Celis's hands kept groping over every hard stone surface. Celis felt relieved because he had previously survived the deadly storm's fury.
"Luckily..." he said, full of gratitude. Celis gazed at every part of the room from the crevice he had entered.
"It feels so cold..." he said, his body slightly shivering, mixed with chills due to the coldness of the place.
Eventually, the room he had to pass through began to dim, leaving only the light entering from the stone crevice that Celis had passed through earlier.
"This is dark... What can I use for lighting?" Celis thought. "This will just be useless if I keep thinking... I'd better just keep moving forward."
From afar, there was a dim glow from light attached to the wall. Celis was curious about the source of that light.
"That thing will surely help me."
Celis approached the light with full hope; it would become Celis's path illuminator, even if only briefly.
Celis tried to reach the light with his hand; its bright blue radiance would surely illuminate every dark path.
"Is this a magic crystal? This is the first time I've seen one," he said in awe. "Well... This world is indeed based on magic."
Celis tried to take the crystal with his hand. But it was very difficult because the crystal was embedded in the hard stone wall.
"This will be useless if it continues like this," he complained. But he glanced at the spear he had been holding all this time without realizing.
"Come on! It must work."
Celis used the pointed tail end of the spear. Celis kept striking the spear against the side of the crystal carefully so as not to destroy it. Slowly, the bond holding the crystal began to erode due to Celis's unrelenting efforts.
Clak!
In the end, Celis successfully extracted the crystal perfectly.
"Finally..."
Celis then dropped himself, while his back leaned against the uneven stone wall.
His sweat dripped; this became proof that his efforts were not in vain. Celis was still panting, but he tried to make himself feel relaxed.
"This will help me explore this cave."
One of his hands reached for the crystal lying on the floor. Its dim blue glow was enough to illuminate every path in this cave, even if the range was limited.
Celis stepped carefully along every path littered with sharp protruding rocks. A single misstep could injure him if he wasn't vigilant.
From afar, a thin streak of orange light was visible. In the distance, smooth brick stones could faintly be seen, but the sight appeared through a small hole.
"Is that a ruin? I think I need to check it out."
Without delay, Celis immediately approached the hole that was roughly the size of his body. Once close enough, Celis became even more convinced that the place was indeed a ruin, just like the ones in the storybooks his servant used to read to him before he arrived in this world.
"I'd better just go in." Celis felt uncertain as he considered entering a place that might actually save him. A feeling of doubt began creeping into his heart.
The damp smell of earth mixed with iron began to reach Celis's nose. This made Celis even more hesitant to enter the place. Perhaps he needed to be extremely cautious, prepare himself, and calm his mind in order to succeed.
Celis kept staring down the ruin's corridor that stretched very far. Every section of the path was illuminated by torches spaced about 4 meters apart on each wall. "I'll regret it if I don't take a risk," he said; now his voice sounded firm. "There's the smell of blood... There might be something here."
Celis gripped his spear tightly; the glowing crystal he had brought earlier he tucked into a knot he made at the hem of his clothes so he could carry it.
With a little effort, Celis slowly entered the narrow hole. Fortunately, his body size allowed him to fully pass through the gap without any trouble.
The echo of footsteps walking across the silent paths could be heard, yet danger could be lurking at any moment.
Celis stopped for a moment; his body tensed instantly upon hearing something suspicious.
Srekkkkkkkkk!!!
The sound was like iron rods being scraped across a rough, hard surface. At that very instant, Celis's instincts told him he was about to face a threat.
Right then, from within the darkness, a pair of glowing red eyes began to reveal themselves. The sound of iron scraping against the floor grew louder and louder as those eyes approached Celis.
"Damn it..." His jaw clenched unconsciously; Celis's body began to tremble, but the spear he had been holding all this time remained firmly in his hands.
Celis took one step back—fear began spreading in his heart, but he had to stay strong because all this time he had always been looked down upon.
The pair of eyes gradually revealed their owner more clearly as Celis tried to flee.
Celis froze… A short green figure with pointed ears was dragging a rusty sword behind it.
"Damn… What should I do," he muttered. He stared at the strange creature he had never seen before. Suddenly, a name for that ugly monster flashed across his mind: "Goblin."
Celis clutched his forehead; foreign knowledge was starting to seep into his brain. "What the hell is this…" he whispered, almost inaudibly. "That thing is a goblin? Why does it look so hideous? I didn't even know because this is a new world."
Celis gathered all his courage to fight one of the obstacles blocking his path. His purplish-black spear gleamed as if it knew a tasty meal was right in front of it.
"I'm going to have a really hard time…" Celis had never had any fighting experience; death could come for him if he let his guard down even slightly.
The green creature suddenly charged straight at Celis without a second thought. Its sharp teeth protruded from its mouth, and drool fell wildly with every growl it let out.
The sword in the small creature's hand slashed toward Celis's chest. But Celis instinctively parried the attack with the shaft of his spear.
"Kugh!"
Celis was slightly pushed back. Realizing how weak he was, Celis began thinking of a way to defeat the goblin.
"I guess I need to buy some time…"
Celis decided on a plan to run away from the goblin. With quick movements, Celis immediately put his plan into action, hoping everything would go smoothly.