CHAPTER FIFTEEN

SPOILS OF CARNAGE

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I must have sat there staring at my missing pinky and the goblin carcass for ten minutes, just catching my breath. My heart was still going a mile a minute. Six goblins and two zombies. No level-up, either.

“Maybe I need to rethink this,” I murmured.

Sure, I’d been lucky so far. Supremely lucky. But how many more times could I be surprised and still manage to escape? I was no longer certain that this was a wise course of action. Not alone, at least.

If I’d died down here, Rio would never know. She’d have no idea what happened to me. Worse yet, these goblin fuckers would then be free to spread up onto the surface.

I’d almost died again. Coming more prepared wasn’t making me feel any safer. Instead, I scraped by on the skin of my teeth. I hadn’t even thought to use my Cyclone Armor, which might’ve helped against those damn icicles.

I pulled up my shirt. Sure enough, there was a red bubbling welt on my skin. Ice, so cold it burned. I couldn’t imagine how much that would’ve hurt if I hadn’t brought the leather jacket, which was completely ruined now.

Was this worth it?

I guessed I’d find out when I saw what dropped. At the very least, I remember seeing five coins drop from the first zombie–!

“Fucking hell, the Zombies!” I shouted as I quickly turned around. I grabbed the scimitar and ran back to where my gun and earmuffs had fallen, keeping a sharp eye on all of the stalagmites behind me as I re-armed.

That zombie could only have hidden here by crouching behind one of the pillars and staying still. It couldn’t fully hide behind any of them, so I must’ve just missed it and walked right on by. I couldn’t let that happen again.

I checked every nook and cranny in the area, gun and scimitar ready. I felt like a complete idiot when I remembered that the gun had been empty after my last attempt to shoot the spellcaster. I reloaded the empty gun and withdrew the still-loaded one, deciding to hold one and holster the other while I continued looking for hidden enemies. I didn’t find any, which was lucky. If I had, I might have died trying to shoot it with an empty pistol.

What I did find, however, was coins.

At least three goblins had dropped coins, as well as the first zombie. Nineteen coins in all. Eight hundred dollars. It had taken even less time than killing the goblins above.

There were two health potions, one of which I guzzled down immediately. I was pleased to see my finger start to regrow. I should’ve been gobsmacked by it, but at this point, I was losing my capacity for surprise.

The potion was probably worth millions to the right buyer, but no one would believe it. Worse, if it did get out that they worked, I didn’t think anything would keep other people from venturing into my land to try and find more.

Of course, tides of treasure hunters might be better than the literal goblin infestation I currently had. Time would tell. For now, I had more loot to check.

A glowing blue magnifying glass called an Identifier dropped from one of the goblins. There was a set of leather gloves that looked like they would fit my hands perfectly as soon as my damn finger finished regrowing.

Leather Gloves

Common

Medium

Armor: 1

Nothing special there, but it did remind me of the breastplate. That item had been considered magic with an “Unknown” attribute. I wondered if maybe the Identifier could shed some light on that.

The last item that dropped was called a portal stone. I didn’t know what that meant or what to do with it, but it seemed like it could somehow get me out of here. For now, I stashed everything in the bag. This had been more than enough for one day, and I wasn’t exactly sure I’d come back at all, given how dangerous this job was proving to be. Money, Magic, and all the Charisma in the world weren’t worth losing my head over.

I frowned. This was the same as before. I was thinking the same thoughts I'd already had. When I returned to the house and started looking at my bank account, I’d cave again. Perhaps literally.

This time hadn’t gone nearly as badly as the last. Losing a pinky was nothing compared to being stabbed in the lung. The fear. The panic and the adrenaline, all with diminishing returns in the magic department. After all of that, I hadn’t gained a third level.

Still. Eight hundred dollars, and I’d been right about the cave being home to more goblins. The zombies were even easier to kill if I still had bullets…

No. I knew where this path went. This was gambling but on an entirely different level. I’d been lost in casinos before. This was the same thing with even higher stakes. The same feeling. I was high on my winnings now, but that always came before the plummet.

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I had to quit here while I was ahead. I’d return, barricade this place, and forget all about it. I’d come too close now. Each battle had proven my vulnerability, and guns did not tip the balance enough for me to continue this risk. Even with that gnawing sense that something was indescribably wrong...

I could be fully prepared – hell, I could bring a fucking tank down here – and there was still a good chance that something could kill me. Death was only a lack of potions away, and I only had one now.

Plus… I was running out of ideas for what to do with my bloody clothes.

Loot pocketed, I decided that I would bid my spelunking days goodbye. I turned to head back up the tunnel. I was lucky there had only been one path so far. If this cave branched out later on, I might’ve gotten lost.

While walking back, I found that strange symbol on the wall again. It still smelled like rotten meat and dried blood, but it also seemed like it was glowing just a bit. I turned off my flashlight and confirmed that the blue blood was producing its own light.

Curious, I reached out and touched the symbol.

The location cemented itself into my mind like a beacon. It was here. I knew exactly where this was. I would always know where this spot was. Seared into my brain as surely as the knowledge of how to read or ride a bike.

I would always know this spot.

I…

I could teleport here. That was what it was used for. The goblins used it to travel. I didn’t know how I knew, but I was certain. It was a waypoint.

I blinked suddenly as I realized that the color of the painted blood had changed. Suddenly, it was red. As red as my own blood. I’d… taken it back? Claimed it.

This was the instinctual knowledge I’d hoped for from my skill points! Almost on a whim, I activated the new ability, expending a minuscule amount of mana. It took a few moments, but suddenly, my entire world faded away.

Red lights danced around me before coalescing back into the same room inside the cave. I stood a few feet away from the waypoint, grinning like a kid.

Could I make these? Could I paint this exact symbol in my house and teleport between them? If I could… screw dungeon diving, I was going to become a transportation mogul! Who wouldn’t pay a mint to teleport between Little Rock and New York? Better yet, Los Angeles! London! I could get people there instantly, charge half the cost of a flight, and make a fortune!

I was getting ahead of myself. I calmed down as much as possible but giddily activated the ability again. I was overjoyed to see the red lights dance across my vision before – holy shit! – teleporting once again. It had only been a few feet, though. I had to try it from further away.

I returned to the cave’s exit, squeezing through the rocky entrance before climbing the mountain. I wanted to test it from a long way away but that sense of knowing never left me.

I was overjoyed to see sunlight again, but my excitement over the waypoint overshadowed even my fear of returning to the dark. How nice would it be not to walk all the way down through the itchy woods to get here!

Dammit. No. I’d committed to stopping this nonsense. If I kept doing this, sooner or later I would fucking die. Who cared whether I could get there more easily?

Either way, I still had to test it. Teleportation! Even if it was only to one specific location… I… just had to know!

It took about ten minutes to get halfway back up the mountain before I was far enough that teleporting again seemed like it would be a good test. I channeled my mana into the new ability. It took a few seconds to activate, and it did feel like it cost a bit more from here. Still, a few seconds later, red sparkles completely covered my vision before swimming away in a tide of lights. Leaving me in pitch blackness.

Fucking hell I’d turned off the flashlight. Still, the symbol glowed red illuminating the inside of the cave once more.

Feeling like an idiot, I turned on the flashlight, only to see a very surprised goblin, blinking its eyes at the sudden light.

Gripping Vines entangled it instantly before I withdrew the machete and sliced its face. It screamed, but a second chop silenced the wailing creature with the now-expected spray of blood.

The gong of a level-up sounded in my ears, accompanied by the red and green boxes. Was it trying to tempt me?

Ignoring that for the moment, I took in my surroundings, looking both ways down the tunnel. There had only been one goblin. Luckily for me. If there was one though, I had to assume more had already found the bodies from our fight and were on their way up the tunnel.

This had been stupid.

I turned to look back at the waypoint, wondering if the goblin had been trying to reclaim it. Was that all it took? Just a touch it and suddenly it was yours? Fuck, how could I keep the goblins from finding it?

The roots wouldn’t work. They’d just signal the goblins that there was something there worth trying to get to. I was also a bit worried that if I surrounded it with roots, then I’d be caught in them when I tried to teleport back. I was afraid wiping it away might ruin it entirely. I couldn’t bury it for the same reason as the roots.

I… couldn’t defend this. Not without constantly returning. Clearing the cave and exploring its depths to make sure there weren’t any goblins or zombies capable of taking it back.

I didn’t need to, I supposed. I had decided to stop all of this dungeon-diving nonsense after all. But… it felt wrong, just letting it go.

Still, I had more important things to think about. Rio. I might continue trekking down here, gaining money from these evil creatures if it was just me. I couldn’t leave her, though. I couldn’t risk dying and her never knowing how or why.

Reluctantly, I used the vines to create a wall between the depths of the cave and my waypoint. Hopefully, that would protect it, at least for a little while.

I exited the cave once more and sealed it, too. I needed to wait a few minutes with my healing aura off to recover enough mana for the last vines. I’d considered using the mana potion but had decided against it.

My mana reservoir had definitely expanded since I’d first used it, but it was far from bottomless. Still, I was getting a more solid feel for how many vines I could use before I needed to recover. It really depended on the size of the task I wanted them to accomplish. Walling off the entire tunnel had been more costly than any of the times I’d used them to stall an enemy.

With a dismal heart, I began the slow trek back up to my house. It had been a pleasant thought, killing monsters for money. Easy in some ways. I didn’t have to impress anyone. Didn’t have to have any sort of social filter up. No collared shirts. It also didn’t hurt that I felt a little badass after killing the demons.

“Yeah, real badass,” I muttered to myself. “Threw up, got stabbed, lost fingers, and I’m absolutely covered in blood. I’m sure Rio'd love that.”

I chuckled lightly as my house came into view, Genji barking her face off inside the fence. It was only about noon. I might still have to find another job, but at least I had a little cushion now.

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