Summary so far.
I was surprised by a goblin, I blocked him, and I smashed him.
It would have been dangerous if I had been attacked normally, but the slime warned me early on so I was able to react quickly.
Thanks to that, everything turned out fine.
Even so, I ended up in a melee with a goblin that had suddenly attacked me, and in the end the other goblins had to flee. What a shame.
Only the goblin that had ambushed me had run out of strength and was crouching below me.
"Gegeh!!" (Goblin)
He was still breathing, but after being knocked down by me, he no longer had the strength to fight back, let alone escape. Even so, he continued glaring at me with a sharp gaze, which showed he had some impressive spirit.
It was as he was saying, "If you're going to kill me, then kill me quickly..."
His tone was different from the other goblins who had been there earlier. Even without understanding their language, it was clear that those guys were begging for their lives because their voices were so weak and fawning. On the other hand, the goblins present here seemed to be completely exhausted, but their fighting spirit was never-ending.
"His friends ran away..." (Idhir)
While this guy and I were struggling. Doesn't this mean that he risked his life to save his friends?
"Well, it's heartless of the comrades who were saved." (Idhir)
After all, they fled in a hurry to save their own skin. On the contrary, if they had helped their comrades and ganged up on me, they might have all survived.
It seemed as if this last remaining goblin was a sacrificial pawn...
"...That can't be." (Idhir)
Goblins were evil monsters. Although they did form groups, this was merely a clique designed to gain superiority over others, and was not based on a spirit of mutual help or cooperation. Therefore, even if their comrades got into trouble, they wouldn't risk their life to help them, and because they value their own safety above all else, they would run away as fast as they could when they were in danger, abandoning their comrades.
"Like this guy was abandoned...?" (Idhir)
So what about this guy who put himself in a difficult situation to save his comrades?
"Gegegegee!!" (Goblin)
The goblin seemed to be saying, "What's wrong? Hurry up and kill me, are you scared?" I reached out my hand to the goblin and activated the Bond Summoning contract.
The light suddenly shined...
"What's wrong? Just kill me already. Are you scared?" (Goblin)
"Did you really say that?!" (Idhir)
I mean, a goblin spoke?! Up until then, he had only said "Gegege"!?
Could this also be the result of a contract made in Bond Summoning?
"Huh? I can understand human speech. What's wrong with me?" (Goblin)
"Kyupipipipipipipipii!?" (Slime)
Even the slime was surprised by the unexpected turn of events.
Why did I suddenly make a contract with a goblin in the first place?
No, I don't know.
When I thought to myself, "I wonder if this guy in front of me was trying to sacrifice himself to help his friends," I naturally reached out to him.
I was also surprised at how smoothly the deal went through. After the slime, I tried a lot of things, but nothing worked.
"...Hmph, it looks like I've been hit by a human spell. Some kind of servitude spell? In any case, I, a proud goblin, have fallen to the hands of a mere human familiar...!?" (Goblin)
"Do goblins have pride?" (Idhir)
"We have! Rude!?" (Goblin)
Even if there was pride in them, was it just me, or did it seem like this was a limited-edition?
Anyway, I finally welcomed my second Bond Summon beast. Let's try out what I can summon using this bond.
Bond Summoning Lv7
> Bond: Goblin
> Summonable:
- Combat Knife
Do you want to summon it? YES / NO
Combat knife? What is that?
Well, the items that could be summoned by Bond Summoning were things from another world that didn't exist in this world, so it was only natural that they sounded unfamiliar.
I wouldn't know what it was until I actually summoned it. So, let's try summoning it.
"Bond Summon! Combat Knife!" (Idhir)
And what appeared was a knife with a gleaming blade.
"It was a knife after all." (Idhir)
No, I understand the part about the knife. There are plenty of knives in this world, too. But what exactly is 'combat'?
"Whoooooa!? What's this knife!? It's insanely good!?" (Goblin)
The goblin cried out in joy and picked up the summoned combat knife.
"The blade is shining silver! Is there such a beautiful blade in this world?! I can see my face reflected in the blade!? And what's more, it's incredibly sharp!! Look, the branch nearby just fell with a bang! It didn't feel any resistance at all!" (Goblin)
The goblins were acting a bit excited.
Come to think of it, I had heard that goblins were the only demi-human monsters that could use tools, and they made use of various tools that they stole from humans or picked up discarded ones.
However, since they were monsters after all, they were unable to use tools with complicated structures, but their favorite weapons were blades and blunt objects. It was a truly wicked disposition.
That's why goblins always carried axes and daggers, which they likely robbed or stole from adventurers they attacked.
Was I summoned because of that bond with a goblin, and a knife appeared?
"Woooooooo! I'm getting excited! I want to try cutting it with this right now! I want to see the wound that was torn apart by that sharp blade and swell with blooooood!" (Goblin)
"Kyu, kyupipii…!?" (Slime)
Even the slime was taken aback by the goblin's bizarre excitement.
Given the saying about dangerous individuals and sharp tools, I decided to put away the combat knife to prevent any more strange incidents.
Anything summoned with Bond Summoning could be erased at will, unless it had been absorbed into body.
As the knife disappeared from my hand with a swoosh, the goblin's face was filled with despair.
"Aaaaahhhhhh!? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!?" (Goblin)
"To that extent?!" (Idhir)
Just how much do you love sharp tools, goblin!?
"Well, well, when we need weapons for a fight, I'll bring them out for you...!" (Idhir)
"Really, boss?! Then let's fight! Let's fight now! Let's kill everyone, humans and monsters we come accross!" (Goblin)
Who is the boss? Also, we won't kill all humans. Well, maybe bandits or thieves, but that's different.
For now, it would be case by case.
Anyway, with the addition of the second comrade, the goblin, our advance continued.
With the increased numbers, the battles in the Great Sea of Trees had progressed considerably. A goblin armed with the Combat Knife sneaked up on enemy monsters from behind like assassins, swiftly and precisely slitting their throats.
"That's amazing, boss! This knife is so sharp, it sliced the veins in the neck like a breeze! Like a breeze!?" (Goblin)
"That's a good report!" (Idhir)
I'm starting to think that it's not right to let a certain someone carry a knife.
Even so, the strategy of the goblin disrupting the enemy from behind while the slime and I maintained an iron wall with no blind spots worked better than I expected, and I was able to raise my magic level even further.
I felt like the slime and the goblin I fought alongside were getting stronger.
This was what happens...
"It's about time to get the next Bond Summon beast." (Idhir)
It might seem like already, but there was no limit to human desires.
My level had increased, so I should now have the capacity to add another Bond Summon beast.
The question is, what kind of monster will we encounter...? While I was lost in thought, the goblin seemed to read my thoughts.
"Hey, boss! Then I have a great idea!" (Goblin)
Since ancient times, there had never been a case where someone had said, "I have a good idea," and the "good idea" was actually a good idea.
"Up ahead, there's a small hill-like area. The monster that calls it its territory is super strong, incredibly strong." (Goblin)
"So?" (Idhir)
"Let's defeat it and make it your subordinate! If you and I join forces, it'll be a breeze!" (Goblin)
"Well, isn't this opponent extremely strong?" (Idhir)
I didn't think we could win easily just by joining forces though.
However, I was surprised to find such a monster in the Ideonyr Great Sea of Trees. I haven't heard about this through the guild's information network, so I guess it goes quite deep into Sea of Trees?
Driven by curiosity, I decided to go and see this super strong monster. I was just going to watch. I was not going to fight.
I would only fight when I was sure I could win.
Well, I would be happy if I could turn a rare monster into my Bond Summon beast, but...