Episode 7: Underground CityI'm full. Satisfied. There's food for tomorrow too.
Kirin Kal felt relieved. Knowing there was food made him feel much more at ease.
The food was the corpse of his kin, but cannibalism was commonplace in goblin society.
It wasn't something to be criticized or pointed fingers at.
Gurgle.
Kirin Kal, who had been basking in happiness, contorted his face.
A mix of frustration and irritation filled him. Originally, he didn't want to eat his kin either.
If there was enough food, there was no reason to hunt his own kind.
Food. Yes, food was the problem.
The strange barrier at the cave entrance prevented anyone from going outside.
Goblin society was built on plunder and hunting.
If they couldn't go outside, society couldn't be sustained.
They did farm inside the caves. But it wasn't enough to feed everyone.
Food was scarce. They couldn't go outside.
What followed was cannibalism.
The population that once filled the village had drastically decreased.
Within a month of the strange barrier appearing, more than half had vanished.
If this continued, it would mean collapse.
The Chieftain personally stepped forward to strictly forbid cannibalism.
Execution for eating kin.
Execution for eating one's own child.
Absolute execution was enforced.
If violated, you'd be executed while sleeping.
The executed corpse would be turned into food rations for the village.
It was appropriate timing.
About 300 could be controlled within the village.
Though they barely survived on meager crop rations, at least they didn't starve.
Thanks to his orders, he prevented the village from collapsing.
But Kirin Kal couldn't understand.
The strong eating the weak was natural.
That was the way of the world. The Chieftain's orders went against this.
'I won't obey the Chieftain. The weak deserve to be eaten.'
He'd killed and eaten his kin. He'd already defied the Chieftain's words.
If caught, he was dead anyway. If he had to die, it was better to die after eating.
He headed toward his hidden food stash.
It was the burrow assigned to him.
A hole that used to have many rats.
Now it yielded nothing.
No rats meant no food for him.
He had to survive on the meager daily rations.
His body was still growing. Without proper nutrition, his growth would stall.
The limits were becoming clear.
He'd been recognized for his talent. He became the disciple of the village's greatest swordsman.
He didn't want to fall behind for such a ridiculous reason before even blooming.
So he killed his kin. The one who made rat traps for him.
Though there would be no one to make traps now, there were no rats anyway.
Turning a useless being into food was a rational choice.
He convinced himself. Calmed his anxiety.
If caught by the Chieftain, he was dead anyway.
This self-justification was needed to stop the trembling.
Kirin Kal walked briskly deep into the burrow.
It was originally used as an entrance. But now that the entrance was blocked by a translucent barrier, it was useless except for the rats that used to appear. Now even that sole value was gone.
Kirin Kal walked through the cave.
Near the entrance was a secret space only he knew.
A hard-to-find spot requiring crouching to enter.
Perfect for hiding food.
He crouched. Entered the secret space.
His hidden food came into view. Though he'd eaten much yesterday, plenty remained.
Drool dripped from his mouth. He couldn't resist his appetite. He crawled toward the food. This time he'd eat the leg. The thigh was the tastiest part.
Gurgle?
Kirin Kal frowned. The untouched portion was gone. A hole remained as if someone had eaten it.
Keeeaaak!
He raged. He'd find and kill whoever stole his food.
He turned. What he saw was a crimson monster covering him.
Gluuurgggle
The crimson creature enveloped his face. Intense heat simultaneously scorched his skin.
In excruciating pain, Kirin Kal lost consciousness.
* * * *
Thud.
The Big Goblin collapsed. I immediately unequipped Exceptional Mutation and equipped Rapid Metabolism.
Death's Countdown activated.
Strength surged through my body. Tentacles coiled around the Big Goblin's neck. Kill it before it regains consciousness.
Crrrrunch.
Bones grated. But not enough to break.
Not enough strength.
No choice. I gave up on breaking bones.
Instead, I strangled it. Compressing the neck to induce suffocation.
Ghk... Ghk...
Breath cut off. The Big Goblin flailed its arms.
An arm grasping at nothing fell to the ground.
I checked for a heartbeat. None.
The Big Goblin was fully dead.
I released my tentacles.
I'd hunted a goblin. A Big Goblin at that.
"Thanks to the artifact. Would've been tough without it."
It was all thanks to the artifact.
I rolled the artifact inside me.
Though Death's Countdown was active, the ring didn't melt.
[You can digest the ring. Digest it?]
I pressed n.
"Don't even know what 'digesting' means."
The ring had no traits.
Didn't know what would happen digesting inanimate objects.
Might gain nothing from digestion.
The unfriendly system already had precedents.
It conveniently omitted explanations about evolution and levels.
"That bastard tends to omit important things. Should experiment with cheap artifacts first."
Could use artifacts without digesting them.
No need to rush.
[Obtained Average Physique (Goblin).]
Got a trait. The Small Goblin had Frail Body.
Slightly bigger, so got a higher-tier trait.
I immediately equipped it.
[Name:Lee Chan-hwi]
[LV1]
[Class:Predator]
[Strength:8.0001]
[Stamina:8.0001]
[Agility:8.0001]
[Mana:1.0001]
[Vitality:MAX]
[Traits Owned]:[Rainbow Shell×3][Sturdy Insect Shell×5][Insect Shell×23][Tenacious Vitality×9][Rapid Metabolism×2][Frail Body×5][Agile Body++][Agile Body+]
[Equipped Traits]:[Average Physique][Rapid Metabolism][Sturdy Insect Shell]
[Characteristics]:[Hardness][Death's Countdown]
'Average Physique increases Strength/Agility/Stamina by 7.'
For reference, Frail Body increased them by 3.
I climbed down from the Big Goblin.
Need to eat quickly before it spoils.
Plan was to eat the Small Goblin first, then the Big one.
Though my fist-sized body was small, increased digestion speed let me consume the corpse quickly.
By lunchtime, only bones remained of the Small Goblin.
[Obtained Frail Body.]
[Obtained Goblin Hand.]
Frail Body increased to 5.
And got a new trait.
Goblin Hand. Useless trait with no stat changes when equipped.
Its characteristic was "Manual Dexterity," allowing better hand control.
But I had no hands.
'Ah, do tentacles count as hands?'
The only hand-like parts on my body were tentacles.
As a test, I stacked stones with tentacles.
Easier than without the trait equipped.
So the characteristic does apply.
Still useless regardless.
"Even dead, you're no help."
I looked at the Small Goblin with pity.
Useless even in death.
I gathered its bones.
Then ate the Big Goblin.
"No flavor at all. Wish I could taste something."
Disappointing. Either I lacked taste buds or couldn't perceive flavor.
Monster protagonists in novels retain their taste and enjoy flavors.
If I had that pleasure, monster life would be easier.
'Could my evolution path be different?'
My evolution was incomplete. Because conditions weren't met.
The method was entering a female's reproductive organ.
'Love juice probably doesn't taste good either, right?'
High possibility.
Evolution fulfills needs.
Since I needed to enter females, it made sense.
"...Let's stop thinking about that."
Lewd thoughts surfaced.
Since becoming a monster, my libido increased.
Especially after abandoning morality, dirty thoughts came constantly.
"Can't relieve my urges. Going crazy."
I knew how to relieve these urges.
Evolving. Another reason to escape quickly.
I spent time entertaining lewd thoughts.
Digesting the Small Goblin took about a day and a half.
The Big Goblin took 1.5 times longer. Over two days consumed.
Gained two Average Physiques and two Swordsmanship Factors (Goblin).
Neither had applicable characteristics for me.
Swordsmanship Factor didn't even increase stats.
But not completely empty-handed.
[Conditions met. Consumed two or more Goblin Memory DNA. Can now understand goblin language.]
Now understood goblin speech.
Unsure of its use...but since goblins have language, might be helpful.
I piled bones in the secret space. Bones weren't cost-effective.
No nutrients and took over twice the digestion time.
"Good. Now head deeper."
Obtained all available traits.
Time to focus on clearing the dungeon.
Left the nest. No more business here.
Until recently, I moved cautiously here.
But now, nothing here threatened me.
I moved openly through the cave's center.
Jumped. My elastic body bounced like a rubber ball.
Boing. Boing. Boing.
Bounced like a childhood bouncy ball.
Moved forward.
Fastest speed since becoming a monster.
Passed the giant rock that was my former nest.
Ahead lay unexplored territory.
I tensed up completely.
Gurgle. (Hungry...)
Keeeak! (Angry!)
Faint goblin cries began echoing.
The screeches sounded the same, but meanings now translated.
Slowed my speed. Moved cautiously to observe outside the cave.
'Fuck...why so huge?'
Shocked. Expected a tiny village of maybe 30.
But what appeared surpassed imagination.
Underground City.
Goblins built a massive underground city in the caves.
500? Maybe approaching a thousand.
The city's scale matched those numbers.
'Can I even clear this dungeon?'
Overwhelmed by scale. Numbers ruled supreme.
Struggling against two at once was hard enough.
But hundreds? No chance of victory.
'But can't live like this forever. I'll survive and escape.'
Gripped my wavering resolve. Won't break so easily.
"Hurry, hurry! Can't be late for the Chieftain's meeting!"
A goblin's voice. I stealthily moved my core toward the sound.
A high-ranking looking goblin was berating others.
"Still no sign of Kirin Kal?"
"Y-yes...Haven't seen him for two days."
"What about his assigned attendant?"
"Same situation."
"Understood. Head to the Chieftain's fortress first. We'll find him later. Only one place he'd go..."
The goblin signaled. A palanquin moved. Porters followed the departing litter.
I leaped down. Landed inside the last porter's basket.
Inside the swaying basket. I hid while observing outside.
The goblins' underground city was far more advanced than I imagined.
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