“Ah.”
The instant the enormous goblin statue began moving, I reflexively activated Sage’s Senses on it.
SHIMMER!
A translucent window appeared above its head.
[Lv 10]
[Hidden Boss]
[Goblin King Golem]
It was a Hidden Boss, an entity even more powerful than an ordinary boss.
Hidden Bosses were normally defeated through raids, and the rewards for killing one were correspondingly immense.
‘Good grief!’
My mind raced.
First, defeating that thing alone would be impossible.
My strongest means of attack was the Mythic-grade Thunderbolt.
However, the creature was a statue-type monster.
Since it was made of stone, it possessed extremely high resistance to lightning damage.
* Even so, if you strike it repeatedly, you should be able to destroy the ‘Core’ within it.
Destroying the Core of a stone-type golem with lightning magic?
Anyone who heard such a claim would scoff.
However, it might be possible if Sage’s Aura, weak-point detection, and the Mythic-grade Thunderbolt were combined.
The resulting attack power would be amplified to an unimaginable degree.
Yes.
If I had possessed enough mana, I could have attempted to defeat it alone.
At the moment, however, I barely had enough Magic Power left to use Thunderbolt even once.
Activating Sage’s Aura was entirely out of the question.
‘But I’m not alone here.’
There was Lee Naksu, who was Level 10.
Han Gain was armed with expensive equipment.
And although he was hardly reliable, Park Changwon was still Level 4.
‘If the four of us coordinate properly, we should be able to do it.’
After reaching that conclusion, I turned toward my companions.
Han Gain.
Lee Naksu.
They both had the same look in their eyes as I did.
Excellent. Let us clear this place properly—
Huh?
Wait a moment.
Where did the bald man go?
Overcome by an ominous feeling, I quickly turned back toward the front.
“Bwahahahahaha!”
There, I saw his bald head gleaming with greed.
He was chasing the Treasure Goblin, which had climbed down from the Goblin Golem and was fleeing toward a corner of the dungeon.
“The treasure is mine!!”
His voice was filled with madness.
Park Changwon’s eyes had already gone completely wild.
‘That lunatic!’
He was going to cause an accident!
I had a terrible feeling about this.
Yet, unexpectedly—
“I caught it!! I caught it! Bwahaha!!”
The Treasure Goblin allowed Park Changwon to catch it with suspicious ease.
At that moment, an inexplicable sense of wrongness chilled me.
“Skrrk, skrrrk!”
As though on cue, the Treasure Goblin released an ominous laugh.
[The Treasure Goblin has been captured.]
[All of the Goblin Guardians are awakening.]
[The Hidden Stage ‘Guardians of the Treasure Goblin’ has been unlocked.]
As the messages appeared before us, both walls of the cavern began to tremble.
RUMBLE!!
The walls split apart, revealing four more statues.
“Ah!”
“G-Good heavens.”
“Gasp!”
Cries of shock escaped us.
That was only natural.
The four newly revealed statues appeared identical in nature to the first one.
[Lv 10]
[Hidden Boss]
[Goblin Grand Warrior Golem]
[Lv 10]
[Hidden Boss]
[Goblin Grand Shaman Golem]
[Lv 10]
[Hidden Boss]
[Goblin Great Swordmaster Golem]
[Lv 10]
[Hidden Boss]
[Goblin Grand Fighter Golem]
‘Damn it. We’re screwed.’
Park Changwon had ruined everything.
We should have defeated the first statue before capturing the Treasure Goblin.
Because Park Changwon had been blinded by greed, all of us were now in grave danger.
[The entrance to the Hidden Stage will soon be sealed.]
[10, 9, 8…….]
RUMBLE!
Pitch-black bars began descending over the doorway through which we had entered.
“We have to escape!”
Forget the Hidden Stage.
Surviving came first.
One of those monsters might have been manageable, but five were far too dangerous.
“Let’s go!”
Han Gain and Lee Naksu agreed with me and immediately prepared to run.
WHAM!
“GUAAAAARGH—!”
With a sound like a drum bursting, Park Changwon flew toward us like a bullet.
CRASH!!
He slammed into the rear wall before collapsing to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
“Skree, skree!”
The Treasure Goblin laughed viciously, delighted by the sight.
I had wondered what struck him.
Apparently, it had been the Grand Warrior Golem standing beside the Treasure Goblin.
‘Is he dead?’
The thought arose when I saw Park Changwon lying completely motionless.
However, there was no time to examine him more closely.
[…6, 5.]
The countdown sealing the exit was still continuing.
Only five seconds remained.
If the three of us ran with everything we had, we might barely escape.
However—
“Ascender Park Changwon!”
Han Gain changed direction and ran toward him.
“Y-Young Lady!!”
Lee Naksu called after her, his face turning deathly pale.
“Mr. Park Changwon, wake up.”
Ah……
I could not help sighing as I watched Han Gain.
Apparently, she was not as coldhearted as I had expected.
POP!
GLUG, GLUG.
Wait a moment.
Was that a Subspace Bracelet?
When she rubbed the bracelet on her left wrist, a Health Potion appeared.
This was insane!
I had known she was wealthy, but she even possessed a Subspace Bracelet.
A Subspace Bracelet was an Artifact enchanted with spatial magic.
It was so rare that sellers could name practically any price they pleased.
‘That Health Potion looks Highest-Grade too.’
A Highest-Grade Health Potion also cost tens of millions of won.
Just how wealthy was her family?
Lee Naksu had also called Han Gain ‘Young Lady.’
As I had suspected, Lee Naksu undoubtedly had some connection to her.
He did not seem to be a mercenary.
Was he a bodyguard assigned by her family?
Perhaps they belonged to the same clan.
“Ugh……”
Thanks to Han Gain generously using the Highest-Grade Health Potion on him, Park Changwon survived.
That man certainly had a stubborn hold on life.
If we escaped this place, he would have to spend the rest of his life feeling grateful to Han Gain.
Yes.
Assuming we survived.
THUD. THUD. THUD!
Skrrrk, skrrk!
The five Goblin Golems slowly approached with heavy footsteps.
Behind them, the Treasure Goblin continued laughing with delight.
That Treasure Goblin’s constant laughter was becoming infuriating.
I wanted to strike it across the head.
Unfortunately, this was not the time.
[…3, 2, 1, 0.]
BOOM!!
[The Hidden Stage exit has been sealed.]
[The exit will open only after all bosses have been defeated.]
We had become rats trapped inside a jar.
THUD, THUD, THUD!
The Golems advanced from every direction.
A suffocating tension descended upon us.
“F-Fire Bolt!”
Unable to endure the pressure, Lee Naksu reflexively launched Fire Bolt.
WHOOSH!
BOOM!
An explosion erupted against the torso of the Goblin King Golem at the front.
The result?
A small scorch mark.
That was all.
“Ah—”
Lee Naksu’s face stiffened further.
He was still a Level 10 Ascender.
Yet his attack had been completely ineffective.
Then again, each of those creatures was a Hidden Boss normally requiring an entire raid to defeat.
Perhaps this result was only natural.
‘Should I have escaped when I had the chance?’
Damn it.
I had been just as softhearted as Han Gain.
I had no right to criticize her.
“G-Gather over here!”
At that moment, Han Gain shouted urgently.
The instant I heard her, I ran toward her.
Lee Naksu did the same.
“I’m going to use an Emergency Escape Scroll. Stay as close to me as possible.”
Oh.
She had one of those?
A Dungeon Emergency Escape Scroll.
It was a single-use item that allowed someone to escape from a dungeon during a dangerous situation.
Since it was practically an extra life within a dungeon, it was also extremely expensive.
So that was why she had run toward Park Changwon.
“I’m activating it now!”
Han Gain rubbed her bracelet, withdrew a yellow scroll, and immediately tore it apart.
SHIIIIING!!
Golden particles scattered like flower petals from the torn scroll and surrounded us.
[The ‘Emergency Escape’ Scroll has been activated. You will soon be transported outside the dungeon.]
[5, 4, 3…….]
Ah.
It worked.
We were saved.
Phew.
I repeatedly opened and closed my sweat-dampened hands as I released a sigh of relief.
I had tried my best not to show it, but I had also been extremely nervous.
Still, it felt somewhat regrettable.
Those creatures looked as though they would drop mountains of treasure if defeated.
We would probably never encounter them again.
Even so, nothing was more valuable than our lives.
I should simply be grateful that we had survived—
The instant I thought that—
HUM!
A cluster of purple light flew toward us.
[The ‘Dispel’ spell has been activated.]
[‘Emergency Escape’ has been canceled.]
“……!!”
“W-What?”
“T-That creature—”
When Emergency Escape was canceled, all of us were thrown into confusion.
“Skrrrk, skrrk!”
The Treasure Goblin burst into laughter once again.
It was the culprit.
The silver ring in its hand appeared to be an Artifact containing the Dispel spell.
‘You have to be joking.’
A curse escaped me involuntarily.
THUD, THUD, THUD!!
We truly had no time left.
The statues had already drawn extremely close.
We were only fortunate that Golems moved slowly.
Otherwise, they would have attacked us long ago.
“O-One more time.”
Han Gain withdrew another Emergency Escape Scroll.
SHIIIIING!!
HUM.
However, the Treasure Goblin’s Dispel Ring neutralized it again.
“Skrrrk. Skrrrk!”
“Ah……”
Unlike the Treasure Goblin, which was now beside itself with excitement, our mood resembled that of a funeral.
“I-I’m sorry.”
Tears rolled down Han Gain’s cheeks as she spoke.
“Because of my careless decision… I dragged all of you into this. I’m sorry. I truly am.”
Large tears began pouring from her eyes.
Ah.
This was difficult.
She looked so genuinely apologetic that I could not bring myself to criticize her.
Besides, I had remained here of my own free will.
I had no right to blame her.
“Young Lady, this is not over yet. It is too soon to surrender. If we avoid the statues and eliminate the Treasure Goblin first, we might find a way through.”
* It appears he has finally discovered the correct answer.
After hearing Lee Naksu’s words, Aleon finally spoke.
‘That’s the answer?’
* Correct. The Dispel Ring held by that goblin. You must take it and use it to neutralize the Golems’ Cores. That is the method for clearing this dungeon.
Good grief!
So that was it?
If that was the case, he should have told me earlier.
It might have been possible while the Golems were spread apart.
Now, however, they were clustered closely together and closing in upon us.
I could not imagine how we were supposed to break through their encirclement and approach the Treasure Goblin.
Even if we somehow managed that, there was no guarantee that we could capture such a swift creature.
“V-Very well. Then I’ll draw the statues’ attention……”
Han Gain spoke in a trembling voice.
She intended to act as bait.
It was obvious that she blamed herself for creating this situation.
Seeing her now, I realized that she was not a bad person despite the cold impression she had initially given me.
“Young Lady! You cannot. I’ll draw their attention instead, so please capture the Treasure Goblin.”
“No. I’m the fastest person here.”
“Even so, I cannot allow you to……”
Seriously, these people.
How could they continue arguing at a time like this?
I quietly clicked my tongue and spoke.
“I have another plan.”
“What?”
“……?”
The two of them looked at me in confusion.
My solution had been inspired by the Subspace Bracelet Han Gain wore.
They might not understand what I was about to suggest.
“Miss Han… Suyeon. Do you have any Mana Potions inside that Subspace Bracelet?”
I hurriedly changed course before accidentally calling her Han Gain and asked whether she possessed any Mana Potions.
“What? Ah, yes. I have plenty of Mana Potions. But why do you ask……?”
Excellent.
A faint smile appeared on my face at her answer.
In that case, the solution was obvious.
* Hahaha. Precisely. A man should confront his enemies directly.
My smile deepened at Aleon’s words.
“Then take out every Mana Potion you have.”
“What? What are you—”
“Hurry!”
THUD, THUD, THUD!!
The Goblin Golems’ footsteps grew even louder.
After seeing the resolve in my eyes, she finally obeyed my abrupt request.
SHIIIIING!!
Mana Potions poured out before me.
Wow.
Most of them were Mid-Grade Mana Potions.
There were also several bottles that appeared to be High-Grade or even Highest-Grade.
“I’ll borrow one.”
I hurriedly grabbed what appeared to be a Highest-Grade Mana Potion and drank it.
GULP, GULP.
Ah.
I could feel refreshing mana surging throughout my body.
So this was what a Mana Potion felt like.
The recovery was slower than I had expected, but my nearly depleted mana capacity gradually began filling again.
* Good heavens. Even after drinking a Highest-Grade Mana Potion, your mana recovers this slowly. Your Mana Circuits are so dreadful that they inspire genuine astonishment.
Oh.
So that was the reason.
I had wondered why even a Highest-Grade Mana Potion seemed to restore my mana so slowly.
“Skree, skree!”
The Treasure Goblin continued laughing mockingly while I restored my Magic Power.
Very well.
Let us see how much longer you can laugh.
‘Sage’s Aura.’
HUMMMMM!
A faint golden radiance began flowing from my body.
“Thunderbolt.”
CRACKLE, CRACKLE!
At the same time, emerald lightning manifested around my right hand.
“Huh!”
“Hmm—!”
Beside me, Han Gain and Lee Naksu released low exclamations, their eyes widening.
An extraordinary pressure began swirling around me.
“Sk-Skree?”
Even the Treasure Goblin stopped laughing and released a startled cry.
Hey, Treasure Goblin.
Can’t you feel the ground shaking?
The corners of my mouth curled upward.
I extended my hand and aimed at the red area on the Goblin Golem, which was clearly visible to me through weak-point detection.
Then I uttered a single word.
“Release.”
At my command—
KRA-KA-KA-KA-KRAK—!!
Emerald lightning filled the entire Hidden Stage.