‘Female goblins went extinct from a curse? Who’s this explorer Landriol, and what the hell are Asvillam’s Twelve Heroes?’

Go Byeonggap finished a round of reading and furrowed his brow. The items displayed in the Ancient Shop—the annotations on them were all baffling nonsense.

The most bizarre of them all was the ‘Seed of Enlightenment.’

‘A race that incurred divine wrath and lost its wisdom? Is it talking about goblins?’

By nature, Byeonggap was an atheist. But he agreed with the notion that some transcendent being—something like a god—might lurk behind the Deep Impact.

So even when the word ‘god’ cropped up frequently in the Ancient Shop, he didn’t just dismiss it as absurd superstition.

After all, wasn’t he living through the surreal himself as the Goblin Lord of Asvillam?

‘Are they saying those bastards weren’t stupid from the start?’

Byeonggap scratched his short stubble and sank into thought. Around then, the goblins, fresh from their bath, returned, dripping water from their bodies.

«Kiriyan! Kiriyan, come here!»

«Ah, yes! My Lord!»

Byeonggap called Kiriyan over right away. Kiriyan was the one among Asvillam’s members he could talk to most easily.

«Hey. Come here and read this.»

Byeonggap sat Kiriyan on the sofa. Then he pointed to a small hologram attached beside the Ancient Shop’s main window. Kiriyan’s face twisted in difficulty.

«Um … My Lord.»

«Oh, yeah. Do you get any of this?»

«That’s … not it. I can’t read letters.»

«What?»

Byeonggap’s face crumpled in a scowl.

«Hey. I’m a human and I can read this. How come you, a goblin, can’t?»

«I’m sorry …»

«No, it’s not about sorry. I just don’t get it. Why don’t you know letters?»

«I think it’s because I was never taught.»

«Unbelievable, really.»

It wasn’t anger so much as sheer absurdity. But what could he do? He couldn’t force them to learn what they couldn’t.

Instead of teaching the goblins letters, Byeonggap decided to take an easier path.

«Hey. Did you guys do something to piss off a god?»

«Whaaat!? W-what do you mean!?»

«Hey, hey. I’m not interrogating you, so don’t make that face like you’re wronged. I’m just asking.»

Only after Byeonggap soothed him did Kiriyan calm his startled heart.

Byeonggap explained in a relaxed tone.

«It’s nothing major—I just read something weird. Here it says, ‘A race that incurred divine wrath and lost its wisdom.’ I was wondering if that might be you goblins. Do you know anything?»

«Uh …»

«No idea? Not about you guys? Think hard.»

«God … God …»

Kiriyan kept muttering the word ‘god.’

His pupils dilated wider. Then his body began to tremble violently.

«M-Ma… Mad… Madmu…»

«Mamamoo?»

«M-Mama, ma! Kkeok! Kkiek! KKIEEEEEEEEK! KKIEEEEEEEEK!»

«Hey, what the hell—why are you doing this all of a sudden?»

«KKIEEEEEEEEK! KKIAAAAAAAAAAAH!»

«Yanma! Calm down! Yanma!»

Kiriyan clawed at his own head, then let out a scream that tore at his throat. It was less a shriek and more the howl of a beast.

The sound drew nearby goblins, who came rushing in.

«My Lord! W-What’s the—»

«KKIEEEEEEK! KKIEEEEEEEEK!»

Crack!

Sparks leaped from Kiriyan’s body. He had finally snapped, losing his grip on reason and going berserk.

The goblins recoiled in terror. Even the very Go Byeonggap, standing right beside him, flinched and stumbled back several steps.

‘A burning smell?’

A faint, acrid odor rose in the air. The sparks Kiriyan had spat were already singeing the leather of the sofa, leaving black scorch marks spreading across it.

If left unchecked, all the effort he’d put in today could turn to ash.

«Hey, you son of a bitch! Snap out of it! Hey!»

«KKIEEEEEEEEEEK!»

«You’re driving me crazy!»

Byeonggap strained to calm Kiriyan down, but it was a worthless effort.

‘Damn it!’

Steeling himself, he grabbed Kiriyan’s body. The current passing through his own muscles made them tingle, a sharp sting shooting up his spine.

«Krrrrrrraaaah!»

But he didn’t give up.

Byeonggap hoisted Kiriyan up and burst out of the tent.

«Everyone, get back! Clear out! I said move!»

«Y-Yes, sir!»

«Pull back!»

As Byeonggap shouted, the goblins scrambled away in haste.

“Huuk! Huuk!”

After a few deep breaths, Byeonggap slammed Kiriyan down onto the dirt floor. A cloud of dust puffed up with a rather violent thud.

«Kkhk!»

Kiriyan let out a short cry, then his eyes rolled back. His thrashing limbs went still, and the wild sparks fizzled out.

Byeonggap had held back enough to not kill him. He was just knocked out for a moment.

‘What the fuck kind of shit is this on a moonlit night?’

He flexed his tingling hand, then barked in an angry voice.

«Go get a potion! Now!»

«Yes!»

Gobungi ran panting and came back with a potion. Byeonggap forced some into Kiriyan’s mouth, then drank a little himself. Nothing seemed seriously wrong with his body.

And just like that, the commotion late in the night was put to rest.

* * *

«I’m sorry…»

Kiriyan came to soon enough. He looked a bit haggard, but aside from that, there was nothing wrong with him.

He bowed his head with an expression of utter apology. Go Byeonggap sighed, soothing his own reluctant feelings.

«Forget it, you. Lift your head.»

«…»

Go Byeonggap wanted to ask, ‘Why did you suddenly have a seizure?’ But he couldn’t bring himself to speak, fearing it might trigger another one.

‘Tch.’

He looked down at the soot-stained sofa, swallowing a bitter taste.

‘Nothing to salvage here.’

While Kiriyan was unconscious, he’d asked the other goblins the same question.

The normal goblins—well, it was like talking to the wind. The hob goblins likewise claimed they didn’t know.

None of them had seizures like Kiriyan. It felt like ‘they don’t know, so they have no reason to convulse.’

A little unsettled, but he decided to shelve his curiosity for now.

Whatever hidden stories these goblins had, it wasn’t something he needed to dig up immediately. He could take his time and figure it out.

«Go rest.»

«Yes…»

Kiriyan withdrew, shoulders sagging.

Go Byeonggap remained still, leaning back on the sofa. Random thoughts drifted through his mind like clouds. Times like this called for a cigarette.

«Lord. Where. Go?»

«Gonna smoke a cig, bastard. Why? Want one?»

Todori-todori.

Go Byeonggap chuckled and stepped out of the tent.

As evening fell, the breeze turned cool. Not cold, just right. In South Korea, summer was in full swing, but here the air still carried a strong spring chill.

He lit a cigarette and wandered a bit. Looking up, the Milky Way blazed overhead—a sight you rarely saw in the city.

Walking aimlessly, he soon heard the sound of water. He’d reached a stream. Not wanting to trip in the dark, he pulled a lantern from his belt and switched it on.

The water was pristine. Under the lantern’s beam, he could see the stream bed clearly.

Killifish, about a finger-length long, darted through the water.

“No big fish, really.”

Well, clean water like this didn’t have large fish. Wondering if there might be crayfish, Go Byeonggap overturned a few rocks before giving up. What would he even do with crayfish? It’s not like he was going to cook stew.

Straightening up, he moved toward the fog.

“Whoa. How is this even possible?”

Two domains, divided like oil and water.

Beyond a transparent membrane, thick fog obscured everything. He thought of the movie ‘The Mist,’ where colossal monsters emerged from the gloom. In that film, the creatures drifted along with the fog.

“You think there’s something beyond here?”

He muttered to himself, then pounded the transparent barrier with his fist. No matter how hard he hit, not a sound escaped. Only ripples spread out like waves across water.

“Ah, maybe?”

Something occurred to Go Byeonggap, and he opened the Ancient Shop. He entered the “Miscellaneous” category and checked one item.

[Explorer’s Flag]

– Price: 500,000 crystals

– Description: The flag once used by Landriol, the legendary explorer and conqueror of the continent. When planted in unclaimed territory, it expands your domain.

“If I use this, can I cross over beyond that?”

A word to the wise, right? Byeonggap had that kind of intuition, too.

“Well, sure. It’s fine now, but once the goblins swell to five or six hundred, I’ll need to stretch the land a bit. Still, damn expensive. Five hundred thousand crystals—that’s a thousand elixirs of Growth.”

One bottle of that elixir had made him monstrously strong. How much stronger would a thousand make him? Maybe he could even become the sixty-ninth SS-rank awakener.

Then again, whether the goblins’ backs could hold out until he mined five hundred thousand crystals was another question entirely.

He gave a wry chuckle and dismissed the shop window. Then he put a cigarette to his lips.

Right then, a strange feeling washed over him. Like someone was watching him.

‘What the hell?’

He swung the lantern around, scanning the surroundings. But the dark stream showed nothing—not a single goblin, not even a water deer.

“…Just my imagination.”

Thinking that, he turned the lantern.

The lantern’s beam, arced without thought, swept across the mist zone.

Even the high-powered lantern’s strong light couldn’t punch through the fog.

But.

It did illuminate a dark silhouette pressed flat against the transparent membrane.

A head. Shoulders. Two arms.

A dark silhouette making binoculars with its hands, peering inside the membrane.

“Wah, fuck!”

Go Byeonggap stumbled back in shock.

He wasn’t the only one startled. The silhouette on the other side of the barrier flinched too.

And a second later, it bolted away into the fog and vanished.

“Hey! Hey! Wait!”

Byeonggap rushed to the transparent membrane and called out to the silhouette.

«Who’s in there? You there, right? Hey! Answer me!»

He pounded on the membrane, shouting several times. But the vanished silhouette never reappeared.

After about a dozen shouts, a response came from an unexpected direction.

«M-My Lord…?»

It was the goblins, drawn by Byeonggap’s voice.

Without even noticing he’d dropped his precious cigarette, Byeonggap let his arms hang limp.

“…What the hell is this place?”

* * *

«So you’re saying you don’t know what’s beyond either?»

«Yes.»

Byeonggap called the goblins over and asked them. Whether they knew anything about what lay beyond the fog.

The goblins answered that they knew absolutely nothing.

It wasn’t the first time the goblins answered that they didn’t know. They didn’t know most things. Not even their own origins.

How they were born, if there were no female goblins.

When they were born.

Where they came from.

What they did or where they were before being in the hidden world.

They had no knowledge of anything at all.

After seeing it so many times, Byeonggap no longer felt frustrated about it.

‘That didn’t look like a goblin, though.’

He couldn’t say for sure — he’d only caught a dark silhouette. But it didn’t seem to be shaped like a goblin.

«From now on, if you find anything near the mist, report to me immediately. Even if it seems trivial.»

«Yes, sir! Understood!»

«Good. I’m heading out now. Rest.»

Go Byeonggap said his piece and left Asvillam. A silence-drenched studio apartment greeted him.

‘What was that?’

Today had been a strange day.

Over the past few weeks, events he’d never imagined had come one after another, but none felt as bizarre as today.

He washed up and lay down on his bedding.

“Ah, right. I meant to buy something but totally forgot.”

Only after his head hit the pillow did he remember. So he called up the Ancient Shop.

The Ancient Shop could be opened even outside of Asvillam.

He’d already decided what to buy. The elixir of Growth. For now, that was his only purchase plan.

[Elixir of Growth]

– Price: 500 Crystals

– Description: A potion that permanently raises all physical abilities.

Go Byeonggap bought just one bottle first. Then, without hesitation, he tipped it into his mouth. He was a little afraid of the aftereffects, but if he wanted great power, he had to endure that much pain.

Thump-thump!

His heart began to race. Soon, his whole body would tremble, and the pain of tearing muscles would—

“Huh?”

—never came.

His heart quieted down quickly. It was a completely different reaction from last time. A strangely lukewarm feeling settled in.

“What the hell? Did it even work?”

Go Byeonggap closed his eyes and focused inward. He could feel the new power settling into his body.

It definitely seemed to have had an effect. But the increase wasn’t what it used to be.

Whereas last time all his stats went up by ten points, this time they’d barely risen by three or four.

“‘…Is this like muscle growth?’”

To grow muscle, you have to lift weight. And you have to lift heavier and heavier loads so the muscle grows through the principle of progressive overload.

This felt similar. The first bottle gave him a full ten-point boost, but as he went on, he’d need to consume more to get the same effect. Or take a stronger drug.

“Nothing ever goes my way.”

A bitter feeling washed over him. Go Byeonggap clicked his tongue and browsed the other products.

The items under the ‘Skills’ category caught his curiosity.

Manuals for swordsmanship, body-hardening techniques. Those would probably help him grow stronger too.

‘Should I give one of these a try?’

As he scrolled through the product info, something snagged his focus.

The Ancient Alchemy Manual—Low-Grade.

[Ancient Alchemy Manual—Low-Grade]

– Price: 350 Crystals

– Description: A manual covering ‘Alchemy—Low-Grade,’ one of the ancient arts. Using alchemy, you can craft, enhance, and imbue objects with special properties.

‘Craft or enhance objects?’

A spark of an idea flashed through Go Byeonggap’s mind.