CH5: Little Guys had it Rough

People say that death is the scariest thing that could happen to a person. Somehow, a part of me believed that was true. Death is the end of things—at least, that is what I believed. But, however, I found myself starting a new life.

My consciousness is still intact. Am I still alive? But I can see nothing but darkness. Though, I am aware that I have thoughts running inside my head. 'I think, therefore I am,' I heard that phrase somewhere before, though I couldn't remember where. It simply means that since I can think, a thinker exists, I exist, therefore I'm alive. Even if I doubt my own existence, the doubt is a form of thinking, and thinking is proof of my existence.

I tried to move, but I couldn't feel my body. No, my body is just so numb that I can't feel the sensation. I just realized this, but maybe my eyes are still closed, so I tried to open them.

_Ahh..._ So, there was a light. It's quite faint, but I can see something bright behind the thin dark wall in front of me. I knew it, I'm really alive, but where the hell am I? I can't smell, and I can't hear either. The sight in my eyes is still blurry, and I'm having trouble keeping my eyelids open, as if I am underwater.

Wait a minute, but I died, didn't I? I used my [Self Destruct] spell, which means I used all of my life force to explode. One thing came to my mind as I thought about it: life after death... The concept is deeply rooted in religion, and since I was a follower of Yordus who believed in the void, the idea didn't come to me sooner.

Thinking about it, there are three major religions in Georlia. The majority of people are followers of the Church of Garuzin. I am a follower of the Temple of Yordus, and only a few tribes believe in Albaskanism. Garuzians believe in life after death, either in paradise, hell, or purgatory. Albaskanism has this concept as well, but they believe in reincarnation, or being reanimated in a new flesh. Through the process of elimination, the concept that makes the most sense in my situation is Albaskanism's belief.

Does that mean I am inside a woman's womb? I need to find out. And as I think about it, the light behind the wall becomes much brighter. My instincts tell me to push through the wall as soon as possible, and I do it. I have a hard time tearing the wall apart since it is too elastic, but with continuous persistence, the wall breaks apart and some slimy fluids spill outward. I crawl my way through the slippery floor, I can see the light from the elongated tear in front of me leading me out. My hand reaches through the light, and then I fall to the ground.

Something tears off from my belly as I fall. As I get myself back together, I look at what broke and find out it was a long intestine-like rope. No, it's an umbilical cord! I'm really inside a woman!

I look up to where she is, but what I see makes my blood run cold. She's already dead, without a head, hanging upside down with a belly torn open. It's a mess, but later, it makes me feel excited...? What's wrong with me?

Then words written in the air pop out in flamy appearance.

[Dungeon Trial: 27]

[In the realm of paradoxes, a visage that utters secrets, a lethal venom concealed in the extremity, and a regal core enshrined within. She, an embodiment of both zenith and nadir, embodying both grace and ravenous desire. Assemble a banquet of the harbinger of annihilation, and in that communion, claim her as your own. Thus shall the Manticore meet its demise]

[Kill the Manticore]

A dungeon trial! So I am inside a dungeon, what the hell?

Dungeons, despite the name, look like towers that extend infinitely into the sky. No one has ever seen their tops from the outside, as far as I know. Continuous discovery and investigation are still being held to discover their true nature and purpose since we have no idea what they really are. Most adventurers like to believe they are just gifts from God that produce additional income. However, mysterious artifacts from ancient times found here and there somehow oppose that belief.

Dungeons are separated into floors; each floor has one trial that adventurers need to complete in order to ascend. This means I am on the 27th floor. And it is said that monsters are terrifyingly getting stronger as one nears the top floor, where the dungeon lord lies. Interestingly, each floor has its own nature and ecosystem. Some floors could be an expansive desert, some floors are just a massive sea, some could be a floor of nothing but molten magma; it really depends. Luckily, I didn't get reincarnated into those extreme floors.

"Unwa."

I look around and observe what kind of floor this is. It seems like a cave—stalactites and stalagmites are jutting out, forming teeth on the surrounding rocky topology. Lumen, stones that glow from nature's mana, provide me with illumination with their blue glow. The ground is filled with dried blood, human bones, and... maggots? Scavenger flies buzz around my ears. My nose tries to sniff the air, and the pungent odor almost makes me puke. It smells so rotten, so rotten I want it to burn. I look behind and see a mountain of corpses.

"Unwa!" Fuck! What the hell!? Is this hell? All of them are tangled and mangled in a way that their bones and skin are intermingling with each other. I don't want to see it! I cover my eyes with my hands...

This is strange. I feel excited for some reason. Normally, I would be revolted and curse whoever did this to those poor people. But... strange enough, I like the blood and gore. Am I a freak? Did I swing that way after all?

Wait a minute... My hands. They are green and skinny. I look at my legs, and they are skinny as well. I look at the supposed-to-be my mother again and see she has fur on her chest and forearms; she's a beast folk. That means I should be a beast folk as well, but for some reason, I am green. I have to confirm it, so I grab my ears and feel that they are long. No freaking way...

Shit... this body construction. I am reincarnated as a goblin! That makes sense since goblins breed with different kinds of humanoid folks in order to multiply. This is bad, if I'm a goblin, it seals my fate that my potential will be limited. Plus... I'm still a baby goblin that can't defend itself, which means I could die again any moment. The mountain of corpses already gave it away that there is a hideous monster living nearby, and if I trigger it, I will be dead for sure. Crap! I need to get out, but my legs are still too weak to handle my weight.

"Help... me..." I hear someone groan from the mountain of corpses. A corpse, no, a woman is crawling from the pile. She stretches her arms out for me to reach. As a decent human, of course, I am compelled to help her. It's just a matter of obligation and decency. I'm not like Albert and his cult. I crawl my way to her, but I realize my body isn't ready to offer help. But before it's too late, I realize something is amiss.

"What's wrong? Please, help me... I don't want to die," she says, but I notice that her body is already cut in half. A normal person couldn't survive that! The right call is to crawl away from her. "You're not going to help me... but..." I won't! Who the hell are you?

"Fine... I'm coming for you instead..." Eh? Fuck! She's fast! She crawls very fast, like she's an insect. And then her head tears open, and I can see her brain and other organs inside her head. Pus and maggots fill her insides, dripping and oozing from her flesh. As fast as I can, I cover myself behind a rock. Of course, she could easily come right after me, so when she moves to the right, I go left. When she goes left, I go right.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL!? DON'T MOVE AWAY!" she complained! Why wouldn't I crawl away when she's chasing me!? Then worse comes to worse, she was already in front of me!

She pushes me down, locking me to the ground. Seeing her face up close makes me lose my sanity. Her vessels pulsate and swell with trapped worms, the sides of her eyes filled with waggling maggots. It's disgusting in every sense. She giggles, then opens her mouth as wide as she can, wide enough to fit three human fists. Her teeth sink into my flesh, on the right side of my neck. It's painful; I can feel something being injected into my veins. However, I won't just stand there without a fight. Of course, I bite her in the neck too! An eye for an eye, bitch.

"Ouch! You bit me!" I'm petrified to see her complain. I pull my teeth away and tear her neck open. Yellow fluid spurt onto my face. It's not surprising that I can do this, as a goblin child's teeth are as sharp as a metal saw, and they can eat bones.

The girl retreats, covering her flooding neck with her hand. "You're going to pay for this!" How dare she threaten me when she's the one who started this. Ugh... My head... I'm feeling a little dizzy. Is it because of her bite...? I need to fight this off. The girl is still waiting for her chance to catch me off guard, but I won't let her. But I realize she's not the only problem. The mountain of corpses starts moving, their limbs wiggling and there is continuous moaning and sobs.

Damn... Those corpses are literally fused into one giant thing. I can't beat that... Am I going to die again? One thing I learned throughout my previous life is that people are so fragile. Wars, hunger, diseases, monsters... there are so many variables that can cause a person to lose their life. Each second, a person could die. And I am not immortal; I am not invincible. That's why at least once, I want to enjoy being alive away from the war. How regretful... This world is really brutal.

Just when I am about to lose hope again, something fires through the pile of corpses. If my eyes are not deceiving me, it's a boulder with fiery features that puts a huge hole in the corpses.

"What?" The half-gutted girl is astounded as well. And I see it, flying through the ceiling, navigating masterfully through the stalactites. Then it lands on a high area, its royal features so regal even as a beast. It has the tail of a scorpion, the body of a lion, and a face so beautiful that I didn't realize my mouth was agape. Her silver long hair shines under the influence of the blue light; it falls so gracefully in a perfectly straight line from her head. I want to touch it so badly. But what captivates me the most are her eyes, the light blue eyes that are more beautiful than the sky. They glow so softly that I can hear a sharp hymn... No, that sharp sound is coming from her mouth; she's trying to breathe fire! I need to get away as soon as possible.

She fires her beaming spell through the corpses, the impact causes me to hurtle away to a nearby rock. Luckily, this is only what happened to me when the beam of light disintegrated everything it touched. Damn! That was so powerful. Even now, the area is burning intensely, and the ground is molten and liquefied.

That manticore is so strong... wait... shit. I just realized it's the floor boss. It's literally stated in the Dungeon Trial to kill it! No... no way. I can't fight that thing! I need to get away as soon as possible. If I am noticed, I'll be dead for sure. It's not like I need to fight it anyway; I'm not trying to ascend. I need to go down and escape this dungeon.

_Bang_

The manticore lands in front of me. Shit! I'm noticed! The blue eyes are staring directly at me. Theo, don't move! Pretend to be a rock!

Then I hear something hissing. I look at the manticore, and she's ready to breathe her fire beam at me! I need to do something! Anything!

Oh, damn... Is this how it's going to end? My legs started to drench in urine as soon as I realized I was in deep shit... and then my mind plunged into total darkness.