KRIKS' GUILT; KROK'S AGONY

"So that is how you recover, huh, KRIKRI"

The faint scent of fear wafted out from Felix. His disheveled coaly hair grazed the girth of the hollow tree as he pulled back in the already narrowed space.

The brother goblin felt pleased with his reaction. It was something he expected from the naive young elf.

He made sure to close the distance between them with erratic steps, sallow spits escaped his mouth, spattering right at Felix's forehead.

*spat*

Felix grew disoriented.

"You... What do you want from me?"

The brother goblin gripped his chin, lifting his head with intensifying pressure. The force grew fiercer and fiercer until Felix groaned in pain.

"Augh!"

"What do I want from you? I want you to die! KRIKRI", the brother goblin, Krok, sneered.

Felix had a glimpse of what they wanted. They had mentioned it one time when they assaulted him at the [Slime Practice Dungeon (E)]. Still, he doubted that it was all that.

Felix guessed it right. Krok and the other goblins harassed him not only to offer him as a tribute but much more because he was an easy prey.

Lone. Naive. Weak. It was easy to corrupt this perfect prey.

"But, you cannot die yet. Not until the examination ends. Kri"

Krok pulled his body from the ground, throwing Felix out of the narrow crevice. His butt shuddered as it fell heavily on the rocky patches of the ground.

"KRIKRIKRI"

Wild laughter from the other 4 goblins mocked him. Instantly, a wire-enclosed bat came hurling to his just-recovered feet.

*splat*

Blood spurted out from his smashed and punctured feet that appeared like a honeycomb. Amidst all the pain and scorning laughter, Felix held his breath and didn't utter a single groan of pain.

Felix held his breath a little longer until the assault finally came to an abrupt halt. The rusty taste of blood splattered on his zipped lips, filling the air with the metallic scent of blood and grime.

Just when Felix thought that everything would finally end, a skill-powered bat whacked the back of his head, hammering his skull inches deep into the ground. Rocks jabbed his head as Felix fell unconscious in an instant.

Goblins were notoriously vicious and malevolent. They were dismissive and never let their victim plead for their lives. They right away killed them before a few words could even escape their mouths.

If Felix didn't serve the purpose of being a tribute, he would be as good as dead by now.

Felix was aware of this. That was why it came as a surprise that before he could fully lose consciousness, a vague and remorseful voice of one of the goblins pricked his hearing.

The aggrieved voice mumbled.

"Sorry, we also have to survive, kri..."

-----

"Brother, do you think it was the right thing to do?"

Kriks had grown tired of their evil deeds. The foreign feeling of guilt and morality lingered in his heart for a while now. He couldn't brandish these feelings that he erupted and speak out.

He could no longer tolerate their actions.

"He never wronged us, brother, kri", Kriks stammered.

However, Krok remained still to his beliefs. He would never let go of his notorious traits for as long as he stayed in this other world. He would never wash his hands off his evil deeds.

Krok glanced at Kriks.

Kriks was clearly smaller than him. Kriks was only 120 cm tall and appeared like a kid. Though, Krok was not that different. He was only 140 cm tall and similarly, like an innocent kid who had never even touched a knife.

In fact, these speculations were not that different from the truth. Kriks was only 8 years old while Krok was a little older by 3 years.

Growing up in a world where survival of the fittest ruled, their weakest clan made the already complicated things far more difficult. They had to yield a knife at the young age of 5.

They had fought their way, battling clan after clan, until their own clan loathed them. In the end, they were branded as exiles and sent to this other world.

Krok glanced at Kriks. His eyes were wistful.

"I never considered your feelings, I am sorry. kri... I don't know that you will grow to this much, Kriks.", Krok patted the shoulder of Kriks.

"I am proud of you, kri"

Kroks added, "You are right, you guys should have never done that. You are all too young...kri"

Krok gathered the other goblins, glancing at each of their sallows and tearful eyes. Kroks solaced.

"From now on, only I will do the deeds. You guys just do not have to do that anymore, okay? kri"

A tear escaped Krok's eyes. He knew that assaulting others was not the right thing but the situation kept calling for him to do that.

It was either he stop all at once and die along with his fellow goblins, or kill others and live.

Krok made a choice and he chose the latter.

Kriks was grim as he looked at Krok. But he also knew that Krok had made a decision - a decision that was good for all of them.

Kriks could only lower his head in shame for voicing out his thoughts. Had he not spoken, Krok wouldn't have had to carry the heavy burdens all by himself. Kriks turned disoriented.

Their wishful moments came to an abrupt halt with the drifting in of the horrifying cries of an [Owl Bear] rampaging to the side. Its rounded eyes were fixed on the small prey, their wild noises spurred nostalgia to the monster.

Apparently, it was the owl bear from earlier. The one they tricked to ensure that Felix wouldn't die yet. Not until he fulfilled his role.

The [Owl Bear] was faster at night, stomping erratically on the ground. Its massive paws were restless, with its hooked beaks salivating. It couldn't wait to savor the taste of sweet revenge.

The notorious ferocious trait of the [Owl Bear] became more apparent as it whacked its paws sloppily. The monster was furious.

The Owl Bear's main weakness was also its greatest strength - its ferocity.

The whacks driven by madness were scoffed at as several openings that served both means for evading and attacking the monster were clear in view.

Krok immediately took his barbed bats and went in for an attack. With the use of his B-grade skill, the barbs became more lethal as they punctured the thick coating of bristly furs.

It took him his entire strength to deal with shallow and trivial wounds. The other goblins took their respective bats, striking the enraged [Owl Bear] at the exact spot that Krok had stricken.

The moment their feet landed on the ground, they hastily pulled back, encircled the owlbear, and then came to their positions, brandishing their bats once openings appeared. It was a protracted battle but it best suited these goblins.

Their attacks were synchronized, harmonizing with each other. A thread intertwining their thoughts seemed to appear and tie them together, bringing forth a notably harmonized assault.

Krok lunged, puncturing the barbs to the bleeding wound. The moment his feet landed, another goblin raised his bats and attacked.

Everything was in harmony.

They were united.

One couldn't live without the other. Divided, their assault would fail.

However, they didn't have a skill that could deal extensive damage to the [Owl Bear]. Their aptitude for bats was nothing to scoff at and their footwork that was enhanced through their years of battle experience was sloppy yet effective.

However, the fight was dragging on for a longer period. Exhaustion began to fill their bodies, panting for air with each step. In no time, Kriks tripped on the ground which made him secondly evade the incoming paw.

*whack*

His left arm bled from the impact.

The damages kept on piling up until an hour after where the large stature of the [Owl Bear] shuddered and then fell heavily to the ground. A deep punctured dotted its neck.

The battle had exhausted the goblins to the core. As they speculated, battling a single monster was the best they could do. Any more than that could spell doom to their group.

Good thing, they had all leveled up. Minor wounds vanished like a joke, leaving major injuries that would take time to heal.

Shortly, Krok took out the mana crystal and then sheltered in the hollow tree along with the wounded goblins. They had decided to end the day, recovering for the upcoming battles the day after.

---

Daybreak painted the sky with vibrant golden hues. The tangled hollow trees filtered the light with their densely packed leaves, leaving only a little shaft of light to dawn upon the participants.

The second day was not that different from the 1st day. Only that the competition was intensifying with everyone vying for a higher spot.

Some were steady on killing astray monsters while most were frantic for mana crystals.

On the deeper part of the dungeon, the number of monsters had visibly decreased. This made the higher species experience a sudden sluggish acquisition rate most especially when noon hit.

At night, the numbers were no different. There were only two or three in considerable packs of roaming [Owl Bear].

While a portion lamented whilst others rejoiced, the young boy inside the hollow tree on the outskirts of the dungeon was enigmatic. The skeleton before him scanned the surroundings with utmost vigil.

Alab was down to the last 2 more items before he reach his goal. The night of the 2nd day was deep yet Alab was only about to take his dinner.

He took his time chewing on the insipid dried meat whilst recovering his mana. The humid air of the night sent a chilly waft to his little figure.

After some time, he restored his mana and right away converted an item.

[Your converted points have increased.]

[D-grade points +1]

[[Available Converted Points:

- D (×99) ]

Alab was down to his last point!

He sent another chilly air to his nose with a deep breath. His body was relaxed yet vigil on the rough surface of the crevice.

It was not only after more than an hour did his perceptions sent him an alert.

An [Owl Bear] was close by. Its feathered ears raised in an attempt to locate even the trivial bit of sound.

Alab held his breath.

However, he seemed to have underestimated the owl's profound hearing. The moment it inched into the hollowed tree, the suppressed breathing of Alab failed to conceal the mildest sound of the contraction and expansion of his chest.

The [Owl Bear] turned its massive head toward the location of Alab. The large round eyes peeked through the crevice and with no words needed, the battle stage was already on fire.

The [Skeleton Apprentice] quickly punctured the peering eyes.

"HOOOT!"

*clang clang*

The monster shrieked in pain, whacking at the hollow tree blindly.