The training field had grown awkwardly quiet.
"So you just go… Ugha! And then—Uhhgg!"
Gobta demonstrated with dramatic arm movements.
In front of him, rows of goblins stood stiffly beside their wolf partners.
Blink.
Blink.
Skeptical silence.
It was his fifth attempt at explaining wolf summoning.
Ever since Rimuru had entrusted him with the task, Gobta had been determined to give it everything he had. The problem was…
He had no idea how to explain something he did purely on instinct.
"U guys don't get it… do you?" Gobta asked carefully.
The goblins nodded in perfect unison.
"…Huh."
He sighed.
Teaching was hard.
He was just about to start for the sixth time when—
Squish.
Something soft and familiar landed on his head.
Gobta wobbled, nearly losing balance before steadying himself.
He didn't even need to look.
"Hey, Rimuru-sama! Don't do that! I almost fell!" he protested.
"Hahaha, Gobta, you should've been more careful," laughed Rimuru, wobbling slightly in amusement.
Rimuru had been watching the entire "lesson." He couldn't say he was surprised—but he definitely enjoyed the show. Explaining skills wasn't easy. Even he would struggle without Great Sage's assistance.
"It seems teaching isn't really your thing," Rimuru said lightly, hopping down from Gobta's head.
Gobta shrugged and let out another dramatic sigh.
"Hey, hey. Don't sigh like an eighty-year-old man," Rimuru replied. "I've got something interesting for you."
Gobta's ears perked up instantly.
Rimuru's spherical body wobbled slightly.
Then—
From within him, a long object slid outward.
Gobta caught it with both hands.
He blinked.
It was a kodachi. The weapon was slightly shorter than a standard katana—perfect for Gobta's build.
It was—not too light nor too heavy.
The hilt was wrapped in black cord, tightly braided for grip. The guard was minimal, a simple circular tsuba of darkened steel. The scabbard matched—lacquered in matte black.
When Gobta slowly unsheathed it—
The blade shimmered.
A clean, silver edge ran along a gently curved body. The polish was so fine it reflected light like water. A faint wave pattern danced across the metal, evidence of expert forging. danced across the sharpened edge.
Rimuru spoke casually. "I asked Kaijin to make it for you. Figured I owed you after that incident in Dwargon."
Gobta stared.
"For… me?"
"Yeah. Kaijin san said it was a unique grade weapon"
Though Gobta didn't understand what unique grade was he was just happy to receive a gift. A wide grin slowly spread across his face.
He adjusted his stance awkwardly and walked toward a nearby tree.
Gobta raised the blade with both hands. His grip wasn't perfect. His posture was amateurish at best.
He swung.
With all the force he could muster.
The strike wasn't elegant.
It wasn't refined.
But—
The blade sliced cleanly through the trunk.
The tree shuddered—
Then slowly split, collapsing with a heavy crash.
Silence.
Gobta stared at the fallen tree.
Then at the sword.
Then back at the tree.
"Holy..."
Gobta's grin returned, wider than ever.
The goblins that were watching gasped in admiration.
Rimuru had honestly underestimated the weapon.
Even knowing Kaijin's skill, he hadn't expected that level of sharpness. The tree hadn't even slowed the blade down.
"…He seriously overdid it," muttered Rimuru.
For a brief moment, Rimuru considered taking the sword back.
If Gobta swings that carelessly, he might lop off his own arm…
Then he looked at Gobta—eyes sparkling, in excitement—and sighed internally.
Well… I do have plenty of healing potions.
"Be careful with that. Don't just swing it around randomly, okay?" Rimuru said with a wry smile.
"Yes, Lord Rimuru!" Gobta nodded vigorously, clutching the kodachi like a treasure.
"Good. Now, why don't you take over patrol duty with a squad? Let Rigur handle the teaching. It looks like he finally learned the summoning technique."
With the village expanding and new goblins arriving, manpower was tight. Letting Gobta struggle through lessons all day wasn't efficient.
"Ah! Thank you, Lord Rimuru! I'll start right away!"
"Yeah, yeah. Just take a squad with you."
Rimuru waved a slimy limb and bounced off toward the construction site.
---
Since most of the goblins were busy learning shadow summoning, Gobta only gathered two companions who had nearly mastered the technique.
One was his close friend Gobzo.
The other was Gob'emon—another childhood friend. Slim and sharp-featured, Gob'emon carried himself with a straight back and intense eyes. Unlike Gobta's easygoing nature, Gob'emon was headstrong, prideful, and ambitious.
A little overconfident, maybe.
But Gobta didn't mind.
Their patrol duty was straightforward: circle the outer perimeter of the village and watch for monsters. With more goblins venturing out to gather lumber and materials, someone needed to keep the area safe.
They weren't expected to defeat powerful monsters alone. If anything serious appeared, they were to alert the others and regroup. Even as hobgoblins, teamwork—and numbers—were their strength.
Normally, their partner wolves would accompany them. But the Tempest Wolves under Ranga were currently escorting Kaijin around the sealed cave area, helping secure living space for the newcomer goblins.
.....
Gob'emon scanned the forest edge, arms crossed.
"We should split up. With only three people, we can't cover enough ground otherwise."
Gobzo hesitated.
Gobta scratched his cheek.
Splitting up made sense.
But…
The forest had been restless lately. Ever since the Storm dragon Velodra dissapared, monsters had been moving unpredictably.
"…Let's not go too far apart," Gobta decided after a moment. "We'll spread out—but stay within Thought Communication distance."
Thought Communication was a common support skill among Tempest's forces. It was a higher-order evolution of telepathy.
Unlike basic telepathy—which usually worked between two individuals—Thought Communication allowed multiple users to connect simultaneously, forming a shared mental channel.
Within roughly a half-mile radius, they could send their thoughts telepathicly.
Gob'emon nodded slowly. That was reasonable.
---
Not far from the Goblin Village, deeper within the Jura Forest, four figures sprinted desperately through the underbrush.
Behind them—
A horde of giant ants thundered forward, mandibles snapping, armored bodies crashing through trees like living battering rams.
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, KABAL!" Gido shouted between breaths. "Why did you poke the giant ant nest?!"
"Be quiet! I'm the leader, okay?!" Kabal barked back, not slowing down.
"So careless—even though you're the leader!"
"IF I DIE, I'LL TURN INTO A DEMON AND HAUNT YOU BY YOUR PILLOW!" Eren shrieked.
"HAHA! YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO! I'M ABOUT TO DIE WITH YOU!"
"I'll stop them."
The calm voice cut through the chaos.
Shizue halted and turned to face the incoming swarm.
"Shizu-san?! Oi! Don't do it!" Gido yelled, even as he continued retreating.
Though she appeared youthful beneath her mask, Shizu was no ordinary adventurer. Known as the "Conqueror of Flames," she was an A+ ranked adventurer, a summoned Otherworlder, and the vessel of the fire spirit Ifrit.
If not for her aging body—and her constant effort to suppress the volatile spirit within her—she could have erased the swarm effortlessly.
But holding back Ifrit was a battle of its own.
"No need to worry," she said quietly. "If it's only to give you a chance to escape, the current me can still manage."
She unsheathed her sword.
The crimson hilt gleamed.
Then—
Flames erupted.
Not ordinary fire.
Not wild, uncontrolled destruction.
A blazing inferno spiraled upward, wrapping around her like a royal mantle. The ground cracked under the heat. Air distorted. The forest canopy above shriveled at the edges.
As if answering her will.
Even hundreds of meters away, the adventurer trio felt their skin sting from the radiant heat.
The giant ants rushed in—
And vanished.
Reduced to ash in a single breath.
Their massive bodies disintegrated without resistance, consumed by overwhelming flame.
When the inferno finally subsided, Shizu stood alone at the center of scorched earth.
Unharmed.
…At least on the surface.
Behind her mask, she coughed softly.
A mouthful of blood stained the inside.
Using Ifrit's power always came at a cost.
Good. I made it in time… she thought, breathing heavily.
She turned to rejoin the others—
"SHIZU-SAN! THERE'S STILL ONE LEFT!"
Eren's scream rang out.
Shizu's eyes widened.
From the smoke—
A massive giant ant burst forward, its body scorched but intact. It had endured at the edge of the blast radius.
It was already upon her.
Too close.
If she used Ifrit again, Ifrit might seize control.
And if that happened—
The very people she protected would become fuel.
"Too close!" she muttere, bracing herself.
Then—
Something moved from her shadow.
A green-skinned figure with spiky purple hair leapt upward.
"HYAAAH!"
The slash was clumsy. Completely amateur.
But the kodachi in his hand was anything but.
The blade carved cleanly through one of the ant's legs.
The limb dropped.
The ant shrieked in fury.
"Ow! Ow! Hot! Hot hot hot!" the goblin yelped.
The ground was still blazing from Shizu's flames. Unlike the ants' thick chitin, his bare feet had no protection.
He hopped wildly in pain—and promptly dropped his sword when the overheated hilt burned his palm.
The furious ant lunged.
He dodged purely by luck, rolling awkwardly across the scorched dirt.
Realizing he couldn't win head-on, the goblin made a split-second decision.
He jumped toward Shizu.
She tensed—
But when their eyes met, she understood instantly.
There was no malice there.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and tackled her backward.
Instead of hitting solid ground—They sank straight into her shadow.
For a brief moment, the world turned black and cool.
Then—
They popped out from another patch of shade nearly fifty meters away, beneath the broad canopy of a tree untouched by flames.
Shizu's gaze softened as she looked down at the small green figure still clinging to her waist, wincing from the heat that still lingered in the scorched earth beneath him.
Though the goblin's injuries were minor—just a few small burns—she felt a swell of gratitude. Even if the ant's attack wouldn't have been fatal, Shizu knew how dangerous it could have been if she had relied on Ifrit again; the risk of losing control to the fire spirit was far too great.
Her mask had already slipped from her face in the chaos, and as the goblin's eyes met hers, a warm, genuine smile spread across her face.
"Thank you for saving me, Goblin-san," she said softly, her voice carrying both gratitude and respect.