Dancing with Goblins
Twelve goblins. One F-class Magic Stone.
That was everything our team had managed to scrape together after an hour of searching. A little disappointing, sure — but according to Go Hangyeol, even a single Magic Stone from a goblin hunt was a solid haul.
An F-class Magic Stone was worth roughly ten million won. Split four ways among the team, that came to two and a half million each. Except we couldn't take all of it. Anything found inside a Gate belonged to the finder only after taxes were paid to the Gate's owner. The rate was negotiated in advance, and for this Gate it was thirty percent — on the low side. Usually it ran fifty percent or higher, though those arrangements came with hourly or daily wages attached. At thirty percent, there was no wage. Just the cut.
So what I'd actually walk away with was about 1.75 million won. Still an absurd hourly rate by ordinary standards — the kind of money a regular person couldn't even dream of. But human greed has no ceiling. You always look up at whoever's above you.
While I was pocketing 1.75 million, how much had Garam — the owner of this Gate — made? Five teams combing the area had turned up three Magic Stones total. That alone put nine million in his pocket. More than five times my hourly rate. That was why owning the right Gate mattered so much. Even a Goblin Village Gate produced this kind of gap. If someone held a Gate that spat out S-class Magic Stones…
It was exactly why Keepers who owned good Gates carried more weight than Keepers who were merely strong. Power without a place to use it was worthless.
"So this is a Magic Stone…"
Soyeon breathed the words with pure wonder. The team had finished the search and returned to base camp to prepare for the next operation.
"That fascinating, huh?"
"Yes. No matter how long I look, I just want to keep looking."
She'd been staring at the stone for over ten minutes already. The blue glow was attractive, sure, but that level of fixation seemed a bit much. Then I noticed Lee Seonmi sitting beside her, eyes locked on the same stone, and figured maybe Magic Stones really did have that kind of pull. Something jewel-like about them, maybe.
"Higher-grade Magic Stones are larger and far more luminous," Go Hangyeol said. He'd just come back from Garam's tent, where he'd gone for the strategy meeting. "See one of those and you'll really be amazed."
Soyeon's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Really. Looking at a photo is nothing like the real thing. They live up to the name — there's actual mana in them."
"What's the highest grade you've seen?"
"Up to B-class. Even a B-class is on a completely different level from an F-class stone. I can only imagine what an S-class would be like. I hope all of you get the chance to see one someday."
Hangyeol was a five-year veteran Keeper, which meant he was approaching the practical ceiling of his growth. He seemed to have more or less accepted that.
"You'll get to see one too, Hangyeol-ssi. You never know how life turns out. Look at us — we became Keepers."
Fair point. If the right opportunity came along, nothing would be strange. Hell, until recently neither Soyeon nor I could have even dreamed of becoming Keepers.
"Haha. I'd like that. Does that make me the protagonist of a novel?"
That was the standard plot for Keeper fiction, after all — a lifelong D-class Keeper stumbles into a miracle and becomes S-class. The word "miracle" was doing a lot of work there. The odds of the miracle of becoming a Keeper stacking with the miracle of becoming S-class…
"It's possible. And if that novel ever gets written, I'll buy ten copies."
"The thought alone is enough. All right — time to go over the operation plan."
"Yes!"
Matching Soyeon's bright, hopeful voice, Hangyeol laid out the strategy for clearing the goblin village.
"Any closer and the other goblins will spot us."
The ten Keepers, our team included, stood on a slight rise. Ahead of us lay a basin, and nestled inside it was a goblin village built of wood. The goblins that had been standing watch on the high ground had just been assassinated by the B-class Keepers. We needed to strike before fresh ones climbed up to replace them.
"Understood. We move on the signal."
Garam, acting as commander of the ten, spoke. The remaining thirteen Keepers were circling to the opposite high ground. The plan was simple: when their signal came, both groups attacked together. Signals were exchanged by electronic device — and electronics worked fine inside Gates. The same physical laws applied here as in the outside world. The only catch was that you couldn't communicate with the outside. No internet.
"Looks like the other team has arrived."
"Then we begin. Jungmin-ssi?"
"Yes."
I stepped forward. Opening strike was mine. A fireball was perfect for a moment like this. The opposite team had someone who could call down lightning into a tight area. The plan was for the two of us to hit simultaneously, then everyone else would pour in. Simple, effective.
I summoned the rune, pushed mana outward, and seized the condensed mass as magical power. This time I gathered far longer than before. I needed more range and a heavier single blow. I packed mana right up to the limit of what my magical power could hold, then ignited it with the Burn rune.
Whoosh—!
A sphere of flame bloomed in front of me. Maximum-output Mini Fireball. Bigger than I'd expected — nearly the size of a human torso — and correspondingly harder to control. Sweat poured down my whole body.
"Now! Throw it!"
At Garam's shout I launched the Mini Fireball. Goblins who'd already noticed the size of the thing tried to scatter, but the fireball outran them and slammed into the left side of the village.
KA-BOOM!
A massive explosion. Two goblin tents shattered. A dozen goblins went up in flames. The burning ones staggered around trying to put themselves out, and the fire spread in every direction through the village. Pure chaos. It wasn't an exaggeration to say I'd just wiped out a third of the goblin settlement by myself. The lightning that hit the right side had only taken out a handful of goblins, which made my damage stand out even more. The stunned looks from the others were only natural. I was pretty stunned myself.
But right now, being stared at like that was a little embarrassing.
"Hah… hah…"
Breathing was hard. My head throbbed. My knees shook so badly I could barely stay upright. Close my eyes and I'd sleep forever. I'd overdone it. No exaggeration — I felt like I was going to die. All I'd thought about was landing a powerful hit. Leaving something in the tank never crossed my mind.
"Ah… Soyeon-ssi was on the same team, right? Stay with Jungmin-ssi and keep an eye on him."
"…Yes!"
"Everyone else, move in. Jungmin-ssi did the heavy lifting — we just need to clean up. Let's go!"
At Garam's order, everyone except Soyeon headed down. Once they were gone, I didn't have the strength to stay on my feet. Soyeon caught me as I started to collapse and carefully lowered me to the ground.
"Are you all right? Senior?"
"Hah… hah…"
"You don't have to talk if it's hard. Just rest."
She wiped the sweat from my face with her sleeve. Worry filled her expression. I felt bad — and a little glad. Being looked after by someone who was worried about me was rare. Especially since I'd started living alone, it almost never happened.
"I'd rather lie down, but I don't think we can right now."
I knew that. The fighting wasn't far from here. Getting taken out by a straggler goblin while lying flat would be about as pathetic as it got.
"Just hang on a little longer. After that hit you landed, this should be cleaned up fast."
The battle seemed to be going well. Twenty-one Keepers against roughly a hundred goblins, and the Keepers weren't giving an inch. Individual skill gaps played a part, but the real difference was the lightning and fire that had scrambled the goblins first. Clearing the village was only a matter of time.
"Not very flashy, is it?"
I agreed with Soyeon's assessment. But it was only natural. Lower-ranked Keepers mostly awakened physical reinforcement abilities. Close-quarters brawling didn't look spectacular from a distance — and even up close, you wouldn't catch everything. After the opening fire and lightning, it was just a dogfight. And the dogfight favored us.
"Wait — what's that…?"
Something changed on a battlefield that had looked ready to wrap up. From the innermost goblin tent, a large goblin emerged. A massive staff and a hat covered in ornaments made it unmistakable. I'd seen the look in enough photos to know instantly. Soyeon reached the same conclusion.
"It's a Shaman!"
A Goblin Shaman. A monster that wielded powerful curses and magic. Every Shaman used different spells, which made them hard to fight. But this was a Gate that had been cleared and respawned countless times. That Shaman might be meeting us for the first time — we had met it plenty. The manual said this one used fireballs or weakening curses. Neither was particularly hard to handle. Standard anti-mage tactics would do.
Two Keepers broke from the group and charged — Garam and one of the B-class Keepers. Both were known for their speed; the idea was to close the distance before the Shaman could finish a spell or curse. The B-class Keeper got there first. He looked ready to attack without hesitation. Then something black rose up from below and swallowed him whole.
"Huh? What — what just happened?"
"Hoo… I don't… really… hoo."
I didn't know either, but something outside the plan had clearly just occurred. According to the intel, the Shaman wasn't supposed to use magic like that. Garam arrived a beat later and struck. His blade severed the Shaman's neck with almost insulting ease. But the black thing — and the B-class Keeper with it — were gone.
"S-Senior, did you see that? He just… disappeared, right?"
"Yeah. Looks that way. He's gone…"
Garam searched the area, found nothing, and rejoined the fight against the remaining goblins. A short while later, the sweep was over. Every goblin was dead. Among the Keepers, not a single casualty — except for the one who'd been swallowed by that black thing.
In the emptied goblin village, Garam addressed the gathered Keepers.
"His signal is still active."
The signal came from a device attached to every Keeper's body — designed to transmit as long as the wearer was alive.
"Which means Jaehyeok-ssi is still alive somewhere inside this Gate."
Park Jaehyeok. The name of the B-class Keeper who'd been swallowed by the black thing.
"Per Association protocol, we begin a search."
Abandoning someone inside a Gate was forbidden. Whether a person left behind vanished the way other objects did wasn't certain, but everyone assumed they would. Cases of corpses disappearing inside Gates were reported often enough. Leaving a living person behind was as good as indirect murder.
"We search until the signal cuts out. This is a life we're saving — I ask all of you to give it everything you've got."
Garam's voice was firm, leaving no room for objection. Most Keepers would have nodded in the face of principle. Principles only existed because everyone agreed to them. But there were always exceptions.
I wanted to object.
A signal cut out for one of three reasons: the device was destroyed, the Keeper was dead, or the battery ran out. Battery life was typically one week. Meaning we'd have to stay in this Gate for up to another week. Which meant a week would pass since I'd last infused Keira with magical power.
And then Keira would die.
Damn it.