Chapter 23: Silent Hours

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Silent Hours

"I already told you, anyway," Brika added. "Physical attacks don’t work on them. No matter what weapon you use, the result will always be the same."

Hearing that was still disappointing for Victor. Looking at the door, he wondered:

’Is there really no chance at all? She’s the one who’s been fighting those things, after all. If there were even the slightest possibility, I’d like to consider it, but I don’t know anything.’

However, there was something else Victor was overlooking.

"By the way, you’ve seen those things. What do they look like? What kind of powers do they have? If you’re so sure we’re going to die, at least tell me everything you know. Who knows? Maybe I’m the key to all this."

That made Brika let out a small, pained chuckle.

"Don’t think you’re so special, human. If it weren’t for what you said earlier, you can bet you’d already be dead."

"Yeah, sure. I don’t care about that. Tell me what you know."

Brika sighed wearily.

"Imagine an old black cloak with wide sleeves, floating in the darkness, its eyes like flames that faintly illuminate the path ahead. Hidden beneath those sleeves are claws like knives, and beneath the hood lies the face of death."

’She’s describing them in a strangely poetic way. Is she really a goblin?’

Oblivious to Victor’s thoughts, Brika closed her eyes.

"Bullets pass right through them as if their bodies were made of air. Grenades slow them down for a second, but beyond that, they’re invincible."

Victor tried to picture it. How do you kill something you can’t touch? That was the biggest problem of all. He barely knew this goblin, yet she had already been a great help with all the information she had provided.

’So we’re up against some kind of specter. Damn it, these are things I’ve only ever seen in movies. It almost makes me want to run into one of them. No, wait...’

Brika had also mentioned that something had been chasing her since the previous scenario.

"Hey..."

When he tried to call out to her, Victor noticed that the little goblin was breathing softly. She had lost consciousness from the pain and exhaustion. Victor lowered his gaze with a bored expression.

’You shouldn’t pass out in front of someone who could kill you.’

Still, killing her in her sleep wouldn’t do him any good. After all, he’d saved her life. Why would he want to waste all that effort, anyway?

It simply wouldn’t make sense. Even though they were strangers who had pointed their weapons at each other, amid the mysterious storm of white lightning, human and goblin had become survival partners.

△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽

Hour after hour passed as Victor stared at the floor. He felt like he was going insane because of the silence inside the house. To keep himself from getting bored, he kept removing the magazine from his rifle, hoping to entertain himself by taking the bullets out and putting them back in.

Minutes later, he lay down on the floor with his hands behind his head. Brika’s faint breathing occasionally brought him back to reality whenever his mind began spiraling into chaotic thoughts.

’This is torture.’

There was nothing he could do. Outside, the storm continued to batter the scenario with unparalleled fury, and the sinister phantom monsters might be lurking nearby. Whatever decision he made next, doing anything at that moment would be foolish.

As he secretly watched Brika, illuminated by the flashlight that was beginning to flicker as if desperately begging for a battery change, Victor thought:

’I thought goblins would be smaller, but she’s probably around four feet seven inches tall. I can’t wrap my head around how someone so small could be suited for war.’

That thought led him to theorize about Brika’s possible Path.

’War, huh... She mentioned points and grenades, and she’s carrying a pistol. It’s obvious her Path has something to do with that. I’d like to find out as soon as possible because I might be able to use that information to my advantage, but I doubt she’ll tell me anything.’

And he certainly wouldn’t tell her anything about his Path, either. Besides, if Systems were unique and different from one another, there was no way Brika’s Path could be a gacha system like Victor’s. At most, it might be something similar, but not exactly the same.

’I just hope something good comes out of all this. I’ll have to wait until this goblin girl has recovered enough for us to keep moving.’

That was going to take longer than Victor had expected.

Later, the flashlight had gone out. In the darkness, while hugging his weapon and struggling to get even a little sleep, Victor was awakened by a System notification. He had a Daily Summon available in the gacha.

’Damn it. She’s still unconscious, and here I am fighting to stay awake. At least something good had to come my way.’

He used his only available Summon, and its color was gray.

[Congratulations!]

[You have obtained: Instant Noodle Boxes ×6]

[Rarity: C]

’Food!’ he shouted inwardly, raising both arms in victory. ’This just saved my life.’

He couldn’t deny that he had been hoping for something better, but this was good, too. He didn’t have enough supplies for the next few days, so luck was on his side that morning.

’Though I really would like to get some coffee. Coffee... It’s been so long.’

Shaking his head to get coffee out of his mind, he approached the small stone kitchen beside the main room.

Using his lighter, he started a small fire and, making use of a quarter of the water in one of his bottles and the pot he already had, set about preparing something to eat.

Sitting in the chair, he waited for the warmth of the room to wake Brika, but she still didn’t move. This puzzled Victor, so he approached her and touched her neck. She still had a pulse, but...

’It’s very weak, and she has a high fever. Damn it, why didn’t I notice sooner?’