Passing through the red portal, a sense of buoyancy swept over my body.
Thud.
Landing on the ground, I looked around.
The same old darkness.
A narrow cave.
It was just like the first floor.
“Hootcha!”
A flash of red light appeared, and Kael landed on the ground, still holding his sword. The rest of the party soon appeared as well.
Kael chuckled.
“Let’s go, we’ve got a long way ahead.”
The formation had slightly changed. Jeong Yusin took the lead, pushing forward, with Kael closely behind.
“This time we’re lucky. We’ve transitioned into the central area.”
Dean, checking the map, said brightly.
“Let’s finish this quickly. I haven’t been able to shower or get proper sleep. Phew.”
Mari complained.
“Just a bit more, everyone, let’s keep going,” Kael consoled Mari.
“Kelkelkel.”
“Kikikik.”
A chilling sound came from ahead. It wasn’t clear enough to see.
“Enemies!”
Whether they wanted it or not, they were now companions in this journey, and it was decided to give their best.
Jeong Yusin immediately raised his shield and shouted.
“EEKK!!”
It wasn’t an arrow.
A javelin.
There was no time to dodge. If he did, the person behind him would get hurt.
He braced his legs and tightly gripped the shield handle with all his might.
BOOM!
The forceful impact made his body waver as he took a step back.
Luckily, the shield was fine, but the torch in his one hand was lost due to the strong shock.
At that moment, Kael darted out. He was holding the torch that Jeong Yusin had dropped in one of his hands.
“Mari!”
[Light]
The cave lit up.
Three hobgoblins were retreating, their backs turned.
“Of course, they run when there are fewer in number!”
Kael shouted and swiftly caught up, striking the hobgoblin’s back with his sword.
“KIIIIEEAAAHHH!!”
The goblin let out a pitiful sound as it fell.
“After them!”
Kael chased after the goblin that was fleeing.
“Kael!”
Ann called out anxiously, but Kael seemed focused on pursuing the goblin and didn’t hear her.
Jeong Yusin didn’t have the chance to recover his sore palm and followed after Kael.
Kael went out of the range of the light magic. The path turned right, so Kael’s figure disappeared completely, and only the flickering light of the torch remained visible.
Then,
“KKUUUAAAAHHH!!!”
Kael’s scream filled the cave.
“Shit.”
With all his strength, he ran and entered the path that turned to the right.
Around there, Kael was wildly brandishing his sword, fighting off five hobgoblins. He appeared to be limping on one leg.
‘Trap!’
Kael swung his sword like a crazed beast, but the goblins only grinned eerily, slightly extending their daggers and spears without rushing in.
It was a strategy to drain the strength of the wounded prey.
The classic hunt.
The torch that had fallen on the ground.
Kael’s shadow, cast against the cave wall, swayed this way and that. The shadows of the goblins swayed in rhythm with it, like they were dancing.
Jeong Yusin bolted out.
But it was already too late.
The hobgoblin’s spear pierced Kael’s abdomen.
“KURGH!”
Kael gasped. Though it wasn’t a deep wound, it was enough to freeze his body for a moment.
Another goblin charged, swinging a wooden club.
BANG!
Blood spattered from Kael’s head as his body wobbled, almost falling.
BANG!
BANG!
With every striking sound of the club, Kael’s head caved further in and became deformed.
The brash young man was nowhere to be seen.
Only a prey whose face was indented halfway and whose eyeballs bulged out like they would pop was trembling in anticipation of death.
It all happened so quickly.
Too quickly even for Jeong Yusin to do anything.
Still, he ran forward.
He plunged his sword into the throat of the goblin about to sever Kael’s throat.
“KKUKEK!”
With a final shriek, the goblin clutched its throat and fell.
Two goblins clung to Jeong Yusin’s shield.
It was too heavy to move the shield.
Unprepared for the unseen strategy, he lost concentration.
“Shit.”
Just then, he realized.
Beyond the shield, a goblin popped up, swinging a club at his head.
CLANG!
The iron helmet blocked the club.
The impact made his vision blur.
By instinct, his sword had pierced the stomach of the goblin wielding the club.
Had he driven it in too deep?
The sword wouldn’t budge.
He let go of the shield, causing the two goblins clinging onto it to tumble on the ground.
The spear about to stab in.
He had neither a shield nor a sword.
“Huh.”
Taking a deep breath, he timed it just right and grabbed the spear.
“KIIIEEK?”
Jerking the spear violently, the goblin followed suit. He punched the goblin’s jaw.
BAM!
A clean straight punch.
The goblin fell unconscious without even screaming. He snatched the spear and stomped on the unconscious goblin’s neck.
CRUNCH.
The heavy boots with a reinforced steel tip crushed the goblin’s neck.
He threw the spear, taking out a rolling goblin.
One more remained.
Right at that moment,
“KIIIUUUAAAAAAAAAH!!”
Mari’s scream rang out from behind.
“Mari! No! Dean, come back!!”
Ann’s urgent shout followed.
What was happening?
“Kikikikik.”
The last goblin in front of Jeong Yusin was laughing darkly.
KACH!
THUNK!
An arrow whizzed through the darkness. He moved to avoid it but was still struck in the shoulder and thigh.
“Shit!”
The pain felt like fire, stiffening his body.
It seemed there were a few more. The sound had drawn more goblins.
Mari’s scream and Ann’s yelling from behind.
Up ahead, the reinforcements of goblins were cackling.
A sudden crisis had arrived.
Though dazed, his body moved desperately to survive.
He grabbed the charging goblin’s collar and used it to block the incoming arrows.
THUD!
KER-THUNK!
Arrows pierced the goblin’s body.
He couldn’t block them all.
Though he took one to the arm, he shielded the vital spots.
He wouldn’t die at least; his blood raced hotly in his head.
He discarded the arrow-riddled goblin.
Staggering forward, he picked up the shield and yanked his sword free from the goblin abdomen.
He retreated.
He needed to check what was happening at the rear.
Deflecting the incoming arrows with his shield, he went back to the curve in the passage.
The tragic scene just before the light faded.
Mari was being dragged far away into the darkness, her clothes torn here and there, her hair held by a goblin.
Where had Dean disappeared to?
Ann was thrashing around, being held down by the goblins, screaming.
“Stop! Stop I said!!”
The goblins were giggling madly as they relished the cries of pain from this female.
And so,
They didn’t see Jeong Yusin stealthily approaching.
The sword pierced through the neck of a goblin.
“GEYK?!”
One of the three hobgoblins sitting atop Ann fell.
“KIEK!”
Panicked goblins.
After retrieving his sword, he slashed the throat of another goblin and smashed the neck of the last one with his shield.
SQUISH.
The goblin with the twisted neck fell.
“HIIIGGGH! AAHHH!”
The last one fell, but Ann was still in panic, flailing about.
The light faded, and darkness consumed the cave.
It was an urgent situation. Goblins could attack at any moment. The passage where Kael was, especially, was uneasy.
Jeong Yusin lit the fire first. The last torch dimly illuminated the narrow cave.
“Ann, get a hold of yourself.”
He shook her shoulders a few times, but she couldn’t regain her senses.
After striking her cheek hard, light returned to Ann’s eyes. Whether she was fully aware or not was questionable.
“Mari! We need to save Mari! And Kael?! Dean?!”
“Kael’s head was crushed, and where Dean is, I don’t know. Mari was being dragged by her hair.”
“We need to rescue them!”
As Ann attempted to rise, she clutched her abdomen and stumbled back down. She had been stabbed multiple times by poisoned daggers, and dark crimson blood was flowing.
Jeong Yusin pulled out two vials of antidote from his bag. He had learned they used poison during class. Luckily or unluckily, the need had arisen to use it.
“Not now.”
He said as he handed her the antidote. They needed to leave immediately. They had lingered too long, and goblins could show up at anytime.
They had to reach a safe place first. They needed to remove the arrows and take the antidotes. The wounds where the arrows hit were turning black.
“Stop talking nonsense! We need to rescue them! Please, help me!”
Ann prostrated, pleading.
He understood.
As they were from the same village, they must have lived together for a long time.
Their friendship must have run deeper than time.
After hearing that they had overcome every difficulty together as Kael had said, she surely believed they could make it through searching the labyrinth too.
With such conviction, she had made a bold choice but the luck didn’t favor them this time.
He understood.
“Alright. Let’s head to a safe place and get treatment first. Then we’ll look for them.”
It was a lie.
He had no intention of finding them.
Ann would be the bait.
When hobgoblins attacked in uncontrollable numbers, Ann would serve as an excellent distraction, buying him time to escape.
“Just go now!”
“If you go now, you’ll die. Even if we find them, we’re not in any condition to fight. Don’t you expect me to handle everything?”
Ann bit her lip.
“Alright.”
Jeong Yusin helped Ann to her feet as they took a few steps.
Strangely, the goblins didn’t chase them.
If he were a goblin, would he chase a prey wounded with three arrows?
Perhaps they were scared?
In case of any pursuit, he picked up the remaining torches and set them alight at two- or three-way crossings, taking advantage of hobgoblins’ tendency to attack toward light.
And then,
It felt like they would fall.
Carrying the weight of the female, pierced with arrows, while barely able to walk himself had its limits.
He had no idea where he was heading either.
Dean had the map.
“Gehekk.”
Ann spat out black blood.
‘I don’t think she’ll make it much further.’
They didn’t even find a proper resting spot. Nonetheless, they had distanced themselves from the site of the assault, and there was no sign of pursuit yet.
He leaned Ann against a side of the cave and gave her the antidote.
Lifting her shirt, her abdomen was riddled with holes. He poured some wine for disinfection and applied the antidote.
Jeong Yusin pulled out a small vial from his bag.
Low-quality healing potion.
The tiny vial, about the size of Yakult, contained a swishing red liquid.
This costs 3 silver coins a bottle.
‘Just leave her?’
For a moment, he wavered.
‘Pour it just slightly. Enough to make her able to walk. I need to buy myself time to escape.’
He dripped a bit onto each wound.
Steam rose as flesh sizzled, and the wounds began to close slightly.
He finally wrapped her wounds with bandages.
“Ugh!”
Ann groaned and fidgeted.
Now his turn.
He took a sip of wine.
With trembling hands, he grasped the arrow shaft and snapped it.
Now, all he had to do was remove the embedded arrowhead from the flesh.
There was no need to worry about excessive bleeding.
He had a healing potion, after all.
He tore into the flesh with his dagger.
“URRRGGHHH!! Damn you bitch!”
Unable to bear the immense pain, Jeong Yusin glared at Ann.
The burning pain only fueled his anger.
Guan Yu played a game of go as he was treated for an arrow wound, but Jeong Yusin thought he’d have to curse and swear to endure.
“Fk! Why the hell didn’t you guys who thought it was your lucky day listen? Do you know how Kael died? His belly was pierced, and his head was smashed in, and he died with his eyes popping out of his flattened face. I told you not to come! Why did you drag people to hell?!”
He pulled out the arrowhead embedded in his arm. Blood gushed out like a fountain. He sprinkled antidote and healing potion on it.
‘When was the last time I had a tetanus shot? Was it at basic training?’
Gripping his cloudy mind tightly, he swore and spat out all sorts of curses as he pulled out the remaining arrowheads.
After completing first aid, he looked at Ann.
Tears were rolling down her blurred eyes.
Jeong Yusin stood up.
“Can you walk on your own?”
“Yes.”
Ann clutched her abdomen and stood up.
“Let’s go.”
Without waiting for a response, Jeong Yusin turned and walked away.
Behind him, the sound of unsteady footsteps followed.
‘I will definitely survive and get out of this hellish labyrinth.’
Clenching his teeth, he raised the torch.
