What Do You Mean by That?

Leonar looked down at the white sphere in his hand and, after a moment of hesitation, whispered,

"What do you mean by that?"

The feminine voice responded immediately, as if it had been waiting impatiently for the question.

"It means you're dealing with goblins," she said sharply. "I've seen other groups of humans come here, full of confidence… only to be killed by these very goblins."

Leonar raised an eyebrow, gripping the sphere a bit tighter.

"But they invited us to play. They haven't done anything suspicious… so far," he replied, glancing around.

The voice let out a sigh, almost exasperated, and spoke again in a tone of clear disbelief.

"Are you really that much of an idiot?" she asked, as if assessing Leonar's intelligence. "To a goblin like them, the most enjoyable thing is stealing the 'wealth' of their victims. And when humans arrive without anything valuable, these goblins put on this ridiculous game just to savor the look of despair and disappointment on their faces…"

A chill ran down Leonar's spine.

"This… this has to be a joke," he said through gritted teeth, casting a distrustful look at the few goblins surrounding him and Damian.

"No, it's not," the voice replied firmly. "Make a contract with me, and I assure you that you'll be able to get out of this place alive."

Before Leonar could ask more, an even louder noise came from the floor above.

Now, more voices of men could be heard, mixed into a commotion of indistinct shouting and protests.

Damian, who had been frozen in place until then, began moving toward the stairs with hurried steps.

As he walked away, Leonar noticed the goblin he'd been playing with, who was calmly cleaning one of the prize tables, as if nothing unusual were happening.

The goblin's apparent indifference put him on high alert. Still holding the sphere, he decided to follow Damian.

'Damn…' Leonar thought.

Upon reaching the upper floor, the scene before him was chilling.

A group of men surrounded a body, a corpse lying lifeless on the ground with fresh blood still oozing.

The goblins watched on with total calm, and the goblin leader who had initially greeted them stood in front of the group of humans, his expression apathetic as some of them began raising their voices.

"What the hell is the meaning of this?!" shouted one of the men, his face twisted with fury.

"Why did you do this?!" snapped another, glaring at the goblin leader with clenched fists.

One of the men, more impulsive than the others, took a step forward with obvious intent to fight.

"This is insane! Give us our weapons back and let us out of here!"

'What? They took their weapons? When did that happen?'

Leonar hadn't noticed that no one else had any weapons on them either, as he'd lost his own in that large water pit.

The goblin leader raised a hand calmly, his yellow eyes glinting with a mocking shine as the humans seemed to lose their composure.

"Isn't this what you humans call… a price?" His voice was raspy, carrying a calm tone. "The tokens we gave you represent your chances. If you wish to redeem them to leave this place, you'll need to win enough to cover your exit."

The tension in the air increased as the goblin continued speaking, and none of the humans dared interrupt him.

"However," he added, with a sinister smile, "if you lose all your tokens… well, then you'll lose your lives as well."

A wave of disbelief swept through the group as the goblins began dragging the corpse away, leaving a trail of blood in their wake.

One of the men, visibly disturbed, pointed shakily at the scene.

"Hey! Look at what they're doing! They're taking the body!"

However, most of those present seemed more focused on processing what the goblin had said.

At that moment, the feminine voice echoed in Leonar's mind once again, filled with disdain.

"These goblins are full of lies. I've never seen a human leave here alive, so don't even think about playing along. This is a trap."

Leonar tightened his grip on the sphere in his hand, and, focusing, activated his ability.

All the goblins around him had a faint yellow hue in his perception; none had shifted to red.

'Seriously… I really need to study this ability more,' Leonar thought, realizing he still didn't understand much about his skill, as he'd only used it for games so far.

The goblin leader stepped forward, gesturing toward the hourglass hanging on the wall.

Part of the time had already passed, and the sand was falling quickly.

"You have until the time runs out," he declared with a sly smile. "At the end, anyone who has accumulated enough tokens will be allowed to leave freely. Those who don't… will face the consequences."

Around him, several of his companions began to disperse—some headed to their game tables with interest, while others stayed, exchanging worried glances.

A small group approached the goblin to complain, still indignant, but it didn't seem like they'd get a satisfying answer.

The feminine voice resurfaced in his mind.

"What will you do now?" she asked, almost as if evaluating his resolve.

Leonar lowered his gaze to the white, metallic sphere he held, still not fully understanding its nature. He turned it a bit in his hand and whispered, almost cautiously,

"What exactly do you mean by a contract?"

If there was one thing to always be cautious of, it was signing a contract.