Chase (2)

The golden goblin had stopped at a distance and was slowly turning its head to look our way.

It had clearly been drawn here by reacting to the monster lure's frequency.

But unlike the other monsters, it did not charge mindlessly toward the train.

'It seems it really was lured here...'

The creature, scurrying back and forth on the tracks as it sized us up, had stopped at a remarkably precise spot.

It was directly in front of the train, in the blind spot of the ballista mounted atop Car 2, and just barely outside the missile turret's range.

It had a crafty sense of distance.

“Could we perhaps communicate?”

For a fleeting moment, I wondered whether it might be a special one like the other demi-human I had encountered before—one that had opened a box and learned the Language skill.

I opened the cab door while lightly gripping my spear and stared quietly at it...