Chapter 5: First Request (3)
“What is this?”
I spread my hand and received what the Goblin handed me.
It was a transparent stone with a faint blue energy swirling within.
An item I had never seen even once until now.
“Kirook!”
As I pondered the use of the stone, the Goblin Slave pointed behind me into empty space.
“Oh.”
Turning my head following it, I instinctively stepped slightly back.
At some point, a small gate had opened right above my head, glowing.
It was the same Gate that had spat out the orb before.
“Kirook.”
The Goblin Slave gestured again.
Understanding its meaning, I threw the stone in my hand into the Gate.
After a total of 3 stones disappeared beyond the dimensional hole—
[Selling a total of 3 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones.]
[30 Gold has been deposited from Dream Lord’s Castle.]
Ding!
[Current Gold: 30]
As the Gate closed, along with the sound of a POS cash drawer, my Gold was updated.
I figured it out.
Using summons to extract Magic Stones from Monster corpses, then trading them—this had to be the system.
“Okay, good job. Gono.”
With a satisfied expression, I lightly tapped the Goblin’s helmet.
“Kirook!”
[Goblin Slave’s Affinity has increased by 5!]
Clearing the unnecessary status window, I started thinking again.
Then for now, since the request was complete—
“Let’s move right away.”
It was time to head back.
I had only just confirmed how to acquire Gold.
There was still much to learn about how the Skill ‘MonMonMak’ interacted with this world.
“Before that, we should clean up the corpses. Gono, help me.”
“Kirook!”
Since I needed to receive the request reward separately, I had to collect proof of subjugation.
The moment I stepped forward with Gono to handle the Goblin corpses—
Dududud!
“Hmm?”
The ground beneath my feet trembled.
No—more accurately, I had only just begun to perceive the vibration.
It was a minor tremor, enough to ripple water in a teacup.
But—
Fudududuk!
Suddenly, from beyond the Spring, countless birds burst into the air in panic.
Crack—crash!
Soon, the sound of thick trees and bushes snapping violently followed.
The ground-shaking tremor grew exponentially stronger.
Thud, thud, thud!
And just as the vibration approached right in front of me—
Several pine trees behind the Spring collapsed forward.
“Grooooh?”
Stepping on the shattered stumps, a massive Ogre revealed itself.
“……”
After looking up at the Ogre’s head, as large as a child—
‘What is this, why is an Ogre here?’
Only one thought came to mind.
‘In MonMonMak, an Ogre is a 3-Star Mid-Grade Summon… No, that’s not it.’
An Ogre was a high-risk Monster that appeared at least in C-Rank Gates.
Naturally, it had nothing to do with the 3 Goblins I had just dealt with.
After quickly scanning the 3-meter-tall Monster, I narrowed my eyes.
‘It’s injured.’
Things I hadn’t noticed at first came into view.
Stab wounds covering its yellow skin.
One thigh was dented as if struck by a massive hammer.
One eye was even bleeding heavily, as if pierced by a sharp weapon.
‘That means…’
Only then did the scattered puzzle pieces come together.
‘So this is why Hunters from Pungbaek entered the forest a few days ago.’
Ogres had very high-value byproducts.
Simply put—it was “dangerous but profitable.”
That’s why Ogre-related Gate requests were quickly taken.
This time, Pungbaek must have obtained the information first and sent a few rookie Hunters for field training.
The reason I concluded they were rookies—
‘Experienced Hunters wouldn’t lose a Monster this sloppily.’
But more importantly, what now?
“Grooooh.”
The Ogre had noticed me and Gono, but couldn’t move recklessly.
It only growled while rolling its eyes downward.
Perhaps due to its severe injuries, it was mentally very intimidated.
‘Can I handle it?’
Of course, I couldn’t act rashly either.
An Ogre required at least 3 C-Rank Hunters to take down.
And on one side of my vision, an unfamiliar status window pressed down on me.
[3 minutes remaining until Goblin Slave returns to Lord’s Castle.]
I thought once I hired it, I could use it freely—but that wasn’t the case.
Then that meant I had to kill that Ogre within 3 minutes.
‘This is tricky.’
It was true that Gono had shown overwhelming combat power against higher-ranked Goblins.
But there were still too many unknowns.
I didn’t know how far the “Item Power” applied in reality.
In reality, the power gap between a Goblin and an Ogre was overwhelming.
Surely Gono must also be trembling before such an imposing presence—
“Kiruruk…”
“?”
It’s laughing?
I looked at Gono, who wore a sinister grin, and asked doubtfully.
“Gono, can you do it?”
“Kirook!”
At the same time as answering, Gono swung his club.
Overwhelming confidence burst out from his small body.
I thought it over.
He wouldn’t show baseless confidence.
“Then show me.”
Pat!
The moment the command was given, Gono activated Raven’s Wingbeat and dashed forward.
“Grooooh?!”
Only then did the Ogre react.
Its remaining eye filled with emotions—
Shock, confusion, and then anger.
Of course—it was absurd that a Goblin, not even reaching its shin, charged at it with a sinister grin.
“Grooooh!”
The Ogre roared in fury and raised its club.
The club, carved from a whole log, was thicker than Gono’s body.
But Gono didn’t seem intimidated at all.
“Kiruguuk!”
[Raven’s Wingbeat (A)]
He leaped into the air as if taking flight.
Like a rubber ball bouncing high after hitting the ground.
“Grrraaaah!”
The Ogre swung its club upward like a baseball bat.
It intended to smash Gono midair.
But the Goblin didn’t dodge.
Instead—
It struck the incoming log head-on with its own club.
BOOOOM!
Hercules’ Club collided with the log club.
A deafening explosion rang out.
The clash of power sent shockwaves like a storm through the air.
The Ogre’s mouth fell open.
Meanwhile, Gono narrowed his eyes further with a sinister grin.
Crack—crunch!
The sound of wood shattering.
Hercules’ Club was breaking through the thick log.
A contest of strength—
No, a contest of items.
And the Ogre lost.
“Grooooh?!”
Realizing the danger, the Ogre tried to retreat.
But before its heavy body could move—
KRAAAACK!
Gono’s strike, breaking through the log, fell faster.
Smash!
“Guek?!”
Gono’s club struck the Ogre’s skull.
The center of its head caved in like a U-shape.
Like a cartoon, its eyes and tongue popped out.
Tap.
The Goblin Slave landed cleanly.
Thud!
The massive body collapsed, crushing the remaining vegetation.
The situation was over.
I walked toward the Goblin Slave, who was already sticking its head out proudly.
There was no need for words.
With a gentle smile, I patted the back of its head.
“Kirook.”
The miracle Item-Powered Goblin bowed and held something out to me.
A Magic Stone.
But this time, its size was on a completely different level.
If the previous ones were like ice cubes in an iced Americano—
This one was large and heavy enough to fill one hand.
“Good work, Gono.”
The Goblin Slave bowed its head at my praise.
Then a status window appeared.
[Goblin Slave returns to Lord’s Castle! Next summoning available in 24 hours.]
Pop!
Gono disappeared like a bursting balloon, leaving behind a purple orb in my hand.
I put the orb into my pocket and threw the Magic Stone into the newly appeared Gate.
[Selling 1 Lower-Mid-Grade Magic Stone.]
[100 Gold has been deposited from Dream Lord’s Castle.]
Ding!
[Current Gold: 130]
The same status window appeared again.
100 Gold wasn’t bad.
As I nodded in satisfaction, I narrowed my eyes at the next message.
[For the first time, you have sold a Magic Stone imbued with an Ogre’s Soul! A Draw Ticket has been granted.]
“…What?”
I rubbed my eyes.
A Draw Ticket?
Is it what I think it is?
The very thing that turned ‘MonMonMak’ from a generous game into a scam?
[You can perform a Premium Draw with the Draw Ticket.]
[Move to Premium Draw Page?]
I pressed my earlobe to confirm.
Looking at the newly appeared screen, I muttered—
“…Yeah, it is.”
A rotating box marked with ‘?’ and the text ‘1 Premium Draw.’
It was exactly the paid gacha screen from ‘MonMonMak.’
But I frowned.
It was for Monster-exclusive items.
With little Gold and limited Monsters, it wasn’t very helpful right now.
“Then I’ll just save the tickets and use them when I hire better Monsters—”
I stopped mid-sentence.
Because of a small line under the Mystery Box.
[Items obtained from draws can also be equipped by the User.]
Huh?
The User can equip them?
That line didn’t exist in ‘MonMonMak.’
Of course—in the game, the User was like a god observing from outside.
There was no User inventory.
But reality was different.
The User—me—had a physical body.
“That means…”
Item Power strong enough to let a low-level Goblin defeat an Ogre.
That meant I could benefit from it too.
Just as I swallowed and reached for the draw—
“Team Leader, over here! The trail continues this way!”
“Stop reporting every detail and move! If it attacks civilians, reports won’t be enough!”
“I know, stop rushing me!”
Suddenly, voices came from beyond the bushes.
“Team Leader, did it come this way—?”
From the exact direction the Ogre came, a man pushed through the brush.
A man in a tight suit, holding a scimitar.
“Hey, why’d you stop?”
Two more figures followed.
They all reacted the same way—
Sharp killing intent—
Then froze upon seeing the Ogre’s corpse.
And me standing beside it.
“Everyone, we don’t have time. If we delay—”
Finally, the last one appeared.
The Team Leader.
“?”
The moment our eyes met, I fell silent.
A swaying ponytail.
Sharp features and a bold expression, matching the massive hammer on her back.
The idol of Pungbaek Guild—
Yoon Su-a looked between me and the Ogre’s corpse.