Chapter 31: Survivors

There was no reason for them to stick around. They continued walking over the hills, where they witnessed multiple similar scenes to the dead officer. There were no other occurrences like the small massacre.

Geth was a bit worried, he hoped that the area beyond the next set of woods wasn't as unlucky. The further they crossed in this field of death, the more concerned he became about whether or not his son and his ex-wife would make it.

Them being split up didn't make him hate her, they just weren't good together. They still remained friends, and he was even pretty close with her current husband. The man did just as much to help provide for his son as Geth did, he could never fault him for that.

Walking the rest of the way was rather quiet, they were both having the same thoughts. The smell of death lingered on them after having walked through the hills.

They ended up having to face a few Goblin patrols throughout their travel. Since Til was now linked to his Grimoire, Geth's Corrupted Aura didn't have any negative effects on him.

With this being the case, the patrols were wiped out fast. Since both of them were actively participating in the battles, the experience was shared 50/50.

As they approached the woods, they began to run into more Goblins more frequently. The patrols also became larger, likely due to the appearance of whatever beast tore through their troops before.

Of course, this only meant more experience for the two of them. Geth would rush into the center of the crowds, drawing attention and casting his corruption aura.

As the enemies were focused on him, they never saw Til rushing up behind them. It was too late. By the time they noticed, their heads were flying up in the air. Trails of blood followed behind like an odd display of art.

The battles ended quickly, they even managed to kill another Goblin Assassin and Geth got his own cloak. He tucked it in his bag, for now, the extra Agility would be nice but he didn't want the weaker Goblins knowing they could kill their superiors.

After the fourth big group of 13, they'd found like that Geth spoke up. "I really think that there's a Dungeon near here. Once we find them we should try to clear it. Hopefully, it's a group Dungeon. We need equipment."

Til definitely brightened at the thought of the Dungeon. He didn't care about the equipment as much as the adventure. He was closing in on 60 and hadn't had this much excitement since his military years.

"Well let's hurry and get through these woods. The sooner we get to them, the better the chance they are alive."

"We already have more than enough cores to upgrade the Dungeon once we get back. I was worried about not having room for everyone but seems like it was unwarranted." Geth said. "I wonder how it will upgrade next, I really hope it comes with a toilet. I'm tired of having to find places to take a shit."

They both broke out laughing at that fact. Not only was it a bit unhygienic, but it also left one exposed to enemies too. The other would have to stand close by until they were finished.

He imagined that if he were to develop his State Change Skill enough, he would be able to create a sewer system inside the Dungeon. For now, they just had to make due.

This patch of woods wasn't very big, its length was probably five miles or so, but they only had to walk a mile to get to the opposite side.

On the other side, they saw something that finally gave them some relief. There were multiple decaying bodies of Goblins lying around, but no humans.

This likely meant that the people on this side were strong enough to survive. Their first goal was to find a group and gather information. Walking around aimlessly would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

They didn't have to search for long. As they left the edge of the woods, people stood up from under tied-together leaves about a half-mile away. There were only five of them, and they were each carrying a short sword.

The men seemed surprised to see humans stepping out of the woods. They were suspicious but harbored no ill will.

Two of them stepped forward while the other three stayed back. The four men walked towards each other and met halfway.

"What brings you here? There isn't much that's worth trying to cross the hills on the other side, we barely made it out ourselves." One of the men spoke up, he was a burly man with short black hair and a small mustache. Standing about 6' 4" Geth had to admit that the guy looked a bit intimidating.

He responded to the man solemnly, "I'm looking for my son and his mother. Seeing that there are strong survivors on this side has definitely given me hope." He proceeded to exchange their names and features while the man listened.

"Ahh, I know exactly who you're talking about. The wee runt has tried following us out here multiple times. His mom and the baby are with the others, the man helps us with watching the woods but is off exploring at the moment. I'll lead you back!"

They stepped towards the others and all introduced each other. Til decided to stay back and take the burly man's position so that they wouldn't be short-handed in case of trouble.

"That's a good man." The big guy said as he patted Til's shoulder. "Come on young man, let's head to the shelter."

Geth's face quickly turned from optimistic to worried. He now knew why they were posted up at the woods, 'They're defending from beast waves, and they probably think that it's normal.'