episode_0011

Several hours had passed since we got lost and started wandering.

It was only natural since Dean, who was supposed to be our guide, had run away.

He also has the map.

The torchlight was getting weaker.

Three torches left.

We groped our way through the ant-tunnel-like cave, relying on the dim torchlight.

It felt more like we were looking for a place to die than a way out.

Especially.

Whenever I heard the laughter of goblins coming from other passages, I felt death getting closer.

But this sound was a little different.

“Hee hee hee hee.”

Should I say it felt clearer and more childlike?

More human-like.

“Dean?”

Ann said. Her voice trembled as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Scar! It’s Dean!”

“Calm down.”

Ann was overly excited.

How she survived in this darkness was secondary, but the voice we heard wasn’t normal.

Could it be a hobgoblin trap?

They might have installed crude nails on the floor, or they might shoot arrows and spears.

We can’t just ignore it. Because Ann won’t let us.

If it’s a trap, I can leave Ann and run.

If it’s not a trap, then we have more bait.

I decided in my mind and slowly approached the sound.

I threw the torch towards the sound.

It was almost burnt out and useless.

A man was squatting in a corner of the passage, looking at the wall.

“Dean?”

Ann ran and grabbed Dean’s shoulder.

There were no traps.

No booby traps targeting our feet, no arrows flying out of the darkness.

“Dean? Dean, wake up!”

“Heu heu hee hee.”

Ann turned Dean’s body to face her.

Dilated pupils.

Thick saliva dripped down his mouth.

Anyone could tell.

He’s gone mad.

He fell into the madness offered by the absolute law that dominates the surface layer of the Great Labyrinth, ‘Darkness.’

No one can avoid it.

If you spend too long in a place without light, it’s over.

“Hoo hee hee hee!!”

“Dean!”

Ann shook his shoulders and slapped his cheeks, but Dean just giggled.

‘This is not the time for this.’

Jeong Yu-shin approached Dean and rummaged through his pockets.

A crumpled map came out.

I unfolded the map.

I couldn’t pinpoint our current location as perfectly as a professional guide, but I could roughly guess our location using the knowledge I learned from the superficial exploration class.

“Crazy.”

I couldn’t help but swear.

Our current location was far outside the central area, in the outer region.

It was an area crowded with hobgoblins.

On the outer edges of the map, there were many goblin faces drawn by Dean. They were drawn unnecessarily cute, which made me angry.

“Damn it, why did you draw goblin pictures on the map? Is your head a flower garden?”

“Dean has always liked drawing. He was very timid, but his observation skills were excellent.”

Ann’s voice was full of affection and sadness.

“Let’s go.”

We have a map.

I thought maybe we could survive.

I felt a glimmer of hope.

“What about Marie?”

Ann asked cautiously.

Jeong Yu-shin’s body stopped abruptly.

This friend seems to have another hope.

“We’re in more danger than Marie right now. The torches are barely holding up. Do you want to go crazy like Dean and wander around here? We might not be able to escape even if we hurry now.”

“Marie is useful. She can use recovery magic and she probably has enough supplies.”

“Supplies?”

“I saw the hobgoblin snatching Marie’s bag when they attacked her.”

There was a reason why one person’s backpack was missing from the site of the attack.

Still.

“Are you sure Marie and the supplies are together? Honestly, isn’t that an exaggeration? Let’s not get our hopes up.”

“Marie’s bag has a candle.”

“A candle? A candlestick?”

“It’s an item bestowed by the Temple of Mother Earth. It’s given to apprentice priests in preparation for when the torches run out. It’s not an ordinary item, it’s a special relic. Can Scar be sure? Can you really get from here to the central area with just three torches, and from the central area to the transition zone to the next level?”

Ann’s words were persuasive.

Except for one thing.

“How are you going to find her?”

“….”

“How are you going to find her in this vast floor? Answer me. If you say something like, ‘If we’re lucky, we can find her,’ or ‘If we look, we might find some traces,’ I’m going to rip your mouth apart.”

Ann was at a loss for words at Jeong Yu-shin’s question.

Jeong Yu-shin thought.

‘Should I stop here?’

I deceived myself with the excuse that I would use her as bait.

It’s a trick of conscience.

But there’s a limit to this crap.

If it’s this much of a pushover act, Confucius, Buddha, and the Pope would give up and tap dance, handing over the seat of a saint to me.

Just as I was about to say let’s part ways here.

Ann opened her mouth.

“Okay. I’ll look for Marie later. Thinking about it, it feels like a delusion. I’m sorry.”

She’s more perceptive than I thought.

I feel awkward.

“Okay. Let’s get out of here first. It’s best to ask the Explorer’s Guild for help once we get out.”

I took out a rope from my backpack and tied it around Dean’s waist.

I can’t hold his hand and drag him along, so I was going to tie him with a rope and drag him.

When Jeong Yu-shin pulled on the rope, Dean followed, drooling.

“I’ll do it.”

“No, I’ll do it. You have to shoot your bow.”

Ann stepped forward, but I refused. There was a clear reason why I put Dean behind me.

A fact that Ann and I both knew.

Distrust.

Ann’s audacious thoughts felt like they were touching my skin.

‘Ann, you’re possessed.’

A one-eyed Maitreya Buddha was tap dancing in my head.

‘Namu Amitabha. Asura Balbalta. Please, just don’t make any coughing sounds.’

I was prepared to use Dean as a shield and blow Ann’s head off the moment I heard the sound of a bowstring being drawn.

As if Ann, like a treacherous subject, read Jeong Yu-shin’s thoughts, she walked cautiously at a distance.

We moved forward for several hours in a strange tension.

As a result of forced marching without even being able to sleep or eat properly.

We were able to find a shelter on the outskirts.

Light was leaking from the entrance of the shelter.

It seemed like someone was staying there.

Squeak.

The sound of a bowstring being drawn cautiously.

At the same time, Jeong Yu-shin’s longsword was quickly drawn from its scabbard.

I met Ann’s eyes.

“It’s goblins.”

“How did you know?”

“Archers have to have good eyes and ears. You’ll hear it if you get a little closer.”

It was as Ann said.

As we got closer, we heard the laughter of goblins from the entrance of the shelter.

Were they having some kind of joyful banquet?

There was the sound of flesh colliding with flesh and a fishy smell.

Thud thud.

“Kki kki keke!”

“Keu kekeke.”

I peeked out with only my eyes.

A scene of carnage no different from what I expected.

Half a dozen goblins were gathered around, violating three women.

It was impossible to know if the women were dead or alive.

This was because the goblins were engaging in overly aggressive seeding activities, and the women were being treated like corpses with empty pupils, just as they pleased.

Marie was among the women being violated.

Her clothes were almost torn to rags, but a necklace symbolizing the Spirit Church stood out. Moreover, she had brown bobbed hair and a slender figure.

It’s Marie.

My mouth felt bitter.

Eight hobgoblins.

‘Should I just pretend I don’t know and pass by?’

No matter how much of a surprise attack it is, how can two people deal with eight of them?

Our condition isn’t normal either. Because we couldn’t use potions generously, the places where we were hit by arrows still throbbed.

Not to mention Ann. Blood was slowly leaking from the bandage wrapped around her stomach.

Ann tapped Jeong Yu-shin’s back.

I felt a sense of expectation in the careful touch, and I sighed inwardly.

I changed positions.

Ann gasped as soon as she peeked inside, covering her mouth with both hands.

Jeong Yu-shin sensed it from that sight.

The battle has been decided.

Still, one question arose.

I couldn’t understand why the hobgoblins had the torches lit.

Did they want to keep the minds of the people they were violating intact?

I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. Because I’m going to kill them all.

Jeong Yu-shin pulled Ann’s shoulder.

I met her eyes, full of sadness and anger.

I explained the plan in sign language that I learned in class.

[You take care of the four who are far away with your bow. I’ll take care of the four who are close.]

A question arose in Ann’s eyes.

‘Shit.’

I forgot for a moment because she was acting so smart. This friend didn’t take the explorer class.

‘Still, if she’s an archer, she should be from a hunter’s family, so wouldn’t she have learned some sign language?’

I swallowed my doubts.

I put my mouth to Ann’s ear and whispered.

“You kill the four who are far away. I’ll kill the rest.”

“Yes.”

The torch I had was already extinguished and my sword was drawn.

Dean’s mouth was tightly bound with rope, so the surprise attack preparation was perfect.

Ann and Jeong Yu-shin looked at each other.

I nodded and charged.

I lowered my body and ran so as not to narrow Ann’s field of vision.

“Kieek?”

The closest goblin raised its head.

Tseu-ack!

The sword flashed and the goblin’s neck flew into the air.

‘One down.’

At the same time, an arrow flew and pierced the chest of a goblin far away.

In the chaotic atmosphere, some goblins got flustered and stood up from their seats.

I swung the edge of my shield and broke their necks.

Ududuck.

The goblin stuck out its tongue and fell to the side.

I smashed one guy’s head with the pommel and kicked the last guy in the stomach.

Thwack!

The goblin flew out with the sound of its stomach bursting.

Meanwhile, the arrow that Ann fired pierced the chest of the last goblin.

“Keuek!”

Thud.

The goblin, clutching its chest, screamed and fell.

Jeong Yu-shin approached the goblin with the crushed abdomen.

He was throwing up blood from his mouth, but he wasn’t dead yet.

I stepped on his neck with my work boots and crushed it.

Pudeudeuk.

While I was looking around to see if there were any goblins who weren’t quite dead, Ann ran towards Marie and hugged her limp body.

“Marie! Marie!”

Marie’s condition was not good.

Her whole body was covered in semen, and one of her eyes was crushed, mixed with shattered eyeball fragments and blood, as if she had been hit with a blunt object.

First, as an emergency measure, I poured rubbing wine on her to wipe away the fragments and hardened blood, and then wrapped her with a clean bandage.

“What about potions?”

“I used them all.”

Seeing my suspicious expression, I shook the empty potion bottle in front of Ann’s eyes.

It was getting scary to come this far now.

I had the conviction that she had the personality to shoot an arrow into the back of my head if the opportunity arose.

Ann wiped the semen off Marie’s body and hugged her.

Ann spoke to her several times, but.

“Ugh..eh…eh..”

Marie, with a completely broken mind, only made strange noises intermittently, like a broken doll.

‘Hee hee hee and ugh eh eh.’

A crazy friend and a broken friend.

She was alive, but her future life looked difficult.

Of course, a difficult life was only a story if she survived here.

I searched the hobgoblin corpses and the backpacks scattered around to replenish the necessary supplies. Fortunately, Marie’s backpack was also found.

There was a candle and a candlestick, just like Ann said.

‘It’s huge.’

It was only a little smaller compared to a torch.

“Now, if we can just save Karl…”

Jeong Yu-shin’s whole body was filled with goosebumps at Ann’s muttering.

“Karl is dead. Just like this.”

I held up a goblin whose head was crushed by the pommel.

“He died with his head flat and his eyeballs popping out like crabs. I told you.”

“…”

“You can’t believe it?”

Ruin was one step closer.