A large horde of goblins, their skin dark green and filthy, with pointy monkey-like faces and mouths full of rotten teeth,
reeked with a putrid stench and drooled thick, sticky saliva as they charged at him like ravenous wolves.
“You—don’t come any closer!”
Genasar had never seen such a sight before, and bolted in fright.
Never mind whether he could defeat them or not—their disgusting appearance alone was enough to give him nightmares for three days straight.
After running some distance, Genasar hurriedly climbed up a nearby tree.
Standing on a slender pine branch, he looked down at the goblins below, whose minds had clearly been fogged by some drug.
He thought it over for a long moment before finally deciding to open his mouth and unleash a simple, unadorned Dragon Breath.
A fireball the size of a human head crashed into the ground, leaving a small pit.
Several goblins were blasted away with it, but the damage didn’t seem to be all that great.
“Baby dragons just aren’t that strong yet. But fortunately, this bunch of goblins is drugged up, so they aren’t throwing rocks. I can whittle them down slowly.”
So, Genasar crouched on the branch, unleashing Dragon Breath one mouthful at a time.
But after a few breaths, his throat was so dry it felt like it was smoking, yet these thick-skinned, tough goblins still had plenty left who could fight.
“There’s no other way—just have to wear them down bit by bit.”
Miserable, Genasar kept spewing Dragon Breath, clearing out the little monsters.
Meanwhile, not far away, Goli stood on a tree branch, resting her chin on her hand as she observed the scene intently.
“It seems simple combat won’t trigger that strange power. I’ll have to raise the difficulty. Hmm… Strange, it’s just too strange. I’ve researched for days and there’s absolutely no record of anything like that power. What in the world is it?”
Desperate to uncover the secret behind that mysterious power, Goli racked her brains but to no avail.
With no clues at all, she tried to provoke it with battles, but the results were negligible.
“He ran to the door to play in the snow for a bit, chatted with that guy for a while, then ate some fruit the guy gave him. But I checked—wasn’t that guy’s doing. Really odd.”
In the end, with no leads whatsoever, Goli could only silently watch Genasar fight goblins.
Finally, just as he was about to collapse from exhaustion, that horde of goblins was at last blasted to pieces.
“Damn it, finally done. Whew…”
He lay sprawled on the branch, panting heavily, thin wisps of smoke still curling from his throat.
At that moment, Goli landed lightly at the end of the branch in front of him.
“All done? Kid, do you want to play outside for a bit or head home now?”
“Uh, let me just catch my breath.”
Genasar rested on the branch while Goli came over and squatted in front of him.
She patted his head, then pointed in a certain direction.
“There’s something fun over there. You can check it out in a bit.”
Genasar:
“You think I’d believe you? I won’t.”
He shot Goli a glare, then got up and slid down the trunk to the ground, heading off in the opposite direction.
“She’s definitely trying to set me up again. Maybe she’s even laced another monster horde with drugs somewhere. I’d better find some easier monsters to practice my skills on myself.”
As he walked, Genasar suddenly caught a whiff of something odd.
It was fishy, stinky, and thick. Following the scent, he crept into the grass to observe in secret.
And then he was stunned.
A group of bloated, incredibly ugly ogres was up ahead, participating in a massive group “harmonious activity.”
(프_Ⅱ )
“Excuse me, pardon me.”
The entire scene was a rolling blur of pixels—so dazzlingly grotesque that Genasar almost vomited, and he quickly turned to leave.
Suddenly, a shrill whistle sounded behind him.
Goli stood there, giving Genasar a radiant smile, and blew the whistle again.
Genasar’s eyes went wide as he looked at her, just about to speak, when he heard a commotion behind him.
A horde of mood-ruined ogres came charging at him, all fangs and claws.
“Hey—wait, you…!” He turned to glare at Goli, furious.
“Genasar, attack~” (>u0)
With that, she vanished again, while Genasar, jaw practically on the ground, turned back to see the enraged ogres drawing closer.
He spun on his heel and ran.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Beeeeep—
Ogre: Despite the word “demon” in their name, ogres have nothing to do with the demon race. Their ugly, terrifying faces and massive bodies, as well as their appetite for all kinds of flesh—including humans—leave a deep psychological scar on people, hence the name.
How to fight them? Simply impossible. Ogres have all-around stats that are an upgraded version of goblins.
Even a baby dragon’s Dragon Breath is barely effective against goblins—against these even thicker-skinned ogres, it’s practically useless.
Fortunately, the lumbering ogres couldn’t keep up with the agile Genasar, who soon shook them off.
Hiding in the grass, he panted for breath, just starting to recover, when Goli came up behind him, bent over, and ruffled his head with a grin.
Genasar jumped in fright, spinning around.
“Damn you! You #&#@¥# *!”
Realizing it was her, Genasar’s anger boiled over and he launched into a tirade right at her.
Goli, on the other hand, looked completely unfazed, listening to Genasar’s rapid-fire complaints in silence.
Then, her long, slender fingers pinched his mouth shut.
“All right, exam’s over. Your results are so-so, just barely satisfactory. Now then, I’ll let you do as you please for a while.”
She let go of Genasar, who immediately snapped back in protest:
“Do as I please, my foot! Who knows if you’ve drugged another monster horde up ahead! And of all things, why did you have to use aphrodisiacs! Couldn’t you have used a Berserk Potion instead! Do you have any idea what kind of psychological trauma it is for a baby dragon to see a bunch of ugly ogres mating!”
Unbothered, Goli straightened up, resting the back of her hand against her chin and giving a rather comical grin.
“Berserk Potion is nowhere near as cost-effective as an aphrodisiac. The effects are almost the same anyway.”
Most monsters get extremely aggressive during their mating season—the effect is similar to berserk.
“Are you really that strapped for cash? No, you just have a twisted sense of humor!”
“Hey, you’d never know the cost of household goods if you didn’t run a household yourself. Every bit saved is a bit earned. Spending it all on you is a total loss. Not charging you is already generous.”
“What? You scam me and still want to charge me? Damn, you really are a genius.”
“Flattered, flattered, hohoho~”
“All right, enough nonsense, let’s just head back.”
Genasar didn’t want to waste any more time and urged her along.
Every extra second outside meant a higher chance of Goli messing with him.
He’d rather wait until he was a bit older and better able to protect himself before coming out again.
However, it seemed Goli wasn’t planning on going back just yet.
“Hold on, hey, I think there’s something fun over there. Go have a look.”
She pointed in another direction, but Genasar’s mouth twitched as he recalled the last time she said that, and he’d walked straight into the ogres’ territory.
Clearly, she’d predicted his prediction—so this time, Genasar resolutely headed in the direction Goli pointed.
And then, he was chased and rammed by a herd of giant, bull-sized Ice Slimes.
“What the—why are there slimes this big here?!”
While running, he noticed Goli tagging along, holding a half-full bottle of dark red potion.
Not aphrodisiac, but Berserk Potion.
She stuck out her tongue and winked at him playfully.
“Ehehe~”
“Ehehe your head! Didn’t you say you had to scrimp and save! He—lp—me!”
Pffft—
A slime rammed into him and Genasar was sent flying.
His first time flying in his life—he never thought it would happen like this.