⚠ This chapter contains cruel descriptions and deeply upsetting developments. If you're sensitive to such content, I recommend turning back now.
Those who wish to proceed, please go ahead.
Even after equipping the goblins heading out on hunts with a full set of weapons, I didn't stop my weapon forging.
First, weapons created through forging would break and vanish once their durability hit zero.
Durability decreased gradually with each use, little by little.
The goblins, who had never used proper weapons before, relied heavily on brute force in their fights, so durability drained fast.
That meant when durability ran low, I'd need to replace them with new ones.
I could restore durability myself, of course, but forging an entirely new weapon was more efficient.
After weapons came farming tools and household items.
Through various trial and error, I sometimes even managed to forge things you'd hardly call "weapons."
A sickle had a blade, and chain sickles were weapons too, so being able to forge those made sense.
But what about a shovel?
I'd heard that on battlefields, shovels had taken more lives than guns, so it wasn't entirely wrong, was it?
The crowbar, though— that was definitely just for laughs.
As I continued forging, my Skill level went up.
Naturally, a higher Skill level meant I could forge better things, so I swapped out the old for the new.
As I made new items, my Skill level climbed even further.
It was a positive chain reaction.
The survival rate of goblins going on hunts improved dramatically.
Their range of operations expanded, and they brought back more food.
As a result, deaths from starvation decreased.
With farming tools available, the fields grew larger.
It wasn't anything as grand as an "internal affairs cheat," but the village was gradually improving.
And I was contributing to that.
It made me happy.
I threw myself into forging without a single thought.
I had no idea how abruptly it would end.
That day, too, I was forging away in the dedicated hut.
It was a hut they'd built specifically so I could focus on my work.
Forging required intense concentration.
In the middle of forging, I'd become completely oblivious to everything around me.
I finished a single katana.
A sword requiring precise cutting technique wasn't well-suited for goblins who fought through brute force.
But when you can make something, you want to try— that was the allure of the Japanese sword.
With neither weapons nor farming tools urgently needed at the moment, I decided to give it a shot.
I lifted it up to examine my handiwork. That was when I noticed.
Outside was far too noisy.
A dread feeling crept over me.
Still holding the katana, I stepped out of the hut.
What awaited me was hell.
Humans.
Humans were attacking.
At their feet, numerous goblins lay fallen.
Goblin warriors were still desperately fighting back, but they were being pushed outmatched.
No— it wasn't just that.
Among the humans were several Monsters.
They were siding with the humans— perhaps they'd been tamed.
"Lazalaza! Get inside the hut!"
Lazalaza's older brother arrived with his sister and shoved me back inside.
Alone with my sister, I trembled.
I was scared.
I'd gotten into plenty of fights in my previous life, but a fight to the death— I'd never experienced anything like that.
I'd accepted that one day I might die when going out to hunt, but that was supposed to be something far off.
There was no way I could steel myself for something so sudden.
My sister trembled.
She could barely hold a conversation yet.
Even if she matured quickly on the outside, her inner growth didn't keep pace.
By human standards, she was still an infant.
Get a grip!
If something happened, I had to protect her!
I raised the katana and glared at the door.
I didn't know how long I stood like that before it slowly opened.
It was a human who opened it.
I swung the katana without hesitation.
The blade was effortlessly deflected by the man's sword.
With my feeble arms, I didn't stand a chance.
The man murmured something.
But the words were in a language different from the goblins', and I couldn't understand a thing.
A chill washed over me, as though his gaze were groping every inch of my body.
The man narrowed his eyes.
I didn't know what he was doing, but this was my chance.
I tried to swing the katana again, but before I could, the man's kick sent my body flying.
The katana slipped from my hand.
The pain nearly knocked me unconscious.
The man pressed his hand down on my head as I lay sprawled on my back, pressing in for the kill.
The next instant, something flowed into me.
"Ngh!? Gahh!?"
A shriek escaped my lips involuntarily.
What is this!?
A wave of discomfort and pain surged through me, as if impurities were being injected into my body.
At the same time, an indescribable sensation washed over me, as if my consciousness itself was being dyed a different color.
I gritted my teeth and held on.
My mind held together somehow, but my body was increasingly refusing to obey.
I struggled to throw off the man's hand, but my strength drained away and I went limp.
From the corner of my vision, I saw my sister standing frozen, unable to move.
I wanted to tell her to run, but my mouth wouldn't move either.
The man removed his hand.
Yet my body still wouldn't listen.
When I tried to stand, no strength came. I couldn't even move a single finger.
It felt as if my body didn't belong to me.
The man said something.
I couldn't understand his words.
And yet, somehow I knew he was saying "stand up."
Following the man's command, my body rose to its feet.
The same body that had refused to obey a moment ago now listened to the man's words.
In a corner of my confused mind, knowledge from a game in my previous life surfaced.
The Tame ability— a power to subjugate Monsters.
Moments ago, Monsters had been attacking the goblins alongside humans.
Could it be that this man possessed the power to tame Monsters?
If so— had I been taken over by this man!?
The man looked at me and nodded with satisfaction.
Then he looked at my sister.
And opened his mouth.
"Kill."
No!
Wait!
I can't do that!
Yet my body picked up the katana I had dropped against my will.
It advanced slowly toward my terrified sister.
Don't do this!
Stop!
Stop, body!
The descending blade painted my sister's body red.
Aaaaaaahhhh— aaaaahhhhhh— aaaaaaahhhhhhhh—!
《Conditions fulfilled. You have acquired the Title "Ally Slayer."》 《Due to the Title "Ally Slayer," you have acquired the Skill "Heterodox Attack LV1" and the Skill "Taboo LV1."》 What have I done!
What have I done!
With my own hands— with a weapon I created!
"Eat."
What?
Wait.
What are you saying?
Hey!
This is a joke, right?
You're lying, right?!
Stop!
Let me stop, please!
《Conditions fulfilled. You have acquired the Title "Blood Kin Eater."》 《Due to the Title "Blood Kin Eater," you have acquired the Skill "Taboo LV1" and the Skill "Heterodox Magic LV1."》 《"Taboo LV1" has been merged with "Taboo LV1."》 《Proficiency has reached a threshold. The Skill "Taboo LV1" has been upgraded to "Taboo LV2."》 My mouth turned bright red.
My mind, at the same time.
Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! 《Proficiency has reached a threshold. You have acquired the Skill "
I harbored a murderous intent so maddening it could drive me insane.
And yet, my body faithfully continued to obey the man's commands.