The moon hangs high over head as it radiates pale moonlight to the forest below. Hidden amongst the branches of a tree bathing in the moonlight is a solitary goblin that’s been eagerly waiting while observing an inconspicuous cave hidden amongst some thick brush.

‘Kekeke, it shouldn’t be long till the shift change. I wonder how strong these guys really are, I was able to deal with the group of them earlier because they were already injured but since they went down so easy I couldn’t gauge their actual strength. Hmm, now that I think about it I haven’t I haven’t checked my status in a long time. Kekeke, a superior being such as myself doesn’t need to pay attention to status to beat a bunch of lowly bandits. Well, better safe than sorry … [status open]’

Name: Jellal

Race: Goblin

Gender: M

Age: 0

Level: 18

HP: 675/675

DEF: 57

STR: 76

AGI: 54

MP: 270/270

MGD: 57

MGA: 42

Points Available: 108

Skills: Adaptability; Magic Eyes; Superhuman Strength; Magic Perception; Danger Perception; Concealment; Parallel Thinking; Sawsmanship; Battle Born;

Special: Named Monster

‘… What kind of nonsense is Sawsmanship? Kekeke, a superior being such as myself is so amazing they have to make up skills to accommodate my magnificence. As expected of me, not only did I reach level eighteen I also managed to learn a bunch of skills to go with it.’

Jellal let his thoughts run wild after checking his status and was almost unable to stop himself from breaking out into laughter due to his excitement. Even after calming himself down he couldn’t help but let a toothy grin cover his face.

Finally unable to endure waiting he begins his raid on the bandit camp. Leaving his backpack in the tree he silently climbs down and begins casually walking toward the cave completely disregarding stealth.

[What took you bastard so long? Not only did you screw up your job you also took your sweet time coming back. Hehehe, with the way you’re doing things I ought to be seeing a promotion soon.]

Hearing footsteps approaching one of the guards immediately begins mouthing off. He continuously ridicules the newcomer sure that it can only be one of the bandits who had been defeated earlier. Unfortunately for him, his assumption missed the mark by a wide margin.

A pair of throwing knives zip through the air striking the throats of the unsuspecting guards. Jellal walks out from the darkness carrying a pair of large branches with him. He drags the bodies a few feet out of the entrance of the cave and uses the branches to stand them upright. From a distance the two look like a couple of lazy bums slouched over while shirking their responsibilities, however, the closer you get to them the more out of place everything appears.

After setting up his human scarecrows Jellal backs into the darkness concealing himself. A few minutes pass before another pair of bandits come to change shifts and watch the entrance. They approach without paying much attention to the people they’re supposed to be swapping with, which turns out to be a fatal mistake. It isn’t until they’re a few feet away that they notice something’s wrong but before they can so much as open their mouths they’re treated to a throwing knife to the throat.

With the guards taken care of there’s plenty of time to play around at the entrance of the cave. After stripping the bodies of their valuables Jellal drags the corpses into the bushes just to be safe. He quickly retrieves his backpack and puts away his loot before hiding it once again.

Having secured the entrance he sneaks deeper into the cave while on high alert. It doesn’t take long for him to come to a fork in the cave. Without having any way of knowing which of the tunnels is being used he can only check them one at a time.

To start things off he takes the left tunnel on a whim. Walking silently through the corridor he comes to a series of openings. To stay consistent he sticks to the left being careful not to give away his presence. Carefully he pokes his head around the corner and peaks inside.

The room appears to be an empty room but he cautiously enters to double check. After confirming it’s just an empty room he moves on to the next opening. Peaking inside it’s obvious that it’s a room used as a bedroom of sorts. He slips into the room but nobody’s home.

Moving from one opening to the next he discovers that the rooms are mostly bedrooms while the first and last rooms were empty. After checking each of the bedrooms, four of them are currently missing their bandit which likely isn’t a coincidence considering he killed four guards before entering the cave.

Taking all the evidence into consideration it’s pretty clear to him that these are the rooms for the lowest level of grunts in the hideout. Since it’s unlikely a higher level bandit would bother coming here at this time of night he’s free to do as he pleases as long as he doesn’t make a racket.

Entering into each of the ten occupied rooms he kills the bandits in their sleep. Although he won’t be able to carry anything with him given the current circumstances he still checks the rooms for valuables. Unsurprisingly his search for valuables comes up empty as you would expect when raiding the living quarters of low level grunts.

With the grunt living quarters cleansed of filth he heads back to the original fork. Upon arriving he’s surprised to find a lone bandit making his way toward the cave entrance. With his weapons at the ready he follows after the bandit ready for whatever happens.

The bandit strolls casually through the corridor and closes in on the entrance of the cave. The closer he gets the stranger the situation gets as he can’t spot the guards anywhere. Even if they’re a bunch of slackers no one would blatantly skip guard duty when keeping the hideout hidden is such a priority. At the entrance the bad feeling he had in his gut is confirmed when he spots pools of blood around the entrance where the guards should be.

The bandit tries to call out for help but it’s already too late. He collapses on the ground as blood spews from his neck. Jellal quickly strips the body of its valuables before dragging it into the bushes. With that minor hiccup taken care of he returns to the fork in cave to continue where he left off.

With the left fork completely taken care of he begins his trek through the right side of the hideout. Unlike the left side the right path is a long straight corridor that leads to a singular large dining hall type room which has multiple paths branching off of it in turn.

Luckily for Jellal the dining hall is currently deserted. Under normal circumstances there would almost always be bandits loitering around drinking in the hall, but due to the failure of today’s mission the hall has been all but abandoned.

Since there’s no enemy in sight Jellal takes the opportunity to slip through the dining hall and into the rightmost path unnoticed. Upon reaching the path it’s revealed to be a storeroom for food and alcohol … mostly alcohol. Seeing the room devoid of enemies he snatches a loaf of bread before slipping through the dining hall to the next path.

The second room he entered from the dining hall is the kitchen which much like the storeroom is devoid of enemies. Having no reason to loiter in the kitchen he takes a bite out of the loaf of bread and returns to the dining hall to try his luck at a different path.

The third try’s the charm as the third path turns out to be a hallway leading to a series of other paths. He cautiously pokes his head into one of the paths only to discover it’s a bandit’s room. Unlike the room of a low level grunt this room is nicely decorated with proper furniture and various knickknacks.

To his surprise the owner of the room is one of the bandits that kindly led him to the hideout. First he unknowingly led an enemy to their hideout, and then he sleeps soundly while that enemy is rummaging around his room. If there was an award for best bandit he’d certainly be a candidate.

One of the bandits who contributed most to Jellal’s surging collection of assorted valuables and materials perished in his sleep without so much as a whimper. With yet another bandit eliminated Jellal moves on to the next room in the hallway.

He slips into the room only to find it empty. After giving the room a once over just to be safe he leaves to move on to the next room. He moved down the hallway, going in and out of rooms repeatedly. Surprisingly there were five rooms with their patrons missing, though considering the fact that he killed eight of them before even showing up at the base it makes sense.

Finally after so many empty rooms he comes across a bandit. Rather than sleeping in the middle of the night like a reasonable human being the bandit is sitting at a table in his room with a pint of beer in his hand. The drunk bandit is too focused on drinking to notice the intruder that’s a few feet from him. Jellal silently moves behind the bandit with his knife at the ready. When the bandit puts his mug on the table his throat begins spewing blood. He tries to use his hand to stop the flow of blood but his fingers catch the handle of the mug causing him to smash it on his own face.

The sound of the mug being smashed and the bandit’s corpse loudly knocking the table over as he collapses, echoes through the cave. With his cover blown Jellal sprints out into the hall before immediately rushing to the next room. The bandit, who had just woken up due to the noise had no chance to react as a throwing knife pierced his throat the moment he sat up.

The bandit in the next room is also greeted with a throwing knife the moment he got out of bed. His life quickly came to an end as his corpse loudly fell on the ground for all to hear. Jellal on the other hand didn’t stick around to watch him die; instead he continued moving down the hallway trying to eliminate as many bandits as possible before they figured out what’s happening.

Lady luck abandoned him leaving the next two rooms empty. By the time he reached a room with an enemy in it the bandit was already moving toward the hallway. The bandit barely managed to block the throwing knife aimed at his face but was unable to stop the saw the ripped through his stomach.

Jellal immediately retreated from the room after a single strike. He arrived at the next room at the same time the bandits were leaving their rooms. At the same time the bandit from the closest room took his first step into the hallway he was greeted by a saw to the neck.

The audible thud that was made when the body dropped to the ground immediately alerted the remaining five bandits who’d made their way into the hallway. They immediately drew their weapons when they noticed the intruder charging at them.

Shock visibly decorated their faces when the noticed that the intruder that had managed to make it so deep into their base was a mere goblin. To them it was unfathomable for adventurers or high ranked monsters to infiltrate their hideout yet a goblin had somehow managed it.

With only enemies in front the goblin charged forward with reckless abandon. The bandits wanted to scoff at it thoughtlessly rushing to its death but were taken aback by its sheer speed. The goblins violet eyes glowed with a bright yet eerie light as it closed in on the first bandit.

The bandit swallowed his fear and tried to strike at the goblin with his sword. The goblin hopped over the blade before using the bandits arm as a platform to launch itself higher. As the goblin reached shoulder height it swung its saw, the bandit was left defenseless as his arms and weapon had been kicked down when the goblin used them as a platform. The saw continued unimpeded before being lodged deep in the temple of the bandit.

Stepping off the dead bandits shoulder the goblin propelled itself higher as the body collapsed to the ground. The momentum it gained by jumping off the body carried it all the way to the ceiling of the cave. Rather than smashing its head on the ceiling the goblin rotated its body in the air causing its feet to contact the ceiling.

Using its legs as if they were springs the goblins momentum stopped before reaching an all-time high in the opposite direction. The bandit below was already prepared after seeing the goblin jump off his comrade. Originally he had planned to slash the goblin out of the air but that plan was quickly thrown away when the goblin descended like a rocket.

Even if he couldn’t counter attack he was still ready to defend. Holding the sword above his head he braced the back of the blade with his off hand to maximize the stability of his block.

The goblin descended head first, delivering an overhead strike with his saw in the process. The momentum of the strike was too much and the bandit’s sword was pushed down until the saw was embedded in his shoulder. The teeth of the saw caught flesh and bone as it came to a halt.

While the saw may have stopped the goblin did not. Using the opportunity granted by the teeth of the saw catching bone the goblin held the saw tight using it to shift its momentum from downward to forward. The head and chest of the bandit were yanked forward as the goblin collided with it. Before colliding the goblin struck out with a knee, concentrating all the force it had generated into a single point.

The bandit vomited blood as he collapsed to his knees. The goblin didn’t bother paying extra attention to the immobile bandit, ripping the saw out of his left shoulder as he passed by the bandit’s right side. While pulling the saw back it conveniently slide teeth first across the bandits’ neck, finishing him off.

Seeing the bandits stunned by how quickly their friends were killed the goblin showed a toothy smile. Unlike how it did with the first two bandits the goblin didn’t charge at its enemies at full speed, instead it walked forward slowly, menacingly, striking terror in the hearts of the bandits.

The bandits steeled their nerves as they desperately tried to stop their bodies from trembling. Blood dripped from the saw as the goblin inched closer and closer to the terrified bandits. With a burst of speed it lunges toward the foremost bandit who responds with a horizontal slash. The goblin uses the back of the saw to lightly deflect the blade overhead as it rolls forward between the legs of the bandit.

Coming out of its roll the goblin slashes the thigh of the bandit with its saw causing the bandit to drop to one knee, unable to stand properly. The two bandits at the back attack simultaneously but their attacks are avoided when the goblin dodges to the side kicking off the side wall slipping behind the bandit on the right. Before landing on the ground the goblin kicks the bandit in the back sending him stumbling forward into the foremost bandit who’s struggling to his feet.

The pair of bandits fall together in a tangled mess while the goblin charges at the last standing bandit. The bandit thrusts his sword at the goblin but it is easily sidestepped. After avoiding the thrust the goblin hacks at the sword with its saw holding it down while it throws a knife at the bandit’s chest. Unable to dodge or use his sword to block the bandit is forced to use his arm to block the fatal blow.

The bandit tries to create space by taking a step backwards but is met with the wall of the cave. In desperation he lunges forward. The goblin easily avoids the desperate attack and retaliates by slicing away at the exposed side of the enemy. The bandit drops his sword as he collapses to his knees while clutching his side. Seeing the other two bandits untangling themselves the goblin finishes off his opponent by swiftly removing his head.

Seeing another comrade killed right before his eyes the uninjured bandit charges at the goblin in a rage. The goblin smirks before kicking the head at the bandit’s gut. The bandit angrily avoids the head and the throwing knife that followed right after.

The bandit’s pupils shrink as watches the head fly at his injured comrade. The injured bandit is unable to avoid the head so he can only begrudgingly deflect it with his sword. The bandit only becomes aware of the knife chasing after the head when it stabs into his eye.

The screams of the now one eyed bandit echo through the cave as he clutches at his missing eye. The uninjured bandit was momentarily distracted when the head and knife flew past him further injuring his friend. He turns to glare at the goblin responsible only to find that he’s disappeared.

While the bandit was distracted took the opportunity to slip past him, moving to his back. By the time the bandit’s mind returned to the fight a saw was already closing in on his neck. Just like that, without even knowing how it happened, the bandit died as his head flew into the air.

Jellal doesn’t bother closing in on the injured bandit; instead he opts to use a throwing knife to finish the bandit off from a distance.

With peace and quiet restored he starts to collect his throwing knives, along the way he gives an extra stab to any bandit that didn’t have their head removed. Having done his due diligence he returns to searching rooms on the off chance a bandit somehow managed to sleep through the ruckus.

Predictably the rest of the rooms were already empty since all the bandits in this living area had been killed. Knowing the area is clear for now he gives each room a once over to see if he can find anything valuable, or at the very least useful.

Although he was able to find some things that sparked his interest there was nothing that was immediately useful. With that being the case he left everything where it was since he couldn’t really carry it around while continued searching the base.

Using some of the cloth from a random bandit’s room he wiped the blood off his saw and throwing knives before cleaning himself up as well. With his hands nice and clean he pulls out the remainder of the bread he swiped from the food storage.

As he casually walked through the hallway he finished off the bread before giving a satisfied burp. Seeing the end of the tunnel approaching his leisurely attitude is replaced with a calm focus.

Once again returning to the dining hall he glances around before an excited smirk floats its way onto his face. His heartbeat quickens as he stares across the way unable to keep himself from laughing eagerly.

[Kekeke]