Captured

whoosh! whoosh! whistle! 

Sounds of arrows piercing the air can be heard as multiple figures shifted in the trees. The figures were nimble and fast; to a normal person, they would only appear as blurs. 

Whoosh! whoosh! thud! 

The figures kept firing arrows and moving from branch to branch. Each time they released their bow strings, a dead goblin would follow.

The goblins tried to run, but the arrows were too fast. They fell like snow on a wild winter day. However, even with such a sight, the figures never stopped firing until the very last goblin. 

The figures watched as the last goblin fell down with a sickening thud. Afterwards, they went down and uprooted the arrows stuck in the goblins' corpses. 

They exchanged some words in a tongue not known to humans and left the place with haste.

*** 

"Fu*k!" Lock shouted in annoyance. 

He has been traveling for the last few months, and all he's seen are trees and more trees. No matter how far he went, all that greeted him was the endless expanse of the jungle. 

His supplies were already running low, so he had to ration them carefully until his next stop. Lock couldn't just hunt right now as there were no visible bodies of water nearby. 

'Finding a lake or river would be nice.. if there's even such things here.' Lock thought. 

Lock was full of uncertainty and intrigue as he traveled further in the forest. There's a part of Lock that refuses to believe that the cursed goblins are the only ones living here. 

While on this journey, Lock made sure to use his time proficiently. He traveled by morning and trained at night. 

He has been steadily increasing his control of his void power and has seen some increases in his stats. Lock also felt like his meditation was going to level up soon. 

Boredom was his friend on this voyage, and Lock didn't appreciate it. 

Lock decided that he would go north of his base so he wouldn't get lost when coming back. Due to that, he has seen some slight changes in the atmosphere. 

The further north you go, the denser the trees are. Not only that, but there are more animals in this area compared to near the goblin camp. 

'Perhaps the goblins are destroying that area?' Lock wondered. 

Although there are more animals here, the number of monsters has also increased. Lock had to take different routes sometimes to avoid them. 

When the sun finally vanished from the sky, Lock had to temporarily stop and make camp for now. He chose a small cave and covered it with some bushes. 

"I'm really going mad soon." Lock thought in annoyance. 

He's been alone in this forest for months! While Lock was alone back in Temeria, at least he still had people like Mr. Stragi. Here, the only things he has are trees and grass. 

When Lock finished setting up, he took some cooked boar meat from his storage bag. Lock thought that the only purpose it served was to contain items, but he was wrong. The bag kept things fresh and in the state you put them in. 

This opened up many possibilities for Lock. He couldn't help but think of putting bombs inside it and taking them out in dire situations. 

As Lock gobbled up the meat, he made sure to lick his fingers clean. He wasn't about to waste even a single drop of that juicy boar. 

Lock stood up and went out of his camp to take a night stroll. If there was one thing Lock adored in this hellish place, it was the beautiful night sky. 

The night sky here was littered with beautiful stars, and they struck peace in the watcher's heart. Lock enjoyed brief moments of peace like these. 

Lock wandered for a little before stumbling upon a beautiful pond. The pond glowed under the moonlight. Lock was astonished by this and decided to dip his foot in. 

With nothing else to do, Lock decided to check his system panel and see how much stronger he had gotten. 

<Status> 

Name: Lock 

Age: Sixteen and 4 month old

Species: Human

Affinity: Void

Talent: N/A 

Condition: Healthy

Stats: 

STRENGTH: 16

SPD/AGI: 16.3

DEXTERITY: 12.4

CONSTITUTION: 17.4

CHARM: 7.2

SPIRIT: 9

MAGIC: 8

SKILLS [+]

'It isn't much, but it's honest work.' Lock thought. 

Compared to his scrawny self back then, he is 100 times better now. He had a solid but lean body, and his looks weren't that bad. 

Lock observed his reflection in the pond for a while. Lock wasn't ugly, nor was he that handsome. He had black eyes, black hair, and a sharp nose. 

It was pretty average compared to others back at home. 

Lock laid down the grass as exhaustion started taking effect. However, before Lock could even stand up, he smelled something sweet in the air as his consciousness slowly faded. 

***

Lock slowly opened his eyes as the bright morning sun assaulted him. He tried to cover his eye but was surprised he couldn't. 

"Wha..?" Lock said groggily. 

Lock looked around and noticed that he was actually moving. His eyes widened as he struggled with the rope binding him. 

Noticing he was awake, the movement came to a halt. 

Before Lock can even think of anything, a sudden metallic taste enters his mouth. He was bleeding. Then he saw a slender figure holding a bow. 

The figure was tall and lean; it had white hair and pretty human-looking features, except for that ungodly beauty. 

"..?? What!? The fucks wrong with you?!" Lock said this in a loud tone that made the figure cover its ears. 

'Are these subspecies of goblins?' Lock thought. 

The details didn't escape his eyes. The figures all had sharp ears, similar to goblins. However, Lock decided to discard that thought. 

These guys had sharp ears, but they were elegant and had nice clothing. They were also carrying majestic bows. 

'Yeah, that's impossible. Goblins know jackshit about weaponry.' Lock thought. 

'Then who the hell are these guys?' Lock was confused. 

While Lock was glad that there were other species in this place, he was also alarmed. Thoughts like "What if these guys are cannibals?" didn't escape his mind. 

The figure looked at Lock with angry eyes as it tried to hit him with the bow again. This time, someone stopped it. 

"#£@&£&#!" The other figure said

In that instant, Lock's mind froze as he saw the beautiful figure in front of him. Lock was sure this was a girl. 

The figure had long ears, silver hair that seemed to glow in the sun, beautiful facial features and a curvy body. Compared to the one earlier, this one was way above. 

Lock stared at the girl and immediately bit his tongue. The metallic taste and pain kicked away the thoughts. The figures were surprised by his sudden actions. 

Lock didn't do it without reason. The system told him he was under a charm. From where and who? Lock could deduce that it was from the girl. 

<Status ailment: Charm disabled> 

Lock breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the system message. He didn't like the fact that someone could manipulate his feelings to such an extent. 

He raised his guard as he warily looked at the figure in front of him. It seems like his action got their attention. 

The figures wore surprised and curious looks on their faces as they slowly approached Lock. They circled him as if examining a rare specimen. 

Lock can escape now with his void powers, but he wanted to first see where they're taking him. 

The figures didn't delay any further and started moving again. Lock could only watch as he traveled deeper into the jungle.