Chapter 35: Clean Up

You have reached level 13! Your dodging has increased to level 19. Your two weapon fighting has increased to level 20. Congratulations, Michael! Your skill with two weapon fighting has reached rank 2. Your shortswords has increased to level 24.

I dismissed the Game message with a weary sigh, unable to muster enough enthusiasm for a smile. My skills were advancing much more rapidly now, but surveying the carnage around me, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was worth it.

“Well done, Michael,” Gnat said with an appreciative chuckle. “You are a truly magnificent killer, aren’t you?”

I eyed the skeletal bat sourly. “You think you can fly ahead and keep watch while I loot these corpses?” I asked brusquely. I was not in the mood for the familiar’s macabre humor and wanted to be alone.

Gnat opened his mouth to protest.

I cut him off. “Go,” I ordered. “It’s not combat so wont conflict with your Pact. Return to me if you see any goblins approach.” I turned away from the bat, not waiting for his response, and after a momentary pause, I felt him glide off my shoulder to do my biding.

Leaning over the first corpse, I began to search it.

~~~

It didn’t take me long to loot the dead. It was a distasteful—but necessary—task.

While there were plentiful weapons and armor to be had, none were better than my twin blades and there was little enough else of value. With my pack already weighed down, I was hesitant to add further unnecessary items to it.

Still, I did recover a few smaller objects that seemed as if they would prove useful in future.

You have acquired a coin pouch.

You have acquired 10 copper coins.

You have acquired one flask filled with water.

When I was done with the goblins, I glanced up and down the passage. Things were quiet in both directions, which I found strange. Surely by now, all the goblins in the complex must know the dire wolves were loose. Why weren’t they searching for the beasts?

Unless they know where the wolves are already and are mustering there.

I frowned, feeling a touch of concern for my erstwhile allies. But the beasts had shown themselves capable of taking care of themselves, and I knew if I rushed to their aid, I would likely only endanger myself.

It was better to continue my cautious approach up the passage, I decided, and trust that wherever the dire wolves were, they hadn’t fallen prey to the goblins yet.

Before moving to rejoin Gnat, I took a moment to spend my new attribute points.

Your Dexterity has increased to rank 7.

With the last of my tasks seen to, I melded into the darkness and continued on. A dozen yards later, Gnat dropped wordlessly onto my shoulder and we resumed our careful exploration.

I hadn’t progressed much farther, before strange noises attracted my attention. It was coming from a chamber on my right. I peered in. Three goblin fighters were in the room—all in various states of distress. One was trying to bandage his torn arm, another clutched at his ripped open torso, while the third’s right leg was gnawed to the bone.

But for the three goblins, no one else was in the room. I studied the three’s wounds again. They had all been made by tooth and claw. The dire wolves had done this.

Slipping into the room, quietly and without fuss, I put an end to the three fighters. Then I resumed my journey. Not much later, I stopped again. Two goblin workers were crawling across the passage, leaving bloody streaks behind them. The pair were mewling pitifully and nearly senseless with pain. They too, had been mauled by the wolves. Bending down, I took their lives.

The dire wolves’ tactics were becoming clearer: hit and run. The beasts were doing just enough damage to disable their foes, but were not bothering to finish off their kills. In this manner, they kept one step ahead of the goblins and stopped themselves from being bogged down and ambushed.

Perhaps that is why they didn’t want me joining them. I had neither the speed, nor the ability to meld as completely into the darkness as the beasts, and I would only have hampered their efforts.

Instead, I had been relegated to clean-up duty. Not that I am complaining, I thought wryly. The pair had still left plenty of goblins for me to kill.

For the next few minutes, I followed the trail of injured goblins as I retraced my path back up the passage. In only a few cases did I find the enemy hale enough to put up a fight. In every instance, I paused and slew the goblins. I was not about to leave a live enemy behind me.

By the time, I reached the crossroads near the maze guard station, I had dozens of goblin-kills under my belt. Weirdly enough, I gained no player levels from my grim work. The Adjudicator, I realized, had to be factoring in the circumstances of each of my kills and not just my opponents’ levels when calculating my experience gains.

My lack of advancement did not bother me overmuch though. Despite the numbers of goblins I slayed, they were too few given the size of the tunnel complex and facilities I spotted. It was becoming increasingly obvious to me that somewhere up ahead, I would find a large force of goblins.

I did stop long enough to loot all my kills. Realizing the goblins carried little of value besides the arms and armor, I only bothered to riffle through their coin pouches. If I lived long enough to secure the tunnel complex, I would come back and search the corpses more thoroughly. But for now, my efforts yielded a tiny sum of money.

You have acquired 123 copper coins. This has a monetary value of: 1 gold, 2 silvers, and 3 coppers.

Standing in the crossroads, I studied the three options that lay before me. Up ahead was the way to the maze, which given the chaos wreaked by the wolves, was likely not guarded anymore.

The left passage was dark and quiet, with not the least hint of sound emerging from its depths. In the far distance of the right tunnel though, I spotted a glimmer of light, and when I strained my ears, I caught the faint echoes of shouts and yells.

I considered my choices. Undoubtedly, retreating back to the maze was the safest course, but the maze itself was a dead-end. Heading back there made little sense.

The left tunnel was more promising. If I explored its depths, I might just find a way out of the tunnel complex that wasn’t guarded. But there was no guarantee I wouldn’t run up against another dead-end either.

Going right… venturing that way was fraught with peril. I was sure that the remaining goblins in the tunnel complex were gathered somewhere down the right passage. And likely the wolves too. If I headed in that direction, I would be running straight into conflict.

Though if I had to face off against the goblins, I preferred to do it with allies at my back. Better to face the goblins now, while there is still a chance the dire wolves are alive.

To battle, I decided and headed right.