Dungeon Sniper

Author's Note:

Guys, I messed up. I wrote that Beta headshot hundreds of Goblin Crawler Generals, and I have completely forgotten about listing the few Skills he gains in the last chapter. Well, here they are:

Insect Generalship - Level A

Phermone Detection - Limited A (Multi-Sensory Antennae Perk required)

Phermone Secretion - Limited A (Phermone Glands Perk required)

Goblin Crawler Cry

Thermotaxis

Remember that Skills run out quickly because there is only a set amount of Skills available in the pool, and Beta deliberately avoids going for the Perks. I will add a few more Skills if needed, and I will definitely rewrite a part where Beta gains all those Skills with headshots after headshots.

Sorry for the omissions, my dear readers, and please look forward to the upcoming revision following a week-long hiatus after Chapter Forty-Five! :)

The battle was over, but the war was not.

With the rush of the battle put on a stop and thanks to the new Phermone Detection Skill I had gained, I could feel the presence of a hundred thousand Goblin Crawlers, albeit vaguely, still lurking underneath the ground.

And I could tell that the ants were being cautious now. They had stopped pouring out of the hole altogether.

"You better come down, kid. Looks like they want to take the fight down under, at their home."

The Dwarfighter and the remaining hundred or so Dwarones had emerged onto the surface now. The bloody, muddy glass windshield of the central c.o.c.kpit of the Dwarfighter opened to reveal the tired-looking old Dwarf sitting inside. He had opened the window to get some fresh air but frowned immediately at the smell of burnt bodies lingering around the area. Elysia tactfully activated the windshield wiper to get the vision clear instead of popping her head out to the foul-smelling site of a catastrophe.

I got on the Dwarflyer and flew downward.

Benedikt had come out of the mech completely now. He was walking toward the hive entrance boldly when I landed next to the hulking Dwarfighter. I knew he was safe because all of the movements I was detecting were scuttling and shifting at least a mile down under our feet.

"Holed up pretty tight, these ants. We'll have to go down," said Benedikt determinedly.

"You think that's a good idea?" I asked apprehensively.

"It's the worst idea I've ever had, but it's the only way to get to the Queen and end her miserable life for good," spat Benedikt into the pitch dark hole.

It was a good thing I had not let loose of my guard because just as Benedikt turned and showed his back to the hole, a Goblin Crawler leaped out of nowhere and jumped at the old Dwarf.

It took me by surprise too. My Phermone Detection was obviously limited, and the Echolocation and Scent Tracker were useless in this vast, burning battlefield.

But I was able to shoot down the Goblin Crawler with Tolliver. I shot it almost reflexively, right in the c.h.e.s.t and narrowly missing the heart that would have granted me who knew what kind of freaky Perks these monsters had in them.

"Thanks, kid. I swear I checked the life signs within the five hundred yard radius, didn't know the bastard was hiding there at all," said Benedikt numbly.

Elysia had gotten off the Dwarfighter and came running toward us. She seemed fatigued just like Benedikt, and I wondered whether I looked like that too.

I smiled feebly at Elysia, who stared between me and the squirmy, panting Goblin on the ground."

"It's okay. No one's hurt," I said reassuringly.

"The monitor showed a life just before that thing popped up—"

"Which means, we cant' rely on the life-signal trackers where we're going from now," Benedikt finished the sentence as he bent his knee to examine the dying creature closely.

"I'll be damned. No wonder this particular freak didn't show up for the fight. We've got a new type. Can you see the difference, lass?"

Benedikt beckoned Elysia to sit next to him and see better. But I could see it too now. The Skills I had gotten from the Generals brought me closer to the Goblin Crawlers than I had ever wanted.

"I didn't miss a heart. These things don't have hearts," I said, looking right through the bull-rat hole I made on the monster's c.h.e.s.t. Instead of blood, it was leaking a bluish fluid that seemed all too familiar: Sand Crystalite.

Before I was going to point it out, Benedikt swiped the liquid with his finger and—to both Elysia's and my horror—put it inside his mouth to taste.

"Sand Crystalite."

"Yes, I was going to tell you in just a second, and couldn't you tell from the color that it's obviously the crystal? You didn't have to taste the thing!"

"Just making sure," shrugged Benedikt. He was the only one who did not feel grossed out at this point.

Meanwhile, the Goblin's breath was getting shallower by each passing second.

"How is this thing even alive? Without a heart, I mean?" asked Elysia with a pale face.

"The Queen has finally turned her children into true monsters. Between this freak and my Dwarones, there's literally no difference other than mine are made with metal and this with flesh."

"I wonder what's the point of passing on the hearts. To save on the resources?" I asked contemplatively.

"Probably. Without a heart, these things cannot maintain stable body temperature. But seeing that the Queen has hoarded all the crystals left in this world down under, there's plenty of heat sources. The Queen quickened the process of popping out Goblin Crawlers by consuming Sand Crystalites and injecting them into these new types instead of giving them the organs that she could dispense with. That's my theory, at least," grunted Benedikt, clearly displeased by the idea of creating a heartless, partially-living creature.

"... Can we even call it a Goblin anymore? Without a beating heart, this thing is barely an alive being... more like a body part of the Queen herself, like her detached yet still functioning finger, a claw—"

"It has a brain, at least. The smallest one I've seen so far," said Benedikt. He had taken out a portable scanner from his pocket and was looking through the small monitor that showed the inside of the ugly, panting breath.

"But does it have a soul?" asked Elysia somberly, more rhetorically than expecting an answer from any of us.

I looked down at the New Type again.

"I have a way to find out," I said and took out Mataki's Blade.

"Wait, kid, I want to scan more images of the brain before—"

But I already drove through its skull with the sharp tip of the dagger-sword.

[Skill gained: Stealth Specialist - Desert Ant]

Immediately, Mataki's Blade lit up.

"There. Now we know that it had a soul at least."

[... What have you done, Human?]

I was smiling satisfactorily then. My smile dropped at Mataki's painful voice.

"What's wrong, Mataki?"

I held the blade to my face and stared at it worriedly while Benedikt and Elysia eyed me nervously.

[It hurts. My... existence, it is burning.]

"What's happening?" asked Benedikt.

"I don't know. Mataki says something is hurting him—"

Benedikt took the blade from my hand and blinked fiercely as he listened intently to Mataki's words.

Mataki's Blade, once recharged with a Goblin soul, would light up with a bright crimson color, the beautified tint of a Goblin skin.

This time, it was lighting up with a mixture of red and blue—the Sand Crystalite blue.

And it looked sickly.

Benedikt had been holding Mataki's Blade for a while before handing me the sword reluctantly. The old Dwarf had never looked madder, sadder.

"Sand Crystalite is the antithesis of magic. The soul transfer rejects Sand Crystalites. Remember why I said I chose to stay here to continue my research. I couldn't just ship the crystals to a safer Level. And now it's acting like a poison to Mataki's soul. It's practically melting its magical protection," said Benedikt hurriedly... and also helplessly, powerlessly.

"Is there anything you can do?" I asked, likewise helplessly.

A look of hope flashed in Benedikt's face, only to vanish within just a second.

"... No, not here. If we were at the lab... Okay. He wants to talk to you now."

Benedikt handed me the sword and turned his back from me resignedly.

I held the Orcish dagger-sword gingerly with both hands.

"What's up, M?" I said cheerily in spite of the air of finality swirling around the sword.

[My time, young hero. My time is up.]

Mataki's voice was no longer strained, but it did not sound peaceful either.

[... This is the punishment for my callousness, resignation... apathy, young hero. I should have acted differently, but I gave up when I had lost my Olothi. I would have been able to make a difference, for my race and for the Dungeon, but I chose to follow the old ways. I could have stopped my tribe from eating Humans, but I did not. For that, I must apologize.]

"Yeah, you were a real monster when I first met you."

[And by choice, I was... indeed. Not to mention I was foolish, selfish... and sluggish. That was no way of... the hero. And now I... cease to exist as a failed hero, an unfulfilled lamenter... of the irreversible past, while I could have contributed for the future much... earlier... and much... more earnestly.]

Mataki's words were the usual archaic, droning Shakespearean variant, only this time his voice faltered and broke off precariously throughout the entire soliloquy.

But I dared not stop his words. Mataki, a Goblin hero who had imprisoned Humans under his lair and ate off the corpses like a savage king. Who challenged the Orcs and got his legs cut off... like a suicidal man hurting himself to forget the pain of losing a loved one, of deserting his role and destiny... to give him an excuse to become a failure who would only fulfill his humble hope of returning home by being trapped inside a sword.

[This is no excuse, young hero, and I deemed it suffice to say that the Cycle ordered me to feed on your people... but in truth, would you believe me that I was protecting the few Humans left alive... from the savagery of my race... from being hunted down as game and have their remains be gambling toys... my own, desecrated, forsaken race.]

I remembered the Human females at the Farm, chained inside an unsanitary cell and dying without hope of escaping.

Then again, I realized that could have been the best Mataki could do for the Humans. He had no legs to defend himself. A mere title of chief and a former glory kept his tribesmen from rebelling against him, and who knew until when. Besides, it was not as if the Goblins themselves lived in luxury while the Human captives were left to suffer. They slept on the grounds and left their scars to be healed naturally like animals themselves.

Mataki was a hero, a successor of Olothi if all things went well. Instead, he gave up after Olothi turned herself into a monster. He became apathetic as he was nostalgic about the past and quixotic about what could have been.

He was a divided soul, and he did divide his soul, the good part, to the blade that would once be carried to his home.

I wanted to believe that Mataki was a good being. He, and the Goblins, could have been a good being if not for a certain hero's twisted vision. The Goblins degenerated, both in Level One and in Level Two, all because of Olothi's arbitrary decision to turn her race into a harmonious group of cohesive, collective intelligence.

What was the price of one deranged hero's decision to rule as the Queen of mindless, heartless soldiers and workers? Astronomical, I would bet, but for now the biggest price was, for me, the demise of a pained, regretful soul that could have seen more, been more.

"I believe you," I said after a prolonged pause. I had a lot to think about.

[Thank you. Now, I have something to tell you... Remember how I asked you to shoot at my heart... instead of the brain?]

"Yeah, and I got lucky that I got only the good Perks from you," I smiled. It took me some time to fully realize the danger of collecting Perks from slain enemies.

[My ability to manipulate souls... from an Orc shaman... ultimately a sacrifice...]

"Mataki, you're losing me. I don't understand what you're saying."

[... Withheld... no longer rechargeable... fully grant... accept my gift, young hero.]

Mataki's Blade kept faltering and, finally, it cracked with an ominous sound.

I watched the blade crumble away into dust, with the final words of Mataki, once again peaceful, the voice of a hero that could have been.

[It has been a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e traveling with you, young hero.]

[Unique Perk gained: Goblinique Gallantry - Herculean Hunter]

.

.

.

I understood everything once Mataki's soul was absorbed into mine.

I saw an epic battle between the young Mataki and the last Orc shaman chased to the corner by the heroes of the past.

I saw Mataki's anguish at having not been able to stop Olothi from turning herself into an ant queen.

I saw the older Mataki, ruined and wasted, seeking death by challenging an Orc after years of lethargy and listlessness without practicing his combat skills.

I saw Mataki, having lost his legs, performing a ritual to bind his better part of the soul into a treasured Orcish dagger-sword.

I heard Mataki uttering a conditional spell that would grant him an eternal binding to the sword through recharged Goblin souls... until he relinquished the said condition and decided to discontinue his existence.

"Goodbye, old friend," said Benedikt soberly as he watched the last of Mataki's Blade fade away into the air.

"What are you doing, Beta?"

Elysia was watching me curiously. Benedikt, too, blinked at me, but a look of recognition spread his wrinkly face and turned into a small smile.

"I know that dance," said Benedikt longingly.

"That's a dance? And why are you dancing in the middle of... all this?" frowned Elysia, but I closed my eyes and concentrated on the rhythm that felt natural, beckoning, and significant.

I shifted my feet, waved my arms, and swirled slowly. I had taken out Muk the military knife as a substitute prop for this... 'sword-dance.'

"It's a ritual dance of the Goblins. It's a lost art, a forgotten tradition by now, I'm sure," nodded Benedikt approvingly, his sparkly eyes looking back in the past.

"So is it a funeral dance for the dead?" asked Elysia thoughtfully.

"No."

The word came out of my mouth. I opened my eyes and stared not at my only two spectators, but toward the entrance of the hive.

"It's a dance before a big hunt. And I'm missing a partner."

I had been dancing with an imaginary partner until now. A vague flashback of Mataki's past had shown me a nimble, surprisingly pretty Gobliness, the last Goblin female, and the partner that Mataki respected and loved.

"I can't join you. I don't know the dance," smiled Elysia faintly.

"I already have a partner. She's down there."

I-Mataki had stopped dancing. A hunter's blood was rising, and my sense of the surrounding had never been sharper.

Elysia understood who, or what, was being referred to.

"But you're not saying you want to dance with the Queen, are you?"

"I am, though," I said, much to Elysia's confusion.

"... Are you feeling all right?" asked Elysia anxiously.

"Hunting is just a different word for dancing in the wild. We move about, swing weapons, shuffle our feet... and the partner, the partner is the one we always chase after."

The day had reached noon, and the sun hovered in the topmost position of the sky, shining its light directly above our heads like a giant, natural spotlight.

"Shall we dance, then?" I asked, listening to the steady, rhythmic beating of my own heart.