Dungeon Sniper

The fatigue set in quickly. But I could not rest now. Did I say the war was over? No, it was not.

Because Nasty was still out there.

My Vivid Memory was telling me that Nasty's real name was 'Karuchi.' I remembered the first Goblin patrol I killed refer to me as the Human male Karuchi had brought to the lair.

Not that I cared what his real name was. To me, he was Nasty, and he would die as Nasty.

I brought up Nasty's name was because I knew he was coming to get me. He and three other Goblins were out on a scouting mission when their friends and brothers were being slaughtered—by me. They would eventually go back home, find out what had happened, count the bodies, see the graves by the entrance of the lair, and figure out that who was responsible for the tribe's extinction—me. I just hoped that would not happen for another full day so I could get some rest. The past few days had been beyond stressful for me.

I would be stupid to go back to the raided village and seek shelter at the same abandoned house. That was no doubt the cleanest, least damaged house in the village, but there would be three rotting Goblin bodies lying near the entrance, not to mention Nasty would check the house the first thing while searching for me. It just made more sense for me to find another place to rest, even camp outside for a change, above ground and breathing fresh air. I would have to hunt for something decent to eat anyway and might as well go deep into the woods. The only thing missing was the starry sky, but I had made my decision.

It was camping time.

So I set out to the forest, dug a miniature cave just big enough for me to crawl into, covered the entrance with makeshift dirt and leaves, lay down for a minute to think about which animals to hunt and dozed off immediately.

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.

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The simple, primitive life continued next day. The high, sunless ceiling of the Dungeon lit up for the day as usual. Pristine, dynamic wildlife awaited before me. Hunting fanged rabbits felt almost too easy compared to hunting the Goblins in their own home. I practiced my aim and shot three rabbits all in the brains in hopes of gaining any useful Skill but to no avail. I intentionally avoided shooting them in the heart as I learned that not all Perks were useful, let alone pleasant. I wondered what would happen if the rabbits gave me something like 'Vegetarian' Perk. Would that coexist with my Cannibalism Perk, or would they cancel each other? Even worse, I was worried that I might gain 'Prem.a.t.u.r.e Ejaculator' or some weird, totally unnecessary Perks like that. Because... rabbits. Fast and quick, even while reproducing. Literally lasting a second for each action. One could say I really dodged a bullet when the Perk I got from a rabbit was strong hind legs and not one of the more weird, negative ones, like shitting dung in the shape of round balls. Because... rabbits.

But not all Perks were as useless as they sounded. For instance, the Raw Meat Tolerant Perk sounded off but was super useful. I could not afford to cook the meat in fear of raising smoke and getting caught by Nasty and the company. I was still unsure whether they had returned to base and found out the aftermath of war inside. But it was only a matter of time, and the sooner I recovered my energy and got back into fighting shape, the better.

So I ate the rabbits raw. The Raw Meat Tolerant Perk would prevent me from dying, but it did not stop me from gagging at the awful, slimy taste of fresh, bloody meat gurgling down my throat. The Perk made the experience 'tolerable,' not enjoyable, and just barely at that. And the meat was tough as hell. I had to use my Carnivore's Teeth Skill (not a Perk, why was it not a Perk?) for every bite. That meant I was losing more stamina for using the Skill as I gained less stamina values from the meat, resulting in a net loss. Long story short, my jaw felt numb after I was done eating. Oh, and the smell. The raw meat smelled as if the rabbits urinated on the grass, ate it, puke it back out just to roll over it. I just really missed fire and cooked food at this point.

But at least my stamina was filled up, and that was all that mattered for now.

- Stats

HP: 1500/1500

MP: 500/500

Stamina: 1950/2000

- Gear

Hunting Bow

Quiver - 9 arrows (some recovered ones with blunt, damaged heads)

Dapper the Decent Dagger

Crude Short Sword - on the verge of breaking, anytime now

Mataki's Blade

Leather Jacket - Dirty

Leather Vest - Made from partial leather armor, smelled like Goblin

Torn Pants - Might as well just call it 'rags'

Fur Shoes - the furry soles depleted fast once outside in the wild

Basically, I looked like shit. I smelled like shit because I had not bathed for like 'forever.' But I did not dare wash myself at the nearby clean water streams lest my Human scent would be unmasked of the various filth I had acc.u.mulated the past few days and make me easy prey for the long-nosed red devils tracking me down.

The only item in my possession that did not look shabby was Mataki's Blade (Sorry, Dapper, you had your turn to shine), the newest acquisition and trophy of my victory over the Goblins. I knew the Goblins lacked sophistication to either smith or design the dagger-sword. Be it Dwarven, Elven, or even Orcish, the thing looked as beautiful as it looked lethal. I had not used Mataki's Blade yet, and I would not dare use it for such trivialities as skinning rabbits or cutting my nails. I felt powerful and confident just by holding the dagger-sword, even too confident and 'bestial' at moments. Regardless of which race forged the weapon originally, I could feel that Mataki's Blade was indeed a Goblin sword, a barbaric beauty of its own.

It was almost a nightfall, and the Dungeon entered a curious time zone where everywhere seemed like a twilight without neither the sun nor the moon visible in the high ceiling.

I was practice swinging Mataki's Blade, getting used to the weight and balance of the unorthodox length and shape of the dagger-sword, when it was all happening right 'under' my nose.

I had tried employing both Echolocation and Scent Tracker Skills simultaneously and constantly, but that proved to be too inefficient and confusing, let alone tiring. Echolocation could pick up sound in a broad range, but it took time and also required me to stay still and not create any sound from within my own. Scent Tracker was only useful when I could 'lock-on' to a certain, specific smell. For instance, when I first found the Human Farm inside the Goblin Lair, I pinpointed the smell of one of the sickly, rotting smell and gained additional information of the area. Likewise, if I smelled Nasty in the air and Scent Tracked it, I would be able to learn his location and even his current emotional state, albeit in a limited way. But even with the Vivid Memory Perk, it was impossible to 'recall' Nasty's smell and constantly sniffing the air in search of him. And that did not sound like such a hot idea, at all.

In the end, I would turn Echolocation on and off, from time to time, for any abnormal sound around me. It was an efficient method that conserved my stamina, and I was confident that I would spot four of them before they could track down just one of me.

I was wrong.

My Echolocation - Level C had a fatal flaw, and it was that it was a low-level skill of a ground animal: a rabbit. The Skill had proved useful from time to time, be it locating an owl perched high up in a tree or draw a mental map of an entire lair with sound-reverberating tunnels and long, even-leveled surfaces.

In other words, I could only discern sound as well as a rabbit could. Rabbits could sense danger from above and far away, but not under the ground level.

The sound of the underground was out of my concern. Just as a rabbit would not be scared of a mole sprouting out from the ground, I had completely disregarded the one Goblin specialty that I had been utilizing in so many versatile ways: Burrower Skill.

The Goblin scouts came at me from below.

.

.

.

It was my Survival Guts that alerted me before anything else. My Echolocation was off, and I was lying too comfortably in my mini-cave when I felt an unnatural rustling of grass, a strange shift in the air—

And then came a high-pitched howl that echoed across the otherwise still, quiet nightly woods.

I sat up, activated the Night Eye, and sprang out of my hideout. I activated Echolocation, perhaps too belatedly, and there it was: a Goblin skulking behind a tree, and when I looked at his direction, his eyes met mine.

I raised the bow and nocked the arrow, but the Goblin disappeared—no, vanished—out of my sight. I panicked, wasted an arrow by firing towards nowhere, only to realize a full second later what had happened, and how. The Goblin had dug his way 'out,' the same way he had dug his way 'in' my face.

How could I possibly not see they would dig their way through to get me? The Goblins. Who lived underground. From whom I had gotten the Burrower Skill in the first place.

Conventions and preconceptions. Digging one's way through defenses and watches was unheard of, if not unthinkable. At least in terms of Human understanding and capabilities.

I was shocked. I was angry at myself for being so narrow-minded. I knew I was being unreasonable with myself. I was better off if I got over the fact that the Goblins got me with their tactic, simple but ingenious, out-of-the-box, maddeningly effective.

Nope. I could never get over myself that I got bested by Goblins. The Goblins. Who lived underground. Slept on the ground. Who dug a hole and called it lavatory.

I cursed and began to run. I instinctively knew they were closing in on me. I had to move before I was surrounded by hostile Goblins from four sides.

I knew I was making a lot of noise sprinting across the woods. I did not care, and soon neither did the Goblins. I could hear hurried footsteps trailing behind me.

I only counted three. That only meant there was a Goblin ahead of me, or worse I was running straight into him—

My heart squeezed ominously, and I felt a chill running down my spine for something... something flying towards me.

I stopped, slipping on a wet pile of leaves and losing balance. At the same time, a sharp wind shot across my cheek, leaving a small cut on its way.

[Secret Perk gained: Premonition]

I rolled onto the ground, peeking at what had just hit me, or barely missed puncturing a big hole through the back of my head. I would have missed it if not for my heightened sense of survival instincts and adrenaline pumping inside my head.

It was a pebble, the size of a walnut, and shaped just like it.

Then came the dreaded voice, the only Goblin voice that I could recognize from the others. The particularly unpleasant, with extra gravel and sandpaper feels.

"That was your last chance at quick death, Human. You are in for a long and painful road to death, and you will be wishing you were dead sooner!" bellowed Nasty from faraway. I could not see him through the thick woods but my Echolocation picked him up—standing behind a tree fifty feet away from me.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Goblin scouts had caught up and closed in around me.

"If you want to talk big, at least show yourself instead of hiding behind a tree like a coward."

"You dare call me a coward?"

Nasty showed himself, his face crumpled in anguish and his eyes flashing with bloodl.u.s.t in the dark. But my eyes were fixed on something else: a metallic Slingshot held in his hand.

The three Goblins had shown themselves as well, each standing to my back, right, and left. I was completely surrounded.

"So you saw what I did to your cozy home?" I said, clutching at the hilt of Mataki's Blade and stalling for time to think of a way to get out this trouble.

It was the other Goblins that shrieked and spat in anger. Nasty had not moved from where he stood, and instead of raising his voice, he growled in a low, threatening way.

"You will pay dearly for your atrocity, Human,"

"And who do I make out my check to? Are you going to divide my life between four of you? I'm sorry, but I never dealt lives with cowards before."

"I am no coward!" erupted Nasty, and what he did afterward surprised me more than the other Goblins—whom Nasty quickly shot to death with his Slingshot and, frankly, had no time to be surprised.

I blinked at the three fallen Goblins each with a small hole passing through the forehead.

"Nice shot," I whistled. I could not think of anything to say.

"What else do you need to make this a fair fight? Did you have a nice supper? Do you have a full stomach to take me on?" snarled Nasty from afar.

"I'm full, thanks. You?" I asked, still numb from the abrupt deaths of the three Goblins.

To my absent-minded question, Nasty broke out an evil grin that left a sickening sensation in my stomach just by looking at it.

"I, too, had quite a meal before coming here. Thanks to you, of course."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The bodies you lined up at the entrance of the lair. It took some time to find the freshest body, but we ended up eating them all anyway."

"You... dug up the graves?" I could hear my voice shake uncontrollably.

"Yes, tasted like dirt, some of them more so than others, but perhaps the flavor was exactly what was needed to mask the rotting smell. Not only did you prepare food all in one place for me, but you also taught me how to preserve the rotting Human meat the right way," jeered Nasty, cackling sharply intermittently.

"You will die for that," I gripped my bow so hard that my knuckles turned white, and then red hot.

"No, you first," said Nasty, no longer grinning.