Two days passed since I encountered that wagon attacked by a horde of goblins, and since then, I spent most of my time reading the books I got and exploring the surrounding area. While my progress on magic is below minimal, I am a little better on the exploring side of things and found several points of interest, starting with a cave with an iron door.

 

I was unsure why there was a door middle of a forest, and since I didn't manage to open it no matter how hard I tried, I just decided to leave it alone back then, but Voice spilled some knowledge about it, so I think I must consider myself lucky.

 

"An entrance to what appears to be a dungeon. Anomalies in the world filled with monsters and great treasures, many young who are eager to get rich at an early age are quite fond of them."

 

Maybe too much detail, but I cannot enter there, so that place is probably not that important for me right now.

 

The next landmark was two statues, well, their remainings. I failed to identify what they were since they looked like a human but not entirely. Add to that. This world showed me it has more primates intelligent like humans. So, I just enjoyed its calm and beautiful environment and rested there for an hour or so.

 

To give more details about the statues, it was two humans with barrel-like bodies and long beards reaching to their knees. Their large heads were almost abnormal as their short and thick legs. The whole thing without the details looked more like a rectangle than a humanoid statue, but one cannot argue over the preferred art style.

 

Now I must finish this talk. I have something on my plate today. I saw a small group of goblin scouts nearby when I was out this morning. I still have their tracks, and I think I can find them, so eliminate them before they come too close to my shelter.

 

                                            

                                                                                                          *****

 

Not sure if it's wise to do, but I am currently following the goblins I spotted. There are six of them, and they are moving towards a location, but where? It's been ten minutes since I began tracking them, but at every step, I am taking the risk of being discovered, and I must remember what that guy from the raided wagon said. There are hundreds of them.

 

Those numbers are terrifying. I doubt any animal in this forest can withstand such force. Better to not get caught by one of their waves of green hairy death. But isn't that why I am following them in the first place?

 

I followed the goblins and did everything to avoid making any sounds, from avoiding stepping on branches to picking less muddy terrain for my path. All my efforts give their fruit. I managed to hide my presence through the whole journey and arrived at a small camp that I assume made by goblins at the gate of the dungeon I discovered. That is quite the coincidence.

 

At first glance, this looks pretty unnecessary, but remember what that looted wagon and the amount of jewelry I got from that scout group. They carry anything valuable and consume what they can on the point, and the rest is left to rot. That means these creatures have a need or desire for treasure, and, at least according to Voice, dungeons have what they want.

 

They have numbers on their side too. I count at least ten outside with one hobgoblin. The small group I followed entered the camp, gibbered something to a goblin with a helmet, and entered the dungeon. Lucky me, these things have poor eyesight, and I can watch the whole thing from a safe distance.

 

Another group of goblins arrived, a much larger group consisting of two hobgoblins and around fifty small ones. When they arrived, all the goblins outside, except four, entered the dungeon. At that point, I am sure they are after something inside, and damn me for not being able to control myself from checking it.

 

After waiting for five minutes or so, I carefully moved towards the goblin camp, leaped towards the first guard left behind with my sword, and cleaved his head away from his shoulders, but sadly I wasn't much silent.

 

Other guards got into alarm mode, and one of them began running toward the dungeon. Before it entered, I dashed to the door and tackled the goblin. I stabbed the monster from its eyes to kill at the point and turned towards the other two guards.

 

One is holding a dagger while the other is holding a spear. Two goblins are not a threat, especially in an open place, but I prefer to act a little more carefully than getting wounded.

 

I did the first step by moving towards the one holding the dagger, I have the range advantage, so if I can use it, it will die before others can react to it.

 

The goblin holding the dagger began hitting the ground and screaming like a chimpanzee. Perhaps it is trying to intimidate me. How bad it doesn't work.

 

I pointed my sword toward the goblin and quickly closed the remaining distance between us. The monster jumped from the ground and leaped towards me like a rabbit, holding its dagger with both hands, ready to stab.

 

I thrust my sword towards the goblin and skewered it. Goblins weight caused it to fall through the sword. Sharp edges of the blade cut through the monster's flesh until it got stopped by a bone. I swung my sword to throw the corpse away, but that caused me to lose my balance a bit.

 

Now I must be careful about the one with the spear.

 

And as I opened my mouth, a spear thrust right next to my stomach. I barely managed to act and dodge the attack, but the little creature wasn't stopping with only one.

 

Thrust after thrust, the goblin used my current imbalanced state to its advantage, but I had enough time to recover. I blocked its attack and pushed its spear away with a swing of my sword, then I immediately charged forward and cleaved through the goblin's neck with a single powerful slash.

 

My road to the more dangerous zone is now clear. I moved through the entrance gate and took my first step inside.

                              

Entering the dungeon, I felt something weird but nice. I cannot describe it neither Voice is answering me, but there is a strange but charming scent in the air. Still, I cannot say I am happy about this place.

 

I just moved from a snowy forest to a medieval castle corridor, an abnormally long corridor with absurd things like still-lit torches everywhere and banners with a silver spider in the middle placed on the walls now and then.

 

Thankfully, corpses of monsters scattered through the corridor make me feel at home, and by home, I mean the freezing shit hole I call outside.

 

And the goblins who came here are fighting their way through the dungeon. And their enemies? Skeletons, better-equipped ones, but still, skeletons. I wonder who supplies this place with so many human bones.

 

But I believe it is not mine to ask this question, and I am not sure if I want to know it either, so let's not ask. Better keep moving since my green friends are opening the way for me.

                                                                                                                *****

 

After a ten-minute walk, I arrived at a split. There are two corridors in front of me. I hear war cries of goblins and clashes of weapons from the left path and no sound from the right one. Now, I believe that means the left is currently swarmed by goblins brute forcing their way through the corridors, which I must avoid considering their numbers.

 

I suddenly felt something crawling to my leg. I immediately moved away and looked to the ground. A skeleton without a lower body is holding a polehammer in its left hand and trying to move and grab me with the right hand.

 

"Look at this hammer." I pulled it away from the skeleton's hand. "A weapon good to crush bones. Isn't it ironic you are carrying this, my friend? Well, thank you for it." I smashed the skeleton's head with one swing of the hammer. Using this feels different from using a mace. I can feel an insane power behind every attack.

 

I swung the hammer around and tested its weight. It feels nice in my hand, and I can even use it with one hand. Am I getting my muscles back or what? Well, this is a beautiful weapon, perfect for this spot. It has a blunt side suitable for crushing and a side with a spike designed to pierce, plus a spear-like part at the top to shoo away anything. 

 

I looked at the non-goblin-infested right side, then to my new weapon. "Well, it will be fun."