Eren chose the left entrance—not because it was safer, but because he knew both paths hid creatures. Unlike Jack, he couldn't see what lurked on the right, nor gauge the threat waiting there.
As they moved forward, Eren grew tense—now he could hear the noises too. He stopped and muttered—
Eren : I am detecting noises coming from their.
Jack : And I am seeing things...
Eren heard the movements, Jack saw them.
Then came the laughter—sharp, echoing.
Both froze, nerves taut, gripping their daggers tight.
Jack : Here they come...
This time, it was different.
Last time, they faced wolf-like beasts.
Now, a monstrous, humanoid figure emerged from the shadows—something like a goblin, but worse.
~"Hehehe"
The noise came straight out of that creature that appeared right in front of them.
Now, several more emerged, surrounding them.
The goblins eyed their daggers—silent recognition that a fight was inevitable.
Eren : I shouldn't think much...
I can definitely survive this? Right??
Terror gripped Eren—he knew this fight could end him.
A few blows were all it would take for someone as weak as him.
Jack : Being nervous won't do any good. You're mission is to escape this place.
Eren heard his words which motivated him.
Eren : Right...
The clash began.
Jack struck first—clean and fast.
The goblin-like creatures answered with a flurry of savage blows.
Jack : I might be able to endure those hits...
Three creatures swarmed Jack, throwing punches and swinging their crude weapons.
But this time, he was faster—dodging more, taking fewer hits.
Eren stood frozen, a mere spectator to Jack's battle—
until one creature broke off, stepping into his path, eyes locked, ready to strike.
Eren : Must engage to the fight now...
Eren slashed at the goblin's neck, but it dodged and countered—
a brutal punch to his face.
Blood burst from his nose as he staggered back.
Eren : I am bleeding?
Moments later, a brutal punch slammed into Eren's stomach—followed by another to his chest.
These blows were enough to knock Eren down. He lost his daggers from his hand.
In that moment, the goblin approached the knocked down Eren to deliver the finishing blow.
Right then, Eren snatched the dagger nearby and slashed it across the goblin's chest.
~"GAAHHHH"
The goblin screamed in pain with that slash.
Eren : I'll have to adapt quickly!
Eren pushed himself up from the ground, now swinging his daggers in desperate slashes.
They lacked strength, and the goblin still managed to resist, fighting to defend itself.
With that, the goblin again delivered a punch by countering Eren's attacks.
But this time, Eren dodged.
As the fight raged on, Jack had already taken down two goblins.
Jack have killed creatures, which now gave him the motivation to survive.
Jack lunged back into combat, aiming to finish the last of the trio.
Two swift strikes—one to the chest, the other to the neck—cleanly beheaded the goblin.
Jack stood victorious in a one-on-three fight.
Jack : A little difficult for me...
Eren, still struggling to bring down a single goblin, was now under Jack's watchful gaze.
Jack : He still haven't taken down that single goblin?
Jack stepped in, breaking the one-on-one.
He leapt at the goblin, driving his dagger deep—
a finishing blow that ended the last of them.
Jack's single strike sliced the goblin clean in half.
Jack : That was a tough one for you? Isn't it?
Eren : Yeah...
Jack : So where is the key?
Eren : We haven't checked that yet.
The main reason they took the left tunnel was Eren's decision—he believed the chance of finding the key was higher here.
But the path led to a dead-end, with no sign of the key.
They even searched the bodies of those goblins, yet there was nothing there.
Jack : Welp, there's nothing in here.
Eren : Sorry Jack, it was my decision that we have to waste our time fighting these goblins and yet receiving nothing from here.
Jack : Nah, it's all good. But we still need to find the key.
Eren : Yup...
Jack : Let's go check the right entrance.
They were now heading back to the junction of the three entrances.
With the left tunnel cleared, only the right one remained to be checked.
All that was left in the left tunnel were goblin corpses—mostly slain by Jack.
==============
Eren : We're finally here.
They reached the junction of the three entrances, already knowing exactly where to go next.
Jack : Well, it's again that we have to face those wolf like creatures...
Eren : Hey Jack.
Jack : What is it?
Both headed into the right-side entrance.
As they walked, Eren began questioning Jack.
Eren : Did you receive some kind of powers from that dagger of yours?
Jack : No clue...
Eren : No wonder, I saw that when he was fighting those goblin like creatures...
Eren was confused watching Jack fight the goblins.
A strange blue aura had been emitting from Jack's body.
To Eren, Jack didn't have the build of a bodybuilder—yet his durability and endurance during the fight said otherwise.
Those punches... they didn't take Jack down. But Eren? He was floored by just one.
Eren : Without a doubt, he might have received some kind of energy from that dagger...
~"GRRRRR..."
A strange growling noise echoed.
Two small glowing red eyes appeared before them.
It was clear what it was.
Jack : Here they come...
Seven wolf-like creatures stood before them, with jaws and claws made of metal and eyes of different colors.
They were enough to intimidate both Jack and Eren.
Eren : Hey Jack, can we interchange our daggers?
Jack : Why do you want my dagger?
Eren : Well, if you don't mind...
Jack : Sigh
Here, have it.
They swapped their daggers to each other.
Eren holding the dagger that slayed the goblins, and Jack holding the dagger that slayed nothing.
Jack : PREPARE FOR COMBAT!
In an instant, two creatures lunged at them.
But Jack reacted instantly, delivering a slash to the creature that jumped at him.
Blood spilled from the wolf as its left eye was slashed—blue in color.
On the other hand, Eren backed up and dodged the attack.
The metal claw came inches from his chest, leaving a scratch.
A small piece of his hoodie was torn.
Eren : Why am I not receiving the energy Jack got from this dagger!?
Huhh...!? What!
Jack caught Eren's attention again—the blue aura was back.
Eren was stunned. Jack had drawn that energy from a dagger that hadn't even slain a single goblin.
Meanwhile, Eren held the one that had slain them all… yet it gave him nothing.
Though he dodged the first creature's attack, another one lunged at him.
Eren evaded again, now realizing—he was up against two.
Eren : It's a two on one!?
Huh!?
Jack drew Eren's attention once more—five wolf-like creatures were attacking him at once.
But they were struggling. How was that possible?
Jack hadn't taken a single scratch, yet he was delivering precise slashes with the same dagger that hadn't even slain a goblin.
With a swift strike, he slashed one creature's leg, rendering it unable to move.
Jack kept dodging the claws—sharp as knives, each strike fatal to an average human.
He closed in, aiming for his first kill.
With a swift slash to the neck of the immobilized wolf-like creature, he claimed it.
Jack : One down...
Out of the five that had been attacking Jack, four remained—stunned that their prey had killed one of their own, a supposed predator.
But without hesitation, the remaining four lunged at Jack once again.
On the other hand, Eren still hadn't landed a single slash or even a scratch on the two creatures.
Yet, he'd somehow become skilled at evading—so much so that neither of the wolf-like creatures had managed to touch him either.
Eren : Why haven't I received the energy that boosts the combating skills like Jack did to himself? What is it that I need!?
~"Shhk"
Jack delivered another fatal blow, slicing a creature clean in half.
Out of four, only three remained—and Jack was still untouched.
The dagger that had slain those goblin like creatures had now brought down two wolf-like creatures.
And it was wielded by the same person who had finished them all.
Jack : I feel like I have became powerful...
Two of the creatures lunged at Jack, but he reacted instantly, his strikes faster than before.
With two swift blows, one was beheaded, and the other lay immobilized, slowly dying.
Jack : One remaining... lil bro your next.
Jack had killed four of the creatures that had leapt at them, believing they could hunt him as prey.
It had been the opposite—Jack was the predator, and the five wolf-like creatures were the prey.
With a final leap, Jack delivered the last blow, successfully killing the last creature that had jumped at Jack from the beginning.
The two creatures fighting Eren turned their attention to Jack.
One of them charged towards Jack, ready to attack.
Eren was left to face the remaining wolf-like creature alone.
Eren : It's a one on one...
The single creature charged at Eren.
This time, a successful slash landed on his chest.
Blood spilled as Eren began to bleed once again.
Eren : What... will I die now??
Eren seemed immobilized, not moving from his spot, as if he were trying to recover from the slash.
The creature slowly approached, drawing much closer.
Eren : Noo... this can't end here...
The creature's mouth slowly opened, aimed directly at Eren's head, ready to deliver a fatal blow.