It shattered into a million pieces.
My sword.
"—Huh?"
In that instant, a flood of thoughts flashed through my mind.
The steel sword I had finally bought with the money I’d saved from working part-time jobs throughout my three years of high school, sacrificing my youth in the process. It had been a bargain at roughly one million yen. It was practically a friend that had fought alongside me against all those Goblin-sans. I’d made sure to maintain it every single day after coming home. I sharpened the blade myself whenever it got nicked; I polished it and oiled it daily. It was my reliable partner.
Was it because I’d kept slamming it against that shield with nothing but brute force?
Now that I thought about it, I’d smashed it against the shields of Goblin Warriors plenty of times before...
My comrade-in-arms had fallen on the battlefield.
“————”
“————”
In that moment, both the Goblin Knight and I seemed to be in a state of shock, our minds going completely blank.
However, because the impact was so great, I was slower to come to my senses.
The Goblin Knight swung its sword. A diagonal slash slammed toward my shoulder.
“————Ngh, guwaa!!?”
I leaped backward to evade.
However, I didn't get away unscathed. My leather breastplate and the clothes underneath were shredded, and then my flesh was sliced open, sending fresh blood flying.
But it wasn't a fatal wound. It had barely grazed me—no, it had definitely taken a chunk out of my skin. But my body could still move.
“—Heal!!”
Immediately after, whether it was because a minute had passed since the last Heal or because she saw I was in danger and panicked, the light flying from the girl behind me enveloped my entire body.
The bleeding in my chest stopped. I felt a sharp, twitching pain, but for now, the wound was closed.
I glanced at the Status screen I’d left open and saw that my HP—which had dropped to 3 after taking the hit—had recovered to 35.
That was close!!
I really almost died just now!!
But I wasn't in a position to breathe a sigh of relief yet.
“I’m sorry! I’m out of MP!!” she screamed.
It seemed that last Heal was her limit. That meant I only had a maximum of one minute and twenty seconds left where I could maintain my Fighting Spirit.
To make matters worse, I’d lost my weapon.
Hey, hey, what the hell am I supposed to do now?! I didn't even have time to think.
“Gugaah!!”
Seeing its chance, the Goblin Knight let out a cry for the first time and closed the distance in an instant.
“Tch!! You piece of shit!!”
I desperately dodged the Goblin Knight's sword swings.
What do I do, what do I do, what do I do—!!
I was still gripping the hilt of my broken sword, but there was no way I could keep fighting with a blade that had snapped in half!
—Right then.
『Goda’s sword is still there!』
A viewer's comment was read aloud from the drone camera.
—That’s it!!
In an instant, I went on the offensive.
“Don’t underestimate me!!!”
“————?!”
I unleashed a front kick with all my might against the Goblin Knight’s shield.
It stumbled back a step or two. As a slight gap opened between us, I threw the broken sword at the Goblin Knight. The projectile was easily blocked by its shield.
But in that opening, I had already turned on my heel and started running.
I leaped forward, rolled across the ground, and sprang up.
By the time I stood, the sword that had been lying near the man's body was already gripped in my right hand.
“Guraah!!”
The moment I turned around, the Goblin Knight—which had been chasing me—swung its sword down. I caught the strike with the sword I’d just retrieved—and I grinned.
“I’m lucky you’re an idiot...!”
“————?!”
If the Goblin Knight had targeted the girl while I was busy picking up the sword, I would have had no way to stop it. And if this monster were as wicked as a human, it would have taken her hostage to seal my resistance before killing me.
Well, if I’d abandoned her, I might have been able to survive on my own—though I’m not sure if I actually could have made that choice.
That’s why, to win, the Goblin Knight should have targeted her first.
—No.
Or perhaps, because I was the true threat to it, it had persistently focused on me instead.
Regardless.
“Oraaa!!”
I kicked the Goblin Knight’s shield again to create distance.
“From here on out, it’s my turn for good!!”
“————!!”
Immediately, I closed the distance to unleash a series of slashes.
I swung the sword in rapid succession. The Goblin Knight blocked every single strike with its shield. The roar of metal clashing at high speed rang out like a drumroll through the dungeon’s ruin-like interior. Ten seconds, twenty seconds of the same relentless back-and-forth passed.
My HP was being consumed by my Fighting Spirit, dropping from 31 to 27, 23, 19, and 15.
And then—at 11.
“————!!”
“————?!”
This time, the moment truly arrived.
The feedback changed. The atmosphere surrounding the Goblin Knight shifted. Or perhaps its presence had simply diminished—at any rate, it wasn't a change that was clearly visible to the eye, but both I and the Goblin Knight itself understood that "something" had disappeared.
“Ooooooooooooooooooh!!!”
My chance!!
Taking a heavy step in, I swung the sword in a horizontal arc.
The blade sliced halfway through the shield the Goblin Knight had raised and blew the guard right off the creature's arm.
“Gugaah!!”
There was no hesitation or freezing up. The moment its shield was blown away, the Goblin Knight swung the sword held in its right hand.
I met that strike with my own.
I swung with an upward trajectory that parried its blade. The Goblin Knight’s arm was violently knocked back, and the sword went flying from its hand—
“This is the end!!”
Raising the sword high overhead, I swung it down with all my weight into the creature's shoulder.
A metallic crunching sound echoed as the longsword sliced through the armor and into the creature's body, cutting from its shoulder to the center of its chest.
“————”
Silence.
A beat later, the Goblin Knight fell to its knees.
Its body swayed for a moment before it collapsed onto the ground—
『—U-Uwoooooooooooooh!!!』 『No way, no way, no wayyyyy!!!』 『Leveling Junkie Bro actually freaking killed the Goblin Knight!!!』 『Amazinggggggggggggggggggggg!!!!』
By the time the comments were flooding in from the drone camera, the monster’s form was already beginning to vanish into particles of light.