212. Black and White (Start of Book 5)

On a gentle green knoll, an elder goblin hobbled across with a cane. The goblin was humming, enjoying the day. The sun was a bright yellowish green just like the goblin’s skin. And the planar arc was arranged for a spectacular display.

Four planets hovered in the sky. They seemed so close the elder goblin swore he could reach out and touch them.

A loud air-suction sound turned the elder goblin’s attention from the four planets above to an interesting sight on the knoll near him. The trace of dimensional magic faded from around two unfamiliar forms.

Strange and alien and highly magical, these two. One was as small as a doll and sat on the shoulder of the other. And the bigger of the two wasn’t so much taller than the elder goblin. But no discernable features could be seen. These two were clad in strange helms, high quality materials, and dark purple hooded cloaks. Their metallic helms glowed with an ethereal purple light between the gaps in the visors.

These two were certainly strangers to the elder goblin, but he straightened his back and presented them with a charming smile. The best a wrinkled green fellow like him could provide. The bigger stranger raised his hand in greeting, and the elder goblin greeted in return.

“Hello, hello. I do not believe we’ve met, and if we have, please excuse this old one. I’m turning quite old.” The elder didn’t bother with using [Identify], not wanting to come across as rude. “Welcome to the Five Globe Arc Dungeon! Specifically, the Happy Green Globe. Lovely place, if you haven’t been here. And if you have, it’s nice to have you return.”

“Interesting.” The bigger one pointed upward. “Quick guess. Completing the dungeon requires movement from globe to globe, doesn’t it? What’s stopping someone from flying all the way to the end?”

The elder goblin laughed heartily. He shuffled around back in the direction he came, waving for the strangers to follow. “You wouldn’t be the first to attempt the journey from one end to the other. I would advise against it.”

The two newcomers stayed put. The elder gestured again for them to follow until the bigger one fell in step, albeit slowly. “Why?”

“They always go ka-splat! And become a part of the rain cycle.  Good for the plants, I suppose. But it’s always a shame to lose newcomers.”

“Hm. Any gateways? Bridges? A magical ferry?”

“Now, now, what’s the rush? You just got here! Take in the views.” He waved toward the distant white-capped mountains, the mirror-like lake reflecting the other globes, and the clear sky-day. “Newcomers, ah, no, perhaps I should be more proper. Dungeon crawlers, yes?”

They held their silence.

“Ah, don’t worry. The Happy Green Globe can be considered an entire Safe Zone during times like these. Get settled in and speak to the people. You can start with this town, but there’s many more with friendly goblins just like me. But maybe not as handsome as me.”

The goblin laughed. The walk was slow, but the elder goblin was in no rush. The crawlers didn’t complain.

They rounded a bend in the hills and followed a path straight to the elder goblin’s little hamlet. Goblin adults conducting their business stopped to look. Little goblin children stopped playing and started making cute shrilling noises, pointing at the new arrivals. Most if not all the hamlet goblins waved with welcoming smiles as the elder goblin crossed under the road sign.

“Welcome to Relax.” The elder turned and waited for the crawlers to follow his steps into the hamlet. They stopped right outside the gate. “Now, now, we pride ourselves on living to our name. Please, come and relax.”

All the goblins laughed.

“Where’s all the girl goblins?” spoke the little one, her voice sounding light and girlish and attractive.

The elder goblin scratched at the side of his neck, feeling itchy. “What do you mean? We have all the goblins you can ever hope to meet? We’re all so nice here, and welcoming.”

“Please, come and relax!” shouted a local. Others joined in.

“Welcome to our home, crawlers!”

“Come in, come in. We welcome you!”

The elder goblin waved at all his fellow people with one hand. “See. We’re all nice here. That’s part of our creed in Relax. It’s our effort to help persuade others to think better of us goblins.”

“You’re bleeding,” said the bigger one.

“Huh?” The elder stopped scratching at his neck and looked at the blood on his nails. “Oh. Haha. Just a tic, nothing to trouble yourselves over.” The elder’s eyes locked onto the doll-size crawler sitting comfortably on the bigger one’s shoulder. “If the big one can’t relax. You should certainly relax. You must relax with us. We will keep you good company. Very good company.”

The doll-size female responded with words and action. “Bolting-G.”

A shiny purple bead pulled at the elder goblin and blew up against his chest, sending him backward, his body bowling through a number of his own goblins. An uproar of shock, panic, and fear rang out. One goblin broke down and cried over the limp body of the elder goblin.

Like emotionless machines, the little one raised six arms and weaved another spell. The bigger one flicked out his hand and summoned a gold, purple, and red battle axe the size of him. With one swing, the gate fell like split twigs, the sign clattering down. The little crawler continued to work the spell, growing a dark and menacing sphere in the air. It seemed like if nothing stopped the murderous crawlers, they would wipe out the entire hamlet.

A shift in the atmosphere darkened the innocent luminance around the hamlet. All the goblins stopped panicking as the elder goblin stood in one smooth motion. The slouch in his back was gone, and he now stood as tall as the bigger crawler. A sense of vitality returned to his aging body.

“I told the Dungeon Master this trap was a foolish endeavor.” The elder shook his head.

The little crawler released the dark sphere, a magic the size of a head. It flew while consuming the world around it but crashed into the elder’s awaiting hand, powerful Rank 5 space magic eliminating most of the threat.

The bigger crawler set foot into the hamlet, moving like a blur. The elder teleported away while his minions teleported forward to attack, their claws coated in space-rendering magic.

A purple tint colored the air around the crawlers and crushed eight of the ten into the ground, damaging most of them seriously. Two goblins endured by using their space magic defensively, staying upright. A single axe swing hacked through them both, blood spilling, the [Fighter-type] moving forward with grace and weight, crushing a goblin understep. The [Mage-type] ripped through the enchantments placed on the homes and sent them whirling around like a chaotic storm.

The elder snarled and let loose twin spatial rendering torrents. A twisting column of purple magic and particles broke apart one of his spatial torrents, the other completely dodged, as the [Fighter-type] assaulted the lesser goblins. Many teleported out of the way, running into debris coated in more purple magic caught in the cyclone made by the [Mage-Type]. The elder goblin kept firing spatial rendering torrents, cleaving goblins and the landscape beyond with powerful rents. Hills fell in landslides from getting hacked by the elder’s magic, but none hit the mark.

This remained the same until the [Fighter-type] ran straight at the elder, missing an axe swing when the elder teleported behind him for a shot at the crawlers’ backs. An indescribable pressure crashed down followed by debris made heavier than they should. The elder screamed as all the debris and pressure crushed him, the goblins, and the area that had once been the hamlet. In the aftermath, only the elder survived, rising out of the mess.

Bloodied and caught in an inescapable magic field, the elder cackled madly. “You think you’re strong, but you’re not! This dungeon is filled with stronger goblins than me. And you will not escape us without feeding the Uk-Guk-Gara toll!” The elder’s crazed eyes landed on the little crawler as he licked his thin lips.

“Thank you,” the bigger crawler said. “For being so comically evil. The black and white is refreshing.”

“Thank you, thank you!” giggled the little feminine one on his shoulder.

Before the elder could speak further, the axe moved faster than the elder could react. The elder goblin felt no pain but heard a destructive noise like the ground being split by a giant blade. Then things faded to black as the elder’s perception split in two.

***

You’ve slain a Space Goblin Villager, Level 110!

You’ve slain a Space Goblin Villager, Level 113!

…

You’ve slain a Space Goblin Elder, Level 145!

Jay rolled his axe shoulder, still getting used to the new weapon. With this slaughter heralding his entrance, he decided there was no need to hide their crowns. Two purple circlets, each bearing two horns, hovered over Jay and Kleo’s heads. The [Multiverse Demon Candidate] and [Multiverse Demon Companion] waited as the dungeon monsters melted into goop and revealed their loot.

With a raise of his hand, the loot lunged from the floor and straight to Jay, disappearing into a spatial storage on his person. A good amount of Goblin Cores with this haul, which would become useful.

He had more happy goblin villagers to slaughter.