Chapter 13: The Goblin Cave Trial

‘…Another academy student?’

The girl standing before him, Boryan Baist, wasn’t holding a staff but wore gloves and had protective gear strapped over her arms and legs.

She looked like a melee fighter.

As Sion observed her, he nodded to himself.

‘Well, of course. There must be other departments.’

Sion belonged to the Magic Department at the academy.

Just like universities have multiple departments, the academy housed more than just the Magic Department.

“I’m Sion. Which department are you in?”

“Combat Department! We learn everything about fighting. Later, we can specialize in things like boxing, knighthood, swordsmanship, and more!”

“I see… I’m in the Magic Department. Nice to meet you.”

Both departments followed a similar structure—first-year students learned the basics before choosing a specialization in their second year.

Boryan smiled brightly and extended her hand for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you! Let’s form a party.”

“…A party?”

“Yeah! I just registered as an adventurer too. And judging by your red tie, you’re a first-year, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

“See? It’s fate that we met here. Let’s team up!”

She grinned widely, revealing her teeth.

Meeting another academy student at the adventurer’s guild was serendipity, so teaming up felt like the logical next step to her.

Her tone reminded Sion of a certain someone who always pointed their index finger at others.

‘The idea of a party isn’t bad.’

Though he had come to the guild on impulse, the thought of tackling a quest alone felt a bit daunting.

The illusions Noias had shown during the opening ceremony, depicting magicians meeting gruesome ends at the hands of monsters, lingered in his mind.

A two-person team, combining a magician and a martial artist, was a solid pairing. Besides, Boryan didn’t seem like a bad person.

“All right, let’s team up.”

“Great! Sion, what kind of quest should we take?”

“We can decide that now. Let’s see…”

The two stood side by side, scanning the job board at the adventurer’s guild.

The board was crowded with postings.

Sion quickly skimmed the options but couldn’t help feeling skeptical.

‘Find a lost cat, clean a household chimney, chase rats out of a sewer… Are these really adventurer quests?’

Since they were starting at the lowest rank, F, most tasks didn’t involve combat.

The only reasonable option seemed to be gathering mana herbs in the nearby forest.

Sion carefully took down the quest and showed it to Boryan.

“What do you think about this one? Gathering mana herbs in the forest.”

“Hmm… How about goblin extermination?”

“That’s an E-rank quest. We can’t take it.”

“No, no! The receptionist said F-rank parties could take E-rank quests.”

“…Really?”

It made sense now why Boryan had suggested forming a party.

A party could take on quests one rank higher.

The two grabbed the E-rank goblin extermination quest and presented it to the receptionist.

“Hmm… An E-rank quest. It might be a bit challenging for your first quest.”

“Don’t worry! We’re students from Byzantium Academy! I’m from the Combat Department, and he’s from the Magic Department.”

“Oh, I see…”

The receptionist didn’t look convinced, her expression hinting at concern.

She seemed used to situations like this—watching moths fly into flames.

In contrast, Boryan’s excitement was palpable, her eyes sparkling with anticipation for her first quest.

Realizing there was no point in arguing, the receptionist sighed quietly and stamped the quest form.

“Quest in progress.”

“Let us know when you return. Here’s a map. Be careful out there…”

“We’ll be back before sunset!” Boryan exclaimed.

“Thank you,” Sion added.

With determination, Sion and Boryan left the adventurer’s guild.

Sion carried the map, as quests came with navigation aids.

‘An E-rank quest shouldn’t be too dangerous… right?’

He briefly regretted not testing Boryan’s abilities beforehand but reassured himself.

If things went south, they could always run.

“Sion, which way do we go?”

“Follow me. I’ll guide us.”

“Great! I’m terrible with directions, so maps are useless to me.”

“…I see.”

“Yup! I’ll rely on you, Sion!”

Boryan’s cheerful demeanor as she entrusted him with navigation stirred a slight unease in Sion.

‘Nothing will go wrong… right?’

Before long, they arrived at their destination.

“This is the goblin cave!”

“Shh, keep your voice down. They might hear us.”

“Oh, sorry!”

Following the map, they reached a genuine goblin cave.

According to the quest details, there were no more than thirty goblins inside.

Since it was a growing nest, it had been classified as E-rank.

As the goblin population grew, the cave would expand, and higher-ranking goblin variants might appear.

‘Still, it’s just goblins.’

Goblins were the lowest on the food chain in this fantasy world.

Though occasionally, they were depicted as cunning or even involved in heinous acts, Sion shook such thoughts from his mind.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Boryan asked.

“It’s nothing… You can handle goblins, right?”

“Of course! I’m in the Combat Department!”

Bang!

Boryan punched her fists together, the metal-reinforced gloves making a sharp sound.

‘She’s a student at Byzantium Academy, after all. I should trust her.’

Despite her seemingly carefree nature, Boryan had been accepted into the world’s top academy, which likely meant she possessed significant strength.

“Let’s go! Can you take the lead?”

“Sure! Time to wipe out some goblins!”

Marching forward confidently, Boryan led the way.

Boryan’s Predicament

Boryan confidently marched toward the goblin cave.

Her stride exuded such boldness that Sion, trailing behind her, felt reassured by her presence.

Having a frontline fighter in the lead was undeniably comforting—until…

“Kyahhh!!”

Thunk!

Boryan was suddenly yanked into the air.

What was going on? Magic? No, there was no visible trace of a spell.

Looking closely, Sion noticed something wrapped around her ankle.

It was a crude rope tied into a snare, attached to a branch high up in a tree.

In other words, it was a trap.

“Keeek!”

“Kyahahah!”

“…Damn.”

Boryan’s loud scream had clearly alerted the goblins.

One by one, the small creatures began emerging from the cave.

They were child-sized with bulging bellies, their expressions twisted into malicious grins.

There was nothing cute about them—they looked like predators that had spotted prey.

“S-Sion! Get me down!”

“Can’t you get yourself down?”

“I don’t have a knife! And—ahhh! Don’t look up!”

“Oh, uh… sorry.”

Sion quickly lowered his gaze.

The academy uniform consisted of pants for male students and skirts for female students.

And with Boryan dangling from a tree, her skirt wasn’t exactly in the best position.

Thankfully, she managed to grab her skirt with one hand, preventing anything inappropriate from being seen.

‘Focus, Sion. Focus.’

Sion shook the awkward image out of his mind.

This was a real-life situation—one where injuries, or worse, death, were on the line.

Fwoosh.

Mana surged from his heart, flowing down his right arm.

Incantations weren’t necessary. For Sion, the key to casting magic was clear imagination.

He pictured a flamethrower in his mind and extended his palm toward the approaching goblins.

“Fire…!”

Whoosh!

A burst of flame shot straight out of his hand.

“Keeek!”

“Kr-Kraugh?!”

The fiery jet caused chaos among the goblins.

As Sion waved his palm side to side, the flame followed his movements, forcing the goblins to scatter.

“Kyaaaak!”

Those who couldn’t escape were quickly engulfed in flames, writhing on the ground as their patchwork clothing ignited.

Made from old, oily rags, their garments burned even faster.

‘I can do this!’

His attack worked. But there were still over half the goblins remaining.

Feeling a tingling in his right arm, Sion switched to his left.

This time, he imagined a blade of wind.

“Wind!”

Slash!

A sharp gust sliced through three goblins at once.

Their bodies fell apart before they could even cry out, their torsos separated from their legs.

“Kreeeeek!”

A goblin tried to sneak up behind Sion, swinging a crude wooden club threateningly.

Panicking, Sion instinctively channeled more mana.

“Earth!”

Thunk!

A rock, launched with tremendous speed, struck the goblin square in the forehead before it could land its blow.

The creature crumpled to the ground, its club falling uselessly beside it.

“Hah… hah… hah…”

Sion’s heart pounded in his chest.

His first time using magic in combat. His first time taking lives.

But he had no time to dwell on the gravity of it.

“Water.”

Sssshhh!

A pressurized stream of water shot from his hands.

This wasn’t ordinary water—it was highly compressed, mimicking the cutting power of a water jet capable of slicing through diamonds.

Goblins fell where they stood, their bodies riddled with holes from the intense blast.

Only after the remaining ten goblins lay motionless on the ground did Sion stumble back, leaning against a tree for support.

“…It’s done.”

He stared at his trembling hands.

His palms shook uncontrollably, a mixture of fear and the adrenaline rush from surviving the battle.

Was there guilt for killing humanoid creatures? Discomfort with the bloodshed?

Perhaps, but it was faint. There wasn’t time to entertain such thoughts when his life was on the line.

What mattered was that he had survived. That his magic had proven effective in real combat.

That was what Sion chose to focus on.

“Uh, hey…?”

“???”

“Sion, I hate to bother you, but now that the fight’s over… could you let me down? I, uh… I really need to go.”

“…What?”

“Down! Quickly, please! It’s urgent!”

Blushing furiously, Boryan was still dangling from the tree.

Her legs were pressed tightly together, and she looked visibly distressed.

It suddenly occurred to Sion—there was research suggesting that sudden shocks or sensations of being airborne could trigger a strong urge to urinate.

“Hurry up!”

“…Got it.”

Fortunately, Sion managed to untangle the rope from her ankle in time, sparing Boryan from an embarrassing situation.

…In the process, however, he couldn’t help but notice that her choice of undergarments was unexpectedly mature.

To Be Continued.