"Don't kill me... don't kill me... I'm a member of the Deminix family, you can't kill me..."
In a corner of the great hall.
A Goblin, clad in magnificent but obviously ill-fitting golden armor with a helmet adorned with colorful feathers, shivered behind a pile of "Goblin fragments."
It realized it had been discovered.
The trembling Goblin tried to draw the shortsword at its waist, which was similarly laden with all sorts of jewels and gold and silver ornaments, but after struggling for a long time, its stiff body couldn't perform the desired action. In the end, it could only plop down on the ground, clutch its head, and start crying.
"..."
When Isagi came over, he happened to hear the Goblin's extremely unpleasant crying.
Lefiya and Tiona had just habitually circled the hall, hoping to find something else of value, and ended up finding this fellow in the corner.
The Goblin before them was quite short, even smaller and thinner than its normal kin, a fact that remained true even while wearing heavy full-plate armor. It looked like a miniature golden figure, twenty or thirty centimeters tall. Isagi even wondered if the creature could even hit his knees if it jumped.
Seeming to realize they weren't the ones it feared, the short, gold-armored Goblin slowly climbed up from the ground, gave a few feigned coughs to clear its throat, and then continued speaking with its hands behind its back.
"I am Akshi Deminix, a member of the kingdom's high nobility. My ancestors followed the King's wars of conquest, forcing the kings of the outer tribes to kneel in submission..."
The little Goblin named Akshi began to ramble on, describing how heroic its ancestors were.
However.
Tiona interrupted the fellow.
"So what are you doing here?"
"I... I, of course... became a soldier... like my family's ancestors... Uh... erm... alright, I admit it, I was forced to become a soldier! Damn it, who would want to come to a place like this! I had the misfortune of being given the opportunity to join the kingdom's army, so I was dragged here."
"What happened here?"
"I don't know. We were supposed to receive training here, then head to the border fortress to relieve the guard. But overnight, everyone went crazy. There was blood everywhere. Those bastards from the outer tribes are all traitors! They killed all the Goblins! The King won't let them get away with it!"
It said, filled with righteous indignation.
But the next second, the Goblin changed its tune.
"In any case, regardless of what happened, I want to go home now, back to my mother. If you're willing to help, adventurers, the Deminix family will not treat its guests poorly."
"..."
"The top of the kingdom is the border fortress. Here, and below, and even further below, are all the [Outer Dwellings] of the other tribes. Only by continuing further down can one reach the [Kingdom's Core]..."
Following Akshi's words.
Isagi did a quick mental calculation. It seemed the 5th, 6th, and 7th Floors were the [Outer Dwellings], and the [Kingdom's Core] was from the 8th Floor onward.
However.
"Isn't there a [Circular Arena] here?"
"That's a place for the nobles' entertainment. Inside, there's an elevator that goes straight to the [Kingdom's Core]. It's completely isolated from this area, and no outsiders would dare cause trouble there, because the King's strongest knight stands guard."
Oh, so clearing the Colosseum would also open a shortcut.
"I advise you adventurers not to get any ideas about that place. The King's strongest knight is someone that even the defeated kings of the outer tribes dare not provoke lightly..."
"Boss Isagi, this guy's armor looks like it's worth a lot of money!"
Tiona wasn't listening to it at all. Instead, she gave the creature a tentative kick, as if wanting to confirm whether the armor was solid gold or just for show.
It had to be said. The Goblin's glittering golden armor, though now stained with some blood, was indeed quite dazzling. Of course, there was no way any of them could wear it.
But it wouldn't be bad to take it back and melt it down, or maybe just keep it as a golden figurine.
"It seems so."
"Right, boss!"
"It looks pretty heavy, too."
A full suit of solid gold armor would be worth a fortune in the city. Even Lefiya was tempted, the girl thinking about how many Magic Stones Isagi would have to dig up to match its value!
To this.
The Goblin, which had still been explaining the quest, was dumbfounded.
"Wh-what are you trying to do?!"
"Nothing. You can continue."
Isagi seriously considered the Amazon's proposal, but ultimately decided it was best not to act against the creature for now, lest it affect the subsequent questline.
Besides...
If they really wanted it in the end, they could just force it to take it off.
But this guy counts as a monster, right? If it died, would the Dungeon reclaim this suit of armor?
"First, go to the governor's room and bring back my family's crest. Without it, I can't return as a soldier. Go quickly..."
"Oh right, take this."
Seemingly sensing the "dangerous" gazes from the boy and girls, the short Goblin Akshi quickly issued its request.
"It will prevent those lightless bastards from the outer tribes from seeing you through rooms or walls."
[Stone That Obscures the Lightless]:
A type of stone that can block "dark" magic, an indispensable resource for the kingdom's army in the past.
Goblins are born from the edge furthest from the darkness. The King's arrival united all Goblins, and they began their conquest downwards.
The Pale King always challenged the other tribal kings honorably, but if the opponent harbored reservations, he had no choice but to use special means...]
Looking at the stone's description.
Isagi felt a bit awkward. Was the Pale King also a despicable outsider? Challenging others honorably on one hand, while using little trinkets to weaken or even disable their abilities on the other?
He took the few small, jet-black stones offered to him.
Isagi suddenly recalled how he and the girls had just passed through the corridor and were promptly "apprehended" by the Lightless King.
He thought to himself. So without this kind of stone, those special War Shadow monsters and their clan's Lightless King can see his and the girls' position at any time?
It seems this is a very important item.
And the reason this Goblin NPC was still alive was probably because it had these stones on its person, so the War Shadows couldn't find it.
In that case.
Isagi stared at Akshi for a long while, and suddenly had a bold idea...
"What are you doing?! Let me go! You unreasonable adventurers, Deminix will not—aaahhhhh! Help!!"
Akshi's screams echoed through the long corridor.
At this moment.
In the corridor, Tiona had tied up the gold-armored Goblin with a rope and was dragging it along the ground, pulling it as it attracted a horde of monsters stampeding towards them.
And ahead of the Amazon girl, at the end of the corridor, was Isagi, using a charged battle technique, and Lefiya, chanting her magic.
"[Starlight Stream]!"
"[Fusillade Firebolt]!"
A charged beam of light plus a fiery bombardment. No matter how many monsters Tiona lured, they could clear the entire screen in the long corridor with a single blow!
This was the mages' way of grinding... ah no, this was grinding efficiency!!
Especially since.
All the stones the Goblin Akshi carried to prevent being "seen through" by the War Shadows had been snatched by Isagi.
The creature's presence was now like a beacon in the ocean, continuously attracting the surrounding War Shadow monsters to gather here from all directions.
In the blink of an eye, their adventure had turned into a "Defend Athena" mission.
But after a few rounds of this.
Isagi also began to feel a bit dizzy, a sign of mental exhaustion. Although he drank the mind-restoring potion Lefiya handed him, the post-climax emptiness still lingered deeply in his mind, difficult to dispel.
Heh...
So this is what it feels like to be drained?
It seems that while being a mage is great, he can't do it all the time. Isagi decided to use his charged ultimate magic less in the future and switch to his close-combat brawler form.
If Lefiya alone was mentally exhausted, he and Tiona could still take care of her.
But if both he and she were mentally exhausted, leaving Tiona alone, that would be terrible.
Also, this fighting style only increases the [Magic] ability score. Since he wasn't a dedicated mage, it was actually a poor trade-off.
And...
In the distant corridor, that familiar viscous darkness slowly spread towards them.
It's the Lightless King!
Isagi quickly stuffed one of the anti-vision stones back onto the little Goblin, then, along with the two girls, dragged Akshi and made a run for it!!
Now was not the time for a direct confrontation.
Just you wait! Once I find a suitable battlefield, I'll come back and deal with you, you cheating boss with your [Vision] and [Wall-Hacking] abilities!!
A long time later, after passing through one long corridor and spacious room after another, finally, Isagi and the girls arrived at the so-called "Governor's Room." The quest still needed to be done, especially since it seemed all the nearby monsters had been cleared out. Continuing to use Akshi as bait would only attract the Lightless King.
This place was also a mess. In front of the main gate, Goblins had set up crude defenses. Behind the cheval de frise and sandbags, blood was splattered everywhere amidst the fragments of Goblin soldiers and knights.
The door had been completely destroyed.
Inside.
Behind a luxurious long table, the fat Goblin governor, dressed in ornate robes and seated on a high chair, was also dead.
"Oh, my poor uncle."
Akshi, still tied up with the rope, moved about, wriggling on the floor like a caterpillar, letting out a feigned, sorrowful voice.
"The governor is responsible for training new recruits and sending them to the border fortress, as well as managing those damn outer tribes. Although the power is great, no noble is willing to give up a comfortable life to come to this hellhole."
"My uncle was smart and brave. He voluntarily took over from the previous governor. I never thought that..."
The little Goblin muttered to itself.
"Search carefully. When I came here, my uncle confiscated my family crest. It should be on his body..."
"Huh?"
Lefiya voiced her doubt at Akshi's "quest guidance."
"Why would your family crest be on your [uncle]?"
"Yeah, exactly!"
Tiona also jumped in, clearly finding it illogical!!
"By the way, did he even know he was your uncle?!"
"Don't tell me you stole someone else's armor and now you're planning to steal their family crest to pass yourself off as a noble and sneak back!"
"It was suspicious from the start! Why would getting the crest to prove your noble status allow you to return to the kingdom's center? Weren't you sent here to be a soldier because you're a noble? So there's only one truth! You're lying! You're not a noble at all!!"
The two girls' deduction was brilliant, rendering the short Goblin speechless in an instant.
The creature didn't even know how to refute them.
It could only repeat guiltily, "Hurry... hurry up. I'll guide you to the lower floors. Find the crest, quickly..."
Isagi looked at Akshi, thinking that this quest NPC's brain might have been fried by the two girls' reasoning.
Approaching the fat Goblin dead in its chair, he didn't even need to search. He took out a small knife and dug out the Magic Stone from its body.
As its massive body turned to dust, a small crest inlaid with a silver stone fell out.
Done.
[Crest of the Deminix Family: Goblins have no gender and do not reproduce. They are pure monsters born from the darkness. Therefore, in the dark age before the King's arrival, Goblins had no concept of family, only instinctively gathering together to form clans and the first kingdoms.
Until the King's arrival, constant conquests enriched the kingdom. Thus, at the King's decree, the warriors who participated in the wars of conquest became nobles. They formed families and continued their bloodlines by adopting young Goblins.
The King also believed this to be one of the ways to pass on strength.]
Nani?
So Goblins really do sprout from the ground.
Isagi didn't really care whether Akshi was a real Goblin noble or not. Perhaps, just as Lefiya and Tiona had guessed, the girls had pretty much just spoiled this NPC's side quest.
He searched the governor's room again.
Isagi didn't find anything else, except for a huge floor-to-ceiling window on one side of the room.
After uncovering it.
The undulating silhouettes of dark castles appeared right before the boy's eyes.
The governor's room seemed to be located in a high place on one side, perfectly positioned to overlook the descending towers, houses, and corridors.
And further in the distance.
A pale high wall was clearly visible, enclosing the entire city.
Straight ahead, at the end of his line of sight, within the equally pale and brightly lit circular arena, he could even see the restless figures of Goblin nobles in the packed stands, cheering and applauding.
The arena itself was like a small city, completely isolated from the surrounding dark castles.
"That's the place. From there, you can get to the floors below."
At some point, Akshi, still tied up like a caterpillar, had wriggled over. Beneath its golden faceplate, a look of sadness could be seen in its eyes.
Isagi couldn't help but be taken aback.
Can a monster even have expressions like that? he wondered.
___
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