In the dimly lit tavern, the scent of stale ale and smoky hearth fire fills the air. The aroma of baked bread mingling with the tang of roasted beef and savoury stews envelops every step of the crackling fire. Amidst the hubbub, I can hear the clinking of coins as patrons settle their bills with the barkeep.
Issac gulps down one mug of frothy foam uncomfortably. The atmosphere is dark and quiet, absence of laughter or passing gossip of stories, leaving only a few people around a table of food and silence.
Aside from my squad and I, not many visitors stop by.
"Sir...may I voice an opinion?" says Masoc after he swallows.
I nod.
"Something feels off about this." He says.
"I know but what can we do?" I reply.
Everyone understands my words and stares down. It's the first mission given to the team in some time and it's "just" a goblin subjugation. Failure in the simplest may result in the termination of our team.
"For tonight, keep a lookout from your room. I will investigate what's going on." I say and get up from the table.
Issac attempts to stand but I push his shoulder down. "Don't. You will only burden me."
...
He furrows his brow, eyes cast down with disappointment and anger.
I sigh and pat his back. "Your role is important too. If something happens in my absence, who will the people rely on?"
!
Issac's complexion lightens up and he nods.
"Please be safe, sir-"
He turns back and finds me missing, disappearing into thin air. Issac looks at Masoc who is facing my previous location. Masoc shakes his head. Gone in an instant as if I wasn't there. He starts to wonder when he can reach my level.
A recondite shadow darts around the village amongst the dead of the night. A palpable tension hangs heavy over the empty gravel pathway, casting a shadow over the remnants of life. The villagers lock themselves away, each home a fortress against encroaching mystery.
My ghost-like footsteps land beside a house when I hear light conversations.
"...long...wait?" A faint woman's voice says.
I shuffle myself to the window barricaded with wooden planks.
"The knights have arrived, it should be resolved soon!" A male whispers
"What can a mere five people do?" The woman asks.
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"I went to the tournament three weeks ago and personally saw the winner. The commander of the knights seems to be the champion, a Master Swordsman!"
"You sure it's not a look-alike? I heard he is a commoner with a ubiquitous appearance."
I realise the window has a string of metal cups as an alarm.
They use small candles for mild illumination and set up traps, the danger might be true, however, I cannot believe goblins are behind this. Such high alert and moderate defence should be enough to fend off a few goblins.
Goblins, denizens of the shadows full of dangers, their small and gnarled form are physically weak and ugly but they thrive on cunning intelligence.
Fortunately, ordinary goblins fail to surpass a human's Machiavellian.
I suddenly detect a small malevolent presence atop the roof.
!
I leap behind the creature and grab it by the neck.
"KYAHH!?" it exclaims.
It's a goblin?!
Without mercy, I tighten my grip, bursting its head onto the streets below.
A goblin versed in stealth arts...truly a sight to behold.
Similarly, I start noticing sprinkles of monsters around the village. They move with little sound and extreme speed.
...The words of the chieftainess might not be a lie.
Moreover...
I pick up the green corpse. Small demonic energy is oozing out.
The ominous shadow is larger than I expected.
With no time to absorb the demonic energy, I go after the remaining. Killing a certain amount alerts the remnant invaders and they start escaping in different directions. I decided to follow one and find their lair.
We zoom through the forest from branches to branches. The Goblin surprisingly notices me and my intention. It immediately dives to the ground and runs on foot with neither sound nor indication.
My foot lands on the dirt to meet various confusing tracks dulling my senses. Irregular footsteps, broken twigs, and drag trenches head in every direction.
The goblins prepared this beforehand. Smart.
Nevertheless, my senses can pinpoint his location.
I slow down and hide my presence, circulating the mana in my body to match the fluctuation in the atmosphere.
With the goblin thinking it lost its tail, it starts to regroup with its fellow kind.
They gather around a tree and discuss their next plan. I furrow my brows as I stare from above. All have demonic mana within them.
The horde moves as a group deeper into the forest, unaware of the destruction they are bringing back. Venturing after a long adventure, a small patch of ruins emerges like whispers from the past with crumbling archways and weathered stone.
The goblins search around for something specific until one calls out for the rest. They proceed to gather around a broken pillar and soon, the ruin vibrates. A mechanism moves many of the structures aside, revealing a staircase deep into the unknown.
A goblin's nest hidden in an ancient dungeon...history from my previous life is repeating itself.
I infiltrate the nest trailing the goblins. The mechanism seals the place shut after a few moments, dispersing billows of soil and muck.
Walls rough and uneven, made of stone and dirt, with little light filtering through the claustrophobia confines. Usually, dampness and decay should fill the air but all I smell is blood and rot.
One of the goblins turns back and jumps when it notices me. In the blink of an eye, I appear beyond the group, shredding every goblin with three slashes. Demonic mana dissipates from their corpse and swirls to my palm. I absorb the disgusting mana and force my body to take it.
...This takes too long.
"RAGH! HUMAN!" A voice slips out at the far end.
The goblins dart to me without gauging my strength or relying on their intelligence with crazed red eyes.
My sword easily tears everything apart, their equipment and strength are not matched for my prowess.
I venture deeper into the abyss, every encounter met with rough hostility. Finally, I arrive at a spacious cavern, large enough to be a warehouse. The sickening sweet putrid odour assaults my senses with a cacophony of horrors enough to send sanity into the shadows within the confines of the room. I send a beam of mana to the roof, lighting up the terrifying truth. Every flicker casts an eerie shadow that twists and contorts into a monstrous form. A horrid pile of bones and meats pushed together into a mountain of rotting nightmares. Corpses everywhere.
Demonic mana spontaneously spits from the "mountain".
"I knew it," I mumble under my breath. The goblins are practising demonic cultivation.