Chapter 18: Hybrid

"In here too!" Xi shouted. Aiming his bow towards the incoming goblins. Every time the air swooshed and whistled, a goblin dropped dead.

"Here too," Toni added. Gazing left and right looking for another pathway.

"I saw them here!" Ned cried, brandishing his sword, preparing for the incoming horde of goblins. "They're everywhere, this is the fifth wave! Ready!"

Light from the Storing sphere revealed a pile of dead goblins encircling the group. Blood dripped, flowed, and smelled in every direction.

If these are wargs or lizards, we could take them on, no problem. But this, Ned raised his left hand to block an arrow. The vambrace clanged blocking an incoming arrow. But these are goblins, they have weapons, and their attacks don't have a pattern.

"There!" Xi shouted, pointing at an empty hole, filled with nothing but darkness. "Ned! It's empty."

"Let's go!"

With more goblins are coming, the three ran towards the empty hole. Clothes dampen of both sweat and liquid dripping from the caverns they passed by.

The group stopped into another empty cavern. The path seems like a maze, but Ned knew, they had never been here before. He knew cause ICE had been mapping and recording all the cavities they entered. Ned made sure that they do not enter the same cavern twice. One way to find an exit, faster.

Chest popping out, hands on his knees. Exhausted, Xi dropped on the ground. He noticed that the ground was dry. Dust skimmed out of his boots.

It wasn't just dry, it was also warm. It was like someone made the place warm, just for them.

Coco jumped off Toni's arm and rolled on the ground.

"Somethings wrong," Ned noticed that the goblins are not following them anymore. They're not following, it's like they were leading us here. Ned thought. "Someone's commanding them," Ned informed the two.

"What?!" Xi cried. "But those are goblins, who's got the brain to command them?"

Toni, whose clothes were drenched of goblin blood—not just Toni, Ned, and Xi as well, walked toward Ned and injected another mana to lighten up the storing sphere.

"We'll find it out soon," Ned's dusty blue eyes examined a door not far from where they stood. Raising his arms he pointed to the group. "Look."

The iron door, curved with circular patterns, and some edges are about to crumble. But it wasn't filled with any dust, in fact, the ground revealed a patten that the door was used recently. Footprints could be noticed coming in and out. Footprints not too big but not too small either. Goblin's trail, Ned muttered.

"Are you sure about this?" Xi questioned the group. "Those are goblin trails and were going inside it."

With no other choice, the group went inside the iron door.

There, they saw corroded iron carts, iron railways, chains, some on the ground, some attached to the wall. The wooden dwelling was made to fit two to three people. Wooden spiral stairs going upward that was supported by wooden pillars. From the way it looked, one single step and the stairs will crumble away. Poorly made torches hang on the stone walls. Different chambers welcomed them, some are open and some are closed. Living quarters, Ned examined.

"There's... our exit," looking upward, Toni pointed at the top of the vast chamber. From their distance, a faint light could be seen.

"But how are we going to go there?" Xi looking upwards, his face looked disappointed.

"Guess we'll have to check the chambers." With torches lightning the room, Ned put the storing sphere in his pouch. Ned started to walk going in one of the closest chambers. Inside, he noticed wooden tables, iron cups, spoons, forks, and other items for daily life.

Ned picked one of the cups. ICE, how long? He prompted ICE.

[The way it looked. The minimum is ten years.]

Ten, I wonder what made them leave this place. Ned wondered.

"Ned!... Toni! Come here! Check this out!" Not far from Ned and Toni, they heard Xi from a chamber that looked to be new. Outside was an iron door and Iron wall.

Inside, what they saw surprised Toni, and Xi's face looked like he had seen a ghost. Three human skeletons chained to the wall welcomed them. Looking carefully, each of the skeleton's skull was bashed open. Cracked skull, broken arms, smashed ribs, and the other one was cut to half. Its upper body was chained and hanging, while below his waist, its spinal was cut. They all have one thing in common, dust, the surface of their skull was filled with dust, the same goes to their eye sockets. Insects made their home inside the human skulls. Some insects crawled in and out.

"Uhmm... Is this, a torture chamber?" Sweat drizzled out of Toni's forehead.

"Torture what?" Xi asked.

"She said, it's a— "

Before Ned could finish, the door behind them cracked and boomed. The fire crept inside the chamber and smoke filled the room.

Lying on the ground, Ned safeguarded Toni and Coco, Xi's face was thrown and stuck into one of the skeletons.

"It's a spell," Toni muttered. Dust filled their clothes, rocks and bones scattered everywhere, the door that was intact was now cracked to pieces.

"How'd you know Toni?" Ned asked. Standing, he unsheathed the Butterfly. But this time, the butterfly emitted a faint black to purple light. The faint was fast and insignificant that only Coco noticed.

"Mana Residue, I can feel it," she answered. "Ned it's strong, peak of tier 2 spell, going tier 3."

"It's a monster, it must be between the Peak of Grade D going Grade C," Xi added. Lifting a bone finger off his hair. "According to the attendant, Hoglob Island was inhabited by Grades E and D. But to have a Peak Grade D. It's only a matter of time before it reaches a Grade C. And here I thought they were joking about it."

Footsteps, screeching, and disorderly laugh could be heard outside. They have had heard these footsteps too many times, they knew it came from goblins.

Smoke and dust almost settled down. Rubbles settled everywhere inside the room. "Wait! How could you tell the explosion came from a monster?" curiosity filled Ned's eyes.

"Mana Residue," for the first time, Toni and Xi rhythmed with one another.

"Mana Residue are residues of mana after a spell was conjured. In every spell, there will always be a residue," Toni explained.

ICE, Ned prompted.

[Negative. If you can't feel anything neither can I.]

Shit! I really can't feel the mana, not even mana leak or mana residue. Ned exclaimed in his thoughts. But I can absorb it. Why.

[Yes. Your mana absorption is very slow and very small in quantity. You can't feel it.]

"So there's a difference between human and monster mana residue?" Ned asked. Dust now settled, everyone could see goblins waiting outside. But not attacking. This is bad. Ned thought.

"Yes, Monster's Mana Residue is purer than us—humans," Toni replied. "But, for a monster to conjure a spell, it's not just a peak Grade D, it's also an evolved one. Ned this is bad."

With Coco on the ground, the three stood like vanguards—ready for anything.

Outside the torture chamber, goblins counting from 20 to 30 were lined up. But this time, they wore armors, made of iron, although crude, but still able to block physical attacks. Some wore helmets that do not fit. Others wore boots too big or too small for them. Hairs stood all over their body. But with or without armor, their smell was always the same.

At the end of the goblins, there stood a monster taller than normal goblins and even taller than Ned, or Toni or Xi. Fully armored, except the oddly shaped head. Pointy ears. An opened mouth that cannot be closed due to an excessive long tooth, brown and muddy long hair dreadlocked for supremacy. Necklace made of human fingers boned to death. Gripping on its right was a blade enveloped with fire. On its left was a stone, sized enough to be gripped, emitting a faint blue between green light.

"Goblin Orc," Ned muttered.

"Hybrid," Toni added.

"Shit!" Xi cried.

The three heard an obscured and broken voice coming from the Goblin Orc. Then the goblins that surrounding them started to move. Giving way to the group.

Seeing this, Ned and the rest moved out of the torture chamber. And stopped in the middle of the vast mining room.

The goblin orc muttered again, then the remaining goblins surrounded them. Enough for them to move around. "It's challenging us," Ned said.

"Three to one?!" Xi exclaimed.

"No, if we're lucky enough, it's four to one," Ned's face escalated from smiling to frowning. He added. "But if this thing's an idiot, then it will be four against 30."

"Wait, there's only three of us, not counting Toni's adorable Coco," Xi perplexed his thoughts, confused. He asked. "Who's the other one?"

Toni's brows met in the middle. She tilted her head to the side, confused. Coco on her arms jumped off and cat-walked approaching Ned.

Ned bit his finger and blood dripped out of it. He then bent near Coco, and let him leak his fingers. "Meet, Coco."

Electric dazed inside the vast chamber, the room was lit with Coco's electric. It went from night to afternoon. The light was bright, the goblin-orc's skin showed a faint green and brown, lined with some orange stripes all over its body. Goblins were stunned because of the bright light, emitted by Coco's electric magic.

Toni was shocked, but Xi was stunned. To think that a cute little cat turned into a fearsome tiger. "You're not adorable anymore, you're impressively adorable." Half opened, Xi closed his mouth.

The moment, the Goblin-orc noticed that the cat turned tiger, it shouted. And ignored the thought of challenging humans. Instead, it let out a deafening screech.

The rest of the goblins started to move, swords raised, arrows nocked, boots strode, spears extended, and axes hurled. The army of goblins stormed Ned and his group.

Shocked as they may, Toni and Xi started to move as well, not towards the storming goblins, but toward the Goblin-orc. They knew Coco can handle the rest of the goblins. They only need to focus on the Goblin-orc. But with combined strength, they're not even sure if they could take on the Hybrid.