Anything to Survive in Hell: From Weakling to Tyrant-Chapter 21 You’re all fucking dead!!!!

Extreme tension.

I had never seen Bimzi react like this before. The bastard was a native creature of this place. He knew exactly what was dangerous and what was safe, what to attack and what to hide from.

Trembling uncontrollably, Bimzi tucked himself right into my side, covering his mouth with his hand. His eyes, stained with deep anxiety, wavered frantically, and his hooked nose twitched from side to side.

Wait. Why was his nose twitching like that?

Never mind.

I held my breath, hiding myself deeper in the bushes as I scanned the surroundings. Should I bolt right now?

No. Bimzi chose to hide rather than run away. I had to trust his instincts; if he thought hiding was the better option, it probably was.

The only variable now was me, but it was too late to reverse the decision. I had no choice but to endure it and wait.

Rustle. Flutter. At that moment, I couldn’t help but freeze in surprise.

A "Tinkerbell" was flying around. In military slang, moths larger than your palm are called Tinkerbells.

But right in front of me, fluttering gracefully, was something else entirely. It wasn’t an ordinary oversized butterfly.

It was a small person! A tiny, literal person!

It was a real-life fairy. A tiny woman no bigger than the palm of my hand, with iridescent butterfly wings sprouting from her back. She was even wearing clothes—a tiny, off-the-shoulder dress that looked like it belonged on an exquisite porcelain doll.

A fairy! An actual fairy!

But Bimzi was terrified of her. Was that tiny thing really that dangerous? She was incredibly small; her weight class was practically non-existent. If I fought a creature like that, I felt like I could squash her with a single punch.

Yet, Bimzi’s sheer terror was clear evidence that something was seriously wrong. Could she use Ether? Was she casting spells just by being a fairy? It was a very real possibility.

Flutter, flutter. As Bimzi and I held our breath, the fairy eventually flew off into the distance and vanished from sight. Only a faint trail of glowing powder proved she had ever been there, and even that quickly dissipated into the air.

I let out a heavy exhale. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. Bimzi and I both gasped, finally catching our breath.

"Bimzi. Is that little thing really that dangerous?" I asked.

"Krek-krek! Krek!" Bimzi explained diligently, gesturing wildly.

I didn’t quite understand his exact words, but the sheer panic in his tone confirmed she was incredibly dangerous. It certainly felt that way to me, too.

It was that primal feeling of dread—like swimming in the open ocean and suddenly spotting a translucent, highly venomous jellyfish floating right next to your leg.

They are small, but the moment they touch your skin, you’re in agony. It was exactly that kind of instinctive fear.

"Wow, but still," I muttered, shaking my head. Wow, fuck. "A fairy, huh?"

A tiny, blonde fairy with wings. I hadn’t been able to see her face clearly, but she looked as delicate and cute as a doll. But wasn’t she technically a monster?

Why did she resemble a human so much? Then again, if I really thought about it, even I, a native of Hell, looked similar to a human. I just didn’t know anymore.

"What do you even call a thing like that?" I asked.

"Krek-krek," Bimzi chattered back.

I still couldn’t understand a damn thing he was saying. Honestly, the exact species name wasn’t very important right now. That fairy-like creature probably had a specific classification, but I didn’t know the language of this realm yet. For now, I’d just call her a Fairy.

"Alright, Bimzi. Let’s go somewhere else," I said, patting his shoulder.

"Krek!" Bimzi nodded eagerly, fully agreeing with my plan.

We turned and headed in the exact opposite direction from where the fairy had gone. Honestly, it felt way too dangerous to follow her path. I had zero desire to cross paths with a creature like that again.

Still, a thought crossed my mind. If I managed to subdue a fairy like that and hit it with Domination Ether, could I make her my subordinate? If she could wield Ether, she might be able to resist the mental binding.

But having a subordinate capable of using Ether would be incredibly advantageous. Above all, she could fly. Having a tiny, flying minion acting as a reconnaissance drone would be ridiculously convenient.

Well, that wasn’t something to dwell on right now. What could I—a guy whose base was just a small dirt dugout and whose only subordinate was a single goblin—possibly hope to achieve against something so potent? I couldn’t expect to get high-tier assets right away.

Whether it was expanding the territory or gathering a stronger army, I had to build it up slowly. Steady growth was what I needed most.

After some searching, we finally managed to find a perfectly shaped stone.

"Heh, hey. You found a good one. Bimzi is great at finding stones, aren’t you?" I praised him.

"Kre-rung!" he replied proudly.

"Let’s head back quickly. I’m going to make something called a spear with this. Do you know how to use tools, by the way? Even apes know how to use them."

"Krek? Krek?" Bimzi tilted his head in confusion.

"Just figure it out on the fly, will you?" I sighed.

It was a bit frustrating that the bastard couldn’t properly understand my words. Normal communication was entirely impossible.

Of course, I was expecting way too much. How could I realistically hope for fluent conversation with a goblin? It was just wishful thinking.

"Alright, let’s go," I ordered.

"Krek."

Without wasting any more time, Bimzi and I carried the collected stones back toward our dugout base.

Now, I had to process these rocks and fashion a spearhead like a damn primitive caveman. If I could securely attach a sharp stone head to a long, sturdy tree branch, a functional wooden spear would be complete.

Historically, the spear is an incredibly powerful weapon—arguably the strongest and most reliable of all ancient melee weapons. How many giant, ancient mammals were slaughtered by early men wielding nothing but sharpened sticks? It was a brilliantly murderous tool.

If I armed myself with such a formidable weapon and properly trained Bimzi, our overall combat power would skyrocket. Hunting would become drastically easier, and I’d be able to easily overpower and subdue other goblins in the area.

"And once we catch them, I’ll use my Domination Ether on the new goblins. Bimzi, you’re about to get some juniors to boss around," I said with a grin.

"Krek?"

Bimzi would be the veteran. The absolute senior of the group.

If I could dominate and train goblin after goblin, I could eventually build a small army. With a dedicated workforce, I could excavate the dugout into a massive underground cavern.

We could tackle our daily survival tasks with intense efficiency. Hell, I could even build a proper, full-scale dungeon. I was basically about to become a goblin platoon leader.

Picturing that kind of future was utterly delightful. Seriously, if I just had a handful of extra goblins right now, I could just order them to go forage for fruits while I relaxed.

"Alright, let’s start making some spears.

First, watch what I do and learn," I instructed.

"Krek."

I picked up a heavy, solid stone.

Thwack!

I aimed at one of the larger rocks we had brought back and smashed it down. It didn’t break perfectly on the first try. I had to strike it repeatedly, searching for the fault lines until it finally gave way.

Thwack! Thwack! Crack!

"Got it!" I cheered.

The stone splendidly shattered into several sharp, jagged pieces. Bimzi might find this brute-force method a bit difficult, so I took it upon myself to shatter the rest of the stones we had gathered.

"Phew." I wiped my brow. This was far more grueling manual labor than I had anticipated. I was already drenched in sweat.

Once I broke all the stones down into manageable sizes, I grabbed a smaller, harder rock to act as a hammer. I began chipping away at the edges of the fragments, fine-tuning their shapes. I had to roughly form the spearheads before the real grinding process began.

After finishing the rough shaping, I sat down cross-legged on the dirt.

"Bimzi. This next part is crucial, so watch closely."

"Krek-krek." Bimzi leaned in, focusing intently on my hands.

I gripped a sharp stone fragment that fit perfectly in my palm, placed it flat against a much harder, smoother stone slab, and applied pressure.

Scrape, scrape, scrape.

I ground the absolute fuck out of that rock.

"Krek?"

"Yeah. You have that water canteen, right? Pour a little bit of it gently over this spot," I pointed to the slab.

"Krek-krek."

Bimzi carefully tilted the canteen, dribbling water onto the stone to act as a lubricant. Meanwhile, I went right back to furiously grinding the stone. Seriously, there was no fucking manual labor quite as tedious and exhausting as this.

Scrape, scrape, scrape.

"I have a newfound respect for Neolithic cavemen," I muttered through gritted teeth.

Even to grind a simple piece of rock into a usable point, I had to put in my absolute utmost effort. This was what true survival and struggle looked like.

In the wild, survival is never freely given. It demands blood, sweat, and endless repetition. Only those willing to dedicate themselves to the struggle can claim the right to live.

"Ah, fuck, this is taking too long. Bimzi, you try grinding one too," I said, tossing him a piece.

"Krek!" he chirped.

Perhaps because he had been watching my technique so closely, Bimzi answered with brimming confidence. Gripping a small stone, he immediately began to grind it against the slab.

Scrape... Scrape...

"Hmm."

His movements were incredibly clumsy and slow. It wasn’t very satisfying to watch. But what else could I expect? This was the inherent difference in dexterity between a human and a goblin. Even if he was clumsy, I had to make him practice and contribute.

And so, working side-by-side with Bimzi, I didn’t hold back. I put my back into it and ground the absolute shit out of those stones. We tirelessly scraped and polished, dedicated solely to the grueling task of manufacturing spearheads.

"Krek..."

But fuck, this bastard’s hands were so damn clumsy that his progress was even worse than I had initially feared. As if realizing he was doing a terrible job, Bimzi let out a dejected whine, his shoulders slumping.

"Hey. This isn’t working out, Bimzi," I sighed, taking the rock from him.

"Krek..."

"I’ll handle the grinding. You know those tree branches we saw earlier? Go out right in front of the base and gather some long, straight ones. Also, grab some tough plant stems so we can tie the rocks to the wood."

It was much better to just relegate him to gathering materials.

"Don’t wander off too far, okay? Just pick them up from the immediate area. I’m trusting you with this."

"Krek!"

As if fetching branches was something he was an absolute master of, Bimzi jumped up, threw his hands excitedly in the air, and sprinted off toward the tree line.

It felt exactly like sending a toddler on a quick errand to the corner store. He was staying right in front of the base, and his wild senses were vastly superior to mine, so he should be perfectly fine.

"He’s a cute little bastard, I’ll give him that," I chuckled to myself.

I immediately resumed the tedious work of grinding the stones.

Scrape, scrape, scrape.

Time passed in a blur of repetitive motion. And then, at a certain moment, the peaceful silence of the forest was shattered.

"KREEEEEEEK!" A bloodcurdling scream tore through the air. It was Bimzi.

"Fuck, surely not!"

I instantly sprang to my feet, drew my crude hand axe, and bolted toward the sound.

How many minutes had even passed? Not even three! Surely Bimzi couldn’t have run into a fatal accident in just three minutes!

"No!!!"

I sprinted desperately toward the thicket where the scream had erupted. Danger? My brain screamed that charging in blindly was suicidal, but my chest felt like it was going to physically burst from the sheer anxiety.

"Bimzi! Where are you, you little bastard?!" I yelled.

"Squeeeeek! Skit! Skit!"

"W-what the hell?!"

Bizarre, high-pitched shrieks echoed through the trees. I threw myself through the heavy brush and stumbled into a small clearing, my eyes widening at the chaotic scene unfolding before me.

"Skit! Skit-skit!"

"Squeee-ak!"

"Kre-re-rek! Kre-re-re-rek!"

Wait, what?!

"Huh!"

Two small, vile monsters with grotesque rat-like heads were absolutely beating the living shit out of Bimzi!

"You!!! You fucking bastards!!!" I roared.

How dare those filthy rodents gang up on my Bimzi?!

"You’re all fucking dead!!!!!!!!"

A white-hot, maddening rage swallowed all rational thought. I violently kicked off the ground, leaped high into the air, and launched a devastating dropkick straight toward the rat-headed runts!