"Rematch"

"I never expected to meet your kind so soon…"

Ahmed was a little perplexed by what Kayla said, but he still gave the signal for the illusion to come to life. It wasn't his job to worry about Kayla's personal problems.

A hobgoblin, a goblin that has evolved upon reaching level 25, gaining a new body and power unmatched among its lesser relatives, the goblins... Kayla remembered the information she had read in one of the books in her grandfather Aaron's personal library.

She had personally sought information about the goblins, whether their evolutions or their customs, to be prepared when she encountered them again.

Kayla saw how the hobgoblin, who had already become aware of her, saw her with a lustful look. The same one with which the goblins saw the women of that village...

Flames of fury surged in her heart and Kayla, following her impulses, put away her silver sword and took out a pair of daggers from her space ring.

"This time it will be different!" Kayla was determined, today, in this fight, she would show that she was not the same girl from months ago who couldn't save anyone.

She sneakily used analysis on the hobgoblin out of habit. She had gained the habit these months of doing it with every monster she encountered, despite knowing that the results would not be useful...

[Hobgoblin Lv 52]

"Hey?!" Kayla's eyes widened. It was the first time that analysis gave him more information than a couple of words!

"What happened?...No, I have to concentrate, I'll find out later." Although Kayla was elated that her class ability finally did something remotely useful, she first had to take care of the green abomination in front of her.

The hobgoblin had already approached and raised his fist, ready to hit her in the chest.

But Kayla easily dodged it by stepping aside.

The hobgoblin's eyes widened, confused. His tiny brain had been sure that his blow was going to hit its target.

"Kuerk!"

The hobgoblin roared in rage as he glared at his prey that wouldn't let itself be caught. It was a humiliation that he couldn't even catch a woman who was only a little taller than him!

"Nmm?!" Kayla suddenly felt insulted. She looked around her before her gaze finally settled on the hobgoblin. Something inside her told her that it was the green skin who insulted her.

Do these things have intelligence?... That doubt crossed her mind, but she quickly put it aside. Regardless of whether they had intelligence or not, that hobgoblin had already earned her fury from the beginning!

With a strong stomp, Kayla propelled herself towards the hobgoblin, prepared to cut its throat. However, the hobgoblin, as someone who went through race evolution, had incredible reflexes, so he dodged the cut at the last moment.

However, Kayla had seen that and she quickly attacked him again with her other dagger, cutting into his chest!

Green blood flew through the air as the hobgoblin backed away faster, surprised. The girl in front of him was faster than she had expected!

But the hobgoblin wasn't scared. After all, the cut on his chest was superficial. Kayla's dagger had not cut deep enough, the wound it had caused did not even hinder her mobility.

Kayla noticed this too and frowned. I need more power...

That was something that had always bothered Kayla since she came into this world. She had always focused more on her speed than her strength and that always took its toll on her, forcing her to use up her precious stat points.

But things were different now. She had a power that she didn't have when she came into this world.

Warm currents ran through Kayla's body, strengthening it. Kayla smiled fiercely as she looked at the hobgoblin. "This should be enough."

Kayla used almost half of her mana and circulated it throughout her body, almost bursting her mana veins.

But considering the power he gained, that small detail could be overlooked!

Even the hobgoblin, who had been running towards her, stopped, hesitating. He could feel that a large amount of energy had surged from Kayla's body. So he took a step back, fearful.

His instinct told him that he couldn't fight the woman in front of him.

But it was too late, Kayla wouldn't let him go.

Kayla, who had finally gotten used to her newfound power, kicked the floor again with great force, making it shake slightly.

Bam!

The hobgoblin, who was focused on Kayla's sudden kick, was shocked by a sudden wave of pain in her shoulder!

When he lowered his head, he noticed that one of Kayla's daggers had stabbed his right shoulder!

Kayla had taken advantage of the fact that the hobgoblin had been distracted by her kick and threw her dagger as discreetly as an assassin!

The hobgoblin quickly pulled the dagger from her shoulder and raised his head, only to exchange glances with a pair of obsidian black eyes!

"Hi~" Kayla smiled as she stabbed her dagger into the hobgoblin's other shoulder.

"Kuerk!" The hobgoblin screamed in pain as he tried to defend himself.

Too bad Kayla didn't give him the chance. Before the hobgoblin could even try to hit her or something, Kayla pulled her dagger from the hobgoblin's shoulder and stabbed into his arm, earning another scream of pain.

"Tell me, how does this feel? It feels good?" Kayla smiled, the image of the goblin in front of her overlapping with that of the goblin general. "Why aren't you talking?! When have you always been so talkative?!"

The hobgoblin's eyes, which normally should be wild, were filled with terror. The murderous intent that Kayla was emitting was too much for him.

"Because you do not answer?!" Kayla quickly lost her patience and kicked him hard in the groin, making him kneel as he trembled. "Weren't you so all-powerful that day?!"

The hobgoblin just looked at her in terror, no longer willing to fight.

"Kuerk…" HE wailed pitifully, seeming to beg for mercy.

Kayla's eyes reddened at that. "You dare to ask for mercy?! YOU?! AFTER WHAT YOU DID, DID YOU HAVE IT WITH ELLI?!"

Kayla hit the hobgoblin in her face, sending it flying a few meters.

But that wasn't enough for Kayla. She quickly caught up to him and got on top of him while he non-stop hit his face.

Blood flew through the air as the hobgoblin's face deformed, transforming into an unrecognizable bloody mess.

Ahmed, Brice, and even Ethel watched this with wide eyes. They never expected a girl like Kayla to be so bloodthirsty when it came to fighting.

Ethel was the most surprised. Unlike Brice and Ahmed who had only known Kayla for a short period and had no idea what Kayla was really like, Ethel had already been traveling with Kayla for a while and had believed that she knew her at least a little.

But seeing Kayla, whose face was stained with green blood as she mercilessly beat the hobgoblin, Ethel had to reconsider whether Kayla was the kind but somewhat depressed girl, who despite that, always tried to move on, that she thought she knew.

However, as these thoughts passed through his mind, the sight of Kayla's eyes that contained deep resentment and hatred at first sight, but with deep sadness and regret hidden within immediately cleared his thoughts.

Maybe she doesn't know everything about Kayla, but at least I know that right now she is sad and she needs someone's support. And I, as her friend, will be that someone!

Ethel, not caring that Kayla was still fighting, approached her despite Ahmed's protests.

She didn't give a damn that this was against the rules and she cared even less about the possibility that the guild could punish her for doing what she had planned in mind. She only cared about getting to Kayla's side right now.

However, Ahmed's refusal was not in vain. Suddenly, electric tendrils danced through Ethel's body, electrocuting her.

"Ah!" Ethel screamed in pain as she reluctantly backed away. "What the fuck is this?!"

"It's a shield we have around the combat zone so that no one outside interferes during the examination process like you just did!" Ahmed looked at Ethel with a little anger. It was forbidden to interfere with someone else's test without good reason!

"Well, you better turn it off because I'm going to pass!" Ethel, although she didn't like to admit it, was just as stubborn a person as Kayla. So without any fear, she punched forward as her fist gained a layer of ice as protection.

"Ahhh!" The electric tendrils appeared again, but this time with more force, and this time they even ran through Ethel's entire body, burning her skin a little. However, this time she did not back down and stood her ground.

"Hey, are you crazy?! That's dangerous!" Ahmed panicked. He quickly ran towards Ethel in an attempt to separate her from there, but Brice stood in her way.

"What are you doing brat?! She could die!" Ahmed shouted in rage.

"I am the temporary servant of that pair, so it is natural for me to help them carry out their will." Brice looked at him with his beautiful purple eyes, which did not show a trace of hesitation.

Although he knew that Ethel could get in serious trouble for this, he didn't care. He could also see that Kayla couldn't continue fighting in that state.

A vein bulged on Ahmed's forehead and he was about to use force for the first time in a long time. But luckily for Brice, Ahmed calmed down as the tendrils around Ethel disappeared like smoke.

She looked around in confusion and quickly realized what happened when she heard loud bangs.

Kayla, who had been hitting the hobgoblin's head, finally killed him after several blows to her head.

But he didn't stop throwing punches even though the goblin and the green blood on his body turned into pixels that disappeared into thin air.

She continued to fiercely hit the ground, as if the goblin general was still there, mocking her weakness. Why don't you die once and for all?!

Kayla continued to hit the white floor of the room as tears pooled in her eyes, hurting her hands to the point that they bled.

Can't I still beat you?!

She raised her fist and was about to hit the "goblin general" who was taunting her again, but someone stopped her.

"Hey Kayla, stop! It's all over, relax!" Ethel walked up behind Kayla and hugged her tightly.

Kayla's eyes filled with confusion as she felt Ethel's warm embrace. "What?..."

"Now… it's all over" Ethel clumsily stroked Kayla's head, trying to imitate her mother who used to do it with her very often before.

Kayla's eyes, which had been clouded with negative emotions since she started fighting the hobgoblin, regained their clarity. "Ah shit…"

Kayla blushed as she remembered how she had behaved while she was fighting the hobgoblin. She looked like she had eighth-grade syndrome...

She tugged on Ethel's shirt and asked as she avoided her gaze, hiding her teary eyes. "...Can you forget what just happened?"

Ethel tilted her head in confusion at Kayla's blush, but after thinking about it for a bit, she shook her head. "Forget what? Something happened?"

Kayla looked at her blankly for a moment before laughing out loud, forgetting about the "goblin general" on the ground. "Yes, nothing happened."

As for Brice and Ahmed, they watched that scene silently.

"...I'm glad everything turned out well" Ahmed sighed. He had even wanted to stop the test, but he couldn't break the rules of his work.

Brice rolled his eyes at that.

That's why I hate jobs, they always end up making us do things we don't want to... Oh right, I'm working for those two crazy women... Kill me. Brice looked at Kayla and Ethel as he cried without tears.