Finn ran along one of the wooden paths that led to the other side of the mountain. It's been three hours since he separated from Darwin, and he was slowly but steadily exhausting himself.
"Sigh, I can't keep going like this..." Finn sighed, trying to calm himself. "Those damn hobgoblins keep coming. Is the entire race gathered here?!"
Grabbing his damaged bracer, he yanked it off and threw it deeper into the mountain, intending to divert the monsters' attention.
"Found him, the human is here!"
Finn quickly grabbed a goblin that had arrived unexpectedly and slammed it against one of the mountain walls. The goblin's head was smashed, leaving only the goblin's chin recognizable.
"Shit, since when did I get so strong?" Finn shook the blood from his hand as he looked at the goblin's body, then pushed him back to where he'd thrown his bracer. "This will make it more believable that I went that way."
"Ugh!"
A loud scream came from behind Finn, and a second later, Finn saw an ogre charging at him at high speed.
"No, no, no, if you attack me, we'll fall!" Finn tried to reason, but the ogre paid no attention, throwing them both into the depths of the mountain. "Not again!" Finn yelled, falling.
The ogre and Finn fell through several paths and hanging platforms, breaking them all and knocking over several goblins and hobgoblins in the process.
Finn, seeing them approaching the ground, grabbed the ogre by the head, holding it in a headlock, and waited for it to hit the ground.
Thump!
"Ugh, my back, no more superhero landings, please!" Finn complained, standing up and looking at the ogre with his head smashed in. "Sigh, he can't take anything."
Looking around, he saw several dead goblin bodies, some that had fallen with him, others that had been thrown, and others that had been hit by the platforms that Finn had cut off.
"And all for what, a measly D-class mission payment?" Finn wondered.
Footsteps were heard not far from Finn, who looked carefully at who was approaching only to see Darwin, who was in a similar state to Finn.
"Are you still alive?" Finn asked, surprised.
"Barely…" Darwin replied, "Did you fall from the top floor?"
"penultimate" Finn replied.
"You made a lot of noise falling. We have to get out of here before the monsters arrive," Darwin affirmed.
"Oh, sorry, next time I'll fall quietly!" Finn replied.
"Shhh, don't make any noise. This is our chance to escape!" Darwin whispered angrily, but Finn's frightened face and the heavy footsteps approaching behind him took away his anger.
"Darwin, don't move. If we don't move, he can't see us for sure," Finn said with a terrified expression on his face.
"Tell me... tell me it's not an ogre..." Darwin said, completely still, tears already forming in his gray eyes.
"No... it's not an ogre... it's a minotaur..." Finn revealed, watching the imposing half-bull man approaching step by step with a wooden pillar on his shoulder.
Darwin closed his eyes in fear, feeling the pressure of fear subside as he heard the powerful footsteps slowly approaching. Darwin turned around slowly only to see a creature over 5 meters tall, with muscles big enough to split pine trees just by squeezing them with his biceps, and the face of a completely unhinged bull.
"Hell no, that thing is way beyond drugged!" Darwin shouted, watching white foam pour from the Minotaur's mouth.
Darwin ran off just in time, managing to dodge the wooden pillar by sheer luck. Finn didn't hesitate and followed Darwin toward the nearest stairs, hoping to lose the Minotaur.
"How the hell do they have a Minotaur here? It's a Class A monster!" Darwin shouted, terrified. 'It was supposed to be just a Class D mission. Where did it go so wrong?!' he thought.
'A minotaur in a cave, intelligent goblins, a base inside a mountain… I remember this. It does appear in the novel, but it's so short that I didn't even pay much attention. Dana finds herself in this place. After the queen somehow found out there was a minotaur here, she sent Dana there, thinking she would die. However, Dana not only defeated the Minotaur but also discovered the goblins and killed them all in just 15 minutes… But that doesn't matter, what matters is what she discovered or who she discovered,' Finn thought, giving Darwin a quick glance. 'The corpse of a young dark-skinned adventurer, belonging to the Freewalker guild… Darwin is supposed to die here!'
The two had already climbed 5 levels running nonstop, but the Minotaur didn't seem to tire at all. The other monsters didn't even try to fight when they saw Finn and Darwin, and simply ran when they saw the enormous Minotaur approaching. Unfortunately, their legs were very short and they couldn't avoid dying under the Minotaur's footsteps.
Finn and Darwin continued running through all the levels of the cave, without realizing that they were using the Minotaur to destroy and kill everyone there. The two reached the 8th level where the monster slaves were imprisoned. Finn looked at the prison and then at the horse-woman, who was being held by ogres and some huge rocks placed on different pillars so that she couldn't move at all.
"Darwin, I have an idea!" Finn shouted so Darwin could hear him over all the noise and screams of the monsters. "Can you destroy that pillar?!"
Finn pointed to a pillar that was already somewhat damaged and about to fall.
"I think with a fireball, but if I use it, I'll be completely out of magic!" Darwin replied.
"You haven't used magic since we met, why would you need it now?!" Finn exclaimed, pulling Darwin toward the monster slaves' cell. "On my signal, throw the fireball!"
Darwin nodded, preparing the fire in his hand. Once they reached the cell, the two entered, dodging the ogres. Finn jumped onto the horse-woman, cutting and grabbing a rope, and then holding Darwin with his free arm.
"Now, Darwin!" Finn shouted, frightened, seeing how the horse-woman was struggling harder to free herself as she saw them and the ogres approaching with a minotaur on their backs. Darwin threw a small fireball, but it was powerful enough to break a piece of the pillar and cause it to shatter under the weight of the enormous rock.
The rock fell to the bottom of the mountain, pulling the rope Finn was holding and lifting them quickly. The two rose a few stories until they reached where the rope was resting and continued climbing due to their high speed. The horse-woman, who had already freed herself and had seen them climb quickly, jumped wildly trying to catch up, but only ended up reaching the goblin warlock. The minotaur, who had already destroyed everything in its path in the cells, followed the horse-woman, who looked like the only prey that had escaped from it, towards the level where the goblin witch was.
Finn and Darwin crashed into one of the mountain walls and then fell to one of the upper levels, which appeared to be still under construction. The two got up as quickly as they could and looked toward where all the monsters were gathered, seeing a great massacre. The minotaur and the horse-woman were ravaging everyone there, from goblins to ogres. The goblin warlock defended himself as best he could using shield magic while calling his servants to protect him.
The massacre didn't last more than three minutes, as most of the goblins and hobgoblins had already been exterminated by Finn and Darwin. Once the last ogre fell, the minotaur killed the goblin witch with a swipe, and soon a fight between him and the horse-woman began. Finn watched, terrified and fascinated, as the two beasts fought to emerge victorious… and possibly claim the right to take Finn and Darwin's lives.
"What if we throw the other rocks at them?" Darwin asked, pointing to the other three pillars that still remained intact.
"Yeah... if we throw them, rocks and pillars together, the rocks would fall right where they're fighting. Let's do it," Finn said.
Finn limped to one of the pillars, where he cut the ropes holding it up and then prepared to push as hard as he could.
"Fucking hell! It's so heavy…" Finn turned red from the exertion, but little by little, the pillar began to move until finally, a crack was heard from the pillar, and then it broke, dropping part of the pillar and the rock directly toward where the monsters were fighting. "How's Darwin doing?" Finn wondered, only to see the other pillars intact and Darwin lying next to one of them. "Did he faint from the exertion?!"
With a sigh, Finn leaned against the wall and walked slowly toward Darwin. Finn no longer looked well at all. His leather armor was completely destroyed, and his shirt was ripped, as were his pants. His sword sheath had scratches from the hobgoblins from all the times he used it to parry attacks, and his sword was broken, probably from all the times he crashed or fell from high places. His body and face weren't any better, showing several wounds and bruises that were slowly swelling. Finn walked over to Darwin, kicking him lightly to check if he was alive.
"Hey, are you still alive?" Finn asked.
"Uh, am I still alive?" Darwin stood up, confused.
"Unfortunately... again," Finn replied.
"I… I fainted? I remember walking here, and as soon as I touched the pillar, everything went dark…" Darwin explained, confused.
'I see. It must have been the adrenaline. It kept him awake for as long as he felt he was in danger, but once he felt even the slightest bit safe, the adrenaline dropped suddenly, and he fainted… It's a good thing our bodies aren't like a normal human's anymore' Finn thought, seeing that Darwin wasn't suffering from any of the side effects of the adrenaline rush.
"…what happened to the monsters? Are they still alive?!" Darwin asked quickly, approaching the shore.
"I don't know, but we have to make sure," Finn said, cutting the pillar's rope. "Help me push this."
The two of them pulled down the two remaining pillars since they weren't sure if the dead had died with the other rock or if they had died in the long fall, but it never hurt to be sure before going down to check with their own eyes. Finn and Darwin walked slowly down the rest of the path until they reached the deepest part of the mountain. There, they could see the large rocks crushing several bodies. The horse-woman had been completely crushed, her head smashed by the enormous rock. The Minotaur, on the other hand, was still alive; the lower part of its body had been completely crushed by the rocks.
The Minotaur, which had previously been spitting foam from its snout, was now only spitting blood and trying to use its one hand to drag itself off the rock. Finn searched the surroundings until he found a long piece of wood and wedged it into the Minotaur's hand, driving it into the ground.
"Sigh, look at you now. You had so much to give... and now all you give is pity" Finn said, looking the Minotaur in the eyes. Darwin looked at him, confused by what he had just said.
"Whatever, we should finish him off. These bastards have absurdly powerful regeneration. If we leave him alive, he'll most likely start to heal and gain strength, even more strength than he had before, until he can free himself from this rock," Darwin clarified, drawing his sword.
Finn nodded and also drew his sword, but after a second of thinking better of it, he threw it away and walked toward the minotaur with determination.
"I'll kill this one with my own hands..." Finn said determinedly.
Finn stood in front of the minotaur, staring directly into its eyes for a few seconds before grabbing it by the horns and beginning to struggle with it, trying to break its neck. The struggle lasted a few seconds, until one of the horns broke, and Finn used it to stab the minotaur in the eye. The minotaur let out a cry of pain, but Finn was far from finished. Taking the other horn, Finn pulled for a few seconds until he could break it and stuck it in the Minotaur's other eye, then he grabbed the Minotaur by the horns and began to move them fiercely from side to side. The Minotaur could only moan in pain until Finn let go of the horns and with a powerful blow embedded one of the horns until the Minotaur's brain, killing it instantly.
"Sigh, I rise, you fall…" Finn cheered. "It's a shame I can't rip his face off or punch him through the chest. That would have given it more drama and style," Finn thought sadly.
"Where do you get such famous quotes?" Darwin asked, more dismayed by Finn's way of speaking than by the Minotaur's death.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Finn replied, wanting to change the subject. "Should we explore the mountain? The goblins could be hiding something, like a generation of baby goblins or something… I'm not going to kill the babies; you'll have to take care of them."
"Don't be stupid. There are no baby goblins. Goblins come of age in just three days. I doubt another generation has been born these days. While it's true that we should explore, we don't know what mysteries this mountain holds."
Finn took one of the horns that were still in the minotaur's eyes and put it in a case behind his waist. He then took his sword and went deeper into the mountain. The two walked along the only path until they reached what looked like a construction zone.
"It seems the monsters wanted to expand further," Darwin said, looking at the holes in the wall and several stone spikes lying on the ground.
"No… this is different. Look closely at the holes, some connect to each other, as if they were passageways, but why create a passageway that connects to the main path?" Finn asked, exploring the tunnels. "They were looking for something."
Finn walked along the main path while touching the stone wall until he came to a part that felt different; it felt like some kind of fabric. Finn grabbed the fabric and pulled it hard, discovering that it was indeed nothing more than a cloth with an illusion spell on it. In front of them was now a strange, large mural with several doodles and what appeared to be stone doors that were sealed with some kind of magic.
"They wanted to get in here, that's why the passageways. They were trying to create another way behind this door," Drawin said, touching the stone door. "These drawings on the doors… it's magical writing."
"Do you understand?" Finn asked, looking at the intricate drawings on the door.
"No, but I can make out some. These ones here are used on seals, usually to seal chests or magical books, but why put it here?" Darwin said, showing great curiosity. "Now I understand. They didn't bring the Minotaur. The Minotaur was always here, guarding this door, but they drugged it so they could work in this area."
Finn continued looking at the scribbles on the stone mural until he came to what appeared to be drawings. Curious, Finn gazed at the drawings, thinking they were the work of a bored goblin, but he quickly realized that wasn't the case. The drawings were depicting a story, the history of the goblins.
"Darwin, I think you'll love seeing this..." Finn called.
"What is it?" Darwin gazed at the drawings, and after a few seconds, his eyes widened in amazement. "Finn, this is an ancestral mural!" Darwin exclaimed in disbelief.
"An ancestral mural?"
"Yes! These murals are scattered around the world, but they are very hidden, almost impossible to find. They were left behind by our ancestors. They tell us various stories. Many times they are just things like important people from the past or places that were once of great importance. Other times, they reveal very important information about other races and magic itself, or even about the Void World!" Darwin revealed, fascinated. "And this is one of those murals, if I'm not mistaken."
The drawings begin with a large, glowing tree, called The Seed of Life. Surrounding the tree was what appeared to be a village inhabited by various figures of different sizes and shapes. These were humans, elves, dwarves, and the blessed, beings of each race who had been blessed with great power by the great tree.
Then he continues with the following drawing, one of the blessed ones entering the roots of the tree and pulling out what appeared to be a star-shaped fruit, this was the heart of the tree. After that, chaos ensued, the tree withered, and some leaves fell from the sky, along with the arrival of new beings, the primordials. These took control of the Earth and created different zones where each of them would reign. Meanwhile, that blessed being escaped to an area far from the primordials and plunged all those lands into darkness, thus creating the Void World and becoming a kind of being of darkness, the King of the Dark Star.
Another drawing showed that over time, the primordials had offspring until they reached the gods, who now ruled this planet. The gods, filled with greed and lust for power, went to the remains of the great tree where they created more beings. The drawings focused on one of these gods, a goddess whose beauty was adored by everyone wherever she went. The goddess Aphrodite, who wanted to create her own races, came to the tree, the seed of life, and took 3 fruits; From one fruit she created the godites, a race of green color, pointy ears and height similar to the dwarves, these beings were dedicated purely to agriculture; From the second fruit she created the aphroses, a race similar to humans, but these were taller and had much more defined and stocky bodies along with horse ears, this race was dedicated to fighting and protecting Aphrodite; With the last fruit she created the phrodipies, a race of women similar to humans, but with two enormous wings on their backs, this race served as messengers for the gods. The three races served Aphrodite directly and all three carried great beauty and lust, because Aphrodite believed that they should resemble their creator.
In another drawing it was shown that the creations were being exploited to exhaustion by the gods, then, a war; the beings of the void world invaded these lands devastating all they looked at, and their leader, the king of the dark star, arrived at a village, the village where Aphrodite's creations lived and using his corrupted magic he attacked everyone, the three races fought as much as they could, but in the end they ended up losing to the king and most of them were captured by the king, with the imminent end in front of them, a light appeared and a winged young woman descended from the sky. Brunhilde, the queen of the Valkyries, who had come to transport the souls of those fallen in the fight, looked at the situation of the races and using her sword along with a seed from the great tree, created a mountain with a cave in it and guided the races to the depths of the mountain where there were stone doors that would transport them to a world far from the clutches of the king and the gods. In the end, Brunhilde closed the gates, sealing them with her own magic and preventing any god from passing.
The last drawing showed all those who had been captured by the king. The king's magic corrupted the minds and bodies of those races, drastically changing their nature. The male godites, who were the only ones of their kind who had stood up to the king, were corrupted by that magic until they became a more grotesque and uglier version of themselves, the goblins. The aphroses, originally strong and intelligent, lost almost all use of reason, their heads transformed into horse heads, and their skin became more horse-like in color, becoming known as the horse-men. And finally, the phrodipies. The wings on their backs fused with their arms, their legs transformed into eagle legs, and their bodies were almost completely covered in feathers, thus transforming into harpies.
The drawing continued, showing how these three races spread throughout the world until they became what we know today. Darwin finished looking at the drawings and quickly searched through his clothes until he pulled out a golden card, the adventurer card. He placed the card in his only armband and pressed it lightly. A semi-transparent screen popped up in front of him, revealing a function Finn had completely forgotten about: a camera.
"The teacher is going to fall on his ass when we show him this…" Darwin said with a big smile. "…I can't believe that goblins, harpies, and horse-men were once civilized and orderly races like us, and if what these drawings show is true, then those races still live behind these doors!"
"Yeah… I wouldn't call them civilized," said Finn, seeing that it was Aphrodite who had created these races. "The Aphrodite from the novels was worse than the one from the original mythology, and if this Aphrodite is like the one in the novel, then we can't expect much from those races. At most, they might have rebuilt their old homes in this new world, but outside of there, I highly doubt they've made any technological progress like we have here," he thought.
'YES, I hope the goddess Aphrodite doesn't disappoint me with this! I can already imagine them all: winged women of great beauty, half-horse women who are very tall and sexy, as well as a new species I've never seen before. How exciting!' Darwin thought, wanting to cry with joy. Finn and Darwin nodded, deciding it was time to leave the cave and head for the guild as soon as possible.