"W-What?" I was surprised by what he had said. A monster obtaining a weapon like that from a goddess was something I couldn’t believe. "Is that even possible?"

’Could this be...’ Brandish said; it seemed like she recognized that weapon somehow. ’Be careful, Rick. If he hits your sword with his, you’ll lose your weapon for sure.’

’Is it really such an amazing weapon?’ I asked Brandish while the Hobgoblin babbled about how many foes he had killed with that piece of wood.

’Yes. It seems to be a piece of Yggdrasil.’

’What? Wait, wait...’ I could barely believe what I was hearing. ’You’re telling me that a piece of the tree that sustains life throughout the entire universe is in the possession of a Hobgoblin?’

’I-I can’t believe it either. That alone is absurd, but if it was a goddess who gave it to him, it might be possible, even if it’s just a small fragment like this,’ Brandish said, terror in her voice.

’A small fragment, you say,’ I said while watching the Hobgoblin rub his face against his club. ’That thing must have been my height before the transformation. Huh? Wait a sec...’

An idea came to mind.

’Brandish, is it possible to make a weapon out of that club? Like creating a sword.’

’Not with the technology of this world.’

’But the gods certainly can, right?’ I asked her with a mischievous smile on my face. ’Do you think that if I put on a good enough show for Freya, she would grant me that honor?’

I could imagine the look Brandish was giving me as she said, ’You never miss an opportunity, do you?’

’What can I say? I’m a greedy man.’

"Hey, why are you smiling?" the Hobgoblin said, thinking I was laughing at him.

"It’s nothing. I just had a brilliant idea. First, I’ll defeat you," I said, pointing my sword at his head, then at the club he was holding. "And then I’ll take that weapon you’re so fond of."

The monster paused for a moment, processing what I had just said.

"Hahahahahaha!" Soon after, he burst into a scornful laugh, as if I had just told the best joke of his life. "You’re quite amusing, human. It’s a shame I won’t be able to keep you as a pet. I have a rule of only letting human women live."

"Don’t say that. I have a rule too—never leave any monster alive." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"So you’re that strong, human?" he said, raising his weapon again. "At least entertain me until your death."

The Hobgoblin leaped toward me and, still midair, slammed his club where I had been—but fortunately, I managed to dodge. Barely.

I was a bit faster than him. I wondered if it was because of the weight of his weapon, but regardless of the reason, that advantage seemed to be one of the few I had at the moment.

His weapon was excellent for both offense and defense, but against it, all I could do for now was evade. Holy Light wasn’t enough to stun him, so I would have to use a different approach.

I pointed the palm of my hand toward where he was, droplets of water gathering around him as I called out my skill, "Water Prison!"

In no time, the Hobgoblin was trapped inside a bubble of water. He seemed stunned by it, unable to move. But I knew that wouldn’t be enough to defeat him.

"Thunder!" I followed up with my second magic skill.

A yellow electric current surged through the monster, electrocuting him. Since I had stopped channeling, the Water Prison was dispelled, but he clearly felt the impact of my combo. He looked out of breath after the attack. But there was no way I’d give him even the slightest chance to recover.

Above my head, I gathered my mana in the palm of my hand. The heat it emitted concentrated, as if it were a small sun burning cruelly.

"Fireball!" With that, I launched my third attack toward the Hobgoblin. A fireball shot in his direction, ready to roast him.

Or at least, that’s what I thought.

With a simple movement of his club, he deflected the attack to the side as if it were nothing. I was left speechless as the flames from my fireball exploded into a house in the village.

"Human, you’ll have to do better than that if you want to defeat me," he told me as he picked up a rock the size of a head from the ground. "Now it’s my turn."

It took me a moment to understand what he was about to do, but when he took a stance I had seen in tennis matches, a jolt of electricity ran through my body, sending warning signals through every fiber of my muscles.

He tossed the stone above his own height, then leaped and swung his club. The Hobgoblin struck the oversized rock toward me, like a cannon shot.

I don’t even know how I managed to dodge that attack. If that thing had hit even one of my limbs, I’d definitely be down a limb. I say that because a trail of destruction stretched in a seven-meter radius from where he launched the stone, destroying everything in its path.

Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d see a Goblin emulate a tennis technique, let alone use a piece of the Yggdrasil tree as a racket.

"Eh, you’re actually pretty fast. I usually play around with my disobedient subordinates like this, but they don’t last long, you know," the monster said in an excited voice. "But you won’t stand a chance if you just keep running."

He was right. I would never deal any significant damage to him if I didn’t go on the offensive. Magic didn’t seem to have much effect. My best chance would be physical damage, but that damned stick functioned like an absolute shield.

"If you’re not going to try to attack me," he said, picking up another piece of rubble, "then it’ll be my turn again."