Amara was clearly perturbed, her breaths ragged and bored as fatigue weighed heavily on her. With each exhale, wisps of hot air escaped her lips, mirr the waning strength of her magical barrier. Finally, like a flickering mana crystal mp on the verge of extinguishing, her barrier faltered and dissipated into nothingness.
Like a pair of gophers, the bandits cocked their heads excitedly. Sensing their opportunity, they abaheir mundane game of cards and turheir attention to the vulnerable prey before them.
A perverse grin spread across their faces as they eagerly advaowards the ered mb, their anticipation palpable as they prepared to indulge in something far more thrilling than their previous pastime.
“Kekeke,” one of them chuckled darkly. “Your resistance was admirable, but you only deyed the iable.”
The other man licked his lips, his gaze trailing over her exhausted form, slick with sweat. “Yious types are so wasteful,” he accused, throwing himself on top of her like a bloated toad. “How you bear to gh life without making use of the wonderful body that yod so graciously gave you?”
“But don’t worry,” the other man enced with a twisted smile. “We’ll py our part and give your pipes a good ing. Proper maintenance is long overdue, right? Keke!”
“The boss’s meat sword is so massive he’ll never suspect you’ve already been used,” reassured the other man, more to himself than the healer. “After all the waiting you put us through, you better be tight as shit.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” demahe other bandit. “Who the hell died and made you king, huh? Why do you get to go first? Let’s measure cocks; the smaller oo go first,” he argued fidently.
The other man ged at the bizarre suggestion. “What the hell? That’s creepy as fuck! Just flip a , you weird bastard!”
The man looked a bit disappointed, but he ceded to the idea and fished a copper from his pocket. “Then here goes,” he remarked, flig the metal into the air. “And no take-backsies!”
Before the could plete its dest into the man’s waiting hand, a boot from behind found its mark in that vulnerable spot between his legs.”
“Hic!”
A high-pitched squeal escaped his lips as he doubled over, crumpling to the ground in agony. Standing behind him was a youth with silver hair and stern butterscotch eyes, his expression unfriendly.
DING!
[Seeds of Ruin]
[Quest Difficulty: C
A Goblin Shaman—an anomalous monster driven by an insatiable thirst for power and trol has somehow obtaihe forbidden knowledge of aeric sce.
For the past two years, it has anded a formidable horde of goblins to capture highly fertile human females. These unfortunate womehen used as vessels teically superioblin offspring. If properly indoated, these demihumans possess the potential to unleash untold havoc upon the world.
Clear ditions: A new victim has retly been procured to ceive another child. Your task is to ralize the Goblin Shaman and its horde, freeing the prisoners before any further harm be inflicted.
Rewards:
?? EXP +15,000
?? Ruablet
?? 90 Gold
Quest Failure:
?? Prolonged suffering of the prisoners
?? Emergence of a formidable new species
?? Rise of a Goblin King]
“You little shit!” yelled the other bandit as he rose to his feet and brandished his on. “Who the hell do you think you are, huh?!”
“RAWR!”
Before the bastard could charge in, Zephyr lu his unprotected groin, sinking his sharp teeth mercilessly into the tender flesh.
“M-My genitals!” he whimpered in a high-pitched voice, his arms raised as if pleading with the gods of hedonism to take pity on him.
“Who the hell ever uses the wenitals anymore?” Daisuke scoffed.
As Zephyr tio thrash his head from side to side like a rabid beast, the man’s eyes rolled bato his head and he fainted, his soul seemingly departing through his gaping mouth to heaven.
“ you manage?” Daisuke inquired calmly, extending his hand to the distressed healer.
Knowing that time was of the essehe girl bit her lip and summoned her ce. Wiping away her tears, she took his supportive hand and did her best to find equilibrium on unsteady feet.
Amara observed her savior’s youthful appearand briefly questioned his reliability, but she had no other option but to rely on him. Every moment ted for her panions’ survival.
“Please, help my friends!” she implored, desperation evident in her voice.
***
Death permeated the chamber like a tangible presence, mingling with the siing stench of blood that hung heavy in the air. The trembling toddlers sought so the arms of their terrified mothers. The explosive exge between the goblins and the bandits had ceased—now desperate cries and g steel were repced by the grisly sounds of breaking bones and tearing flesh.
The goblins reveled in their victory, their joy palpable as they feasted on the flesh of their fallen foes in glorious abandon. For them, the transition from battle to feast horic cresdo, a heady cocktail of triumph and indulgence.
Mana and Gloria watched the gruesome spectacle unfold with trembling eyes, unaware that the nightmare had only just begun. Without warning, the mastermind behind the bloodbath emerged before them, casting a sinister shadow over the age.
“…I’m sorry,” Gloria whispered repentantly as she lowered her head and cautiously backed away.
Mana, caught off guard by the woman’s suddereat, stumbled and fell before she could maintain her bance. In that moment, for the very first time, she witnessed a chilling transformation in the goblin’s demeanor. Its previously indifferent expression gave way to a disturbingly eager lust, its eyes alight with excitement and its grotesque tongue snaking out between rows of jagged teeth.
A chill ran down Mana’s spine as the creature seized her hair, its grip rough and unfiving. With callous disregard for her well-being, it began dragging her across the uneven ground toward the newly erected tent.
Mana squirmed and twisted in a futile attempt to break free from the goblin’s monstrous grip. She briefly eaihe idea of cutting her hair to escape its clutches, but all her ons had been seized—even her cealed daggers were effectively snuffed out.
Just as the monster was about to disappear into the shadows of the tent—
SWISHH!
A throwing dagger struck its back with pinpoint accuracy. With a snarl of pain, the goblin flung its prize aside like a discarded toy.
“Oomph!” Mana grunted as she collided with the unfiving ground.
The goblin, infuriated by the attack, tore the dagger from its back with a growl e. Discarding the bloody on, it turo front its unseen assaint with malevolent i.
As its beady eyes darted around the cavern with arming urgency, Mana lunged for the dagger before her mind could form a coherent thought. She drove it into the bastard’s thigh and twisted it mercilessly.
“Kiiiieeehhhk!”
The creature howled in agony, retaliating with a swift bad that sent Mana sprawling to the ground. With a scowl, the goblirieved the bde, its gaze shifting from the blood-stained edge to the defiant woman before it.
For a fleeting moment, it pted ending her life then and there, but the creature knew better than to waste such a valuable resource. It was already bad enough that it had lost a perfectly good female to the uncivilized whims of its kin. And now with the guild’s efforts focused on training younger recruits, acquiring more hosts would prove increasingly difficult.
With a grunt, the goblin hurled the dagger even farther away, hoping to rid itself of the pesky threat. But this time, it wasn’t Mana who retaliated, but Gloria. Summoning every ounce of her strength, she barreled herself into the goblin like a raging minitaur, sending the creature hurtling off the ledge and into the ranks of its kin below.
“Gehh.”
A lone gobli out a sigh of te as it raised its head from the gaping abdomen of a fallen bandit. Now that its face wasn’t buried irails of its hearty meal, it sensed a peculiar st in the air.
Like a Bearhound, the creature cocked its head and sniffed around inquisitively. Slowly, cautiously, it followed the trail to a suspiound nearby. The moment it was within arm’s reach—
SWISHH!
It found its vision ied and stubbornly refusing tht itself. A heartbeat ter, a final breath before its demise, the creature realized it had been beheaded.
Daisuke emerged from the shadows in the beat, shedding the cloak of goblin corpses that had masked his st and camoufged his approach, his bde gleaming in the dim light of the cavern.
