chief kindly offered me a pce to stay for the night, but I politely declined. For some reason, I found more comfort resting in the wilderness beneath the ever-brilliant night sky.

  .

  .

  .

  As the morning sun gradually shone through the clouds, I awoke from my slumber to the sound of a voice calling out.

  "Adventurer… Adventurer…!"

  I had spent the night in a makeshift camp, a simple shelter I had built using tree branches. Startled by the sudden call, I sat up and found myself face-to-face with a rather mischievous-looking young boy.

  Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I spoke, my voice still rough from being abruptly awakened. "Who might you be, boy? Do you have business with me?"

  "Please, great adventurer, my vilge needs your aid!" the boy pleaded, his tone eager and hopeful.

  Though puzzled, I agreed and allowed him to lead the way.

  It seemed my efforts as an adventurer had gained me some recognition—at least within the region I was currently traveling.

  The vilge he led me to was indeed in dire need of help.

  Nestled between a lush, dense forest and a mountain range on the horizon, the vilge had been suffering from relentless raids by a group of mountain goblins.

  "Mountain goblins?" I asked, surprised.

  "Yes," the vilge chief confirmed. She was an elderly woman, standing with the aid of a wooden stick. "They have been stealing our crops and livestock… and even attacked one of our hunters."

  "It's true, adventurer," another vilger added, his tone tense. "The hunter barely escaped. He threw himself off a cliff into the river and managed to drift back to the vilge."

  "Goblins, huh…" I muttered to myself.

  So far, I had encountered plenty of predators—wolves, bears—but goblins? Not yet. Unlike animals, goblins had features simir to humans. They were short, with sickly green skin—at least, that's what I had heard from those who cimed to have seen them.

  "Since the war escated, we haven’t been able to post a request to the Adventurers’ Guild for help," the vilge chief expined, frustration in her voice.

  A thin, middle-aged man then spoke up, his tone weary. "The pgue has barely passed, and we have little left. Most of our crops didn’t even survive the winter."

  I took a brief moment to contempte whether I should accept the task or not. Goblins were not mindless creatures, which made them difficult to deal with. I once heard rumors that they could trick hunters and lure them into traps. If that were true, then they clearly had critical thinking skills, and I couldn’t afford to act recklessly when facing them.

  "Please, adventurer, we are in dire need of help. There are no other adventurers avaible in the region—most have been forced to join the war," the vilge chief pleaded, her tone filled with hope—too much hope for me to reject.

  Before I could respond, another vilger spoke up. "If it’s the reward that concerns you, we’ve already collected fifty copper coins as payment."

  Fifty copper coins equaled five silvers—quite a sum, considering the vilge didn't seem well-off. The vilgers were all peasants; not a single one of them appeared to be from the upper or even middle css. For them to gather that much, they must have sacrificed all they had of value. Not that I needed that much coin anyway.

  "Very well," I said. "Ten copper coins. You can keep the rest."

  The vilge chief’s face twisted in visible shock and confusion. She must have been wondering how anyone could reject fifty copper coins in favor of ten. Perhaps she thought I was out of my mind.

  However, she gdly accepted my terms. In fact, the entire vilge—though small in number—cheered and expressed their gratitude.

  As for the hunt, I asked them not to interfere, giving the reason that I was more proficient working alone. The truth, however, was that I didn’t want anyone to witness how I fought. It wasn’t glorious or grand—I possessed little to no actual combat skill. Instead, I relied on brute force, tearing through my opponents until they succumbed.

  I still needed to fully grasp the dragon’s power that I had inherited.

  It was my first time hunting goblins, and I wasn’t entirely sure how to engage them.

  “Should I attack them head-on or wait for the perfect moment to ambush them when they least expect it?” I murmured to myself, considering my approach.

  Honestly, either option was feasible—with my inhuman strength, victory was certain.

  Mountain goblins are most active at night, so I decided to raid their hideout during the day. As their name suggests, they reside in caves burrowed deep beneath the foot of a mountain.

  After confirming their location, I headed there immediately, choosing to enter their territory and unch a direct assault.

  Well, things don’t always go the way I want…

  I did find a cave opening that supposedly led to the goblins’ nest. However, I hadn’t expected the cave walls to be so unstable—very unstable. As I carefully treaded my way inside, the rocky ground beneath my feet suddenly gave way. I fell quite a distance, and after regaining my footing, I found myself in a massive underground cavern.

  It was pitch bck, but my dragon eyes easily adjusted to the darkness, allowing me to see clearly.

  That was when I realized—I had fallen into a goblin trap. They must have created this pitfall to catch intruders or trespassers.

  “Shit,” I cursed under my breath. “Falling into a goblin trap… I should’ve been more careful.” At that moment, I felt like a fool—bested by goblins of all things.

  Then, gradually, a chorus of voices echoed throughout the cave. Goblins.

  “They’re coming,” I muttered, tightening my grip on my half-broken sword.

  “Tch. Either way, I need to finish this job,” I said, preparing for the battle ahead.

  They swarmed in like a tide.

  Even with my nocturnal vision, I could make out their grotesque forms—short, wiry humanoids with sickly green skin. Their limbs were thin but strong, their cwed fingers perfect for grabbing and tearing. Their faces were a twisted mix of human and beast—wide, fttened noses, jagged yellow teeth, and bulbous eyes gleaming with predatory cunning.

  There must have been hundreds of them. Like ravenous beasts, they lunged at me, eager to tear me apart. To them, I was prey.

  Yet, instead of fear, a strange excitement welled up inside me.

  Grinning, I lunged back, sword in hand.

  It wasn’t a battle—it was a massacre. My unnatural strength, speed, and agility made it far too easy.

  Limbs and blood scattered with every swing of my bde. The sheer force of my strikes sent ripples through the horde, cutting down goblins in waves. The very air seemed to carry the impact of my swings.

  Yet, despite their fallen kin, they kept coming, relentless in their assault. They must have believed their overwhelming numbers would be enough to bring me down, ignoring the obvious danger I posed.

  They were fast—but I was faster.

  I gave them no openings, attacking ruthlessly without pause. Every goblin that drew near was cut down in an instant, my bde carving through them without mercy.

  It wasn’t long before their corpses piled high. Their numbers, once in the hundreds, had dwindled to just a few dozen. Seeing their kin fall one after another, panic set in. Instead of attacking, they began to flee.

  But I wasn’t done yet.

  I couldn’t recall how long I spent hunting down the fleeing goblins inside the cave. By the time the st of them fell, the sun had already dipped below the horizon, casting the nd in twilight.

  Growl…

  “Ah, I’m hungry,” I muttered, stepping out of the cave into the open air.

  Just as I prepared to head back to the vilge to cim my reward, a sudden rustling in the bushes nearby caught my attention.

  “Could it be?” I muttered, instantly turning my gaze toward the sound.

  With my heightened senses, I quickly made out a lone goblin that had managed to escape the cave ahead of me.

  “Not on my watch,” I whispered, surging forward.

  In an instant, I spotted it.

  Swiftly maneuvering through the thick underbrush, I closed the distance in seconds. I lunged forward, my sword aimed straight at it.

  A weak grunt escaped the goblin as blood spttered—my bde had impaled it from behind. Its body stiffened for a brief moment before gradually going limp, its final breath slipping away. As I pulled my sword free, the lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

  “Finally, it’s…” I paused, unable to finish my sentence.

  Bathed in the twilight’s glow, the goblin’s form became clearer. It was small—much smaller than I had expected. A young one.

  What struck me most was its unsettling resembnce to a human child. The grotesque features, the jagged teeth, the cwed fingers—they hadn’t fully developed yet. Lying there, motionless, it no longer looked like the monster people had spoken of.

  Instead, the monster was me, standing over its lifeless body.

  “What have I become…” I muttered, the realization sinking in. Throughout the hunt, I had focused solely on the kill. Worse yet—I had enjoyed it. Relished it.

  Staring at my bloodied hands, I stammered, “This… this isn’t me. I’m not supposed to be like this.”

  .

  .

  .

  I took my reward—ten copper coins. The vilge chief congratuted me, the vilgers cheered, praising me as a hero, and children flocked around me, their eyes filled with admiration.

  But I felt nothing.

  Without a single word, I excused myself and continued on my journey.

  Walking alone under the moonlight, my steps felt heavier than usual. I had taken on many adventurer jobs—hunting wild predators that terrorized vilges—but this task felt different. It felt personal. I hadn’t just fought to protect or defend. I had enjoyed it. Craved it.

  The thrill of the hunt, the rush of battle, the raw power surging through me—I yearned for it.

  I could have driven the goblins away, forced them to find another dwelling. Instead, I sughtered them all. Mercilessly.

  I stopped mid-step, lost in thought, contempting what I had become.

  “This power… this curse… I won’t let it consume me,” I muttered to myself.

  A memory resurfaced—the dragon’s voice echoing in my mind.

  “… What is your role in the grand scheme of things?”

  It felt like only yesterday when I faced the dragon, and it asked me that question.

  I never sought heroism, nor did I wish to be idolized. I only wanted freedom—to live life on my own terms.

  At that very moment, I decided to fully grasp the dragon’s essence and its power. Simply utilizing it without knowing its limits and true nature wouldn’t bring me closer to mastering it completely.

  Diverting from the main road, I headed into the wilderness.

  I had no idea how long I had travelled. I must have been walking the entire night without stopping, and as the first rays of sunlight appeared, I found myself on the slope of a mountain, with a dense forest stretching below as far as my eyes could see.

  “This should do it,” I muttered to myself, making my way up the mountain.

  There, I trained—learning and understanding the power that had been bestowed upon me. For two and a half years, I lived in isotion, avoiding human contact and becoming one with nature and myself.

  The results of my training revealed the true extent of my dragon power.

  First was my strength and durability. I had already established my monstrous strength—knocking down trees, crushing boulders, and defeating various dangerous predators. However, during my training, I discovered I could do much more. I managed to shift the side of a mountain with sheer brute force and even crushed the hardest rock material I could find.

  As for my durability, my skin was nearly impenetrable. No weapon, cw, or fang could harm me or even leave a scratch. However, there was one exception—the half-broken sword that once impaled the imprisoned dragon. I discovered this by accident when I carelessly brushed my finger against its bde, and to my surprise, it cut through my skin, leaving a small wound behind.

  This sword may be my only weakness. I should keep it to myself and never let anyone else get their hands on it.

  Second, my speed and agility. My body seemed to have evolved to accommodate my inhuman strength. As a result, my limbs could withstand constant movement without growing weary over time. In other words, I could sprint at full speed almost instantly without the need for a warm-up. I could also maintain a constant speed indefinitely and only slowing down when I feel the need to stop.

  Third is my heightened senses. One of the first changes I noticed after receiving the dragon's essence was that all five of my senses had been enhanced beyond human capability. However, through rigorous training, I unlocked another— a sixth sense. This ability allowed me to perceive and detect the life essence of living beings. I could discern whether a creature was on the verge of death or full of vitality. Through the animals I hunted for sustenance, I observed that as they neared their final moments, their life essence gradually diminished before vanishing completely upon death.

  The fourth was unexpected. I wasn’t born into a family with a magical lineage, yet through my efforts to push myself to the limit, I discovered that I possessed an almost infinite amount of magical energy. However, since I had no knowledge of spells or incantations to test it, I wouldn’t be able to harness this power until I learned the basics of magic. Nevertheless, up until now, I had relied solely on my physical strength to get things done, making the need for magic unnecessary.

  Standing atop of a mountain, overlooking the lush green expanse below, I took a deep breath, wondering what I could achieve with such power at my disposal.

  "Is the world ready for me?" I muttered to myself.

  I shook my head, chuckled, and said, "Nah. When the time comes, I’ll accept whatever fate throws at me. But for now, I shall continue my adventure."

  I had isoted myself from human contact for so long that I couldn't help but wonder how much had changed in these two and a half years.

  .

  .

  .

  A few moments had passed since I began my journey, and I had been walking for quite some time through a dense forest.

  "Is it just me, or is this forest getting thicker?" I muttered while observing the lush greenery around me. I might have lost my bearings.

  I chuckled and said, "For all the power I possess, I can't even find my way out of a forest."

  The truth was, it didn’t bother me much. I knew that if I walked straight, I would eventually find my way out.

  Suddenly, something caught my eye—a trail of blood.

  “What the…” I muttered in confusion, scraping a bit with my finger.

  It was still wet. "The blood hasn’t dried yet… something or maybe someone is badly injured," I specuted.

  Either way, I needed to investigate. If it was a person, they might be in dire need of help. I began following the blood trail.

  It wasn’t long before I stumbled upon footprints—just one set. A single person. Hastening my pace, I soon found a wounded figure lying beside a massive tree.

  The person was cd in full armor. "A soldier?" I questioned.

  With my sixth sense, I could tell his life essence was fading—he was close to death.

  Without hesitation, I crouched beside him and examined his injuries. A rge gap in the armor was visible on the side, likely pierced by a sharp weapon.

  Slowly, I removed his helmet—only to be met with an unexpected sight.

  It wasn’t a man. It was, in fact, a young woman.

  And judging by her well-kept appearance, she was no ordinary soldier. She looked too clean—too refined.

  More likely, she was a noble.

  Confused, I muttered, “What on earth is she doing here in the middle of a forest?”