The Evolution of a Dungeon Master

Meanwhile, in the first square a few moments ago, the adventurers became more confident after killing their first goblin and pushing past the first wooden palisade wall.

"Hah! die you monster!"

Fwunk!

A human wielding a cheap leather set of armour and an iron axe lunged at a goblin guardian, chopping at its chest, forcing the goblin to block the blow desperately, falling back from the attacker's weight advantage.

With a follow-up, he snapped his wrist cut down with his axe and splintered the guardian's shield as it lay on the ground, holding the shield with both arms.

"Alex, kill the ones heading to the left wall!" The axe wielder's face dripped with sweat as he panted, stomping on the goblin's chest. 

"Gweeh!"

"Shut it!"

Alex nodded to the male with the axe, hurrying past the guardian under his foot and rushing the unprotected goblin archer, his blade slicing through the air with a decent speed. 

The goblin archer panicked, stepping back to avoid the blow, but its silver tip sliced through the goblin's right leg, and it tripped over, slamming into the sharp rock.

Thud! 

The moment Alex downed the goblin, one of the archers stood ahead of the other three. He drew the crude bow to its limit and drew an arrow at the human. 

"Don't be scared! Shoot!" 

Four crude arrows soared through the air with a light whistle after the goblin grunted.

The sudden counterattack caused the humans to panic.

"Damn monsters!" Alex grunted before raising his shield with the loud sound of arrows piercing the cheap wooden buckler.

Thunk-Thunk-Thunk!

"These lowly goblins! Luna, can you take care of the archers?!" Alex called out, his body rushing to an outcrop of rocks and the damaged wooden wall created by the goblins. 

While the axe wielder finally struck the killing bow, cutting the throat of the grounded goblin, an elf appeared from the distant wall, hiding from the stray goblin arrows.

Luna, who seemed to be an elven archer, stood with flowing blond hair as she drew back her longbow's bowstring, a determined face as she stood atop an elevated rock. 

The moment she drew her bow, the swift and elegant arrow cut through the air like a flicker of silver light before it pierced one of the goblin archers through its forehead.

"Urgk?!"

Soon after the first goblin collapsed, her second arrow shot from her bow and killed another without mercy, leaving only three goblin archers.

"Good job, Luna!" An excited voice echoed through the cave.

A female in a white robe holding a staff cheered from the back, her nervous face now smiling.

The humans seemed to have rallied together and started pushing the goblin's back, with two archers and guardians dead. 

Thus, the numbers advantage vanished.

"Alex, we should kill those disgusting monsters quickly!" The older male stepped forward, having killed his target, a grim smile on his face. 

"Yeah... these freaks love to attack young women, so we're protecting the world."

"That's not true... because goblins from the dungeon cannot reproduce." 

"Huh? Who was that?" 

A sudden, deep, almost monotone voice sounded from the dungeons, causing Alex and the other male to grip their weapons tightly.

"My foolish goblins, pull back to the secondary wall. Have you forgotten the basic tactics I taught you?"

"Someone helping the goblins?!" Luna's eyes narrowed as her face twisted in disgust.

Their victory was a few moments away before this strange voice appeared, and the goblins rushed behind another wall.

"There he is!" 

The male with the axe shouted, pointing his axe at Leonhardt, who stood on the elevated platform behind the wooden wall. With an empty and unfeeling gaze, he observed the party of humans: an elven archer, two human warriors, and a human caster. 

"Guardians use your shields to deflect arrows, protect the archers."

Leon's order caused the guardians he brought and the three surviving goblins to growl loudly and step onto the wall, protecting the two remaining archers. 

"Who is this guy?!"

"Why is an elf helping goblins, it doesn't make sense!" Luna screeched before drawing her bow to the limit and aiming at Leon with an arrow.

Fwoosh! 

The arrow cut through the air, swirling with a slightly green glow at the tip while Leon's eyes narrowed, taking in the entire view. The corner of his lips curled up before he reached out with a single arm pointing towards the human with a staff.

"Block it," Leon muttered.

『Her mana is the highest. She is dangerous!』

Thwack!

Luna's arrow, inches from Leonhardt's eye, was stopped in its tracks by a thick wooden shield. The two goblins beside the tall, elven-looking male blocked the arrow with their shields. Though the force caused their bodies to recoil, Leon's lips curled into a wide grin.

The human warriors seemed to realise something and started rushing forward. 

"Hurry! He's going to attack!"

"That bastard is a mage!"

Mana swirled through Leon's abdomen, a pleasant sensation like releasing urine after or ejaculating the ferocious flaming mana pushed through his veins like a raging tide before reaching his fingertip and creating a blue flicker.

—Blazing Missiles!

Because the two males rushed forward, protecting the priestess who stood in the back line, and using the slight elevation, Leon could easily target her with his magic spell.

A rain of fiery bolts zoomed past the two warriors who tried to reach out with their shields to stop the attack before the fiery struck the priestess with golden hair.

"Argh!?"

The bolts were blunt, not sharp, and caused immense kinetic damage. They sent the priestess flying back into the wooden walls before the flames billowed and burst into flames. 

"N-Nora?!" Alex screamed as a priestess clawed at her chest and reached out to Luna, who stood a few metres to her side with a shocked look on her face.

"Keep your eyes on your enemy, human."

The moment Alex turned his back, the two goblin archers drew these bows and shot a pair of arrows at the male's back.

Shlick!

"Arrghh... Ahhh.... my leg!!!" 

Newbie adventurers didn't suffer many setbacks... so the moment the dirty and crude goblin arrow penetrated the warrior's thigh, he crumbled to the ground before the second arrow caught him off guard and penetrated his chest.

"Urk..."

"Eh? Alex, hurry and drink a potion!" 

However... 

Leonhardt's wrists suddenly shot a sticky webbing towards the glass bottle that Alex fumbled within his hands—snapping his wrist back. The red bottle was flung into the hands of Leonhardt, who then passed it to one of the injured goblins.

"I warned you to pay attention..." Once again, the magnetic voice echoed from the wooden walls as the remaining human and elf watched him with trembling limbs. 

"L-Luna... you need to run... hurry and run!" The scream was filled with rage, anger, and likely anguish. The axe-wielding warrior rushed forward and protected the elf, who hesitated and watched him with her trembling pupils, unable to move. 

"Did you think I would let you?"

Since the moment he appeared, Leon hadn't been as calm as he seemed—Leon tried his best to focus and attempted to cast his magic, but the spell fizzled due to his nerves, especially when the elf fired an arrow at him and froze momentarily. 

Thankfully, he could remain calm on the outside and order the goblins, 

『Tsk... I need more practice!』

Before the elf or warrior realised what he planned, finally, the mana in his body followed his orders fully, the fear gone, and now the excitement and another emotion he couldn't quite grasp caused him to become more focused. 

Woosh!

—Fire Wall!

A huge flaming wall covered the entrance door, and a thick and raging fire lit the dark cave. The crackling wall then set the broken wall alight, creating a deadly trap for anyone trying to escape because those flames wouldn't be put out easily.

"W-Why... you're an elf like me..."

Luna the archer lost her will to fight.

Her thighs trembled while the warrior rushed forward, shouting and trying to help her regain some semblance of focus.

"Go, Luna!!!!!" 

"B-Blake?!"

"You see... when did I say I was an elf, young lady?" Leonhard spoke to the elf, trying to calm his excitement and nerves.

He was close to victory and didn't wish to make a mistake. 

While the human rushed forward, his body glowing red as his speed increased, the goblin archer who stood at the front earlier stepped onto the wall. His bow slowly pulled back until fully drawn, and the warrior leapt into the air, holding his axe over his head.

Twang!

"Eh?"

The warrior's pitiful voice echoed as the black arrow shot from the goblin bow stopped him in his tracks and penetrated Blake's unprotected throat. 

Blake's body dropped from the sudden force and smashed his head on a rock. The sound of his axe clanging on the ground after his hands became limp caused Leon to smirk.

"Good shot, Gobbo."

Meanwhile, watching the last member of her part clawing at his throat, the elf's mind broke.

Her eyes filled with tears, and her face was full of snot as she screeched and wailed, turning her back after tossing her bow and quiver.

"You asked me why." 

Leon's voice caused the broken elf to stop and gaze up at the brightly lit wall. The wall was populated by fierce goblins and a tall, handsome male who looked down at her with an empty gaze.

"Well... it's simple." 

He lifted his arm, and the goblin who shot and killed Blake started to draw his bow, the sound of it stretching louder than usual as if enhanced in Luna's ears.

"Because I am the Dungeon Master!" 

Leon dropped his arm while showing a distorted smile that covered half his face, but the elf couldn't think or respond before the goblin's arrow had already penetrated her neck.

With the battle over, Leon gazed at the elf rolling down the rock with a shocked and terrified expression on her face, and he couldn't help but shake his head. 

There wasn't disgust or happiness... but his nerves seemed to have improved.

An entire party perished. 

"Goblin Archer Three... you've done well to survive."

"Master! Gobbo do well?"

"You did very well, from now on, your name is Gobbolas."

The moment Leonhardt gave the goblin a name, he felt a sensation of heat building within himself, and the goblin archer also glowed with a fiery aura.

• Evolution conditions met!

Before the pair could speak, their bodies vanished in a flicker of blue light particles and returned to the throne room for safety.