"Cat-like beauty warrior Nanaruk."
—Stop showing off!
What's wrong with this old man?
I just accurately translated what the goblin said, and he's getting mad.
The relationship between Pelerian and me was… strange.
He had betrayed me once,
and I had forced him into another oath, redefining our relationship.
I do receive help from him and learn magic,
but we're not exactly master and disciple.
Normally, I speak casually to him,
but I was raised in a culture that values respect.
So when I'm learning magic—or when his wrinkles catch my eye—formal speech slips out.
Of course, respect goes both ways.
When he acts like this, I don't bother being polite either.
—Aren't you just pretending to understand goblin language? Obviously.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
The surprising thing is, whether I speak politely or casually, Pelerian doesn't really care.
I thought he was the type of old man obsessed with authority—so why?
At first, he called me a "lowly creature," so it didn't seem like he respected me.
But after a few days of conversation, I figured it out.
And the truth was… quite shocking.
He didn't look down on monsters.
No—if anything, he seemed to like monsters more than humans or dwarves.
If I were to rank how much Pelerian respected each race, it would look like this:
Elves > Monsters >>>>>>> (trash) > Humans and other "people" races
If I were human instead of a monster,
he would've treated me far worse.
Realizing that was… quite a shock.
"So it's normal that I understand Elvish, but weird that I understand Goblin?"
—Elvish is possible. There are blessings that let you understand languages. But Goblin language doesn't work like that.
I could clearly understand what the goblin was saying.
And Pelerian had his own reasoning.
—Goblins don't have a unified nation or large-scale civilization. They live scattered, so their language differs everywhere—like dialects.
"I get what you're saying. But you understood it roughly too, didn't you?"
—I studied the common linguistic roots through long research. If it were goblins from another region, even I wouldn't understand them at all.
Meanwhile, the goblin still struggling inside the pelican's beak screamed:
"Save meee!"
To me, no matter what Pelerian said, it was perfectly understandable.
—So perfectly understanding goblin language should be impossible…
"So what? I can understand it."
Pelerian shut his mouth.
Well… if I can understand it, what can you do?
—Then by your logic… is it okay to just let that goblin die?
"Ah."
The goblin had shouted that he needed to return to the river.
That meant he knew where it was.
The pelican had already swallowed him completely.
"Ahh!"
Was he already dead?
I leapt out of the bushes.
Startled by my sudden appearance, the pelican flapped its wings.
It tried to fly away—but perhaps because it was too heavy, it flopped onto the ground.
Typical birds.
Greedy and vicious.
[Mischievous Pelican Lv.7]
Seeing that even a weak monster like that caught the goblin,
the goblin didn't seem like much either.
I bit into the pelican's neck.
With no poison resistance, it didn't last even a moment.
It died instantly—no experience gained.
And fortunately, the goblin was still alive.
I pried open the pelican's beak,
and a murky green hand shot out.
The goblin crawled out, completely exhausted.
"Huff!"
Then he saw me—and froze in shock.
He looked… small.
Well, he's a goblin, of course—but he seemed young.
Maybe a goblin boy.
[Young Goblin Lv.11]
Traits:
[Goblin], [Curiosity]
Skills:
[Stealth Lv.3], [Stone Throw Lv.4], [Running Lv.6], [Pathfinding Lv.2]
Status:
[Exhausted], [Injured], [Fear]
Weak!
Wow, seriously pathetic.
The only useful combat skill he had was stone throwing.
Running… maybe a lower version of acceleration?
Looks similar to the fast crawling I used to have.
He's level 11, yet this weak?
Though… I kind of envy that Pathfinding skill.
It'd be nice to learn it with Borrowed Horn,
but I'm already borrowing "Heavenly Thunder Spirit."
Better not use Borrowed Horn again until I fully acquire that.
"Please spare me! Please don't kill me!"
What a cowardly goblin.
The goblin boy knelt and begged.
Well, the pelican looked tastier anyway,
and the goblin wouldn't give much experience.
Fine—just show me where the river is.
"Please don't eat me!"
…But I had no way to communicate that.
I glanced at Pelerian.
"You say it, old man."
—…Can't.
"What? You said you understand goblin language."
—It's not about language. He can't see me or hear me.
"I can see you."
—If I still had mana, I could transmit my voice. But right now, only you can perceive me.
…Shock.
He's even more useless than I thought.
Maybe he noticed what I was thinking—
a faint look of defeat appeared on his face.
I lightly tapped the goblin's shoulder with my tail, trying to reassure him.
He flinched violently and trembled.
"H-hiii!"
I'm not going to eat you. Go.
I waved my tail.
"C-can I… really go?"
Finally, some understanding.
The boy slowly backed away.
I stayed where I was, continuing to wave my tail.
Then, suddenly remembering something from long ago,
I lowered my head slightly.
Just like that centipede couple had done.
The goblin looked confused—then copied my gesture.
Yes.
Exchange begins with greetings.
The goblin boy smiled faintly.
He carefully moved past the bushes—
then suddenly turned back.
"…Ulumululu?"
And then he vanished.
What was that?
What the hell is "Ulumululu"?
Even I couldn't understand that one.
"Did he just insult me?"
—Most likely.
Hmm… Pelerian seemed sulky.
Of course, I hadn't spared the goblin purely out of kindness.
—You're thinking clearly. If we follow him, we should reach the river.
He said he needed to return to the river.
So tracking him should lead us there.
"Let me grab a bite first."
I wondered what pelican meat tasted like.
I quickly finished my meal.
The goblin boy was small—but fast.
Following him stealthily took quite a bit of effort.
Goblins are monsters.
And monsters evolve.
A juvenile goblin that grows enough and meets the level requirement becomes an adult goblin.
Then, depending on its aptitude, it becomes a warrior, a shaman, a hunter, or a gatherer.
Among them, a select few undergo another evolution.
That is the hobgoblin.
A superior species of goblin.
They grow taller, their skin turns red, and their strength increases.
With superior combat ability, they lead goblin tribes.
There was one such hobgoblin—Nanaruk.
She was the greatest warrior of the Runga Tribe, which had settled along the old river basin.
When she tied her hair tight and ran through the forest, she was as agile as any elf.
Nanaruk's cat-like golden eyes were fixed on a large rubber tree.
More precisely, on a piece of lizard hide pinned to its trunk with a sharp arrowhead.
A smile spread across her lips, revealing her neatly pointed fangs.
The well-dried lizard hide served as paper.
Indeed, it was covered in writing.
It was a letter.
A letter left behind by her lover.
"…Chandal…"
Nanaruk softly murmured his name and began to read.
But even though it was a love letter, her expression darkened as she read.
…Nana, I'm sorry. But I couldn't stop my father. I carefully spoke up once and got beaten badly! War between our tribes is unavoidable.
To be honest, I wish you would run away. I'll try to persuade my father. At least you and your siblings can be saved. Your father is the chief, so there's nothing we can do about him.
I love you, Nana.
Write your reply below. If you tell me the place and date, I'll come with warriors to escort you and your siblings.
Yours, always—Chandal.
The letter was short, leaving space for a reply.
That empty space felt hollow.
Instead of writing back—
Rip.
Nanaruk tore the lizard hide apart.
She shredded it into pieces and scattered them.
It felt as if her heart were being torn apart as well.
Chandal's father, Krok, was the chief of a neighboring tribe.
They had once been on good terms. Marriage talks with Chandal had long been underway.
But everything changed after Krok, a hobgoblin, underwent yet another evolution.
Krok's tribe began invading and absorbing nearby goblin tribes.
Now stronger than even the long-established Runga Tribe,
they had turned their fangs toward Runga as well.
She had hoped Chandal would persuade his father…
Run away?
She could never do that.
Not for her siblings. Not for her father.
Nanaruk was a warrior of Runga.
As sorrow darkened her face—
"Sis! Sis!"
Her younger brother appeared.
Nanaruk's expression immediately brightened.
"Why are you so late?! I was worried!"
"I—I was saved by Ulumululu!"
As usual, children skipped over important details.
"Ulumululu?"
"Yeah! I almost got eaten by a pelican, but Ulumululu saved me!"
Ulumululu—a legendary Serpent.
After hearing the rough story, Nanaruk smacked her brother on the back.
"Ahh!"
"Forget Ulumululu—you almost died!"
"But… it's true…"
"Besides, a white Serpent and Ulumululu don't even have the same color."
"That's true, but… it definitely saved me… and we could even understand each other…"
"It probably let you go because there was a pelican nearby."
The goblin boy tried to protest, but Nanaruk didn't listen.
"We're late. At this rate, the boat will leave."
"Oh, right!"
"Get on!"
Nanaruk hoisted her brother onto her back in one swift motion
and began running like the wind.
The breeze felt refreshing.
—
The fact that I had lost track of the goblin boy while following him…
was honestly embarrassing.
But neither Pelerian nor I blamed each other.
Fortunately, once we lost his trail, I caught a scent.
The smell of water.
I followed it.
And at last, I found the Medeira River—the one Pelerian had mentioned so many times.
"Shaa!"
Which meant—"Wow."
The smell was unpleasant, but the river itself was magnificent.
Well… to be honest, it wasn't as big as the Han River—
more like the lower stretches of Cheonggyecheon.
The water was somewhere between black and brown.
Not dirty—just muddied.
"So where do we go now? Are we close?"
Pelerian had said that once we found the Medeira River, we'd basically reached his dungeon.
That's why we'd been searching for it so desperately.
So then—where was the dungeon?
—Over there.
Pelerian stared off into the distance.
Beyond the river stood a rocky mountain—
glowing orange in the sunlight like a burning sweet potato.
—It should be somewhere behind that.
"Really?"
—We just need to cross the river.
"Then that's easy."
Yeah. Let's cross.
Well… since we can't take a boat or fly,
if we follow the river, we'll probably find a bridge—
…That thought came from modern common sense.
There was no way a bridge existed in a jungle this deep.
"How do we cross?"
—...
"You said we'd find it as soon as we reached the river."
—I thought it was on this side… or maybe that side…
Pelerian coughed awkwardly.
—We could just swim across.
"I can't swim…"
I hated swimming even more than flying.
Even in a rainforest, the river water looked cold—and dangerous.
—You're a Serpent and you can't swim?!
Well, it happens.
And it's not just that I dislike swimming.
Look—there are crocodiles over there.
I wasn't confident in underwater combat yet.
—Then… hmm.
Even Pelerian fell silent.
This is bad.
That was the only thought in my mind.
If I went upstream, would the river narrow enough to jump across?
How far would I have to go for that?
—Hey, look! Over there!
At Pelerian's excited voice, I turned my head.
The riverbank opened up enough to see clearly.
And there—
I saw goblins preparing to launch a boat onto the river.
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE : https://beastnovels.com