Kabal leaned against the wooden post near the edge of the clearing, arms crossed, his gaze locked on the rhythmic clack of wooden swords that had drawn him here minutes ago. He'd wandered over after hearing the noise, skewer of meat still in hand, only to find Elen and Gido already there. Elen cradled Rimuru like a stuffed toy, while Gido stood in his usual quiet slouch, eyes tracking every move.
*Crack!* Gobta exploded forward in a low lunge, his wooden blade whipping through the air with a snap that cut the tension like a whip. The tip carved a sharp, vicious arc toward Shizu's midsection, forcing her to twist her hips at the absolute last instant—the strike whistling past by a hair's breadth. In one fluid motion, she flicked her own sword in a precise downward tap toward his exposed shoulder. Gobta's body jerked sideways, feet skidding in the dirt as he barely evaded, the near-miss sending a jolt through him. He pivoted on his heel without missing a beat, spinning back in with his blade flashing up in a crooked, instinctive counter that grazed so close it forced Shizu to shift her full weight to her back foot, her balance teetering for a split second.
Kabal chewed slowly, eyes narrowing as his pulse quickened at the intensity. "…Okay, hold up. When did Gobta start moving like that?"
Elen tilted her head, bouncing Rimuru lightly, her voice laced with awe. "Right? It was just a week ago he was tripping over his own feet."
Another swing—Gobta roared forward, shoulders coiled like a spring, his blade sweeping in a wide, powerful overhead arc that hummed with raw force. Shizu met it head-on with a rising parry; wood slammed into wood with a sharp *thwack* that reverberated through the clearing, vibrations jolting up both arms and making the air hum. She followed through instantly, snapping the flat of her sword toward the back of his head with controlled but unrelenting force. Gobta's head snapped to the side just in time, purple hair flopping wildly as the blade grazed his ear; he hopped back two steps, rubbing the stinging spot with one hand while grimacing, a bead of sweat flying off his brow. But he shook it off, planting his feet again, stance wobbling but his eyes burning with unyielding determination, the crowd holding their breath.
Rimuru jiggled in Elen's arms, thinking: 'Huh. He's sticking with it longer than usual. Usually he'd be fake-crying and calling it quits by now.'
Rimuru was surprised by Gobta's growth. He had been watching their sparring sessions every day. At first he was a little surprised, but he then accepted it as Gobta being a genius of some sort.
Mentally, he pinged: 'Hey, Great Sage—analyze that last exchange. What's Gobta doing differently?'
<
'Oh, he is pretty good.'
Elen giggled, though her voice carried a hint of nervous excitement. "He's stubborn as hell. Keeps getting up every time she knocks him down. Kinda cute, honestly."
*Crack-crack!* Shizu's blade blurred in a tight horizontal line, a streak of controlled fury; Gobta tried to parry but overcommitted—his wrist twisted awkwardly under the mounting force, the clash sending sparks of pain up his arm. With a flick of her forearm, she struck the flat toward his knuckles mid-swing, aiming to disarm him in one swift motion. Gobta jerked his hand back at the last possible second, his wooden sword nearly spinning out of his grip in a lazy arc, teetering on the edge of escape—but he clamped down hard, holding on by sheer will. He countered with a quick, desperate slash that forced her to pivot away, the blade whispering past her side and heightening the electric tension in the air.
Shizu tossed a feint his way, testing him, but he read it like a predator sensing weakness and pressed forward calmly, the practice blade spinning once in the air before he adjusted his stance with both hands. "Pick it up."
"She's ruthless," said Elen with a shiver, feeling pity for the goblin, her grip tightening on Rimuru as the fight edged closer to a breaking point.
Kabal scratched his neck, his own breath catching. "Honestly? I don't even know if I could keep up with him right now. That's messed up."
Gido nodded once. "Yeah."
"Man... the guild master would lose his mind if he saw this."
"Probably," Elen said.
Kabal tossed the empty skewer aside.
"...Let's not tell him."
Elen laughed, but it was a tense release, the air thick with anticipation.
---
It had been a full week since Shizu began training Gobta.
For her, it was never a burden. Over the long years of her life she had guided many students, some of whom had later etched their names into history itself. Staying a few extra days in the goblin village gave her the perfect excuse to let her body recover from the punishing journey that had brought her here. The quiet rhythm of morning spars, simple meals, and the scent of pine on the wind was exactly the rest she needed.
She felt no disdain toward Gobta for being a goblin. If anything, she felt a quiet kinship. She herself was a Majin now — her body forever altered after becoming host to the spirit of flame. Abandoned by the demon lord who had summoned her, she had once feared stepping into human society, certain she would be reviled. Only the hero's intervention had spared her from disappearing without a trace. Because of that scar on her own heart, she looked at the small purple-haired goblin without bias or pity. He was simply a student, no different from any other.
And so she held nothing back.
At first, her expectations had been low. Gobta knew none of the fundamentals. His stance was wide and unbalanced, his swings wild and telegraphed. He struggled even to remember the most basic corrections. But midway through their sessions she made a quiet discovery: the fastest way for him to grow was not slow repetition — it was real combat.
The first time they sparred, he had been painfully clumsy, barely landing a single strike while she dismantled him with calm precision.
The second time, though he still couldn't touch her, he dodged several of her attacks. Shizu had been quietly stunned — she had not been holding back at all.
By the third, he was dodging more than he was being hit.
By the fourth, he began blocking some of her blows with his wooden sword, though the difference in raw strength still left him reeling.
Then the fifth.
The sixth.
The seventh…
She had stopped counting long ago.
Now, on this bright morning, sunlight filtered through the canopy as they faced each other once more.
Shizu stood relaxed, wooden blade held low in a loose guard. Across from her, Gobta bounced lightly on the balls of his bare feet, purple hair already sticking to his forehead with sweat. His small chest rose and fell quickly, but his round eyes were sharp, focused in a way that still surprised her.
"Begin," she said softly.
Gobta burst forward without hesitation.
His first strike was a low, explosive lunge — crude but lightning-quick. The wooden kodachi sliced upward in a tight diagonal that aimed for her ribs. Shizu parried with a crisp flick; wood met wood with a sharp 'crack' that echoed through the trees. Before she could counter, Gobta twisted his hips on pure instinct and flowed into a second cut from below, the motion born entirely from the feel of her parry rather than any formal stance.
She blocked it, but the force made her take a half-step back.
'He's trying to read me…'
Gobta didn't give her time to reset. He pressed in close — exactly as she had taught him a kodachi should be used — launching short, economical slashes. When she feinted high and struck low, he didn't dodge with perfect form; he simply *felt* the shift in her shoulders and jerked his body sideways at the last instant, her blade slicing through empty air with a soft 'whoosh'.
Sweat flew from his brow as he countered immediately, an improvised upward slash that came from nowhere. The tip of his sword passed within inches of her mask.
Shizu's eyes widened behind it.
'That wasn't something I taught him.'
She answered with a rapid three-strike combination — high, low, middle. Gobta blocked the first two with frantic but effective parries, the wooden blades clacking sharply. The third caught his shoulder with a solid 'thwack'. He staggered, teeth clenched, pain flashing across his face — but instead of retreating he used the momentum to spin completely around, swinging in a wide, unexpected circle that grazed her side.
Shizu actually had to pivot on her heel to avoid a clean hit.
For a heartbeat the clearing was silent except for their heavy breathing and the rustle of leaves overhead.
Gobta grinned through the pain, chest heaving, eyes bright with exhausted delight. "Heh… almost got you that time, Shizu-san."
Shizu lowered her sword a fraction. Beneath her mask, a rare, genuine smile softened her expression — small, but warm.
"Yes," she murmured, voice quiet with honest surprise and something almost like pride. "You almost did."
She looked at the small, sweaty goblin standing before her — bruised, breathing hard — and for a moment she saw not just a student, but something extraordinary.
In her mind, she couldn't help the quiet comparison.
'Hinata! I hope you are well' Shizu thought in melancholy.
....
"Huff huff... let's take a break, Shizu-san," Gobta panted, dropping his wooden kodachi and slumping onto the grass. He looked up at Shizu, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
Shizu didn't move.
"Are you alright, Shizu-san?" Gobta's voice shifted from exhaustion to genuine worry as she remained frozen in her spot.
Then, suddenly, she slumped to the floor, unconscious. Gobta scrambled to his feet and rushed to her side, trying to hold her up with his small arms. Rimuru and the adventurers—Eren, Kabal, and Gido—bolted forward, their faces etched with alarm.
When…
"Nhh… Nraaaaahhhhhh!!"
Once Shizu's extended groan ended, there was absolute silence.
Cracks spiderwebbed over her mask, mystical force wafting out from beneath like ethereal smoke. All of them could tell—something terribly wrong was happening.
"Summoning magic?!" Eren shouted in surprise.
"Whoa, for real? Where'd that come from? What rank is it?" asked Kabal, his voice tense.
"…Judging by the size of the magic circle, I'd say B-plus or higher," Gido replied calmly but with a hint of tension.
"We can't just stand here. We have to stop it," Kabal said firmly.
A few words exchanged, and they immediately leaped into action as veteran adventurers.
"Great Earth, place thy bonds over her! Mud Hand!" Eren chanted, summoning muddy tendrils from the ground to wrap around Shizu and restrain her.
"Urrrrrraaahhh! Knockdown!!" Kabal bellowed, charging forward and slamming into her with a full-body tackle.
Gido played backup, his stance low and ready, daggers drawn to act the moment trouble appeared. For B-ranks, their teamwork was top-notch—not a single wasted movement.
But all Shizu had to do was lift the tip of her index finger a bit, and that was enough to trigger a small explosion around her.
Gobta was blown away by the sudden shockwave. His shock escalated to panic as he screamed, "No—flames everywhere!" while finding himself surrounded by flames. But soon he discovered the flames weren't burning him—it was because he had already acquired the [Heat Resistance] skill when he first met Shizu, though he hadn't noticed it yet.
Kabal, who had landed the Knockdown on Shizu after Eren bound her, had sadly taken the full brunt of the explosion with his body. It sent him flying. Gido was fine, however, and he'd sensed danger early enough that he'd pushed Eren aside to safety as well.
"You all right?"
"Yeah, we're good."
"I'm aching all over," Eren protested. "This better count as hazard pay."
Kabal, for his part, was already on his feet. "Owww… Could you check on your leader a bit?" He must've been made of some sturdy stuff.
"I knew Shizu was a magic user, but summoning, too…?"
"What'd she summon, anyway?"
"No, no," Gido cut in, "that ain't even the half of it. As far as I know, you can't launch magic without a chant during a summoning—"
Before he could finish, he stopped, looking at Shizu as if he couldn't believe his eyes. He had just hit upon an idea.
"Wait… No way… The Conqueror of Flames?"
Shizu was still casting a spell. Her entire body was glowing bright red, hovering in the air a little. Her mask remained prominent on her face as her long black hair spilled out of her robe. What's she trying to do? She seemed strange to Gobta a moment before all this happened…
"Rigurd, get everyone out of town! Don't let anyone near here!" Rimuru shouted.
"But…"
"That's an order! Once they're evacuated, get Ranga here for me!"
"Yes, Sir Rimuru!"
The goblin king sped off.
"Yo, Gido! What's that Conqueror of Flames thing?" Kabal asked.
"Wasn't that a hero or something?" Eren chimed in first. "I think she was active around fifty or so years ago?"
Shizu's mask fell off her face.
Flames shot upward.
Up in the sky, three flame salamanders appeared. It was a hell of a way for Shizu to reveal her face to them. Her black hair fanned outward with the shock wave, shining brilliantly against the inferno. She had a fleeting, transient beauty to her—but her eyes emitted a wicked shine, and the edges of her lips were twisted upward in what seemed to be an expression of utter joy at the carnage she had seen.
Something about it struck Gobta as completely unnatural, in a way he couldn't describe very well. Then…
*Launching unique skill "Deviant."*
The voice of the world echoed around them. As it did, the beautiful young woman transformed into a giant of pure fire.
"No mistakin' it," Gido shouted. "That's the Conqueror of Flames, the master of Ifrit the giant… The strongest elementalist in the world!"
Ifrit, the fire giant. The lord of fire, capable of burning anything in his path. A level above any royalty, mortal or divine.
"Ifrit? Isn't that spirit above A rank?" Kabal said, his voice rising.
"That's my first time seeing it," Eren said. "But…how could we ever beat that?!"
"Yeah, we can't," retorted Gido. "We're all gonna die here… Sure was a short life, I guess."
With his three flame salamanders by his side, the Conqueror of Flames surveyed his domain. No wonder the three of them were in such a panic. Even a single salamander looked incredibly strong.
'But… What was the deal with Shizu-san?' To Gobta, it didn't seem as if she was controlling all this—more like Ifrit was controlling Shizu.
There was a shock wave as Shizu—or Ifrit—unleashed a torrent of magic force.
It wasn't aimed at anyone, not meant to kill—just a little show of violence, although there was nothing little about it.
Though Gobta didn't fully understand what was happening, he believed it wasn't Shizu who was doing it. The one week he spent with her made him realize that about her—she would never attack her allies.
Whether that theory was right or not didn't matter right now. The problem was the force behind those attacks. It was beyond lethal. Pale red shock waves rolled across the landscape, hot enough to instantly burn all the buildings they had under construction.
Though Gobta was unharmed by the sneering flames, he was still feeling a little discomfort, and even if the flames didn't harm him, his light body could get easily blown away. He had to protect the loudmouth adventurers whom he'd taken quite a liking to.
The three adventurers tried using a Magic Barrier to block the attack, but it didn't even last a single shock wave. Just as Kabal and Gido tried to shield Eren from the attack, a hand came out of Eren's shadow that grabbed her ankle and dragged her into the shadow in an instant.
Then Gobta appeared, carrying Eren in a princess-carry style, a few hundred meters away.
A slight blush appeared on Eren's face as she thanked him. But the brief moment didn't last as her other two companions were blown away by the attack. Gobta simply didn't have enough time to get them to safety.
Gobta and Eren hurried toward the two. They weren't dead, but they weren't doing too well, either—conscious, but immobile by now.
"Guys, don't move!" Rimuru yelled at them. "You'll wind up getting targeted!"
But Ifrit and his salamanders were already closing in on them.
Just as Gobta was about to take Eren with Shadow Motion again...
"Icicle Lance!!"
Eren's ice magic stabbed its way through one of the salamanders, shattering its fiery form in a burst of steam and embers. The creature let out a final hiss before dissipating, leaving only two salamanders remaining.
"You all right?!" Gobta asked Eren.
"I can do this," Eren said. "Risking our lives is nothing new to us."
"Oh, come on," Kabal groaned, pushing himself up despite his injuries, "I thought I was the leader. Well, so be it. I'll take one of 'em down."
"Yeah?" Gido retorted, staggering to his feet and readying his daggers. "I ain't heard of a bandit fightin' an elemental spirit before. Guess we're all in this together, huh?"
"All right," Rimuru said. "You guys take the salamanders. But don't push it. If you get hurt, use these." Rimuru spat a few bottles of healing potion toward them, the vials rolling across the scorched ground.
The adventurers quickly snatched up the potions, downing sips to mend their wounds as the battle ignited in a frenzy of fire and fury. The two remaining flame salamanders—hulking beasts of writhing flames, each towering like a blazing tree—descended with earth-shaking roars, their heat warping the air into shimmering waves. Eren, the attack mage of the group, hung back to unleash her offensive spells, while Kabal and Gido, the tank types, positioned themselves as the frontline shields, drawing aggro with taunts and barriers to protect her and buy time for precise strikes.
Kabal, built like a wall of muscle, charged the nearest salamander with a defiant yell. "Aura Shield!" A glowing barrier of energy enveloped him as he slammed his shoulder into the beast. But the impact passed right through its fiery form, doing nothing but scattering embers harmlessly. The salamander retaliated with a lash of its tail, sending Kabal skidding back, his shield flickering. "What? That didn't even faze it!"
Gido flanked the other, his daggers slashing in quick strikes. The blades phased through the flames without resistance, leaving no mark. "Physical attacks aren't working!" he called out, dodging a gout of fire breath that singed his cloak. He erected a "Shadow Wall!" to block the next assault, but the barrier cracked under the heat, forcing him to retreat.
Eren nodded grimly, her staff glowing. "Frost Barrage!" A storm of razor-sharp ice shards pelted the salamanders, cooling their flames and eliciting pained hisses. The beasts recoiled, their forms flickering—the magic was effective, but they regenerated quickly. "I need openings—these things are resilient!"
Gobta, heart racing, gripped his kodachi and activated Shadow Motion, vanishing into the shadows to strike at one salamander's core. His blade swung true, but it sliced through empty flames, emerging unscathed on the other side. The salamander didn't even flinch. 'Physical attacks don't work,' Gobta realized, frustration mounting. He couldn't damage them directly. But Eren's spells could. 'Then I'll protect her—buy her time to attack.'
Shifting tactics, Gobta darted to Eren's side. A fireball hurtled toward her; he parried it with a swift kodachi swing, deflecting the projectile into the ground where it exploded harmlessly. But a wide-area flame wave followed, sweeping through the clearing. Gobta shielded Eren as best he could, the heat pressing in despite his resistance, while Kabal and Gido, already battered from their failed charges, took the brunt—grunting in pain as they were knocked back again, their attempts to tank leaving them in rough shape after just a few exchanges.
Kabal coughed, clutching his side. "Can't... keep this up. Those things are like hitting smoke."
Gido nodded weakly, barriers spent. "We need a new plan."
Gobta acted fast. Without warning, he scooped Eren off her feet in a princess carry. She yelped in surprise, "Hey, what are you—?" But before she could complain, Gobta sank into the shadows with Shadow Motion, reappearing on a nearby ridge, away from the immediate danger. "Eren-san, use Icicle Lance! I'll get you in position—hit them from here!"
Eren blinked, then understood, a determined look crossing her face. "Got it. Let's do this." She cooperated as Gobta shadow-stepped them around the battlefield, positioning her for clear shots while parrying incoming fireballs and dodging wide blasts. Each relocation gave her the angle she needed: "Icicle Lance!" Another spear of ice impaled a salamander, freezing and shattering it in a cascade of steam.
Rimuru, locked in his own clash with Ifrit—dodging flames and countering with water blades—was impressed by Gobta's quick thinking. 'Smart move.' A flicker of jealousy stirred—but Rimuru shoved it down. He'd never admit it.
The last salamander, enraged, targeted t
hem directly. Gobta shadow-teleported again, blocking a flame whip with his kodachi. The force knocked him back, but he held firm. Eren seized the moment: "Glacial Storm!" A whirlwind of frost enveloped the beast, slowing it. With one final "Icicle Lance!" from a repositioned vantage, she pierced its core, shattering it into harmless embers. "That's all of them!"
....
..
With the help of Gobta, Eren was able to take down all three of the salamanders while Rimuru held off Ifrit.
After the salamanders died, the enraged Ifrit created 12 clones to surround them. However, with Gobta's Shadow Motion, he and Eren were easily able to avoid getting caught, flickering in and out of the shadows like ghosts in the inferno.
Eren tried to use Icicle Lance again, but those weren't effective against the flame giant—the ice spears evaporated harmlessly against its searing aura.
Seeing he couldn't catch up to Eren and Gobta, Ifrit's clones shifted their focus to Kabal and Gido, who were still recuperating from their previous injuries.
"Dammit… Ranga, protect these guys. Get them somewhere safe!" Rimuru shouted, sensing the shift.
"But…"
The order gave him pause for a moment, but he fell silent, perhaps sensing the mystical force Rimuru was letting off. His wild instincts told him that no back talk would be permitted, no doubt.
"This is an order! Do it! They've got recovery potions on them, so get them to a safe place and heal them."
"As you say. May you fight well!"
"Don't worry. Ifrit's all mine!" Rimuru said.
Seeing that, Gobta also decided to retreat. There was no way he could take down Ifrit, though he had a guess that his kodachi might be able to harm it since it was possessing Shizu-san's physical body. But Gobta had no
intention of trying that out—he didn't want to hurt Shizu in any way.
Trusting Rimuru with the job, who seemed pretty confident, Gobta retreated with Eren, who was still in his arms.
....