Chapter 2: An Unknown World

The table that was previously stood proud next to its beloved cousin, the wooden door, was now a miserable pile of broken wood that lay helplessly on the ground. The only thing that Max managed to salvage from his slaughter attempt was one of the legs of the table.

The leg of the table was hefty enough to pack a punch but not heavy enough to exhaust him too quickly. The top of it was slightly pointed from where he tore it off of its frame, though it wouldn't do much damage in its current form.

"What a worthy sacrifice you made..." Max whispered to the miserable remains of the table.

He gave his new homemade club a few swings and nodded happily before he got ready to leave the Saferoom.

"I should do some stretches before I leave... can't be too safe now, can we?" He said in a self-assuring tone.

And after nearly 15 minutes of some light stretches he finally put his hand on the small door handle of the ancient wooden door. He felt worry begin to fill him once more but he shook his head and pushed onwards.

'It's now or never,'

He gave a light tug on the handle and it opened effortlessly into a long hallway that looked ominously empty. It was about 30 feet long and the only thing that occupied it was the door at the opposite end.

"This is definitely a normal hallway," He muttered as his eyebrows scrunched and he began to scan it for any oddities.

'How can a long and ominous hallway ever be safe? Any game tells me there is gonna be some trap here,'

After not sensing anything after his first sweep of the room he activated his Keen Eyes skill and finally managed to spot something that was off.

The green panel that he finally stopped paying attention to disappeared and a small green holographic band was now wrapped weightlessly on his wrist.

'Interesting...'

He put his hand on the top of the bracelet and the only thing that was physical there was a collection of slightly colder than room-temperature air. After fiddling around with the bracelet he realized he could pull it off and it would automatically unfold into the Green Panel that he was now somewhat familiar with.

As he looked at the green panel he noticed something had changed. It no longer said {Room: Safe House} but instead said {Room: Dungeon Room}.

And above the room marker, there was also a marker that said something strange.

{Tutorial Dungeon}

"Fun... So this is a room in a Dungeon? Would all rooms in a dungeon be considered a Dungeon Room? This lack of information is starting to get old," He complained to the green panel to which he got no response.

"Fine, let's get this over with," He muttered before taking a deep breath and stepping forward.

The short walk to the other side of the hallway was unbearably tense, each step placed out in fear that something would jump out at him, but when he reached the end of the hallway he sighed in relief.

"That was... easier than I thought it would be,"

He took a look behind him and stood frozen in fear as the hallway that he had just walked through so effortlessly had changed.

The stone walls and flat stone floor were lined with small holes where vague steel spears were now lodged, waiting for anything to move within the confines of the hallway to spring out and end its existence.

"That's what they mean by no player can enter a saferoom after they leave it..."

He stared at the massive amount of arrow traps that lined the floor and walls of the room and realized that his little stick wouldn't do much against real traps and probably not even enemies.

'It's all I have...'

He shook his head as he found himself entering a state of fear again and quickly turned around to stare at the wooden door that stood in front of him.

He placed his hand on the door handle and yanked it open cautiously.

The space beyond the door was filled with lush trees and plants that grew into the dark abyss that was the ceiling.

It was a near-perfect recreation of a forest. The smell of the trees and the feeling of the dirt underneath his feet made Max feel grounded in this strange place.

'It seems more real than those hallways at least...'

He stared at the trees that stretched out in all directions with seemingly no end and instead of feeling excited or scared he just felt perplexed.

'If each room is this large... the size of an actual forest... how will we ever find the exit?' His brows creased as he became lost in thought.

A sudden shout knocked him out of his reverie and his eyes darted toward the noise as he held his club up awkwardly.

In the distance, the tall grass that filled the forest floor was rustling intensely. Max squinted, trying desperately to see anything before two short figures suddenly rushed out of the tall grass and began making a mad dash straight toward him.

He squinted and stared at the two figures, readying his club so that he could face them if need be, and noticed something was off.

'What are they?'

The creatures were around 4 feet in height and had vibrant green skin that matched that of the forest floor.

Their features were rounder than that of humans, with a ball-shaped head and beady round eyes. The only thing that wasn't round to some degree was their ears and their teeth which both looked razor sharp.

"YACK DARK!" One shouted in a rough squeaky language.

'Goblins?' Max wondered as they began getting closer and closer to him.

'They fit the bill. Short green creatures that are annoying to look at,'

'But they don't seem to be angry or upset at me,'

'They seem more scared than anything,' He noted as he saw their eyes dart around them as they ran as if worried that something would pounce and kill them at a moment's notice.

Max looked between the small goblins and his club in thought. Combat would be dangerous and could leave him injured or killed. He had never been in a fight where he had to be worried about not coming out alive before and this would likely be one of them.

They were also loud. Almost too loud. Even if Max managed to take them both out without taking a hit there was still a good chance something may come looking for him due to the commotion.

That was if there was anything to worry about in the forest...

"Here goes nothing," Max muttered as he tried to relax his posture.

He gently lowered his club to the floor, Holding the end like a walking stick in case his idea went south.

"I don't want to hurt you guys," Max said in the sweetest voice he could muster. If they couldn't understand his words then maybe they could understand his tone.

The Goblins faltered slightly in their run, looking at Max hesitantly as they kept the small sharpened stones that were rigidly grasped in their hands in front of them.

"Relax buds... everything will be alright, just lower those rocks and everything will be just fine,"

His words made the goblins slow down in confusion. Their eyes looked at him quizzically, but fear still filled their tense bodies.

Max's mind felt like it was buzzing as power began to surge within him. It was a power that felt infinitely more profound than anything he had ever felt before. He felt like everything made sense at this one moment. And then he felt a gentle click echo throughout his body.

{The Skill {The Language of Intent} has been successfully understood. You may view it in your character panel when you wish to do so}

And then it became clear.

The goblin's bodies spoke a language that was unlike any other. It was a language understood by the tensing of their muscles, the movement of their eyes, and the tone of their voices. It was a language everyone knew on a basic level but not many fully understood. And Max had comprehended the basis of this concept in the span of seconds.

'They are afraid. Afraid that I have come to harm them and their people. It is their job to eliminate threats that appear within their territory and if they slip up it could mean the death of their people,' Max realized as he studied the way the goblin's eyes darted between each other.

"Yick Bark?" One of the goblins spoke in a low tone to the other.

"Ne!" The other replied with a distrustful look in his eye.

Max relaxed his posture even more than before, lowering the club to his side and raising his head to regard them as warmly as he could.

The goblins flinched at his movements but calmed down after noticing the club remained lowered.

They gazed at him curiously and the fear that was present within them seemed to leave their body as Max lowered his guard completely to show his sincerity.

The Goblins moved forward at a slower pace, shuffling their feet cautiously towards Max, but lowered their rocks to their sides to show that they were willing to cooperate peacefully.

"Yip?" One of the Goblins whispered to the other, though their language didn't seem too great at allowing it to be spoken quietly.

"Yarp?"

The two goblins seemed to have come to some sort of understanding as they finally began to really relax.

The smaller of the two walked within a few feet of Max and raised the back of its hand towards him before waving it back in forth seemingly in greetings.

"This is going... well," Max mumbled under his breath as he finally got to get a good look at the goblins.

The taller of the two had a set of incredibly long ears that were raised toward the sky, similar to that of rabbits. He wore armor if you could even call it that, which seemed to barely be holding together by tightened cords of plant fiber.

He had a few pouches made out of fur and hide attached to his belt which was tightly wrapped in some sort of plant cord.

Max stared at the smaller goblin in front of him and gently raised his backhand in a similar manner as it.

The goblin nodded in almost amazement before getting a curious look on its face.

The smaller goblin looked similar to the taller one except it had smaller ears and wore a small hide backpack that was tied around its torso.

He reached his hand to his backpack and rummaged in a side pouch for a moment, sticking out his tongue in concentration, before retrieving what seemed to be a bright yellow fruit that was almost completely round.

He held out the fruit to Max with a bright smile on his face.

Max returned the smile lightly as he grabbed the yellow fruit hesitantly.

'What have I gotten myself into now?'

After Max took the fruit the goblin gave a short half-bow and waved for him to follow him and his brother. They both were chatting in the harsh language with ease as they led him deeper into the forest and into unknown territory.

'Is this the right decision?' He pondered to himself as he followed the goblins over dead trees and through grass-filled paths.

This place was confusing. Nothing made sense anymore. The rules he had learned and lived by on earth had been replaced and he could only guess as to what they were and that's if there even are any.

'But is it really any worse than working at a fast food joint with getting drunk being your only passion?' He asked himself as he became lost in the depths of the woods.