Chapter 3 - Champion Goblin

Many guys fall for the ‘kind girl trap’ at some point in their lives. The ‘kind girl trap’ (let’s call it KGT) is the ultimate card that young girls play. True to the name, the kind girl is kind to everyone — be it teachers, delinquents, or outcasts. And when a dumb guy with little to no experience in romance meets such a girl for the first time in their lives, they may fall in love. Both parties cannot be blamed. The girl is just being kind; she has no malice or bad intentions. The guy just hasn’t met anyone in his life who treats him that well. Such is the fearsomeness of KGT. A truly formidable trap for young men.

Why are we talking about KGT you ask?

Answer: Once upon a time, Yuu had fallen into KGT.

It happened a long time ago when Yuu was only at the tender age of 13. As an outcast in his class, he was tasked with various duties that the rest of the class didn’t want to do. Cleaning duty, plant-watering duty, class president, etc. It was on the day he got elected as the class president.

A young Yuu was falling asleep on his desk at the corner of the room, drool dripping out from the side of his mouth. Birds were chirping happily outside the window to his left and the students inside the classroom were having a noisy discussion.

“So it’s decided that Yuu will be the class president?”

A chorus of ‘Yes’ ran out.

Yuu woke up to the loud noise and rubbed his sleepy eyes. “What?”

“Who wants to be the vice-president?”

No one raised their hand. Yuu looked around in confusion. He had barely slept the night before playing video games and his brain was still in gaming mode.

“Me.” the cutest girl in the class (Saionji Chiyuri) raised her hand.

After school, Chiyuri came to talk to Yuu.

“Umm… Yuu-kun. We’ll be working together from now on so… please help me out if I do something wrong.” Chiyuri said, with an angelic smile on her cute face.

“Oh! Uh… Yes… Thank you.” Yuu thanked her for reasons unknown to himself. He could feel his heart beating at a mad pace, almost jumping out of his chest.

It was no surprise when a week later, Yuu confessed his “love” to Chiyuri.

“Chiyuri-chan! I love you! Please go out with me!” the whole class stared at the love-struck Yuu in shock.

Chiyuri blushed red from the embarrassment.

“Um… Sorry, Yuu… I don’t think I’m ready to start dating yet. Why don’t we get to know each other more first? I know! Let’s go to the cafe near the train station after school.”

“Okay!” Yuu had just gotten rejected but he was still happy that he still had a chance.

What he did not realize was that another boy in the class was glaring at him. Of course, that boy was Takano Shoji. The confession would soon become the worst decision Yuu made in his youth.

⧫

“Yuki Aika. I’m Yuu’s girlfriend.”

“Nice to meet you… Can I call you Aika?” Chiyuri had a strained smile on her face. Karna—Yuu— could feel a strange tension in the air.

Should I say something? Aika probably told that lie—about being my girlfriend— for my sake, right?

“Nice to see you again Chiyuri and Shoji. My si—girlfriend and I are going to the dungeon. We are in a hurry so… see you guys later!” Karna tried to stop the conversation. Nothing good would come of staying with the couple. What he didn’t expect was what Chiyuri said next.

“You two are also going to the dungeon? Why don’t the four of us party up then? Won’t that be more fun?”

What?! Karna felt like slapping his face. How would that even be fun? Even partying up with two monkeys sounded more fun to him.

Shoji was glaring daggers at him. Karna replied with a glare of his own.

If you think I’m still the same Yuu from before, you’re so wrong.

Due to traumas suffered during his childhood, he was a weeping mess of apologies in front of people. But that was only when Aika was not around. As long as he had Aika, he was confidence incarnate. He would not back down even from the bully who had made his middle-school life hell.

Still, he didn’t want to party up with Shoji and Chiyuri if possible. He tried to think of a good excuse. But before he could think of anything, Aika replied to Chiyuri.

“Sure. Let’s party up then.”

⧫

The level 10 dungeon was a grey cave with barely any space for three players to walk abreast. Thus, the party of four had split into two groups; Karna and Aika in the front and Chiyuri and Shoji a few steps behind. It was only natural. Aika was hugging onto Karna’s arm. It made walking harder for Karna but the sight of Aika blushing was definitely worth the trouble.

He wondered why she was trying so hard to look like a real girlfriend.

Well... just one more reason why my little sister Aika is superior to all other girls.

Even though they had formed a party without any proper plan in mind, Karna had to admit that the class composition wasn’t bad. Aika with her class was the tank, Karna with his class, and Shoji with his class were the two damage-dealers, and Chiyuri was the who could heal and provide various buffs to the team.

The only issue was whether his class would be useful in a fight without any skills.

Soon, they met their first opponent.

A small, green creature clad in metal cuirass and chainmail; it was a goblin. It was further equipped with a small wooden shield and a dagger. It raised its shield to face the four intruders. Karna and Aika also readied their swords.

There was no such thing as a tutorial in Xion Online. Players were sent into the game world where they could operate their in-game characters just like how they controlled their real bodies. Perhaps the biggest challenge players had to overcome was the combat. Even though the official guide covered strategies, it did not teach players how to actually fight.

With a loud screech, the goblin launched itself at the closest target— Aika. With a flash of silver, the dagger came straight for its target. A split second. That was all it took for the goblin to land its attack.

But Karna was faster. He wedged his Beginner Sword between Aika and the Goblin. He had only intended to block the goblin but he ended up almost slashing the unprotected part of it which was not covered by its armor. The goblin somehow parried the blow with its shield and jumped back using the impact. A hp gauge appeared above its head.

Soldier Goblin [HP: 980/1000]

The hell?!! 20 damage?!!

Needless to say, that was extremely low.

The goblin turned its beady eyes towards Karna. It was obvious that its target had changed. It raised its sturdy-looking shield and charged straight at him.

Karna wanted to dodge but his feet wouldn’t move. He raised his sword in a desperate attempt to stop the goblin.

A blur pushed Karna to the side and crashed into the goblin. The green creature was thrown against the cave wall. It was Shoji in beast form— a werewolf over six feet tall.

Shoji proceeded to shred the goblin with his huge claws. The goblin didn’t even have time to struggle before its HP dropped to zero and its body dissolved into a burst of light particles.

The class was truly impressive.

“Thanks, Shoji.”

Shoji had a smirk on his currently-hairy bestial face. Karna knew that expression very well. It was the look a person would have when they believed they were superior.

Aika who had also been pushed aside by Shoji didn’t look too happy.

“You’re so cool, Shoji!” Chiyuri praised, oblivious to Aika’s glare.

After that, they met more goblins similar to the first. But with Shoji at the front, they were quickly taken care of. The rest of the party had no role to play whatsoever. All they had to do was watch the beast kill its prey. Being at a party meant that the EXP points were shared. All four of them reached level 15 and even gained some more skills.

Even Karna got his first skill.

Skill Menu

Shockwave - Hit the air to create a shockwave. The type of shockwave depends on the hand movement.

But Karna wanted to log off already. With nothing to do, he might as well be not playing at all. At this point, even a regular MMORPG seemed more appealing to him than Xion Online.

They got to the boss area; a large space which could fit about a hundred people.

I’ll just stop playing after this. I should make some fried rice and eat with Aika. Karna decided.

An ear-splitting roar interrupted his thoughts.

The boss of the dungeon appeared out of thin air. Clad in white full-plate armor from head to toe was a seven-foot-tall giant. In its right hand was a spiked metal club.

“I’ll take care of it,” said Shoji as he stepped up to face the giant. He crouched his body. “[Charge]!” Then like a spring compressed to its limit, he accelerated and crashed into the armored boss.

The two giants rolled onto the floor. Shoji was using his claws to furiously slash at the white armor. The giant wasn’t moving. No, it couldn’t move. The [Charge] skill had applied a paralysis effect.

“Go!! Shoji-kun!!” Chiyuri cheered from the back.

At a glance, it would look like Shoji was overwhelming his opponent. But their HP bars said otherwise.

Champion Goblin [HP: 9954/10000]

Shoji [HP: 1115/1500]

Huh?! How is Shoji’s HP getting chipped away when the boss hasn’t even attacked him yet?

Shoji continued to claw at the boss.

Shoji [HP: 843/1500]

Damage reflection?!

“Oi, Shoji! Get back! Right now!” Karna roared. Shocked by the sudden command, Shoji got up to his feet and retreated. The boss also stood up a second later when the paralysis effect wore off.

“Chiyuri. Heal Shoji. Aika and I will distract the boss.”

“Okay!” Chiyuri replied energetically. She seemed happy to finally get something to do.

“Aika. If I die, take my first kiss before you bury me.”

“Heh. I’ll even take your virginity.”

Oi, Sister! That’s too much even as a joke! But he couldn’t say that out loud in front of Chiyuri and Shoji.

“Uh… Let’s show this guy who’s the real boss.”

“Let’s.”