REVERSE DUNGEON BREAK: CHAPTER 2
“N-No, it can’t be!”
Ookru couldn’t stop his body from trembling.
Everything their tribe dreamt of was crumbling before his very eyes.
The goblins of their village couldn’t even fight and die like warriors, as the humans who’d entered the portal were slaughtering them mercilessly.
Although they couldn’t understand the language, they could feel that the humans were jeering at and toying with them.
It wasn’t a battle, but a one-sided massacre.
“N-No… S-Stop! STOP!”
His cry was drowned by the sounds of explosions and death throes.
Positioned in the middle of the army, Ookru could see the remaining hobgoblins trying to rally the warriors. The fearless ones charged straight toward the human who killed the deputy chief, only to meet the same fate in the end.
With just a single swing of that human’s hand, the hobgoblins were vertically cleaved into two pieces.
From here, he could see the humans beheading his friends from the village.
The humans were proficient not only in swordsmanship, but also in magic.
An ice spear shot forward, impaling the chest of a goblin. A wind blade whizzed out, cutting the head of another.
The goblins, who’d been training for over a decade just for today, had become live target practice.
“Damn it.”
Ookru believed he was no coward, but faced with overwhelming might, his body refused to move, and all he could do was stand there, helplessly watching as the humans slaughtered his kind.
“Move.”
Ookru bit his lips so hard it started to bleed. He clenched his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms.
“I said move!”
It took some time, but Ookru finally overcame the fear enveloping his entire body. He opened and closed his hands several times, and after several seconds of hesitation, grabbed his axe.
Although his instinct was screaming at him to flee, his simple brain told him that he should fulfill his duty as a warrior.
Even if he were to die here, so what?
He was no coward, he reminded himself. And he would not run away from here, even if it meant breathing his last.
“I am the chieftain’s son! I will die fighting! I will kill the humans!”
Uttering those words, Ookru ran ahead, toward the front lines. Behind him, several goblins started fleeing in all directions, but there were also those who held the same feelings as him and started charging toward the humans.
“I AM THE CHIEFTAIN’S SON! I WILL DIE FIGHTING!” he repeated in a loud, desperate voice. “I WILL KILL THE HUMANS!”
Thud!
A second after that, Ookru felt the most excruciating pain in his entire life.
His body flew, and he bounced and rolled on the ground several times before skidding to a stop.
His vision turned black.
***
It hurts.
His head, down to the tips of his toes, felt burning. It felt as though thousands of needles were piercing his skin.
Where was he?
What happened?
It was gradual, but the memories of the previous battle started returning to him.
No, could one even call that a battle?
They couldn’t do anything against the humans. His fellow goblins were so helpless against their spells that they couldn’t even touch their opponent’s armor.
Tasting the soil, Ookru realized he was currently sprawled, face-down on the ground.
He heard voices.
Unknown language.
Humans.
“Hey, Jack. Don’t you think we killed too many?”
“I simply followed the Vice Guild Leader’s lead. And besides, what do you expect of goblins?”
“Well, that’s true. It’s really overkill to send one of the S-ranked hunters in the country here. Just what are those stupid bastards from the Association thinking?”
Ookru couldn’t understand a single word they were saying, but he listened regardless.
“The Association made the right call this time.”
“The goblin chieftain, huh?”
“Yeah. If the Association didn’t send the Vice Guild Leader here, we would have lost more people.”
“Tch. I still get shivers when I think of it. That damn chieftain, how is that a hobgoblin? It even killed five B-ranked hunters before the Vice Guild Leader arrived at the scene.”
“The Vice Guild Leader said that chieftain was undergoing Monster Evolution Restriction, so it was in its weakened state when we fought it. If it had been given around half a year more, it would have evolved into a Unique monster.”
“Haha, weakened state, my ass. Had I not known that the portal we entered was white, I would have mistaken that goblin chief as an A+ ranked mutant. Is that the reason why this portal is abnormally big?”
“I guess so.”
“Hah… we’re lucky then. We managed to kill the bastard before he managed to finish his evolution. Fighting a Unique monster? Haha… fuck that.”
The voices slowly faded away, together with their footsteps.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
After several minutes, Ookru deemed it was finally safe to move. Mustering all of his remaining strength, he pushed his body from the ground and stood up.
“Haah… Haah….”
Ookru had lost vision in his left eye. Looking at his chest, he realized he’d been impaled by a sharp rock when he was sent flying back then. The rock barely missed his lungs.
It was already a miracle he was still alive.
Ookru looked around him.
“W-What… n-no….”
And his mind went blank by what he saw.
Corpses. Hundreds of them.
The bodies of his fellow goblins were sprawled here and there. Most of their bodies were dismembered, twisted, torn by the impact of the humans’ spells.
Entrails, severed limbs, and dried blood blanketed the ground.
Seeing that most of the bodies were now filled with squirming maggots, it seemed that several hours had passed since the portal opened and the battle started.
Ookru’s stomach churned.
“Uuuaghh! Haah… Haaah…”
He puked on the ground.
He looked at his fingers – they were bent and trembling.
Looking up, Ookru saw the red moon partially shrouded by the clouds.
“Uhh… hic… hicck!”
His vision became blurry. Ookru couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.
He felt powerless, helpless.
For fifteen years, he’d been training to become a warrior just for the sake of today’s battle.
But what’s this?
Not only did he fail to fulfill his duty, he even failed to die honorably.
He should have died back then, together with the other warriors.
Why was he still alive?
Why was the world so cruel, letting him see the aftermath of the battle between the goblins and the humans?
“Hick… Hicck….”
For almost an hour, Ookru stood there, sobbing. He no longer cared even if the humans spotted him.
By now, he was so consumed by despair that he no longer wished to live.
What use was living anyway now that his fellow goblins were dead?
Ookru heard footsteps.
They were probably from the humans.
How perfect.
Finally, he would meet his end.
Come. Kill me. These were the thoughts of Ookru as he gazed in the direction where the footsteps were coming from.
But to his surprise, the one he saw wasn’t a human, but a hobgoblin.
“Chukru?”
It was the delinquent of the village. The problem child. The goblin who constantly questioned the teachings of god Systema.
Although he looked different now that he’d evolved into a hobgoblin, Ookru was sure that it was his friend, Chukru.
“Is that you? You… became a hobgoblin, finally.”
During the short time he hadn’t seen him, Chukru had successfully evolved into a hobgoblin.
Chukru’s face was grim. He quickly scanned the surroundings.
“I’m glad I checked if there are survivors.”
Chukru quickly approached Ookru.
“What are you doing, just standing there? Come! We should hide!”
“Chukru, you’re a hobgoblin now….”
“Why does that matter!” Chukru said angrily. “Do you really want to die?! Let’s go before the humans return!”
Chukru groaned. He realized that Ookru was still out of it. He even felt that the goblin was purposely staying here so the humans would spot him.
“Argh! Damn it!”
He lifted Ookru and placed him over his shoulders.
“What are you doing!”
“It’ll be painful, but endure it.”
And without waiting for Ookru to utter another word, Chukru ran down the mountain, ignoring the fact that his friend was seriously injured.
Ookru’s injuries were the least of their priority right now. Their primary focus was to get out of this place in case the humans returned.
Chukru kept running. After reaching the edge of a cliff, he jumped down. While falling, they saw the entrance to a large cave.
Chukru stretched out his hand and grabbed the wall of the cliff, stopping himself from falling down. Using the strength of a hobgoblin, he climbed up until he reached the cave’s entrance.
“We’re here.”
Chukru placed Ookru on the ground. He lit the kindling and set the firewood ablaze, making a campfire. Wind blew, fire crackled, and their shadows danced.
Chukru tossed clean clothes to Ookru.
“Chukru… this is?”
“Spare clothes, what else?”
“No, I mean this cave….”
Chukru sat opposite to him. “It’s my hiding place. Don’t worry, we should be safe here.”
“Ah…”
Ookru remembered.
After their disagreement three days ago, Chukru left and was never seen again.
It seemed he really went into hiding and didn’t participate in the battle that led to the goblins’ slaughter.
It seemed that this cave was the place Chukru had chosen as his haven.
“All of the hobgoblins are dead, I’m probably the last one,” said Chukru. “The humans hunted them all down. But for some reason, they spared the goblins. I heard from one of the survivors that the village near the brook is untouched.”
‘I’m probably the last one’ – Ookru didn’t miss this statement. After all, the chieftain was also a hobgoblin.
“What do you mean dead? Then… f-father?”
Chukru looked up, bit his lips, and sighed.
“The Chieftain is dead.” Chukru shook his head. “I’m sorry, Ookru.”
“No… N-No! No! NO!”
Ookru clutched his head and even started pulling his ears, nearly tearing them. He cried and wailed, unable to accept that his father was dead.
“That! That can’t be! My father is strong! He’s the chieftain! Surely!”
“I understand what you mean. The Chieftain killed several humans before he died. His death wasn’t in vain, unlike the other warriors of our village.”
“You’re lying! Chukru, you bastard! My father is alive!”
Unable to accept reality, Ookru decided to let his rage consume him. He glared at Chukru, as though doing so would bring back the dead.
“The humans took his head and heart as a trophy, but his body remains in the village. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, Ookru.”
“No! I said stop lying! My fa—”
“—Snap out of it, Ookru!”
It was only now that Ookru noticed: his friend seemed to be on the verge of crying.
He realized Chukru’s calm and composed appearance was a mere façade. He was as shaken as he was.
“We can’t bring back the dead! And those damn humans are out there to kill us! If only… if only that god Systema didn’t open the portal! Damn it! Damn it!”
Silence fell after that.
The two of them sat by the campfire, their eyes lifeless as they watched the firewood burn.
For several minutes, only sound of the howling wind and the firewood crackling were heard in the cave.
“Your injuries,” said Chukru. “Let’s tend to them first.”
Skillfully, Chukru pulled out the stone that had been lodged in Ookru’s chest. Thankfully, the wound wasn’t that deep, and it didn’t hit any vital part of the body.
Chukru spread grounded herbs on Ookru’s injuries, preventing them from festering. He also wrapped Ookru in bandages, preventing his wounds from opening.
“Chukru…,” said Ookru. “What’s going to happen to us now?”
It was a question both of them couldn’t answer.
“I don’t know,” said Chukru.
“Maybe if I sleep and wake up, everything will turn out to be just a dream,” muttered Ookru.
Chukru wryly smiled.
How wonderful it would be if this was merely a nightmare.
“Sleep, Ookru. Let’s think about everything once tomorrow comes.”
***
The next day came.
“You’re going out?”
Chukru was clad in leather armor, weapons strapped on his back and waist.
“I need to see the state of the village,” said Chukru. “Who knows, maybe the humans already left.”
“Take me with you.”
“No, stay here.”
“But!”
Chukru said to him frankly, “You’ll just be a baggage Ookru. Unlike me, you’re still a goblin. You can’t run fast, you can’t climb cliffs. If the humans spot you, there’s no escape.”
Ookru bit his lips.
Although the words were harsh, they were all true.
“Just stay here and recover your strength.” Chukru pointed at a wooden box next to the cave’s wall. “There are fruits and dried meat inside. It should last us half a month.”
“Y-You’re coming back, right?” said Ookru.
“Of course,” said Chukru. “So, just stay here and wait for my return.”
When Chukru was about to go out, he halted. He turned around and handed Ookru one of the daggers on his waist.
“Take this.”
“Why are you giving me one of your daggers?”
“Just accept it.”
It felt like Chukru was giving him the dagger as an insurance in the event that he couldn’t return. With this, Ookru would have at least something to defend himself with, even if Chukru wasn’t around.
“T-Thank you.”
Chukru stared at Ookru for a long time.
“Ookru.”
“Yes?”
“Did you know? I used to hate you.”
What was this now? Ookru didn’t expect a confession like this to suddenly come out of Chukru’s mouth.
“I’m an orphan, unlike you. At a young age, I had to scour the forest for anything to eat. I didn’t learn to hunt animals because I want to, but because I need to.”
“Chukru….”
“As the chieftain’s son, everything was provided for you. Even the greatest warriors of the village wished to learn the chieftain’s techniques, but he refused to teach them, saying it’s reserved only for his successor. But what about you? Just because you’re his son, the chieftain passed down his techniques to you.”
Chukru laughed mockingly and then continued.
“Funny, isn’t it? It’s funny how unfair the world is. The talentless son of the chieftain was given everything. While I, who learned how to become a hobgoblin at a young age was born with nothing.”
“Hobgoblin?”
“I was already capable of evolving into a hobgoblin twelve years ago. I simply chose not to since I would be forced to participate in the war if I revealed my potential.”
Ookru’s eyes widened. He realized why Chukru suddenly appeared as a hobgoblin mere days after they parted ways.
Chukru must have deemed it necessary to become a hobgoblin to survive against the humans.
“But Ookru, when we grew closer, when we became friends, I realized,” said Chukru. “I am already living the best life. I was an orphan, so what? You were the chieftain’s son, so what? The mountain we live in is abundant with food. The villages are peaceful, and there are hardly any monsters that feed on us goblins.”
Chukru clenched his fists. He said angrily, “I came to accept my circumstances. And I started treasuring you as my friend. But! That damn god chose to open that portal and fuck with us goblins!”
“Chukru…”
“Don’t worry, I don’t have any plans of dying soon. So, just wait for me.”
Chukru went to the cave’s entrance.
“Tend to your wounds. Rest well, my friend. I’ll be back soon.”
After that Chukru went out to survey the current status of the villages in the Goblin Mountain.
Five days passed after that.
Chukru didn’t return.