Trails of yellow slime could be seen emerging from the darkness, leading to a particur hole. Inside the hole, a goblin resided - but this was no ordinary goblin. His mind was filled with memories from his human life, where he had been betrayed and killed by his friends. Reincarnated as a baby goblin, he had been forced to fend for himself in a nest belonging to a powerful beast. His life had been a constant struggle for survival, battling against infected creatures and fighting for food. As a result, despair had taken root in his heart.

  Covered in sweat, he pulled out a knife and began to tend to the burned wounds on his stomach. Slowly and meticulously, he threaded the broken guts and organs back together using spider thread. Blood dripped from his mouth as he bit down on a piece of wood to endure the unbearable pain. He watched his organs pulse in sync with his heart, and once he finished, he stitched the external wounds shut.

  Although he was finished, his hands were now covered in pus and worms, crawling up his fingers. The stench was overwhelming, enough to make an ordinary person nauseous, but Theo had become accustomed to it - he had eaten such things before when there was no other choice.

  "What is this...?"

  He gazed down at his pus-covered hands surprised at the amount of slime it accumuted. His mind was in shambles, with everything spinning in a painful daze. Even after the operation had concluded, his suffering continued, and the trauma lingered on.

  A sharp noise pierced his eardrums, but it was not physical - it existed solely within his head. He clutched both ears with his hands as his brain throbbed, vibrating painfully inside his skull.

  He gasped, struggling to catch his breath. However, no matter how fast or deeply he breathed, he couldn't satiate what his mind craved. With each passing moment, he felt his sanity slipping away.

  He noticed that his body is getting weirder.

  The first evidence that something was amiss was when he failed to die. Though he had been stabbed with a staff that pierced his belly and guts, he kept on moving and fighting, neglecting the yellow slime that oozed from his wounds instead of blood. The second indication that something was off was the fact that his wounds produced this strange substance.

  But that wasn't all - he also began to hear and see things that weren't there. Sometimes, he would glimpse words and numbers on the wall that vanished as quickly as they appeared. These strange occurrences were the third instance that proved something was awry.

  "Ah... Are you okay?"

  The girl asked in concern about his state. Theo looks at her and forces a smile on his mouth.

  "I am fine... Did I make you worry, Iris?"

  There was a brief silence before Iris responded softly with her malleable voice.

  "I see... you are becoming one of them," she murmured.

  Theo gazed at the organs contained within the jars, surrounded by words and numbers. His vision was becoming obstructed by the word 'corpse' and zeroes until he could no longer discern anything clearly.

  "One of... What are you talking about? That's not funny at all"

  The pain in his head felt like someone was stabbing his skull, and sweat dripped continuously from his face. His eyes quivered as he surveyed his surroundings, which were being twisted and distorted by a barrage of words.

  "Don't pretend you didn't know. I knew... you knew. You are Infected. That's why pathetic wounds like this won't kill you so easily"

  Theo shrugged in response. He knew all too well that infected creatures couldn't be easily killed unless their brain was destroyed. Merely putting a hole in his stomach would be of little use if his body was already decaying from within.

  "Heh... What do you know?"

  Theo pressed his head with his hands, trying to recim his sanity through pain.

  "Surrender yourself, surrender your body. We will become one, happy family. With no lies, no deceit, no suffering."

  The organs seemed to stare at him through the transparent gss. Iris's voice was calm and hypnotic, and Theo felt himself on the verge of losing consciousness.

  His eyes became hazy and unfocused, and he felt his body growing increasingly limp and rexed. He lost all sense of pain, and his face took on a serene expression as he sank deeper into the peaceful darkness.

  BANG!!

  "SHUT YOUR ASS!!"

  A second ter, he smmed his head against the ground, causing a wound to his forehead, and blood began to seep out. But in doing so, he regained his awareness.

  A soft giggle responded to his outburst.

  "They are coming. We are coming for you, goblin."

  The words vanished from his sight, and he finally regained his composure. He closed his eyes and focused on reguting his breathing, attempting to meditate in order to calm his mind and reflect on the sudden psychological attack.

  "Daaa! Goblin goblin goblin..."

  Theo's meditation was abruptly interrupted by the sudden appearance of a face on the wall. Panic set in as his eyes were once again flooded with words, but he forced them to shut before they could harm him. When he opened his eyes again, the words had disappeared.

  'As long as I could shut my mind out'

  It is a monster called Wall Face. It doesn't attack because it is not its main body but just the eye that tracks its prey. After the Wall Face located its prey, Wall Flesh will appear which will turn the walls into flesh and emits digestive enzymes that will melt its food.

  Theo grabbed a sword made from a spider fang and thrust it into the forehead of the creature's face. It swelled up and popped like a balloon, spewing maggots, organs, and pus all over him. He fell backwards onto the ground, and then suddenly he starts ughing like a maniac.

  "HAha... HAHAHAHA-"

  'Brother...'

  Archie's voice snapped Theo out of his hysterical ughter. He knew it was just his mind pying tricks on him, but he couldn't shake off the feeling of unease. He needed to get out of this pce and find Archie, but with his current appearance and situation, he knew it was a far cry from reality.

  "I need to relocate my base..."

  Theo muttered to himself. He stood up and wiped the pus off his face. It was too risky to sleep in the same location now that he had been found out. He packed his leather bag made from the skin of a beast, taking all of his weapons and materials he might need, along with Iris.

  The bag is rger than he is, but he is accustomed to its weight. His determination to survive is much heavier than any burden he carries.

  Looking back at his former home, he lets out a sigh.

  'There is no safe pce as long as I am at this shit hole '

  ............

  ......

  ...

  The following day, he was stunned to find that the water in the pond had frozen over, turning it into a solid ice floor."

  "Why the fuck is my water solid!!!"

  He excimed in shock, as he observed the previous pond of water transform into a floor of ice. It was a perfect pce for him to live, not just because of the infinite supply of clean water, but also because of how narrow the entrance is, which made it difficult for rge monsters to enter.

  "I am going to kill that bitch!"

  He said as his fingernails scratches the ice.