Demon Chapter

Chapter 17: Unexpected Discovery

In stealth mode, Gavin Lin circled the cave and confirmed there were no other exits. It was a dead end—the terminus of the mine.

Despair settled over him. He found a spot to half-squat and sit down; the posture helped him calm his thoughts. He kept analyzing his situation, but waiting here indefinitely would only lead to certain death.

Like it or not, those senior contractors would eventually find him. Cornered in this dead-end tunnel by eight seasoned fighters, the outcome was all too clear. Perhaps his thinking was overly grim—but he certainly didn’t expect them to suddenly show mercy.

“Dammit!” Gavin Lin seethed with barely contained rage. During his stealthy journey through the mine, he’d already counted the goblin miners outside: 131 in total.

While that number sounded large, if eight senior contractors coordinated well—killing four or five goblins at a time in quick succession—they could clear them all in under an hour. Of course, if all 131 goblins appeared at once, the situation would be different. But that was nearly impossible: the goblin miners were scattered along the long, winding passages, not grouped together.

Suddenly, a bold idea struck Gavin Lin.

What if he could lure all those goblin miners out at once?

With over a hundred of them charging simultaneously, even eight senior contractors wouldn’t be able to hold them off.

This might be his only chance to survive.

Gavin Lin hated passivity—and almost as soon as the thought formed, he decided to act on it.

With a plan in mind, he checked his attributes. His health was just a few points shy of the maximum 80 HP. Aside from the dagger in his hand, he carried a storage belt and a pair of blue-quality leather boots.

The success of his plan hinged on those boots—which increased movement speed by 15%—and his Agility stat. He was glad now that he’d allocated 5 attribute points to Agility earlier; it let him run 100 meters in just six seconds. That speed should easily outpace the goblin miners.

At that moment, two goblin miners were in the cave, chiseling at the walls with their picks, the rhythmic clink-clink echoing through the chamber. They had no idea Gavin Lin was lurking just meters away in stealth.

Beside them sat a wheelbarrow filled with freshly dug ore.

Gavin Lin glanced over—and froze.

There, among the ore, lay a skull. A child’s skull.

He hesitated for a moment, then rose slowly and crept closer in stealth. Only then did he notice, against the wall near the two goblins, a stone platform about two meters high and five or six square meters in area. Something was placed atop it.

For some reason, the sight triggered a memory—the child’s skull he’d found near the skinning house. Curiosity piqued, Gavin Lin carefully climbed onto the platform and was met with a chilling scene.

Six child skulls were arranged neatly in a row. Beneath each one was a reversed pentagram, and atop each skull sat a candle. All six candles were currently extinguished, but hardened rings of wax on the bone showed they’d been lit before.

Most horrifying of all, laid prominently across the center of the pentagram was a human skin.

One glance made Gavin Lin’s stomach churn. The skin had clearly been stitched together from pieces of different people—and the craftsmanship was disturbingly skilled, almost professional.

Skulls, candles, inverted pentagrams, and a sewn human skin—this was unmistakably a demonic ritual site. But how could such a thing exist in a goblin mine?

The two goblins seemed accustomed to it, yet Gavin Lin also noticed they never approached the platform. The reason was unclear.

After taking it all in, Gavin Lin quietly descended.

His immediate priority remained escaping the eight senior contractors. He could investigate this eerie altar later.

By now, his health had fully regenerated. He knew he couldn’t delay any longer—it was time to act.

He picked up several stones, stowed them in his belt’s storage compartment, and kept a few in his hand. Then, he stealthily moved toward the passage entrance and suddenly hurled a stone at a nearby goblin.

Your attack dealt 1 damage to the Goblin Miner (Level 5)!

The goblin barely reacted at first. Only after a few seconds did it spot Gavin Lin—now visible again after breaking stealth—and let out an enraged roar, calling its companions as it charged.

Gavin Lin immediately sprinted back down the passage he’d come from, pushing his speed to the limit.

As he passed groups of goblins, he stabbed the ones within reach with his dagger and threw stones at those farther away—anything to draw their attention.

In no time, a massive horde of ogres was chasing him. Though they weren’t slow, they still lagged far behind. Relying on his 13 Agility and the 15% speed boost from his boots, Gavin Lin narrowly dodged their attacks along the way. Even so, he took one hit, losing over a dozen health points.

Ahead, he could already hear shouts and the clash of battle. The senior contractors were moving fast—they’d already covered a third of the mine shaft.

Rounding a corner, Gavin Lin came face-to-face with the eight of them.

Among them were the necromancer, the archer, and the female mage he’d seen before. The others were unfamiliar, likely reinforcements they’d brought along.

At that moment, Neil was seething with fury.

In the previous task, he’d suffered heavy losses—not only failing to complete the main objective first, but also watching helplessly as someone else killed Griswold and claimed all the loot.

It had nearly driven him mad—especially since he’d lost a teammate in the attempt to take down Griswold.

The culprit behind it all was Contractor 1065. Neil had sworn to eliminate him. After returning to the hub, he’d used a Recognition Scroll to identify the contractor’s number and began tracking him.

He’d even spent a fortune on a rare item—Tracking Scroll—to pinpoint Contractor 1065’s current task world. Then, he’d led his team into the same world solely to hunt him down.

Only by killing him could Neil satisfy his rage.

Ten minutes ago, he’d missed his chance—but he was certain the target couldn’t escape. He knew this mine shaft had no other exits.

“Iron Sword, Copper Helmet—you two handle the monsters,” Neil ordered, gripping his staff. “We can earn plenty of time rewards clearing these ogres, but remember: our real target is that scumbag. Once we find him, bring him to me. I’ll send him to hell myself.”

He summoned two skeleton warriors to the front, who immediately began hacking down ogres.

The ogres were fierce, but they stood no chance against this tightly coordinated team of contractors. One by one, they fell, the tunnel floor slick with blood.

Just then, Neil heard a distant commotion. He exchanged glances with his allies—they’d heard it too. It sounded like a large group rushing toward them.

Moments later, a figure rounded the corner ahead.

A single glance told Neil it was the contractor he’d been hunting.

“Everyone, alert! That’s the scumbag—don’t let him get away—!”

His command cut off mid-sentence. His face went pale as he saw what followed the man: a swarm of ogres, roaring and thundering in pursuit.