blueteamnovel Chapter 86 Third Floor, Rare Item dropped.
Chapter 86 Third Floor, Rare Item dropped.
arthur darted toward the side, engaging a goblin cautiously.
his movements were slow, each strike and dodge designed to stretch out the fight and avoid drawing too much attention. "don't worry! i've got this one!" he called, his voice tinged with frustration to sell the act.
as gates continued to fend off the other three goblins, arthur couldn't help but smirk inwardly. 'he's doing well enough. this'll keep him busy while i take my time.'
gates slashed at another goblin, managing to wound it but taking a hit to his armour in the process. "fateless!" he shouted. "hurry up with that one and help me out over here!"
"almost there!" arthur replied, deliberately drawing out his engagement with the goblin in front of him. he finally delivered a stab, the blade sinking into the goblin's chest with a satisfying squelch.
the goblin crumpled to the ground, and arthur turned toward gates who was occupied after quickly picking up the dropped item. "one down! i'm coming to help!"
he darted toward the nearest goblin attacking gates, delivering a well-timed strike that forced the creature to stumble back. the distraction gave gates just enough breathing room to finish off another goblin with a heavy downward slash.
"about time!" gates grumbled, panting slightly.
...
with only three goblins remaining, arthur and gates took a moment to reassess the situation. the large goblin, clearly their leader, stood back barking orders at the remaining two.
"that one's a level 4," gates remarked, nodding toward the leader. "good thing he's just shouting and not jumping into the fray."
arthur gave a small nod, his expression calm. "alright, i can summon now, but only borak. hank's cooldown is still active."
"that's fine," gates replied, tightening his grip on his sword as he prepared for the next engagement.
inwardly, arthur's thoughts raced. 'borak's size will work in my favour. his large body can block gates's view, letting me sneakily pick up the items that drop.'
the final goblin, now visibly trembling, raised its weapon in a feeble attempt at defence. arthur gestured to borak, who charged forward with a deafening roar. the goblin let out a panicked cry as borak's tusks slammed into it, sending it sprawling. before it could recover, gates stepped in and finished it off with a swift strike.
-10hp
arthur straightened, glancing at gates, who was already examining the loot from the hobgoblin.
"looks like you struck gold with that hobgoblin. you got an uncommon item?" arthur said, his tone casual. "not a bad run."
"i wouldn't necessarily call it gold, i think silver would be better fitting. considering the price of that thing."
"let's see what's next," arthur said, gesturing toward the faint glow of a portal forming in front of them.
[you have cleared the second floor.]
[would you like to move to the next floor?]
as the glowing portal swirled with energy, arthur stared at it, his mind weighing the risks and rewards.
"just how many floors are there?" arthur muttered under his breath, glancing at gates. "the difficulty is increasing by quite a bit. it's a gamble."
gates nodded thoughtfully, his brow furrowed. "yeah, it feels like we're being kept on the edge. this could go either way. we quit now and play it safe, but we'll never know what rewards the next floor might hold. or we go forward, risk it, and face who-knows-what."
arthur tilted his head, considering the options. "i think the third floor will be tough, no doubt about it. but based on the progression so far, it seems manageable—if we put in more effort and stay sharp. plus..." he paused, a faint smirk crossing his face. "i should be able to summon hank soon. i won't be as powerless as i was earlier."
gates gave him a long look before nodding. "alright. let's do it. but if it gets dicey, we pull out immediately after clearing the floor."
discover stories with empire
"agreed," arthur replied, stepping closer to the portal. the swirling energy grew brighter as they both approached. without hesitation, they stepped inside.