Chapter 9: The First Meeting

Gerald’s POV

We went inside the Mall. It was a bit dark here, even with the rays of the sun seeping through the shattered windows. I almost vomited on the ground when the disgusting stench in the air entered me. Upon looking around, I noticed the hundreds of dead bodies scattered about, squashed and disfigured. The putrid scent of death was particularly strong in this place, and every fiber of my being was screaming at me that we should go back and find another place.

At the corner of my eyes, I saw that the Professor and Anisette were also trying their best not to vomit from the sight. It seemed that these disfigured corpses would make even a former soldier’s stomach churn in disgust.

“Hey,” I mumbled. The two looked at me. “Haven’t you notice? Most of the corpses… they’re all males. No dead bodies of women around.”

Anisette and Professor Jack quickly scanned our surroundings. They confirmed my findings with their eyes. Indeed, there was not a single female corpse in this place.

Why? Had all the women escaped to a safe place? I shook my head. That was impossible. There should be casualties, at the very least. Then, the only conclusion I could come up with was that someone dragged the corpses out of this place.

Now that I have taken a careful look, there were blood marks on the ground, probably indicating that dead bodies were dragged off here.

“Professor, I think this place’s too dangerous,” I decided to follow the voice screaming inside me. “Let’s get out of this place while we still have the chance.”

Professor Jack seemed to have arrived at this conclusion too. He nodded, his eyes still fixated on the corpses scattered about.

There were simply too many dead bodies here. And that means that there were definitely a great number of monsters here. Going inside this place would be suicide.

Our group was about to leave the area when a shrieking sound echoed behind us. Upon looking, I saw two goblins, their disgusting faces broadly smiling at us. They pointed a finger at our direction, stamped on the ground using their naked feet, then shrieked once again.

Fuck. These guys were definitely giving out location.

Professor Jack was about to personally silence the two bastards when we heard multiple loud footsteps nearby. And to our horror, it was not just at the entrance. It was all over the place.

Soon enough, Minotaurs and Goblins began pouring in from the entrance, effectively blocking our way out. Furthermore, we saw gigantic silhouettes inside the Mall, of which loud thud sounds quickly followed.

Our survival instinct in overdrive, we frantically tried to find a way out. It was only a matter of time before those monsters surrounded us.

“Over here!” said Professor Jack. “Follow me!”

Without wasting another breath, we followed after the professor. At times like these, I wished I was not an overly bloated pig. Surely, running would be easier with a thinner body.

Our group ran past numerous corpses, broken furniture, and shattered glasses, as we climbed a flight of stairs. Below, the monsters started chasing us. A Minotaur quickly caught up to us, its gigantic body climbing the same flight of stairs.

For a moment, I was worried that the stairs would break from the Minotaur’s weight. Each of its steps would create cracks on the stair, making it tremble and quake.

“What are you doing! Hurry up!” shouted Professor Jack. He had already reached the top.

“We’re trying!” I said, huffing.

Beside me was Anisette, her skin a bit more pallid than usual. Her chest rapidly rose then fell as numerous beads of sweat formed on her face.

“Just a bit more,” I said to her. “You can do it. Go!”

As I said those words, I purposely slowed down my pace. If that Minotaur eventually manages to catch up to us, at least I would be able to stall for time. If needed be, I would jump and take it down with me.

A knife whizzed past my face and lodged itself into the eye of the Minotaur below. The gargantuan monster roared in pain and rage. It stumbled and fell down to the ground. I knew that it would not be enough to kill that immortal bastard, but at least, we were safe for now.

I looked at the one that threw the knife, Professor Jack. This man was really reliable. As expected of a former soldier.

After the three of us had climbed the flight of stairs, we looked around and searched for a way out. There should be a damn fire exit in this place, right?

We have yet to find our haven when a group of goblins began running towards us. It seemed that they had made the second floor their home, judging by their numbers.

I gripped the metallic pipe in my hand. Professor Jack took out a large kitchen knife.

“There’s too many of them,” I judged. “This’ll be hard.”

Professor Jack knitted his brows. “Be sure to Protect Anisette. Don’t go too far from her. I’ll take care of these guys. For now, focus on finding us a place we can escape to. We can’t fight these guys forever.”

I grimly nodded. Quickly, my eyes scanned the second floor for a path for escape. At the same time, Professor Jack engaged the dozens of goblins before us. His movements were fluid, and his every strike of the knife would decapitate one green, ugly bastard.

Two goblins decided to ignore him and instead went straight for us. I gnashed my teeth, gripped my metallic pipe tightly, then struck at them with all my might.

A loud cracking sound was heard as my steel pipe hit one of them straight at the chest, sending it flying a couple of meters back. Its body rolled then skidded on the ground.

You have killed a Goblin Worker!

You have gained 45 Exp!

The familiar blue window popped up, and I immediately dismissed it as I evaded a swipe from the other goblin. I roared and kicked at it, but it evaded by jumping to the side. Once again, the goblin charged at me, its long rotting nails pointed at my calf.

My steel pipe came cruising down from above, and it hit the goblin right at the head. A loud plop sound was heard, before its innards splattered out from impact.

You have killed a Goblin Worker!

You have gained 47 Exp!

I have seen my exp requirement before. At this rate, I would reach Level 3 soon. But now’s not the time to celebrate.

I looked at Professor Jack. It seemed that he had taken care of more than a dozen goblins already. Still, the damnable creatures were persistent, and their numbers seemed to grow more as time passed. I realized that goblins were starting to come out of the second floor. At this rate, they would soon go past the hundred-mark. Damn it.

A roar echoed. We all instinctively looked at it and saw three Minotaurs coming our way. One of them was blind in one eye. It was definitely the monster that got hit by Professor Jack’s knife.

My heart loudly pounded. This was getting out of hand. We’re in deep shit.

“Professor! We should run away!” I shouted amidst the sound of Goblins shrieking and Minotaurs roaring.

Professor Jack kicked the Goblin in front of him, sending it flying away, then ran back towards us. I quickly pointed towards a room far from us. I noticed that it was the only place where Goblins did not appear.

Damn it. It felt so far.

We ran with all our might. Behind us, hordes of monsters kept their chase. The floor continued to tremble as hooves and feet struck the ground.

Two Minotaurs were starting to catch up to us. Anisette skidded to a halt then activated her magic. Her hazel eyes turned white, and the Two Minotaurs froze—or so I thought.

For some reason, the two Minotaurs were still able to move, although slower than before. Maybe the skill, Hunter’s Eyes, was not capable of stopping such gargantuan creatures entirely. Why have I not thought of it before?

I clicked my tongue once then grabbed the arm of my sister.

“It’s no use. Let’s just run!”

She deactivated her magic, and we once again resumed our escape. Professor Jack grabbed two small knives in his pocket then threw them at the Minotaurs. One them got hit on the nose, and the monster screamed in utter rage. The other one got hit on the chest, and the knife did nothing but create a small cut on its thick skin.

This is hopeless. We could not possibly win against so many monsters.

As I was drowning in despair, Professor Jack said, “I’ll use Demigod’s Strength to stop them. The two of you should use the chance to escape.” He was huffing, definitely tired, but his eyes were filled with determination regardless.

“Don’t worry about me. I won’t die.”

We all knew that was a lie.

Demigod’s Strength was a skill that gives the user a temporary boost in raw power, more than enough to rival those of a Minotaur’s. The problem was that after a full minute, the user would not be able to move his body. That was why if Professor Jack were to use it right now, he would surely die afterwards. He would be an easy prey for the rest of the surviving monsters.

My mind went into full throttle. Should we let him use the skill? Let him sacrifice his life so we could escape?

These seconds of trying to find the right answer felt like eternity.

And I finally arrived to a conclusion.

“We’ll definitely die if we get separated from you,” I said to the professor. “Don’t use the skill for now.” I pointed to the place we were heading to. “Look over there. I don’t think the Minotaurs are large enough to get inside. If it’s just Goblins, we could surely deal with them even without using that skill.”

The Professor took my words into account. The three of us run towards that place. An alleyway that probably leads to some stockroom. I could read out the placard on the door located at the end of the alley: “Unauthorized Persons Not Allowed.”

Pushing our bodies to the limit, we ran through the Alley. As expected, the Minotaurs could not get inside. They merely stood outside, not even trying to enter the cramped entrance. I opened the door then ushered the two to get inside. After one last look at the monsters outside, I closed it with a loud thud.

You have entered the nest of the Babyface Arachnid.

The moment we entered the room, a notification popped out in front of us. My eyes widened when I saw the innumerable eggs inside the room. There were dozens of them, all pulsating with life. Thick webs filled the walls and the ceilings, and further beyond, a grotesque monster straight out of a nightmare silently stood.

“What the hell is that?” I whispered.

My two companions were stiff, probably petrified of what they saw.

At the corner of the room, which was probably a storehouse, was a gigantic creature with eight legs. It reminded me of a giant spider, but its face was something different entirely. Instead of the usual insect head, three heads of a newborn child were seen. Tentacles wriggled out the mouths of those heads, creating intermittent sloshing sound. Its black belly was thick, definitely those of a spider’s.

This place was dark, but we were able to clearly see everything thanks to the light seeping through the cracks on the wall on our left.

I came to a realization.

The reason why the Minotaurs and Goblins did not chase us further after coming to this room was not because they were totally unable to fit through the cramped alley. It was because they knew that this place was the nest of that thing. I was unfamiliar with the hierarchy of monsters, but this one in front of us smelled way more dangerous than the Minotaurs and Goblins outside.

“W-We should go back!” I finally managed to choke the words out.

My instinct was screaming at me that this one was way more dangerous than any monsters we have encountered before. That if we stayed here, only death awaits.

“Look out!” shouted Professor Jack.

I was still trembling, and my body refused to move as a ball of thread came flying towards me. Professor Jack shoved me to the side, and he was hit straight at the chest by the attack. His body came flying towards the wall, and upon impact, he vomited blood. His body got stuck to the wall from that attack.

“Professor!” I shouted.

He was not moving. He was not dead, right?

At the corner of my eyes, I saw that Anisette was crying. Unlike us, she was unable to speak. All she could do was silently cry the tears that incessantly flowed down her cheeks.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

At this rate, we’ll be killed.

Another ball of thread came flying at us, and I dived towards the left to evade it. My body came rolling on the ground. I was about to stand up and grab my sister’s arms when another attack came flying at us. This time, towards Anisette.

My instinct kicking in, I ran towards her, intending to become her meat shield. But it was too late. She, too, was hit by the attack. Her body also collided against the wall, she coughed out blood, then lost consciousness. Just like the Professor, her body was stuck on the wall by the monster’s thread.

I lost myself for a moment. This could not be happening. This could not be real. Were we really going to die here? Just like this?

I felt a warm sensation at my back. The feeling of something breathing at the nape of your neck.

My body still trembling from fear, I slowly turned around. And what greeted me was the grotesque face of the monster: Three heads of an infant, with tentacles coming out of their mouths. It was disgusting. Truly the definition of a monster.

Without me noticing it, the monster had closed the distance between us.

This was it. I was going to get eaten.

Resigning myself to fate, I closed my eyes.

I entered dreamland.

***

I woke up to the sound of a rope being cut. For a moment, I groaned, opened my eyes then looked around.

This was the same place as before. The nest of that monster.

But more importantly – I was alive?

As I was pondering this, I looked at the source of the sound that woke me up. My eyes widened for a moment when I saw a goblin cutting the threads that bound my body. Unlike the Goblins I’ve seen before, this one was wearing clothes. Furthermore, he had a bag, a very small one, on his back.

I wanted to rub my eyes and confirm this was reality, but I could not move a muscle due to the threads binding me.

The Goblin noticed that I was awake. It took out a notebook, which was very much familiar, then wrote something down.

I’m here to help you. I’m not your enemy. The Babyface is current out searching for more food. Don’t make a sound or it might come back.