"Hey, are you sure we shouldn't be preparing for this delivery quest? I mean, it's a whole goblin tunnel that's been stabilized and all, but wouldn't that mean there'd still be goblins lurking about inside of this one?" A woman, comely in her appearance, with brown hair and deep green eyes, asks a sure-footed man wearing a full plate, donning a helmet, and a sword in hand.
"It's fine, I've faced goblinoids before, we'll be able to finish this delivery in time, all you should worry about is what kind of dinner date we should be having when we make this easy delivery, can't believe those dim wits at the Song Delivery Service agency thought of paying us in 100k in dollars to make this delivery. Y'know? Dollars? That kind of money we wouldn't get because the quests that have it are either out of our league or restricted due to our access level. This is a steal, Mitzie, please." He clasps her hands and reassures her hesitation.
"Just trust me, I've been with you for so long, and we've gone through so much, what's just one measly quest through a weak Goblin cave?"
"I- phew, but I stay behind, okay? I don't want to be the first to get hit, and you're the dummy in Full-plate anyways, you take the brunt of the hits."
The two descend… and later, alongside a Peacekeeper station's bounty board appears the missing poster for Mitzie Durmingar and Callo Volnik, priced at 20k in Dollars for information, and 50k in addition if both were to be found.
There exist two worlds: The urban modern life of Earth in 2025, and the world of Terra in 1109, which advanced twice as fast due to the existence of magic. There is virtually no difference between the two as far as He is concerned, seated in the passenger seat while he takes a long cast and gazes on the open sea by the side of the road, it is a coastal path towards one of the more stabilized Dungeons between Earth and Terra.
The box truck comes to a stop in front of an ominous archway of a road tunnel, alarms throughout both my and the driver's bodies writhe in a hot tension. This isn't my first time, that is for sure, but the sensation is enervating and oddly lively despite knowing the dangers that lie ahead of me. I grab the large box bag, and recount my "Inventory" inside of my messenger bag, it is significantly bigger from the inside as most people think it is, unfortunately I have to fiddle around a bit to find the right compartment that contains documents, packages, and parcels from various Shipping companies and Stores, those that are titanic or risk hungry enough to extend their hands into "otherworldly requests".
I bid farewell to the company driver as he parks in a designated Courier parking zone alongside the highway, and I grasp and chant a string of words. Eyes closed, and one hand clenching down tightly.
"Iter ad alium mundum"
In front of me was no longer a well-maintained road tunnel but an unkempt cave entrance blistered with moss and stricken with creeping vines. Beyond the darkness were yellowy eyes that glinted at the sight of me, and before I would die, I tossed a knife into the darkness where it lay inside the goblin's skin; it was a goblin. I was sure of it, distinct yellowy eyes that glow ever so lightly in the dark, like a predator awaiting its prey to lower its guard. An arrow flies past me, and I am no longer flinching like I had been during my 1st-year as a Courier-Adventurer. Before I could descend into the dark, I turned on a multi-purpose flashlight's beacon function and cast the beam into the darkness. I was right on the mark; I dug into the neck of a warty, green-skinned, lanky child whose biggest body part was its belly, and a throwing knife dug into its neck.
I retrieve it and give the goblin a quick stab in the throat again, another to its heart and liver. I couldn't be too sure, there were always the Shamans that came in and healed these things, and given they live too long, they remember every painful experience they've had and reflect it in their wicked ways. I traverse down the wide tunnels, being sure to keep my solid travel of the left, keeping a lookout for various different signs: Long shadows that hide other paths that I marked out with chalk on the walls, and mark "exit" alongside the walls I came in from.
The danger of Dungeons, as far as I've come to know, is that they take various shapes and forms, but their general structure tends to remain the same. As a Courier-Adventurer for the past 3 years, it was certain to me to keep note of the various things that have ended the lives of my peers who no longer stand beside me. Traps, scouts, and patrols, and evidence that suggests how many live within the confines of this stable goblin lair-type Dungeon.
I was already so deep inside that I could tell as the air grew more and more scarce, and I had to slow down to avoid losing too much breath. At the same time, this was good for me. Goblins are crafty, clever sorts, no stronger than a child in both strength and intelligence; however, what most don't ever realize or even notice is how, in a moment of weakness or arrogance, it is all it takes for them to overcome their enemies, and people often forget that children… are very creative. But those who reserve themselves as strong self-inserts of powerful characters in stories, laying waste to an entire army of goblins with nothing but a sword in hand and shield in the other, were the first victims of reality.
I stopped, and turned on my flashlight's lantern function, it casted a huge area of light to the darkness surrounding me, though it consumes more battery so I had to keep it on for at least 10 seconds to adjust and quickly harvest as much information as I could: Bones, convenience store snacks ruptured in completely inhumane manner, and the leftovers of Full-plate and scalemail parts… in addition to the torn underwear of women. A familiar disgusting fishy scent blasting into my nostrils… it couldn't be anything else with the lack of fish bones that suggest otherwise.
'Adventurers…' I sigh, but such tragedies of life are the harshest of all; most women are prone to becoming what Earth designates as Magic-users. The political state of the world has balanced and shifted a lot into bringing females to the upper echelons of authority and opportunity due to having the means to circumvent a lot of issues that society previously struggled with under a non-magical regime. They ended up becoming amazing, of course, but plenty of those, unlike the exception, believe they are, only to end up… as this.