The Monstrous Hero-Chapter 41 - 40: Team Progress

˖⁺‧₊˚˚₊‧⁺˖ ˖⁺‧₊˚˚₊‧⁺˖˖⁺‧₊˚˚₊‧⁺˖

After what felt like forever—which was probably less than two hours—they stood surrounded by bodies. The goblin clan was finally wiped out.

Or at least, that’s what everyone thought.

The forest had gone dead quiet, like even the wind was holding its breath. No more guttural screeches. No rustling in the bushes. Just the heavy sound of boots squelching in black mud and the steady hiss of steam rising off fresh blood.

The whole clearing looked like a massacre site—green limbs scattered everywhere, rusted blades half-buried in the dirt, the air so thick with the stench of rot that it burned going down.

Liu Xian stood still for a moment, chest heaving, his blade dripping with something dark and sticky. He had blood up to his elbows—most of it not his. The wild panic that had carried him through the fight was gone, leaving behind an uncomfortable stillness. His breathing came sharp and uneven, and for a second, he didn’t even know what to do with his hands.

B67 was a few meters away, kneeling in the mud, clutching his crossbow like it was a lifeline. He looked pale, eyes wide and unfocused, lips moving soundlessly.

Maybe counting kills.

Maybe praying as he stared blankly at the ground like his brain hadn’t caught up yet.

Z-34 on the other hand leaned against a broken log, sword dangling from his hand, chest rising and falling fast. He let out a long, trembling breath that came out more like a laugh. "We... we did it, right?"

No one answered.

Not G-25 who had started his usual pacing and definitely not 27-C.

She wiped her face with the back of her wrist, leaving a smear of dark blood across her cheek. Her hair stuck to her neck, soaked in sweat and rain. She paused for a second then resumed cleaning her blade with a piece of torn fabric she’d stolen off a goblin corpse.

They stayed like that for some moments before E-26 finally lowered his rifle. "That should be all of them," he muttered, sounding like he didn’t believe it either.

But something was off.

And 27-C managed to notice it first. Her frown deepened. "Where are the points?" she asked, more to herself than to anyone else.

Yeah.

Where the hell were the points?

Z-34 straightened. "Yeah. Where’s our reward?"

Liu Xian frowned slightly, tilting his head. The silence that followed was uncomfortable, almost heavy. The type that made you aware of every breath you took.

Then B67 spoke up, his voice cracking through the air. "Cael said we’d get points after completing the trial, right? This was the trial, wasn’t it?"

No one replied.

Even 27-C didn’t have an answer this time.

It was G-25 who broke the silence next, pausing for a second. "Maybe the system’s bugged?"

Z-34 spat onto the ground. "Yeah, right. Or maybe this whole place just likes fucking with us."

The tension was starting to thicken again, that post-battle adrenaline souring into frustration. Z-34 kicked a goblin corpse out of his way. "Please don’t fucking tell me there’s another goddamn trial!"

"How would we even know?" E-26 snapped, gesturing with his gun. "You broke the only drone that was giving us info!"

"What the fuck are you saying?" Z-34 barked back. "Another one of those flies came right after I smashed that one. Don’t you dare fucking pin this on me!"

27-C didn’t even bother to separate them this time. She just let them yell, too drained to care. She walked toward the nearest goblin instead, crouched, and started examining it.

The thing’s body was still twitching faintly. Its jaw was gone, half its ribs crushed in, eyes staring blankly into the mud.

Liu Xian watched her quietly, one hand resting on his blade. His movements were slow as he scraped the edge clean against a nearby rock, trying to get the gore off—but the dark stains clung stubbornly. He wasn’t even sure why he bothered. Maybe it was just something to do while they waited for the next horror.

27-C’s glove pressed into the goblin’s chest. She hesitated, then tore the skin open. A wet sound filled the air. She grimaced, but kept going, fingers digging through the mush until something hard brushed her palm.

She pulled it out.

A gem.

Small, faintly glowing, purple with veins of black running through it. It pulsed weakly in her hand like it was still alive.

"Hey," she called out, voice tight, "guys—"

Before she could finish, all their collars beeped at once.

A sharp chime.

Then a holographic screen blinked to life in front of each of them.

[Team Progress Updated]

Points Accumulated: +1

The group froze.

Even Z-34 shut up mid-yell, eyes darting from his collar to 27-C’s hand.

The gem pulsed again—once, twice—and then went dim.

It clicked instantly.

"That... came from the goblin?" B67 said slowly, disbelief etched on his face.

27-C nodded, still holding the bloodied stone.

E-26 cursed under his breath. "So that’s how we earn points. We have to dig these damn things out of them."

Z-34 let out a harsh laugh. "You’ve gotta be kidding me. We’ve been standing on a goldmine of these freaks’ guts."

The words hung there for a moment.

Then the realization hit all of them like a slap.

To get points—they had to harvest the goblins.

Rip open their chests, tear out whatever was left of their hearts, and hope it glowed.

G-25 turned green in the face, stumbling a few steps back. "That’s... that’s disgusting."

No one disagreed.

Liu Xian just stared at the gem, silent. There was something almost mesmerizing about it—the way it glowed faintly through the blood. The way it looked like something alive, trapped. But he didn’t say a word. He was fairly sure he was the only one who thought that, so he just continued wiping his blade clean, eyes dark and distant.

27-C tucked the gem into a pouch. "Keep searching," she let out quietly. "We need fifty points to make it out of the probationary zone."