Chapter 17 - The Boss Room

[Do you want to sell 'Upper Goblin Remains' to the Merchant?]

"As I figured. Selling items together, like the entire upper goblin and the item bag, is counted only as one sale.... That's useful and convenient, but I should get a lot more money if I sell each item separately." Kaito thinks aloud and looks at the corpse before him. "Anyway, I wouldn't have the courage to gut and sell the monster organs separately. I'll stick to the easier method at least for this kind of case."

Without further delay, Kaito sold the two corpses of the upper goblins he killed.

[You received 25 bronze coins from the Merchant].

[You received 25 bronze coins from the Merchant.]

By selling the corpses of the upper goblins to the Merchant, Kaito receives a few bronze coins for each one. Although it is not a significant amount, it is better than selling the things he has at home to get food. With fatigue weighing on him, Kaito decides it's better not to risk staying where he is any longer with the chance of encountering patrolling goblins. So he makes his way down the brick corridor, heading toward the mysterious light at the end of it.

The path is dark and surprisingly empty. However, all this quickly becomes irrelevant, because the sound of echoing drums are certainly more eye-catching and intimidating than the darkness surrounding Kaito.

Kaito continues to walk down the brick corridor toward the end, and his heart gets faster and faster and tension pulses in every fiber of his being.

Each step seems heavier and slower as if his own subconscious is trying to stop him. As he advances, Kaito keeps his hearing sharp and his senses on alert.

Reaching the end of the corridor, Kaito peers into the chamber that is revealed before him. His eyes scan the room quickly, taking in the details as he tries to analyze the situation.

The chamber is large and lit by the intense glow of flames. In the center of the place, the Shaman Goblin stands out with his sinister appearance. His scaly green skin glows in the light of the flames, and his eyes also emit a menacing red glow, with no pupils, sclera or any part that resembles an ordinary eye, just glowing like two light bulbs. In addition, he wears a hood, which covers part of his head, and he is much larger physically even than the upper goblins, who become small next to him.

Around the Shaman, several other goblins are present, each with its own peculiar appearance. Some have less greenish skin, have sharp fangs and other ordinary goblins carry improvised spears and shields. All are dancing near the center, for some reason.

Kaito's eyes meet his group mates as he scans the room with a glance.

Lord Ishikawa looks exhausted and has a lot of blood running down his head. Yet he still seems conscious as he is tied to a stake, protected by some superior goblins.

Maya, Ayumi, and Borja are a little to the side, all with gags over their mouths and ropes binding their limbs. They are inside a reinforced wooden cage and seem to be just waiting for the Shaman to finish preparing whatever it is he is preparing in the large metal cauldron in the center of the chamber.

As Kaito contemplates this whole situation, he feels more than a simple shiver as he felt before, he feels a mixture of fear, anger, concern and determination. The hope that everyone can still get out of this awakens an inner fire in Kaito.

The tension in the air is palpable, the drums echo louder and louder, increasing Kaito's anxiety, as well as causing sound pollution that contrasts with the chaotic visuals. He knows he must act quickly and carefully if he is to have any chance of saving his companions and facing the powerful Shaman Goblin, but all this noise gets in the way of his thoughts.

Suddenly, his eyes are fixed on a nearby shelf farther away from the cauldron. This shelf seems to be full of jars and unknown objects. There may be something useful there.

With dagger in hand, Kaito assesses his position in the room. He watches the movements of the goblins around the Shaman and realizes that there is a gap in their vision, although they are always moving, a small opening where he can slip in unnoticed. So Kaito looks both ways and enters the chamber, stepping cautiously on tiptoe, trying to avoid being detected by the goblins and using the pillars to hide from the goblins who seem to be more on the lookout. He knows that his every move must be precise and silent, and his luck is that the goblins are not smart enough to suspect that he may have made it this far.

Getting close to the shelf, Kaito sees that the jars are much larger up close. These jars are almost the size of entire gallons of water, but Kaito examines them carefully, looking for something he can use in his strategy. However, all the labels are in the language of the goblins, and he is unable to understand. His fingers run across the cold surfaces of the different colored containers, until he finds a jar containing a shiny substance that he thinks he recognizes, and then he has an idea to check whether it is right or not.

'Sell.' He thinks, touching the vial with the silver, shiny substance.

[Sale of 'Sleep Potion' blocked. You do not own this item, so you cannot sell it].

A subtle smile forms on his lips. Kaito knows that this potion could be the key to creating a rescue opportunity for his friends, even more so in a large quantity like this. In Death Tower, this potion was the key to defeat the boss on the thirty-third floor, maybe it will also be the key to defeat this Shaman Goblin.

The only problem is that this bottle is too big and heavy to carry anywhere near the Shaman, so Kaito has to think of another solution.

After a few seconds, he comes to a conclusion. 'Maybe it is not possible to use this to finish off the Goblin Shaman, but I can use it to decrease the number of goblins and create chaos.' Kaito thinks and touches the wood of the bookcase to test something. Soon he hears the wood creak.

The creaking of the wood makes Kaito stop for a moment, fearing that the sound might alert the goblins to his presence. He stands still, waiting to see if any of the goblins react to the noise. Luckily for him, it seems that the sound has gone unnoticed by his enemies thanks to the incessant drumming.

Feeling a momentary relief, Kaito gets another idea thanks to the creaking of the bookcase, which demonstrates how weak this structure is.

'If I knock that bookcase down, it will cause a big fuss and even if I don't physically hit any goblin, they will come closer to check what's going on and if I'm right, at that amount the scent of that potion will be enough for them to have the best sleep of their lives.'