The goblin den stank of rot and damp, an unholy marriage of mildew and carrion. Every breath Quinn took tasted like iron, as though the air itself had soaked in centuries of gore. Bones crunched beneath his boots as he crept along the cavern edge, rebar gripped tight in his hand.
The goblins clustered in the center of the hollow, clawing at corpses and tearing strips of flesh from the carcasses. Their guttural growls echoed off the walls, blending into a chorus of feral hunger. Some gnawed on femurs like dogs, others fought over intestines with snapping jaws.
Quinn crouched low, his mind racing. A frontal assault was suicide. There were too many, even for his fragments. But the cavern had structure: stalagmites like spears, a stream of mana light trickling through one wall, and loose rock that sagged above the goblins' feeding pit.
If he played it smart, he could even the odds.
The System chimed in his vision.
[ Tactical Opportunity Detected ][ Environment may be leveraged for mass neutralization ]
"Exactly what I was thinking," Quinn whispered.
He circled wide, keeping low. The Shard of Silence wrapped him in muffled air, his movements swallowed by stillness. Every goblin snarl sounded deafening in comparison, but none of them looked his way.
The stalagmites near the feeding pit were clustered tight, forming natural choke points. Perfect for funneling. Above, a slab of rock jutted from the ceiling, its base fractured with deep cracks. A weak spot. If he could bring it down, it would crush a dozen at once.
Quinn grinned. The game systems were practically holding his hand, but it was still on him to execute.
He jammed his rebar into a crack at the slab's edge and wrenched hard. The stone groaned, flakes of dust trickling down. Goblins snarled and looked up, eyes glowing faintly in the mosslight.
"Here we go."
With a final heave, the slab tore free. It plummeted into the feeding pit with a thunderous crash. The cavern shook, boulders spraying dust and shards of stone in every direction. Screeches erupted as goblins were flattened, limbs and torsos snapping like twigs.
Chaos followed. The horde shrieked and scattered, some clawing at the rubble, others whipping their heads wildly, searching for the intruder.
Quinn raised his rebar and broke cover.
[ Combat Engaged: Goblin Scavenger Horde ]
The first goblin lunged, claws swiping at his chest. Quinn sidestepped, the Shard of Veil twisting perception so the strike passed harmlessly through air. He countered with a sharp thrust, the rebar punching through its eye. The creature collapsed in a heap.
Another charged. Quinn pivoted, dragging his rebar across its throat. Blood sprayed, hot and thick. His perception screamed as two more flanked him from the shadows.
He triggered his fragments.
[ Fragment of Silence Activated ][ Area Effect: 10 meters suppressed sound ]
The cavern went dead quiet. Goblins shrieked, but no sound came out. Their communication shattered instantly, movements clumsy and uncoordinated. Quinn used the opening, slamming his rebar into one's ribs and booting another into the stalagmites.
The fight became a blur. Goblins rushed, and he met them with steel and fragments, weaving between them like a predator among prey. The Shard of Veil flickered with each dodge, buying him seconds at a time. The Shard of Silence turned their roars into pantomime rage, cutting their coordination to shreds.
Blood coated his hands, his face, his arms. Every strike felt heavy but exhilarating. The System hummed with constant notifications.
[ Hostile Eliminated: +1 Progress ][ Hostile Eliminated: +1 Progress ][ Hostile Eliminated: +1 Progress ]
Quinn's grin widened, his pulse pounding like war drums. "So this is combat. Not scripted. Not clean. Just raw survival. And I'm winning."
The numbers dwindled. From dozens to a handful, then to three. The last goblin snarled and threw itself at him, teeth snapping. Quinn rammed his rebar through its open mouth and drove it into the dirt until it stopped twitching.
Silence returned.
Not just the Shard's silence, but real silence. No more movement. No more screeches. Just Quinn, standing in the middle of a blood-soaked cavern, chest heaving with victory.
The System pulsed with light.
[ Quest Completed: Establish Shelter ][ Reward Granted: Fragment Cache (x2) ]
Two shimmering shards appeared in the air before him. One pulsed a deep crimson, the other a steady silver.
[ Fragment Obtained: Shard of Vitality ][ Fragment Obtained: Shard of Dominion ]
Quinn's breath caught. Dominion. The optional reward. The System had not been bluffing.
He reached for the crimson shard first. The Shard of Vitality dissolved into him, spreading warmth through every vein. His muscles knit tighter, his lungs burned cleaner, and the ache in his body evaporated.
[ Integration Complete: Vitality +10 ][ Passive Effect: Enhanced regeneration activated ]
Then he touched the silver shard. It slid into his chest like liquid metal, sinking deep until it wrapped around his very core. His vision flickered. For a second, he felt not like himself but like the cavern itself, towering over broken goblin corpses.
[ Integration Complete: Shard of Dominion ][ Active Ability: Command lesser foes (limit: 3) ][ Passive Effect: Presence – Hostiles hesitate before engagement ]
Quinn staggered. The sheer authority flooding his veins was intoxicating. He looked at the goblin corpses and imagined, just for a second, what it would be like to command them instead of fight them. The thought alone was terrifying and thrilling.
He wiped blood from his face and laughed. "Now that's a base-building reward."
The cavern settled. Quinn walked the perimeter, inspecting the broken stalagmites and scattered bones. It was ugly, filthy, and reeked of death. But with the goblins gone, it was his.
The System confirmed it.
[ Shelter Claimed: Goblin Den ][ Status: Defensible, Concealed ][ Shelter Functionality Unlocked: Storage / Rest ]
Stone shimmered faintly at the cavern walls, glowing with new sigils. A chest formed from the earth, its lid sealing with a click. A resting alcove appeared where bones had been pushed aside, glowing faintly with runes.
Quinn touched the chest. It opened, empty but ready. His first inventory. His first safe zone.
He sank onto the rune-lit alcove, exhaustion crashing over him in waves. His arms ached, his knuckles were raw, and his rebar was bent and sticky with gore. But he was alive. More than alive. He was strong.
He closed his eyes, letting the fragments hum inside him. Silence, Veil, Vitality, Dominion. Four shards now woven into his being, each one reshaping him into something far beyond human.
For the first time since waking in this world, he felt control.
The cavern was his.
But control was fragile.
A tremor rumbled through the stone. Dust sifted from the ceiling. Quinn's eyes snapped open, every muscle tensing. The tremor grew into a quake, the walls trembling with force.
Then he heard it.
A roar. Deep, guttural, and enraged. Not a goblin. Something larger.
The bones rattled as the cavern floor shook. From the far tunnel, shadows rippled, and a massive figure stepped into the light.
It was eight feet tall, hunched with muscle, skin plated like stone. Its tusked maw dripped with saliva, and its eyes glowed faint red. A club the size of Quinn's torso dragged across the floor, leaving gouges in the rock.
The System pulsed.
[ New Threat Detected: Troll Berserker ][ Level: Elite ][ Status: Hostile ]
Quinn rose slowly, blood still dripping from his rebar. He could feel his fragments humming, ready to ignite. His heart pounded, but his grin returned.
"Of course. No free bases in this world. Alright then, let's see if Dominion really works."
The troll roared again, shaking the cavern. The fight for Quinn's shelter had only just begun.