Chapter 15: 15. Ambush

Zero woke up spluttering and coughing up water as he sat up straight to see Harry's concerned face in front of him. His gaze then panned over to the water container in Harry's hand before he stared at Harry with an expression of 'what the fuck'.

"(S-sorry, you were severely dehydra- oh, you can't even understand me,)" Harry started before handing Zero the water container.

[One unread message.]

[Spell acquired: {Major Heal}]

A system message popped up in front of Zero before he realized that although his body felt extremely sore, most of his major injuries were healed. He gave Harry a thumbs up and a grin as Harry awkwardly gave a thumbs up back. Zero then took the water container Harry was offering and quenched his thirst as he watched Harry raise his hands with a yellow glow emanating from them.

"({Purify}!)" Harry shouted as the yellow glow from his hands covered Zero.

[Spell acquired: {Purify}]

Zero watched in wonder as all the dirt, grime, and caked blood over his body and clothes were washed away by the gentle yellow light.

"(So you're pretty useful at times, huh?)" Anun chuckled as he walked over to Harry and Zero. "(Kai's on lookout right now, he'll be back later.)"

Then, Anun squatted down and looked Zero in the eyes and said, "(And you. I don't know how you managed to cast my {Ice Aegis}, but I'll be keeping an eye on you)," before he laughed, patted Zero on the shoulder, stood up and walked over to where a backpack was on the ground.

[Host, you have unlocked the System Shop.]

The system suddenly spoke in Zero's mind. He then held up his index finger at Harry before excusing himself and walking over to a more secluded area. Zero could faintly feel Anun's eyes staring at his back as he walked away.

"Shop," Zero said under his breath after adding his available attribute into STR.

A system window popped up, with only one category labeled [Language] and one item under it.

[Human Language: Esloren | Price: Free]

"How considerate of you to make it free, System," Zero muttered.

[Do not worry, host. The first language is free. Other languages in the future will cost you a certain amount depending on their complexity and rate of understanding.]

"And why is there only one category?"

[More categories will be unlocked in the future as you level up, host.]

"Alright. What currency am I supposed to use to purchase items in the future?"

[You have not yet unlocked the Coins feature, host.]

"So the store is useless right now, huh?"

[You can now communicate with the humans around you.]

"Yeah, thanks," replied Zero as he clicked on the shop item.

[Confirm purchase? Y | N ]

As Zero clicked the Y button, he waited for something to happen.

"System, why isn't it working?"

[Try speaking to that blond-haired human over there, host.]

Zero walked over to Harry, sat down on the ground, and said, "Hello, my name is Zero. How are you?"

Harry, who was wiping his staff, dropped it in shock as he asked, "You could speak Esloren this whole time???"

Zero just laughed awkwardly and didn't explain.

"Well, my name's Harry, and I'm not having that great of a day," Harry answered. "I should've just stayed home..."

"What are your two friends' names?" Zero asked.

"Oh, we're not friends, we just met by chance in this dungeon after I was separated from my party," Harry said. "And by the way, have you seen a group of people in the dungeon?"

Zero replied, "Does that party include a boy with chestnut-brown hair wearing armor?"

"Oh yes!" Harry exclaimed. "That's Adam! Did you meet him?"

"Oh," Zero said as he nodded his head. "They're all dead."

"..."

Harry was speechless for a second before he responded, "...I guess that's to be expected. Adam was a very, uh, stubborn and rash person."

"But to answer your question from earlier; the one walking toward us right now is Anun, and Kai is the one on lookout," said Harry.

"What are you two chatting about so merrily when you guys don't even speak the same language, huh?" Anun asked as he walked over with an assortment of things in his hands.

"Yeah, about tha-" Henry began before Zero cut him off.

"Nice to meet you Anun, my name is Zero," Zero said as he stood up and reached out for a handshake.

Anun looked at Zero's outstretched hand and then looked back at his own, before saying, "Yeah, I think we'll have to save that handshake for la- wait, you can speak Esloren?"

Anun looked over at Harry and Harry only gave a helpless shrug in response.

"Y'know, communicating would've been a hell of a lot easier," Anun sighed. "If you didn't pretend to not know how to speak."

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"Yeah, sorry."

Anun just sighed again and said, "Whatever, I know you're starving so I brought you two some food,"

Anun handed Harry and Zero both squares wrapped up in paper as well as two water containers.

As Zero tore off the paper, he asked, "Are these... bricks?"

"...they're nutrient bars," Anun replied.

"Yeah, they're the most efficient way of placating your hunger and restoring energy when you're in a dungeon, even though they don't exactly taste the best," Harry chimed in from the side.

As Zero tried biting into one, he had to struggle before biting off a piece.

"Are you sure they're not bricks?" Zero asked.

"If you really have to, just dip it in the water; that'll soften them up," Anun answered before walking away.

As Zero ate the nutrient bar, he noted that although the texture was a bit grainy, it didn't really taste that bad. It was enough to placate his hunger and soon enough, he finished his nutrient bar.

"Now I finally feel alive," Zero said as he stood up and stretched. "When are we going to leave this place?"

"I want to know that too," remarked Harry from where he was sitting.

Then, Harry poked Zero in the leg and said, "Hey, Kai's back."

Zero looked over and saw Kai running toward Anun with a serious expression on his face.

"Looks like something's going on," Zero said as he began walking toward the two. "I'm going to go check it out."

As Zero walked within earshot range of the two, he could hear Kai saying, "...another Hobgoblin. That can't be right. There can't be two Mini-Bosses inside a Mini-Boss Room. Unless the Hobgoblins aren't the Mini-Boss."

"Then we've got some real trouble on our hands, huh?" Anun replied as he smiled ruefully.

Kai, noticing Zero walk over, asked Anun, "Oh, he's awake? Did you get him something to eat yet?"

"Ask him yourself," Anun replied.

"What? Did you forget he doesn't know how to speak Esloren?" responded Kai.

"Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Zero," Zero suddenly said as he grinned at Kai.

Kai stared at him speechlessly for a second, before saying, "Communicating would've been a hell of a lot easier if you didn't pretend to not know how to speak."

"Hey, that's what I said!" Anun exclaimed from the side.

Kai ignored him and then said, "We don't have time for this, we have to leave now. The goblins are coming toward us."

"Goblins?" Zero asked as he raised an eyebrow. "How many?"

"Around thirty," Kai replied.

"With us four together, that's not an issue," Zero said calmly.

"No, those regular goblins aren't the problem. They have a commander and a Hobgoblin leading them. We're going to have to take heavy casualties if we face them head-on," Kai said gravely. "And that's something I want to avoid. We're all getting out of this dungeon in one piece."

"Anun, how long will it take you to set up a large-scale spell?" Kai hurriedly asked.

"Give me ten minutes," replied Anun as he ran off.

"You're pretty good with that bow. We have some extra arrows with us if you're running low," Kai said as he looked at Zero. "So here's what I'm going to need you to do..."

---

"Sir Borgk, we are almost at the location that Toruk the Wise has provided us with," the Goblin General said tremblingly.

"Mmm." Borgk nodded in response before he suddenly knelt down to inspect the ground. "Blood."

He reached out, and rubbed his finger against the soil before bringing it back to his mouth to taste it.

"Human blood," Borgk continued. "Keep going."

The Goblin General roared out an order at the army before continuing to march forward. They soon arrived at a clearing devoid of anything except the corpse of a Hobgoblin.

"Ooruk," Borgk said as he narrowed his eyes.

"Get his body," Borgk ordered the general. "Prepare to bring it back home."

As Borgk inspected the clearing, he noticed another patch of blood on the ground. He walked over, knelt down, and tasted the blood.

"It is fresh," Borgk muttered. "Those humans were here recently."

"Sir Borgk!" The Goblin General suddenly shouted as he ran over. "The head of Sir Ooruk is missing. It looks as if it has been hacked off."

"Despicable bastards." Borgk snarled. "They have no respect for the dead."

"Sir Bor-" The Goblin General's words were suddenly cut off when an arrow glowing green pierced through its skull causing warm blood to splash over Borgk's face.

The arrow then continued its flight before smashing into the ground and exploding into splinters. Borgk widened his eyes as he reached behind him for his greatsword as he watched the body of the Goblin General collapse to the ground. As Borgk opened his mouth to shout out a warning, strange symbols engraved on the trees surrounding Borgk and the goblins lit up before a sudden wind enveloped the entire clearing, along with tiny snowflakes that flew around. The heavy wind hindered the goblin's movements and the small snowflakes pierced through many of the goblin's bodies resulting in them screaming in pain.

Another arrow shimmering with green light appeared, this time shot toward Borgk's head, but he deflected it with his greatsword before shouting, "AMBUSH!"