Further on in the dimly lit den was a small circular room where the female—too old to be a girl, too young to be a woman—lay.
Around her were goblins, their red eyes glowing and their large mouths twisted into mocking smiles.
“Gufu, gufu.”
“Hmm... Hn.”
The floor I was on was hard and uncomfortable. I struggled to fully open my eyes.
Where is this place? The surroundings lacked sunlight—not even magical light could be seen. There was some dim light from the glowing white grass.
“Guuuu guuii.”
Now I was awake, but I couldn’t move. They had bound my hands and feet. Eyes wide open, all I saw was the cave wall in front of me, and all I could hear was the demi-humans’ chatter echoing around me.
I remembered now. I went with a senior investigator to Myral Village for a post-investigation into a stray goblin extermination request recently completed by other adventurers. I was inspecting the western creek, when apparently these goblins attacked me. It was the last thing I remembered until now.
“Gufuuuu.” The demi-humans began moving around me. They must have noticed I was awake. I heard one set of footsteps approach me from behind.
Was this a goblin’s den? Goblins were a male-only species. With no females among them, they bred with females from other common or beast races. They did this by abducting, violating, and passing them around until they were impregnated and gave birth.
Goblin offspring grew at an alarming rate, and were ready for birth one month after conception, and then full adults another month after being born. With such a rapid reproduction rate, goblins could reproduce at an astonishing speed once they’d established a den and populated it with kidnapped females.
This created chaos for all who lived near these dens. When stray goblins or new nests were discovered, they had to be swiftly eliminated. This was where the Adventurers’ Guild came in. The guild issued many such requests and dispatched investigators to check for any missed prey or undiscovered dens.
This was what brought me here. A senior investigator and I visited for the post-investigation of a stray goblin extermination job—in a region where goblins had not been seen before.
The forest west of Myral Village was wider than expected, so we split up. I stood by a medium-sized riverbank, captivated by the river flow. Next thing I knew, I was hit from behind and brought into a goblin’s den. There was no doubt about their intentions.
The goblin’s footsteps came closer. I was unable to sit up, but I could slowly turn my face backwards.
“Ahhhhhh!” I screamed. It was right over me. It had a narrow face with red-slanted eyes. Its wide-open mouth displayed its fangs in a mocking grin. It drooled onto my body. I tried to slap it with my bound hands. This enraged it, and the goblin opened its fang-filled mouth even wider.
“Gufuuuuu!” it shrieked. Then, it raised the club and aimed for my head.
“No!” I instinctively turned my face away and closed my eyes.
I felt the goblin’s club swing down. I waited for it to crush my skull. It missed and struck the ground behind my head. The dull thud and vibration resonated through my cranium. Was that deliberate?!
“Gyahaaaaa!” It raised the club again. This time, it swung down in front of my head. The impact pelted my face with dirt, preventing me from being able to open my eyes.
The club was raised a third time and slammed into the ground behind me again. The same vibration echoed through my skull.
Goblins, like all demi-human species, were known for their extreme cruelty. They got off on tormenting and toying with the weak. Their nature was pure evil, and they existed solely to harm humans and other races. At this rate, I would either become a breeding animal for the goblins or be killed as a toy.
The goblin now straddled me while repeatedly striking the club in front and behind me. I trembled in fear as each vibration resonated throughout my body. I could hear the other goblins behind us laughing and shrieking together.
It also sounded like they were eating something. Suddenly, their awful racket stopped.
“What?” I whimpered as the vibrations ceased. Then I heard something falling, then two more sounds just like it. I opened my eyes to look back. Three goblins had been struck down dead.
What is happening?
Beyond the three corpses, the ten remaining goblins formed a circle around an individual holding a long wooden staff and wearing a cloth jacket with a sash draped around its neck.
Is that a mage goblin?
Having a higher species capable of using magic meant this wasn’t just a normal gathering of stray goblins!
While the goblins were stunned by their kins’ sudden deaths, the mage goblin took the lead and rallied them. It pointed its staff towards the den’s exit and shrieked commands to the surrounding goblins. There were so many of them!
As the goblins fled towards the exit, a section nearby flashed red, followed by three consecutive explosive sounds. Several more followed, and with each flash, a goblin’s head exploded into blood.
Was this magic? If it was, it was a very effective elemental attack I was unfamiliar with. My senior investigator’s magical attacks weren’t this precise, requiring a two-handed sword.
Ah!
The mage goblin was using the fallen goblins as shields. It held its staff forward, concentrating as it uttered its incantation. A large, compressed air mass formed in front of the mage goblin. It burst through the upper body of the goblin-shield and, now a bloody mass, flew towards the flashing red corner. With a roar, a section of the corridor wall that lead to the exit was gouged out.
That was the wind magic known as “Air Ball!” Who knew that the mage goblin could form such a large sphere—nearly two feet in size! The mage goblin, standing only four feet tall, looked tiny compared to the large mass.
The mage goblin shrieked with laughter and ordered the surviving goblins to attack. But before they could charge, the gouged-out section of the wall flashed red again, and the mage goblin’s head was blown off.
Wow! Despite being a higher species, the mage’s health was almost the same as a normal goblin. It should have had some kind of magical barrier, yet it was pierced straight through and defeated instantly.
The flashing light and explosive sounds ceased. The den was silent and full of goblin corpses. From the shadows, a person slowly emerged and walked towards me.
✦ ✦ ✦
Something wasn’t right. The two goblins I had eliminated with the M1911A1 hadn’t dropped any crystals. In VMB, a crystal always appeared after defeating an enemy, and that would be automatically collected as Crystal Points when I approached.
Crystal Points were crucial for various elements of VMB play. You needed them for purchasing equipment, replenishing ammunition, health recovery, restoring destroyed weapons and powered suit functions. Basically, they were needed for everything.
But here, in this alternate world, the rules were different. Defeating an enemy seemed to not produce crystals. Did this mean I had to manage with only the points I currently possessed?
Granted, I had a lot. VMB was a massively popular title, and with its numerous updates and expansion and huge player base, I’d been playing VMB for three years. The amount of Crystal Points I’d racked up during that time would last for a very long time, even without replenishment. But that brought little comfort, considering I had no idea how long I was stuck in this world. It could be years, even decades, before I could return to my original world. VMB gave me powers that helped me navigate and survive this strange world. I couldn’t afford to lose that. Honestly, the prospect that eventually I would was troubling.
I poked at the hole in the goblin’s head. Nothing happened—it remained a corpse. The powered suit didn’t absorb the corpse, either.
What to do?
Crouching beside the goblin’s corpse, I stared into the darkness of the den, contemplating. There were other goblins and a helpless woman further inside. Eliminating the goblins would be easy, especially if I shot them from a distance. I could take them down before they got close, but with how many bullets?
I hadn’t tested whether I could still buy ammo from the Shop. I activated the TSS on my left arm and navigated the screen monitor to the ammunition purchase screen. I was about to complete the purchase when I heard a woman’s scream echo from deeper within the den.
“Ahhhhhh!”
I stopped operating the TSS and immediately aimed the M1911A1 into the darkness.
I would have to worry later! I had enough equipment and ammunition to get through this current situation!
I lowered the gun to check the map on my goggles to reassess my surroundings. There were still areas masked by the fog of war. The scream had definitely come from further within.
I switched my goggles back to NV mode. I suppressed my anxieties and slowly resumed moving deeper into the den.