“S-Sis! HEEEEELP!”

A noise I’ll never forget comes in that moment. One which freezes even my frozen heart. The little cackle of a goblin disappears along with the echoes of Rita’s scream.

It has her.

“RITA!” Twin cries come from Tepis and Sierra and even I try to call out, only to succumb to coughs. Someone gets a Solar Gem out and baths the area in light. We stare out at each other, covered in white dust, like ghosts. Rita’s nowhere to be found. All that’s left is a trail on the dusty floor which very clearly shows a pair of little four-toed feet and a long skid mark. Desperate handprints in the rubble show where Rita tried to hold on. I watch Tepis and Sierra. The older sister doesn’t think. She just goes after her family.

I don’t blame her.

Tepis is frozen as she leaves. He looks at me as if asking for permission. Forcing myself to dry swallow the dust, I raise my hand and give him a thumbs up.

“I’m sorry. We’ll meet up again later.”

Then with an apologetic expression, he runs off into the darkness after the girls. I’m left alone in the debris, nursing a sore throat, and very bruised hands. Taking a sip of water to clear my mouth, I gaze up and narrow my eyes. Something’s not right…

Hold on…did we fall through more than one floor?!

#

My gaze sharpens and unfocuses over and over, trying to make out the edges in the dark. I don’t have one of the Solar Gems with me, and a lot of the orange lamps, which light the dungeon, were damaged during the cave-ins. Just barely, I think I can make out multiple lines above the rubble. If I’m not mistaken then,

I think we’re on the 4th Floor!

Technically, that’s a good thing. I mean we were trying to get to the lower levels anyway. But Tepis doesn’t know that…damnit I have to warn them! If there were mutants up there, who knows what’s down here!

Quickly, I use Basic Tracking to navigate in-between the distant puddles of lamplight. Following the most minute scuffs in the white dust on the floor, I run after the others. However, they have a head start, and their levels are higher. Without a light to guide me, it’s slow going. I hustle along as best as I can, trying not to imagine what the goblins would do with a small human child like Rita.

Is it cannibalism if we’re not the same species?

Thoughts run through my head, keeping my company on my mad quest. I mentally check off a list of potential enemies we might run into, trying to recall some of the bosses and elite variants which people reported to me. It’s been so long since I’ve fought goblins that I’ve forgotten. In my past life, I quickly slaughtered a few and moved on to hunting bigger prey. But I’ve heard the stories of what happens if a goblin nest which is mutating manages to successfully reach full maturity.

Evolution.

Hive Evolution.

If a leader type is born, it’ll seek to leave the dungeon and conquer other territories. The worst fear of newbie towns. How did any sort of evolved variants manage to survive this long undetected? The Guilds should have been keeping a close watch on any goblin dungeons in the area. Even if it’s early in the Calamity, they should be aware of the possibility by now.

The dusty tracks turn left and right as Sierra and Tepis try to keep up with Rita’s kidnapper. A small spot of fresh blood appears like black juice under the low lighting. It’s smeared on the corner of a sharp rock and I wince.

Guess Rita hit her head.

A few moments later, I come upon a dead Feral Goblin, it’s body still warm. It’s thirty percent bigger than the one’s upstairs, comparable to a human right before puberty hits. The stab wound in its chest is not from a scimitar, but rather the sharp point of a short sword.

Huh…maybe Sierra is capable of killing these things. Given the right motivation.

I roll it over and make sure to sever the spinal cord to make sure it doesn’t reanimate.

Low as the chance is, I don’t want any zombie goblins sneaking up on me down here.

Then I continue on my way. Unfortunately, no more dead goblins show up, and I can only assume that without any distractions, Sierra and Tepis are getting further and further ahead. Some of the ice in my heart begins to melt away, replaced with a burning desire to catch up. I can’t put my finger on it, but for some reason, I care for these people which have managed to insert themselves into my life. Perhaps it’s not a strong bond. Not like with her.

But it’s something.

*Toc Toc Toc*

Flitting between lanterns, I dart from shadow to shadow. Light and darkness, this underworld is suited to me. It’s sullied by the stink of rotten death.

Sometimes, I think that humans are more like their lesser cousins than we think. The only difference is that we shower more often. All the massacres once the Hunter Slayers gained power, the Guild Wars, if we didn’t care to wash off the blood, what would we have looked like?

Hunter…such a perfect name for what we are. And yet so misleading.

The more appropriate name would be Reaper.

Something groans in darkness. For an awful second, I think it might Sierra or Tepis. But then a miniature green hand comes into the lamplight.

A goblin. They didn’t finish it off.

Lvl. 17 Feral Goblin

“E..ee…eee…hurts…” The foul creature mixes in what sounds disturbingly like human language with its speech. No one knows exactly how the System manages to get its monsters to speak words we can understand. Some of the bigger Guilds did experiments and found that it didn’t matter what native language Hunters spoke. They could still understand the same amount regardless. Which implies that the System is somehow translating for us.

I know.

Silently, I answer the dying goblin. Then I plunge my blade down on its neck.

*Spurt*

Congratulations, you are now Lvl. 13.

Instantly, I put all my points into agility. Then I rush forwards at an even greater speed. After a few minutes of intense tracking, another half-dead goblin lays with cut hamstrings.

“E..ee…eee…why…”

I know.

Congratulations!

More agility.

That’s what I need. More speed.

The tunnel begins to blur, it’s fetid warm goblin-filled air brushing past my cheeks and making my nose wrinkle. I frown, wondering why I’m doing that.

A Death God shouldn’t be so sensitive. How many battlefields have I walked on? How many dead have I seen? It’s a miracle our party even managed to survive until I broke the limit. All those bastards who turned away from humanity because of the System. I remember…I wanted to meet the creator. Speak with the architect who designed it all. I thought maybe hitting Lvl. 100 would give me some answers. Instead…all I got was this…

I wonder if it’s normal for someone like me to even act human after so many lives, so many deaths. Despite my indifference, compared to some of the people on the frontlines, I’m remarkably normal. It doesn’t feel like my mind resets when I go back, but maybe, I’m wrong. Maybe, my mind also is healed to an extent. Otherwise, shouldn’t I be insane by now? Wouldn’t anyone?

My brain takes me to strange places though my focus is on finding the party. The Void Prism definitely changed me. My mind seems to operate on multiple channels at once now. A side-effect of too much time alone, maybe.

“E…ee…you…intruder!” The unnaturally slimy voice coming from the darkness ahead has much more strength than the last two Feral Goblins. Letting the System assist my eyes, I spot a mutant Goblin Swordsman on its back, its sword broken in two. Its four-fingered hands still try to drag it across the ground, despite its broken arms. Tepis’s work.

Lvl. ??? Goblin Swordsman

*Spurt*

Congratulations!

I hit Lvl. 15, putting me on the same level as the Feral Goblins from the upper floor, though not the ones down here. Even the Ferals on the 4th Floor are higher level, larger. It doesn’t make sense. Sierra said that according to the records, this place was cleared a week ago. Unless…unless the records were falsified?

Lightning runs through me and my heart beats heavily as a suspicion is borne.

What reason would anyone would have to falsify the records?

*Snuffle*

*Snuffle*

*Snuffle*

Goblins. More than one. Not injured ones.

Damn.

Pressing myself against the wall, I meld into the shadows. If I was a member of the Thief Class, I’d have the confidence to avoid detection, but as a Lvl. 14, I’m not hopeful. My only advantage is how I’ve been in this dungeon, covered in their scent for so long.

*Snuffle*

*Snuffle*

“Eeeee?” The goblin’s scream is the only warning I have.

*Clank*

My arm shivers as I block the arrow shooting towards my face. The bolt clangs into my meat-cleaver’s blade and I hear something crack before it goes flying off into the darkness. Little sparks jump up as the metal arrowhead collides with the rock wall. Then a green face rounds the corner, it’s pig-like nose snuffling. When our eyes meet, it’s look of intense suspicion turns to shock as I smash my cleaver into its skull!

Lvl. ??? Goblin Archer

*Thunk*

My foe collapses into a shivering mess. Placing a foot on its chest, I yank my cleaver out of its skull but something’s off. It’s too light.

I’ve fought a thousand battles with this blade.

I’d know its weight anywhere.

A hint of lamplight reveals a jagged outline. Part of the tip has cracked and fallen off. Covered in goblin’s blood, the metal reflects the fiery light, taking on an orange tinge.

Damn. Shouldn’t have gone for the skull. Too thick!

As I stumble away from the body, the goblin finally registers that it’s dead and the System notifies me of my kill.

Congratulations!

Two large figures, not much shorter than Rita would be, block the light. Their silhouettes reveal their identity.

Lvl. 23 Goblin Desperado

Lvl. ??? Goblin Shieldmaiden

The Goblin Desperado grins wickedly, a rapier clutched in its four-fingered grasp. It takes on a classic fencing position, one foot in front of the other, padding towards me menacingly. Meanwhile, the Goblin Shieldmaiden snarls and just charges straight at me. I can’t tell if it’s the same one from earlier, nor do I care. Either way, it seems particularly eager to bash my skull in.

I got lucky that the Goblin Archer noticed me first. If the Shieldmaiden had come instead I’d be dead right now!

Dancing backwards, I immediately place my new point in agility. Fortunately, I’ve put on quite a few levels since my last encounter with a Shieldmaiden. With each level, a Hunter gains a point in every stat. Since I’ve only concentrated on agility since Lvl. 5, my overall agility stat is now 10 points higher than the last time we met.

“E…e…eee?” The Goblin Shieldmaiden surges in, its thick shield clashing into the wall where I stood. But I’m already gone, running down the tunnel. It howls in frustration, looking anything but feminine. However, it’s unwieldy shield slows it down. The Goblin Desperado abandons its cautious approach when it sees me getting away and rushes after me. Though it’s a monster and doesn’t have the power a Hunter has, it’s still five levels higher than me. As a mutant variant, and one focused on agility, it’s able to match my pace. Looking over my shoulder I curse.

Damnit, I was hoping the Shieldmaiden wouldn’t be able to keep up, but it’s surprisingly fast. I can’t separate them!

Left without a choice, I’m forced to track Tepis and Sierra at lightspeed. At times, I lose track of their trail, only to pick it up at the next working lamp, but all the while, I’m acutely aware of the two goblins behind me. In any ordinary goblin nest, what I’m doing would be suicide unless there was an exit nearby. With so many monsters packed into one place, I’d quickly attract the attention of every goblin in the dungeon. However, since this one is so sparsely populated, I manage to avoid picking up any more tails.

Come on, Tepis. Where are you?