Stimulation is needed.

I didn't understand the meaning of those words Sylvain said, but if it's mutually beneficial, it's good for me.

The Roach Knights were indeed high level. They seemed even more skilled than the knights I met at the Tyburn.

The knights at the Tyburn were selected from each knight order to defend the barrier, so even though their cohesion might be low, their individual levels would be outstanding. But the Roach Knights seem like they surpassed even that on an individual level.

'If I can train here, I might be able to overcome my weakness in close combat to some extent.'

It's only a short period of one month, but it's a time I'm incredibly grateful for, as I was content with just doing chores.

Of course, my real goal isn't this.

'Alright then, now I need to plan to cross the barrier without Enfer knowing.'

While returning after taking a bath, I gazed at the barrier visible in the distance.

Even from this distance, the barrier was quite high. Unlike the Tyburn, it was clear that it had been reinforced.

Since they had completely protected themselves from monsters, they would have had the time to make the barrier itself sturdier.

And that sturdiness, conversely, became an obstacle for me to secretly cross.

'If necessary, I could use Menosorpo to fly over, but I'd definitely be caught.'

Ideally, Enfer shouldn't know even after I've gone and come back. But facing the barrier like this, it doesn't seem easy.

Thud, thud.

I decided to head back to my room first. Enfer had prepared a place for me to stay. I thought he might throw me into a stable and tell me to sleep there, but thankfully, it wasn't that bad.

My body was quite exhausted from the unexpected series of training sessions. Let's go in and rest quickly. It's already late at night.

"..."

As I walked towards my accommodation for a while, I stopped in my tracks.

'Was my accommodation this far?'

It wasn't a distance that would take 'a while' to walk, at least.

'...Where is this?'

When I came to my senses, I was already inside a forest.

The knights' barracks and my accommodation were right next to each other. After taking a bath and leaving the barracks, I could see my accommodation.

To get to my accommodation, I should have been walking while looking at it.

But I just walked, thinking only about going to my accommodation.

"Damn it."

I drew my short sword from its sheath.

I don't know what kind of trap I fell into. Whether it's mental magic or a curse, I don't know.

But there's a simpler fact.

"An enemy."

This kind of thing couldn't have been done with good intentions.

As I held my weapon and cautiously surveyed my surroundings, a mixture of strange cries and footsteps could be heard.

Growl-

A short figure emerged from between the trees, exuding hostility. Starting with the leader, similar figures appeared from the surrounding forest, stepping on their own shadows.

The faces reflected in the moonlight, despite being the first time I'd seen them in this world, were strangely familiar.

'Goblins.'

Come to think of it, I've encountered all sorts of creatures since coming here, but goblins were a first.

Originally, if I had stayed in Constel during the main quest 'Raid,' I would have seen these faces until I was sick of them, but I had headed to the tower where Elysia was at that time.

'Goblins using magic to lure me into an empty forest and forming a siege to attack.'

It's absurd.

Among goblins, there are occasionally intelligent ones who become leaders and lead the pack, but they're not at the level of casting mental magic on humans.

"Who instructed you to come here?"

I asked anyone around me. Looking at their attire and weapons, I couldn't tell who the leader was. They all looked similar.

"...And."

My eyes narrowed. My heart sank as my gaze fell upon their armor and weapons reflecting the moonlight.

"Where did you get that?"

They were covered in Obsidian.

Obsidian couldn't become a complete weapon or armor. It was smeared on the goblins' shoddy equipment and bodies as if it had been splashed on. Obsidian clung to the goblins' bodies like leeches. From here, it looked like the goblins were contaminated by black water.

...No, is it not just a simple metaphor?

Growl, Kee, Keekeekkeek-

The goblins let out strange sounds, whether screams or laughter, and slowly approached me. It was dark at night, so I couldn't see their eyes clearly, but somehow, it felt like they weren't acting on their own will.

Thud!

The closest one lunged at me with a club, so,

Slash-

First, I cut off its head.

'I need to avoid the parts stained with Obsidian.'

I know the hardness and durability of Obsidian well. Even when replicating the God's weapon, or when applying tremendous shock to that weapon, Obsidian itself never broke. It's a material that doesn't have much meaning in being broken in the first place.

'Obsidian is just a liquid if left alone. The fact that it's maintained like this, stuck to their bodies and equipment, means there's someone's magical interference.'

Whoever is using it seems to have figured out a way to use Obsidian.

Clang! Clang! Crack!

I dodged and blocked the sword strikes coming from all directions, swinging my sword at each one. Of course, I couldn't dodge or block them all.

Many of the goblins' weapons themselves were crude, so there were some I could take and endure. Of course, I had to be careful of the ones stained with Obsidian.

'First, I shouldn't use Weaving.'

They lured me to a deserted place and made the goblins attack. It's clear that they're targeting me specifically among so many people.

I don't know how much they know about me or what grudge they have against me.

They're intentionally showing me Obsidian and testing my skills with these clumsy goblins. In other words, they're looking down on me. I don't want to play along with that, so.

'They believe they're observing me one-sidedly.'

I'll do some testing myself.

I dodged the sword of a goblin swinging wildly and grabbed the back of its neck. I circled behind it and stabbed its side with my sword. It wouldn't die immediately, but this should incapacitate it. Normally.

Keeek! Kieeeek!!

However, the goblin screamed but continued to flail its limbs, trying to kill me. Its scream sounded like a roar of rage at not being able to kill me.

Moving its body so violently would cause a lot of bleeding and pain, but it didn't seem to care.

Stab! Stab!

This time, I plunged my blade into its eyes, one after the other. While doing so, I observed the other goblins.

Usually, when witnessing a gruesome murder right before their eyes, most creatures would be frightened. Goblins are no exception.

However, these ones didn't seem to care whether their kin died or not. They still showed hostility towards me, swinging their weapons with all their might.

'It's certain, they're completely enthralled.'

Whoever the culprit is, they seem to be quite skilled at interfering with others' minds.

I cut off the head of the goblin I was holding and tossed it aside. With the corpse blocking my path, I walked towards another goblin.

The culprit must be watching what I'm doing from somewhere.

But I still have a lot of things to test here.

And above all, they shouldn't have dragged me into the forest.

Caw-

For me, the forest is a place with more watchful eyes and ears than anywhere else.