Rook felt the pock marks and rough surface as his fingers glided across the wall. “I’m doing this, looking for exploits, because this isn’t my natural home. I was given a disadvantage by coming here in my mid-twenties.” He sighed. “I know you’re unfamiliar, but my military is glamorized. People don’t know much about Soldiers, so they go off of what TV, manga, and movies tell us.” He rubbed his finger and thumb together, letting the cave dust drift to the ground. “I know all of those are also foreign to you as well. Anyways, if a Soldier gets sent on a mission to an unfamiliar place or gets Isekai’d to another world like I was, they are usually Johnny Badass and not.” He met her gaze. “Well, not me. I was a military police Soldier. Which means nobody likes people with my job, and it also means I’m not adequately trained for this. So I have to cheat, and I can’t apologize for it. I need to get stronger so we can survive and meet our collective goals.” He stood up. “Your opinion is one of the few in existence that I actually care about, but to achieve my new mission, I gotta get stronger and kill the Bloodstone.”

  “I understand why you have to do what you’re doing, so I’ll try to fight the jealous feelings.”

  “I’ll be there each step of the way with you both,” Mara chimed in a motherly fashion.

  They continued down the tunnel, their soft shuffling steps echoing within the narrowing tunnel. Rook used the rune lantern to illuminate the way. This thing goes on forever. There was a shimmer down the cavern, an orange flicker of light. Hmm? The slope evened to a neutral grade, and Rook took a short halt to assess the surroundings.

  “What the hell’s that?” he whispered, forgetting that they were in an enemy cave.

  An orange hue lit the tunnel as they turned a corner, meeting another fork in the road. Rook checked his map; it was cloudy minus the areas they came from, which were clear as day. He inspected the winding tunnels and corridors they traveled through. Then he frowned. Thank God.

  “You can pull the carabiner back. We don’t need it. Remember my map?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Good, because I passively charted the way.” Rook decided to turn right. “This way, first by process of elimination.” He opened his map, and the course they took was charted in the map on a sub-surface level.

  The tunnel led to an antechamber within which a large gathering of goblins gaggled into a crowd of at least one hundred. The gathering bowed and waned in front of a very large, very fat humanoid. They chanted an incoherent goblin song he couldn’t understand. Reina noticed the consternation on his face.

  “Identify,” She whispered under her breath. “There’s too many to get a read on. However, most of them are hovering in the lower levels. I can’t identify the big one, but it seems like it’s a type of leader or something. They’re treating it like an emperor.”

  “I’ve seen pictures of emperors in my travels, and I doubt he’s in this shithole dungeon. Normally, they have a funny hat and a posse, not a giant pale belly and a loincloth,” Rook responded.

  “It’s an ogre,” Mara said, with a frown. “Nasty things, brutal and meat eaters.”

  Let’s go the other way.” Rook led them back until they hit the two-way fork. “Keep on your toes, let me scout ahead. I will whistle twice when you are good to follow.”

  Rook hugged the wall in a low crouch, his heart pounding in his ears and anticipation sitting in his gut. He peeked around the corner, and there was a pale blue-skinned man, blindfolded and tied to a wooden pillar in the middle of the corridor. He snuck up to the prisoner, ensuring his technique was perfect. Balls of my feet, low crouch. Heel, toe, heel, toe.

  The wooden pillar was old, marred with scratches and years of damage. One section was seared as if it had been torched. Did they torture people on this?

  “The goblins will be back soon. You should leave,” the man said, looking towards Rook’s direction.

  Rook froze in place. Could he hear my heart? I was silent. He whistled twice, and the rest of the party strolled in moments after.

  “Two humans and a torokin? What are you doing in this territory?” The man asked himself.

  “Jigs up, might as well come on in, guys,” Rook said over his shoulder.

  “Are you an elf then?” Reina asked, walking up to study the man.

  That makes more sense. He was indistinguishable from any other human, slightly emaciated and dried like jerky. That and the blue skin are the only things that gave him away as something else. He inspected the room further. The walls had seemed different, in some way. The natural stone walls, jagged and shaped by moisture, were replaced here by smooth black stone. He was no archaeologist, but knew this particular space was much older than the rest of the corridors they crept into. In fact, on the map, it showed up as a greyed area, as if the map recognized it was different.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “I am one of the Dawndrasil.” The elf sighed. Or Dawn Elves, as you lowly humans call it.”

  “You are awfully grateful to potential rescuers,” Rook said, pulling the elf’s blindfold free. “Oh God!” Rook said, with more shock than he intended. He carefully placed the blindfold back on.

  The dawn elf was delicate looking, he had long dark blue hair that cascaded over pointed ears full of gold piercings and a sharp-featured face.

  “This guy’s kinda handsome, isn’t he?” Rook asked.

  “Yes, very pleasant to look at,” Reina responded.

  “Minus the scar that took his eyes out,” Rook said, inspecting the wound. The deep cut was seared around the edges as if it were created by a hot blade.

  “Agreed,” Mara said, taking a step closer.

  “If you are done insulting me, I will happily take a dagger to the heart, or possibly–you can untie me before I get sent back to the Dawn by these goblin scum.”

  “Right,” Rook tried the goblin’s blade to cut the binds free. “Sorry it’s taking so long. The rope is hard to cut.” He inspected the blade, thinking it was dull before trying again.

  “I’ll get it,” Mara said, getting in a low stance with her greatsword.

  “Wait!” the elf hissed. “I can’t see, but I can tell you’re about to swing some massive weapon. The pillar is rune-locked, and the switch is on the wall,” the elf said, with heavy annoyance.

  Mara walked over to a small rock jutting out from the wall and smashed a fist into it. Moments after the elf’s binds blinked and popped, leaving behind just a normal rope.

  “My name is Rook, and this is Reina.” He pointed at Mara. “My strong friend there is Mara. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “I’m sure it’s your pleasure,” the elf replied, then sighed. “I am Alderion Kai of the Dawndrasil, A guard of the royal Dawnsworn.” He dusted himself off and stared into space for a long moment. “I spent so many levels and stats just to stay alive in this place,” he muttered.

  “What do you mean spent levels?” Reina asked, her journal out and ready.

  “The Dawndrasil can sustain their life force at the expense of skills and stats. I’m as useless now as a low-level temple monk.” Alderion walked towards the back of the cavern, leaving the prison he had stayed in for God knows how long behind. The orange hue became a small candle as they walked down another twisting tunnel. Since the way back was shot, they had to settle for following this dawn elf out of the cavern.

  “How do you know the way?” Rook asked, not convinced he wasn’t leading them into a trap.

  “I’ve run through these tunnels in my head over and over, thousands and hundreds of thousands of times.”

  “I bet finding an elf tied to a pillar wasn’t on the bingo card,” Rook said, looking at Reina.

  “If Jodys watching now, he’s probably smoking his pipe in shock,” Reina added back.

  After about twenty minutes, they reached the precipice of the cavern once again, overlooking the valley below. Goblins were gathered in a formation as big as a company-sized element of anxious, undisciplined, and split down the middle. Some dressed in mismatched black metal armor. Others had the furs and hide armoire of the Thunderfist. They waited in front of a giant bonfire that illuminated the lot of the gangled mass. The ogre was a literal giant, sitting in a throne made of bones.

  “What are all these goblins doing in the Mine of Struggle?” Rook asked, tugging at his collar.

  They’re gathered most likely at that ogre’s command. Goblins are tribe creatures, and have no business being led by ogres. The tribe leader should be another goblin,” Reina said, squinting her eyes down at the group.

  “They did this all the time in Thrakkamar, ogres lead these goblins all the time,” Alderion said, but an invasion so close to a human settlement is hardly normal. Those humans are quick to build, not sure if they can defend a horde like this.”

  “That Settlement is Ollar City, the trading capital of Centrulia. There’s some powerful people there, I doubt even this horde would make it to the walls.”

  Alderion regarded her before turning his attention back on the crowd. “What’s happening? All I see are masses of anxious energy.”

  “The short version is a big group of ugly goblins are being addressed by an ugly ogre,” Rook said, absentmindedly.

  The elf nodded and frowned at the congregation.

  “There are so many goblins, and you are blind. Full disclosure, we are probably not the strongest group of adventurers that could have come by.”

  “I can outmaneuver the lot of you combined, and I can handle myself, so don’t waste your foul human breath.”

  Rook was taken aback at the backhanded comment, but chuckled. When was the last time I brushed my teeth? One day, two? He exhaled into his palm and agreed with the elf. I smell almost as bad as the carrion slime we killed. Almost.

  Only an idiot or a very trustworthy man follows a blind elf down a twisting rock path, two hundred meters above a congregation of bloodthirsty goblins. I don’t even want to know what that ogre will do in a fight. Rook shot a gaze at the ogre, it was as big as a mammoth in the natural history museum, the bald cyclops must have been over twenty feet tall at the height of its pointed horn.

  Mara used her greatsword as a walking stick on the narrow trail. Focus, don’t fall. He continued down the path, amazed that the elf was deftly half sliding, half shuffling down the path. He felt like a man with club foot following a pro track runner in a race. I have to tell Reina how much I hate this kind of elf, too…

  Alderion stopped, pointing one hand down towards a narrow mole hole on a ledge fifteen feet below. “In there, it should take us to a lower level.” He said, scaling the rocky decline. “I’m not waiting, he said as his boots slid down the grade.

  “In what world am I going to be able to do that?” Mara asked, eyes wide.

  Rook shrugged, not totally sure he’d be able to pull it off himself. Good thing this world didn’t require saving throws because rolling a one would be detrimental.

  Reina sat on the edge of the decline and dug her boots into the earth. “I am going to try.”

  Rook followed suit, the jagged rocks of the slope eating into the exposed skin on his arms and poking into his pants. Don’t show weakness to this elf. He grimaced as a sharp rock jabbed him in the back of the hamstring. So much for a beginner dungeon. Mara used her sword as a means to slow her descent. The torokin was surprisingly nimble for such a bulky being.

  The cavern shook with echoing footsteps, and Rook jerked his head to the source, throwing his rhythm off. Flailing his arms to regain purchase on the eroded slope, his foot caught in a crack and pitched him forward, slowly towards disaster. Fuck, fuck. His Attramancy surged, and his boot slammed into a nearby boulder with a loud crack. Vibrations of pain pulsed into his ankle up his thigh, taking off a percent of his health.

  “Gah!” he cried out.

  Did I do that? The boulder shifted with his magically enhanced kick, losing some rubble before rolling down the slope. His heart pounded in fear, and a bead of sweat trailed down his face. Please let nobody see or hear that.

  You have slain Thunderfist goblin

  12 experience gained. 79 of 950 experience until level 17

  Uh oh. That's not good.