“So, what are you going to do about it?”
Jeong Yusin’s question left the group silent.
Though they talked about goblin leaders and learning theories, the crucial matter at hand was the upcoming plan.
“A short-term battle is doable.”
“Because of the disgraceful mark, I’ve fallen this far, but I was once a mid-ranked explorer. I can’t afford to look like a coward and run away just because we’re on the second floor.”
Dell and Dito spoke up loud. On the other hand, the mage and the dwarf remained silent.
“Ainhofer, what about you? You useless fellow.”
“I’m going to continue. I’m fine.”
“Let’s at least cut some goblin ears. We need to earn some money.”
Dito said as he stood up from his seat.
The group worked hard cutting hobgoblin ears while sensing the scent of blood and roasting flesh.
The place where the fireball exploded only left shredded body parts, so there wasn’t much to salvage. Nonetheless, Dell and Dito’s rear position had quite a few ears.
“Ugh! This one’s still alive?”
Dito stepped back in disgust at the twitching goblin.
“Seriously. Even with a torn mouth, it’s still alive.”
Dell said while gradually approaching with her dagger in hand.
“Look. Barbaroy, this is your handiwork.”
When Dell called, Jeong Yusin approached.
The hobgoblin was wheezing and emitting strange groans.
Jeong Yusin looked down momentarily and then crushed its neck with a Walker.
Crunch.
Jeong Yusin’s uncaring action led Dell to grimace.
“To be honest, you’re not a rookie, right? Were you an adventurer?”
“What’s an adventurer? Is it different from an Explorer?”
“There are those kinds of guys. They’re annoying bastards.”
“Barbaroy. Where do you think your combat skills will take you?”
As Dito chimed in to reprimand, Dell shrugged and replied.
“So? Whether a virgin or not, it doesn’t matter. As long as you get the job done, it’s fine.”
“This Barbaroy is pitiful. Just remember that.”
Dito’s serious declaration caused Jeong Yusin’s face to slightly turn red.
“Let’s cut some ears.”
“What? Your face turned red? Are you embarrassed?”
Dell giggled.
“Look, there’s another ear over here.”
At Jeong Yusin’s rough gesture, Dell gasped and stepped back.
The three of them argued and bickered as they collected ears together.
Excluding the goblins obliterated by the fireball, they managed to gather 30 pairs of ears after a thorough sweep.
“Let’s camp here. There’s a resting spot not too far from here.”
Dito took the lead holding a torch.
Jeong Yusin sheathed the Aming Sword and walked while holding a club, wiping the fat off the blade but still carrying the club as a secondary weapon just in case. He thought a club that could swing around would be helpful, plus it was free.
The longer the fight continues, the more one’s posture deteriorates and the sharper edge of weapons diminishes. Having a blunt weapon like a club around could help; additionally, it was free.
They passed through the darkness and found a small cave.
There were no signs of human presence.
Dito peeked inside and gave the all-clear signal.
The group entered, unpacked their gear, lit a fire with some firewood, and covered the entrance with a barrier to prevent the light from leaking out.
They gathered around the campfire and ate food.
The menu was the same as always — dried meat and biscuits.
They crumbled the hard biscuit into small pieces, put it in their mouths, and chewed it, softened by saliva, which made it bearable.
“How shall we arrange the watch?”
“Carlton will cast the alarm spell. Sleep soundly.”
Dell replied while munching on some nuts.
That night, despite the shallow depth, they managed to sleep for a long time.
—
After about 8 hours of sleep, they gathered their gear.
They extinguished the slowly burning campfire from the night and held their torches.
Their whole bodies were drenched in sweat but still manageable.
Dito took the lead holding the torch.
The party moved through the darkness for hours but couldn’t find any hobgoblins.
All they found were a few crude traps.
“This is strange.”
Dito muttered.
“Where did all those goblins go?”
“Shouldn’t we take a rest? Is there any kind of resting spot nearby?”
Dell glanced at Ainhofer and spoke. The dwarf was breathing heavily.
No surprise considering he had the burdened mark and was carrying heavy armor with massive weapons, panting as expected.
Dito scratched his chin and went into thought for a moment.
“Hmm… If we move a little further, it’s fine. About 10 minutes?”
“Alright. Ainhofer, let’s push on a little more.”
Dell encouraged.
“Hmph, my apologies.”
“Not at all.”
At that moment,
Dito’s bat-like ears twitched.
“Wait! Quiet!”
Dito crouched down and put his ear to the ground. The group quietly observed Dito’s actions.
“They’re coming!”
Dito suddenly stood up and shouted.
The pale light reflected on his face made it appear like the skin of a corpse.
“At least 100 of them! They’re rushing towards us! Damn it, we need to run!”
“Where to?!”
“To the resting spot!”
“The entrance to the resting spot is only one. Won’t we end up completely surrounded? You useless guy.”
“If we stay here and get attacked from both sides, we’re dead! You won’t even have time to cast your spells!”
“They’re coming!!”
Dell shouted.
From far away, the sound could be heard. An overwhelming number of footsteps and shouts echoed through the cave like never heard before.
“Run!”
Dito screamed and dashed forward. Jeong Yusin and the others also ran at full speed, not even bothering to investigate for traps.
Even running so fast that their helmets almost fell off, the roaring sounds from behind did not disappear but grew louder.
In the midst of this, Ainhofer fell to the ground.
“Grgh… huff… go ahead without me.”
Panting heavily, the dwarf barely managed to speak.
“Hey! You, dwarf!”
Dell gasped and pulled Ainhofer’s arm, but there was no movement.
“Damn it! We don’t have time for this! We need to go!”
Dito’s face was full of fear.
Jeong Yusin quickly approached and carried Ainhofer on his back. True to his dwarf nature, Ainhofer was heavy like carrying a block of iron.
“Let’s go. You can handle the axe, Dell.”
“Alright! Thanks, Scath!”
Dell thanked.
“Sorry.”
Ainhofer muttered.
“Not at all.”
Jeong Yusin carried Ainhofer and ran at full speed.
“Huff… Huff…”
The breath climbed up to his throat. It felt like he would die of exhaustion rather than goblins.
‘I can’t run anymore.’
‘No, you can. Think about when you first entered the labyrinth. This should be fine.’
‘Fuck no. I can’t run anymore. Why would I die like an idiot helping someone else? Leave him.’
‘Would leaving him guarantee survival? Shut up and run.’
His divided self argued back and forth about this and that.
Just as his inner conflict reached its peak, right before his self might split, they arrived at the entrance to the resting spot.
Jeong Yusin was the last to enter the resting spot.
After lowering the dwarf and their gear, there was no time to catch their breath.
Jeong Yusin grabbed the shield handle and picked up the club.
As soon as Carlton entered, he moved a bit away and went into a spell chant.
Dell snatched the torch from Dito, stuck it in the center of the resting spot, and fetched all the spare arrows from the bag, placing them in her quiver.
Dito was still shaking. Despite having a cocked crossbow in hand, he seemed to have lost his senses.
“Dito! Pull yourself together!”
Dell approached and slapped Dito’s cheek while shaking his shoulder.
“Huuh!”
‘Why is he like this? Wasn’t he a mid-ranked explorer?’
Seeing Dito foaming at the mouth from sheer terror was quite baffling.
“Shit! He has the Fear Mark after all. Shit, they should’ve mentioned this!”
“Was there another disgraceful mark?”
“Yeah, it’s fortunate for him at this level considering how terrifying it can be. These marks make people lose their sanity from the slightest fear. The fact that he didn’t run around somewhere like a madman is already impressive. Phew.”
‘I see why the party is called the ‘F-grade Party’ now.’
The sounds of hobgoblins talking in their language, running, and various others combined as they approached the resting spot.
“Kiki…”
“Kil kil!”
The sounds were unmistakable. The entire group was waiting outside.
A hobgoblin peeked its head through the entrance.
SWISH!
Dell’s arrow pierced through the hobgoblin’s forehead.
THUD!
It died instantly, collapsing on the ground.
An angry roar erupted outside the resting spot.
Jeong Yusin and Ainhofer stood near the entrance. Dell positioned herself slightly away from the entrance to create space for her shots.
Jeong Yusin stood on the right.
Ainhofer on the left.
The dwarf was ready with a single-edged axe on his shoulder, tensing his entire body for any approaching enemies.
Jeong Yusin was no different. He raised a shield and brought the club above his head.
Guarding the entrance.
If the entrance is breached, they’re dead.
They must hold out at all costs until Carlton’s spell is complete.
SWISH!
A goblin leaped into the resting spot.
Ainhofer’s axe chopped through the goblin’s skull, splitting its body in half.
SQUEEZE!!
Blood and entrails splattered out.
Another goblin pushed in without any delay.
Jeong Yusin swung the club down.
WHACK!
The skull shattered, and brain matter splattered all over his helmet.
Before he could lift the club back up, another goblin rushed in.
SWOSH!
Dell’s arrow hit the goblin precisely between the eyes.
As the fallen goblin’s corpse was stepped on, more goblins pressed in one after another.
This time, it was Ainhofer’s turn to swing his axe.
Then Jeong Yusin struck with his club.
Next, Dell launched another arrow.
Interlocking like gears in a mechanism, the party continued their coordinated assault endlessly.
Breathing heavily and catching their breath, they smashed goblin skulls.
‘Maybe if we keep doing this…’
Perhaps they could overcome this crisis smoothly.
But disaster struck sooner than expected.
Ainhofer’s axe swing missed its mark. His limit in stamina had been reached.
CHINK!
The axe blade clashed futilely against the ground. Simultaneously, a goblin pounced onto Ainhofer. The dwarf rolled on the ground with the goblin on top.
“Shit! Ainhofer!”
The goblin had the upper hand. It seated itself on the exhausted dwarf and swung its rusty iron sword. Ainhofer lifted his axe handle to block the sword.
Jeong Yusin couldn’t help Ainhofer.
The swarm of goblins was still rushing in.
Now it was Jeong Yusin’s responsibility to hold them back alone.
CRASH!
He crushed another hobgoblin’s skull.
“Shit!”
The club broke.
Jeong Yusin threw the broken club handle at the hobgoblin’s face. It stumbled and grabbed its eyes, allowing more goblins to rush in.
Quickly, he drew the Aming Sword and thrust it into a hobgoblin’s neck.
“Ugh!”
No time to check if it was dead or alive. He quickly pulled it out and stabbed the next one in the chest.
“Ainhofer!”
Dell’s scream echoed throughout the shelter.
The hobgoblin’s rusted iron sword finally broke the wooden axe handle.
Dell shot an arrow that pierced through the goblin sitting on Ainhofer.
The brief moment was crucial. Dell’s absence was significant.
Two goblins slipped past Jeong Yusin.
He tried to catch them but couldn’t.
Three goblins hanging onto his shield, pulling it.
One goblin wielding a rusted longsword, thrusting at him.
He let go of the shield and sidestepped, barely dodging the longsword.
He survived, but it was the worst move.
The goblins holding onto the shield were falling down.
He bashed one goblin’s head with his elbow and snatched the longsword.
“Hurry! Get out of the way! Useless!”
“Wait a moment!”
He discarded the Aming Sword and gripped the rusted longsword with both hands.
A mace-wielding goblin charging at him.
The target was his heart.
Pushing off with his legs, he plunged the sword forward.
PUFF!!
He could feel it through the hilt. The sensation of tearing flesh and piercing the heart.
“Kiieeeek!”
The sword broke through the goblin’s back and exited from its rear.
“Huuuuh!!”
With a battle cry, Jeong Yusin leaned his weight and pushed into the charging horde of goblins. Ignoring punches and slashes from their maces and swords, he pressed forward.
He forced his way into them, swimming against the tide of goblins like a powerful current back to the entrance.
‘Done.’
He let go of the sword. The goblins, who were pierced and thrashing like skewers.
He kicked the sword’s hilt to drive it deeper and stepped back.
“Shoot!”
[Fireball]
A fiery sphere descended onto the horde of hobgoblins outside the shelter’s entrance.
GAHGH!!
The heat and shockwave swept into the shelter.
Jeong Yusin covered his face and flatly crouched down.
Torn flesh and horrifying screams passed over him.
The magic was not over yet.
[Ice Wall]
A massive wall of ice surged up, blocking the entrance.
[Light]
The glorious light dispelling the madness of darkness filled the shelter.
Jeong Yusin shakily stood up.
They had bought time.
Looking around, he saw scorched and torn pieces of flesh scattered everywhere.
Still, Ainhofer and Dell appeared uninjured.
Dell was attending to Ainhofer, and Dito cowered in a corner, hugging his crossbow tightly despite lacking ammunition.
‘Still managed to shoot, though.’
Jeong Yusin approached Carlton. Carlton held his sword out. Around him were two fallen hobgoblins.
“Thank you. We’re alive.”
Jeong Yusin’s words of gratitude elicited a slight nod from Carlton.
“We’ve bought some time. I’ll rest for a bit. Useless.”
“Yes.”
Then Carlton collapsed.
THUD.
Jeong Yusin’s eyes widened.
A bolt was lodged into Carlton’s back.
