Astrania-1337
From the darkness, a small shadow suddenly lunged out.
It was a goblin.
It stood about chest-high on me. Dull green skin, yellow eyes that gleamed wetly, short fangs jutting from the corners of its mouth. A rusted curved blade was clutched in its hand.
The moment it saw me, it froze.
Maybe a second, by my reckoning.
Then it charged like a rabid dog.
"Kyaaak!"
Before I could even think, I brought my arm up.
Shit!
The dagger went first.
Thud.
It sank deep into the goblin's left side, just below the chest. Lucky—it felt like it had found the heart. Tough flesh and membrane gave way all at once under my fingertips. Dark red blood spattered across the back of my hand.
The goblin's eyes flew wide, nearly splitting. Its body surged toward me once, then collapsed straight down. I clenched my grip and yanked the dagger free. The thing hit the ground with a heavy flop and jerked two or three times before going still.
I stood frozen.
I had killed it. Just now. With my own hands.
"...Ha."
My breath caught hard in my throat. My hands were shaking. I thought I might throw up. The smell of blood suddenly thickened until it was everywhere.
I'm fucked. I actually killed it.
Then a scream tore out from deeper inside.
"Mari! Behind you—behind—!"
My heart dropped.
Fuck. This is not the time to stand here stuck on this.
My hands still wouldn't stop trembling.
People first.
It sounded like empty bullshit, but right now that was the only line left. Guilt, nausea—whatever it was—I couldn't afford to cling to it. That came later. After I survived.
I clenched my teeth and ran past the corpse into the tunnel.
I was less winded than I expected. Strange. My heart was hammering like mad, but my head stayed clear. The floor was uneven, yet my body found its balance without effort—feet choosing the next step first, waist and shoulders following as one smooth piece instead of lagging behind.
Heavenly Demon Physique? My body is just... moving the way I think it should.
I rounded a bend in the inner passage and caught a faint orange glow.
Firelight.
At the same time, two goblins came into view. Either they hadn't heard the noise outside or they'd ignored it—both of them were leaning toward the cavern ahead. One had its back fully to me; the other showed only a side profile.
What now. Two wasn't part of the plan.
The thought had barely formed when a flash of flame erupted from deeper inside.
Whoosh—boom!
A short blast of heat, and one of the goblins screamed. Both of them whipped their heads toward the cavern at once.
Now!
I charged the one with its back turned. Both hands clamped short on the dagger, and I drove it straight into the left side of its back.
Thud!
It folded forward without even a sound. Before its mouth could open I shoved its shoulder and slammed it face-first into the ground. The brief thrashing went limp almost immediately.
The other one spun at the noise. Our eyes met.
"Kik?"
"Yeah, you fucker."
I slashed the dagger sideways. The goblin jerked back on reflex—and in that same instant a rush of heated air mixed with wind poured out from deeper in.
Whoosh!
Flame skimmed past my side. The goblin's shoulder charred and burst as if it had ruptured; it shrieked.
"Who's there?!"
A woman's voice—sharp, on edge. Human. That was enough.
I drove the dagger into the half-burned goblin's throat.
Thud!
It went in deep this time. The goblin gave a short, wet sound, shuddered once, and stopped moving.
Fuck...
From inside the cavern, human breathing tangled with goblin cries. Dagger still wet with blood, I charged into the open space—and in that instant I saw everything.
A cave chamber, not especially wide. Three people were pressed against one wall.
In front of them stood a man. Or rather, he was forcing himself upright against a collapse. Tall, broad-shouldered, dark brown hair plastered to his face with blood and sweat. His mixed leather-and-metal armor was torn in several places, and his side was soaked through with blood. Even so, he still held a sword. A man standing guard even on the edge of falling.
Behind him a woman knelt. Ash-brown hair tied short, face pale. Faint gold light gathered in her hands, clinging stubbornly to the wound in the man's side. Not healing—just barely holding the blood in. A healer.
And farther forward, near the center of the chamber, another woman had her teeth clenched and both hands outstretched. Deep reddish-brown hair, slender build, eyes sharp; irritation and raw tension warred across her face at once. Sparks jumped from her fingertips.
Whoosh!
A fireball slammed into a goblin's chest and sent it flying backward.
Whoa. Magic!
Two goblin corpses already littered the floor. One had a blackened, caved-in chest, flesh cooked and shriveled—the same scorched smell that had brushed my face earlier still hung in the air. The other was split deep from shoulder to gut, a single full-force cut. That one had to be the work of the man holding the front.
Even so, too many were left.
Five goblins still in the chamber. Two pressed from the front, one circling wide, the last two waiting for any opening. Counting the three I'd already killed outside made eight.
"One more coming from behind!"
The mage shouted the second she saw me—the words out before she could even decide friend or foe.
Six left, then. Fine. Hit first so I don't look like an enemy.
I charged the goblin that had just come in from the rear. It spotted me and raised a spear.
Fuck, a spear? How do I win this.
No idea. I feinted forward, then dropped back a step. The spear tip came first. I twisted; the point skimmed my sleeve and ripped the cloth. I drove straight inside its reach. Spears are long. Daggers are short. Close in, and I win.
I buried the dagger in the left side of its chest.
"Kyaaaaak!"
It toppled backward. Flame erupted beside me again.
"Duck!"
I dropped on reflex. Fire streaked over my head and smashed into the face of the goblin behind. It clapped both hands over its face and thrashed wildly. The mage clenched her teeth and raised her hands once more.
"Haa... seriously, this is so damn annoying!"
Urgent, but no real cursing—just that sharp, snapping edge to her voice. My grip slipped. Blood.
Ugh...
Suddenly the chamber felt too close. Rough breathing, screams, the stink of blood, the smell of burning flesh—all of it hit at once.
Then a low, clipped voice from the side.
"Right."
The wounded man. He jerked his chin. Almost on reflex I turned. A goblin was already cutting toward the healer in the rear.
Shit!
My body moved before the thought finished. Feet kicked off the floor first; waist and shoulders followed in one clean turn. I hurled the dagger hard.
Whish!
The tip grazed the side of the goblin's neck. Shallow—not fatal—but enough. The moment it flinched, the healer thrust out her left hand. A short flash of light. Thud. The goblin staggered, clutching its face, and toppled backward. She gave a small nod.
That a thank-you?
I closed the distance and drove the dagger into its throat again.
Thud.
It didn't move after that.
"Huu..."
My breathing was ragged. Terrifying. But the job was clear: if I wanted these people to live, every goblin in front of me had to die. Fail, and I die. That simple.
In that same moment the man holding the front lurched hard.
"Roy!"
The healer raised her voice for the first time. Blood had burst from the wound in his side; her light wavered. The two goblins right in front seized the opening.
Fuck, this is ridiculous.
I slammed into the nearest one like a body check. We both went down hard. My back hit stone and the air punched out of me. The goblin tried to climb on top; the reek of rot blasted from its mouth. I scowled and forced the dagger hand up. Its claws raked my neck. Stung.
"Aah! Just die already!"
I couldn't tell whether I screamed first or the mage did. A heartbeat later a gust of wind shoved the goblin's body sideways. In that tiny gap I rammed the dagger up under its jaw.
Shunk.
The sensation was too clear this time. It twitched above me, then went slack. I shoved the corpse off and staggered to my feet.
How many left.
Three goblins still in the chamber. Two were sizing up Roy and the mage; the third hung back, swaying, waiting for an angle.
Then Roy moved. Blood pouring from his side, he stepped forward without hesitation. Faint light shimmered along his blade.
Whoa. What is that.
He exhaled low and swung in a wide arc.
Slash!
Both goblins in front were cut down at once and sent flying. Only the one in the rear remained. It finally decided the opening was there and charged the mage. She clenched her teeth—too close for a spell.
I moved almost on instinct. I slipped in behind the goblin and raked the dagger across its back, opening a deep red line. In that gap a compact burst of flame took half its face. It staggered. I didn't miss it—I took the neck.
The goblin's head hit the stone floor and rolled. The body crumpled after it.
And then silence.
Just for a moment.
No one spoke. My breathing. Roy's rough gasps. The healer's trembling breath. The last embers still clinging to the mage's fingertips. And the goblins sprawled across the floor.
We made it...
I was still standing there gripping the dagger. My wrist shook hard. Blood ran down the back of my hand—mine or theirs, I couldn't tell. A metallic taste spread through my mouth; I'd bitten my tongue sometime without noticing, and the copper smell of blood filled my head.
"Haa......"
Someone let out a long breath.
The healer recovered first. She immediately pressed her hands to Roy's side again and pulled light back into them.
"Roy, don't move. It opened up again."
Her voice was cold and short, but her hands were quick and precise. Roy only clenched his teeth and nodded. Face wet with blood and sweat, but the look in his eyes was still alive.
The mage woman stared at me. Wary.
"...Who are you?"
That came before any thanks. Fair enough. A stranger who just appeared out of nowhere inside a goblin cave.
I opened my mouth, then shut it again. Nothing to say.
Who was I?
Owner of a seven-pyeong one-room in Seoul. Twenty-five-year-old unemployed youth. A guy who picked up a three-million-won emergency loan and, as a free bonus, the Dimensional Archive.
Baek Siyun.
—Not exactly something I could say out loud right now.
Then Roy spoke, low.
"Wait..."
One word, but it carried weight. He lowered the blood-slick sword and looked straight at me. After a short silence, he opened his mouth again.
"Don't know who you are... but thank you. We lived because of you."
When those words ended, the only sounds left in the chamber were human ones—no more goblin screams.