[TS] I’m the Only One Without a Status Window 4

Episode 4

About a week has passed since I started tutoring Dustin with his status window.

Perhaps because he’s still young, his brain quickly absorbed the Korean language, and now he can hold a conversation using Korean to some extent.

“Today’s quest says to defeat two goblins outside the village…”

It’s probably also thanks to the System Language level increasing, accelerating his learning.

I never thought I’d be using Korean in this world.

“By the way, are goblins those things called monsters?”

Many creatures commonly referred to as monsters live in the forest outside the national border.

They say that legendary creatures like dragons and elves exist too, but…

I don’t know if it’s true.

Since the Elliot County is located quite far out in the countryside, it’s often attacked by monsters.

To deal with them, they hire skilled mercenaries with money, and it’s not uncommon for those mercenaries to settle down and become knights of the County.

“Yes, goblins… What should we do, Master? Can I defeat them?”

He’s asking the obvious.

With his strength, he could handle not just two goblins, but even a dozen or so.

Actually, the goblins here are considered relatively weak monsters, so as long as there are no leaders, even a single soldier can handle them.

And Dustin, currently aided by the status window, is considerably stronger than an average soldier.

“If it’s not a goblin leader or something, you can probably take down two of them easier than eating a meal.”

I respond with a smile and think about goblins for a moment.

Goblins, huh.

I did think it would be nice to see one at least once.

Isn’t that right?

For someone who loved fantasy novels in South Korea, goblins and similar monsters are creatures you’d definitely want to see if they existed.

And who am I?

A hardcore fan of those fantasy novels!

Right now, I don’t have a status window, so it’s hard to say I’ll go see them myself, but this works out well.

“I’ll go too.”

“Huh?! Really?!”

His surprised expression is strange.

I can’t tell if he’s happy or not, so I frown and lean closer to his face.

“Why, can’t I?”

Well, I admit that I’m incredibly weak, so it’s true that taking me along would be like carrying baggage.

But this guy can probably slice through goblins like nothing.

So wouldn’t it be okay to have one extra baggage?

Ah, maybe not.

“No! Of course you can! I was wondering if Master was getting tired of me lately. I’m happy you said that first!”

…Was it that obvious?

“But why that expression?”

“I was worried about whether it would be okay to show you something disgusting like goblins. Of course, Master is strong, so it’ll be fine, but honestly, girls don’t like gross things.”

He’s rambling on and on.

I knew it from his TMI earlier, but this guy really talks a lot.

And me being strong?

I’ve told him countless times that I’m not, but he’s ignoring me and going on like that.

I’m tired of it, so I decided not to respond anymore.

“Anyway, let’s go now.”

“Yes! But I don’t have a real sword…”

He hasn’t taken the official Knight Order entrance exam yet, and he’s not receiving any special training from the Knight Commander.

So naturally, he doesn’t have a proper sword.

“Well, can’t you just take any sword from the training grounds?”

With his strength, he should be able to wield a sword that an adult man uses.

“Let’s take this one.”

I randomly pick out a sword that looks relatively unused and toss it to Dustin.

“Whoa, this definitely has a considerable weight.”

“You should be able to hold it with one finger, why are you being so dramatic?”

“But Master, just now…”

“Huh?”

“Ah, never mind. And it’s impossible to hold it with one finger.”

In just a week, he’s grown considerably, starting with the status window.

He seems taller, and his skinny body has gained quite a bit of muscle.

Is this what it feels like to watch a child grow?

Of course, my body, which is the same age, is also growing.

The problem is that I don’t have a status window, so I’m literally just growing…

“It would be best if you stayed behind me.”

Well, I am incredibly weak.

I’m just going because I want to see goblins, so I guess it’s better to listen to the stronger one, so I nod.

“By the way, Master. What’s that sword in your hand?”

“Huh? Ah, this. For self-defense..?”

I don’t think anything will happen as long as Dustin is here, but you should always have some kind of self-defense equipment.

Even though I hate to admit it, this body is a girl’s body.

And it’s weak.

“Wouldn’t it be better to take a real sword for self-defense?”

“Hey, how can I carry something that heavy?”

“Uh, um… Yes.”

He didn’t say anything more after that, but his confused expression made me even more confused.

I mean, logically, how can a girl without a status window carry and swing such a heavy sword?

As we continued our pointless conversation, I felt like we had entered deep into the forest, so I looked around.

“Isn’t this a bit strange?”

“Yes? What is?”

“We haven’t seen a single goblin or anything while coming this deep.”

I feel an ominous air pressing down on my shoulders.

It would be fine against ordinary monsters, but if a boss-level monster appears, there’s no way he and I can defeat it.

“Let’s secure an escape route… Huh?”

When I turned around, I saw disgusting green monsters slowly approaching, one by one.

“W-We’re surrounded, Master..!”

See, I told you.

Haha, I did want to see them, but I didn’t want to see this many.

And where did his confidence from earlier go, when he told me to stay behind him?

All I see is him sweating and looking nervous.

“Where did your earlier momentum go?”

I glare at him slightly, and he seems to have come to his senses as he draws the sword he was hugging tightly.

But the way he draws it is quite impressive.

“Oh..”

It was impressive enough to make me gasp in admiration unintentionally.

“I-I won’t let Master have to step in.”

I never intended to step in in the first place.

“I’ll show you..! How much I’ve grown..!”

Even while scared, his lines sound like those of a novel protagonist.

Is he really the protagonist..?

“Haaap-!”

Whoosh-

With a spirited shout, the sword in his hand draws an elegant curve like a dance and easily cuts down a goblin.

Thick green blood splatters on the trees and grass.

“Huff, huff…”

He’s breathing heavily, but his eyes sparkle with a sense of accomplishment.

A typical shonen manga protagonist type…

“Kieeek-!”

Enraged by Dustin’s actions, the goblins shriek and start charging at us, one by one.

I can see his hands trembling, but he doesn’t stop and diligently swings his sword, which is a pleasant sight, and also quite envious.

“Status window…”

If I had a status window and was told to fight monsters right away, I would jump in without hesitation.

That’s only natural, isn’t it?

Dustin doesn’t seem to know, but the status window is a blessing.

You received a blessing that can make you incredibly strong, and you’re going to let it rot?

That’s unacceptable.

I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to be a hero.

Of course, it’s not for some grand reason like wanting to save the poor or anything, uh, well.

It just looks really cool, doesn’t it..?

“Phew…”

Even with the protection of the status window and skills, dealing with dozens of goblins seems to be quite a strain on Dustin, as I can see him sweating profusely.

Now that the situation seems to be somewhat under control, I suddenly feel like I should at least wipe his sweat instead of just standing there doing nothing.

“I have a handkerchief, wipe your sweat.”

“M-Master’s handkerchief…! I-I can’t accept something so precious..!”

It’s just a random handkerchief I found lying around the house, what’s so precious about it?

Ignoring him, I turn my head slightly to take out the handkerchief from my pocket.

“What the…”

Strange and beautiful… no…

I witnessed something that shouldn’t be there.

“Isn’t that a Goblin Lord..?”

Hearing my trembling voice, Dustin follows my gaze.

“It’s not a Lord, uh… It looks like a chieftain level..”

I’m in a strange situation where I don’t know whether to be relieved that it’s not a Lord or sad that a chieftain has appeared.

“Fuck..!”

Various thoughts flash through my mind in an instant.

A goblin chieftain is much stronger than dozens of goblins attacking at once.

It’s not a monster that someone with the strength of a soldier can handle.

“Master?!”

So what I’m saying is, we need to run away now.

Even if you get a reward from the status window and do whatever, a chieftain is a no-go..!

As soon as I made my decision, I ran towards Dustin, grabbed his hand, and tried to run away.

I definitely, definitely tried to do that.

“Ugh, Master… What..!”

But for some reason, my hand slipped, and instead of grabbing him, I ended up pushing him in the opposite direction.

And in the process, the wooden practice sword I was holding was thrown towards the goblin chieftain, who hadn’t noticed us yet.

“We’re fucked…”

If we had run away just now, there might have been a way to somehow resolve this.

But I ruined it all.

No, not me, but damn it!

This hand! This damn slippery hand ruined everything! Fuck!

Why do humans even have hands?!

These useless hands that can’t do anything!

From now on, let’s call them feet instead of hands.

No, will there even be a ‘from now on’?!

“Kueeeeek-!”

I close my eyes tightly, expecting the goblin chieftain, who’s making a sound like a pig being slaughtered, to charge at us any second.

I died from being hit by a truck over there, and now I’m going to die here from being hit by a shitty goblin chieftain?

What a pathetic life.

Status window… If only I had a status window, I wouldn’t have died to a shitty bastard like this!

“Ugh…”

I had closed my eyes, prepared for death, but strangely, the goblin chieftain’s attack didn’t come, even after a considerable amount of time had passed.

Just-

Thud!

I only heard the sound of something huge collapsing.

“M-Master..! As expected, as expected, you’re amazing..!”

Along with Dustin’s strange words.

“Amazing, what… Huh..?”

I open my eyes and look in front of me, and I see the shitty goblin chieftain collapsed with a bizarre expression on his face.

Bleeding profusely with green blood.

I slowly follow the source of the blood with my eyes.

“Why is that there…”

A wooden sword.

That is, the wooden practice sword that was in my hand just now is stuck in the chieftain’s head, creating a bizarre sight.

“You took down the goblin chieftain in one shot! As expected of Master! I respect you!”

He gets up from where he had fallen, approaches me, and kneels down, bowing his head.

No, no.

No, wait a minute.

What is this absurd situation?!

“I’m always being helped by you, Master. I really wanted to protect you.”

Seeing him clench his fists tightly, I can only sigh.

No, that’s not it…

It’s just that the wooden sword that flew by chance happened to get stuck in his head, and he happened to die instantly…

No, but damn it.

Does that even make sense?

Isn’t that a ridiculous story?

It’s a wooden sword? It was a wooden sword?

Ah, but if it flew all the way from here to there…

Hmm, could it be…?

It must have gained momentum.

“Ugh, I wanted to protect you… That’s why I wanted to become a man worthy of you!”

Yeah, I have no intention of meeting you, so go back.

“I’m really worried that stronger people will hit on you..!”

I’m worried too.

Because of your stupid, thoughtless words.

Why is everyone so obsessed with love and marriage?!

No, I did dream of meeting a beautiful woman, falling in love, getting married, having beautiful children, and living happily ever after!

But nowhere in that scenario was I supposed to be the bride!

Sigh, let’s calm down.

This is not the time for this.

First, we need to collect the items dropped by the goblins and go back to the territory.

“Just shut up and let’s go back.”

“Yes, Master. I’ll collect the items.”

I feel troubled as I watch Dustin’s back as he tactfully stops talking and collects the items.

I wonder… do they have gender reassignment surgery here…?