When it came to Shadow and Steel, I was an expert.
I knew every monster, where they spawned, their habits, their weaknesses. I knew it all by heart. Based on that knowledge, I had made my decision. A barbarian’s physique and my expertise—it should have been more than enough to survive this labyrinth.
At least, that’s what I genuinely believed at the time.
“Haaah…”
The moment I stepped into the labyrinth, my world went black.
That wasn't a metaphor. I mean it literally. I couldn’t see a thing. The darkness was so absolute that if someone had blindfolded me, I wouldn't have noticed the difference.
Yes, there would have been no difference at all.
“Fuck.”
It felt like a sucker punch out of nowhere.
Every other barbarian had been carrying a single weapon, nothing else, so I hadn't given it a second thought. There shouldn't have been any need for a torch on the first floor. The glowing crystals embedded in the walls were supposed to provide light.
Of course, there was a dark zone on the first floor, but that was only in the outermost ring, the area leading down to the second level…
Wait, did I fall there?
The hypothesis formed in an instant.
When you entered the labyrinth, your starting position was random. But even with random placement, you were never supposed to be thrown into a place like this. Even if you were unlucky enough to start on the outskirts, there was always a glowing crystal nearby.
But this wasn't the world of the game, viewed through a monitor.
What if those crystals were just a convenience the developers had added for the player? What if, in reality, some unlucky bastard could get dropped right into the middle of the dark zone from the very start?
If so, that would explain my current situation.
No, that had to be it.
If the entire first floor was like this, I didn't have the confidence I could survive a single day.
“Hooo…”
Organizing my thoughts helped me calm down. My eyes were slowly adjusting, my vision a marginal improvement over the initial blindness. I could just make out the vague outlines of things.
The situation wasn't so dire that I needed to consider biting my tongue off, anyway. Let’s check things out first. I was finally alone, after all.
“Status window. Equipment. Character information. Status. Inventory. Check journal… dammit.”
Nothing. Not a single command worked.
Not that I really expected them to.
“Let’s go.”
With one hand gripping my shield and the other tracing the cool stone of the wall, I shuffled forward. My pace was barely faster than a crawl. It couldn't be helped. Slower than a crawl was still the fastest I could risk.
This place was dangerous.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
A sharp, violent pain erupted from my ankle. It was a sensation unlike anything I had ever felt, a raw agony that set my nerves on fire. But I understood the cause almost immediately. What the hell had just happened?
Even without a battle log, the answer was obvious.
The player has stepped on a goblin trap.
Fuck. I’d stepped on a trap.
Where was the flaw in my strategy? I didn’t have to think hard. The shield gave me a sense of security, true. But in exchange, it had fatally obscured my field of view. If I had simply buckled it to my belt and focused on the ground, I might have seen the trap.
What good was a shield if I couldn't see a damn thing anyway? I needed to prioritize practicality, not peace of mind.
Shit.
“Fuck it… hooo…”
The pain was so intense I felt like my hair was turning white. I wanted to scream, to let out every bit of it right now. But I held it in, fighting the urge with everything I had. Screaming might make me feel better for a second, but I knew for certain it would make the situation infinitely worse.
Thump, thump, thump.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
“Huuk, huuk, huuk…”
I pressed my lips together, forcing my breathing into a slow, deliberate rhythm. What I needed to remember wasn't how badly I was hurt. It was that only one type of monster on the first floor used traps.
Goblins.
And there was definitely one lurking somewhere nearby.
I reflexively raised the shield, bringing it up to cover my head. Then I held my breath, straining my ears.
There was nothing. The silence was so profound it felt like time itself had stopped.
Maybe there wasn't one here? I didn’t know for certain. Maybe it had just wandered away from its post for a moment. Even goblins had to take a shit sometime.
Fuck, I can’t think like that.
I balled up that creeping sliver of hope and threw it out of my mind. There were two reasons. First, there’s a difference between thinking positively and being an optimistic idiot. Second, what I needed right now was a negative mindset.
If I couldn’t be sure, I had to assume the worst.
The goblin heard my scream. It was hiding in the darkness, waiting patiently for me to bleed out and weaken. That was why it was so quiet.
Because, in the game, if there was a trap, there was always a goblin.
“Whew…”
I slowly let out the breath I’d been holding. The silence was a double-edged sword; as long as I wasn't sloppy, I would definitely hear anything approaching. First things first.
“Huuup!”
I crouched, pried the metal jaws of the trap open with both hands, and pulled my mangled foot free. Then I tore off the hem of my trousers, ripped off my shoe, and wrapped the cloth tightly around the wound to apply pressure. I tossed the ruined shoe aside. It was barely a shoe to begin with—more like a crude leather sandal.
Damn barbarian bastards. If I’d started with even a simple pair of leather boots, they wouldn’t have been shredded by one flimsy trap.
What the fuck am I thinking?
The irrational thought made my blood run cold.
Don’t mourn the past. Cursing my luck wouldn't change a thing. In the end, it was my fault for not watching where I was going. So, stop whining and check the damage.
Ah, this is really bad.
I couldn’t feel my right foot anymore. There was a dull, throbbing heat, but even that was fading.
“I know you’re hiding. Come on out,” I whispered into the darkness.
Still, no sign of life.
So I inched forward again.
Step. Step.
One leg was a mess, but the pain wasn’t as sharp as I expected. The trap must have been coated in some kind of paralytic poison. I wasn't sure if I should call that a good thing.
“Come out, you bastard.”
I didn’t hesitate to provoke it as I moved. Time was not on my side. If a fight was coming, it was better to have it now. My injury was one problem, but I couldn’t ignore the possibility that the goblin was waiting for reinforcements.
“Aren't you coming?”
Of course, this could all be in my head. There might not be any goblins here at all. In that case, I’d just be a fool who stepped in a trap and was now performing a one-man show in the dark.
But so what? I still wanted to survive.
“Then how about you just stay there? I’m leaving.”
I picked up my pace. It was only a little faster than a crawl, but it felt like I was running a marathon. One step, then another. As I walked, my right foot began to throb with searing pain.
“Sssspp… haa… haa…”
Two possibilities. Either the paralytic agent was wearing off, or the injury was so severe that the poison could no longer suppress the pain. Come to think of it, neither was a bad outcome for me. If the poison was gone, that was good. If I could feel the pain, it meant the nerves weren't severed.
No, why am I being so positive about this?
I didn’t really want to think about it. I didn’t have the mental energy to spare.
“Your mother is a fucking goblin.”
The words spilled out, unfiltered. Had I lost too much blood? My brain felt dry and brittle, like it had been pickled in alcohol.
“Your father is also a fucking goblin.”
I kept spitting out whatever came to mind, but my feet didn't stop.
“So you’re a fucking goblin, too.”
Then, for the first time, a sound. It was faint, but to my focused hearing, it was as loud as a thunderclap.
Squelch.
Finally. It had shown itself.
“What, couldn’t stand hearing your parents get cursed?”
I knew that wasn’t it, of course. It wasn’t even really a curse. The sound had come from behind me. It was forced to make a move because I was getting farther and farther away.
I pushed myself faster. The footsteps behind me quickened to match my pace.
Squelch… squelch… squelch…
The sound was unnerving. Each step made a wet, sticky noise, as if something was being pressed against a smooth surface and then peeling off. Even though I knew from the game that goblins were less than a meter tall, I felt a pressure like some huge monster was chasing me down.
To shake off the fear, I kept talking. I was a barbarian, after all. If I could just close the distance, there was no way I’d lose to a single goblin.
“Don’t just follow me, come have a go, you fucker.”
I kept taunting it, but it only continued to trail me, maintaining a careful distance. It didn't seem to care about hiding anymore.
“Gruck, gruck!”
It was a bestial sound, but I could somehow feel the intent behind it.
“Grurururuck! Gruck!”
It was laughing. Giggling. It was genuinely delighted, watching its prey bleed out and slowly die. It wanted me to hear that sound and be terrified.
Smart bastard.
Okay, change of plans.
I stopped walking. Then I stumbled, collapsing heavily to the floor.
Crack!
My forehead struck a rock, and for a second it felt like my skull would split open, but I didn't make a sound.
From now on, this was a battle of patience. If it thought I was down for the count and approached, I would win. If I really passed out from blood loss before then, I would lose.
“Gruck?”
I decided to trust the toughness of this body, which had somehow managed to drag itself three hundred meters on one ruined foot.
The squelching footsteps drew closer. So slowly it was maddening. Even though its prey had fallen just as it hoped, it was still cautious.
Fucking hell, why is this goblin so careful?
The swear words materialized in my thoughts. Goblins were the weakest mobs in the game. They used poison and traps, but their actual combat ability was pathetic.
But the goblin I was facing now, in reality?
Squelch.
This was no opponent to be taken lightly. I was starting to understand why the village NPCs in the game always talked about how clever goblins were. They were several times more intelligent than those barbarian bastards.
Squelch.
The goblin stopped somewhere between five and ten meters away.
Why? I was curious.
A dull thud against my shoulder.
Thump. Clatter.
What the—now the little scumbag was throwing rocks at me.
You’re not going to just pelt me to death from a distance, are you?
“Grurururuck! Gruck!”
Contrary to my fear, the goblin let out a gleeful shriek. When I didn't react to the stone, it must have decided I was dead.
Squelch-squelch-squelch-squelch!
It was rushing over now, almost skipping. I could hear its excitement in the rhythm of its steps.
I suppressed my own rising adrenaline, counting its approach by sound alone. And when I judged it was close enough…
“Fuck you!”
I exploded upwards, lunging and stretching my hands out toward it. I’d figured that reaching would be faster and have a longer range than trying to grab my shield and swing.
But I immediately had a gut feeling that my plan had gone wrong.
Two reasons. First, I was still about a step too short. Second, its movements were far more agile than I’d expected.
“Gruck!”
The creature leaned back at the waist, hopping backward. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel the motion in the air. I knew instinctively that I’d missed my chance.
Dammit, what now? I shook my head, already trying to come up with another plan.
But in that moment, my body moved on its own.
It was a strange, disorienting feeling. My eyes were still lost in the darkness, but I intuitively knew exactly where the goblin was and what it was doing. By the time my conscious mind caught up, my hand was already moving, tracking its retreat.
“Gruck?!”
I felt my fingertips brush against something. Wrist, ankle, neck—it didn't matter what I grabbed.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
I roared, yanking it off balance and slamming it to the floor. A wet crunch echoed in the cavern. But I wasn't relieved. I immediately scrambled on top of it, pinning it down.
“Gr, gruck!”
Now the tables had turned.
“Now I’m up, and you’re down, you piece of shit!”
I hammered my fists into its face like a madman. In my frenzy, I sometimes missed and struck the stone floor, but this barbarian body was stronger than I had ever imagined. Instead of my knuckles shattering, the rock beneath my fists cracked and splintered.
Soon, its struggling ceased.
And then…
Swaaaaaaaa!
A cloud of shimmering dust scattered into the air. I froze, my fist raised. At some point, the goblin corpse beneath me had crumbled away, dissolving into light.
This was complete nonsense.
“Haah… fuck, this again?”
I wished this world would just pick one or the other. Was this a game, or was this a brutal reality? The lines kept blurring, and I didn't know which set of rules to follow.
> You have defeated a goblin. EXP +1
Soon, the goblin's body vanished without a trace. Feeling a strange sense of frustration, I picked up a small stone that had fallen where it lay.
> You have acquired a grade 9 mana stone.
It wasn't bright, but a faint, milky light pulsed within it. It was a mana stone, the primary currency in Shadow and Steel. A memory surfaced, telling me exactly what this was worth.
“A piece of bread.”
That was the average value of a mana stone dropped by a goblin in the game.
A laugh escaped my lips.
“Kahahahaha!”
Was this all I got from that fucking bastard? After all that?
As my breathing calmed, the storm of emotions swirling inside me began to clear. It was like that feeling you get after you’ve cried so hard you can only laugh.
“Kaha, kahahaha.”
There’s a labyrinth, and there are monsters. A dead monster disappears and leaves behind a drop item. And in that city outside, all kinds of different races live together.
Obviously, this was that kind of world.
But there would be no more confusion.