I Am Honkai

Goblins, in the language of the Shenzhou, have no exact equivalent concept. They are humanoid creatures originating from Western mythology.

Typically depicted with dark green skin and long, pointed ears, goblins are small, ugly, and generally considered weak minions.

Despite their grotesque appearance and low individual strength—usually serving as mere cannon fodder in "beginner villages"—goblins have undeniably secured a place as one of the most well-known creatures in Western fantasy lore.

Their fame rivals that of dragons, elves, dwarves, and slimes, making them one of the most iconic fantasy species.

"Oh? You recognize these disgusting creatures that don't even qualify as prey?" Esdeath asked, raising the dossier and shaking it slightly with a look of surprise.

That shouldn't be possible. Wasn't the homeland of these Valkyries a technological civilization that had entered the information age?

Aside from the Honkai Beasts spawned by the Honkai Eruption, creatures like goblins—subspecies of humanoids—had never been encountered during her campaign against Anti-Entropy's North American headquarters.

Even if such creatures had specific habitats, why had they never been recorded in battle reports from other legions?

By all logic, Bronya shouldn't know about them… unless—

"Where did you learn about these creatures?" Esdeath narrowed her eyes at the silver-haired, twin-drilled girl before her. "Was it from the empire's colonial archives in the library, or...?"

"From games," Bronya replied in her usual emotionless tone.

"Huh?"

Esdeath blinked, momentarily dumbfounded.

"When you say 'games,' do you mean hunting, horse racing, chess, rugby...?"

"None of those. It's this..." Bronya said as she reached into her pocket, rummaging briefly before pulling out a device about seven inches long and 3.2 inches wide.

It was entirely silver-gray, with buttons on both sides—resembling something akin to a Nintendo Switch.

"A personal tactical terminal?"

Taking it from Bronya's hand, Esdeath examined it closely, flipping it back and forth. She found it vaguely familiar; the empire's auxiliary and conscripted forces had similar standard-issue devices.

The only difference was that the military version was bulkier, rougher in design, and smaller in scale.

But games? What did they have to do with a device that looked like a miniaturized soldier's terminal? Were there games with communication and positioning features?

"How do you use this?"

Fiddling with the buttons, Esdeath powered on the device. As the screen lit up, displaying an array of colorful square icons in various shapes, she felt completely at a loss.

"It's an online game. Goblins... let me find it. I think I stored it after completing the last level..." Bronya muttered while tapping the touchscreen and scrolling through the interface with delicate precision.

Am I that ignorant? Esdeath's expression turned serious.

Forgive her—after all, she hailed from the Empire's frigid northern territories. Though the empire had assimilated many civilizations that had entered the industrial and information age, even boasting a thriving entertainment industry, Esdeath had always been on the frontlines, too busy waging war.

Aside from key heavy industrial equipment, Esdeath—no, many of the Empire's soldiers, especially those from the imperial heartlands—held little regard for things like gaming consoles or personal computers.

After all, in the heat of war, the first thing they cut was power, networks, and communication lines. In post-battle cleanup operations, electronic devices were nothing more than powerless junk.

After the war ended and Esdeath returned to the imperial capital, it was even less likely that she would ask for online games. Her leisure activities consisted mainly of hunting, horse racing, training, and gladiatorial combat.

The electronic devices she used were primarily for communication, video recording, positioning, mapping, and submitting or reviewing combat reports.

Even if her subordinates engaged with entertainment media, they did so privately.

To put it another way—playing games while slacking off at work is one thing, but who would openly talk about it? That's like playing with your phone in class right under the nose of the headmaster—asking for trouble.

"I found it. This is the one. I've played many Western fantasy-themed games, and goblins or gremlins are practically staple monsters in every adventure game. This is the only one I haven't uninstalled yet."

Talking about games—especially introducing them to her current superior, General Esdeath—strangely gave Bronya a sense of satisfaction, a feeling akin to 'spreading the gospel.' Her usually monotone voice even carried a rare hint of excitement.

After all, beyond her roles as a programmer, a special forces soldier, and a Valkyrie, in her daily life, Bronya was a top-tier gamer with a commanding presence in the gaming community. Whether it was arcade, PC, or console games—she mastered them all.

Her in-game character, "Metal Gear Bronya," was widely known across various gaming platforms.

As for Kiana, who was an utter newbie... well, Bronya could crush her with one hand.

Back when Kallen Fantasy had just launched, Bronya's skills were so formidable that even the developers had to resort to using admin privileges to deal with her.

With an energetic boot-up sound, the screen flashed white, and a fantasy-themed interface featuring swords and magic appeared.

"This is the monster collection I've completed." Bronya eagerly opened the in-game achievements tab and navigated to her personal compendium.

She had figured it out—Esdeath wasn't just a newbie when it came to online games; she was a complete novice at using computers altogether.

"This is it." Bronya pointed with her small hand.

Looking at the bottommost entry on the compendium page, a low-rarity goblin marked by a single white star, Esdeath compared it to the image in the dossier.

"It does look quite similar."

The in-game goblin, likely adjusted to accommodate younger players due to legal restrictions, looked ugly but still somewhat clean and presentable—not too gruesome or realistic.

However, the goblins shown in the dossier provided by the Space Wolves Legion were far more grotesque.

These goblins were filthy and covered in grime, with elongated, flattened heads riddled with fleshy tumors—some of which had ruptured. Combined with the thick, drooling saliva dripping from their mouths, even a static image suggested they reeked of unbearable stench in reality.

As Esdeath curiously clicked on other monster entries to read their background descriptions, Kiana suddenly crept up behind Bronya and hugged her tightly from behind.

"Hey hey, Bronya, haven't you always claimed to be the mature one, saying that I'm just a dumb newbie who loves playing games? Yet here you are, carrying a gaming console everywhere!"

With a teasing grin, Kiana nudged Bronya's waist with her elbow.

"Uh... this is a soldier's way of maintaining composure," Bronya replied, her gaze flickering awkwardly as she struggled to maintain her usual calm and collected tone.

"I think I have a good idea of what kind of goblins you're familiar with," Esdeath said, raising Bronya's gaming console and waving it lightly. "Bronya, right? Can I borrow this for the night?"

"Sure."

"Much appreciated." Esdeath gestured to the base supervisor beside her and said, "Take them to their dorms."

"Rest well tonight. It will be the most comfortable night you'll have in a while," she added before leading the 'Jaegers' squad down a branching corridor.

Just as she was about to turn the corner, Esdeath suddenly stopped in her tracks, looking back at Kiana and the others with an enigmatic smile. "A friendly reminder—these goblins are not the same as those in your games."

"See you tomorrow."

"...See you tomorrow," Kiana muttered, waving her hand absentmindedly.

"Goblins are just low-level monsters in games... how tough can they be?"

"Don't underestimate them," Fu Hua cautioned as she pulled back a visibly eager Senti, who was itching to rush toward the gladiator pit below. "I have a feeling this trial isn't just about testing our strength; there might be something else..."

"Be prepared. This is only the beginning of the trial," Durandal added. "And then there's Mr. Sebas—that's where the true challenge lies."

"Yes, it's clear that Mr. Sebas is a very strict person," Rita commented, glancing at the towering figure of the Space Wolves' gray-armored giant. She offered a slight bow and said, "Sir, thank you for your guidance."

"Enough with the useless formalities," he muttered, turning his head. "Take them to the upper-level dormitories."

"Yes, sir!"

...

"Uh... I thought 'upper-level dormitory' meant some kind of presidential suite, but it's still just a dorm, huh?"

The moment Senti stepped inside and saw the rows of bunk beds, she deflated. "This? How can it match my esteemed status... ow!"

A swift hand chop landed on her head. Fu Hua sighed helplessly. "Be grateful you even have a place to stay. Who knows? We might be sleeping out in the wilderness tomorrow night."

"The other Hua-sister is really picky... isn't this already pretty good?" Pardofelis, on the other hand, stepped in happily, looking quite satisfied.

"Pardofelis! I'm going to smash your cat ears!"

"Ah—Hua-sister, save me!"

As they entered, Kiana and Mei exchanged smiles. They kicked off their boots, neatly placing them in the shoe cabinet before stepping inside.

The entire floor was covered by a single intricately woven, handmade carpet with dense, velvety fibers. It was unclear what kind of animal it came from—but since goblins existed, it might well be sourced from some magical beast in this fantasy world.

When they stepped barefoot onto the carpet, their feet sank in up to half the sole, sending a sensation of supreme comfort from their soles straight to their heads.

Although the dorm was far smaller than the imperial palace quarters they had stayed in back in the capital, it felt just right. The atmosphere here stirred a sense of nostalgia and warmth within them.

"Kiana, which bunk are you choosing?"

"Is that even a question? Of course, I'm bunking with Mei!"

With a sudden pounce, Kiana hugged Mei tightly, burying her face into the soft, rounded curves before her, inhaling the intoxicating lavender-like scent of Mei's body.

"Kiana... really, I can't do anything about you," Mei murmured, a helpless tone in her voice. The pressure on her sensitive spots made her amethyst-like eyes shimmer with a strange glow, while her long, dark purple ponytail swayed gently with each movement.

...

"Lord Durandal, I never expected we'd have another chance to live in a shared dormitory. It's quite nostalgic."

Having chosen a bed near the window, Rita, always considering herself Durandal's personal maid, eagerly stepped forward to arrange their temporary nest with delight.

"Regardless of what awaits us tomorrow, a good rest is essential to better face the trials, don't you think, Lord Durandal?"

"You're quite optimistic, Rita." Though she said this, Durandal didn't just stand idly by. She stepped forward to assist Rita in making the bed.

"Bronya-sister."

"Seele."

...

Before long, the dormitory lights were turned off.

However, through the moonlight streaming in from the window and the faint sounds of breathing within, it was easy to imagine the mingling scents of youthful girls and the dense fragrance of female hormones filling the air tonight.

Meanwhile, in Esdeath's quarters, the lights remained bright. She flipped through the records in the dossier, comparing them with the background stories displayed on Bronya's game console.

"The difference is huge; it's hard to believe they describe the same race."

Common traits included goblins frequently appearing in deep forests and remote villages, possessing weak individual strength yet high reproductive rates, and often attacking in swarms.

If other worlds still had decent goblins, then the goblins of this world were beyond human imagination—purely predatory beings, producing nothing, obtaining everything through pillage and slaughter.

Moreover, one particularly disturbing trait of the goblins in this world was that they were exclusively male.

This meant their reproduction depended entirely on the females of other species. When capturing men, they would either kill and eat them immediately or dismember them for later consumption, while women faced even worse fates—enslaved for breeding purposes or kept as future rations.

Their tragic fate needed no elaboration.

According to reports from various Astartes Legions, goblins had been discovered in many worlds containing supernatural life forms.

However, the goblins of the 5th Trial World (Goblin Slayer) were uniquely vile, standing out like a scorpion's sting.

When the planetary governor of this world first presented the goblin-related information to the Imperial High Command, even Selene was alarmed.

But afterward, having read through the reports, Selene dismissed them indifferently.

"However... what did Her Majesty mean by 'green skins' and 'WAAAGH!'?"

Esdeath didn't dwell on it too much, assuming they referred to other goblin species. She tapped the game console on the desk thoughtfully. "The difference is staggering..."

Comparison could be cruel. Compared to these real-world monstrosities, the goblins in Bronya's game seemed almost charitable.

Rising from her chair, Esdeath pushed open the window and gazed at the twin stars illuminating the night sky outside, whispering to herself:

"I've decided... Whether Kiana and the others can overcome this or not, once this trial ends, I will wipe them out. Every last one of them."

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