#Chapter 5: Goblin Coins
The area had clearly been flat ground, but a sudden uphill slope emerged and stretched on. As they walked, Jintae spotted something and urgently tapped the arm of Cheoldu, who was ahead.
“Look over there.”
“Hmm?”
Beyond the bushes was a car buried as if flipped upside down. The problem wasn’t just the car—three green-skinned monsters loomed alongside it.
“Goblins.”
“Seems like it.”
Cheoldu crouched low, observing them intently.
Extraterrestrial lifeforms, not of Earth.
Height: roughly 120-130 cm.
Weight… Well, he’d need to lift one to know.
Each stomp dented the car’s hood, suggesting they were heavier than their size implied.
Their equipment was pitiful.
Wooden spears whittled from trees and rags for clothing—that was all.
Cheoldu glanced back at Jintae.
Shivering.
The boy trembled violently. Cheoldu gave him a few pats. Fear rippled in Jintae’s eyes when their gazes met.
He’s got issues.
Becoming a warrior after one training session? Impossible.
“Hand me the axe.”
“Huh? You’re serious?”
Still spouting nonsense?
“Tch.”
“Why? Why?!”
First, deal with those things. Then re-educate him.
“I’ll be back.”
“Huh?!”
Cheoldu lowered his stance and crept forward.
He swung the axe up and down, testing its weight.
Too front-heavy.
The balance was off.
He sidestepped the tree obscuring his view and hurled the axe without hesitation.
Whoooosh—CRACK!
The axe buried itself into a goblin’s skull with a wet squelch, killing it instantly.
Bones aren’t tough.
This was manageable.
Cheoldu sprinted.
His tree-trunk thighs propelled him forward.
One step. Two. Three.
By the third stride, he was upon the goblin fiddling with the steering wheel. He swung his hatchet at its neck.
CRUNCH!
The firewood-splitting tool lodged halfway into the creature’s neck.
“Gglrk!”
Whether stuck on bone or stubborn tendons, the hatchet refused to budge.
“Kreeek!”
Another goblin leaped from the car roof, thrusting its spear at Cheoldu’s head.
CLANG!
He dropped the hatchet and blocked with an iron skillet. Simultaneously, his free hand seized the attacker’s throat.
CRUNCH.
“Grk—!”
Cheoldu’s massive palm easily encircled the goblin’s neck. A squeeze later, it went limp.
Not so tough. Heavy, though.
He tossed the corpse aside.
Approximately 110 cm tall, 40 kg.
Their lean frames suggested higher density than humans—likely why their strength defied their size.
“Whoa! Holy shit!”
Jintae gaped as the situation resolved in seconds. The three dead goblins dissolved into light and vanished.
“Wh-what?!”
Though bizarre occurrences were expected nowadays, witnessing corpses sublimate into light was still jarring.
“Cheoldu! Here!”
Where the hatchet-split goblin had fallen, a bronze coin now lay beside the weapon. Cheoldu collected both.
Nova’s Basic Currency – Trial Use Only – Non-Transferable
Currency exists to facilitate trade, yet this can’t be transferred? Absurd.
Since it’s trial currency, there must be other types.
“Wow, it looks so cool!”
Jintae’s eyes sparkled as Cheoldu flicked the coin to him.
“Check it out.”
“Whoa!”
Meanwhile, Cheoldu retrieved his axe. The goblins’ crude spears and ragged clothes had vanished with their bodies—no loot beyond the coins.
33% drop rate?
Insufficient data, but clearly not every kill yielded one.
“You said we need three for scouting?”
“Scouting my ass.” Cheoldu snorted.
Jintae kept rolling the coin between his fingers, fascinated.
“Jintae.”
“Yeah?”
“Use that to class-change.”
“Me? But you killed them!”
“I’ll get more.”
“But—”
“You’re problematic.”
Arguing about everything.
Since the apocalypse trials began, Jintae had been emotionally volatile—his rationality drowned in panic. The formerly sharp kid had been overwhelmed by consecutive shocks.
Needs a wake-up call.
Cheoldu raised his hand. Jintae flinched.
“I’ll do it!”
He reflexively agreed despite having no clue how.
“Uh, how?!”
Cheoldu didn’t know either.
“Novice class change! Open status window! God-Tae interface!”
After bizarrely shouting commands, Jintae somehow triggered a system prompt—but failed.
“Says verification failed because I didn’t hunt them.”
“Hmm. ‘Non-transferable’ in action.”
Taking back the coin, Cheoldu asked, “How’s it work?”
“Hold it and focus on going to Nova. Like… wish really hard?”
Cheoldu gripped the coin.
Flicker.
Golden light seeped into his hand, leaving a circular mark on his wrist.
“Whoa! What’s this?!”
“….”
“Looks like a tattoo.”
Cheoldu flexed his hand, observing the symbol.
“So this is it.”
“Feel different?”
“….”
Hard to explain. It felt natural—like recalling common knowledge.
“Think of it as a coin purse.”
“This tattoo?”
“Yeah. Lets you withdraw Goblin Coins at will.”
Though currently empty.
“Like inventory?”
“Just coins, seems like.”
“Whoa.”
<Apocalypse Trial Cleared!>
You have qualified to become a citizen of Nova.
Enter through the portal.
“Just completed my quest.”
“Wow.”
Jintae’s face mixed envy and anxiety.
“Relax. I’ll help.”
“Th-thanks.”
“First.”
Cheoldu handed him the handaxe.
“Review basics.”
“?!”
Jintae’s pupils trembled, but Cheoldu delivered a “motivational” kick without hesitation.
THWACK!
Following Cheoldu with a bruised face, Jintae’s eyes burned with resolve.
Fuckers better spawn more goblins.
Venting on monsters after Cheoldu’s “training” seemed therapeutic.
“Good look, Jintae.”
“Fuckin’ green bastards.”
Cheoldu shook his head.
Physical strength couldn’t be instantly boosted, but mentality was different. With proper resolve, even Jintae could handle goblins.
“Shh.”
Cheoldu crouched; Jintae mirrored him instantly. No trace of his earlier panic remained.
“Five goblins.”
“Too many?”
“Still problematic.”
“Fuck it. I’ll take two.”
Cheoldu smirked and pointed to the outermost one.
“Handle that.”
“Okay.”
“Charge when I engage.”
“Got it.”
After a quick plan, Cheoldu rushed in.
“Kikik!”
“Kreek!”
The goblins were ransacking military supply crates filled with ration packs—half already pillaged.
CRACK!
His hatchet cleanly severed a goblin’s neck.
BAM!
A kick sent another crashing into a tree. The third ate an iron skillet to the skull.
“Kreee!”
The remaining two scrambled for weapons—one with a crude sword, the other wearing leather armor and wielding a heavy axe. The latter stood 10 cm taller.
A goblin warrior?
Cheoldu charged the big one.
“Graah!”
CLANG!
The warrior blocked his strike but underestimated Cheoldu’s strength.
“Ggrk!”
The heavier axe flew from its grip. Cheoldu’s follow-up skillet strike crushed its skull.
CLANG!
The swordsman attacked from behind, but Cheoldu pivoted smoothly, deflecting with the pan.
CLANG!
He finished the dazed attacker with his hatchet.
SWISH!
“Ggk!”
Turning, he found Jintae and a spear-goblin in a standoff.
Helping would invalidate his trial.
Cheoldu busied himself executing the remaining stunned goblins.
Two coins dropped.
One from the warrior, another from the first kill. Two others yielded nothing—solidifying the 33% rate theory.
“Kik! Kik!”
“Die, you fucking trash!”
The spectacle was absurd—Jintae and the last goblin rolled in the dirt, wrestling. Despite the chaos, Jintae’s weight advantage showed.
“Submit, asshole!”
“Grblrgl!”
Cheoldu shook his head.
“Snap its arm. What’re you waiting for?”
Jintae hesitated, then viciously twisted the captured limb.
SNAP!
“GGRK!”
Cheoldu retrieved the fallen hatchet and tossed it over.
“Finish it.”
“Uh… okay.”
Jintae hesitated briefly before chopping down repeatedly.
THUNK! THUNK!
The squirming goblin finally stilled.
“Hah… hah…”
Jintae stared at the corpse beneath him, trembling. Cheoldu hauled him up and reached to pat his shoulder.
“Eek!”
Jintae guardedly raised his arms, then relaxed.
“Did well, Jintae.”
“…Whew.”
The body vanished into light as Jintae glanced down, his pallor improving.
“Huh?”
“Lucky you.”
A single coin dropped from his kill. Jintae stared blankly at the prize in his palm.
