32 Inside the cave
As Merlin and the other players entered the cave with the NPCs, the first thing they noticed was the smell. It was a putrid smell that made them want to puke. The players tried looking if they could lower the setting on the sense of smell like they did when they lowered the pain meter before the battle started.
...
They realized that the game had this kind of settings when they were first attacked. Lonelypants who was a melee class was damaged by one of the monsters and he felt the pain of the attack. That was when the players noticed that in the settings you can reduce the pain you felt. Of course, as modern-day gamers, they didn't want to feel that kind of painful experience in a game, they weren't masochists.
Yet no matter how hard they looked they couldn't find any setting to lower the sense of smell. This meant that they had to deal with the putrid smell. This was the one time the gamers hated the realism of this game.
...
As the group went deeper into the cave they found out that there was no light in the cave. As they stepped in, the group watched as their shadows dissolved into the surrounding darkness. It was dank and the only sound was the dripping water. It was so dark ahead that it looked like they were about to enter an endless abyss. Do the goblins and ogres need no lighting at all? Does that mean they had some sort of night vision, or were they using some other sense to guide them in this darkness?
'If I were like those protagonists in novels, I would have dissected the goblins and figure out what made them tick. But even if I try to do that I won't be able to understand anything.' Raymond couldn't help but sigh. He wasn't some hidden science nerd that knew how to do stuff like that.
'Has the host finally admitted his own lack of intelligence? Should we celebrate once we return?' The system's voice sounded in Raymond's mind. Though robotic it felt like it was genuinely happy, which just irritated Raymond.
'I'm pretty sure a majority of people wouldn't be able to do it as well. It's not because I'm stupid or anything, you need someone that specializes in that field to be able to do it.'
'Is the host being a Tsundere?'
'Huh? Who are you calling a tsundere?!'
As Raymond and the system were once again bickering Roselia spoke to Raymond.
"Guild Master, how should we proceed?"
"Wait a moment." Hearing Raymond's response Roselia nodded her head and waited. Raymond proceeded to open up his cash up, this was one of the functions that only he has. In it, he could buy almost anything imaginable for a price. Some of the items were also level restricted so he just can't buy things willy nilly.
Raymond scrolled through the cash shop and finally found torches and matches. Each torch cost 10 copper coins which were pretty cheap. Raymond quickly bought thirty-six torches and a few matches. He then gave everyone a torch except for John who doesn't really need it.
With that, the group proceeded to go deeper into the cave. The inside of the cave didn't look naturally formed as numerous pathways appeared as the group went deeper.
"Everyone search around if you see a prisoner bring them back here." Hearing Raymond's command the usual groups of five went to check each pathway. The players formed a group of their own and started to move around, excited to explore the cave. Since they still hadn't completed their quest by saving two captured women, they had to find them before the NPCs do.
...
Merlin and his group walked through one of the pathways, and at the end was a place that looked like a room of sorts. The smell was worse in this room, as they shined their torches in the area they were surprised at what they saw.
Several naked women were chained to the ground their bodies were thin and had scratches here and there. Some were even pregnant and it was obvious what got them pregnant. Seeing this scene made the players feel horrified especially disguisedfox who was the only girl in the group.
The group of players then started to comfort themselves by saying this is just a game, this is just a game. Some of the women who still had their sanity, when they saw the light spoke to the players.
"Is anyone there, please save us." The group of players after calming down a bit started to release the prisoners.
...
While the players were having their unique experience, Raymond also explored one of the pathways. In that pathway, he also reached a room, in that room he saw a group of small goblins feeding on human women, who looked to be their birth mothers.
The small goblins who looked rather cute noticed Raymond and cowered into a corner. Seeing them act like scared pups, made Raymond a bit irritated. Though he couldn't feel sympathy for the women, he knew that they didn't deserve to die like this.
"As one of my favorite anime characters once said. In the end, the only good goblins are the ones who never come out of their holes."
After saying his line, Raymond proceeded to kill all the goblin children.
...
After a few minutes, each group returned back to the center of the pathways, all except for one group. When Raymond saw that a group was missing, he thought that maybe the group found the boss monster and died.
'Well, we'll know when they get back.'
The other guild members then started to report to Raymond what they found. The groups mostly found women prisoners, and one of the groups found an armory of sorts. It seems like the weapons of fallen knights and mercenaries have been gathered by the goblins.
"Sir, what do we do with the women?" Brom asked. Raymond then looked at the group of nearly naked women and sighed.
"The ones who can still respond and still has their sanity, bring them to the Guild house. As for those that are devoid of emotions and are pregnant... After we bring the sane ones to safety, we'll kill the others." When Brom heard Raymond's response his eyes widened. Though Raymond could be sometimes cold and look stern, Brom knew that deep down Raymond was a good person. So he was truly surprised to hear what Raymond said
"Sir, surely we can still save them."
"... Fine, call all the guild members." Brom nodded his head and did as he was told.
...
After everyone was gathered in front of him Raymond told them what he planned to do. The reactions of some were mostly the same as Brom. The former captured women seem to have a different opinion than the others.
"If we let them live, it would only prolong their suffering. Killing them is a mercy that they deserve."
"Surely they can recover from their state. Please, Guild Master, reconsider." Roselia pleaded and so did her brother and the former knight-apprentices. The players on the other hand had no say on the matter and treated the whole thing as a cut scene.
"What the Guild Master says is right." One of the former women captured by the bandits spoke, her name was Agatha. She was one of the older women in the group.
"Why, do you say that? Surely you understand what these women are going through. Why don't we save them?"
"It's because I and the others know what they are going through, that we want to set them free from their pain. The suffering we endured pales in comparison to the suffering they endured. We only needed to please human men, they have been r*ped multiple times by monsters. The children they will bear will be monsters as well. After that kind of experience, I imagine only a few would want to live. So let us grant them the mercy they deserve."
Seeing all the other women agreeing with Agatha, Roselia and her group knew that they won't be able to convince them.
"It's settled then. We will save those that can be saved, and we will grant mercy to those that can't" After hearing Raymond's command the guild members started talking to the semi-naked women. Roselia hoped that most of them could be saved.
