Capítulo 17: Chapter 17: Fantasy Boss
I pushed the massive door open with a heave, and the hinges groaned like they hadn't been used in centuries. A wave of dust and grime erupted into the stale air, and the room revealed itself.
Great. A goblin convention.
How many were there? Thirty? Forty? Too many for me to count while I was also busy trying not to gag from the sheer funk of it all.
In the center of the room, perched on a throne that looked like it had been cobbled together from bones, sat their king—a bloated monstrosity of a goblin. Its pockmarked skin glistened with pus-filled blisters that popped with a squelch every time it moved. It was holding what had to be stolen loot—a sword that practically hummed with faint magical energy and a shield bearing an insignia far too noble for the likes of these creatures.
The crowd went silent when I stepped in, turning their beady red eyes to me. The king followed suit, staring me down as it rose to its feet. Its grotesque body jiggled with every movement, making noises that could only be described as moist.
It chuckled—a deep, wet sound that made me want to wash my ears out with soap—before it let out a booming roar.
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, rolling my shoulders as the black goo surrounded me once more, turning me to The Seeker. "I get it. I'm trespassing."
Without missing a beat, the goblin mages sprang into action. They began chanting in unison, their spells lighting up the dim chamber in flashes of fire, ice, and lightning. The temperature fluctuated wildly, with parts of the room warming to a swelter and others freezing enough to make my breath visible.
Dodging their attacks felt like trying to avoid raindrops in a storm. I jumped, ducked, and rolled, slipping past the melee goblins and their weapons.
Skirting the edge of the crowd, I took a wide swing with my longsword. The blade bit through three or four goblins at once, spraying blood like a macabre fountain. The survivors shrieked, their screeches grating against my ears like nails on a chalkboard. I kept at it, circling the mob and carving through them bit by bit, but it felt like I was bailing out a sinking ship with a teaspoon.
"This is going nowhere," I growled, leaping back to put some distance between me and the horde.
Gripping my sword with both hands, I pointed it skyward and channeled my energy. Energy lit up across my body, glowing brighter as I cast Tarukaja, boosting my strength.
"Alright, let's try this again," I muttered, leveling my sword at the crowd.
"Wind!"
A whirlwind erupted from the blade, carving through the goblins like a blender on overdrive. Blood sprayed, limbs flew, and the stench of gore thickened in the air. The cyclone tore through their ranks, leaving behind a pile of carnage that even I found hard to look at for too long.
But of course, the king was still standing.
It didn't look scared. No, it looked furious. Letting out another roar, it rallied the remaining goblins. They tightened their formation, the shield-bearers forming a wall in front while the mages took cover behind them.
It wasn't long before I realized—that was pointless.
Charging back into the fray, I swung my sword in a sweeping arc, tearing through part of the goblin formation. Their precious circle shattered like cheap pottery, and I slipped inside, going straight for the mages. Their heads rolled cleanly, their gibberish chanting cut short. With their ranged attackers down, I turned to the melee goblins.
The remaining grunts looked at me, their eyes wide with terror. It was almost pitiful. Almost. But whatever fear they had of me was nothing compared to the dread they felt for their grotesque overlord. At his guttural roar, they hesitated only briefly before charging at me, their resolve renewed—reluctantly.
Idiots.
A couple of wide slashes were all it took to finish them. Steel met flesh, blood painted the dirt, and just like that, their numbers were down to zero.
All that remained was their bloated, blister-ridden king.
He clutched his sword and shield, his piggish eyes gleaming with rage. Without waiting for an invitation, I dashed forward, aiming for the arm holding the sword. My blade struck—
And stopped.
The impact sent a jolt up my arm. It wasn't flesh or even bone—it felt like I'd hit solid bedrock. A physical attack annulment?
With a clumsy but effective swing, the goblin bashed me with its shield, forcing me back. That disgusting chuckle escaped its throat again, a gurgling mockery that grated on my nerves.
Was it the sword? The shield? Or some innate skill?
I was thinking too long. The goblin barreled toward me, slow but determined. I dodged easily, but when it slammed its sword into the ground, the impact split the earth beneath my feet, sending cracks spidering outward.
I lunged forward, grabbing its shield with my free hand. With a burst of strength, I tore it from the goblin's grip and bashed it in the face. Nothing. The strike didn't even leave a dent in its grotesque features. Physical attacks weren't the answer, and the shield clearly wasn't the source of the enchantment.
The goblin roared, swinging its sword at me in retaliation. I raised the now-useless shield to block, but the blade cleaved it in two with an ear splitting crack, making me retreat out of its range.
Pointing my sword at the creature, I cast a wind spell.
"Wind!"
A vortex of slicing gales erupted beneath its feet, shredding its blistered skin. Pus and blood sprayed in all directions, the stench nearly overwhelming me.
Even that didn't stop it. The king stood firm, its grotesque body holding together despite the carnage. It swung its sword again, a wild, earth-shaking slash that I narrowly avoided.
Time for Plan B.
I tossed my sword to the ground and leapt onto it, once again riding it like a wind-propelled skateboard. Circling the goblin, I built up speed, the beast watching me with mounting frustration as it tried and failed to catch me.
Finally, with enough momentum, I launched the blade straight at its chest, channeling wind magic into it as it flew. The sword struck true after the wind magic pierce through the physical attack annulment, impaling the goblin. For a brief second, it stood motionless, almost confused.
Then the spell detonated.
A storm of razor-sharp wind burst from within the creature, ripping it apart from the inside out. Blisters burst, flesh shredded, and the hulking mass of rot and rage collapsed in a pile of gore and debris.
I landed a short distance away, my body slowly shifting back to normal. The battle had been a bit surprising, but it was finally over. I walked toward the heap of blood and flesh that used to be the goblin king, my gaze lingering over its disgusting remains. It didn't take long to notice something glimmering underneath the gore—something that definitely didn't belong.
Reaching down, I pulled out what could only be described as an unholy necklace. It was made from teeth, nails, and what I can only guess were scraps of other strange creatures. It even smelled like raw sewage, which made me want to gag. The real kicker, though, was the faint hum of magic I could feel emanating from it. This was probably what had given the goblin king its strange immunity to physical attacks.
"Well, that's gross," I muttered, but slipped it into my pocket anyway. The reward, huh?
I took a deep breath. The trial was finally over. But there was one thing I hadn't figured out: the exit. I scanned the room, looking for any door, hatch, or even a magical portal. Nothing. Just blood and rock.
"Great." I sighed, realizing my only option was probably the book. I pulled it out of my bag, flipping it open to the most recent entry.
It had the usual run-down of what I'd done: clearing the goblins, defeating the king, yadda yadda. But then I read the last line, and for a moment, I thought I misread it.
"Ruichi had killed the Goborn King, and he must take its ears as proof of the bounty."
What?
I squinted at the page, double-checking. Yep, "Goborn," not "goblin." Whatever, same thing, I thought, rolling my eyes. But this line feels like a command more than a note on what I've done.
Turning back to the mangled corpse, I saw the king's head was half intact. I sliced off the king's ear, making sure to do it carefully, so I didn't make a bigger mess than necessary.
I looked back at the book. Another entry appeared almost instantly:
"Now, with the proof, Ruichi heads back to the entrance and goes back to the nearest town to claim the bounty. ~CHAPTER END."
"…Wait, what?" I blinked. "A town? Are you kidding me?"
Though the chapter had ended—at least, according to the book's note—I couldn't shake the uncertainty. Maybe this was my cue to leave. Or maybe I was supposed to wander aimlessly in search of a town.
I let out a long, exasperated sigh. Yeah, no. Even if I am supposed to stick around, how exactly am I supposed to find a town? The last thing I saw outside this cave was just an endless sea of grass.
Shrugging off the confusion, I decided it wasn't worth overthinking. If the book had anything else planned for me, it could try harder to make itself clear. I closed it and focused on getting out of this… scenario.
Almost instantly, the book leapt from my hands, hovering midair as its pages flipped wildly. Before I could even brace myself, the same strange force tugged at me, pulling me back into the swirling void of its pages.
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