After a good night's rest and some more delicious soup, we started moving again.
We kept walking, walking, and walking. Just endlessly walking down that dark and depressingly empty cavern. I know everyone says that these caves are dangerous, but what they don't warn you about is how boring and exhausting they are.
The group was silent for the most part, except for Phillip, who kept endlessly talking to everyone around him as if they were the most interesting person ever to live.
'How can an old man have so much energy?'
Not wanting to get caught in his nonsense, I silently slinked my way to the back of the group.
After walking non-stop for about 5 hours, something interesting finally happened. I started to hear a commotion come from the front of the group. Curious, I started moving closer. When I got to the front, I saw Joe and some of the more experienced miners looking forward and talking excitedly.
Following their eyeline, I saw a bright red light shining further down the tunnel.
'The Hell?'
After staring at it, mesmerized for a couple of seconds, I noticed that the group started picking up the pace, almost sprinting. Not wanting to be left behind, I started chasing after them.
After running for about half a mile, we eventually made it to the source of the red light. It was a vast cavern that was covered wall to wall with these dazzlingly beautiful red crystals.
It was one of the most regal and mystical things I had ever seen. The crystals gave off a majestic vibe that was just so...
"Beautiful"
While mesmerized by the beautiful jewels, I heard one of the old miners ask himself in shock.
"Mana crystals?"
Shocked by the implications of what he said, I whipped my head back,
"Are all of these Mana crystals?"
The old miner, who was stuck in a stunned trance, answered
"Yes, I can feel the mana pouring off of them. Mana crystals are the only thing they can be."
One of the miners overheard us and exclaimed loudly
"Holy shit, just how much money is in this cave?"
Old man Joe with the biggest smile I had ever seen, turned back to face the group.
"No, not a cave; this is a cavern. Congratulations, fossils seems like we've hit the jackpot. With the amount of money we can milk from this place, you'll be able to buy your great-grandchildren something nice. "
All the miners saw his smile and knew that he wasn't kidding.
Getting a massive grin of my own, I looked at the walls in unrestrained greed. With the amount of money I could earn, I could afford to live in an actual house. While "admiring" the crystals and doing the calculations in my head, something caught my eye.
Taken aback, I instantly focused on the middle of the cavern, and that's when I spotted them.
Goblins!
They were strange little creatures. They were about the size of children, and their skin was a light shade of green. Instead of the regular silk clothes, They wore animal coats on their waste to cover themselves and waved around primitive Stone Age-level tools.
Curious, I started to focus on them, trying to see what set them apart from all the other advanced races, and Oh boy did I regret it.
The goblins weren't only small and green but also incredibly ugly. Each goblin had giant crooked overbites, pointy wart-covered noses, and beady little eyes. I was amazed. How could every single one of them have the same disgusting features? It must have been ingrained in their DNA. Suffice it to say they had faces that only a blind mother could love.
That wasn't the worst part, though. That honor would have to go to their smell.
Oh my god, the smell. Even for someone like me who has to scavenge in the wasteland and deals in trading garbage, it was unbearable. It was so bad I couldn't stop gagging.
I wasn't the only one who noticed the smell, though. As soon as they caught a whiff, the other miners started throwing up or desperately repressing gags.
Even old man Joe started to wrinkle his shriveled nose at the smell. It only took him a couple of seconds to get over it.
Panicking a little, he started whispering aggressively at us.
"Get a hold of yourselves! And shut your old ass mouths unless you want them to notice us!"
The other miners and I realized our mistake and started calming down. Joe seeing them collect themselves, said
"Good. Now everyone except Jeffrey, Edward, Mike, and Phillip needs to back their asses up and out of the cavern until I give the all-clear."
All of us miners except those four Joe called followed his orders and slowly fell back to the cavern entrance. While walking around, I could hear Joe whispering hurriedly to the other men, probably giving them directions.
Being the curious kid I am, I started to get a little excited about seeing a real battle. So, recklessly I peeked around the corner of the entrance to get a good view.
I started watching just as Joe and the four other men turned to face the goblins. Joe being the leader moved first and started walking toward the goblins at a slow, steady pace as if he owned the place.
The goblins instantly noticed him and, like rabid dogs, started running full speed toward him. They swooped up their primitive weapons, and their old wooden shields rushed at Joe.
'Why is he just walking towards them? Doesn't seem very smart.'
Baffled by his straightforward approach, I didn't see the other four splitting up and circling the goblins.
When they got close enough, Joe unsheathed his weapon and got into a defensive position. Once in position, he started to exert an intense and overbearing pressure as if he were a tiger stalking his prey. He lifted his hand and gave the others a signal.
They drew their blades and started to attack them from their sides. They caught the goblins off guard and killed four of them in the surprise attack.
The wounded goblins let out an ear-piercing shriek to alert the others of the hidden attackers. The goblins, a little stretched thin, ended up splitting up into three groups: two fighting the miners attacking their sides and another group solely focused on Joe.
It wasn't the most jaw-dropping fight, but it was undoubtedly impressive, Joe's fight in particular. In comparison, the rest of his "squad" was fighting at most two goblins. Joe was facing five all alone without even breaking a sweat.
After about 20 minutes, they eventually managed to kill all the goblins in the room. But as Joe slew the last goblin, a chilling pressure started covering the entire cavern.
When I sensed it, my body started shaking uncontrollably. This pressure wasn't like Joe's; it was suffocating, sinister. It was made of pure rage and bloodlust. Realizing that I couldn't move and I started inwardly panicking. I'd never felt more powerless in my whole life.
The aura surprised Joe, who instantly fixed his gaze on the source. It was a larger goblin sitting on a strangely shaped throne made out of bones. The bones seemed to be a mix of humans and goblins.
The large goblin had an enraged look on its face. It was probably pissed that all of its minions were killed. Pissed, It got up from Its throne and pulled two twin stone axes from his back, Letting out a deafening roar while launching himself at Joe.
Seeing the goblin's charge, Joe instantly became serious and started to yell at his squad.
"Get out of here now!!"
Panicked, they immediately ran as fast as they could back toward the cavern entrance, but before they could reach the exit, The battle began.
The start was rough. The goblin was a fierce and ruthless fighter. It aimed exclusively at Joe's neck, stomach, and other vital areas. It didn't seem to care about the fight. It was just solely focused on killing Joe.
Joe, left on the defensive, was barely succeeding in blocking the goblin's attacks but miraculously was still holding on with skill alone. Watching joe with a sword was like watching a painter create a masterpiece. Each thrust, stab, and slash was thrown with precision and strength.
Although joe was strong, the goblin was stronger, and After a few more clashes, the goblin broke through his defenses, but instead of looking afraid, Joe let out a cold smirk.
The Goblin thinking it won, went straight for the kill, but before it did, a bright light illuminated the entire cavern.
Flustered and confused, the blinded goblin stumbled back and was immediately pounced on by Joe, who started swinging at it like a madman. Different from the elegant swordsmanship from earlier, it resembled more of a butcher than a proud warrior.
After hacking and slashing, Joe managed to bring the goblin down to its knees, and with one final swing, Joe beheaded the goblin while green blood sprouted like a fountain.
Coming to his senses, Joe was satisfied with his kill, gave us the all-clear, and slumped down exhausted. All the miners started moving back inside the cavern and began getting ready to work.
Still left in awe by the fight, I stood still.
'What the fuck just happened?'
After processing everything I just saw, an exciting thought crossed my mind,
'If a Rank 2 Awakener can do something like that, then what kind of power do real powerhouses have?'
That was the first time I ever really seriously saw a Mana human fight. Suddenly seeing what they could do, I was overcome with this intense, almost suffocating desire. A fire was lit inside me that wouldn't go out anytime soon.
The desire for power.