The Goblin Destroyer's drops remained incredibly generous: two blues and three greens. The two blue items were a great axe and a helmet. Naturally, the axe was the one the Destroyer had wielded... though its size was nowhere near the original's.
Staring at his backpack nearly bursting with gear, Mysterious began to wonder... was this game's drop rate a bit too high? With previous loot added, he could already assemble a full green gear set. He just needed to reach level 9 to equip it all.
If other players—who couldn't even gather a full white gear set—knew Mysterious's thoughts, they'd tear him apart alive.
But the Goblin Stronghold Mysterious was in was designed for small teams. Its drops matched squad-level rewards. Soloing it meant he enjoyed a whole team's loot haul. Of course the gear was all good.
After quickly tidying his backpack, Mysterious strode deeper into the building.
From the moment he entered, the "enraged goblins" vanished. Instead, level 10 "Goblin Warriors" and "Goblin Mages" appeared. The former were melee fighters with shields and small axes. The latter were spellcasters wielding Staves.
A typical goblin squad had three Warriors and one or two Mages.
Since entering EndlessHorizon, this was Mysterious's first encounter with magic-type monsters... well, second if counting the Jungle Heavy Lizard King that used Earth Spike.
Goblin Mages attacked by chanting to summon a red mist cloud. Touching it dealt damage and applied a debuff increasing skill cooldown times.
The mist's damage wasn't high initially but intensified with prolonged exposure. The debuff worsened too. Yet both vanished instantly upon leaving the mist.
Since the mist moved slowly and Mages couldn't move while controlling it, these goblins posed little threat. Mysterious only lost a bit of health at the start.
Unlike the enraged goblins outside, these retained their sanity—like the two that had thrown things into the river earlier. But Mysterious hadn't seen those two again on his way here. Neither enraged goblins nor Warriors or Mages resembled them.
In surrounding rooms, Mysterious found diary-like items. The script wasn't from Earth... or at least, he couldn't read it. But since the game flagged them as quest items—and different "diaries" stacked in one inventory slot—he collected several.
After fighting his way to the third floor—the building's top level—Mysterious frowned.
The moment he stepped onto the third floor, he sensed a heavy, oppressive aura and a faint metallic blood scent. As a Superbeing, Mysterious was highly sensitive to blood. He hated that smell.
The lower floors had a modern layout: corridors and rooms, slightly maze-like. Stairs to the second and third floors weren't together, so it took him a while to reach the top.
The third floor differed entirely. It was wide open, laid out in a square frame. The perimeter stood empty. Only a circular wall enclosure sat at the center.
Near the stairs, a goblin squad waited—more numerous than below. Six Warriors and three Mages. They bumped right into Mysterious as he emerged.
"Waaah!" The goblins jumped in fright as a human suddenly appeared at the stairwell.
Unlike the startled goblins, Mysterious had heard them before climbing. While they panicked, he thrust his sword straight into one goblin's mouth.
After pulling his blade out, Mysterious used Fierce Strike to kick a casting Goblin Mage in the face. It flew backward.
Discovering this new use for Fierce Strike thrilled him... he hadn't liked this skill much before.
As he kicked one Mage away, the other two finished chanting. They directed a red mist cloud toward him.
Mysterious first slashed the eye of the Warrior whose throat he'd pierced. Then he grabbed its neck and hurled it into the mist... Luckily, his green and blue gear boosted his strength significantly. Goblins were small too. Otherwise, with his mere 1 base strength point, he might not have managed it.
Normally, red mist didn't hit allies. But wounded goblins were an exception. Upon contact, the mist aggressively corroded their injuries. Larger wounds meant higher damage. The mist followed injured goblins until they became skeletons—even Mages lost control.
After throwing the injured goblin into the mist, Mysterious nimbly dodged the remaining five Warriors' attacks. He charged at the Mage he'd kicked away.
...
After wiping out the squad, Mysterious cautiously swept the entire floor. Confirming no other living things remained, he pushed open the door to the central enclosed area.
A blinding crimson glow met his eyes. A wave of blood stench hit his face.
At the center lay a circular magic array glowing red. Twelve Goblin Mages surrounded it.
All held their Staves high. The tips glowed with the same red light. From this glow, a red beam shot upward into a black hole-like void above the array.
Beneath the Mages lay piles of skeletons. Their decorations confirmed they were all former Goblin Mages.
Such fantastical scenes were common in fantasy games. But seeing them up close in a virtual holographic game felt entirely different.
Mysterious narrowed his eyes at the black hole... He sensed a faint, hidden gaze emanating from it.
As he stared, a voice sounded in his ears.
"How is it? Beautiful, isn't it?" A goblin about 1.5 meters tall stood nearby. It wore neat leather armor and had a large iron club at its waist. It turned to Mysterious and spoke.
Compared to other goblins' malnourished, shriveled bodies, this one was robust. But unlike the Goblin Destroyer's explosively muscular frame, its build was well-proportioned—almost athletic. Its only notable feature was a pair of completely blood-red, bloodshot eyes.
The goblin showed no surprise at Mysterious's entrance. Instead, it spoke human words directly to him.
Mysterious had noticed it earlier. But the black hole seemed more ominous, and the goblin no threat. He hadn't glanced at it until it spoke.
Seeing Mysterious look at him, the goblin spread its arms. "This is Lord Aidraite's miracle! Soon, his glory will spread across the entire world!"
"..." Mysterious stayed silent. He was already planning how to handle the twelve Goblin Mages when fighting started.
"I see you made it here alone. You must be skilled. Have you considered join—" Seeing Mysterious silent, the goblin spoke again.
From its tone, it seemed to want to recruit Mysterious... Could monsters recruit players?
Mysterious thought this but didn't voice doubt. He cut off the goblin. "The things around the village—were you behind them?"
"To bring Lord Aidraite into this world, the will of rage is essential." The goblin sounded proud. "Spreading that rage took great effort... Lord Aidraite will surely reward me."
"..." After hearing this and seeing the cult-like place, Mysterious understood.
Simply put, these goblins wanted to summon "Aidraite". Summoning him required emotions like rage. That's why they'd gone to the river to "poison" it... In other words, the village animals turned aggressive because of these goblins—
Once that was clear, the rest was simple.
"You can still join us now. Though you're weak, if you pledge to Lord Aidraite, I'll forgive the clansmen you killed..." For some reason, this goblin kept trying to persuade Mysterious to surrender.
But before it finished, it stopped abruptly—Mysterious charged forward and slashed its right eye.
Though the goblin saw him coming, sword aimed at its eye, and tried to dodge, his attack wasn't so easily avoided.
[ -52 ] As the damage number floated above its head, its stats appeared in Mysterious's vision.
[ Goblin King (Boss): Level 10 ]
????
With a two-level difference, Mysterious couldn't see the Goblin King's full stats. But it was just a level 10 boss—he felt no fear... He hadn't expected this talking goblin to be the Goblin King.
But whether king or not, it wouldn't stop Mysterious. He just wanted to finish this quest and leave this blood-soaked place.
Just as Mysterious landed the hit and prepared to press the attack, the black hole shot out a red beam. It flew toward him at incredible speed.
Mysterious abandoned his follow-up attack to dodge the unknown beam.
But the beam wasn't aimed at him. As he dodged aside, it struck the Goblin King directly.
[ +52 ] A green healing number appeared above its head. Its slashed eye healed instantly.
"You dare reject my kindness! How insolent!" Seeing Mysterious reject his offer and attack him, the Goblin King's expression twisted into a snarl. "Fine... If I can collect an Adventurer's soul, Lord Aidraite will be pleased!"
This goblin looked truly angry.
