I gripped my sword tighter as it crunched into bone. I winced and gritted my teeth at the sound. God I hate that sound. And that feeling. I just want to die. I didn't have time to sulk, I had to pull out my sword fast before the other goblins could retaliate and avenge their fallen leader. They were already rushing forward. Even from a few yards away I could smell their rancid odor. 

Goblins used to be one of my favorite creatures. They were delightfully fiendish yet moronic enough to be charmingly in their own way. But as these small devils rushed forward, all I could think was The only good goblin is a dead one. They were closing the distance way faster than I thought. There were so many of them.

Luckily, I wasn't alone. Meria lunged in front of me, raising her shield. Her shield emanated an orange glowing barrier around it, extending its physical protection to a large area in front of us. She timed it perfectly, as just then, several of the goblins connected their clubs, and short swords into the barrier. The blows bounced off easily and hadn't even made Meria move an inch. "Come on you little bastards. You gotta do better than that." Meria said, wearing a half grin. The goblins went into a fervor after that. They began desperately hacking away at the orange wall in front of them. Not the brightest bunch considering Meria's skill had only casted a one sided barrier.

Suddenly, goblins were being sent flying to the side as several shards of ice bore into them. "This isn't a game you two." Ticon furrowed his brows as he gripped his right arm with his left. He left his arm extended as he readied another barrage of Ice Splinters

I grimaced. I hadn't moved at all after pulling my sword from the goblin chief's body. There was more killing that needed to be done. He had killed one out of a dozen goblins and just froze. Their chief, but still. That damn sound, he couldn't stand it. Nor the dreadful feeling of tearing into flesh. But Ticon was right, as he usually was. This isn't a game. It's us or them. Kill or be killed. 

The goblins were moving to flank the side of Meria's shield wall. Her ability wasn't invincible, but it was going to take them too long to break through it by force. They didn't have time with Ticon tearing into them with his spells. Two of the goblins broke off from the pack and made a beeline for Ticon. Well, Meria couldn't be everywhere. 

That's why teams of at least 4 were suggested.

"Everyone, close your eyes!" Bellesa raised her metal staff. I closed my eyes and readied myself for the opportunity that was coming. The sphere atop her staff turned a bright white, then quickly. The dim lights in the cavern had barely been illuminating enough to see a few feet in front of you. This made Bellesa's spell all the more effective.

The goblins shrieked as their visions turned to stars. I took a deep breath and launched myself into the goblins that had made their way to Meria's right. I raised my sword and let my ability take control. My arm swung towards the nearest goblin. In an instant, a second swing came through perpendicular to my own. Luckily, the skill took away most of the feeling of eviscerating the small goblins body. The goblin next to my victim was flailing desperately in its blindness. 

The tip of its blade unfortunately found a home in my left arm. The cut wasn't deep, but pain still seared white in my mind. The pain didn't last long. I could feel the healing aura before its green glow had even enveloped me. The relief from the pain was intoxicating. Thank the supposed gods for Bellesa's quick reaction. 

During my brief struggle, Meria had cut her Wall Ward short and had taken advantage of the goblins loss of sight. She had swung her axe so viciously it had seemed to cut through air, not bone and flesh. Her face remained unphased at the splatter of blood that now marked her face and iron armor.

There were not 5 goblins in front of Meria and I. They were snarling and grunting in anger. They had regained their composure and were already starting their attack on us. Meria's skin and horns began to shimmer as her usually crimson complexion turned to a glistening silver. Iron skin wouldn't stop all the incoming damage, but it would make the goblins chances of inflicting any meaningful damage on her close to zero. At least for as long as it lasted.

"Come on!" Meria's taunt at the goblins had worked. They had begun to wack away at her ferrous figure, but any strike that had made it past her shield seemed to bounce right off her. 

All of our work didn't stop the slight problem of the two goblins who had made their way past us and who were now resuming their rush towards the two back-line mages. Ticon's feathers bristled as he quick casted Ice splinters at the encroaching goblins. It would be a weaker attack, but he didn't have the time. The shards of ice tore apart one goblin, but had only managed to stagger the second. The remaining goblin grunted in pain as it pulled the small icicle out from its waist. 

The small distraction was enough of an excuse for Bellesa, who ran up to the goblin staff raised.She twisted her hips and swung with all her might at the goblin's head. It didn't even have the time for surprise at the healers action as the staff struck, and it's skull was caved in.

I sighed out a breath of relief, then refocused. I knew I needed to flank the goblins before Meria's skills wore off. While Iron skin was useful for defense, like most of Meria's skills, it made it difficult for her to move. It didn't deter her from swinging her axe however. The shield-bearer's axe now moved much more sluggishly but still found purchase between the eyes of an attacking goblin. 

Man am I glad she's on my team

Time for the follow up. I dashed behind the goblins who were unrelenting in their onslaught on Meria. I took solace in their shortsighted tactics. I could slash them from behind at this angle but I decided on a more selfish approach. I drove my sword straight through the stomach of the nearest goblin. It gurgled blood as I quickly retracted my sword from its now limp body. I still hated the feeling of piercing flesh, but it didn't bring with it the shudder of hacking into bone. 

The attack from behind seemed to break the trance of the remaining three goblins as they frantically turned on their greater threat. Or so they had thought.

"Don't you turn your backs on me you green shits." Meria's face contorted as she snarled the insult. Her skin lost its sheen as she regained her mobility. She slammed her axe down and drove it deep into one of the goblins spines. Its body flopped to the ground as Meria tugged her axe away. 

Two goblins remained. They paused, only now realizing they had lost their numbers advantage. The two trembling creatures scrambled over one another as they began their retreat. They hadn't taken more than a few steps before they felt a chill in their toes and their limbs gave out beneath them. The goblins fell flat on their flashes as the ground beneath them turned to ice. Ticon, still holding out this arm, began to bark this order, "Finish them before they get away. We can't waste any more time." 

I rushed forward with Meria right behind me. Each of us took a different target. I got to mine first. It had dropped its weapon in its fall and held up its arm in a feeble attempt to defend itself from my attack. I raised my sword, and hesitated. Starting into the same red eyes that once bore me ill will, I now only saw fear. Pity paraded into my heart. I couldn't bring my sword down into the shivering green whelp. Meria had already cleaved a new opening into her goblins head and was making her way over to mine. 

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The last goblin lashed out, having just seen his friend be maimed next to him. His nails made a poor weapon, but he still bore several gashes into my legs. I glowered down at the miserable thing but still couldn't let my sword fall. "Can't we just let this one go?" I asked the approaching reaper.

"You know this isn't how this works Con." Meria's weapon came down quickly into the last enemy's neck. Severing its head. 

Meria's next words were barely audible, "This is the only mercy you can show."

Dungeon Cleared!

My status window confirmed we had indeed finished this morose dungeon. Further confirmation came when the large cavern of the cave we stood in became much brighter.

"Doubt we'll get a great score now." Ticon grumbled as he began to pick through the remains of the goblins.

"I'd say we did pretty well for ourselves." Bellesa retorted as she inspected a vial she pulled off one of a nearby goblin. "We learned plenty and it went a lot better than the first two runs."

Ticon's eyes rolled as he inspected the goblin's gear to determine what would be worth carrying with them to their next town.

Meria hadn't yet joined in on the scavenging. She had taken out a small cloth and oil, squatted down, and had begun to care for her weapon gingerly. 

My eyes remained on the last goblins head. 

I stopped again. Dammit. 

I shuffled over to the spot Meria was crouching in and plopped down next to her. I leaned back propping myself up with my arms and stared at the ceiling.

"How do you do it Meria? You make it look so easy. Like, you enjoy it." I scanned the roof of the cave. Stalactites and moss but no answers. 

"I do enjoy it." Meria Beamed. "They gave a good fight. Even if they did turn their backs on me." Her smile faded into a scowl. Her face and armor were caked in blood but her axe blade was starting to gleam like brand new.

"But you saw how they looked at us. They didn't want to die." I dropped my head, tucked my knees into my chest and rested my chin on my hands. 

"Aye no creature of the God's desires death. But you can be sure they would not have hesitated in bringing down their blades on you had the tides been in their favor Con." Meria looked into my eyes. "You did well to slay their leader. The fight would not have gone so smoothly otherwise."

"He was alone. Against a wall away from the others. I couldn't figure out why." I said

"Goblins do not trust one another. Especially when they are the leader. He likely knew he could slay many wannabe rebels if they could not surround him." Meria said matter-of-factly.

Maybe they were monsters. But still...

"Hey." A vial filled with glowing red liquid hurled through the air towards Meria. She caught it in one hand. "Can you two stop talking and help already." Ticon squawked. His ruffled feathers betrayed how anxious he was to get the results of their quests.

And like clockwork, with 1 minute having passed from the system clear message, the Dungeon results were in

---------------------------

Dungeon Results:

Slain: 5 cave spiders(Rank F), 8 Rock Bats(Rank F), 17 Green Goblins(Rank F), 1 Green Goblin Chief(Rank E).

Clear time: 1 hr 13 mins.

Dungeon score: B-

------------------------------

"Urggghh" sighed Ticon. "This should have been an S." Ticon folded his arms and tapped his forefinger on his arm.

A small platform raised in the middle of the cave floor a foot above the rest. The air shimmered as the objects began to materialize on the platform. There was a flash of white, then 4 rectangular objects sat resting on the small podium. 

Each of us walked up to the platform and claimed our chest. The chest were made of smooth stone and had a blue gem acting us a lock, sealing their contents.

I hovered my hand over the chest with my name hovering over it and selected Open. The chest sprang open, shattering the blue gem and revealing the prizes inside

----------------------------------

Obtained:

1x Dagger of Mercy

Minor increase to speed, Minor increase to one handed damage. Passive Ability- Merciful Death: When dealing a killing blow, releases the target of all pain and produces a sense of peace in their mind.

1x Phantom Cloak

Your movements in the shadows have proven deadly. Moderate increase to stealth, Minor increase to strikes on targets who are unable to detect you.

3x Small mana Gems

4x Small power stones

----------------------------------------

Wow. These are way better than I thought they would be. Was it because I killed the chief? And this dagger. The system really does try to adhere to your fighting style. 

"Whew! I got new boots!" said Bellesa as she leaped onto my back. "No frowny faces, okay!? You killed the big baddie and made that whole fight so much easier." Bellesa had placed her hands on my shoulders and was shaking me back and forth. 

"Bellesa is right." Ticon said. "While your performance in the later half of the fight was seriously sloppy, you did indeed make the whole of the mission much easier with the chief out of the way."

"See!?" beamed Bellesa, "If Mr. Crankey here says so you know its true." She patted Ticon on the back, hoping to help smooth down his ruffled white feathers.

Ticon tilted his head and gave a glare towards Bellesa then began pacing the length of the cave as he continued his criticism of my performance. "You and I are the damage dealers of this team. Meria should have been focused on getting their attention and defending while you performed most of the strikes and kills."

"Aye Tic, but I have a lot more fun killing then defending." Meria was admiring her new gauntlets like they were newborns. 

"Dungeon raiding isn't about fun. Its about clearing them, quickly and effectively, so we can best be rewarded by the system." Ticon continued his pacing. He always seemed to need to move when giving his lectures. "Bellesa did her job as a support without complaint, if our little team is to continue we need you to fulfill yours as well Meria. You should strongly consider a more defensive class for your first Class-Up."

"Eh, we'll see when the times come Tic. I'd rather pick something that is not too boring." Meria had finished cleaning the grime off her weapons and armor but still wore a pattern of blood smear on her face and exposed parts of her arms. 

"Maybe I'll pick something more suited to my fighting style." I sheepishly put on a grin as I kept my eyes glued to the ground. We had just cleared a dungeon together, but I still felt like I had failed the party.

We had all been together since our tutorial back in Grevnal. All the races in this land came to the same agreement; only an adult could become an adventurer. And while in the past dungeons and monster slaying was done in a chaotic and exploratory manor, the founding of The Adventurers Guild, Clans, and even Adventuring schools had created a safer atmosphere for both new and old Adventurers.

One of the initial decrees of the Adventure's Guild was to give a guided and safe tutorial Dungeon test for all new adventurers to asses their skills and to see if these initiates were ready to begin their perilous lives. Teams were often sorted out by class roles. Often, these starting teams would stay together until they could reach Silver Rank and begin joining their own respective Clans. Thus the team of one tank, one support, and one magic and once physical damage dealer and strung the lives of Meria, Bellesa, Ticon, and I together. 

I looked up to see Bellesa frowning at me and my slumped shoulders. "Well, I've had enough of this stuffy place. Lets get out of here guys." She took great exaggerated footsteps to the exit. Clearly someone was enjoying their new gear.

"Yes, it would seem we've cleared this place of any further useful items. Let's head out." Ticon followed behind Bellesa. He had pulled out his notebook and was using one of his one plucked feathers write. He likely didn't want to forget anything for his lessons later.

"We should bring a cart next time. I don't mind pulling. Just such a waste to be leaving all these things behind." Meria wore a sour face as she contemplated lugging a few more items before following the others. 

I glanced around the cave, to the dead creatures we had slain and the now empty treasure boxes. I guess this is what I wanted after all.  I draped myself in my new grey Phantom Cloak, stored the gems in my carry pack, and placed my new dagger in the empty sheath behind my sword. Then, I followed my party out of the dungeon, and onwards to Hemmervale.

My new life in this world was going to be tough to get used to.