The Hobgoblin charged.
It was three hundred kilograms of muscle, rage, and bad dental hygiene moving at the speed of a truck. The ground shook with every step.
"Master! Get back!"
Runa threw herself in front of me. She was brave. She was loyal.
She was also twenty kilograms lighter than the club swinging toward her head.
CRACK.
She blocked it with her sword, but the impact sent her flying. She slammed into the cavern wall, sliding down into a heap of groaning limbs.
"Runa!"
(She's dead. Oh god, she's dead, and I'm next. I need to run. Move, legs! Move!)
I tried to turn around. My brain screamed at my muscles to flee, to dive, to do anything.
But my body didn't listen.
The fear was so primal, so absolute, that it locked my joints in place. I stood there, frozen like a statue, my hands still in my pockets because I was too terrified to even take them out.
The Hobgoblin roared, raising its club for the finishing blow on me. Spittle flew from its mouth, landing inches from my shoes.
The stream chat was flying so fast it was a blur. user_slayer69: GG. It was a nice stream.simp_lord: DON'T JUST STAND THERE! RUN!
I looked at the monster. I looked at the club.
I looked at the System window hovering in my peripheral vision.
[Current Desire Points: 150.] [Shop Recommendation: 'Aura of the Sovereign' (One-Time Use).] [Cost: 150 DP.] [Effect: Projects the user's Killing Intent as a solid hallucination.]
(Buy it! Buy it now!)
[Item Purchased.] [Activating...]
The Hobgoblin took a step forward. The club began its descent.
I couldn't dodge. I couldn't block.
So I did the only thing a paralyzed, terrified man could do.
I lifted my right index finger.
And I brought it to my lips.
"Shhh."
(Please stop. Please don't squash me. I'm begging you.)
ZOOM.
The air in the cavern suddenly turned heavy. It wasn't mana. It was pressure.
To me, I was just a shaking guy saying "shush."
To the Hobgoblin, something very different happened.
The System took my 150 Desire Points and burned them all in a single millisecond to fabricate a reality where I was the scariest thing in the multiverse.
The shadow behind me exploded outwards. It didn't look like a shadow anymore. It twisted and writhed, forming the silhouette of a thousand-meter tall Dragon God with eyes of burning crimson.
The Hobgoblin froze mid-swing.
Its eyes bulged. It looked at me—at the tiny, fragile human—and saw death incarnate.
It saw a being so powerful that its mere existence was an insult to the laws of physics.
"You are loud," I whispered, my voice trembling.
(I'm crying. I'm actually crying inside.)
The System amplified the tremble. It didn't sound like fear. It sounded like the low rumble of a volcano about to erupt.
The Hobgoblin dropped its club.
It clutched its chest. Its green skin turned a sickly shade of grey.
Its heart, pumping adrenaline at maximum capacity to fuel its rage, suddenly slammed into a wall of absolute terror.
Thump-thump... CRACK.
The monster let out a wet gurgle.
It fell to its knees. Then, face first into the dirt.
Dead.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the water dripping from the stalactites seemed to pause.
(Did... did it trip? Did I win?)
I stood there, finger still raised to my lips. My heart was beating so fast I thought I was the one having cardiac arrest.
Runa groaned, pulling herself out of the rubble. She looked up.
She saw the massive Boss monster lying dead at my feet. She saw me standing over it, unmoving, with one finger raised.
"Master..." she rasped, her eyes wide as saucers. "You... you didn't even touch it."
I slowly lowered my hand. I tried to exhale, but I had to make sure it didn't sound like a sigh of relief.
"I told you," I said, my voice hollow and distant. "It was too loud."
(My legs are jelly. If I try to walk, I will fall. I have to stand here until the blood returns to my feet.)
I looked at the camera.
The view count had frozen. Then it jumped.
1,000. 5,000. 10,000.
The chat wasn't moving fast anymore. It was a solid wall of text.
user_slayer69: ...WTF?simp_lord: Did you see the air pressure?! The monster had a heart attack just from his aura!HunterFan99: HE ONE-SHOT A BOSS WITH A SHUSH.IronBloodLeader: Hax. Report him for hacking.
[System Alert.] [Achievement Unlocked: 'Viral Sensation'.] [Reward: +5,000 DP.] [Passive Income: +10 DP/minute from Global Fame.]
Five thousand points.
I felt the energy rush into me. It was intoxicating. The pain in my chest vanished completely. My vision sharpened.
I felt... good.
I walked over to the corpse. I kicked it lightly with my shoe.
"Disappointing," I muttered. "I expected it to last at least two seconds."
(Thank you for dying. Thank you so much. I love you, Mr. Hobgoblin.)
Runa limped over to me. She looked at the corpse, then at me. Tears streamed down her dusty face.
"I am unworthy!" she wailed, dropping to her knees again. "I struggled against minions, while you extinguished a King with a whisper! I have so much to learn!"
I patted her head. It was becoming a habit.
"You survived," I said. "That is the first lesson. Survival is the only truth."
(Also, please carry the loot. I'm exhausted.)
"Renji Amagiri," I said to the camera, zooming in on my face. I gave a lazy wink. "Remember the name. Because I'm the only one who can save you from your own mediocrity."
I ended the stream.
The moment the red light went off, I slumped against the dead Hobgoblin.
"Master?" Runa asked, concerned.
"Meditation," I lied quickly, closing my eyes. "I used... 0.01% of my power. I need to recalibrate my seals so I don't accidentally blow up the moon on the way home."
"Understood!" Runa whispered reverently. "I will guard your trance!"
I sat there in the damp dungeon, smelling of goblin sweat and ozone, listening to the "ping" of System notifications filling my bank account.
I had done it.
I was viral.
But as I looked at the dark tunnel leading back to the surface, a chill ran down my spine.
Fame was a double-edged sword.
And somewhere in Tokyo, a Detective with a lie-detection skill was probably watching that replay in slow motion.
(Oh no. The police.)