Chương 44: Chapter 48: Down Undergound (I)

Despite Benny's overenthusiasm, the party didn't immediately pursue the goblins. There were still a few nursing their wounds, while others were far from their optimal condition to have another brawl. Besides, it was still early in the morning, hours before their usual time of operation. Ember intended to fill his stomach with some leftovers when Elin walked up to him.

"We need to talk," she said. Then, without even giving him a chance to accept or decline, she darted off to a secluded spot adjacent to the rundown camp. Well, I knew this was coming, he thought, exhaling deeply. Since she was being so considerate, he decided to accept the invitation without beating around the bush.

"You have been sneaking around at night to hunt," Elin said. It wasn't a question. He waited for her to continue.

"That's a good way to challenge your skills, but seeing what happened today, it would be prudent that you do not wander off without notice." Ember nodded agreeably. The high noble girl stared at him with a deep frown between her brows, perhaps thinking her words weren't getting through his skull.

"I'm not just asking you," she said.

"I'm warning you. It would be best for you individually, and us as a group, to stick together." She returned to the camp, leaving those words behind, not bothering to even hear a reply. Zea crept into her place to ask while Ember was thinking it over.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"Exactly what you are thinking," he replied absentmindedly.

"She doesn't want us wandering off in the night."

"I guess that's for the best." She seemed to notice the disagreement in his expression and asked, "You don't agree?" Ember shrugged. It mattered not whether he agreed or not.

"You know, it isn't all as easy as you think," Zea said, patting his shoulder.

"The wetland might appear as an easy hunting ground, but people have lost their lives here." She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "The high clans, hell, even our own families, take it as a gamble. Even if one in ten or even one in twenty managed to rise among the true elites through the challenges, they wouldn't care if a few lost their lives." A frown tugged on his brows as he considered her words.

He knew the high society of the ascendants was cutthroat, but he didn't believe the ones in power would be cruel enough to treat even those barely of adolescent age so harshly. Well, if he were to think deeply on it, it certainly seemed the way the high nobles operated. After all, how else would you teach these pompous brats born with a silver spoon in their mouths humility and the order of the world? They might have even staged this goblin attack to push some trouble in their way.

Either way, Ember had to play a more team-oriented game from now on. They didn't find any goblins that day. The groups went about the hunt as usual, hunting those mirewood toads in flocks. Regrettably, Ember had to halt his money-making schemes during the night, as he was one of the few given the duty of night watch. Well, the harder criteria for upgrading his Hunter title should have already been met. Now he only needed to work diligently on improving the Hunting skill.

On the fourth day since the attack at the camp, they finally came across the path to the goblins' dens. It was a wide grotto beside a lake on the west side that went further deep into the underground region where the goblins dwelled. They hadn't encountered any goblins so far, though their activity was evident from the dead creatures and more subtle signs they had left behind. Goblins were more intelligent than most low-levelled monsters, but they clearly had no clue about hiding their tracks.

The group lay in wait a few hundred metres from the grotto, only to discover no activity near it.

"So what are we waiting for?" Benny said impatiently.

"Let's dive in and kill those green twerps." Elin shot him a look before turning her gaze to the group collectively.

"We're going to prepare first." If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"What's there to prepare?" She spared her cousin a look.

"I have some ideas I'd like to apply, and tweak the battle formations before we enter the underground terrain." Despite all her skills and abilities, Dawn wasn't particularly good at combat. That fact seemed to be only magnified by her deep-seated repulsion of the very act of killing. Even if it were some monsters, she would always snipe a spell at them from afar, killing them before they even noticed. Of course, she wasn't always so lucky as to manage that, especially in the case of fighting these goblins.

It had barely been a couple of hours since she traversed into the subterranean regions, and she had already faced packs of them. The first time, it was only a small group, and she managed to evade them with ease. Sadly, she wasn't so lucky with this flock of miscreants. With the region being their breeding ground, Dawn had no other choice but to engage in a fight. She barely managed to kill a couple from afar when the rest ganged up on her, bursting into raucous curses and swearing.

It didn't help that she could understand their tongue.

"Capture that vicious bitch!" cried the goblin shaman, flinging her staff to send a burst of fire in Dawn's path.

"Knock her down, or break her limbs and bind her into submission if you have to, but make sure she lives!" Dawn conjured up a force shield to obstruct the fire.

"Bleh, human girl has no meat, all skin and bones," barked the hobgoblin protecting the shaman.

"We'll have to fatten her up to become a good bed warmer!" Only with her high mental fortitude did Dawn manage to keep herself calm against their nasty tongue. A riled head was hardly good for meticulous spellcraft. Yes, her anger might help in boosting her firepower, but that would come at the expense of mana and Will. Withdrawing to her left, she flung a barrage of mana bolts at the dozen-odd goblins. Most in the pack were Tier 4, so her common mana bolts would only be able to inflict some flesh wounds.

But then again, her intention wasn't really to slaughter this pack of goblins. It wouldn't make much difference if she killed them all. Considering how fast goblins bred and operated, there should be no shortage of these detestable miscreatures here. Even after clearing pack after pack, she could gain nothing from the goblins. Well, the shaman's staff and some other gear could fetch a good few coins, but Dawn was never short on money. Goblins were known to be the biggest wimps among the Forsaken creatures.

So long as she managed to make them flee and save herself the trouble, she would take it as a win. Her real purpose wasn't really related to these goblins after all.

"With me!" shouted a rowdy one as he took a few others to encircle her.

"A human cunt is warm all seasons, us brothers have no fear for the coming fall."

"Shut up, you lot," the shaman shouted piercingly, "the human woman is for the Chief to be deflowered."

"But we can take t—" Before it could finish, Dawn shot a fiery spear at the goblin, causing it to tumble over in fear as the spell pierced through its chest, saving herself from its vile tongue. Even with someone of her temperament, there was a limit to what she could take. Dawn had had enough of these depraved creatures. She didn't stop there. Accessing more depths of her mana, she multicast half a dozen fiery spells into existence, hurling them all towards the spawns surrounding her.

Being the wusses they were, the goblins scattered, while the shaman conjured a protective shield to obstruct her casting. With a command of her Will and abundant mana, fiery arrows manifested one after another around her. Dawn wasted no time in pointing her wand at the vile spawns. With the gesture, the arrows streaked across the dark chasm to strike one goblin after another. She hadn't held back much. Her spells, already at the threshold of Tier 4, killed indiscriminately among the goblins' numbers.

Most of the unlucky ones died as the spells dug through their chests and burst out their hearts and inner organs. A few others managed to evade them, though they were still inflicted with deep flesh wounds, purple blood gushing incessantly from the lacerations. Without medical help, they were as good as dead within a couple of hours. But of course, it wasn't all one-sided just because she decided to change her mind.

Dawn was still unclassed, and her teachers had evaluated her combat capabilities as barely passable for her rank and tier. The goblin shaman obstructed half of her spells with a fiery shield, while the hobgoblin charged after Dawn. Not only that, the goblins at the back shot slingshots. Although she managed to block them, the beads exploded on contact, throwing her off balance. Only by conjuring her protective ward did she manage to shield herself from injury and continue hurtling those fiery arrows.

As for the shaman who was impeding her spells, Dawn decided to cast a potent Tier 4 Stone Spike. The large projectile clawed through the fiery defence with little to no effort and plunged into her. At once, the ugly shaman coughed blood and fell unconscious against the cold stone floor. Now only the larger, metre-and-a-half-tall hobgoblin remained standing, with the pesky weaker ones fleeing at their chance. Of course, there were still some audacious ones spouting curses at her.

Dawn returned the favour by making them eat her fire. The hobgoblin didn't contend with her anymore, choosing to flee while taking the shaman on his back. The hierarchy in the goblin clans was straightforward. First came the goblin king, then the chiefs, the ordained shamans, and finally the hobgoblins, which were distributed into various positions of power. Dawn didn't stop it, though she didn't refrain from targeting the flailing body of the shaman.

She managed to inflict a gashing wound on her back before their figures faded into the darkness. Its life and death would now depend on how fast the hobgoblin could take it back to their clan. That was of no concern to Dawn. Exhaling deeply, she let go of her hold over her mana, eyes darting to the mangled corpses strewn across the stony pit. Finding the shaman's staff lying among the corpses, she decided to pick it up without thinking.

The fire staff was definitely crudely made: a half-metre black branch with a fiery bead etched on the top end. It only utilised the bead of fire crystal and runes to amplify the shaman's innate fire spells. Nothing too extravagant. Of course, someone with a minor to higher fire attunement would benefit greatly from its aid. After all, a staff was always better than a wand.

It might not be better than the one she carried, but she might be able to use the fire crystal to create some loud and explosive spectacle one day. With that thought, she decided to keep it. Dawn had barely even accessed her storage when a chill ran down her spine. Without ceremony, she flung herself forward as an arrow exploded behind her.

"Devon, I told you, I should be the one to make the shot. Look, you have frightened the lass."