After contacting Leo Williams, I headed straight to The Eighth Goblin Spot.

Leo was the same cab driver who had helped me find my way to Arcanum Blades when I’d first arrived in Neharika.

“The Eighth Goblin Spot" was the name of an area deep within the forest region, located at the junction of Krenada City and the Neharika District. The name originated from the presence of Cave Goblin groups inhabiting eight different dungeons in the area, earning it the title "The Eighth Goblin Spot”.

The memory of Takahashi talking about his goblin hunting that day on the train was still fresh in my mind. Was he referring to The Eighth Goblin Spot that day? I mused.

There was a small dungeon in The Eighth Goblin Spot called the Trifortress. That is where the dungeon failure is supposed to happen.

“We're here,” Leo said, flashing a bright smile as he parked the car at the forest gate.

“Thanks for the ride on such short notice,” I replied as I stepped out.

“What’s got you out here, anyway? Not many folks head this way, and I don’t see a team with you. Goblins?” Leo asked casually.

“Going to hunt for the Celisicelicius plant,” I said, giving him the excuse I thought of.

“Ah! You're an alchemy enthusiast, I see. Don't go too deep though; The Eighth Goblin Spot isn't that far,” he said.

I nodded, thanked him, and then contacted the local authorities before heading for the Trifortress on foot.

With Nano's night vision mode, darkness wasn't an issue, and I did carry a torch for the show.

Not to mention, the moon was brighter. Draeth's moon was brighter than Earth's. The dense canopy scattered the moonlight, creating dappled patterns on the ground that danced with the sway of the leaves. Spiderwebs were barely visible. Many times, I had to rub my head and face to remove the webs I walked into. The forest was unusually quiet. No nocturnal creatures, or so I guessed.

As I went, details of the side story from the Manuscript flowed in my mind.

According to the Manuscript, Riley and his team—a group of adventurers—had thought their quest of monster hunting would be easy. It was the twenty fifth of January, 2012 when this dungeon failure incident was supposed to happen, i.e, today. Trifortress was a fairly low-level dungeon, so there really weren't any risks involved in the job. Easy hunt for some monster parts and pocket change, right? What Riley's team didn't know though was that when they would defeat the dungeon boss, it would spark a dungeon failure. After the dungeon failure, they were overwhelmed by hordes of monsters and eventually died fighting there.

A sad death.

If it was me, I would’ve handled the situation differently, I thought.

Soon, I found myself inside a narrow tunnel: the entrance to Trifortress Dungeon. But the path ahead was blocked by a wall that seemed to be made of rubble, sand, and earth. The air was thick with floating dust particles. My heartbeat quickened, as if my body sensed the danger before my mind.

Thrum!

I sensed vibrations from the other side of the wall growing stronger. Each tremor carried muffled snarls and clashing steel—sounds of a battle slipping through the cracks.

Sure, I could teleport in with a heroic entrance while vomiting my breakfast all over the place. But that wouldn’t achieve anything.

Sometimes, the world favored pragmatism over heroism.

So, I settled for the sensible approach.

I waited for the local authorities to arrive.

If they die, they die. I can't help them any more than this, I told myself.

Just as I was lost in thought, I heard rapid footsteps echoing behind me, followed by a comment: “This place smells like blood”.

Who?! I became alert and turned around.

Step! Step! Step! “This is UOs, did you send the emergency signal? What's happening here?” A gruff voice inquired.

I sighed, a heavy breath escaped me.

Luckily, it turned out to be reinforcements from the local authorities, whom I had contacted earlier by sending an emergency signal using my phone.

Blood, I thought. I hadn't even noticed the metallic tang in the air before the union officer’s comment.

There were three men in Central Union uniforms emerging from the tunnel’s entrance.

I wonder if I made the right call? I thought.

"Yes, it was me!" I replied with the best concerned expression I could muster while holding up my phone to show them the screen flashing with the emergency signal.

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Two of them sported the standard gear: white shirts, black pants, and blue synthetic overcoats marked with "CU".

The third one, a burly ebony man, donned a similar attire, but his coat was black. And his strength felt around B rank!

Holy… must be the leader? I thought.

"I'm officer Anthony. What's the situation—"The ebony-skinned officer's face tightened when he noticed my expression, followed by a glance at the violent vibrations shaking the tunnel around us. He scanned the area before asking again, “What's happening here?”

The others wore skeptical expressions, their thoughts evident.

I feigned panic and gestured nervously to the rubble blocking the way. “T-that... th-there! There!” Each word I stumbled over felt just dramatic enough.

At that moment, a quake rippled through the tunnel, followed by another set of intense vibrations.

“There what?! What is there?!” one of the Union officers asked, clearly unnerved by the mix of the situation and my nervous attitude. He stepped backward and examined the tunnel with certain vigilance.

"S-some guys! Some guys! There!” I heaved, doing my best to appear anxious while pointing at the rubble blockade.

Officer Anthony stepped forward and tried to ‘calm me down’ with soft words: “It’s okay, kid. We’re here now. Tell us everything that you know.”

He spoke to me like someone who's comforting a traumatized victim. If only he knew I was here for... a plant.

I breathed heavily, answering,“They got trapped on the other side! I was here gathering wild flowers when I saw them head to the Trifortress. Sometime later, I heard a loud bang and came here, only to find it like this!”

Anthony frowned, his gaze fixed on the wall.

"Rookies... They think low-level dungeons are easy pickings, and then something like this happens," he muttered under his breath, a mixture of frustration and pity in his tone.

“You did a good job, kid,” Anthony patted my back before turning to his subordinates. "We need to clear this passage quickly! Prepare for a controlled breach!"

The Union officers positioned themselves at the front, hands outstretched. A semi-transparent blue dome flickered to life around us, muting the echoes of the dungeon. Then, with a surge of energy, Officer Anthony conjured a sphere of spinning air between his palms and hurled it against the wall.

Boom! Boulders, rubble, and rocks flew as the tunnel filled with dust, finally opening up the path inside the dungeon. I felt the grit coat my mouth, tasted the bitterness of dust and stone.

A strong metallic scent invaded my nose. I took a step back; there was a crunch of rubble underfoot.

When the dust cleared, I saw it.

An eight-foot giant— earth-brown skin and a warped face. An ogre, its chest oozing green blood from a gaping wound, stood over a man sprawled on the ground, blood trickling from his mouth.

Nearby, a woman lay unmoving. Goblins and rat-faced hobgoblins surrounded her. Monster corpses lay strewn about.

Another man, his entire body encased in a block of ice like a fossil, caught my eye. At first, I couldn't tell if the monsters had done it to him or if he had somehow done it himself, given the strange detail of the ice capsule.

“Hold your ground,” Anthony muttered before charging at the ogre. Dust trailed around his legs as he shot forward, propelled by wind. The ogre swiped its claws, but Anthony dodged mid-charge. He thrust his palms out, releasing a burst of wind that slammed the ogre into the dungeon walls with a crash.

Bright flashes erupted around us as fireballs exploded at the remaining monsters.

In seconds, the tunnel burst with frenzied shouts and flashes of magic as the Union officers engaged the creatures. But it didn’t take long—they dispatched them all.

* * *

“Thank you!” A woman threw herself into my arms, her voice full of relief. I sighed inwardly, fighting the urge to pull back as her arms tightened around me.

Her bosom pressed against my chest, her stunning face glistening with sweat. Her eyes and hair were in shades of turquoise, and torn, burnt leggings revealed patches of her skin. The hug was uncomfortable.

She looked around my age, maybe mid-twenties?

"I'm Amelia Greyart. What's your name, kid?" She finally introduced herself, releasing me, which I was grateful for.

"It's Noah Grey, ma'am," I greeted back politely.

"Name’s Riley.” A man, scarred hands still steady on his sword, nodded at me from where he sat on the floor.

Ah… so he’s that Riley Droit, I thought. The only NPC from the Manuscript whose information I was presented with in this side story. He was the leader of this adventurer team. Black locks, average brown eyes, and dried blood around his lips and nose.

“You’re lucky we were patrolling nearby. If this kid hadn’t sent the emergency signal, we wouldn’t have known though—and you’d be dead meat by now,” Anthony said, addressing the adventurers. Another officer was administering a health potion to a brawny guy lying on the ground.

“Lucky,” huh? Sure. That was one way of putting it, I thought, watching Riley explain the situation to the officers.

It turned out that the communication was jammed inside the dungeon because of which they couldn't ask for reinforcements.

According to Riley, the brawny guy on the floor was Bright, their team's mage. Bright had encased himself in a block of ice using his last bit of mana, entering hibernation with a self-cast spell. A desperate, last-ditch move to survive.

I sighed inwardly. I achieved my primary goal for coming here.

"Hey, kid!" Suddenly, Riley called out, his voice cutting through the air as he lobbed something in my direction. I hesitated before catching the small black box he tossed, feeling a wave of confusion.

What is this? I turned the small black box over in my hand, feeling its polished surface. Then it hit me. "A loot box…"

"It's one of the rewards we got after defeating the dungeon's original boss. Accept it as a gesture of gratitude from myself and my team. After all, if it hadn't been for you, we would all be dead," Riley explained with a nod of gratitude.

I nodded back, taking his offering—even though I didn’t really deserve it. If anything, the officers deserved this loot box. But I wasn’t about to point that out—free stuff made me happy.

Also, what did he mean by 'original boss'?

"Original boss? What do you mean?" Officer Anthony asked on my behalf.

Riley and Sylvie launched into their story, explaining how the dungeon had changed after they defeated its supposed boss. Their account left the officers visibly confused. Understandably so, since dungeons simply don’t morph.

Riley described how they had entered, expecting to kill some monsters. After defeating about six, they faced the dungeon boss—a hybrid goblin.

Then, something strange happened.

A notification popped up about some "Necrotomb," right in front of their eyes, triggering a spatial warp that sealed off their entry point. Afterward, monsters began materializing out of nowhere—like grass sprouting from the very earth. It was a strange phenomenon, one even the seasoned Union officers hadn’t heard about.

Luckily, the officers arrived just in time to save these poor souls.

Riley handed me his contact card, which I accepted, although I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. For future consideration, I supposed. And just like that, their ordeal was over.

While Officer Anthony and the others stayed behind to report the anomaly to headquarters, I was allowed to leave after a brief inquiry.

But, I was tired, like really tired; all I craved was the oblivion of sleep, but with dawn just hours away, that hope felt like a cruel joke.