A glitch in the system. It's like a forbidden thing both holy and evil. It cannot be contemplated too much.
'Just what happened?' Ransom was perplexed by the intense pain in his heart. It's threatening to kill him. He crawled into the wall as he grips his sword.
Dozen seconds later the pain has finally subsided but Ransom can still feel the lingering fear of death inside him.
"Done crying? That's why I hate Ascenders, they'll keep asking simple questions not knowing it's the bigger threat than their enemies."
"Kid, you better quit asking stupid questions and get to the smart ones." The old goblin snickered.
'What happened? Is the transportation topic forbidden by the system? The moment I asked about the transportation, the pain comes...'
'It's better to be safe than sorry. I'll barre any talks and even thoughts regarding the transportation. Not until I figured a safe way to talk about it.' Ransom thought.
"... You said you can learn any language just by hearing them?" Ransom changed the topic after exhaling
"Well yes, it's an inner ability I had since birth."
"You're the first who conversed with me, which means you have heard Filipino before meeting me. Is there any human survivor left? Did you learn it from them?"
"Well... Hmmm, yes, I did learn it from them. I can tell you everything that has happened here and I can even show you the way to your fellow humans." The old Goblin smiled mysteriously
'There's no such thing as a free meal in today's society.'
"... Okay then. Ru you say? Why are you doing this? You already know that I'm the one who massacred your kin and I'll also be the one who will annihilate these goblins. So why help?"
"You said that you killed my kin? That's natural, any organism that has even a little consciousness will kill in one way or another, other organisms that threaten them. Or even organisms that live in peace, they'll also die at the hands of stronger, more intelligent organisms. You see, everything in the universe has a trait I call 'Uniphobic' which means they abhor the universe itself and the life, system, hierarchy, and everything within it."
"And it's more of a personal reason. You'll kill us anyways and end up being stronger after that, that's just how it is. So I might rather help our killer get stronger so that he won't be killed easily by others." The goblin said as it walks to the entrance while tapping its staff.
"I see, yakyukkangsik huh... Well, I can accept that."
'And it's not like he's a threat to me. I can kill him easily. I'll deal with the baby goblin's later.' He thought as he took another look at the huge mass of green little things crawling. He got goosebumps at the thought that these things would have been fully-fledged adults ready to kill him at all costs in a few days.
...
They walk into the large room. Even before he asked, Ru Ru was already ready to answer.
"This is the breeding room. The Mother Queen stays here to breed with the strongest males of the clan. Our clan is called 'Green Ant Clan' because, unlike other goblin clans, our clan is matriarchal led by a Queen that breeds goblins 24/7 until a threat like you comes."
Ransom stayed silent.
"But that doesn't matter anymore. After that 'big mass of steel' came falling from the sky, and only 34 of my brethren were able to come alive and settle at this cave. But only after 2 weeks, it multiplied to 200. Just based on this, you can already see how terrifying the Queen is." Ru Ru shrugged and after that, made a nasty remark.
"It would have been much better if you let the Queen live a little while, you know. That way you would have an endless source of experience. Kekeke."
"...No, I'll do anything to kill goblins even if it's just a millisecond faster."
'And besides, I'm pretty sure the reward from clearing this Ascent should cover the loss.'
Ransom would have agreed if he doesn't know that there are remaining humans. But now that he knows, he knew he made the right choice coming here.
BADUMP!
'Father, father.' His heart is crazily beating in anxiety.
When he saw a light at the end of the tunnel, he couldn't help but quicken his pace.
BADUMP!
A lick of fire shrouded the place as a lone torch was hanging at the side of the wall. Its light is just enough for him to see a mountain of flesh.
BADUMP!
Inside a pigpen, a stretch of human body parts are laying piece by piece. Some has open stomach, some has skinless face, eyeless head, etc.
BADUMP!
Everything is naked raw and disfigured beyond recognition. The scene is like a painting made by devil himself.
CEASE
Suddenly, he heard a crackle beside him! Feeling a bad premonition, the fire from the torch formed into a serpent and rushed to him. At almost the same time, he also threw his sword at Ru Ru as its blade travels swiftly through the air. Without a weapon to block, he tried doging by rolling to the sides. But unfortunately even though Ru Ru, its caster was already dead with a sword pierced at its neck, the spell was still alive and moving. The mana is still there.
"Shit!" He focused his whole attention to the movement of the fire serpent and waited until the moment that it almost touches his chest before jumping to the sides.
BOOM!
It hits the wall and exploded, sweeping Ransom with the aftershock. He rolled for a couple more times before his consciousness fades.