Townsperson A Becomes a Goblin Slayer

“Maybe I should lower the caliber to increase penetration, or perhaps I should just overhaul the bullet design altogether.”

I was currently deep in the middle of a trial-and-error process at the experimental facility I’d built alongside Lurden Airport—another project I’d undertaken without anyone's permission.

My goal was to defeat a Goblin Lord in a single shot.

The bullets for Karashi hadn't passed through the Lord properly last time. To be fair, guns are fundamentally designed to kill and incapacitate humans. A firearm’s lethality is at its peak when the bullet deforms upon impact and remains inside the human body.

A large caliber—meaning a larger bullet diameter—makes it harder for the round to over-penetrate. This ensures more energy is dumped into the target, increasing its stopping power against people. Conversely, reducing the caliber makes it easier to pierce through targets, which actually lowers its raw lethality unless you’re precise enough to hit a vital organ.

The problem, however, was that my current opponents weren't humans; they were monsters. I couldn’t fathom why the developers had incorporated such hardcore combat mechanics into an otome game, but since this was the reality I lived in, I had to adapt.

The current Karashi used a 7.62x39mm round, also known as .30 caliber. I decided to build a new rifle—which I dubbed Nikov—modified to fire .22 caliber rounds. If I recalled correctly, the Soviet Union had developed something similar as a successor to the AK-47.

Was it called the AK-74?

The US Army’s M16 is probably the more famous .22 caliber rifle, but I wasn't intimately familiar with its internal structure. Old Soviet-made weapons were simply more accessible back then; they were everywhere, easier to get your hands on, and they had a certain... rugged romance to them.

That said, while Karashi and Nikov looked similar on the outside, their internal mechanisms were worlds apart.

Next, I considered bullet improvements. The first thing that came to mind was switching to Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) rounds by encasing the lead core in a harder metal. I hadn't done it originally because procuring the brass for the jacketing was a massive hassle, but I figured it was time to put in the effort. I really wish I could find a tungsten deposit somewhere, but things are never that convenient.

Two weeks of constant experimentation passed.

In the end, both the .22 and .30 caliber rounds became iron-core, brass-jacketed FMJs. They now packed enough punch to easily punch through a five-millimeter steel plate. I chose FMJs for both calibers primarily because I wanted to prevent lead residue from fouling the bore or the muzzle, which could lead to a catastrophic accidental discharge.

With the technical hurdles cleared, it was time to head to the Goblin Labyrinth for a live-fire test. I hopped onto Vuitol and set off.

It took less than an hour to reach Stresemann Airport. Naturally, I’d cleared this area out myself as well. I’d built it on the far side of the Goblin Labyrinth, opposite Stresen Village, so the chances of being discovered were slim.

Since there was no reason to stop by the village, I headed straight into the labyrinth. I had Karashi slung across my back and Nikov at the ready. A lantern hung from my waist, just like the last trip, and I activated my Stealth skill as I ventured inside.

The goblin population was thinner than before, but there were still plenty of them roaming around. I systematically eliminated every single one I encountered. By the time I reached the boss room, I had collected about forty Magic Stones.

Inside the boss chamber, I once again faced the elite squad: one Goblin Lord, two Hobgoblins, and two Goblin Mages.

Following my previous strategy, I picked off the Mages and Hobgoblins first. Then, using a smoke screen to mask my presence, I circled around to the Goblin Lord’s rear.

Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang... Click.

Nikov ran dry, but the bullets had definitely penetrated. The Goblin Lord let out a Roar, bleeding from six distinct entry wounds as it charged toward me. I leaped to the side, dodging the rush, and swapped to Karashi.

Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!

One round caught the Goblin Lord square between the eyes. It tore straight through the skull, stopping the monster in its tracks. It collapsed forward, dead before it hit the floor.

I’d won with room to spare. I harvested the Magic Stone, touched the Labyrinth Core, and teleported back to the entrance.

Then, I went back in for a second lap. As long as I didn’t get overconfident, these goblins weren't even a threat anymore. I reached the boss room without a hitch, though this time I only collected about twenty Magic Stones along the way. Since I’d just cleared the boss, the room was empty. I touched the Core again and reset.

On the third lap, I gathered another twenty stones. When I reached the boss room this time, the Goblin Lord and its entourage had respawned.

Now that I had the routine down, I turned the Hobgoblins and Mages into Swiss cheese with Nikov, then did the same to the Goblin Lord with Karashi. I grabbed the loot and immediately dove back in.

As it turned out, when you "loop" the labyrinth like this, the boss respawns every two laps. Normally, it would take a week for the boss to return naturally, but continuous grinding forced a respawn.

In the original game, if you did this relentlessly at the Wind Mountain Labyrinth during the summer of the second year, you could clear the main route fairly easily without spending a dime on microtransactions. Of course, I hadn't discovered that myself—I’d read it on a wiki.

My goal now was to grind like a madman and power-level as much as possible before my enrollment at the academy.

I spent the next week looping the Goblin Labyrinth every day, completing about a hundred runs in total. Eventually, I started selling the surplus Magic Stones to the Guild, which led to my Master looking at me with total exasperation.

“Hey, Allen-boy. Why the hell do you have the Goblin Slayer achievement?”

“Master? What’s that?”

“It’s a title given to lunatics who hunt over a thousand goblins in a single year. Do you have some kind of personal vendetta against the things?”

“……”

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Name: Allen
Rank: E
Age: 12
Divine Protection: 【Wind God】
Skills: 【Stealth】【Appraisal】【Alchemy】【Wind Magic】【Multi-Cast】【Chantless】
Residence: Luluden
Funds: 7,014,587
Level: 9
Stamina: E
Mana: C
Achievements: Goblin Labyrinth Conqueror, Goblin Slayer

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