I Became a Mountain Tiger in a Fantasy World

< Chapter 8: The Little Beast and Savage Beak (1) >

Skrillzhak.

He was, in a word, a mutant.

A clever goblin with intelligence surpassing that of humans.

He was more outstanding than any other goblin, and stronger than any other goblin.

But at the same time,

He was more unfortunate than anyone.

[A mere goblin, nothing more than a monster.]

“Kruk!”

Skrillzhak let out a low groan as he recalled the humiliation of that day.

The scar that split one of his eyes still seemed to throb.

He spoke as if chewing his words.

“I am great.”

The great high shaman Skrillzhak.

He would etch his existence clearly into the history of this continent.

“Kiiiiiii-yak!”

Skrillzhak curled his lips as he gazed at the flames decorating the pitch-black night sky.

Ten years of preparation.

The time had come to enact revenge for the days spent in humiliation and disgrace.

Now, the continent would burn like the sky above.

That beginning was today.

“Sky, essence, I will seize it…!”

“Kruk!”

“Kieeek!”

As Skrillzhak’s staff emitted an eerie light, the goblins’ pupils turned crimson.

“Kieeeek!”

“Krok-krok!”

In an instant, the goblins, steeped in madness, began to chase after the Savage Beak.

* * *

And a few hours before Savage Beak and Skrillzhak met,

“Growl!”

A small beast with a leopard pattern was crawling through the bushes.

A small but fierce baby predator with the keen sense of smell of a wolf and the agile movements of a rabbit!

That was me.

I lay flat on the ground, watching the front intently.

There was a monster in human form.

【Rotclaw Tribe Goblin Scout Lv.12】

– Trait: [Tribe]

– Skills: [Reconnaissance Lv.3], [Throwing Lv.2], [Archery Lv.2]

The ones who had intruded on Brother Beak’s hideout were goblins.

Their level was a whopping 12.

I would have been startled before, but not now.

Thanks to catching a crow and rising to level 4, I could see their detailed information.

‘What to do?’

I used my small body to hide in the bushes, watching them.

There were quite a few of them.

Moreover, they were searching the bushes with a formation straight out of a martial arts novel.

It seemed they had already realized that Brother Beak’s nest had been ransacked and the elixir was gone.

They spread out widely across the forest, closing in, and I understood how the protagonist feels being chased by the demonic cult.

“Growl.”

But you clumsy monsters.

When it comes to formations, this former aspiring writer knows much more than you.

You’re ten years too early to catch me.

Let’s go!

「Using Leg Strength Enhancement Lv.2!」

Perhaps from frequent use, the level of Leg Strength Enhancement had increased.

Special muscles in my body tightened firmly, and as I prepared for a surprise attack, I shot towards the goblin like a bullet.

“Croak?!”

Thwack!

My claws aimed for the goblin’s throat, finding its breathing gap.

The goblin, realizing the situation too late, lifted a crude blade, but the battle was already over.

Thud. Drag.

“Croak?”

I dragged the goblin scout, whose throat was pierced and letting out a whistling scream, into the bushes.

A few goblins around noticed and turned, but I hadn’t been caught yet.

Foolish creatures!

The formation is only possible for martial artists who can sense energy.

It’s not a tactic amateurs like you can pull off.

“Chomp chomp chomp chomp!”

「Level Up!」

「Level Up!」

Ah~ that’s it!

I took down the goblins one by one, using Predation in between to raise my level.

This way, I could also replenish my health to some extent, making it very safe.

It wasn’t a tightening net but an infinite respawn experience event?

‘Brother Beak! Just hold on a bit longer!’

I imagined reuniting with Brother Beak, feeling a bit more at ease due to the clumsy goblins’ movements.

Hey brother! What is all this?

I would tell Brother Beak, who would be shocked to see the goblin corpses scattered everywhere.

‘Nothing… happened!’

* * *

I had a dream like that.

A dream where I broke through the heavens and crushed them, just like the hero in a novel.

“Crook!”

“Kieek! Kiek!”

“Grrr…!”

But reality was not as easy as I thought.

Did I underestimate them too much?

I let my guard down because it looked like they couldn’t even communicate properly.

They weren’t even following the basic two-person team formation, so I thought they were just low-level mobs.

Who would have imagined that it was part of their strategy?

“Cruluk!”

With a whooshing sound, an arrow shot by a goblin archer grazed past me.

I barely dodged the arrow with the [Sensitivity] I gained from the rabbit and ran away,

Swoosh! This time, a goblin warrior’s blade swung down from the front.

“Grr!”

I used Leg Strength Enhancement in an instant to close the gap and knocked the wind out of them. Then, I swung my right leg with all my might.

Thwack!

In the distance, I saw the shadow of my front paw swing down.

The predator’s front paw, covered in intricate muscles.

The goblin warrior was helplessly torn apart by the claws of a magnified tiger.

“Cruluk!”

The goblin next to the one struck by my claw was ripped apart as if hit by a sword strike, and even the goblin warrior took a step back in fear.

The goblin warrior swung his sword defensively as he retreated.

But while he hesitated, I had already lunged inside and bitten his thigh.

What you’re seeing is just an afterimage of me! You fool!

This is the advantage of Instant Transformation.

As my size changed unpredictably, they couldn’t easily figure out my position.

“Crra!!”

“Ptuh!”

It tasted terrible!

I roughly chewed the goblin flesh in my mouth and then turned my back and ran.

Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh!

The relentless arrows of the goblin archers immediately chased after me.

The goblin warrior made an excellent shield, taking the arrows meant for me.

Thud, the goblin that shielded me fell lifelessly, but I couldn’t celebrate.

As his blood spread through the air,

“Cruk!”

The other goblins’ eyes turned red, and they crazily chased after me.

That’s right.

Goblins didn’t have the martial arts sense of warriors.

But they had the primal instincts of monsters to follow the scent of blood.

To these mad goblins, a scout was just a suicidal soldier to signal their position by dying first, nothing more, nothing less.

‘These, these crazy bastards!’

I panted heavily and hid in the bushes.

Magnification was great, but it consumed too much energy.

It wasn’t a good technique for dealing with the endless hordes of goblins.

Moreover,

【Rotclaw Tribe Goblin Archer Lv.15】

The goblin archers and warriors were of a higher level than the scouts.

Damn bastards!

If there’s an evil cult in this world, it’s the goblins.

‘Is this why they call it an inescapable net?’

I suddenly felt respect for martial arts masters.

How on earth did they escape this?

Filthy bastards! Come at me one by one!

Of course, I’ll ambush you.

“Krreung!”

I let out a low infrasound and lowered my body.

This low-frequency sound tends to spread widely, making it difficult for them to pinpoint my location.

The goblins, hearing the fierce breath of a wild beast right next to them, would get scared and run away.

‘……’

“Kruk! Kruk!”

“Kieeeek!”

Or not. Damn it.

Still, something felt off.

The goblins, with their eyes rolled back and chasing the smell of blood, were clearly not normal.

Are monsters usually like this?

No matter how monstrous they are, losing their intellect and going on a killing spree is too much!

Are you guys zombies? Is this an apocalypse instead of a fantasy?

I ran forward as fast as I could, killing the goblins in front of me one by one.

…

‘Damn, I miss you, Brother Beak.’

I was reaching the limit of my stamina.

Now, it might really get dangerous…

I don’t know when I started relying on others.

I pulled myself together.

I kept having weak thoughts, probably because I was a modern person.

If I were a real tiger, I would have made it clear to those goblins who the owner of this mountain was.

So, let’s think.

How can I survive this?

‘…Is there really no other way?’

In martial arts novels, the method protagonists use to escape crises is usually ‘growth.’

They might accidentally fall off a cliff and find a great opportunity. Or they get stabbed, collapse, and break through their limits.

In my case…

Well, I did have one way to achieve that kind of ‘growth.’

I took a deep breath and calmly observed their movements.

I was deep in the forest for the first time, and the problem was that the surroundings were full of goblins.

I didn’t know how long I could keep running.

I couldn’t help but think of the trump card I had left.

However, the last resort should only be used at the very last moment.

I didn’t know why, but the protagonists survived by doing so, so I would follow their lead.

And soon, I found out the reason.

“Kiiiiiieeeek!”

A high-pitched cry that pierced the ears came from the sky.

‘It’s here!’

I lifted my head abruptly.

It was amazing.

I felt a shiver all over my body, and dopamine was being excessively secreted.

Whoosh!

The sky was turning red.

The roar of the enraged raptor suppressed the atmosphere, and the fierce flapping of its wings instantly swept away the surrounding goblins.

It was truly overwhelming martial prowess.

I couldn’t help but doubt if that was really Brother Beak.

Thud!

“Gyarung!”

Awesome!

I greeted him with joy.

I was so glad that if I could write a novel again, I would want to make him the protagonist.

At that moment,

【Raging Flame Savage Beak Lv.35】

“Kiaaaaaaak!!”

He landed on the ground and let out an angry roar at me.

「The ‘Guardian of the Essence’ is expressing anger towards you.」

Guardian of the Essence?

I looked up at the predator wreathed in flames with a blank face.

‘Brother…?’