NOVEL NEXT 541 Goblins
Within a hall decorated and evidently built by dwarven engineers, furnishing the walls were cleavers, scalpels and hammers. Under the stone-tables that appeared stained by blood so often that their very colour had changed permanently, were buckets that were filled with seemingly unwanted parts. Like a butcher typically would, discarding organs and guts not desired by the population.
Having seen enough of the bins filled with gore, Asai soldiered on as whatever hunger he was feeling prior subsided as his appetite died out. Sneaking out the hall that was once a mighty hall perhaps decorated by dwarven weaponry, but was now utilized as a kitchen, a new rancid stench immediately backhanded the man across the face and into his lungs. Being so strong, even if he insured his lips remained tightly-sealed, he could still taste the stench.
Like chickens, thousands upon thousands of little green goblins were cramped into cages with shackles around their necks, securing them into position as their hands were free to scoop up the feed served to them like pig-slop. With nothing to do but to either eat and grow, or indulge in self-satisfaction, before their dekan overlords decided they were big enough for consumption, their lifeless and broken eyes didn't even bat a wink at the human who crept past them.
Whilst this would've been an amazing opportunity for levelling and growth if he were low level, as a human who was close to being peak-human, killing them either for personal-gains or to relinquish them from their suffering upon a moral high-ground would only be a waste of time. With only two little karambits available to him, and the goblins numbering in the tens of thousands, it simply wasn't even worth considering. A such, Asai continued holding his stomach, forcing the rising stomach-acids back down, and soldiered through.
Entering deeper, the lone human wondered whether this pocket-dimension was Armenes' version of Par'Talucca's treasury vault, albeit governed by a deity that was indifferent and uncaring of whatever transpired within. Another far memory resurfaced, as he recalled entering a small pocket-dimension back when Rima Regenon, the elven queen of Via Marea had him face Goddess Marea's trial. Having found a good train-of-thought to distract him from the smell of goblin piss and shit, he encouraged it, as he wondered whether Del Lagos, Ignis and Draftt would also have their own kingdom pocket-dimensions hiding underground. Similar to the golden portal he had once chanced upon, between Aevraury and Morrisen.
In the second great hall, also evidently utilized as a farm, the spacious ground was segregated by a cage system that had dark-green skinned hob-goblins shackled by their necks. With each and every single one of them missing their arms, they had to eat their pig-slop from containers similar to a pet hamster's drinking-bottle that hung upon the cage. In other segments, hob-goblins were busy thrusting their hips and depositing their seed into species not of their own.
Bergs, which were large monstrous bears, lycans that were equally large, as their bodies easily built and maintained greater muscle mass. There were even horses, deer, goats and the white-furred sabre toothed tigers from Draftt. If it wasn't for the hob-goblins fucking them from behind, the place could be regarded as a collection, similar to a hunter who collected and decorated his walls with the heads of animals personally killed by him.
Not wanting to spend a second longer than he had to, he ignored the screeching and crying of the beasts and monsters, as little green-goblins were mercilessly born and farmed. He spurred his legs into a higher tempo as he dodged the dozens of dekans who were busily delivering buckets of feed, and collecting the new-born goblins. A never-ending occupation, a machine that whirred its gears and cogs without rest, as the kingdom of dekans heavily relied upon such a facility, and many more like it.
And whilst he was tempted in performing sabotage, having no access to his usual arsonist related skills and items, to do so would require much too large of a time, in addition to not wanting to risk inciting the fury of the guardian who governed the place. However, he did make a mental note to remember the existence of such facilities, and the results and effects they could potentially cause if he were to visit them once more. Imagining himself sabotaging the farm not through internal means, but by removing their access to the portal itself.
Imagining himself somehow collapsing the tunnels, just as he once did with Ignis' bridge, back in Aevraury.
..
After exiting the fourth great hall, and passing through a single long corridor that took him a dozen minutes to traverse. He finally found himself entering into the fifth and seemingly final hall. The flooring unlike the prior halls, consisted entirely of little square-grating, that allowed the wall of water that continuously fell from above to flow unhindered. Flowing fast and thick enough to disturb the passing of light and sound, he failed to obtain any information for what could be within.
Rather than barge through the artificial waterfall, Asai performed a quick sweep around the hall, finding nothing but depictions of dwarves sitting atop dragons as if they were gods. As for the wall of water, having followed it and finding it to be circular in formation, it appeared similar to [Sealing Square] would. Literally dissecting the space, as he wasn't even able to see through the running liquid that blurred all sight, light and sound.
Feeling the usual tingling sensation upon his skin, a rising tension that usually accompanied his adrenaline when fighting. If he were to ever place a bet upon the prince's whereabouts, this would surely be it. Spurred by excitement and optimism, that he could potentially be leaving this shithole of a kingdom, he marched through the wall of water as he would with a dungeon portal.
Asai de Trichia's pupils dilated as he gazed upon the prince of humanity. His Highness, Prince Victor Del Lagos was lingering within the space above, shackles that gripped him by the wrists kept him airborne, as his pale and weakened face remained emotionless. The prince's usual regal attire was turned to rags, ripped and torn, and stained in blood, indicating abuse and torture unimaginable. Unsure whether he was either unconscious or dead, Asai was about to throw a random bone off the ground at the man, to spur him into action.
"W-wait. A bone?"
Within the spacious circular arena he now found himself in, there existed piles upon piles of bones. All much too large to originate from humans nor elves.
"Giants?"
Stealing his attention away from the bones, a large blue pointed nostril poked through the water, sniffing as it twitched and repeated. His golden karambits swirled within his hands, as [Yomi & Yami] desired bloodshed as much as the dungeon monster desired to feast upon fresh-meat. Asai gazed in wonder as the nose slowly entered further into the space, like a cut-off point between dimensions, the rest of its body wasn't visible at all. And the human knew that the water-wall wasn't thick enough to even house such a monsters.
The two nostrils under the blue skinned snout twitched once more, before its two small marble eyes were finally revealed. Its maws opened to reveal a large set of dastardly teeth, as well as blood, gore and shards of bone. Biting and chomping down upon the empty air, it grinned in wicked delight, as if it could taste the intruder's smell.
Asai dipped into [Hide] as he threw himself behind a pile of bones, only to receive a brutal wake up call, a wicked reminder that he was without mana, as the titanic shark shot out from one wall to the next, extremely close to consuming the human within a single bite.
Quick to return to his feet, scrambling over the bones and swiping the water out from his eyes, the man failed to keep track of its location as there were no visual or audio clues presented to him at all. Shifting his sight constantly around in search of the home-owner, the same blue snout kept poking out randomly, as if playing with him.
Having been slapped by a stray torrent of water, Victor stirred from his slumber. Shaking and flicking his hair to remove both the water and sleep from his eyes, his vision cleared to gaze down upon the human he least expected to see. "D-Duke?"
..
"Good news is, the prince is alive. Bad news is, how do I hunt a shark in its territory!?"