Unlasting World

Before I came to the test, I prayed hard. 

Wishing, so that nothing happens during the whole test.

Because if something does happen, not only will it get quite annoying, but it also means that things will get dangerous.

Klane also mentioned it before. Inside a dungeon, any anomaly can happen at any time, though the chances are low. 

So I really... really hoped that nothing would happen during this test.

But, who would've known that exactly last night, an anomaly had happened.

"Have you heard of the term double dungeon?"

"Wha-?!?"

Joyle and the others were really shocked the moment they heard it. Meanwhile, I look the most confused.

"What is it? What's a 'Double Dungeon'?"

I guess I'm the fool here since I'm still new. And yet, everyone still looked at me in shock, not believing how I didn't know about it.

What the hell? Just answer!

"A double dungeon is the term that people use when a new path inside of a dungeon is opened, it leads to another dungeon."

The adventurer with round glasses answered me, and I understood a little bit.

"Oh..."

Isn't that just a connected cave system?

"The dungeon that was connected with the original might be different. It can have different breeds of monsters, and even have an entirely different danger rank.

As for our case, we don't truly know what rank this new dungeon is. The newly opened dungeon might as well be a Green ranked, based on what that guy said."

He looked at the wounded guy again, and everyone knew that the person must be a survivor. He went to the said second dungeon, went through whatever things were in there, and managed to come back alive despite all the wounds.

Now I see how dangerous a double dungeon is. If that dungeon is somehow a higher rank than the original dungeon, the visitors might be in for a surprise to find monsters stronger than what they expected.

"Any details about this new dungeon?"

I asked again, since everyone else is too shocked to say anything.

"What we know so far is that there are multiple entrances to that dungeon. And based on that guy, it seems to be the home of goblins."

Home of goblins...

DUG!!

Ah… That's it.

That's what I'm missing.

According to the book of monsters that I read, a single scout goblin in your area means that there is a possible horde of goblins nearby, which might be led by a stronger type of goblin called Hobgoblins. In this case, the horde's overall danger rank should be around Purple.

If there are more than three goblin scouts, it's possible that the horde of goblins are much bigger, and is possibly led by a more powerful goblin type, like witch goblins, warrior Hobgoblins, or far worse, a troll. This makes the overall danger rank at least Green rank, above Purple.

But if there are more than ten goblin scouts, with more than one at the same spot, then it is highly possible that we are looking at something else much larger than just hordes. A horde, that combined with many other hordes, led by one single absolute ruler that commands over hundreds of its minions…

A goblin kingdom.

Of course, that is only my speculation. Even the book mentioned that goblin kingdoms are extremely rare. But for a goblin kingdom to emerge from within a dungeon, that's definitely new.

So, let's confirm it first.

"How many entrances are there?"

I asked the glasses guy, and he placed his hand on his chin.

"According to the teams that have arrived, there are at least five."

Shit…

"How many... people that made it here?"

Glasses guy glared at me seriously while fixing his glasses. It looks like he knows that I understand the situation now, and he has decided to fill me in on everything.

"Around thirty one, including you guys. Twenty six who can still walk and fight, and five who are injured. Including Jeremy over there."

He said while tilting his head to the wounded adventurer that brought the news, and I nodded.

Thirty one adventurers made it to the boss room… there should've been over forty adventurers coming down here at the beginning. We took our time during the walk, and we even rested for a long time to eat lunch. It is highly possible that we are the last team that will ever come here.

That means… there's over ten people taking the wrong path…

"All these five entrances, do all of them have... goblins?"

"Yes."

Well… fuck.

Good news, I know what we are dealing with.

Bad news…

We are dealing with an entire goblin kingdom.

If there's a goblin scout, there has to be a goblin horde hidden somewhere around the area. A single horde can consist of at least twenty five goblins, and they are usually not that powerful since goblins were not that high ranking monster to begin with.

But, a goblin kingdom is very different.

They are led by one single leader, the goblin king. Their amount too, it can be said that a goblin kingdom is the same as multiple hordes combining into one.

I read from the book of monsters, that in the last case of a goblin kingdom raid that the adventurers took down, there were over two hundred goblins that were found around the area. Other than that, there should be multiple stronger types of goblins, like Hobgoblins, witch goblins, or even trolls. 

A single goblin kingdom has a difficulty rank of at least Blue rank. Which means, the kingdom will need a team of Blue ranked adventurers to wipe out an entire goblin kingdom. 

But for us? Even a hundred of Gray ranked snots like these guys won't be enough. 

This will be difficult.

However, it is not impossible.

Not since I'm here.

"Tell me more."

I said to the glasses guy, and he nodded.

"According to Jeremy, the inside of the dungeon has hundreds of goblins. There are at least ten Hobgoblins, witch goblins, and possibly trolls too. Jeremy also mentioned that he spotted an even more powerful goblin in there, but we aren't quite sure about what type of goblin it was."

I know exactly what it is. The goblin king.

The book of monsters that I read told the story about the previous goblin kingdom raid pretty specifically, and I was able to read all of them within minutes.

It was said that the goblin king has the ability of a master swordsman as well as magic capabilities. It's fast and dangerous, not to mention versatility since it's good at both close combat and able to cast magic. 

A goblin king's strength may vary, depending on their abilities on using weapons and magic. But the book also said that the past goblin kings have never been valued under the Blue rank.

That goblin king… is definitely the dungeon boss of this second dungeon.

"What about his team? Did they encounter the goblins and survived?"

I asked him, but his answer somewhat surprised me.

"His team was taken hostage. He doesn't know for what reason, but he lost his arm because he tried to escape their confinement. The others are still okay, he says. They were just imprisoned."

"That's… surprising, but good."

It was indeed odd. The book mentioned that goblins always… always, go for the kill.

Why did they imprison the adventurers instead of killing them?

I thought about those things no more, and I began to have a look around the room. Everyone here seemed to be quite tense since they all knew about the situation. Knowing how dangerous it is, they must have lost their will to fight and became confused with what they should do. 

Let's see… what should we do?

I guess for now, the only right thing to do is to make a move. Sitting around like this won't get those guys out, so we have to do something.

"Let's gather everyone around. It's time to make a plan."

I said to the glasses guy, and he turned to me quite surprised.

"What? Are we not going to wait for the higher ups to come?"

"Even if those guys do come, the goblins will most likely notice. What would happen if the goblins suddenly decided to kill the captured adventurers? We have to move quickly."

I reasoned with him, and he let out a sigh as he cleaned his glasses. He then turned to me, fully accepting my suggestion.

"Then…? What should we tell them?"

He looked at me with a worried face, and I nodded as I began telling him. Starting from the goblin kingdom to the goblin king, as well as the chances that we currently have to save the hostages.

His eyes were opened wide upon hearing what I said, but once I'm done explaining, he began pondering on his own.

After a long thought by himself, he turned back to me and nodded. His gaze was sharp, and it was brimmed with hope and courage. 

He believed that we could do it, and he believed that we can save those captured adventurers before they can get hurt.

After nodding at me, he turned around towards the other adventurers that were resting. With a loud enough voice, he spoke to the entire boss room.

"Everyone!! Please listen up!!"

All the adventurers in the room turned to him, wondering what was going on. Even the bearded guy from before turned to him and mumbled rather loudly that I could even hear what he's cursing.

"I have figured out what we are dealing with exactly!!"

When he announced that, some of the adventurers stood up and asked him.

"What are we dealing with, glasses??"

One of the adventurers from the group at the far left of the room asked, and the glasses guy answered.

"We are dealing... with a goblin kingdom!"

"""What!?"""

Hearing the answer, everyone turned confused. Whispers can be heard throughout the entire boss room as the adventurers conversed with one another. 

They all seem to think that the glasses guy is insane, but in their mind, they know it's a possibility.

But, one person decided to ask head on.

"Are you crazy? Is there even such a thing called a goblin kingdom??"

The bearded guy from before stood up and asked loudly. From the looks of it, he is not buying any of the things that came out of the glasses guy's mouth.

"There is. A goblin kingdom is a situation where multiple goblin hordes merge into one, and is led by a single powerful goblin known as the goblin king."

"Are you even listening to yourself?? That sounded stupid as hell!"

"He is right."

An adventurer stood up from another group on the right. She has long black hair, and from the sword that is sheathed on her back, anyone can tell that she is a swordswoman.

"What we are dealing with, it might've been a goblin kingdom. The signs were clear, but it went past my head..."

"And what are those signs, lady?"

The bearded guy seemed to be quite stubborn. If I were the glasses guy, I would cast an ice magic to silence him up.

But I understood his reason for being pessimistic. After all, a goblin kingdom should be stupid to find inside a dungeon, since it is usually caused by the grouping up of multiple goblin hordes which happen to come across one another.

For a goblin kingdom to form inside a dungeon, it must mean that this dungeon was originally a single horde that manages to grow into such a large group, which should've been impossible unless so much time has passed.

But for a dungeon, that amount of time needed for the merge is very short.

"The fact that there are multiple scout goblins on the entrance proves it. Scout goblins are usually a sign that there is a goblin horde, and a single scout simply means that there is a horde nearby. Three or five scouts usually means that the horde is actually bigger. A bigger horde, usually led by a Hobgoblin, or other stronger goblin-"

"Meaning?"

"Don't cut me off, fatty! Let's see you try to figure out everything on your own!"

The swordswoman lady snapped at the bearded guy, which made everyone else whistle at how toxic she is being. 

I, too, am pretty impressed.

The bearded adventurer turned silent after he let out a pissed sound, and the swordswoman lady continued explaining.

"We are dealing with over ten scout goblins. Which means, this horde… it can no longer be considered a horde."

"... It's a kingdom."

The glasses guy continued, and the lady nodded.

"A goblin kingdom is led by a goblin king. And sometimes, they have multiple Hobgoblins, witch goblins, as well as other monsters like trolls guarding the area. And according to what Jeremy said..."

He pointed at the wounded fellow on our right, laying his back to the wall unconscious.

"So it is a kingdom of goblins... What is the danger level of this... goblin king?"

The bearded guy finally accepted it, and the glasses guy placed his hand on his chin as he answered.

"The goblin king alone is already a Blue rank or higher, way above our level. But if you count the Hobgoblins, goblin mages, possible existences of high ranking monsters like trolls, as well as the hundreds of goblins that are in the base, it could reach Yellow rank."

"Kuhh... So we need a party of Blue ranked adventurers to finish this?"

The hopes no longer exist now that we know what we are dealing with. But, the glasses answered very quickly.

"Not necessarily!

Our objective is to save the hostages. We don't have to fight the goblin king, which means we still have a chance. Plus, we have the Green ranked guys up top to help us out."

"Are you serious, glasses??"

The bearded guy is still not convinced we can do this, but the glasses guy is very confident.

Not just him, everyone else in the room also wants to save those adventurers that got captured. Even the bearded guy, deep down, he definitely wants to help those guys out.

And no one, but the swordswoman lady suggested what's next.

"Then, let's make the plan!"

.

.

.

After that loud discussion, all the Red ranked adventurers inside the boss room have decided to take matters into their own hands. 

And now, six people are talking in a circle in the middle of the boss room. They are the leaders of each team, including me, Glasses, and Beard (still don't know their names, so will just address them this way). The swordswoman lady who spoke rudely to Beard earlier is also here. The other two are the team leaders from the other groups that are also attending.

It all began with one idea that people are already against.

"This is what I have in mind. Everyone will come to a single entrance. They can't fight us as one--"

"But that would also mean they just simply focus their fire power on one spot. No, I'm against it already."

The swordswoman lady rejected the plan already, and he didn't even convey it fully. The glasses guy looked dead inside, after that.

"... Okay, fine. We'll split into four. Three groups will enter the deeper dungeon at the same time, while the fourth goes elsewhere. How does that sound?"

"Good enough. Continue."

Glasses confirmed with the lady, and she agreed easily. What's left is what comes after.

"Okay. Now that we have their distraction taken at three different entrances, we'll have a team of only four people to sneak in from a fourth path, with the goal of finding and freeing the hostages. Once the hostages are out,-"

"We leave the dungeon immediately."

The lady gave this plan a thought, and everyone else too wonders if there are any flaws out in the open. I, too, began pondering deeply. I can see that things probably won't go as planned, but everyone here knows that in a real situation like this, there is no such thing as a perfect plan.

So what we need right now is just a concrete and clear plan. It's okay if we stray from it, and we can do things accordingly if things do go out of expectations. 

But, it's definitely better to just stick to it if nothing goes wrong.