Chapter 58
“Huff! Huff!”
A black man with a spear ran across a vast grassland in the dead of night. His face was smeared with desperation and fear, and survival instinct shone from his bloodshot eyes.
“Dammit! Damn it all!”
The man was Edin Gatheji. He had only been Lost in the Mirror World from San Francisco for over a month. He was one of the newbies kidnapped from Edu and reduced to prey running for his life in the Tin Can.
They said... they would release us if we survived ten hunts!
Edin had been running for six days, believing in that promise. Each canned hunting session lasted one week, and prey were safe once they survived that long from the Trophy Hunters. If they survived ten hunts or seventy days, each prey was promised freedom from the prison known as the Tin Can.
The promise was to prevent the prey from committing suicide due to despair, which would make the hunt boring. Goblins knew that what controlled people wasn’t despair but hope.
What happened to my friends?
Edin recalled the five friends he had fled with until the third day. They had all been kidnapped from Edu and purchased by a Trophy Hunter as prey. On the third day, they encountered the Trophy Hunter and were forced to split up.
That motherfucking bird!
The Trophy Hunter who purchased them resembled a human man, but had black wings on his back, a black beak where a mouth should be, and claws on his hands and feet. He was a birdfolk—to be more specific, a crow birdfolk.
Edin initially planned to set a trap for the crow birdfolk and attack him with his friends, but it was pointless. Rather, the birdfolk seemed to enjoy their attacks as if he were playing with his prey. The confidence they gained from their education at Edu instantly disappeared, and the only choice left was to split up and run for their lives, wishing for at least one to survive.
“Huff! Huff! Only a few hours left. It’ll be one week soon!”
Edin was sure of it since the canned hunting session began at sunrise one week ago. The sun was slowly rising, and his shadow slowly elongated. However, Edin’s eyes widened as he stared at his familiar shadow. An unfamiliar shadow was next to it.
“F-fuck!” Edin shouted, using a skill without even turning back.
[Activating Skill: Fast Steps.]
Thanks to his skill, he ran away at impressive speed. He stared at the shadow, which got further as he thanked himself for investing Karma into his Dexterity stat.
I just have to keep running!
However, Edin slammed into a transparent wall like a pigeon flying into a window.
“Kurgh!” he grunted.
A despairing Akasha Message sounded.
[The Barrier Sorcery: Cage is closing off this space.]
“What?” Edin mumbled dumbfoundedly.
This was a grassland with nowhere to hide. Since he couldn’t advance, it was only a matter of time until the Trophy Hunter caught up to him.
Edin gripped his spear tightly and screamed, “Haaah!”
[Activating Skill: Point Thrust.]
He repeatedly thrust his spear as he infused all his mana into the skill, but the sorcery blocking his path did not break. This barrier sorcery was painstakingly created by several goblin sorcerers so that prey couldn’t escape; a mere newbie couldn’t even make a dent.
Just then, Edin heard something landing on the ground behind him. He quickly turned around and prepared to throw his spear.
“Die!”
[Activating Skill: Spinning Throw.]
Edin squeezed out all his mana for the skill, and his spear flew at the black shadow as it spun. However, the crow birdfolk easily grabbed the spear with his powerful claws, making the spear look like a toothpick.
“D-dammit!”
Edin turned to run where there was no barrier blocking his path, but a black feather stabbed his thigh.
“Gaaah!”
Edin tumbled on the ground but kept crawling for his life on his forearms and knees. Just then, five severed heads of human men and women fell before him; their eyes were wide open with agonizing expressions, and their tongues were fully out. They were the heads of his friends whom he had separated from three days ago.
“A-aaaahh!” Edin screamed in shock.
The crow birdfolk cackled and severed Edin’s legs.
“Gaaah!”
“Caw! I like how you cut, soft human!”
The crow birdfolk felt the expensive prey were worth the Coins. Human meat was soft and supple, especially that of human newbies with a low Health stat. The crow birdfolk was already full from feasting on them for the past week, but felt like he could keep eating such exquisite meat forever.
The crow birdfolk devoured Edin’s leg like a chicken leg, leaving only bones.
“U-urghhh!”
The teary Edin had crawled quite far with just his arms, but he knew there was no hope for survival. The crow birdfolk caught up to Edin with just one flap of his wings and grabbed Edin’s arms.
“Caw! Hand over your meat, wingless creature!”
The crow birdfolk stuffed his black beak into Edin’s abdomen and sliced downward, exposing Edin’s bloody organs. The crow birdfolk pecked at the liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, gallbladder, stomach, large intestine, and small intestine as if it were a buffet.
“Gurgh!”
Edin was forced to experience the extreme pain and fear of his organs being devoured alive. His expression turned the same as the five severed heads. Steam rose from the warm organs exposed to the cold morning air.
“That’s a good expression! It’s worthy of my collection!” the crow birdfolk shouted.
Such a sight was common throughout the Tin Can, where one could truly experience the strong devouring the weak.
***
“I’m number one now. Kreeeh!” Homaruba, second-in-command of Clan Trophy, cackled in his golden chair in his office, covered in gold.
Since Tutobure had returned crippled from Edu, it was only natural for him to take over as clan leader. Clan Trophy was an aggregation of those who cared only about self-benefit. Loyalty and compassion did not exist in a black clan—only the powerful prospered. Considering the astronomical amount of Coins Trophy earned, Homaruba couldn’t pass on the opportunity.
“Krrrk. I’d love to drive him out this instant.”
However, it was not the right time. Homaruba needed to appease each of Tutobure’s close associates and bring them to his side, isolating Tutobure. Most of all, Tutobure had to stay as the face of Clan Trophy until Homaruba seized Tutobure’s VIP connection.
“Kreeeh! Me, as clan leader, huh?”
Homaruba imagined himself earning astronomical amounts of Coins and buying an item with S-rank potential to rise through the ranks. He was eighty-ninth in the goblin ranking; with the unparalleled Coin profits, he might soon take Tutobure’s place as a High Ranker.
“Kererereh!” Homaruba laughed ecstatically.
However, Homaruba had no idea how valuable Tutobure’s VIP connection was.
***
Tutobure, covered in bandages, walked through the stables with his subordinates. He used crutches because he was not yet fully ambulatory. The prey in the cells whispered as they stared at him.
“Isn’t that Tutobure? Who turned him into that?”
“From what I’ve heard, the human Lee Kang-San.”
“The World Ranker, Lee Kang-San?”
“Chwik. Serves him right! I’d bet he’ll be backstabbed soon!”
Tutobure ignored their sneers as he descended to the sub-second floor and stopped before a giant iron gate at the end of the west wing. The gate led to the sub-third floor, and only Tutobure held the key to open it.
“Krrrk, you may leave,” Tutobure commanded his subordinates.
He removed the copper key around his neck and inserted it into the gate’s keyhole. The gate lit up green and opened. Tutobure limped down the stairs and reached the bottom where there were three cells that looked like birdcages, of which two were empty. The occupied cell’s interior was decorated like a hotel room. Inside was a boy who looked around twelve or thirteen years old.
“Krrrk. Have you been well, Illechebra?”
“Looks like the filthy goblin has been reduced to a filthy rag. Pathetic.”
The boy had beautiful sapphire hair and eyes. Small, blue horns protruded from his temples. His eyes overflowed with pride despite being imprisoned, and so did the aura he exuded. The boy was a dragon, one of the most powerful of the superior races, and one of royal blood.
“Kreeeh. Let’s make a deal, Illechebra,” Tutobure said.
The boy laughed mockingly and answered, “Our great race does not negotiate. We only command.”
“Krrrk. You’re not that stupid. Look at me. I lost. I treat you respectfully, but I doubt others will do the same.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Abyete is looking for a sacrifice. This place is filled with goblins who want to score points with him.”
The World Ranker Abyete was a master of sacrificial sorcery. He required endless sacrifices to increase and maintain his Sorcery Force. Tutobure’s Clan Trophy was one of his sacrifice supplies.
The key to sacrificial sorcery was the quantity and quality of the sacrifice. The more sacrifices one offered or the higher quality the sacrifice was, the more powerful one’s Sorcery Force became. Considering Illechebra was a royal dragon, he was a sacrifice of the highest quality. Tutobure had planned to offer Illechebra to Abyete to strengthen his influence in Humilitas.
“Hah! Are the likes of you threatening me?”
“I merely said the truth. Krrrk. I happened to capture you, but have never treated you poorly,” Tutobure appeased. “Krrrk. I am not asking for much. I will release you if you do one thing for me.”
Illechebra stared at Tutobure and asked, “What thing?”
“Tell me how I can contact your father, World Ranker Biphatogenes!”
***
Seong-Hwi was dispatched to the sub-second floor in Miguel’s place. The security was much tighter than on the sub-first floor. Goblins endlessly patrolled the area, and only one prey was in each cell, restrained with handcuffs and ankle cuffs.
Seong-Hwi was in charge of food distribution, which everyone avoided due to the number of people who died on the job. However, Seong-Hwi found it perfect because he had to search throughout the underground floors for the dungeon, and food distribution was the best cover for it.
Seong-Hwi felt intense bloodlust as he walked down the halls, but his expression did not change.
I have nothing to fear from bloodlust filled with fear.
Just then, he noticed something orange shaking from the end of the west wing.
Hm? What’s that?
Seong-Hwi walked closer and saw a hand outstretched from a cell. The hand was covered in white fur and shaking something orange.
“Hey~! Hey~!!! Is anyone there? If you’re there, come here for a second! Hey~!!!”
The voice’s owner frantically shook an orange carrot with their hand out of the cell.