Few days later...

The mission board was less crowded than usual, most students were either cramming last-minute study sessions or resting up for tomorrow. Smart move, probably.

We weren't being smart.

"Goblin nest clearance," Kyle read aloud from the notice in his hand. "Estimated five to eight goblins. Payment: forty-five silver plus ten silver per confirmed kill beyond the estimate."

"That's decent money," said the guy standing beside him.

Kai.

We'd run into him during our second mission, a herb gathering job that had turned into an impromptu rescue when he'd gotten his leg stuck in a pit trap. He was lanky, nervous energy personified, with messy brown hair and a habit of talking too fast when he was anxious. But he was competent with a spear.

Which made him tolerable.

"Decent money, decent risk," Kai continued, tapping the notice. "Goblins are stupid but vicious. Get surrounded and you're done."

"Then we don't get surrounded," said one of the new additions to our group.

Sira. She's short, stocky, with cropped black hair and a blunt, no-nonsense attitude. She wore leather armor reinforced with metal studs and carried a hand axe on each hip.

"Simple," she said flatly. "Kill them before they kill us."

"Wow. Brilliant strategy," muttered the last member of our group.

Tobias.

Tall, thin, with wire-rimmed glasses and a permanent look of mild irritation. He was a mage, and he clearly wasn't thrilled about being dragged into a combat mission the day before the practical.

But he needed money, same as the rest of us.

"Are we doing this or not?" Tobias asked, adjusting his glasses. "Because I have studying to do."

"We're doing it," Kyle said, folding the notice and tucking it into his belt. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

We left the mission hall and headed toward the equipment checkout.

The Academy provided basic gear for sanctioned missions, nothing fancy, but functional. Training uniforms reinforced with leather padding, basic weapons, a few emergency supplies.

We suited up in silence, each of us running through mental checklists.

I strapped on my sword, the one I'd bought from the equipment shop.

Kyle adjusted his own gear, checking his sword and the small shield he'd picked up during our last mission. "Everyone ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Kai muttered, gripping his spear tightly.

Sira just grunted, spinning one of her axes once before sliding it back into its holster.

Tobias sighed dramatically. "Let's just get this over with."

----

The goblin nest was located in the western woods, about an hour's walk from campus.

The trees grew thicker here, the underbrush dense and tangled. Sunlight filtered through the canopy in thin, broken beams, casting the forest floor in dappled shadow.

We moved quietly, weapons drawn, eyes scanning the surroundings.

Kyle led the way, his natural enthusiasm tempered by actual caution for once. Kai stayed close behind him, spear at the ready. Sira brought up the rear, her axes loose in her hands.

Tobias and I moved in the middle, him muttering incantations under his breath to keep a small flame hovering above his palm for light.

"How much farther?" Tobias whispered.

"Not far," Kyle said quietly. "The notice said the nest is near the old hunter's cabin. Should be just ahead."

We kept moving.

Then Kai stopped, raising his hand.

We all froze.

He pointed ahead, through the trees.

A clearing. And in the center, partially hidden by overgrown vines and fallen logs, was the entrance to a crude burrow, a hole dug into the hillside, reinforced with sticks and mud.

The goblin nest.

"There," Kai whispered.

Kyle nodded, crouching low. "Everyone see it?"

We all did.

"Okay," Kyle said quietly. "Sira, you and I go in first. Kai, cover the entrance. Tobias, stay back and use ranged fire if any try to run. Jin, you're with me and Sira."

"Got it," I said.

Sira grunted her agreement.

Tobias looked less than thrilled but nodded.

Kyle took a breath, then moved forward, keeping low.

We followed.

The entrance to the burrow was small, just wide enough for a person to crouch through. The smell hit immediately. Rotting meat, damp earth, something acrid and foul.

Goblins.

Kyle peered inside, then glanced back at us. "I see movement. At least three. Maybe more deeper in."

"Then we flush them out," Sira said.

"Or we go in and clear it," I said.

"That's suicide," Tobias hissed from behind us.

"Not if we're smart about it."

Kyle considered for a moment, then nodded. "Jin's right. If we wait, they might scatter. We go in, clear it fast, get out."

Sira grinned. "Now you're talking."

Kai looked nervous but didn't argue.

Tobias muttered something about "idiots with death wishes" but stayed put.

Kyle went in first, sword drawn.

I followed, my own blade ready.

The tunnel was cramped, dark, lit only by faint cracks of sunlight filtering through gaps in the dirt ceiling. The walls were slick with moisture, and the smell intensified the deeper we went.

Then we heard it.

High-pitched, erratic chittering. The sound of claws scraping against stone.

Kyle stopped, raising his hand.

We waited.

Then they came.

Three goblins burst from the shadows, small, twisted creatures with mottled green skin, yellow eyes, and jagged teeth. They shrieked, charging with crude weapons such as clubs, sharpened sticks, a rusty dagger.

Kyle met the first one head-on, his sword flashing. The goblin's club shattered against his shield, and he drove his blade through its chest.

One down.

Sira took the second, her axes moving in a brutal, efficient blur. The goblin didn't even have time to scream.

Two down.

The third came at me, snarling, its dagger raised.

I sidestepped, letting it overextend, then struck a clean, precise, right through the neck.

Three down.

"More coming!" Kyle shouted.

And he was right.

Five more goblins poured out from deeper in the nest, their shrieks echoing through the tunnel.

Here we go.

Kyle met them first, his sword already moving. "Stay tight! Don't let them flank!"

The first goblin lunged at him with a rusted blade.

Another came from the left.

Sira was already there, her axes flashing in tight, brutal arcs. The goblin's club splintered under the first strike. The second took its head clean off.

"Keep moving forward!" she barked, her voice sharp and commanding. "Don't give them space!"

Kai jabbed with his spear from behind Kyle, keeping the next wave at bay. His movements were quick, nervous, but effective. "There's more! I see at least three more coming!"

"Then we kill three more!" Kyle shouted back, his grin wild despite the chaos.

He's enjoying this.

I stepped forward, my sword cutting down another goblin as it tried to slip past Kyle's guard.

[+100 EXP]

[+230 EXP]

[+180 EXP]

...

[Ding!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level 6 —> Level 8]

[+10 Stat Points Available]

I wiped the sweat from my brow, ignoring the notification for now, and pushed forward.

The tunnel narrowed ahead, the walls pressing in on both sides. My sword scraped against the dirt ceiling as I tried to swing.

I blocked a goblin's club, but the confined space made it awkward. My blade caught on the wall, and I had to wrench it free.

This isn't working.

Sira noticed immediately. She glanced back, saw me struggling, and without a word, tossed one of her hand axes toward me.

I caught it mid-air, the weight unfamiliar but manageable.

"Use that!" she shouted, already turning back to cut down another goblin.

I gripped the axe, testing the balance.

The next goblin lunged.

I swung.

The axe buried itself in its skull with a sickening crack.

Better.

I kicked the corpse off the blade and moved forward, the axe now my primary weapon.

[+80 Exp]

But there were still too many.

And they were getting smarter, falling back, regrouping, trying to surround us in the tight corridor.

I need an edge.

I activated Debug Vision, scanning the nearest goblin.

[Target: Goblin Warrior]

HP: 45/45

Status: Aggressive

I focused, editing the ground beneath its feet.

[Minor String Edit]

[Target: ground_surface]

[Parameter: friction]

[0.68 → 0.25]

The goblin charged.

Its foot slipped mid-stride, and it stumbled forward, off-balance.

I drove the axe into its chest before it could recover.

Another came from the right.

I edited again, this time increasing the air resistance around its weapon arm by fifteen percent.

It swung its club, but the motion was sluggish, delayed just enough for me to sidestep and counter.

The axe took it in the throat.

I kept the edits small, precise. Just enough to create openings without draining myself.

Kyle fought beside me, his sword flashing in the dim light. He was breathing hard now, sweat dripping down his face, but his grin never faltered.

"This is insane!" he shouted, laughing as he blocked another attack.

"You're insane!" Kai yelled back, jabbing his spear past Kyle's shoulder.

"Same thing!"

Sira cut through two goblins in quick succession, her movements efficient and brutal. "Less talking! More killing!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Tobias stayed near the entrance, his flame spell casting flickering light into the tunnel. "How many more are there?!"

"Too many!" I shouted back.

We pushed deeper.

The tunnel widened slightly, opening into a larger chamber.

The smell here was worse, rot and filth and something metallic. Blood.

And then we saw them.

More goblins. At least a dozen, scattered throughout the chamber. Some were eating. Some were sharpening weapons. Others were just... waiting.

Kyle stopped at the entrance, his expression shifting from excitement to grim determination. "Oh, shit."

"Yeah," I muttered.

Sira raised her remaining axe. "We can take them."

"Can we?" Tobias asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"We don't have a choice," I said.

The goblins noticed us.

They shrieked, grabbing weapons and charging.

"Here they come!" Kyle shouted, raising his shield.

We met them head-on.

The chamber erupted into chaos, steel clashing, goblins shrieking, fire spells exploding against the walls as Tobias hurled flames from the entrance.

I fought with the axe, cutting down goblins one after another, editing when I needed an edge, conserving MP when I didn't.

Keep moving. Don't stop.

Kyle took a hit to the shoulder but pushed through, his sword never slowing.

Kira was a whirlwind, her axes carving through goblins like they were nothing.

Kai jabbed and retreated, jabbed and retreated, his spear keeping them at bay.

And slowly, we gained ground.

One by one, the goblins fell.

Until finally, the chamber went silent.

We stood there, breathing hard, covered in blood and grime.

"Everyone okay?" Kyle gasped.

"Alive," Sira grunted.

"Barely," Kai muttered.

"I hate this," Tobias said flatly.

I wiped the blood off the axe, scanning the chamber.

Then I heard it.

A sound from deeper in the nest.

Not shrieking. Not chittering.

But crying.

Human, crying.

Kyle heard it too. His head snapped toward the back of the chamber. "What the hell is that?"

We moved forward, weapons still drawn, following the sound.

At the far end of the chamber, partially hidden behind crude wooden barriers, was another tunnel.

And inside were...

Cages.

Rough, makeshift, built from wood and rope.

And inside them—

Women and girls. Maybe five or six of them, huddled together, filthy and terrified.

Oh, fuck.

Kyle's face went pale. "What the?"

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