Chapter 45: realisation
-Are those goblins?- CS asked incredulously at the four forms beneath them, shrieking at each other, over what seems a rabbit corpse.
'It seems that they are. Their presence here, unattended in a forest did give a good deal of information. Either we are in a far-off forest from humankind.'
-Or?-
'Or we are in a somewhat medieval-level world. The craft of the clothes, and the presence of the goblins, habitually considered a weak monster, so deep in a forest made me think it rather the second one.' Say, Alex.
-How do you know they're weak?- Asked CS while taking in the new pieces of information.
'Other than the fact their fighting over a rabbit corpse rather than hunt for more?' Alex said dryly. 'They shouldn't be able to survive this far if there were a stronger predator. I doubt they are from the same settlement if there are one, and seeing them carrying nothing more than small rock fitting in their hand; I don't think they are that high in the intelligence spectrum if they are even in the sentient one.'
-Point taken. What do we do now?- Nodded CS before asking.
'Hunt. I doubt goblin meat is edible, but it could be used as bait, I think.'
-Got it.- Respond CS curtly, before cutting the feed, leaving Alex to concentrate on the following task.
~~~
Taking a deep breath to settle his nerve, Alex retrieves the two stone blades from his storage, leaving the sheath in, and crouched on the branch, his tail mindlessly wrapping around to secure his position.
Looking at the group of four, he didn't act other than observing, waiting for the best moment to strike.
He didn't have to wait much longer for say moment to appears. Below, the four goblins shrieking contest had rapidly lead to a more violent form. The tallest of the four showed a far more vicious mind when he briefly shut, leaving the three other at their devices, before striking the one on his right with the stone he was the only one not to have dropped.
*thud*
The stricken goblin immediately crumble on the ground, falling on the rabbit, when the stone connected with the top of his head, above his left ear. The sudden silence was broken by the squicking sound of a branch on the tree above them.
All three raised there head at the sound, to look at the shaking branch Alex stood on a second prior, before jumping. The rustling of the leaves and twigs snapping divert their attention on the large shadow above them.
Their action immediately made them cower, as the forming shadow was overcast by the blinding sun rays light.
"""Skkreeee!""""
Recoiling in pain, momently blinded, none had the time to react as Alex plunge his left blade in the tallest goblin. Sinking through the side of its neck, biting in its chest, Alex feels the edge trip on something hard inside it body, before the tip broke.
Leaving the weapon where it was, for now, he crouched on the ground while spinning. Now nearly on the floor, he released his grip momently, twisting the weapon. Catching the blade' handle in a reverse grip, Alex suddenly rises, taking one of the remaining two goblins with him, the knife embedded in its lower jaws.
He left the gurgling goblin clawing at his throat to retrieve the weapon. Alex tail cracked like a whip, wrapping around the incoming goblin neck, before viciously snapping its neck.
Not willing to underestimate any creature, he swiftly retrieves a brick from his storage, before bringing it harshly on the downed goblin's crane.
Hearing the sickening crunch of the split skull, he threw a glance at the last goblin still alive.
Finally able to catch the weapon's handle deeply embedded in him, the goblin released a war-cry-like shriek before throwing itself at Alex. Looking at the profusely bleeding wound on its neck, Alex only side-stepped, leaving the weakened goblin to crumble once again on the ground, leaving it bleed to death.
~~~
Straining his ears, Alex only approached the group when he was sure that none were still breathing.
Turning the last he slay on it back with a nudge of his feet, he took in its appearance.
Like the appearance he found in numerous works, those goblins had dark green skin, around the size of a human child, a slightly larger, rounder head with disproportionate bulbous eyes. The mouth was full of short sharp yellowed fangs, a pointed nose and pointy hear. At the same time, their limbs were relatively thinner and longer than an average human. The lack of loincloth, exposing their genitals, suggested either a lack of resources or only a lack of awareness.
-I could have made without knowing that their similar to men, down there.- CS said, disgusted and offended at the sight of the appendages.
'Your not the only one, but what done, is done, let see why I felt the tips of my knife broke.' Respond Alex as he took his intact weapon from the deadly grasp of the downed goblin. Retrieving the second knife, he lightly prob the dead goblin chest, feeling the ribs. Once he thought the thoracic cage end, he took two bricks. Merging them around his closed fists, he smashed the floatings ribs in a one-two combo, shattering them, alongside cracking the sternum completely.
Morphing the stone into a bowl, he filled them of water from the nearby river, he slowly inserts his knife in the caved chest, cutting in the skin. Without bones to hinder the blade's progress, he only needed to apply a little pressure to cut the goblin skin open.
~~~
After putting the knife aside, Alex opened the goblin's chest and was greeted with a similar respiratory system than men, if only for a single difference. On the heart's right side, near the chest's centre, a small bluish dark stone, seemingly growing on the heart, lay.
Above it, the chipped tip of the blade was visible, partially buried in an artery. Taking back the knife, Alex incised around the stone, making the perforated organ bleed the stored blood left inside.
After extracting the stone, he dropped it in the makeshift stone bowl full of water. Washing the stone, his hands and his tool in the second, he retrieved the stone on looking at it. From the reverberating sunray, he discovers that the stone was, in fact, some crystal. The shard, no longer than two thumbnails, large of a thumbnail's fourth, was of a light blue shade at the edge, gradually darkening until the centre.
-It terrible luck than you hit such a small piece of crystal.- State CS, only to not receive a response from Alex. -Buddy?- Tried CS, only shaking Alex out at the second call.
'I think I know where we are, but...' Say Alex pensively.
-But?-
'Something different, at least I think.' Respond Alex, playing with the crystal between his finger, reflecting light.
-She did say that there would be differences.- Comment CS.-Were do you think we are?-
'In a world called Danmachi, a world full of monster and different sentient races, more than in the HP world. That would explain why I would be able to expose my therianthrope traits, it common here.'
-That good then!- Say CS joyfully.
'No, it not.' Immediately cut Alex. 'Even if the plot run around a retard beta wanting to gather a harem in the dungeon, this world had magic, monsters that are resistant to it, and more importantly, gods dwelling among the mortal.'
The stern voice of Alex immediately made CS anxious, after all, who wouldn't, when they learn that actual gods were freely roaming the world, able to smite you the very second, without being able to strike back or flee.
Hearing CS worries, Alex smoothes some of them.
'I don't know if it the same here, but all that had descended on earth had their 'Arcanum', their power, partially sealed. From the plot, most gods reside in the labyrinth city of Orario, so the chance of crossing path with one here is near nill. The bad news is that I don't know how much is false from the fiction.
-So next aim?-
'A settlement. If this is the same age than fiction, then there should be some near or around the river. Other than well, villagers don't have immediate access to a water body, but let gather the magic stone before that. They will be of use one day.'
-You say there were some differences, right?- Asked CS, as Alex was his sole source of knowledge here since he cut Alex's memories.
'Yes, from what I remember, the corpse in the labyrinth would either disintegrate into dust when killed or the stone removed, it didn't happen here. I don't know if it a feature of the dungeon or a natural occurrence, but if not, that would imply a whole new dimension of dungeon exploration.'
-Are there any part worth on a goblin corpse?-
'In the show, yes, the fangs, under the form of dropped items, but here? I'm not sure; all are the same lenght and a rather small, I don't think they have their utility. Perhaps in potions, but I would need more knowledge first. If their anything like in other worlds, goblin are a vermin so I don't think we would lose much.'
Nodding at that, CS left Alex to gather the three other cores. When he opened one, he found a different type of crystal. The shard was entirely and uniformly dark-blue. It had half the size of the previous one but the same wide. Like the first one, the core was also fixed on the heart and easy to collect.
Looking at the corpse, Alex shook his head, knowing that he could restrive anything else, as it would rotten rapidely since he had no means to conserve them.
~~~
While making his way through the forest in following the river, Alex would deviate from time to time, gathering some berries and wild fruits growing in the woods. Thankfully for him, much of the flora seems similar than back in Earth. After years of roaming the island on Ash's side, it was impossible not to catch some knowledge of the environment and tidbits on edible plants and fruits.
After eating his fill from the surrounding harvested fruits, he started to fill his storage of fruits and herbs founds around, for following days. When the sun dangerously approached the horizon, he halted any hope to found civilised shelter for the night and started looking around for passing the night.
His choice to go upstream seems to turn into a good idea, as the river had widened quite a bit during the short time he had walked. As so, he soon found a small patch of land in the middle of the river. It wasn't much the strip of the land which attracted his gaze, but rather the impressive rock on it.
Jumping quickly above the stream, he examined the rock, circling it, before nodding. He immediately started to work, digging chunk off the rock, carving a rough chamber, before closing the entrance with the carved part. After leaving some air vent closed by a grid with tight mesh, he lay on the rough stone bed, shortly sleeping after the day's events.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone