Chapter 20: goblins

[You have gained 100EXP, 10SP]

[Level up, +4 stat points]

I looked at the screen after I gained EXP from the kill, a smile formed on my face.

I got up and the golem beneath my feet suddenly broke down into light and left behind a core, it looked like a heavy deep red color and the size of a fist. It was our first resource gained.

Seeing this core on my hand, I realized something that I had forgotten to take care of, storage.

"Seems we might need a way to store things here," I said.

"Seems we forgot to get something to use," Lia pointed out.

"Yeah, that’s an issue."

"I can help." I heard a voice come from behind, it was a little voice. The voice of a young girl. I got up and looked at who was speaking, it was a girl.

She had long furry fox-like ears and a bushy tail as well, she looked no more than ten and had a large bag on her back.

’A beast man? Tch, she is a kid, serves no use to me to tame her to have her around me, maybe she wants me to feed her or something.

But what is that large bag on her back?’

I looked at her from head to toe, her clothes were roughly made and seemed pretty old. She looked a bit malnourished, showing that no one really cared for her. The question became why was she even free, if she had no one with her then someone should have taken her and turned her into a slave of some sort.

"What do you want?" I asked, no particular care in my tone.

"You should be more calm with a kid," Lia said. She stepped forward and went on one knee.

"What do you want? Are you alright?"

The girl grabbed the handles of her bag properly and stood up straight.

"I can be your carrier, I know it’s hard to have special artifacts to carry what you need, so I’ll carry them for you and you can focus on fighting monsters. I only require two silver coins per day payment."

She spoke so clear and confident that I was shocked, her words came out clear, like she had done this work so many times.

"I don’t think it’s right for a kid to be carrying such a load, I’ll hand you two coins and you can leave," I offered to her immediately, wanting to get a move on already, but she shook her head in refusal, I was stunned.

"Why won’t you take it?" I asked, curious about her response.

"I’ll only take what I earn," she said, speaking up in a way that made it clear this was her resolve.

"Hmm, are you certain that you can take this task? I’d hate it if you slowed us down."

"I’m absolutely sure I can, this is not my first time on the task."

"Sigh, you really know how to be persuasive, I respect that."

I said and tossed the core at her, she caught it in the air and looked at it, I saw a gleam in her eyes for a second before she tossed it into her large sack.

"Alright, let’s get a move on."

I led the group through the hallways. The lights on the walls flickered, the moment we left the range of the hall that we had come from, I heard the ground rumble, I knew that the golem had risen and was now waiting for the next set of people who were willing to take it on.

We walked a few minutes before we heard a sound, it came from a corner, I heard it and paused, I pointed at the corner.

"Lia, light."

"On it," she responded. She lit a flame on her palm and threw it in that direction, it brightened the area and there I saw three goblins on the floor, they were hunched over eagerly eating away.

I looked at what they were eating and immediately I froze, it was a human, they were feasting on the insides of a human.

I stepped back subconsciously.

"Get back, Lia and..." I looked over to the girl, she was shaking from the sight, for someone that said she had done it over and over, I would not expect her to be this shaken. I did not care though.

"What’s your name?" I asked her.

She snapped out of her shaking and answered.

"Leah," she responded.

"Okay, Leah, step back with Lia, we have to be prepared before we attack these monsters."

The words did not finish leaving my mouth before one of the goblins looked up, its blood-red eyes locked onto me. It let out a sound to tell the others of my presence and they all looked at us.

They got up on their feet, growling hard and salivating as they looked at us, they rushed in fast without hesitation, their long claws out and ready to attack.

"Lia, take one," I said and she moved fast, creating a flame on her palm.

I pulled my sword as well, the black flames coated it as I charged at one of the goblins, it lunged at me, leaping into the air. I stepped in and blocked the attack, its claws met with the metal of my sword.

I pushed it back and proceeded to slash, the blade dug deep into its chest, blood gushed out of its chest, dark red.

It hit the ground hard and stopped moving.

[You have gained 50EXP, 5 SP]

Lia took care of the second one, and the last one rushed at Leah, I turned around and immediately hurled my sword at it, it stabbed into its shoulder and caused it to stagger. I rushed over and pulled the blade out before it was able to move and then stabbed right into its chest, watching as it died under me.