Ren's breath came shallow, each inhale sharp in the cold air.
The dungeon smelled of damp moss, iron, and something fouler—something alive.
His cut burned. Blood dripped from his forearm and pattered onto the stone floor. The sound seemed deafening in the silence.
"...I have to… find a way out."
He pushed himself up, leaning against the wall. The chamber opened into a tunnel, the walls etched with faint, unnatural markings. Every shadow felt like eyes watching.
*Step… step…*
A sound echoed. Low, uneven, guttural.
Ren froze. His fingers tightened around the hoe he had carried down the fall, but the wooden shaft had snapped on impact. Only a jagged piece remained. Useless.
The sound grew louder. Snarling. Claws scraping stone.
A shape emerged from the darkness.
A goblin.
It wasn't much taller than Ren himself, but its body was wiry, its skin green and mottled with scars. Yellow eyes glowed faintly in the gloom. In its hand, it clutched a bone dagger slick with grime.
Ren's throat went dry.
(…I can't fight that. I'm just… I'm just a farmer.)
The goblin sniffed, its gaze locking on him. It let out a guttural laugh, baring rotten fangs.
Ren stumbled backward, eyes darting desperately—then he saw it.
A sword.
Or what was left of one.
The blade lay half-buried in dust, its tip broken, its edge dulled and pitted with rust. No hilt remained, just a naked tang.
Ren dove for it, ignoring the pain in his arm. He ripped cloth from his tunic, wrapping it tight around the base of the blade. It wasn't much, but at least he could hold it.
The goblin hissed and charged.
---
"Come on… come on!" Ren shouted, raising the sword.
*CLANG!*
The goblin's dagger clashed against his blade. Sparks flew, and the vibration nearly knocked the weapon from Ren's hands.
The goblin sneered and slashed again.
Ren staggered back, his swings clumsy. The blade whistled through empty air, cutting nothing. Sweat stung his eyes.
"Why won't it… hit?!"
The goblin sidestepped with ease, mocking him with guttural laughter.
Ren's arms burned. He swung again, and again, each strike wild and desperate. The sword scraped stone, sparks scattering.
The goblin barely moved.
*He's toying with me…*
Ren's chest heaved. His knees trembled. Fifty times—he had struck fifty times, and not once had the goblin seemed threatened.
The creature licked its dagger, grinning cruelly. Then, for the first time, it lunged with real intent.
Ren's instincts screamed. He rolled sideways, the dagger missing his throat by an inch. He scrambled to his feet, panting.
"No… no, I can't die here!"
He thought of his mother's smile as she told stories. His father's strong hands guiding his. His sister's laughter.
"I… I have to go home!"
He raised the rusty sword and thrust forward with all his strength.
The goblin twisted aside, sneering—
But the blade scraped across its shoulder.
The sound was sickening. The edge tore skin, leaving a jagged, rust-bitten wound.
The goblin froze.
Its breath hitched. Its limbs twitched.
"What…?" Ren gasped.
The creature staggered, its yellow eyes wide. It wheezed, dropped its dagger, and convulsed. Its breathing grew shallow, then stopped entirely.
It collapsed in a heap. Dead.
Ren stood frozen, chest heaving, the rusty sword shaking in his grip.
"…I… killed it?"
He stared at the wound. The cut wasn't deep. Not enough to kill by bleeding alone.
But the rust—
He remembered. A villager once spoke of a man who died after being struck with a rusted hoe. Infection, they had said. Poison in the blood.
Ren looked at the sword in his trembling hands.
"…Rust. It can kill monsters too."
His knees gave out, and he sank to the floor.
Tears blurred his vision, though whether from pain, fear, or relief, he couldn't tell.
"I did it… I actually… survived."
Ren wiped his tears with his sleeve, gripping the blade tighter.
It was ugly. Broken. Weak.
Just like him.
But if he wanted to live… he'd have to fight.
"…For Mother. Father. Sis."
📖 "Rusty Sword Equipped"
📖 "Monster Defeated: Goblin"
The words left his lips in a whisper.
And with trembling steps, Ren ventured deeper into the dungeon.