The Monstrous Hero-Chapter 40 - 39: Grinding

The moment they stepped into the portal, the world around them twisted.

The hall melted into color—dark greens, moss, and the wet rot of an overgrown forest.

Air that had been sterile seconds ago now reeked of mud. The kind of iron that only came from blood.

Branches bent low overhead, knotted together so tightly they strangled out the light. What little sun managed to bleed through painted everything in a sickly, green haze.

The six of them materialized in a clearing and for a few seconds, nobody said anything. Just the low hum of the teleportation ring fading out, the stillness of an untouched place waiting to be disturbed.

Then—

"Portal Trial, Phase Two: Subjugation," a voice crackled from the broken drone hovering nearby. The screen blinked twice before the static devoured it. "Target species: Goblin clan. Estimated numbers—"

The voice died before it finished. The drone twitched, sparked, and went dead completely.

"Perfect," muttered E-26, dragging a hand down his face. "Absolutely fucking perfect."

Z-34 snorted. "Good. Less supervision."

No one replied.

Liu Xian stood there for a moment, staring at the distant treeline like maybe the world would just... fade back to white. But it didn’t. He could smell the dirt. The sour rot. The faint, ugly breath of something watching them.

He tightened his grip on his blade.

B67 loaded his crossbow beside him, shaking fingers fumbling with a bolt. The boy’s voice was small when he spoke. "T-This doesn’t look so bad, right?"

Z-34 didn’t even bother to turn as he replied. "You’ll change your mind in about ten seconds."

And he was right.

Because within that timeframe, a rustle came from the brush. One, then three, then too many to count. Low growls layered together, overlapping into a wet, throaty chorus.

Liu Xian froze.

From the shadows, they emerged—short, hunched things with gray-green skin, mouths full of too many teeth, and eyes that gleamed with cruel, eager hunger. Goblins. Dozens of them.

They were fast, faster than their clumsy gait suggested. The first few charged out of the undergrowth with guttural screams, crude blades raised high.

The team moved instantly.

Z-34 was the first to strike. His blade flashed once, twice—clean arcs of motion that cut through flesh like fabric. Blood sprayed, black and thick. It hissed when it hit the ground.

The girl—27-C—was a speed of blur, moving like a shadow between bodies. Her dagger found throats, joints, hearts. Each movement was calculated, precise. Efficient.

Even G-25, the one with the weird pacing habit, fought like he’d been built for it. His arm shifted mid-swing, plating opening to reveal a mechanical limb. Each punch shattered skulls, splattering dirt and bone.

E-26 fired from behind them, covering their flanks with frightening accuracy. His gun hissed, each shot snapping through a goblin’s skull before they even got close.

And Liu Xian—

He was... trying his best.

He didn’t grow up in a district that prepared him for this kind of shit. He wasn’t trained in combat, wasn’t blessed with super reflexes or a tactical brain. He was just a guy who’d been dragged out of his home by a talking dog, betrayed, drugged half to death, dumped into a lab, and then told to "clear a portal."

So forgive him if he didn’t have any cool trick to show off.

He was grinding—and that was what mattered.

Swinging wildly, but swinging nonetheless.

His blade gear cut through the air with heavy, uneven arcs, the humming vibration shaking up his arm every time it connected. He wasn’t graceful, not by a long shot. The first few goblins he hit didn’t even die cleanly. The blade bit too deep or not enough. Some fell screaming. Others kept crawling toward him, jaws snapping, fingers clawing at his boots until he crushed their skulls out of panic more than skill.

"Keep your stance tight!" someone yelled—maybe E-26—but Liu barely heard them. His breath came fast and ragged, heart punching against his ribs like it wanted out.

He swung again.

Missed.

The goblin’s blade scraped his armguard, sparks flying. He yelped, stumbled back, and somehow managed to bring the sword up in time to block the next one.

The two collided—man and monster—and for a moment Liu could see its face clearly. The cracked teeth. The bulbous yellow eyes. The wet snarl curling up its cheeks.

He shoved. The blade gear tore through its collarbone. Hot blood sprayed across his neck.

He gagged but didn’t stop moving.

The air around him burned with the smell of ozone and blood. Every direction was chaos—screams, metal, and that sick, wet thunk of something getting split in half.

A small shriek broke through it all—B67’s voice.

Liu’s head snapped toward it just in time to see the boy tumble backward, a goblin charging straight for him.

"Shit—!"

Liu Xian didn’t think. He ran. His legs moved before his mind caught up, boots slipping in mud as he swung the blade down in a overhead strike. It connected, and oblin’s skull cracked open with a crunch.

B67 looked up, eyes wide, dirt smeared across his face. "T-Thanks you!"

Another goblin leapt from the side. Before Liu Xian could react, a bolt whistled past his ear and buried itself in the creature’s eye.

He froze.

B67 stood there, crossbow steady, shoulders trembling—but the shot had been perfect. The kid blinked once, reloaded, fired again. Another goblin down.

The boy didn’t look like much, but when he focused, there was something cold in his eyes.

A clarity.

Like the panic just switched off and all that remained was instinct.

Liu stared at the kid for a moment until something screamed behind him.

He turned—and barely ducked in time as a rusted blade sliced through the air above his head. He rolled, came up swinging. The goblin’s arm went flying, then its jaw, then half its skull. He didn’t even realize what he’d done until the body dropped in front of him.

The chaos went on.

Bodies piled.

The clearing turned into a swamp of black blood and green flesh. The smell was unbearable—like rust and rot soaked in rainwater until it became something that clung to your lungs when you breathed.

Yet the goblins kept coming.