Once the elation of being able to cast magic passed I realised how mentally spent I was due to the experience. Assuming even failed spellcasting used mana, I must have used quite a lot of my reserves in my learning attempts.

Can’t use the spell willy-nilly then. Still… It’s another tool I have now.

Feeling better about my chances, I retraced my steps to the central chamber. None of the skeletons felt interested in bothering me, so I cautiously entered the other corridor. It was slightly sloped downwards. Further in I noticed the bare tunnel walls and ceiling give way to actual stone blocks. That’s also where the serious water leaks began, the liquid slowly entering through cracks between the blocks, trickling down the wall and then forming small streams on the floor.

I followed the corridor for as long as I could, but soon I wouldn’t be able to progress without actually entering the water pooling on the floor. It didn’t seem like this corridor was fully flooded, at least not yet, but I didn’t really feel like getting wet. Not when I had one more possible choice. Unfortunately, that meant climbing.

I’ll spare you the description of my completely inept attempts at getting up that aborted staircase, but after an hour or so I finally made it to the top completely spent, my clothes torn and my body covered with various bumps and scrapes. My previous injuries didn't make the experience any more pleasant, I must add. I grabbed my canteen and greedily drank from it. Refreshed, I could now examine the tunnel. It wasn’t tall enough for me to walk in, but I could easily crawl through it. It was also sloped upwards which I took as a good sign. I rested for a few more minutes and set off.

As I progressed, the incline of the tunnel grew steeper and steeper and eventually ended in an open manhole I could exit through. I found myself in a small cave that seemed to be adapted to be a pantry of some kind. There were multiple racks of smoked fish and all sorts of clay jugs and jars spread around the room. By one of the walls, there was some sort of a wooden contraption with meat hanging off hooks. Some of it looked disturbingly… human.

Should have tried swimming, I thought grimly and immediately allocated my last perk point into stealth.

Your Stealth skill has increased to level 2 (0% total progress to level 3)

You have spent 1 Perk Point (Current Number of Perk Points: 0)

The only exit from the pantry that I could see was a crude wooden door with a simple handle, located in the wall to the right of the manhole. There was light coming through the cracks around it, but it wasn’t bright enough to disrupt my Darksight. I could see no lock on the door, so I crept towards it and listened for any noises that could indicate the owners of this place were nearby. Mercifully there was only silence. I grabbed the handle and first tried to pull it, but it wouldn’t budge.

That’s a problem.

I tried to peer through a crack on the side of the door. Directly staring into the light did hurt my eyes a bit, but once my eyes adjusted I could just see the wall on the opposite side of the… corridor? Room?

Other cracks weren’t of much help either, so, just in case, I quietly drew my sword, moved to the handle side of the door and pushed it.

The door opened with a terribly loud squeak.

FUCKING HELL!

I leaned out of the door and looked around. The pantry was located roughly in some sort of a cave tunnel, lit by crude torches. It was hard to tell how long it was though. The path to the left sloped upwards and out of my line of sight, while the other one had a fairly abrupt leftward turn, which made me wonder how natural this place really was. There was no one around and I couldn’t hear any footsteps, at least for now, which I took as a good sign. Hopefully, squeaking doors were normal here. I did some quick mental pathfinding.

Let’s see… the tunnel was a “direct” extension of the collapsed corridor. It was straight, meaning I exited still in line with that path. I turned right now, so I should be facing the flooded corridor now. So… If I go right now I will be heading back towards the general area of the dungeon. The path to the left is an unknown. It could either be a path to the surface or a hungry pit in the ground. Right it is then.

I left the pantry, sheathed my sword and tried to slowly and quietly close the door. To my chagrin, it only resulted in more loud squeaking that made my teeth hurt. I tried to make as little sound as possible while making my way down the tunnel, but I wasn’t hopeful it would amount to much given how much noise I’d already made and how ill-suited my current loadout was for sneaking around.

When I neared the turn, I approached the wall as quietly as I could, clung to it, crouched and sneaked forward. I peeked behind the corner. On the other side, there was a pair of beady violet eyes staring back at me. I jumped back with a yelp and fell on my ass. The figure must have been equally scared of me as it also backed away from me. I managed to get a good look at it. The creature was around a metre tall, green-skinned and had pointed ears. Two tusks were extending from its lower lips. The goblin, I realised what he was, had an unkempt mane of sea-green hair and carried a hatchet. The creature wore dirty linen rags bound together with a worn-out leather belt with some pouches attached to it.

‘Uhhh…’ I began, lost for words. ‘Hello there!’

I raised my hand and waved weakly. The goblin continued to dumbly stare at me.

‘Hallo Freund,’ I tried, while slowly standing up. ‘Sprechen Sie Deutsch?’

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Apparently, the goblin did not, in fact, spricht the fucking Deutsch, because he started shouting something in a language I couldn’t understand and waving his hatchet around. I drew my sword.

‘We really don’t have to do this,’ I said with resignation in my voice.

As it turned out, we did because the goblin started running towards me, his hatchet raised.

I assumed the stance now well imprinted in my mind and waited. Just as the goblin was nearing me I realised it had about as much idea about how to fight as I did, so I simply stepped aside and extended my leg. The goblin tried to stop but it was too little and too late, as momentum carried him over the “finish line”. He landed face-first on the floor and slid forward.

I turned towards him, backed away a few steps and decided to give trying to solve this peacefully one last shot. The goblin gathered himself from the floor and stared at me with hate in his eyes.

‘It’s not too late to talk this out, my green friend.’

The goblin charged at me again.

‘Very well,’ I sighed and readied my sword.

Just as the goblin neared me I slashed sideways at him. He once again tried to dodge away but I just had too much reach. The sword bit into the side of his neck and stopped on its spine. The goblin stared at me pleadingly, all the hate and swagger gone from its eyes.

‘I’m sorry,’ I mouthed and ripped my blade out.

The creature, apparently only held up by my sword, crumpled to the floor, its blood spraying both me and the wall. It convulsed and then went still.

Level 0 Goblin has been slain

You have earned 50 experience points (300/1000 total experience points progress to level 2)

So, that’s what the life of a sentient being was worth? Fifty XP? Fifty fucking XP?

I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream, but there was no time for it, as I heard multiple pairs of footsteps quickly approaching from behind the corner. I walked out to meet them head-on.

I saw that two more goblins were rushing toward me, both wearing the same attire as their hapless now-deceased colleague. One of them was completely hairless, had a scar over his left eye and held a sword that was too big for him; the other one which carried a short spear had sea-green hair that looked to have been cut by a knife by someone who didn't care much about precision and a goatee that likewise seemed to have been trimmed by a spree killer.

As I mentally steeled myself for another confrontation, I felt myself go cold inside and time slowed to what almost seemed to be a standstill. This was it. I would need to kill again, as diplomacy was out the window now since I doubted they would be very receptive to someone standing over the still-warm corpse of their friend. It would be self-defence, I kept telling myself. They were the ones attacking me. But I also knew it to be a lie, since it was me who invaded their home, not that I had much choice in that regard.

‘Sometimes it is just a combination of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,’ I heard a grim and cold voice say. I recognized it. It was a very dark version of my own.

‘There is nothing more to it,’ It finished.

So, should I just accept having to kill sentient beings?’ I asked the voice, considering how insane I must have been for this “conversation” to even take place.

‘It’s this or die.’

There must be some other way.

‘You are free to look for one. Though, I doubt you have time for that.’

My attention turned back to goblins, who were moving like they were stuck in molasses.

‘You have to face it. I know you hate the part of yourself that I represent, but you are no longer in a position where suppressing me is fully viable. There are times when you will need to embrace me.’

I don’t like it, I thought defiantly.

‘You don’t have to. If it helps - remember that they most likely eat humans. What is it that you always say about Russian soldiers dying in Ukraine?’

“I take no pleasure in their deaths. Though it’s better that it is them than Ukrainians”. So, you think I should just go with “at least they won’t hurt and eat anyone else”?

The voice laughed.

‘No, love. That's what you think. I am just a voice in your head.’

The time sped up a bit, but it felt slow and sluggish. I nodded to myself and extended my hand towards the victim of a hairstylist. I concentrated and fired off a salvo of three Rock Spikes toward its head.

Getting the hang of it.

As they flew, I turned towards the swordsgoblin, held my weapon in both hands and awaited the creature’s next move.

The spikes pierced the head of the speargoblin putting it out of its hairstyle-related misery. The spell impacted it with enough force that it knocked its head back, almost severing it. The creature fell lifeless to the floor, blood and brain matter flowing out of its wounds.

Level 0 Goblin has been slain

You have earned 50 experience points (350/1000 total experience points progress to level 2)

The goblin’s comrade was so surprised by this, that he stopped running and turned to look at his companion.

Big mistake.

This was all the opening I needed. I started running towards him, my weapon raised for a downward slash. The goblin heard me, not that I really cared about stealth, because panicked, it started turning back towards me. I got within the strike range and swung my sword down. However, the goblin turning around and starting to raise his weapon to defend made me miss the creature's body and instead sever its hand at the wrist. The cut-off appendage and the sword clattered on the floor and the goblin clutched the stump screaming in agony. The time snapped back to its normal speed. I didn’t know what to do next. I couldn’t bring myself to finish it off, and yet it felt wrong to let it suffer. And I lacked the tools necessary to help it. Finally, I extended my shaking hand towards it and with closed eyes fired off another volley of Rock Spikes. The creature’s screams were cut short and I heard it collapse to the floor.

Level 0 Goblin has been slain

You have earned 50 experience points (400/1000 total experience points progress to level 2)

The corridor fell deathly silent.