Ding!

Quest triggered!

I looked up, hearing an all too familiar ringing in my ears. Sure enough, the blue box of the system was hovering above my eyes.

Training Camp I

Grade: F

Orc Logier has deemed you worthy to learn the methods of his tribe. Learn the basics from him as he demonstrates them.

Reward: All stats +1; HP +10

I sighed and shook my head. My life was becoming more and more like a game character. But, I had no choice but to accept it. And since it's paving a path for me to grow stronger, there was no reason why I should reject it.

I blinked the system away and led Logier out of the tunnel. Without me helping him, he would most probably step on one of those still-working traps.

“So, where are we going?” I inquired as we paced through the tunnel.

“Those damn goblins were trying to climb the stairs to the second floor. I got a task from Keeper through Signa.” Logier said. “I’ve to stop them.”

“What’s Signa?” I have not heard him talking about signa yet. He said the keeper informed him through signa—which made it sound like it was a communication device. Hence, I was curious.

“Signa? It’s a blessing from the keeper.” Logier answered. “I’ll tell you about it more later.”

The end of the tunnel arrived, so Logier had to end his answer there. What caught us both off guard, however, was the fact that all the goblin corpses that made up a small heap had disappeared. The only evidence left on the spot was blood splotches and a nasty rotten egg-like smell.

“Where did all these corpses go?” Logier exclaimed, not believing his eyes.

“How would I know?” I was in the same boat as him. How could I know the answer? Doubt filled me. I never knew goblins were these efficient in clearing out corpses. Then again, I don’t know anything about them.

But it was indeed weird. Hundreds of corpses were gone without any of us realizing.

“Forget it. Let’s go, Imp.”

“Okay.”

We both left the matter alone and went to find the goblins. It would be a waste of time to think about things that had already happened. This precious time should be better spent elsewhere.

As I lagged behind the orc chieftain, the scene changed from the junction of tunnels into a dimly lit narrow path. The yellow crystals embedded on the roof provided a weak glow that illuminated the cobblestone floor.

My heart was pounding like a festival drum inside my chest. Infrared Vision showed a much clear image due to the faint light from the crystals.

I observed the walls as we walked. They looked old and covered in moss. These strange moss seem to absorb heat as they don’t emit red aura like everything around them.

I turned my eyes to Logier. The red aura on him was chaotic, flickering like a flame about to go out. It had been the case ever since I had used Cleanse to suppress the curse. It was probably because of that curse. It was trying to break the seal placed by my skill and torment Logier again.

It worried me that the seal wouldn’t hold for long.

The narrow tunnel gradually widened, followed by sounds of hisses and grunts unique only to goblins. Bright purple light shined on the pavement, coming from the room at the end of the passage.

“Wait,” Logier hissed a warning as he stuck his back against the wall. He leaned over to peek at the large room as big as a consortium hall. “There’s a lot of them present.”

I leaned over to observe inside.

At least a hundred were hurdling in front of the mouth of a dilapidated staircase. After a few steps leading up, the stairs disappear into a curtain of fog. The goblins stood in silence as if something was stopping them from advancing.

“What are they doing? And what’s that fog?” I whispered my surprise.

“I don’t know. There were no fogs when I came down.” Logier mumbled, sounding as confused as I was.

“Then, what do we do now?” I wondered and looked at the orc chieftain. “Can you fight them all?”

“Mhmm,” Logier hummed unsurely. “It’ll be difficult. I can’t use my full powers right now.”

“Because of the curse?”

“Yes.”

Silence ensued between us as we watched those goblins do nothing but stare at the fog wall.

“Something seems off.” Logier expressed his doubt. “These imbeciles are behaving oddly. They shouldn’t be this quiet.”

I have to agree with him. Goblins weren’t this disciplined. Normally, even if they couldn’t pass through the fog, they should at least be fighting among each other. Sitting still wasn’t in their DNA.

“It shouldn’t be that they are under something’s control, right?” It’s a dungeon in a magical world. Someone with the ability to control other monsters wasn’t that farfetched.

Come to think about it, Leah Walters awakened something similar the second day we arrived on this world. Although, from what I saw, her ability leaned more towards taming than controlling.

“It must be the work of that fog.” Logier reasoned. “Little imp, let’s go and attack.”

“Wait!” I called back the orc as he was about to jump out. “Don’t be hasty,” I warned. “Things are really too strange. Let’s wait.”

I might not be a strategy genius, but the way those goblins stood like a statue while staring at the fog barrier screams like a trap. Infrared Vision wasn’t picking anything strange. But, my instincts were screaming. There was something dangerous lurking.

“Why are we waiting?” Logier couldn’t understand the meaning behind my actions. He expressed his doubt.

“Logier, I’m having a bad feeling about that fog barrier,” I said. “You said it wasn’t there when you came, but now there’s one. Don’t you think it's strange?”

“What?” Logier’s pig face scrunched up as his nose flared. His beady eyes swirled in circles. The things I said were too advanced for him to understand.

I let go of a long breath. “What I’m saying is, there’s something else hiding here.”

Understanding dawned upon the orc as he opened and closed his mouth like a fish. “Enemy?”

I shrugged. “Most probably. I’m not sure. It's better to be careful.”

Ding!!

Quest Triggered!

Mystery of the Fog

Grade: E+

Logier says that the fog wasn’t there when he came but now there is one. There must be something going on. Find out the secrets surrounding this fog barrier. Rewards: +1 All stats

My brows furrowed when I saw the quest. And subsequently, all my guesses were confirmed. There was something here. Something dangerous.

My heart skipped a beat. There was fear, but there was also another emotion, excitement. I felt eager to complete the quest and increase my stats. Greed had taken a firm root in my subconsciousness.

Fortunately, I was still rational. I was still able to think everything through and dictate my own actions. The system was a double-edged sword. No, it wasn’t the system’s fault. It was all me. My willpower was still lacking.

“What should we do then?” Logier’s voice pulled me out of the abyss of self-mockery. I hummed as I racked my brain.

I was weak, and Logier couldn’t use his full power. In this situation, it would be nothing but suicide if we jump in like fools. The best course of action, in this case, would be waiting.

Goblins were persistent when they wanted to be. I was sure that more of them will definitely show up here.

“Let’s go back for now. We’ll come back later.”