In the boss chamber of the C-rank dungeon, a hulking figure lay sprawled on the stone floor.
A hobgoblin warrior.
Seven feet tall, lean but muscular, its chest rose and fell in heavy slumber. A massive spiked club rested by its side, glinting in the dim dungeon light.
Andrew, their party's magic archer and burst-damage dealer, raised his bow. His voice was low, steady. "We'll strike while it's asleep. A surprise attack."
Jordan nodded. "Got it."
Andrew drew back the string. Mana swirled around him, condensing at the tip of his arrow until a faint glow flickered into being. The light grew sharper, humming with power.
Then fwsshhh ---BAAM!
Tempest Arrow [B].
The arrow shot through the air like a storm unleashed. When it struck the hobgoblin's body, a violent gale exploded outward, shredding flesh and skin. Countless wind-forged blades ripped across the monster's torso, carving thousands of cuts in an instant.
The hobgoblin let out a strangled cry before collapsing with a heavy thud.
Jordan exhaled, relief washing over him. "Ohh, nice! You killed the boss without breaking a sweat." He clapped Andrew on the back.
Andrew allowed himself a small smile but it faded when his eyes drifted past the corpse.
"Don't celebrate yet," he murmured.
Behind the fallen hobgoblin, hidden in the shadows, was another tunnel. A narrow passage leading deeper.
Andrew's grip tightened on his bow. "That wasn't the true boss. This guy was just a guard. If my guess is right… the real one waiting ahead is a goblin chief. Worst case?" He swallowed. "…A goblin king."
The others stiffened, but Jordan raised a hand. "Don't lose heart. Let's move carefully. No noise."
They crept out of the chamber. Beyond the tunnel, the cave opened into a forest clearing. A colossal tree stretched into the sky, its trunk wide enough for twenty men to stand shoulder to shoulder.
Andrew's gaze sharpened. With a burst of agility, he vaulted upward, climbing the tree with the effortless grace of a trained archer. In seconds, he reached the top.
Then he froze. His blood ran cold.
"Guys… hurry! Climb up here. You need to see this for yourselves."
Paul groaned from below. "Can't you just tell us what you're looking at?"
"No." Andrew's voice was grim, urgent. "You have to see it with your own eyes."
Jordan scaled the massive tree with ease, blitzing upward in a blur of speed. Liam and Paul, however, weren't as agile. They struggled, slipping and scraping against the rough bark, but after several exhausting minutes, they finally reached the top.
The view that greeted them froze their blood.
Below, sprawled across the valley, was not just a dungeon lair it was a city.
A sprawling, bustling goblin city.
Not a horde of a thousand… not ten thousand. At least a hundred thousand goblins filled the streets below.
And at the very center, looming above the circular stone walls, was a fortress. Andrew's gut twisted. If a city like this exists… the chance of a Goblin King being here is almost certain.
The city looked nothing like the savage camps they'd heard about in reports. Its architecture was eerily familiar stone walls, brick houses, narrow streets. It looked like something ripped straight out of medieval Europe.
And it wasn't just the city. Miles beyond the walls, small villages dotted the countryside. Smoke from chimneys rose lazily into the sky. Fields were being tilled.
This wasn't a monster den.
It was a nation.
Andrew raised a sleek, high-tech telescope to his eye. His hands trembled as he focused the lens. "Guys… look at this. I don't know if I'm seeing right, but… these goblins… they're living like humans."
"What do you mean, like humans?" Liam snatched the telescope, irritated. He peered through the lens and scoffed. "Tch. They're just hobgoblins. Same size as us, sure, but still monsters."
"No—look properly." Andrew grabbed his head and tilted it toward the main street.
Liam's breath caught. His eyes widened.
Down below, goblin children laughed and played, skipping rope in the dirt road. A mother hobgoblin cradled her infant gently, rocking it as she hummed. Merchants shouted as they sold goods at a market stall.
"…This… this is impossible," Liam stammered. "There's no record no history that goblins… that they even have families like this. That they live in actual cities. It shouldn't be possible."
But Jodan's eyes gleamed with grim certainty. "No. It is possible. Haven't you ever wondered? Goblins, orcs,zanac,… all those so-called monsters. They're too smart to just be beasts. I've always had a theory. Maybe they're not mindless at all. Maybe they're… people. Sentient beings. Just like us. They only developed differently on another plane, another world."
The others stared at him in stunned silence.
Jordan's voice hardened. "Think about it. We call them monsters because they pour out of dungeons and attack us. But what if… it's not random? What if they're being forced to? Controlled. Used. Just like us."
Andrew's throat went dry. "…Used? By who?"
"The System." Jordan's gaze was sharp, bitter. "It gives us power. Dungeons appear. Monsters flood out. We're told to kill them or be killed. But have you ever asked why? What if the System is manipulating both sides? Using us like pawns in some endless war?"
Silence fell.
Liam's hands shook as he lowered the telescope. "…If that's true… then what are we fighting for?"
Andrew and paul had no answer.
Now Jordan you said you will lead us!
What do you think will be the best action that we can do! Liam asked.
Jordan shut his eyes, guilt pressing down on him like a weight. His voice was low, almost breaking.
"I know what we just realized is true… but what choice do we have? If we want to survive, we have to kill the goblins."
Andrew clenched his fists, his heart twisting. "But they're not just monsters anymore. We've seen it with our own eyes. Families. Children. Do we really have no option other than slaughtering them all?"
Jordan's eyes opened, hard now. "Would you give up your life for them? No you wouldn't. You have a family waiting for you too."
Andrew's voice cracked. "But those beings have families of their own. Kids. I… I don't know if I can bring myself to kill them anymore."
Silence hung heavy in the air.
Finally, Liam spoke, his tone bitter. "Do we even have a choice? It doesn't matter now. We've already killed tens of thousands. Our hands are stained red. There's no going back." His jaw tightened. "And I don't want to die either."
Paul nodded grimly. "Then we need to be smart. Survival comes first. We get out of here alive, then we report everything to Kael, our guild master. He can decide whether this goes to the Association or not."
Andrew looked up, hesitant. "So what do we do now?"
Paul raised his hand, pointing to the city below. "We gather proof. Pictures. Video. Evidence of everything we've seen here."
The group exchanged uneasy glances, the weight of their discovery pressing on them. For the first time, the dungeon didn't just feel like a battlefield.