Region Boss: Goblin Monarch (1)

"Have you gone mad?" Yeji shouted, pointing toward the door. "That thing is your partner? What kind of bullshit are you spouting? What will our parents think?"

Yeji was worried that because everyone had been pushing him away, YuWon had developed some mental illness. She wasn't entirely wrong. YuWon wasn't in his right mind, but could anyone maintain their sanity in such a strange world?

He turned to look at Yeji, then burst out laughing. However, it wasn't a joyful laugh, but a maniacal one.

"Parents? What parents?" YuWon asked sarcastically. "I had no one in this world before the shit show with the monsters, and I have no one now. No family, no friends, all because of you."

Yeji flinched at his words. She bit her lip, struggling to say anything to bring YuWon back to his senses. But the look on YuWon's face stopped her. There was a deep sadness in his eyes, hidden underneath a sea of rage.

It wasn't the first time Yeji had sensed it. She saw the same look whenever YuWon looked at her while Hoon beat him. But she always mistook it for something else.

In her mind, her request not to expel him from college was enough kindness. Everything else that happened to him was none of her concern. Or so she thought, until their world changed forever.

Back when the goblin appeared, Yeji first thought of YuWon. She even wanted to go look for him, but because of her healing abilities, she got too wrapped up in helping everyone else.

It wasn't until Soo-Ah and Min-Joon informed them about YuWon that she breathed a sigh of relief. Yeji was prepared to let bygones be bygones and treat YuWon's leg. Only to be shocked when he returned.

Only then did Yeji realize her brother had changed. He wasn't the same guy he used to be, and it was too late to make amends.

"Forget about your parents," YuWon continued as he turned to leave. "There's no one in this world I care about. Not even myself."

But just before he reached the door, he stopped and looked back at Yeji and he smiled.

"You don't need to worry about me," YuWon said. "I will not die or disappear. Not before I return the kindness that all of you have shown me this past year."

With that, he left. No one moved, no one spoke. They were worried about what YuWon said before departing and for that moment he looked more frightening than those goblins ever could.

But unlike them, Yeji didn't think about herself. Only one thought echoed in her head. What had they done to him? What had she done to him?

Before she could answer those questions, loud fighting noises erupted from the corridor. Concerned about YuWon, Yeji, Soo-Ah, and a hesitant Min-Joon rushed outside, only to find the entire area covered in goblin bodies.

At that moment, a notification appeared before them.

[Attention! Region Boss <Goblin Monarch> has noticed the massacre of its kin.]

[Region Boss <Goblin Monarch> has begun its pilgrimage to resurrect the fallen kin.]

[Hunt the Region Boss <Goblin Monarch> before the pilgrimage is complete.]

[Remaining Time: 2 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.]

[Reward: Tutorial Completion, subclass selection, miscellaneous rewards (based on participation).]

[Penalty for failure:

— All monsters within the zone will evolve by one stage.

— All safe zones will disappear.]

"We have to go," Yeji mumbled. "Hiding away won't solve our problems anymore."

***

Minutes ago...

Once outside the building, Gina continued her onslaught on goblins. Despite being a goblin, she could sense the turmoil in his heart.

However, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't get through the wall YuWon had made around his heart.

Just then a notification informing about the region boss appeared before YuWon. However, unlike everyone else, he wasn't worried even a bit. But Gina interrupted his thoughts.

"It's too soon," she mumbled. "The pilgrimage can only happen at night. Then why?"

Gina didn't have a system to inform her about events like YuWon. But as a goblin, her senses did a good enough job to let her know about the happenings involving the goblin monarch.

As for her question, YuWon already knew the answer. With the time frozen outside the zone, there was no point in waiting for the dark. Therefore, YuWon asked the obvious question.

"Where is he? The monarch?"

Gina closed her eyes and raised her head as if trying to remember something. After a minute, she looked back at YuWon.

"He's... moving," she said. "Heading towards us."

"Towards us?"

"To resurrect the fallen kin, the monarch required the participants," Gina informed. "No. Calling it a resurrection won't be accurate. The monarch would breed to create more soldiers for himself."

YuWon suddenly realized why the goblins didn't kill females until they absolutely had to. They were bringing the women to their monarch. Even the thought disgusted him. But then again, who was he to worry about them?

However, he still had to fight the Monarch for the sake of ending the tutorial. Then he could have his fun torturing Hoon and the rest.

"Where is he coming from?" YuWon asked, creating a checkpoint there.

He knew everyone else would also get the notification. Even though it was unlikely anyone would leave the auditorium to fight, YuWon didn't want to risk it.

He wanted to kill the Monarch, and he wanted to do it himself. The rewards were based on participation, and he didn't want anyone else to get a single thing from the hunt.

Thankfully, I've got Gina with me. She will guide me directly to that jerk like a compass, while everyone else will aimlessly wander.

Gina did as he asked and pointed toward the north. However, she didn't seem as enthusiastic as she had been before.

"Something wrong?"

"The monarch will have his strongest soldiers by his side during the pilgrimage," she mumbled. "I can deal with some of them but..."

"We need more people?"

Gina didn't want to admit it, but she nodded. YuWon sighed. No wonder the rewards were based on participation. Killing the beast wasn't the job for one guy, but the entire population within the zone.

The only problem was...

They are all useless!