The Goblin Warren

Three days passed in a blur of training and waiting.

Kiaro spent every waking hour pushing his body further. He ran through the outskirts each morning until his lungs screamed for mercy. He practiced his dagger strikes against a wooden post until his palms split open and bled. He studied the system’s interface obsessively, learning every submenu, every hidden notification, every tiny detail.

[Skill proficiency: Swift Strike (Level 1 → Level 2)]

[Skill proficiency: Blade Precision (Level 1 → Level 2)]

Small gains. Tiny improvements. But gains nonetheless.

Renn visited every evening, bringing fresh news from the hunter underground.

“There’s a portal,” Renn said on the third night. His voice was low, excited, almost trembling. “F-rank. But not like the one you cleared before. This one is bigger. Deeper. Word on the street says it leads to a goblin warren.”

Kiaro looked up from sharpening his dagger. “A warren?”

“Underground tunnels. Dozens of goblins. And if the rumors are true…” Renn paused, licking his lips. “A shaman.”

Kiaro’s pulse quickened.

A shaman meant magic. Meant a real challenge. Meant a core that could actually matter.

“Where is it?”

“Northern ridge. About two hours from the city gates.” Renn shifted uneasily on his feet. “But Kiaro… warrens are nothing like surface portals. No open space. No escape routes. If something goes wrong down there, you don’t run. You die.”

Kiaro stood up and sheathed his dagger.

“Then we don’t run.”

Renn blinked. “We?”

“You heard me.” Kiaro grabbed his worn cloak and tossed a second one to Renn. “You want to stop being useless? Then come with me. Watch. Learn. And if I fall, drag my body out.”

Renn caught the cloak, his face torn between fear and something that looked almost like gratitude.

“You’re completely insane.”

“Probably.” Kiaro smiled—a thin, sharp expression. “Let’s go.”

---

The northern ridge was a jagged line of black rock cutting across the starlit sky.

Kiaro and Renn found the portal at the base of a collapsed cliff. It was larger than the first one—wider, darker, pulsing with a sickly green light that seemed to breathe like a living thing.

[Portal Detected: F-Rank (Enhanced)]

[Threat Level: Low-Moderate]

[Estimated Enemies: 30-50 goblins, 1 goblin shaman]

[Recommended Level: 5+]

Kiaro was Level 3.

He stepped forward anyway.

“Stay behind me,” he said to Renn. “Don’t engage unless I tell you. And don’t touch anything that glows.”

Renn nodded, gripping his rusted shortsword with knuckles white as bone.

They crossed the threshold together.

---

The world twisted and reformed.

Suddenly, they were no longer beneath the night sky. They stood inside a narrow tunnel carved from wet earth and jagged stone. The air was thick—damp, rotten, heavy with the stench of old blood and unwashed flesh.

Darkness pressed in from every direction.

But Kiaro could see.

[Passive Skill Activated: Low-Light Vision]

The system outlined the tunnel in faint blue lines. Every rock, every root, every drop of moisture—all of it visible.

Another hidden feature.

“I can’t see anything,” Renn whispered behind him.

“Stay close. Hold onto my cloak.”

They moved forward slowly, cautiously. The tunnel sloped downward, descending deeper into the earth. The walls narrowed, then widened again. The sound of dripping water echoed from somewhere far ahead.

Then Kiaro heard it.

Guttural voices. Harsh. Screeching. Overlapping.

He raised a hand, signaling Renn to stop.

Around a bend in the tunnel, a faint orange glow flickered—torchlight.

Kiaro crept forward and peered around the corner.

A cavern. Large enough to hold twenty goblins easily. They were gathered around a fire pit, roasting something that smelled like charred meat. Crude weapons leaned against the walls—clubs, bone knives, rusted spears.

And at the far end of the cavern, seated on a throne made of skulls, was the shaman.

It was larger than the others. Its skin was a deeper green, almost black, and its eyes glowed with faint red light. A necklace of finger bones hung from its neck. In one hand, it held a gnarled wooden staff topped with a pulsing red crystal.

[Goblin Shaman – F+ Rank]

[Threat Level: Moderate]

[Abilities: Minor Firebolt, Fear Aura]

Kiaro’s heart hammered against his ribs.

This is it.

He turned to Renn and whispered, “There are at least twenty in the main cavern. The shaman is at the back. I’m going to draw them out. You stay hidden. If any goblins get past me, kill them.”

Renn’s eyes were wide, but he nodded.

Kiaro pulled out his dagger.

Then he stepped into the cavern.

---

The nearest goblin saw him immediately.

It screeched—a high, piercing sound that cut through the cavern like a blade. Heads snapped toward Kiaro. Yellow eyes. Bared fangs. Then, as one, the goblins charged.

Kiaro didn’t retreat.

He ran toward them.

[Swift Strike – Activated]

His dagger became a blur of motion. The first goblin’s throat opened before it could swing its club. The second took a blade to the chest. The third—Kiaro spun, kicked a goblin into the fire pit, and watched it shriek as its skin caught flame.

[Enemy Defeated: Goblin #1, #2, #3]

[Experience Gained: 6 XP]

But more kept coming.

Four. Five. Six.

They poured from side tunnels, from behind stalagmites, from everywhere at once.

Kiaro moved like water—ducking, weaving, striking without pause. His system tracked every enemy, every opening, every threat.

[Warning: Multiple enemies closing from the left.]

He pivoted just in time to avoid a club that would have shattered his skull. His dagger lashed out. Another goblin fell.

[Enemy Defeated: Goblin #4, #5, #6]

But he was getting surrounded.

Too many.

“Renn! Now!”

From the tunnel entrance, Renn burst out with a desperate yell. His rusted sword swung wildly, catching a goblin across the back. It wasn’t graceful. It wasn’t skilled. But it was enough.

The goblins hesitated, confused by the second attacker.

Kiaro used the moment.

He drove forward, cutting a path through the remaining goblins. His eyes were locked on the shaman, who still hadn’t moved from its throne of skulls.

Why isn’t it fighting?

Then he saw it.

The shaman was chanting.

The red crystal on its staff was glowing brighter with every word. The air grew hot. Sparks danced around the staff’s tip.

[Alert: Shaman casting Firebolt. Estimated impact: Severe burn damage. Evade recommended.]

Kiaro’s eyes widened.

“Renn—get down!”

He dove behind a cluster of rocks just as a bolt of fire erupted from the shaman’s staff. It screamed across the cavern, striking the spot where Kiaro had been standing. Stone exploded. Heat washed over him like a wave.

When he looked up, the ground was scorched black.

And the shaman was already chanting again.

Kiaro gritted his teeth.

I need to close the distance.

He glanced at his Energy bar.

Energy: 47%

Enough for one more push.

“Renn! Keep the small ones off me!”

Renn didn’t answer—he was too busy fighting off three goblins at once—but Kiaro didn’t wait.

He ran.

Straight at the shaman.

[Blade Precision – Activated]

The shaman’s red eyes locked onto him. It raised its staff, another firebolt forming at the crystal’s core—

Kiaro slid.

Dirt and gravel scraped his knees as he dropped low, the firebolt screaming over his head. He came up directly in front of the shaman, dagger raised—

And stabbed.

The blade sank into the shaman’s chest.

Black blood sprayed across his hands.

The shaman screamed—a sound that wasn’t entirely animal. It clawed at Kiaro with long, dirty fingernails, raking his arm. Pain flared like fire.

But Kiaro didn’t let go.

He twisted the dagger.

And pulled.

The shaman crumpled to the ground.

[Enemy Defeated: Goblin Shaman]

[Experience Gained: 25 XP]

[Item Drop: F+ Rank Monster Core]

The remaining goblins froze.

Their shaman was dead.

Then they ran—scattering into side tunnels, disappearing into the darkness.

Silence fell.

Kiaro stood over the shaman’s body, breathing hard. His arm was bleeding. His cloak was torn. But he was alive.

Renn stumbled toward him, sword dripping with black blood. His face was pale, but his eyes were wide with something that looked like awe.

“You… you actually did it.”

Kiaro knelt and pried the red crystal from the shaman’s staff.

[F+ Rank Monster Core acquired.]

[Energy +40% | Current Energy: 87%]

He held it up. The crystal pulsed softly, warm against his palm.

“One core,” Kiaro said. “Now we need to get out of here before anything else shows up.”

Renn nodded shakily.

They turned toward the entrance—

And the ground began to tremble.

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