The inside of the den was wider than I had expected at about ten feet tall and thirteen to sixteen feet wide. The path twisted and turned as it continued deeper. Growing along the walls were small, glowing flowers completely unknown to me, providing the cave’s only light source. It was very faint, but it was enough for the NV mode on my goggles to pick up, giving me a clear view. The map masked unexplored areas, and the directional microphone sensor didn’t show moving objects in areas like this. However, the sensor itself wasn’t completely disabled; through it, I could hear high-pitched screeches from deeper in the passage—almost certainly the goblins.
They were coming this way! I heard the distinct footsteps of two goblins. I instinctively gripped the MP5A4’s handle, even though I knew firing now would risk attracting more enemies. That is, if the gun fired at all. I needed a better grasp of the situation.
I began to silently retreat. I swung the MP5A4 into my shoulder holster and drew the Colt M1911A1 holstered at my waist. I also pulled a silencer from my waist-pouch and attached it to the Colt.
The M1911A1 was a refined model of the original M1911, designed by John Browning. It had been built for stopping power, and a single shot could disable an enemy. It used .45 ACP rounds, larger in caliber by about 3mm compared to 9 × 19mm Parabellum. If this didn’t work on goblins, then nothing would.
While there were advantages in suppressing the firing noise with the silencer, there were also disadvantages. In VMB, this was part of the game’s balancing system: a silencer reduced your power over distance, lowered range damage, and disrupted weapon balance, leading to decreased hip-fire accuracy. But I had no idea whether those disadvantages still applied in this world. I had no choice but to shoot and find out.
I released the M1911A1’s safety, confirmed the crosshairs in my goggles, and took cover inside a curve in the tunnel. I raised the gun one-handed and leaned around the corner. I saw the goblins clearly thanks to NV mode, but I was uncertain how clearly they could see me in this faint light. I minimized my exposure, placed the crosshairs on the far end of the dark passage, and waited for the goblins to appear.
I kept calling them goblins, but was that what they really were? If I was going to shoot, I couldn’t allow any counterattack or dying screams. I had to go for clean headshots and finish them in a single shot. But if they were some kind of peaceful native species of this world, would I then be a murderer?
I needed to confirm the woman’s condition before engaging. If there were clear signs of assault, then there would be no doubt. It would confirm that this was a crueler world than where I came from. This line of thought kept looping in my mind as I waited in the darkness.
Then they appeared. There were two of them, just as I thought. I hesitated to shoot, but then I saw their faces. Their height made them look like children, but, man, were they ugly! There was no mistaking it—those were monsters! Those things were enemies—a mob I was meant to shoot.
I kept my aim on the targets and squeezed off two shots. The soft, muffled sounds echoed in succession, with a sound like air escaping and then something being crushed. The gun was almost as good as it was in VMB.
✦ ✦ ✦
The shots here weren’t perfectly silent. In VMB, the silencer made sound faint enough that it wouldn’t appear on the opponent’s map. Also, ejected casings turned into particles of light and vanished before hitting the ground.
I slowly approached the two goblins with the M1911A1 aimed at them. The gunfire had made them fall on their backs. If a single headshot from the M1911A1 could do that, then the MP5A4 should work as well. They were clearly dead. However, I couldn’t move from that spot while keeping the gun aimed.
I contemplated their faces. They had extremely large ears, hooked noses, red eyes, and wide mouths full of sharp fangs. If these creatures were natives or a different sort of species, I couldn’t imagine getting along with them. I felt no remorse from having killed them, perhaps because their faces were so inhuman.
Do their bodies not disappear?
As soon as I solved one question, another arose. If the corpses remained, how would I obtain Crystal Points? The TSS showed no automatic increase. If the enemies I defeated didn’t drop crystals, I wouldn’t accumulate any Crystal Points and would eventually be unable to resupply. Then I’d lose my only means of combat.
My feet felt rooted in the mossy ground. I was afraid to move, unsure if the ammo I’d use to save the unknown woman would be the last of my supplies.