15: Haunted

"Kyaaaaah!" He shrieked, sprinting away from his reflection in the water and slamming his back against the nearest wall. Gasping for breath, he suddenly heard a booming voice echoing through the dungeon.

"This dungeon is unlike any other. Where does it lead, and why am I here alone?" he wondered aloud. As he strained his ears, the heavy footsteps of an armored figure thundered towards his location. Glancing down the hall where he had been sitting, he realized he was near the dark passage from which the ominous footsteps had emanated.

"What do I do? I don't have a sword," he thought frantically, starting to flee. The approaching footsteps grew louder as the figure drew closer. With all his might, Neo raced down the passage hall and into a larger chamber filled with the lifeless bodies of slain goblins. Bursting through the door that connected the dual dungeons, he found himself in another cavern strewn with sharp rocks.

As Neo hurriedly ran, the thunderous footsteps pursuing him gradually faded until they were no longer audible to his sharp ears. "What on earth was that? Human or monster?" he pondered, relief washing over him as he distanced himself. Glancing back, he turned his attention forward, only to collide with a solid body, toppling to the ground. He looked up and saw a tall youth with green hair and matching eyes, clad in leather attire.

"Sam, what's going on?" echoed two female voices as they emerged from a portal behind Sam. Maria, with her blue hair and eyes, and Suzy, wearing a cloak and wielding a magic staff, her long hat casting a shadow over her dark eyes and purple hair.

"It's a goblin. Lucky for us, we can kill it and claim the reward," Sam explained, while Maria and Suzy assumed battle stances.

"Entering this C-rank dungeon turned out to be a good decision," Suzy remarked, pointing her magic staff at Neo. In an instant, a barrage of fiery flames shot toward him like a flamethrower, but he managed to leap out of harm's way.

Unbeknownst to these low D-rank hunters, they had stumbled into something far more dangerous than they had anticipated. Suddenly, Sam charged at Neo, swinging his sword with lethal intent. Neo swiftly leaped backward, assuming a defensive position. He had little combat training and lacked a weapon. The fragility and weakness of his current form only added to his disadvantage.

As Sam closed in, moving slower than expected, Neo saw Suzy stretch out her hand towards him. He watched as Sam became enveloped in an energy glow, vanishing from sight. In the blink of an eye, Sam reappeared right in front of Neo, his sword piercing through the air and impaling Neo's shoulder, jutting out from his back.

A scream of agony escaped Neo's lips as he crumpled to the ground, blood gushing from his wound. Simultaneously, he witnessed Sam swiftly swinging his sword through the air, aimed at his neck. Reacting swiftly, Neo propelled himself upward, narrowly evading the deadly blade. The sword clashed against the ground, sending sparks flying.

With adrenaline coursing through his veins, Neo turned his body and sprinted away from the enemy who sought to end his life.

Fire erupted from the magician's staff,

….

but I narrowly escaped. I darted into a cave, my pursuers hot on my heels. Desperately, I chose a different path, hoping to shake them off. Just as they closed in on me, a hand grabbed me and pulled me into a narrow crevice. I slipped into the darkness, accompanied by this mysterious person.

"He ran into that hole with another creature. Let's split up and catch him!" Sam's voice echoed through the cave.

"Alright," Maria replied, determination evident in her tone. Their intent was clear: they wanted me dead.

Emerging from the cave, I found myself in an open space, accompanied by the person who had saved me. It turned out to be the same creature with fish-like scales I had seen earlier. As she gazed at me with her dragon-like eyes, I realized she might not be a monster as well but probably a human, just like me, trapped in this situation.

Could it be that those goblins were once humans themselves? Did we unknowingly kill people we mistook for monsters? Confusion and disbelief washed over me. I met her gaze, and she nodded, silently confirming my suspicions. Together, we retraced our steps to the hallway where we had first arrived.

We hurriedly made our way through the hallway, pursued by the three adventurers. The creature ahead of me opened a door, and suddenly our eyes widened in shock.

Before us lay the same hallway where we had encountered the initial goblins and the fallen adventurers. Now, I could understand the terror those adventurers had experienced when we unwittingly killed them. A group of adventurers, including my friends Brody, Juliet, Catherine, and others, lay motionless on the floor. Sandra and Brody started to regain their footing.

The pursuing adventurers were closing in on us, but we dashed into the hall. Our destination was the dark passage where we had heard the monster's footsteps earlier.

As we raced through, Gregory lunged at me, swinging his sword horizontally, aiming for my head. In that moment, I felt my right arm yanked backward, while the creature stood before me, shielding me from the blow. The sword sliced through her body, blood splattering through the air.

"Ahhh!" she screamed, collapsing into my arms. I desperately tried to pull her away from danger.

"Why? Why did you protect me when you barely know me?" I pleaded, her body drenched in blood. I dragged her to a corner as Gregory cracked his neck, aiming his sword at me.

"It seems that because of you two, we've been dragged into this. What's with you and your powers... ahhhh!" he shouted. Suddenly, the three adventurers wielding swords burst through the door. They spotted our group and exclaimed.

"Is that our goblin? Our prey? We saw it first!" Sam yelled.

"How on earth... Did they end up in this dungeon too? Why am I the only one who became a goblin?" I tried to communicate with my friends, hoping to prevent them from killing me, but my voice came out distorted and incomprehensible. Brody unsheathed his sword, ready for battle.