Episode 10: The Crumbling City"Meat! It's meat!"
"Meat's being roasted over fire!"
The first to rush to the scene weren't guards.
It was starving goblins.
"Water! Water!"
"We must extinguish the fire quickly!"
"Let's eat it all before others arrive!"
The smell of burning meat drove the goblins mad.
Goblins who fetched water from nearby poured it over the flames.
"Let's eat!"
"Meat. It's meat."
"We didn't hunt this. It's okay to eat."
They tore into the charred goblin corpse.
The goblins devoured it ravenously.
Only bones remained in an instant.
"Stop! What are you eating?!"
Soldiers swarmed in, forcibly disbanding the goblins' modest feast.
"This is Karanche-nim! Karanche-nim is dead!"
The goblins shouted. Apparently, the deceased goblin was someone important.
'Should I have taken just one bite?'
I regretted it. It was a chance to obtain higher-grade traits.
They'd scraped even the bone fragments clean, leaving nothing to scavenge.
"Let's kill all the mages who murdered Karanche-nim!"
"They killed the Chieftain too!"
"This is a declaration of war!"
Soon after, a group marched through the streets - swordsmen with blades at their waists.
They appeared to belong to the same faction as the recently deceased goblin.
'Oh? The division starts already.'
I smirked. Though not part of my plan, the desired outcome had materialized.
I followed the goblins. The enraged goblins arrived before the Mage's mansion.
"Come out, mages!"
"Karanche-nim is dead! Your magic killed him!"
The swordsmen shouted, radiating murderous intent that threatened to erupt any moment.
Yet despite the atmosphere, they merely protested before the mansion.
'They're maintaining reason. Just a little more provocation will make them lose it.'
Advancing further meant all-out war. Though I felt no aversion to killing kin, large-scale battles repelled me.
When killing kin, I only targeted the weak to ensure certain victory.
In battles, my chances of dying increased.
Fear of death kept them from taking that final step forward.
But their anger was evident. Several goblins gripped their sword hilts, unable to contain their fury.
The situation resembled a cup filled to the brim with water.
A single drop would make it overflow.
'Let me help.'
I poured out mana, activating the artifact. A fireball condensed.
An intensely concentrated fireball shot forth.
Boom.
The ground shook. A wall collapsed, revealing terrified goblin servants beyond it.
I'd deliberately targeted the wall to make the swordsmen recognize they weren't dealing with weaklings.
"The mage used magic!"
"They intend to kill us all!"
"Kill them! Kill them all! It's kill or be killed!"
If we don't kill them, we die.
The overwhelming magical power shattered the goblins' reason.
"Fireball."
"Ice Bug."
The one-sided massacre ended quickly.
The silent mages finally acted.
A massive flame sphere shook the earth, dwarfing my fireball in size and power.
Ice-crafted insects flew through the air, freezing whatever they touched.
Just two mages with two spells balanced the battle.
"Guards! Suppress them!"
"Kill the mages!"
Hidden guards emerged.
They blocked the swordsmen while mages rained magic from their elevated position.
The tide turned instantly.
Magic stones provided infinite mana.
A mage with unlimited mana was godlike on the battlefield.
The swordsmen had willingly stuck their heads in the tiger's mouth.
Though they struggled, they couldn't reverse the overturned situation.
"Don't let a single one escape alive."
The swordsmen eventually retreated.
The mage kept his word - not one swordsman who'd stepped into the mansion returned alive.
Corpse Mountain.
A mountain of corpses formed.
I smiled at the mountain. This skyrocketed our dungeon clearance chances.
* * * *
A week passed.
Goblins eating goblins had become common street scenery.
News of the Chieftain's death spread citywide.
Though technically not dead yet - still clinging to life -
Being unable to rule amounted to the same thing.
Goblins cheered upon learning of their leader's demise.
The commander was dead, meaning his prohibition was lifted.
Since that day, goblins resumed cannibalizing their kin.
To sate immediate hunger, they ate their children, attacked neighbors, and preyed on the weak.
Thus a week passed.
The underground city became a ghost town.
More buildings stood silent than showed signs of life.
The city was collapsing rapidly.
Yet the goblins didn't stop cannibalizing.
Keeeeek.
A scream echoed through empty streets.
Having devoured a goblin family and resting in a building, I opened my eyes.
Hunting time.
I left my nest of bones.
The bones all belonged to the goblin family.
An eleven-member extended family.
Since some belonged to the swordsmen faction, I hadn't eaten them earlier.
They'd been upper-class in goblin society.
Now my nutrients, but-
"Four chasing one. One's a Hobgoblin."
Four goblins pursued one.
A common hunting method among goblins.
Using numbers to hunt individuals.
Even if one died, the remaining three gained food for two.
Arithmetically profitable - fewer mouths, more food.
"Keeeeeeek."
The fleeing goblin collapsed, blood flowing from its leg. Apparently one hunter had spat venom.
The momentary weakness from pain decided its fate.
Pursuing goblins surrounded it.
Death throes echoed through the streets.
The pig-slaughter screams faded.
The goblin became minced meat.
"Keeeeek."
The hunting goblins celebrated.
They expressed joy at full volume.
"I'm the biggest. I'll take the most."
The hunt ended with loot distribution.
The largest Hobgoblin claimed the torso.
All greed despite contributing nothing.
"Krrrk. Let's return."
At the Hobgoblin's signal, others followed.
Their loot quantities varied, but all smiled without complaint.
I trailed the goblins.
Planning to eat a Hobgoblin after long last.
The Hobgoblin turned a corner.
"Keek."
I grabbed the neck of the last goblin.
Crunch.
Neckbone snapped like a toothpick - I could now break goblin spines effortlessly.
I placed the limp goblin in a hidden spot.
Planning to eat it later. This was my perfect territory.
No one would take street corpses here.
"Krrk?"
A goblin looked back. The follower was missing.
Panic set in.
"Keek."
I pounced, activating the artifact. Intense heat scorched its head.
After knocking it unconscious with pain, I mercifully broke its neck.
Two remained.
"Krrk, halt."
The Hobgoblin stopped, sensing something. Surprisingly perceptive.
Most never noticed me until death.
'Prey's Intuition isn't warning him. Just an ordinary one.'
No reaction meant no escape from me.
"Who's there?!"
The Hobgoblin shouted. Normally leaders lead, but being goblins, they sent underlings forward.
The subordinate's spear trembled. Comrades had vanished silently.
Terror gripped the underling.
"Show yourself! Or die horribly!"
An empty threat. Had I vocal cords, I'd have laughed.
I answered the call.
[Death's Countdown activated.]
Energy drained. My core heated. Immense power flooded my body.
Gathering strength, I crouched.
Whoosh.
Released energy propelled me like a bullet through air.
My body struck the Hobgoblin's head.
Crunch.
Head shattered. The Hobgoblin couldn't react.
"Hmph. I've grown strong."
From struggling with cockroaches to one-shotting Hobgoblins - impressive growth.
"Keeeeek!"
The underling screamed foolishly - should've fled instead.
"Keuk."
A tentacle shot out like a slingshot, crushing its skull.
Silence fell.
Bodies littered the ground.
I dragged them into a nearby building.
Four neatly stacked corpses.
I ate the Hobgoblin first.
[Obtained Agile Body+.]
"Finally got it."
Immediately opened my Status Window.
Unequipped Agile Body. Had ten now. Could enhance it.
Fed Agile Body traits into the core. One by one they entered.
Core burned. Just as my body felt cooked, the trait ejected.
[Obtained Agile Body++.]
Immediately equipped it.
[Name: Lee Chan-hwi]
[LV1]
[Class: Predator]
[Strength:21.0001]
[Stamina:21.0001]
[Agility:21.0001]
[Mana:1.0001][+10]
[Vitality:MAX]
[Traits Held]:[Rainbow Shell×3],[Sturdy Insect Shell×5],[Insect Shell×23],[Tenacious Vitality×9],[Rapid Metabolism×3],[Agile Body++][Agile Body+],[Exceptional Mutation],[Weak Body×4],[Average Physique×9],[Agile Body×9],[Superior Reproduction×100],[Stamina King×20],[Swordsmanship Factor (Goblin)×50],[Swordsmanship Factor+ (Goblin)×10],[Swordsmanship Factor++ (Goblin)×1],[Magic Factor (Goblin)×2]
[Equipped Traits]:[Agile Body++][Sturdy Insect Shell][Exceptional Mutation]
[Characteristics]:[Prey's Intuition][Hardness]
"Haha, finally surpassed 20."
A week's achievement.
Not all my own hunts though.
I'd grown by eating goblins' leftovers and abandoned scraps.
"Time to raid the Mage family?"
Since the massive attack a week prior, neither side had clashed.
Mages lose advantage outside their mansion.
Swordsmen can't breach the mages' fortress.
Thus the stalemate continued.
"I'll break the balance."
Toppling the scales. Reducing mages' strength would reignite conflict.
I headed to the mage residence.
Nearby streets maintained some semblance of normalcy - rotting fish still shines.
Entered the mansion. No presence detected.
"Huh? Where'd everyone go?"
The mansion stood empty.
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