The Goblin locked the door behind them while the other three watched the empty corridors. It was eerily silent within the dungeon save for the sounds of the Goblin grunting to himself. Once he was done locking his door, he walked to the front of the group and pointed down into the darkness.

"Go. Stick together."

Stefan nodded and followed after the Goblin while he held out his lantern.

"Can't see in dark, yes?"

"Hmm? Ah, yeah. Riel usually casts [Light] for us in these kinds of situations but-"

"Hard to move with light. Monsters see you."

The Goblin looked around in the darkness and took note of the various marks and notches in the walls.

His eyes, which are usually yellow, turned back into the more natural red eyes of the Goblins. He didn't know how or why his eyes could do such a thing, but he knows that it helps him see in the dark better for some reason. The Goblin thought that this was a common occurrence among his kind, but Stefan thought it was unusual since this was the first time he saw such a thing.

Well, it was also his first time seeing a Goblin dressed like an adventurer. He wore a black cloak that allowed him to blend into the shadows with ease and his shoes were enchanted to make no noise while he walked. A sword was also strapped on his back and a few potions hung from his belt. He was clearly no idiot when it comes to dungeon diving, and Stefan thought that this Goblin was probably more prepared than the entire force sent to explore that one section.

While Stefan walked with the Goblin, trying his best to strike up a conversation with him, the Goblin did the same as he tried to form the proper words in his head. The reason he looked so serious wasn't that he was looking out for something—these parts are devoid of any serious threats—but because he wanted to ask him about life as an adventurer.

"Stefa-"

"Mister Gobli-"

They were both taken aback and their train of thought immediately halted. The Goblin was the first to speak up but he bit his tongue in the process.

"Ah. Go f-firsht."

"I-Is there something up ahead?"

"No, err..."

The Goblin grumbled and shook his head. The adventurer's right, it's too dangerous to get distracted in the dungeon. He looked back at the darkness in front of him and sighed.

"Nothing important."

"Oh..."

Perhaps the only thing worse than the dungeon's deafening silence is the awkward silence between the two of them. He never encountered such a problem before, not even his own thoughts could be this quiet whenever he fumbled over something.

"Mister Goblin, I think the two of us got off the wrong foot earlier."

"Yes. You stepped over me when I opened door."

Stefan chuckled while the Goblin tilted his head in confusion. He wondered why Stefan is laughing at the thought of stepping over him earlier when he felt Stefan place a hand on his shoulder.

"No, no! You got it wrong! It's an expression! It means that we got a bad impression of each other when we first met."

"Oh. I understand. Am monster so scary to many things."

"R-Right, well you don't seem like a bad person to me."

"Really? That is good. I am good Goblin, but many not believe."

"I can understand why..."

Stefan thought back on the time when he had to rush over to a village after it was raided by Goblins. He glanced at the Goblin beside him and wondered if he is capable of doing the same savagery as those ones. It didn't look like that was the case, but...

The screams of the village's women as they were defiled made him shudder.

"Yes. Many Goblins do evil. Not many do good. World hates Goblins because Goblins evil, and Goblins hate back."

The Goblin shuddered and looked back at the dark void in front of them. He hated thinking about those kinds of things, of what he is. Stefan was about to say something, but his ears quickly picked up on it and he immediately shifted the topic.

"Adventure, what is it like?"

"Adventuring? Ah, well, you get to sleep in inns and hop from town to town. It doesn't earn much most of the time, but there's good and bad days in all things."

"Oh. How about killing? Killing is part of adventure, right?"

"N-Not exactly. It's not that uncommon for us to go and kill some monsters but we usually avoid it if we could."

"Really? Thought adventurers like killing monsters. Monsters like Goblins."

"Oh, most do. The three of us don't like going after monsters that much since we're pretty weak. But most adventurer teams go after weak monsters like Slimes and... Goblins."

The Goblin nodded in agreement and sighed. He knew it was coming, but hearing it from Stefan still made him uneasy about it.

"Some adventurers kill Goblin children. Some Goblins kill Human children. Goblins raid villages for food and adventurers burn down Goblin home. Normal life for all."

"Yeah... but don't you care that other Goblins are suffering?"

"No. Not my tribe so not my problem. Don't care if you kill Goblins. But no killing me."

The Goblin shrugged his shoulders and waved the lantern in front of him. He wanted to say something else to Stefan, but he would have to save it for later. His red eyes glowed in the pitch-black darkness that surrounded what little light they have as he looked around for the hidden mechanism.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

There! Embedded in the floor, a small plate protruded just slightly from the floor. Everyone looked at it in surprise while Semilia walked to the front of the group. Even in the light, the three of them were only able to see it thanks to the Goblin pointing at its exact location on the floor. The Goblin and Stefan took a step back as Semilia grabbed one of the rocks and tossed it at the plate.

It sank slowly into the ground and a small section of the wall ahead of them shot out jagged rocks that would've impaled anything caught within the trap. He had passed by this trap countless times before, but the three behind him immediately took a step back from the trap.

After a few seconds, it stopped and the stone plate let out a click as it went back into the same position before the trap was activated. The Goblin waled around it nonchalantly and the three followed behind him with a wary look in their eyes as they passed by the trap. To be honest, they didn't need to activate the trap but for some reason, they wanted to know how the traps worked.

They continued forward into the dungeon, unsettled and on guard for any more traps. This time, there was no talking between them. Only silence.

"Let's take a break? I think we've been walking for hours."

The Goblin nodded and immediately sat down against the wall. His feet weren't sore but it was annoying having to walk at such a slow pace.

Stefan and the two girls sat down near him, with Stefan sitting on the spot beside the Goblin. Riel produced a few pieces of salt crackers from underneath her robe and gave one to both Stefan and Semilia. They had just enough food for two days, but who knows how long they'll be stuck here?

What's worse is the monsters. Or rather, the lack of monsters in the dungeon. Sure, there were still traps like the handful they passed by or disarmed, but they still haven't encountered any sort of monsters within the dungeon. Even the Goblin thought that it was odd for the dungeon to be this quiet, and that unsettled him.

"Here, have some."

Stefan handed the Goblin half of his cracker. It smelled weird to him, but he still took it and ate it in one bite. 

"Salty. Not like mushroom."

The Goblin pulled out a mushroom from his pocket and chewed on it to wash out the saltiness of the cracker.

"Cheese with cracker taste good. Sweet cheese, not salty cheese."

"Yeah, well, I think Riel's hiding some of the cheese in her bag."

"I'm not sharing my cheese with that Goblin! It's expensive!"

Riel clutched the bag hidden under her robes and turned away from Stefan and the Goblin. She was nibbling away on her cracker while popping small bits of the white goat's cheese into her mouth. Semilia just sighed and chewed on some of the dried nuts and berries she had on her.

"I should've bought some as well before going here. Speaking of which, Goblin!"

"Hm?"

"Do you want to trade? I have some roasted nuts here if you give me some of that roasted mushrooms you have."

The Goblin nodded and pulled out a handful of his mushrooms from his bag of holding. Semilia smiled and walked over to him while she held a small pouch filled with an assortment of roasted nuts and dried berries. 

"Thanks! Here, have some."

Semilia bit down on the mushroom and chewed on it happily. The Goblin watched the pointy-eared girl that was always glaring at him now eating the mushrooms he cooked. 

"Woah! They're cooked perfectly! Usually, people would overcook mushrooms or undercook them but this is good! And they taste different as well!"

"Heh, that's an Elf for you."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying that- Nevermind. That's racist of me... or is it speciest?"

"Just 'cause I'm an Elf doesn't mean I immediately love nature and shit like that! I just like eating wild and fresh things! And why the hell are you looking at me like that, Riel?"

The Goblin watched them while he chewed on a handful of dried berries. Riel was chuckling at the annoyed "Elf" while she glared at Stefan with a mushroom in her mouth. He was content with just watching them silently while picking out the weird green nuts mixed with the others in the bag when he heard something he couldn't look over.

"What's the deal with mushrooms anyway? They're not that special anyway."

His ears twitched at Stefan's words and he immediately stopped picking out the green nuts with his finger.

"No! Not true!"

"Yeah! What the fuck, Stefan? Haven't you tasted a good mushroom stew?"

Stefan clearly stepped on a trap when he saw the Goblin and Semilia looking down on him angrily. They both looked like he just insulted their gods or something and for once, Semilia was siding with the Goblin.

"Mushrooms special! They grow everywhere with no light! Good food!"

"Yeah! And do you know how expensive some truffles could get? Chefs pay like a ton for just a handful of them!"

"Truffles? What is truffle?"

"You've never heard of truffles?!"

The Goblin shook his head and gave Semilia a shrug.

"No. Is it tasty mushroom?"

"The best! My hometown is famous for them! You just put a few slices of them in a stew and it changes the flavor of it!"

"Ohhh!"

"Gods, help us..."

Riel muttered under her breath as she finally sat beside them. She watched the Goblin and Semilia gush over their shared love of mushrooms while she ate some of the nuts in Semilia's bag. She liked the spicy ones so she picked them out of the bag and avoided the green sugarnuts that the Goblin seemed to enjoy a lot.

"There she goes again. At least she found someone that shares that obsession with her."

"Yup. I still don't get why she's obsessed with them. I mean, they're just weird plants that pop out from damp and rotting wood."

"Oh come on. I know you're just saying that because you still haven't gotten over that time when you got the runs after you ate that weird one."

Riel broke off a small part of the crumbly goat's cheese and sprinkled some on the crackers she was eating. Stefan watched as she cast a [Flame] Spell to toast the cracker and melt the cheese on top of it before popping it into her mouth. It smelled nice, and it would've gone great with the ale he brought with him. 

"Want some?"

"No thanks."

"Okay then, your loss."

"Riel, you know how dairy makes me feel like shit after a while."

"Yeah, I know."

Riel chuckled as she wiped away the crumbs on her face with the back of her sleeve. Stefan grumbled something under his breath while they both turned towards the Goblin and the Elf.

The Goblin was showing her something in his notebooks while she stood unusually close to him with an intrigued look on her face. Usually, Stefan's ears would be filled with Semilia's complaints and worries about the Goblin. He was amazed that she was able to talk with him normally while the Goblin showed her some drawings on his notebook.

"Ah! I know that one! Oyster mushrooms! They're pretty common up north and they taste great if you fry them!"

"Okay. I will remember. How about big mushroom? Mushroom like this?"

"Button mushrooms? Yeah, they're great as well. Pretty meaty and they taste good in soups and stews if you want a lot of mushrooms."

"Yes! Very good with wild herbs! Make stew with nuts and garlic! Friend Semilia is very smart with mushrooms!"

"Of course! I spent 10 years of my childhood foraging for them in my hometown! And hey, you know your stuff as well! It's rare to find a fellow mushroom enthusiast like you!"

Stefan sat back and watched Semilia and the Goblin. The dungeon was quiet, and taking long rests is good for all of them. He leaned back against the hard wall and peered into the darkness that lay beyond the light of their small circle. In such a place, Stefan wondered what else did the dungeon consumed. He pondered about it and shrugged it off after a while.

In a dungeon, dark thoughts are as dangerous as the monsters themselves. Still, Stefan wondered what other monsters and creatures lurked in the shadows of this place. He looked down the hallway and into the abyss, then he shuddered at the quietness of it all. Only their loud noises pierced the dreadful silence of the dungeon, and only the light of the lantern they carried lit up the dungeon's corridors.

But little did Stefan knew, the abyss was also staring at them. It watched them in the darkness with a hateful gaze. It watched their strange forms huddle around the blinding light. It saw how they relaxed and rested within its deadly halls and how they avoided the traps it laid for them.

And it waited for them.

Something in the shadows moved. Its many legs skittered silently across the ground as it crawled back into the darkness of the dungeon. Their many legs crawled through the empty corridors that lay below them and within her stone prison, she waited for them.

Her eyes glanced at the door, forever open for him and him alone. Her heart skipped a beat for a moment, then she eased her posture. She remembered his soft-spoken words he used when he once conversed with her, and the slight tingle of pain when he clawed his way out of her grip. She licked her lips in anticipation, and venom dropped from the tips of her four fangs.