"The legend... it was actually true..."
Akshi walked at the very front, gazing at the giant, illusory woman with azure light wings in the distance, muttering to himself.
"What legend?"
Lefiya and Tiona both moved closer curiously to ask. Immediately after, they heard the little Goblin ramble on.
"Once upon a time, in the forest, there was a golden rooster, a rainbow butterfly, and a young infant dragon. They were the three miracles created by the Mother of Darkness."
"Many other monsters also lived in the forest; they too were children of the Mother of Darkness."
"The monsters each had their own territories. Although they would occasionally venture into the lands of others, they mostly lived within the areas designated for them by the Mother of Darkness."
"Until one day, the King of the Goblins arrived."
"The King enslaved the Kobolds who also lived on the forest's edge and began to lead the Goblins deeper into the forest, for the deeper one went, the more of the Mother of Darkness's love one could receive."
"The golden rooster acknowledged the King and became his best friend. They killed the young infant dragon and occupied the depths of the forest, which were originally ruled by the Orcs."
"And the rainbow butterfly hid away."
"As the 'Azure Miracle,' it could neither harm anyone, nor be harmed by anyone."
"It sounds like a fairy tale."
"Hmm... Isn't this the story of your king's downward conquest... Wait! That golden rooster, could it be..."
Faced with the two girls' speculation, Akshi nodded.
"Yes, it is the King's strongest knight."
It was the "Golden Miracle" that guarded the [Circular Colosseum] and upheld the kingdom's dignity.
After hearing Akshi's words, Isagi was even more certain. The so-called miracles were the original "rare monsters," and the [Giant Treasure Chest] before him should be the "Blue Butterfly" that originally appeared on the 7th Floor.
According to the Guild's records, it was one of the very few monsters in the Dungeon that would not attack adventurers at all.
Its scales possessed a strong healing effect. It would often pass by suddenly, healing injured adventurer parties and saving many lives. Collecting its powder could also be used to mix potions.
Its drop item, the [Azure Rainbow Wings], was also a rather rare material with the "healing" trait.
Now, after the Dungeon's "drastic overhaul," had this rare monster become a friendly NPC?
They continued forward.
As the group drew closer, the giant female silhouette, originally composed of points of light, gradually and inexplicably became much more real.
Like a phantom under the faint moonlight.
The beautiful and enormous woman knelt gently on the grass, wearing a robe like light gauze, her pair of azure starry eyes lowered, looking down at them tenderly.
Isagi raised his head and found that when he looked at her, the four options didn't appear. He felt a little regretful.
Reality really isn't a game, huh.
"I am the Azure Princess."
"Adventurers, it seems my children have had some misunderstandings with you. Please accept my apology…"
Dots of brilliant light gathered before him, and in a short while, they condensed into a jet-black samurai longsword in the style of the Far East.
Giving a reward right from the start, how considerate.
"Blade of Myriad Skeletons: A longsword that carries countless sorrows and deaths, it is a 'Weapon Favored by the Dungeon's Dark Miracle.'
Through slaughter and devouring, it can continuously grow and acquire new power.
In the past, the azure light brought the hope of life, but now, it bestows death equally upon all living things.
Current Level: lv1
Current Trait: None
Combat Art: Death Sentence Declaration
· For a certain period, allows one to see the death lines on an enemy's body.
· The more severe their injuries, the higher the probability of death lines appearing, and the greater their number.
· Hitting a death line will cause massive damage.
(Death comes as scheduled, like a shadow. Even a king cannot avoid it.)"
Holy crap.
It looks awesome, like the kind of evolving "Divine Artifact" often seen in online game novels.
It can even be leveled up?
So, what does this 'Weapon Favored by the Dungeon's Dark Miracle' mean?
Isagi picked it up and looked at it for a while, then decisively put it away.
Since she gave it, how could he not take it?
"Those Hybrid Pallums, are they your 'children'?"
"My power constitutes their existence."
"The monsters have gone down the wrong path. To restore the former scene, I must grant them new life."
"But my power can only restore life, it cannot bring death. Therefore, I can only keep them from dying, letting them learn combat skills from it, and once again, carry out the mission they bear."
No wonder the Hybrid Pallum just now was so fragile yet so hard to kill. This "Azure Princess," who was called a miracle, was truly incredible.
But what kind of new life is this?
Wasn't the Hybrid Pallum just now hunting and killing other monsters everywhere?
"Death is not the end, adventurer. A monster that dies will be reborn in the embrace of the Mother of Darkness and return to its original state."
"This is a cycle."
Right, monsters do respawn, even the Floor Bosses, the Monster Rex. So if she kills monsters, it's equivalent to helping them respawn and return to their "initial state."
That seems to make sense...
Fine then.
It's none of my business anyway.
"So, what do you need us to do?"
"I would like to ask you to kill the Pale King, to let everything return to its starting point…"
…
The quest the Azure Princess finally issued was not unexpected. The final BOSS of the Goblin Kingdom had to be the [Pale King].
To this, Akshi, however, was very silent.
Along the way, he had both affirmed the King's achievements and had "a few words" to say about some of her methods.
Isagi was just curious, what kind of role did it play in this "story"? And to be honest, the Goblin Kingdom is in such a mess right now, what is the [Pale King] doing?
Isagi didn't believe for a second that once they reached the so-called [Kingdom Core], it would be a scene of peace. That was completely impossible—
They left the hidden room where the Azure Princess was.
She even considerately gave him a point of light to guide the way to the floor below, which was the 8th floor's [Kingdom Core].
At the same time, the next time they came, this point of light could also be used to find their way back to her grassland and forest.
Because he had accepted the quest, she promised that in the future, when he obtained a [True Miracle], he could come to her for help in imbuing it into a weapon or piece of equipment.
The former sounded like something only a powerful BOSS would drop. At present, that would be the "King's Strongest Knight" that Akshi called the [Golden Miracle]?
As for weapons and equipment imbued with a miracle, according to the Azure Queen, it would be something similar to the [Blade of Myriad Skeletons] she had just given him.
Fine then.
It seems she really is an ally, a very useful special NPC at that.
The party continued forward.
Guided by the points of light, they once again passed through the intricate caverns.
During this time, Isagi and the girls did indeed encounter a few more Hybrid Pallums, but these guys were now very fearful, standing respectfully to the side. It seems they had become "allies."
Very quickly, they followed a long, spiraling downward slope, finally reaching the bottom.
This area wasn't spacious, and not far away was a huge stone door.
He activated the lever on the side that served as a mechanism.
The stone door slowly rose, finally revealing its true appearance.
It was still a long, wide, and tall corridor. About halfway through, an elevator shaft recessed into the side appeared.
It was the same as the one in the [Management Layer] before.
In the center of the floor below was a circular stone door that "cannot be opened from this side." After activating the mechanism, the corresponding circular stone door on the ceiling would open.
Then, the elevator could go directly from the [Management Layer] to here... hmm, it could also go back to the Governor's castle where the Lightless King was.
Continuing forward, the end of the corridor suddenly opened up.
Grass and moss began to appear on both sides of the path. It was no longer the barren cavern of dirt and rock like before.
A pure white light, as faint as sunlight, fell from above the chamber.
It wasn't very bright, but it was far better than the faint fluorescence from before.
As the characters for [Goblin Kingdom · Kingdom Core] surfaced in his mind, the towering, pale city walls also appeared before him in the distance.
Outside the city walls, not far from where the few of them now stood, was a wide, crimson moat full of lava.
It seemed there was only one wide, high bridge that led into the city.
At this moment, the distant city gate was tightly closed, and one could see smoke and firelight within. On the city walls, the bodies of many Goblin soldiers, hung by the neck, swayed up and down.
The bridge leading to the city walls was also covered with the charred corpses of Goblins.
"How could this be…"
Akshi looked at the royal capital, which was clearly also engulfed in the flames of war and chaos, muttering in disbelief.
Isagi had guessed this long ago.
After all, with the outer tribes all in rebellion, it would be strange if there wasn't trouble within the kingdom itself.
But the question remains—
What is the [Pale King] doing?
"Isagi, should we go in and take a look now, or…"
Looking at the giant, pale city in the distance, the girls were all quite excited. In contrast, Isagi was relatively calm.
Especially, looking at the bridge full of charred corpses, and the scene that was somehow all too familiar.
"No, let's wait…"
The boy's words had barely left his mouth when a giant black dragon head appeared on the tower directly above the city gate. It had no wings; one could only see its massive, lizard-like body and its suddenly opened, gaping mouth.
A dazzling, crimson color was about to blot out everything before them.
Holy crap.
You call this thing an "Infant Dragon"?! That big head alone is four or five meters high, like a small hill!
The flames it spewed blotted out the sky, about to submerge everything before them!!
"Run!"
Isagi gave the order.
Everyone ran towards the tunnel behind them.
The crimson flames swept over, covering the great bridge and the small platform where the boy and girls had just been standing.
I knew it!
As the heatwave behind them disappeared, Isagi had already led Lefiya and the others back to the elevator shaft. He looked at Akshi, who had also run back with them, and it was clear that this guy had no clue either.
Going in through the main gate is impossible.
Let's go back and make a long-term plan.
Could it be because there's still a "side quest" that hasn't been done?
Isagi's party first took the elevator back to the [Management Layer], then rested for a bit. They went for another stroll in the [Hybrid Zone] on the 7th floor, getting all the "food" the old Goblin had requested and putting it in the large pot in Asfi's hands.
Then, the group passed through the [Meat Pit] again, returning to the town below the Governor's castle, and found the old Goblin hiding in the house.
"Ah, a delicious delicacy! The young people nowadays, they really don't understand anything, sigh... What a pity... a real pity..."
"Outsider adventurers, since you've already been to the [Hybrid Zone], that means the [Meat Pit] is safe, right? Good, it seems the chaos outside has come to an end."
"It's not that this old man is afraid, it's just that at my age, there's no need to be so reckless... Ah, right, right, I promised before, I'd tell you a secret."
"See that hole over there?"
The window was opened a crack, and from inside, a short, aged, deep green hand was revealed.
"There, right over there."
Following the old Goblin's directions, Isagi and the others did indeed see a small tunnel in the gap between the buildings not far away.
It looked to be about twenty or thirty centimeters high, probably just enough for a Goblin to crawl through—a "loli" type Goblin like Akshi probably wouldn't have to.
"That's a tunnel dug by the other Goblins, it extends to all parts of the kingdom."
The old Goblin said with emotion, "The King taught his subjects to be upright and full of courage, so whether it's where they live or the roads they walk, everything was built to be abnormally large. This was to abandon the bad habit of the Goblins of the past, who were used to hiding in narrow caves."
"But that's just what they say. Just like the kingdom's nobles nowadays, who are unwilling to become soldiers, many Goblins can't overcome their innate cowardice. So, within the kingdom, such tunnels are everywhere."
"I saw a guy hide in there before. It's been so long, he must be starving by now. Put this in front of the hole, it should be able to lure him out."
The old Goblin handed out a small bucket of "viscous liquid."
It was the nutrient solution from the [Granary] that Akshi had been eating back in the management layer.
So you did have food! And you still insisted on eating bugs?!
Could it be that Goblins also have pica?
Isagi was speechless.
Taking the nutrient solution handed over by the old Goblin, he thought that this thing should also be considered some kind of "quest item"? Then if he didn't do its side quest, he should be able to get it from Akshi and continue the quest, right? It's just that without the guidance, he would have no idea it could be used like this.
Pondering this, Isagi casually asked the old Goblin.
"Why did you hide before?"
"Why else, outsider adventurer, can't you see? There are rebels everywhere, the kingdom is finished…"
"What about the Pale King?"
"The King?"
From inside the window came what sounded like the old Goblin's mocking laughter.
"The King has long been dead!"
___
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