Oliver entered the dark and damp tunnel in front of him. His hands gripped the rusted and bloodied dagger, waiting for something to jump out toward him. Although the tunnel was dark, Oliver advanced with a confidence that could only be explained by his understanding of the terrain. Unfortunately, that confidence was shattered as he tripped on a loose rock, falling onto his face. Swiftly, he got to his feet and dusted himself off, letting out a sigh as he couldn't notice anything around him. Finally, after walking for a few minutes, he found a fork in the tunnel; one side was outfitted with torches on the walls. Oliver didn't hesitate to head toward the side with the torches, although he became slightly more wary. While he didn't know much about goblins, in fact, he didn't know much about any monsters, he didn't think they would be so advanced as to have torches lit and use them for exploration.
Oliver advanced throughout the large tunnel system for a staggering 12 hours. During this time, he found a few goblins here and there; however, he had only killed a total of 50. That meant he was missing 150 goblins, an amount that worried him, considering he felt the tunnel was ending soon. Finally, Oliver arrived in the final area of the tunnel system. It was a single large cave filled to the brim with goblins. Little huts were spread out throughout the large cave, but they were flimsy at best. Oliver sighed and felt this might be a little difficult. He sat down, not even entertaining the idea of rushing in. He first thought of plans or ideas to isolate the large number of goblins. He eventually thought about the plan most likely to succeed, at least considering the items he had and the terrain. As such, he chose to set up a trap and battle the goblins in a small enclosed space.
While many might think of such a plan as idiotic, Oliver knew he was vastly outnumbered. As such, the best course of action he had was to battle them stealthily; unfortunately, that wasn't an option due to the wide-open area. So, he decided to battle them individually, with a single entry point, and a small enclosed space would be the best. He looked around the open area and found the perfect place—a small ledge inside the cave. It had an advantage in height and was connected to the cave, making it sturdy and made of stone. Now, he just needed to be able to get there and set up a small trap.
For the trap, Oliver thought about placing a liquid on the stairs and using a bow and arrows he got from the various goblins. Although he didn't have anything to put on the stairs, as he looked around the shabby goblin village, Oliver noticed a barrel of what looked like alcohol. Whatever it was, it was a liquid and a lot of it. Oliver gained a devilish smile and prepared everything down to the minuscule details.
After a careful hour of planning, Oliver was ready to put his plan in motion. He grabbed a stone and sent it flying to a wall away from the ledge. The sound of rocks colliding produced a large thud, bringing the attention of most of the goblins. He waited a few moments before sprinting toward the village, grabbing the barrel of liquid in the process. The ledge and destination were in the northernmost part of the cave, while he sat at the south side. As such, the sound he produced was in the west, or in the middle of his destination. With such a wide-open area, it took only a few seconds for the goblins to notice him sprinting through their village.
A loud collective roar from the 150 goblins echoed throughout the cave, shaking the cave. Their footsteps filled the cave as they stampeded towards Oliver, fully intent on killing him. Oliver reached the stairs and poured the barrel of liquid that reeked of alcohol, confirming his suspicions. He quickly brought out a quiver of arrows and a bow from his storage ring, along with a dagger on his waist. His entire body exuded calmness as he pulled back an arrow and launched it into a goblin's approaching face. He was about to load another arrow when his body suddenly went cold. He quickly looked around, and a feeling of pure dread spread through his body. The goblins' faces had changed from pure rage to a lustful smile, a smile that would make death a luxury if he was caught.
With squinted eyes and a hardened grip, he reloaded and shot arrows as if his life depended on it, because it did! His arrows were frighteningly accurate, hitting dead center of the goblins' heads. Unfortunately, he only had a little over 20 arrows. Although he was able to defeat 20 goblins, with 130 left, Oliver took the dagger and readied himself. He made sure to make a mental note to get actual weapons training, as he could tell his handling was amateurish. He sighed and waited for one of the goblins to get within his reach, only for a quick stab to the neck to finish it off. The process repeated 130 times, and Oliver's arm felt like it was about to be torn off.
"Huff! Huff! Huff! Finally, it's over!" he breathed a sigh of relief, noticing a weird feeling enveloping him. It felt like a string that, with a single pull, would send him flying. He could also tell that the string would pull in a few hours, whether he wanted it to or not. As such, he guessed it was the way out of the Fissure, a process he had instinctively used last time.
Quickly, Oliver emptied the various weapons he had taken from the goblins and scavenged for their cores. With half an hour left, he went into their village to try and find anything useful. While he found a few interesting ores, he didn't find anything groundbreaking until he ventured into the house in the middle of the village, a place that was bigger than the others. Inside, he found something that made his blood run cold. Blood was splattered everywhere, and cages were set up. Inside the dozen cages were human females. While they were still breathing, their eyes were lifeless. Their bodies were torn and filled with scars. Oliver bit his lip slightly and thought he shouldn't have let the goblins off so easily. While he wanted to help, he knew he couldn't take them out of the Fissure. Moreover, healing them might solve the physical pain, but their minds were already shattered. With a heavy heart, Oliver determined what he should do. He raised his dagger and hoped their dreams would become peaceful.
He left the large house with a crimson-stained dagger and his subspace completely filled to the brim with Life Stones, gold, and treasure the goblins had stolen from others. With one last look at the house, he mentally pulled the string he felt in his mind and vanished from the cave, not noticing the shaking in his hands.
XVI