“This is the time I’ll beat you!”, said Lucy, mashing the buttons of the power-o-matic machine, while Andrea, on the other set of controls, was silent and completely focused on the game. It was difficult to understand what was going on the screen, apart from a pink ball fighting against a yellow electrical animal. Lucy’s character was launched off screen, and the word “GAME!” appeared in the middle. “Goddamn!”, Lucy kicked the machine, but, as metal was stronger than flesh, she fell on the ground in pain, caressing her toes.

“Respawn complete”, said the robotic voice, and he was pushed out of the capsule. This time he could walk without no problems. He touched his body: the legs were right, and there was no problem with the eyes, lips, and ears. It seemed that this time the machine worked properly, even if he felt too light in the pelvis area and experienced a sense of freedom that he had never felt before. His eyes widened.

“Is something wrong?”, said Andrea;

“Nothing”, he swallowed, “I’m perfectly fine. Have you still got a bullet for your weapon?”;

“Why are you asking? It was the last. I’ll have to farm a bit to buy another one because they’re very expensive”;

“She wasted it on you”, said Lucy, who was still on the ground, “Be thankful”. But now the situation was even worse.

“Just out of curiosity”, Charles said, “Do we have a rope?”. The girls shook their heads with a puzzled expression, until Lucy burst into a laugh.

“Oh my God! I can’t believe it!”;

“What happened?”, Matthew away pushed the curled towel he was using as a pillow to sleep.

Lucy pointed at his crotch, or at least what remained of it. Matthew rose from the ground, furrowing his brows, “There’s nothing to laugh about”. He patted his shoulder, “I’m sorry, bro. They can’t understand how bad it is”, he shook his head, “I’m with you. I know how it feels: your identity is gone, and you just become a hollow shell of yourself”;

“What do I need to do?”, said Charles, “I want it back”. Something lit in his head, “What about we use the reparation money to buy a bullet?”;

“You can’t, at least for now”, said Lucy;

“Why?”;

“You need to compile a module and provide a proof that the process went wrong”, said Andrea, “A doctor of the dungeon will review it, then a lawyer, then another committee, and if there are enough money, you’ll get a refund”. Why there was the need of a lawyer in a dungeon?

“How long does it take?”;

“Six weeks at most”, said Lucy, “But I wouldn’t be worried if I were you. I don’t think you used it much.”. Andrea hit her in the head, “Ow!”, said Lucy, closing her eyes;

“Don’t be rude”, Andrea said.

“I'm going outside”, Charles said, “And try to do something about it”.

“Are you sure?”, said Matthew, “I can't leave someone like you alone"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Yes”, said Charles. Matthew thrusted him his napkin, “You can’t go without the map”. It wasn’t very well drawn, as it consisted of weird jagged lines and some difficult to understand writing.

After taking his lead pipe, he moved towards the door, but he stopped midway when he noticed a human shape hidden in a bodybag. He decided to ignore it and open the door. Matthew and Andrea observed him going away in the caves.

He took a different path from the last time. The group never went on the right side of the cave complex, and it was time to discover what secrets lurked that way. He wasn’t very afraid because if he died there would be the respawn to save him; even if it made, in a way this place even more depressing than it was in reality: death, the most absolute of things, had to bend itself to the rules of the dungeon. He forgot about the goblin tooth he had picked up, but when he went to retrieve it, he found his pockets empty. Maybe it fell in the safe-room.

As he progressed, the light of the rocks became more and more dim. It was hotter, and he found a rising difficulty in breathing. His eyelids were starting to droop, and a stabbing pain come from his shoulder muscles by holding the heavy weapon for too long. He never felt the need to work out as the genes he inherited from his parents allowed him to eat anything without getting fatter; now he was paying the price for his laziness. But giving up wasn’t an option, as it wasn’t for his great-grandfather, who fought in Normandy and in the Ardennes, without barely any food to eat and clothes for the winter, and survived against all the odds, then he changed his surname and emigrated in the USA.

A wave of screeching dark shapes plundered from the ceiling towards him. Charles dropped on the ground just in time to not be run over. His lead pipe must have hit something because a creature fell on the ground in front of him. After the cloud of animals disappeared, Charles raised his eyes to a white bat-like animal, with no eyes, covered in a gooey liquid. Charles gasped, even if seeing a bat, the most common animal in cave, shouldn’t be a surprise. Maybe the surprise were the stepping sounds closing on him from both sides.

“Stop, human!”, said a squeaky voice from the darkness, “You are surrounded. Drop your weapon!”;

Five Cave Goblins wielding short spears marched towards him; one of them had a small bow with an arrow already nocked and aimed at his chest. Charles looked behind himself to see another group of goblins blocking his way.

“We don’t have to fight”, said Charles, “Let’s be gentle… beings”;

“Then drop your weapon”, said the Goblin with the bow. Charles sighed, even if he could afford to die, this time it wouldn’t be as painless as the one with the Minotaur. The lead pipe clanged on the ground.

“Keep your hands over your head and don’t try to do anything funny”, said the Goblin, “Follow us”. The tip of a spear pushed him forward. This group was different than the ones he saw with the group: they were wearing rags, while some of them had a kind of beanie hat covering their head, with two holes for the floppy ears, and their sandals were flopping on the ground.

“Where are we going?”, said Charles;

“The King might want to speak with you”, said the Bow-goblin;

“You’re not like the other Goblins”, said Charles. All the column stopped, “We’re not Goblins!”, they all shouted.

“Sorry”;

The gallery opened into a wide area. The light of the sun was filtering through a small opening on the high-ceiling, illuminating the clear waters of an underwater lake. The eyes of the ones picking on the walls turned towards him with curiosity, and one of them licked his lips. One of the Goblins carrying rocks on a wheelbarrow walked next to him and winked one his oversized eyes, “Hey”, he said, but the goblin behind Charles pushed him, “Get lost!”, he said.

They formed a small village on the shores, made of tents. A Goblin who was opening a fish with a sharp rock grinned at him, while another one inside a tent was working on a small-sized copy of the David of Michelangelo, but something was much larger than the original.

A large Goblin was sitting on a throne made of stone on the shore of the lake. A metal crown adorned his head, standing over some thin grey hair. All the column kneeled in front of him.

“What a splendid gift”, said the Goblin king, “You brought me such a handsome human”;

“T-thanks”, Charles cleared his voice; he needed to answer to the comment of the King, “That’s a nice village you got there. You don’t seem as stupid as they say”. Every tip of spear was aimed at him, and someone cussed at him words that he couldn’t understand.