REVERSE DUNGEON BREAK: CHAPTER 3
When Chukru didn’t come back on the fifth day, Ookru decided to go out of the cave and look for him.
The idea that Chukru had abandoned him never once crossed his mind.
Although Chukru was the problem child of the village, Ookru believed he wasn’t someone who would abandon his friends. The mere fact that he searched for survivors and saved Ookru was a testament to that.
The goblin waited until it was midnight before coming out.
“Chukru… please be safe.”
After wrapping his wounds with fresh bandages, Ookru went out of the cave and started climbing the steep cliff.
If he fell here, the sharp rocks below would impale him.
“Huff… Huff….”
His broken fingers have yet to fully heal, and it felt painful just climbing. Still, Ookru persisted and eventually reached the surface.
Anxiously, the goblin looked around.
“No humans….”
Thankfully, there were no humans around.
“But I should be careful, just in case.”
As silently as possible, Ookru entered the nearby forest and headed toward the direction of the village.
He knew this place like the back of his palms, and traversing it was especially easy during the night.
Goblins were nocturnal creatures, and unlike humans, they were capable of seeing clearly even in the dark.
As Ookru went deeper into the forest, he started seeing goblin corpses. They were already rotting, and the putrid smell made the little goblin’s stomach churn.
Judging by the position and the injury of the corpses, it seemed these were the goblins who fled the battle after the deputy chieftain was slain.
These goblins fled, their backs to their enemies, and died without knowing what hit them.
Before, Ookru would have rebuked them, calling them dishonorable cowards. But now, after experiencing firsthand the strength of the so-called humans, he could understand why these goblins did that.
Who could blame them?
Even he couldn’t think of any way to defeat the human who killed the deputy chieftain in a single strike.
When faced with such overwhelming might, the only reasonable course of action was to run.
“I’ll see all of you soon,” he said to the corpses. “Let’s meet again in paradise.”
The goblins believed in paradise.
After death, the goblins would ascend and enter a glittering world filled with gold and precious gemstones. A world where there was no hunger, and each goblin could bath in a sea of treasures. In that world, the goblins would experience nothing but eternal bliss together with their ancestors.
After uttering a short prayer, Ookru continued walking toward the village.
“Chukru, where are you? Where did you go?”
Thankfully, none of the corpses he passed by belonged to his friend. The bodies had already decayed to the point that it was impossible to know who it belonged to, indicating days had already passed since they died.
If the corpse belonged to a hobgoblin, Ookru would be able to tell right away due to the size of the body.
“!”
Ookru immediately stopped in his tracks when he heard rustling sounds.
By now, he could already discern whether or not it belonged to a human.
‘A human is coming!’
Should he hide behind the trunk of that large tree over there?
Should he climb up?
Or should he hide behind the bushes?
‘I don’t have enough time.’
Eventually, he decided to hide behind the bushes. It was during moments like these that Ookru appreciated having a small body.
A few seconds later, a human appeared from the deepest shadows of the forest.
Ookru recognized him.
It was one of the first humans that entered the portal. And judging by how he conversed with their leader back then, this human held a fairly high position among the group or probably close to the higher-ups.
The human pulled down his pants and started pissing on the trunk of a nearby tree.
Ookru touched the hilt of his dagger.
The human looked vulnerable currently. If he attacked now, maybe it would be possible even for him to kill him. At least, that’s what Ookru’s goblin brain told him.
‘No. It’s too risky. I still need to search for Chukru.’
In the end, Ookru decided against it. He decided to prioritize finding Chukru first.
A shout was heard, echoing in the forest.
“Hey, Lucas! Are you slacking off again! Where did you go, bastard!”
The man pulled up his pants. He spat on the ground and angrily replied.
“Fuck, I can’t even take a piss in peace! I’m gone for a minute and you’re already looking for me!”
Ookru felt relieved that he didn’t attack the human. After that exchange, he realized he had a companion nearby.
“Tsk. I’m a C-rank hunter. Why did they assign me to a goblin dungeon? At my level, I should be hunting kobolds!”
Ookru couldn’t understand what the human was saying, but he seemed really angry for some reason.
“Haah, this night exploration is driving me—hm?”
The man was about to go back when he suddenly halted in his tracks.
Abruptly, he looked back. He stared at the place where Ookru was hiding at.
“Hiding like a rat!”
And without warning, the man threw a dagger toward Ookru. The goblin couldn’t even dodge it out of fear of being discovered.
The dagger struck Ookru’s left shoulder.
The goblin almost cried out in pain, but at the last second, he managed to endure it. His instinct told him that if he made even the smallest sound, he would meet his end here.
Ookru held his breath. Afraid that the human could hear even his heartbeat, he did his best to calm it.
“Am I imagining things?”
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The man stared at the bushes for several more seconds. Just when he was about to approach it, another shout echoed in the forest.
“Lucas! I know you’re just slacking off! Come back here!”
The human frowned, clicked his tongue, and went back to where his companion was.
“Tch. So annoying. Why did they partner me up with her?”
After the footsteps had vanished, Ookru finally breathed out.
“Haaaah….”
That was scary.
For a moment, he thought he was going to die.
Ookru wasn’t afraid of death itself. What he was afraid of was dying without knowing what happened to his friend.
Ookru pulled out the dagger embedded on his shoulder. Unlike the dagger given to him by Chukru, this dagger seemed to be far better in terms of quality. It was sharper, and the metal it was made of seemed sturdier.
Seeing that the human didn’t even bother retrieving it, Ookru came to the conclusion that for the humans, this dagger was a disposable thing.
“Two daggers now,” said Ookru. “Human, I’ll use this well.”
Avoiding the path the human disappeared to, Ookru continued his way toward the village.
And after a couple of hours, he finally arrived at his destination.
“What happened here!?”
The entire village had been blown into smithereens. What remained of the houses had been scorched, and massive craters and fissures were seen on the ground.
It looked as though two giants fought each other here, rampaging and destroying the village in the process.
Ookru saw marks that seemed to be from the battleaxe of his father.
But then, who was the other one?
Who was the person who fought his father on equal grounds?
“The statue….”
Strangely, only the statue of god Systema remained standing. There wasn’t even a single scratch on it, as though those who fought here purposely avoided damaging it.
“What’s that?”
It was faint, but Ookru could see a translucent bubble enclosing the statue and its nearby surroundings.
Should he approach it and check what it was?
After looking around and making sure there were no nearby humans, Ookru approached the statue. With his index finger, he touched the translucent bubble.
It was solid.
“An egg? No, it’s transparent.”
Did Elder Eef make this?
The elder was a shaman, and she was capable of spells similar to this one.
“But the elder died back then….”
The elder was at the front lines when the humans started their massacre. The chances of her surviving were almost none.
His goblin brain couldn’t understand what it was. He knocked on it several times, and after seeing that it was sturdy, he started slamming the bottom of his fist against it.
His curiosity piqued, Ookru took out his dagger and stabbed the translucent bubble.
Just like before, his attack did nothing to it. The bubble did not budge; it did not form cracks.
Seeing that there was nothing he could do against the bubble, Ookro decided to investigate what remained of the village.
According to Chukru, the body of his father should be here. But after looking around the destroyed houses, he did not see any corpses.
Did Chukru lie to him?
Maybe his father was still alive?
“Father….”
Clinging to this sliver of hope, Ookru searched the vicinity of the village. He found traces of battle here and there, and he also saw a couple of rotting goblin corpses.
Chukru kept searching, and after an hour, he felt a gust of wind behind him.
“What’s this? Another one? They really like going back to this village, huh?”
Looking back, Chukru saw a familiar human hovering in the air, his hands behind his back. His feet, crackling with lightning and enveloped by wind, wasn’t touching the ground. He was floating.
“Y-You!”
Ookru shrieked, horrified upon realizing it was the same human who killed the deputy chieftain with a single strike back then.
Ookru’s entire body froze from fear. He wanted to flee, but his legs refused to listen.
“Good thing I enclosed the statue with a barrier. It’ll be a shame if a random goblin accidentally breaks it and this dungeon closes.”
The man rubbed his chin, staring at Ookru for a long time. His eyes also darted toward the dagger strapped on Ookru’s waist.
“A disposable dagger. Did this goblin kill one of our members before coming here? No, impossible. I ordered only C-ranks and above to explore the area during the night to avoid accidents. But how did it get its hands on it?”
The man was lost in his thoughts. He did not even seem to consider Ookru an opponent as he continued to mumble.
“Well, no matter. I’ll ask about the dagger later. Let’s see. It’s about time we open the training center for the newbies.”
The human pointed a finger at Ookru, and the goblin felt an invisible force restrict his entire body.
It was the same technique that restricted the movements of the deputy chieftain. For a mere goblin like Ookru, getting out of this binding was close to impossible.
Slowly, Ookru’s body floated up.
The goblin screamed.
“Stop! Let go of me! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”
The man frowned.
“Again with the kiik kiik shouts. Fucking noisy.”
He snapped his fingers and the binding became several times stronger. Now, Ookru couldn’t move even his mouth, and the forest finally regained its silence.
“Be honored,” said the human condescendingly, “for you’ll be given the chance to become our newbie’s first practice target.”
After that, the human took Ookru to a nearby camp and asked his subordinates to lock him up in a steel container.
***
Days had passed since then.
Huddled in the dark inside the steel container, Ookru felt his body tremble from cold and hunger.
The humans didn’t even give him food, and aside from the occasional rattling sounds, he couldn’t hear anything outside at all.
He had no idea what was happening, where he was, and what the humans planned to do to him.
“Is Chukru alright?”
Although Ookru had been captured by the humans, he sincerely wished that at least Chukru managed to escape.
Ookru didn’t know where his friend was, but he hoped he was alive out there somewhere.
After what seemed like an eternity, the door of the steel container finally opened.
Ookru covered his eyes from the blinding rays of the sun that poured into the container the moment the door was opened.
“And now! To celebrate the opening of the Celestial Guild’s Third Training Center!”
Ookru was startled when a human’s voice echoed. After stepping outside the steel container, he looked around and was stunned upon seeing numerous people.
Humans. Over a hundred of them.
Forming a circle, they surrounded Ookru and the metallic container.
“We’ll have a match between the newest recruit of the Celestial Guild and a goblin the Vice Guild Leader personally captured!”
The crowd cheered.
Subjected to numerous stares, Ookru instinctively shrank his shoulders.
From the crowd, a human stepped out and approached Ookru. The human looked young, inexperienced, and nervous. Unlike others, he was wearing only leather armor.
Ookru could even see several beads of sweat flowing down the human’s forehead.
“Haha! Newbie, it’s just a goblin! You can do it!”
“You’ll clean the camp for a week if you lose! Gyahahaha!”
“Hey, stop bullying the poor boy!”
“Newbie, don’t think and just kick the goblin! That will send it flying!”
Hearing those words, the newbie nodded resolutely and replied, “I’ll do my best!”
“And now, since our newest recruit seems ready! Let the opening ceremony match begin!”
With those words as the cue, the newbie ran toward Ookru.
“Hiyyaaah!”
It was a very straightforward movement. No faints, no irregular attacks.
Ookru leapt back and dodged a vertical slash from the newbie’s sword.
Although Ookru wasn’t considered talented among his peers, the attack was so sloppy he was able to dodge it despite his emaciated state.
“Stop dodging! You damn goblin!”
The newbie kept swinging his sword at Ookru, but the goblin evaded all of his strikes by sidestepping, ducking, or rolling on the ground.
“Hahaha! The newbie can’t hit him!”
“At this rate, I’ll win our bet.”
“Argh! Shit! Hey, newbie! What are you doing! I told you, just kick him!”
Frustrated that he could hit a mere goblin, the newbie decided to listen to his senior’s advice. After making a vertical slash, using his right foot, he kicked Ookru right in the stomach.
Ookru groaned, and he stumbled backward.
The wound he’d sustained on the day the portal appeared started opening again.
“Finally!”
The newbie broadly smiled when the attack connected. Without missing a beat, he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and slashed at the goblin.
The sword made a shallow cut on the goblin’s shoulder.
Ookru gnashed his teeth. He leaned forward, firmly planted his feet on the ground, and shot toward the newbie.
Ookru realized by now that the human lacked experience. He was probably weaker than even Ookru. The goblin decided to use this to his advantage.
“I’ll kill you!”
Ookru’s declaration sounded nothing but ‘kiik kiik’ to the spectators. Still, everyone felt the goblin’s desire to kill the newbie before him.
Subjected to killing intent for the first time in his life, the newbie’s body froze for a full second.
And that single second was enough for Ookru to close the distance. Using the dagger given to him by Chukru and the one he stole from the human, he leapt and stabbed at the newbie.
He tried to.
Clang!
To Ookru’s surprise, an invisible force repelled his attack.
The newbie fell down butt-first on the ground. The necklace on his neck glowed for a few seconds and dimmed down.
“Haahh… Haaah… t-that was close!”
The newbie was trembling.
The spectators laughed.
“What are you so afraid of, newbie! We already told you! You’ll be safe as long as you’re wearing the artifact!”
“Only hobgoblins and above can pose a risk to you if you’re wearing that!”
“Go on, newbie! Show us what you got!”
Slowly, the newbie stood up. After confirming that he would be safe from the goblin’s attacks as long as he was wearing the defensive artifact, he became bolder with his strikes.
Now that the fear of dying was out of the way, the human relentlessly attacked Ookru.
It was gradual, but the newbie’s movements started getting more fluid as time went by.
Having not eaten and drank anything for days, Ookru quickly lost strength in his body. The hands holding his daggers felt heavy, and his movement became sluggish.
He could no longer dodge properly, and cuts started appearing on his body.
Eventually, the decisive blow came.
The newbie thrusted his sword and pierced the goblin’s chest.
The crowd cheered once again. They were ecstatic.
“Good job, newbie!”
“Hahaha! It took him ten whole minutes to kill a single goblin!”
Ookru looked up and locked eyes with the newbie. Within those eyes, Ookru couldn’t see even the slightest hint of remorse. He realized that to this newbie, he was nothing but a practice target. An opponent to prove his worth.
The newbie pulled out his sword, and blood spurted out.
Ookru collapsed on the ground.
“Ah. Chukru. I hope you’re safe. I hope these humans don’t find you, my friend.”
Ookru’s vision blurred.
His world turned black.
He heard the humans laughing in the background.
Finally, he would meet his ancestors and fellow goblins in paradise.
Ookru thought it was the end of that life.
But to his surprise —
“Ookru! What are you doing! Quick! The teachings of the elder are about to start!””
— he suddenly found himself standing at the center of the village.
Fifteen years ago before the portal opened.