Upon hearing Braus's explanation, Alonso understood why the man had been hesitant to speak earlier.
Although it sounded ridiculous, such situations were inevitable. The passages in that goblin mine were indeed more numerous and complex than in any other goblin mine. If Alonso hadn't learned a lot of experience from other adventurers, he might have gotten lost in them as well.
"How did the people in the other cells get in here? Do you know?"
Trying not to let the atmosphere become too awkward, Alonso quickly changed the subject.
"Them? We came in here about ten days ago. Until now, the guy in the cell opposite ours has only spoken twice, once just now. At other times, he didn't even snore. We only know they've been locked up for some time and tried to escape and failed. As for their other identities, we have no idea." Braus expressed his desire to communicate with them. With so many people, their reasons for being imprisoned were definitely different from his, and since they had attempted to escape, they might have useful insights into their future escape plans. However, except for the guy in the opposite cell who spoke a few words, the people in the other cells didn't respond at all.
"Dinner time, dinner time! Those of you in the corner, come over for dinner!"
At that moment, the voice of the old dog-headed jailer from afar was heard again. The previously quiet prison suddenly became restless, with sounds of people getting up, running, and banging on iron bars. From the sound alone, one could tell that these movements were as smooth as flowing water, and the reactions were so quick, completely unlike the hungry people and dog-headed people leaning against the walls.
In the faint candlelight from afar, Alonso clearly saw the taciturn man opposite him also lying against the iron bars, his previously reluctant eyes now staring fixedly towards the source of light.
"Prisoners, cherish this meal. The suspension bridge outside the tunnel has been damaged, and it will take some time to repair it. During this time, there will be no mushrooms to eat." The old dog-headed jailer pushed a wooden cart, handing bowls of mushroom soup to the prisoners while informing them of the unfortunate news he had just heard, serving as a warning to those restless ones.
Upon hearing this news, the expressions of all the prisoners changed. The prison's food supply was already limited, and now, with another period of time without food, weren't they being pushed onto a dead end? Who the hell broke the suspension bridge!
As the one who sabotaged the bridge, Alonso was now being glared at fiercely by Braus and Karla beside him. Because he inadvertently mentioned the destruction of the bridge while recounting his experience...
"Don't stare at me like that..."
Alonso glanced at the taciturn man in the opposite cell, realizing that the man's attention wasn't here, and whispered, "It's no big deal. I'll give you guys my share later."
"You have my word!"
The two, who were initially angry, changed their attitude instantly upon hearing this. Their speech was so rapid as if they were afraid Alonso would regret it.
Seeing their reaction, Alonso was also taken aback. Although he often went out, he hadn't experienced hunger much because he had learned many extreme methods of finding food from those veteran adventurers.
Thinking about it, Alonso prayed that his body could hold out for the next few days and, with a hint of teasing, complained, "How come those old guys never taught me how to find food in extreme situations like this prison?"
Veteran Adventurer: "Don't stop me! I'll just whack him on the head and make him forget, take back what I taught him before!"
Before long, the old dog-headed jailer's "food cart" finally arrived at the trio's cell, the farthest end.
"Here, this is your bowl!"
The old dog-headed jailer held up a bowl of mushroom soup and handed it to the big man. In the pitifully small bowl, there were only a few mushrooms floating in the soup, mixed with various other unidentifiable ingredients.
Nevertheless, the big man accepted the bowl contentedly. He then sat back in the corner where he had been lying before and started to savor the soup bit by bit.
"Hey! Where's my soup?"
While rubbing his hands and waiting for his share of the mushroom soup, Braus suddenly noticed that there were only a few empty bowls left on the "food cart" in front of him!
"Hahaha!"
The big man across from them burst into laughter suddenly. He had been staring at the "food cart" the whole time, counting the number of bowls of mushroom soup on it clearly in his sight, and there were exactly three missing. He had been worried that the last bowl would be given to the three across from him, but unexpectedly, it was given to him instead, which filled him with joy and made him burst into laughter.
Hearing his laughter, Braus and Karla immediately glared at him. And Alonso? Since he didn't have any soup to begin with, he had long moved to the side to lean against the wall quietly to conserve energy!
"Oh, sorry you two! The soup today was just too delicious, and I couldn't help myself!"
One could tell from the big man's tone and expression that he was clearly gloating.
"Cough cough!"
The old dog-headed jailer coughed twice, diverting the attention of the big man, Braus, and Karla back to himself. Then he said, "Your portion hasn't been forgotten either, but it's not mushroom soup."
With that, to their puzzled looks, the old dog-headed jailer took out a palm-sized silver-white box from his pocket and handed it to Braus.
"Here, this is your food. Because the three of you have special identities, you will be given different food from the other prisoners as you will be assigned some tasks soon. Be careful not to damage this box; it was given to me by an old friend!"
Braus snatched the box and opened it without hesitation. He wanted to know what kind of food would be kept in such a mysterious box made of what appeared to be silver.
At that moment, the expressions of nearby prisoners who caught a whiff of the smell changed completely. The big man across from them even rushed back to the iron bars in three steps, his eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out if not for his eyelids.
"Meat!"
All the prisoners in the cell, except for the old dog-headed prisoner, exclaimed at the familiar yet unfamiliar word.
"In the underground world, goblins have established a complex social system. Over time, due to different divisions of labor, goblins' physical characteristics and personalities have gradually evolved. For example, there are muscular goblin warriors, whose strength rivals that of beasts, and intelligent goblin artisans who have gradually mastered skills such as mushroom brewing, linen weaving, and weapon forging. Both are the result of the division of labor in goblin society.
Of course, there are some less obvious evolutions, like the young goblin jailer I encountered in prison today. What? Why am I in prison? Well, even an old fox like me encounters special situations!
Most goblins are fierce and cunning, but it is always kind to prisoners. When other jailers are on duty, they just throw a few dirty mushrooms at the prisoners during mealtime, but when it is on duty, it makes soup with some seasonings. Although the taste is not commendable, it is much better than gnawing on mushrooms alone.
Because I am the only human in the prison, it often comes to me to ask about things from the surface world. While satisfying its curiosity, I have also learned a lot about the underground world from it.
Before escaping, as someone who knew some goblin script, I even taught it how to write its own name. And as a token of my friendship, I gave it the silver box that I had used to store accessories for over ten years." — "Marlin's Underground Dungeon Adventure Diary: My First Goblin Friend"