Moros had a feeling something was off.
All he'd wanted was to show off a little in front of Lord Sharlock — to get a solid foothold in this dungeon, to earn His Lordship's approval. So he'd handpicked his ten best-performing goblins and planned to capture a subterranean spider alive, to use as a training prop for the players.
The ten goblins he'd picked were, of course, only supposed to be his assistants. But looking at it now, these goblins had turned into his biggest stumbling block!
One goblin, the words 【BurningChestHair】 blazing over his head in big green letters, had charged out a hundred meters or so, climbed up to high ground, and was scanning the surroundings, looking tense as hell.
Moros had actually taken up the whole "green names floating over their heads" issue with Lord Sharlock before, but His Lordship had waved it off with a casual reply: "That's just a little trick to keep them motivated. Don't you worry about it."
Since His Lordship himself couldn't care less about a cheap little mana trick like that, Moros had stopped asking questions.
"All clear up ahead — no subterranean spiders in sight!"
That was BurningChestHair, back from his scouting run in no time with that report.
"We can't let our guard down, guys. This quest is one life only — you die, it's a fail, no do-overs. If things go sideways and there's too many spiders, we turn and RUN. Do not hesitate!"
So spake the goblin with 【xX_ShadowBlade_Xx】 over his head, dead serious as he briefed the squadmates beside him.
The one with 【Arthur】 over his head — Moros's top pick, the goblin he figured had the best shot at becoming a proper warrior first — was just as grim and focused, busily honing his blade on a rock.
The rest of them? Don't even get him started. Full-on maximum-security posture, everybody spread out in a protective ring around Moros. Worse than that — right to his face, they started planning out how they'd coordinate the spider capture, and if things got dangerous, who'd sacrifice himself to pin the subterranean spider down so the others could escape, and so on...
"ENOUGH! If you all think this mission is some sightseeing trip, you can turn around and march back right now! You, up front on lookout duty — you TRYING to give away our position? And the rest of you crowding around me like this — the second we spot the target, how am I supposed to be first in to grab it? Are YOU gonna grab it?"
Moros's patience had been sanded down to nothing, and he roared that at the goblins around him — the ones who apparently didn't regard their trainer as worth so much as a glance of respect.
Wasn't HE supposed to be the main character of this mission? Weren't the goblins supposed to tiptoe along behind him, terrified that one wrong step would cost them their lives? Sure, they kept going on about how "if you die, the quest fails" and all that, but Moros couldn't detect so much as a speck of death-fear in them. If anything, the way they kept staring at HIM was weird as hell. Were these snot-nosed, full-of-themselves goblins afraid for MY life? Were they just that confident that they weren't the ones dying?
It made Moros feel like THEY were the stars of this mission — like his own skills were being called into question. After he blew up, the goblins quit the chit-chat, quickly fell back in behind him on his orders, and the squad moved out in formation once more.
"This trainer NPC is a whole personality, huh? The AI on this thing is insane — it actually interacts with players in real time?"
"Keep it down, dude, he'll hear you! If he actually sends you back and revokes your quest slot, that whole trip was for nothing."
"They wouldn't really boot us from the quest just for talking to each other... right?"
"Hard to say, man. This game's SO realistic, nothing would surprise me at this point!"
The goblins just couldn't keep the whispering down. Moros was winding up for round two of the yelling when Arthur suddenly cut in, urgent:
"Shh — everybody quiet! Something's out there!"
Arthur's warning snapped everyone to full alert. Moros went into a half-crouch, and quickly spotted two subterranean spiders emerging from behind a boulder at the nest entrance ahead — and those two spiders had clearly spotted Moros's party as well. This chapter was taken from novelping(.)com without permission.
"We kill one first! The rest of you, go draw the other one's aggro!"
Moros barked the order, then charged straight at the two subterranean spiders, with xX_ShadowBlade_Xx and the others following him in.
Moros was lightning fast. As he closed on one of the subterranean spiders, he suddenly leaped high and slashed down at its eyes and mouthparts, trailing a streak of green blood — clean, no wasted motion.
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Just as Moros was lining up hit number two, the subterranean spider raised its two front legs to attack. Moros didn't panic in the slightest — he focused up, ready to dodge the strike and land a killing blow in the same instant. But right as he coiled to spring, he saw a goblin by the name of xX_ShadowBlade_Xx come barreling in from the side, ramming straight into one of the spider's legs. That leg skewered xX_ShadowBlade_Xx clean through the belly in one go, and the subterranean spider lost its balance because of it. Moros just stood there, dumbstruck. Did this goblin not want to LIVE?
Still — thanks to xX_ShadowBlade_Xx's spirit of self-sacrifice, Moros seized the spider's moment of lost balance, charged in, and slit the subterranean spider's belly wide open with one stroke. The thing let out an ear-splitting screech of grinding chitin, toppled over, and stopped moving — with xX_ShadowBlade_Xx still shish-kabobbed on its leg.
Moros couldn't exactly stop to check whether xX_ShadowBlade_Xx was alive, so he hustled off to deal with the other subterranean spider. The remaining goblins carried out Moros's orders beautifully, ringing up the lone spider and hammering away at its legs with the combat techniques Moros had drilled into them. Between the lot of them, they soon chopped two of the subterranean spider's legs into uselessness, then took the iron chains they'd brought and wrapped the thing around and around — three layers this way, three layers that. With Moros pitching in on top of that, pretty soon every last one of the subterranean spider's legs was bound up in chains, completely immobilized.
The subterranean spider capture plan was a solid success — it just came at the cost of one goblin's life. Moros figured that couldn't be helped. If that goblin had followed his orders and worked the other spider with the rest of the squad, they might not have been able to CATCH it, but pinning it down would've been no problem at all.
Moros for the life of him could not understand why that goblin had come charging in to die. The only explanation was that he'd done it to protect Moros — but real talk, we've known each other for less than a day. Was it really worth going to THAT length for me?
Moros told the other goblins to keep a firm grip on the iron chains, then hurried over to xX_ShadowBlade_Xx's side.
xX_ShadowBlade_Xx was still alive, but the spider's leg had gone clean through his belly, the sheer force of the impact punching through his armor. Clearly, a subterranean spider's impaling attacks were more than the current armor could fully stop.
Bright red blood ran out all over the ground. xX_ShadowBlade_Xx wasn't talking — one hand gripped the spider leg while the other worked his shortsword against it, sawing away. With every violent motion, blood poured from his mouth, and Moros could see it: the man was trying to cut through the spider's leg to save himself. What a ferocious will to survive! What rock-solid character!
By this point, Moros's heart was brimming with admiration for xX_ShadowBlade_Xx. Sure, that suicide-charge just now had made zero sense, but on sheer never-say-die willpower alone, the guy had already earned the title of a proper warrior. No — an OUTSTANDING warrior!
And an outstanding warrior should not have to die in agony like this!
"Brother, I don't understand why you protected me like this, but I will remember you forever." Moros watched xX_ShadowBlade_Xx keep up his futile struggle, let out a sigh, drew his shortsword still smeared with green blood, grabbed xX_ShadowBlade_Xx by the shoulder, and prepared to give his throat one clean stroke — to release him from the pain.
"Whoa whoa whoa — what are you DOING?" xX_ShadowBlade_Xx had been wondering why this newbie trainer NPC was suddenly talking to him — hidden quest, maybe? Then he watched the newbie trainer NPC bring that shortsword straight at his own neck. xX_ShadowBlade_Xx panicked, threw up his hands to block, and grabbed the blade without a second thought. Awesome. Now his palm was gashed open too, right before dying.
"You are a brave warrior, and I shall grant you a brave warrior's death. Go forth with courage — may all be well with you in the Realm of the Dead!" Moros said it with an aching heart, pushed xX_ShadowBlade_Xx's hand aside, and moved the shortsword back toward xX_ShadowBlade_Xx's neck. "Shh. Don't talk. It'll be over soon..."
"WAIT! I think I'm still savable! Arthur! ChestHair! Come help me!"
xX_ShadowBlade_Xx hollered again with exactly that.
Arthur and BurningChestHair came rushing over right away, and seeing the two of them approach, xX_ShadowBlade_Xx hurriedly said:
"Brothers, help a guy out — get me off this thing, I'm stuck on this leg and I can't move. Also, WHY is this NPC trying to kill me? What the hell? Is that a new game mechanic — past a certain injury threshold you count as dead?" While xX_ShadowBlade_Xx went on like that, Arthur and BurningChestHair headed over. They weren't too clear on the situation either, but they got ready to help xX_ShadowBlade_Xx hack through the spider leg. Find the original chapter at novelping . com.
Moros watched from the side, absolutely stunned. What in the world? How did this guy not look like he was in ANY pain?! You take a spider leg that size through the stomach, your organs and guts should be pureed mush by now, right? Even if you didn't die, you ought to be screaming yourself unconscious. The lucky ones just pass out cold and die in their coma; the unlucky ones get a few more hours of torture on top — and clearly xX_ShadowBlade_Xx was the unlucky type! All Moros wanted was to grant the man release, but he seemed REALLY against it. Shouldn't he be grabbing my hand right about now and gasping out "Thank you, teacher!" or something along those lines?
While Moros stood there in a daze, Arthur and xX_ShadowBlade_Xx finished hacking through the spider leg and got xX_ShadowBlade_Xx back on his feet. xX_ShadowBlade_Xx tried taking a couple steps on his own, but the wound was just too severe — with pain perception switched off, nothing hurt exactly, but his legs had gone soft and wouldn't hold him steady.
Nothing for it — Arthur and BurningChestHair had to hold him up between them.
Since xX_ShadowBlade_Xx figured he was still savable and wanted to keep fighting, Moros gave up on granting him a warrior's dignified death. He still found it strange that xX_ShadowBlade_Xx showed no pain whatsoever, but in his heart he'd already decided it was xX_ShadowBlade_Xx's stubborn iron willpower holding him upright.
What happened next, though, plunged Moros right back into shock and confusion.
Because it wasn't just xX_ShadowBlade_Xx rocking that "death is whatever, come at me" energy — the other goblins acted like they couldn't care less whether xX_ShadowBlade_Xx lived or died, and were even laughing and joking about it.
"xX_ShadowBlade_Xx, dude, that move was INSANE. We hadn't even processed what was happening and you were already in there body-blocking."
"Yeah, for real! If you hadn't eaten that hit, the whole quest might've failed!"
"Absolute legend!"
Everybody showered xX_ShadowBlade_Xx with praise, while Moros's own brave performance got exactly zero commentary. Moros could not comprehend it. How did this even happen? Shouldn't they be crowding around ME right now, buzzing with gossip?
And it didn't stop there — they kept up the laughing and joking with xX_ShadowBlade_Xx the whole way back, and the kicker is, xX_ShadowBlade_Xx was right there joking back, like the half a spider leg still jammed in his gut simply did not exist. Not even his face going paler and paler, or the blood trailing the entire route, could put a dent in their cheerful conversation. Grief for a dying comrade? Never heard of her!
Dragging the trussed-up subterranean spider, supporting xX_ShadowBlade_Xx between them, chatting and laughing all the way — and just as they were about to reach the entrance of the Eternal Kingdom dungeon, xX_ShadowBlade_Xx finally couldn't hold on any longer, and stopped breathing...
Moros closed his eyes and mourned the brave goblin he'd known for barely a day. In the gladiator pits, a goblin with stones like that would've been a star of the arena for sure.
Moros felt it fell to him to comfort the others. Heavy-hearted, he said:
"Everyone — xX_ShadowBlade_Xx has left us forever. But do not grieve. Let us observe a moment of silent prayer for him."
"Coach, can you hurry up and skip the mourning? Dungeon's right there — I gotta log off for dinner!"
So spake, in a big hurry, the player known as 【BurningChestHair】.
══════════════════════ DUNGEON LORD'S NOTE ═══════════════════════
Moros tried to mercy-kill a skewered ShadowBlade — 'Shh. Don't talk. It'll be over soon' — while the squad joked about his gut wound the whole walk home.
Who suffered more this chapter: Moros or his sanity?
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