Chapter 11: Small but Terrible

For a moment, the fat guy and I locked eyes with each other. He was probably questioning his sanity. I could not blame him. After all, it was rare to see a goblin wearing clothes, coupled with a pair of sneakers at that, and helping a human.

I wrote some notes in the notebook.

Do you understand me?

I asked, just to be sure.

The eyes of the fat guy swiveled between the notebook and my greenish body. After a while, he nodded. An incomprehensible voice leaked out his mouth.

Terribly nervous of the fact that the monster ruling this Nest could come back at any moment, I continued cutting down the threads that bound his body. It was a grueling task. I could see that my knife was becoming chipped. Maybe I should have taken more than two of them with me.

With one last stroke, the thread was cut completely, and his body fell down the ground with a loud thud. He flinched from pain for a moment. For someone that had been captured by a colossal monster a bit larger than the Minotaurs, he was in a pretty good shape. Some cuts here and there, a couple of bruise marks, but a pretty lively body regardless.

“W-Who… What are you?” whispered the fat guy. He stood up, and the difference in size between us became quickly apparent. If this human kicked me with all his might, I would probably die.

I looked at him. “First, do you understand me?”

Judging by the perplexed reaction of the fat guy, it seemed that my words were impossible to be understood by humans. I had been expecting this but experiencing it in person was a bit disheartening.

I sighed, wrote down some notes, then showed it to him.

Now’s not the time for idle chatter. We need to leave this place as soon as possible.

The Babyface Arachnid, despite the stupid-sounding name, was a very strong monster. It could probably take down a couple of Minotaurs with it without much effort. I could safely say that that monster was the ruler of this place. The King of this Mall.

The young girl started waking up. Upon seeing this, the fat guy immediately ran to her, his face filled with worry.

“Anisette!” he said. “Are you alright?”

What a pretty name. The young girl rubbed her eyes and looked around. From a droopy expression, her face quickly transitioned into horror. Her lips quivered as she looked at the fat guy, her eyes brimming with tears.

The fat guy bit his lips. He hugged her and whispered, “It’s alright. Big brother will protect you, no matter what.”

I was surprised that they were siblings. After all, they looked nothing alike.

I approached the two. After seeing me, the girl grabbed the hem of the fat guy’s clothes in reflex. She pointed at me, her face fearful and worried.

The fat guy was obviously finding it hard to explain the situation. I guess it was time to help him out. I took out the paper from before and showed the girl the notes.

Ah, if I remembered correct, this notebook was hers. But this thing was too convenient in situations like these. I decided to keep it for now.

For now, I started freeing the last member of the trio. My knife was starting to make weird sounds, the chips on its blade becoming more numerous by each passing moment. After cutting the threads, the middle-aged man fell towards the ground. The fat guy immediately caught him, albeit a bit strained.

They started gently slapping his cheeks to wake him up.

“Professor Jack,” said the fat guy. “Wake up! Wake up!”

Oh, a professor? Since these two were wearing school uniforms, they must be from the same institution as this professor.

The strength of the slaps soon escalated and the professor eventually woke up. He looked at the two students.

“Gerald,” he said. “What happened?” He coughed thrice. “I passed out, huh?”

Slowly, the professor started standing up, his legs wobbly. Upon noticing me, he glared. Without warning, he dashed towards me, killing intent evident within his eyes.

I dodged a kick by ducking, then quickly evaded another shot by leaping to the side. I gripped the chipped knife in my hand.

“Wait professor!” shouted the fat guy called Gerald. “He’s not our enemy!”

The professor merely ignored his words. He pulled out a slender knife from his back then tried stabbing me with it. I parried it using the chipped knife. The sound of metal clashing against metal resounded, and a portion of my weapon broke. Damn cheap utensil. I should have known that it would break down easily.

My hand felt a bit numb after that clash, but I was relieved to see that I have enough strength to parry a human’s attack.

Unable to explain myself using goblin’s language, the professor kept attacking me. I was starting to be grateful for the hellish times I’ve spent in the prison. Those awful years wherein the guards would constantly make us fight against each other. Although I was beaten up numerous time, this body of mine had learned how to fight.

“Professor!” Gerald finally grabbed the man’s shoulder. “Stop! That Goblin! It’s the one that helped us!”

Those words seemed to have brought the professor back to his senses. He stiffened, stared at me with wide eyes, then said to Gerald, “Wh-What do mean?”

“That Goblin’s the one that helped us,” repeated Gerald. “He’s the one that freed us.”

I judged that now was the best time to pacify things. I wrote something down and showed it to them.

The kid’s right. I’m not your enemy.

I looked at the large hole near the ceiling. It was the path the Babyface Arachnid would definitely take once it comes back.

The Minotaurs outside this room are gone. The giant spider is on its nest on the fifth floor. We should take this time to escape to the outside. It’s safer there.

The three went silent, and only the sound of the pulsating eggs inside the room was our background. If possible, I would have loved to destroy those eggs. There was more than a dozen of them, and each were higher level than me. I could imagine the amount of exp I would gain from destroying those things.

Still, I knew that it was not a practical choice right now. The Babyface could come back at any moment. Destroying those eggs would surely take a considerable time. I cannot risk my life just for a level up or two.

“Can we really trust this monster?” the professor said, eventually.

Being called a monster was a bit painful, but I guess I have to endure for now. This was reality, after all.

“I don’t know,” said Gerald.

The sister was silent, not bothering to say a single word. She merely stood there, staring at me, and more particularly, at the notebook I held in my hand.

The Professor frowned. He sighed. “We don’t have much choice. We can’t stay in this place.”

Gerald nodded. He grabbed the hand of his sister. He said to me, “Are you sure that the monsters waiting outside this room are gone?” There was hesitation within his voice, something I could relate about. It would be indeed hard to simply trust someone you have just met, moreover a monster.

I nodded.

The professor and Gerald locked eyes with each other.

“Let’s go,” said Gerald. “That monster from before might come ba—”

And a bone-chilling screech echoed inside the room. We instinctively looked at the source, right near the ceiling. Dangling there was a black monster with eight legs. Even from this distance, we could clearly feel its rage. The fury of seeing its prey escape from its web.

“Shit. It’s back!” shouted Gerald.

Like a spring, we came rushing towards the door. But it was too late. The monster was a lot quicker than us. It quickly moved through the ceiling then jumped down towards the floor, effectively blocking out way out.

The blue box hovering above the head of the monster was ominous, and it clearly gave me an idea of the gap in our strengths.

Babyface Arachnid

Lv 31

Its level was twice that of a Minotaur. Tentacles wiggled in and out of its mouths.

Another screech echoed, and the monster came charging at us. It was really quick despite its size. A leg whizzed by and sent the professor flying a couple of meters back. Thankfully, it seemed that he managed to block the attack using his knife, although that weapon was now bent after impact.

Another leg of the spider shot towards Gerald. I was sure he knew that the attack was coming, but his fat body was unable to move quick enough to dodge it. The hairy leg pierced his right shoulder, and he screamed in pain as blood spurted out.

The Babyface was about to move in for the kill when it suddenly froze. It was brief, around a second or two, but it gave Gerald enough leeway to dodge the next incoming attack. He jumped back and avoided the strike.

I looked at the girl from before. Her eyes, glaring at the Babyface, had turned white.

Was that a paralyzing skill? Interesting. This was the first time I have seen a skill used by humans. When I have the chance, I would ask them about it later. For now, we should survive this place.

The movements of the Babyface was a bit slower now, probably due to the effect of the skill of the young girl.

The professor stood up, threw his bent weapon away, then pulled out another one. A long icepick. He was a lot calmer than the other two, despite the cut and bruises that covered his body.

He gnashed his teeth then ran towards the black, hairy beast. The Babyface shot out balls of threads towards him, and he effectively evaded by sidestepping and ducking. Soon, he reached point blank range. Using the momentum of his charge, along with the twist of his entire body, he stabbed the icepick at the belly of the monster.

To our horror, it did not pierce through the monster’s flesh, not even an inch. The professor must have been stunned by the unexpected outcome. He was a split second late on noticing the leg shooting towards him. On reflex he blocked the strike using an arm. His fingers were crushed and sent flying, together with half of his left arm.

“Professor!” screamed Gerald.

Shit. We can’t even give damage to this thing. The gap between levels was just too wide. And now, the strongest fighter in our group had lost an arm.

The Professor screamed as blood came gushing out. I knew that the Babyface was going to use this chance to go for the kill. I need to do something, otherwise, we’ll all end up dying.

My instinct screamed at me and I immediately grabbed the two bottles that occupied my bag. I sent it flying towards the spider monster, and it blocked using its legs. The bottle broke, and the liquid in it splashed on the Babyface Arachnid’s body.

I activated two skills simultaneously.

You have activated Scurry

Movement speed will increase by 50% for the next 6 seconds.

You have activated Frenzied Rage!

50% of your HP has been consumed as penalty

Movement Speed has increased by 60%

Attack Speed has increased by 75%

Attack Damage has increased by 30%

I immediately felt the effect of those two skills as my body shot towards the monster in an absurd speed. I quickly closed the gap between us. After successfully evading an attack from above, I took out the lighter in my bag and opened the lid. It quickly lit up. I tossed it to the beast.

In an instant, the parts covered by the alcohol burst into flames. The monster screeched, definitely from pain. I felt a sense of relief. Sharp weapons did not work on this one, but it seemed that fire was very effective.

I grabbed the professor, away from the burning beast. He was gnashing his teeth in pain, but he still managed to stand up regardless. This middle-aged man was tough, definitely.

The threads hanging on the ceiling touched the body of the Babyface Arachnid. Fire crackled and licked the threads. In a matter of moments, the room was engulfed by fire. The Babyface continued to screech in pain, its body hitting the wall in successions.

It was really a good thing I kept those bottles with me. They were something I found after searching for my family nonstop for almost an entire day. I figured that they would come handy should the need arise – and I was right.

“Fuck.” That single word escaped my lips. The flames that covered the body of the monster was starting to die out. The room itself was still on fire, but I was sure that once that monster was no longer covered in flames, it would kill us.

The trio began running for the door. Sensing that its prey was trying to escape, the Babyface spat out a viscous green fluid from its mouth. It did not hit the trio, probably due to the fact that the Babyface was currently in deep pain from the fire. The floor that got hit by the fluid melted away. I shivered upon seeing that.

Another fluid shot out of its mouth, and the trio evaded by jumping away. Right now, getting to the door would be suicide. It would make anyone an easy target. One hit, and not even our bones would remain.

This one was truly a terrifying monster. I was starting to realize that this place would probably be my grave. It was simply too strong to be defeated by us alone.

You have destroyed a Babyface Arachnid Egg!

You have destroyed a Babyface Arachnid Egg!

You have destroyed a Babyface Arachnid Egg!

You have destroyed a Babyface Arachnid Egg!

Notifications kept popping out one after another. In the blink of an eye, I gained tremendous exp and leveled up.

I looked at the corner of the room, the place where the eggs were located. Currently, it was in flames, particularly the part where the threads that covered the eggs were the thickest.

Since I was the one that started the fire, the system considered the destruction of those eggs my doing, huh? This was a really good find, and I was sure I could use this knowledge later on. The only problem was that I would most likely die here. After all, we have no way of killing that monster.

Although I was still perplexed by the sudden gain of level, I instinctively added 3 points to strength and 2 points to agility.

The smoke that filled the room was starting to cloud our vision. The human trio were breathing heavily.

Think, Nick! Think of a way out! You cannot die here!

As my mind was storming for any way out, a completely unexpected scenario unfolded before my eyes. The Babyface, which had finally gotten rid of the flames in its body, went towards the remaining eggs. It covered them using its body, shielding it from the flames that continued licking the room.

I heard the screech of pain as the flames scorched the spider’s flesh. Still, the monster refused to let go of the eggs. Despite the flames that now clung to its body, it still stood there, shielding the eggs from harm.

Being scorched nonstop would definitely prove fatal, even for such a high leveled monster. The Babyface Arachnid definitely knew that it would suffer damage, but it still continued protecting its children.

Even a monster like this one was capable of motherly love, huh? I almost smiled wryly.

The trio, a bit mesmerized of what they saw, eventually broke out of their stupor. They ran towards the door, and successfully got out of the burning room. I quickly followed behind them, my movement a bit slower than those of the humans.

“We finally got out,” huffed Gerald. He looked at the professor. “Sir, just hang on a bit longer. Once we get out of this place, we’ll treat your wo—”

“—I know,” interjected the professor. He was bleeding profusely, his face more pallid than snow. At this rate, he was going to die. “Use your skill. We’ll run towards the exit after that.”

Gerald bit his lips. “World of Silence!”

After he said those words, everything became silent. I could no longer hear anything, even my loudly beating heart.

So, this fat guy had a skill capable of muting everything. That would definitely be a very useful skill in this damn apocalypse.

On cue, we all ran towards the ground floor. It was amazing that despite our frantic escape, no sound came out. The monsters that lurked on the second floor were too late in noticing us because of the lack of sound in our movements. By the time they had seen us, we have already reached the ground floor.

Not stopping to rest, we ran towards the Mall’s exit. A couple of Goblins saw us and began shrieking, definitely to give out our location, but no sound came out. The monsters were flustered by this phenomenon. They tried shrieking once again, but to no avail.

As we approached the exit, the skill ended, and sound came back. The sound of the Goblins shrieking, the sound of the room on the second floor burning, the sound of our desperate footsteps, the sound of my loudly beating heart. All of them amalgamated into one loud deafening sound.

On our left, Minotaurs started coming out one after another.

“Keep running!” shouted the professor. Despite his bloody arm, he continued running forward, leading our group to the outside.

We finally reached the exit, and the view of the ghost-like city once again greeted us. Not bothering to rest, we once again ran. I was having a hard time keeping up with this group. Every now and then, I would use the skill, Scurry, to bridge the gap between us. Otherwise, I would be left behind.

The professor skillfully led us towards an intersection, and we took an immediate turn to the left to shake off our pursuers. Thankfully, the corpses that filled the street shrouded the scent of blood that came out of the professor’s body. I was a goblin, so I was sure.

We met another intersection and we once again took a turn to the left. By now, the sound of our pursuers was gone. Those monsters were probably frantically trying to find us.

We saw a small abandoned house, probably a bungalow, and we entered inside. We quickly surveyed the interior for any signs of monsters. Thankfully, there were none.

The trio immediately lost strength in their legs after confirming that this place was safe. They fell down their knees, their chests rising and falling continuously. Numerous beads of sweat fell down their faces.

“I thought we’re going to die,” huffed Gerald. The young girl bit her lips and gave a nod. She was close to sobbing, but there was no sound that came out.

I made a soft shriek then pointed at something. Gerald and the young girl looked at me, then to the one I was pointing at: the professor.

Currently, his skin was pale, almost like snow. He was heavily breathing, as blood continued dripping down his missing arm.

“P-Professor Jack!” said Gerald. He quickly got up and looked around. He grabbed the curtain and ripped it apart using brute strength. His hands were trembling as he used the ripped curtain to bandage the wound of the professor.

I wrote something down.

The wound isn’t closing. He’ll die at this rate. Cauterize it.

Seeing that Gerald was still panicking, I’ve decided to initiate things. I found a stove in the kitchen. It was working. Perfect. Next, I took a spatula and heated it using the flames in the stove. I approached the wounded professor and placed the heated spatula to the wound. There was a sizzling sound the moment the heated metal touched the wound. He gnashed his teeth in pain. I quickly removed it after a few seconds. I repeated the process until blood no longer dripped down the wound. The professor was still pale, definitely from blood lost, but at least, we have prevented the worst from happening.

“T-Thank you,” breathed the professor. It was amazing that he still managed to speak despite his condition. The mental strength of this human was definitely high.

I grabbed a plastic cup near the table and filled it with tap water. I handed it to Gerald and wordlessly told him to make the professor drink. We can’t have him die from hypovolemic shock.

Sleep. You need to rest so your body can recuperate.

It probably felt weird that a Goblin was giving out specific orders, but the professor nodded regardless, probably too tired to argue with a monster. He closed his eyes and slept.

I also helped in patching up the wounds of the fat guy. Luckily, it was not that deep.

I heaved a sigh of relief. I have seen how these people worked together. I knew that they were good people. I did not want anyone of them to die. These thoughts of mine may seem naïve, and it may get me killed one day, but I refused to let go my what remained of my humanity.

With the wheezing sound of the professor as background, I confronted the remaining two. There was so much I wanted to ask, and I hope they held the answer.

I began asking them if they had seen a certain woman and a child. Unfortunately, even after giving out vivid descriptions, it seemed that they have not seen them. I felt dejected. It seemed that I have to search all over again.

From our conversation, which consisted mainly of me writing on the notebook while the fat guy answered verbally, I found out a lot of things.

These three were actually from the same school, and they were tasked to scout the outside. I was a bit furious at the Principal for sending these children to imminent danger. They were still too young, and after seeing the abilities of these two students, I was sure they hardly had combat experience before. I could probably defeat them if I used my skills efficiently.

The only troublesome one to fight against was the professor. His movements were trained, definitely those of a professional. Well, that should be expected. According to these two, he was a former soldier. But in order to save his students, he had lost an arm. He was nothing but an injured middle-aged man right now. I was just hoping the wound would not be infested with bacteria.

I also found out that the young girl was unable to speak. Like me, she used this notebook to convey her thoughts. That explained why the professor and the fat guy were able to easily adapt to my way of communication.

She used magic last time, right? If she was unable to speak, then there should be a way to activate magic even without incantations. I asked her this and the reply she gave me was vague.

Mr. Goblin, you can just visualize the effect of magic in your mind. That’s what I always do.

Although I doubt I could use this immediately, this was definitely useful information. I would try to learn how to do this later on.

“Mr. Goblin,” said Gerald, his voice a bit raspy. A Goblin being called ‘mister’ was definitely weird. “C-Can I ask you a question? I mean, we’ve been answering yours nonstop. We’re grateful for your help. We would have died if you hadn’t helped us… but…”

That was a long introduction. I knew what they were going to ask anyway.

You want to ask why I helped you, right? And why a Goblin is like this, something like that.

The two of them nodded together. There was a period of silence. I answered.

I’m a former human. After some curse, I was trapped in the body of a Goblin. That should answer all of your doubts and questions.

What I’ve said was not a lie, really. Even I did not know why I suddenly got this body. The theory that I was cursed and got stuck in the body of a goblin was very plausible. I had considered it numerous times before. And since these guys needed an explanation, otherwise, they would be restless, I’ve decided to go with this story.

The two of them stared at me in bewilderment.

I don’t have much time left, so I can’t help you guys get back to the school. But I’ve roamed this part of the city before. If you’re careful enough, and with the help of your skill, you should be able to safely go back to your campus.

It was true. Right now, I have around a day left before the portal closes. Frankly speaking, I’d rather stay here in the Human Realm, but I did not know if there were penalties if I was unable to make it back in time.

I have helped these guys survive from that spider monster. Now, I need to prioritize my family. I could not be their babysitter forever. I planned on spending my remaining time searching for the whereabouts of Franchesca and Marco.

The three of us exchanged conversations and information after that. It was actually a bit heartening that these kids were able to trust me. I guess helping them escape from that hellhole made this miracle possible. If it were any other humans, they would have tried killing me on the spot. I was sure.

After some time, the kids eventually fell asleep. I wryly smiled at the sight. Even children like them were being forced to fight in this nightmare. This had indeed become a cruel world.

I went to the kitchen then grabbed a cup. Using a knife, I cut my arm, and blood came dripping down. I filled half the cup, then bandaged my wound using what was left of the ripped off curtain. I placed the cup nearby, at a place they could easily see.

I ripped off a piece of paper from the notebook and left behind a note.

This blood may have coagulated by the time you guys wake up. Use it on your bodies to conceal your scent. It’ll be safer that way. Also, forgive me for this but I’ll be taking this notebook and pen with me. Take care. Don’t die.

I knew I have done my part.

After one last look at the sleeping humans, I left the abandoned house.