The next day, Itto, Amon, and Nils head back into the dungeon. After taking out a goblin archer on the fifth floor (yes, fifth), Nils suggests they call it a day. They’ve barely been down there long, but something feels off—goblin archers aren’t supposed to appear this early in the dungeon. And since they’ve already made decent coin, there’s no point risking it. Good call, because just a little deeper in, a monster was lurking that would’ve wiped the floor with them—especially with Rio off doing his own thing.
Meanwhile, Rio is outside the city, having a dramatic post-battle reflection session after his intense clash with Leonor. While they were evenly matched in spell casting, her wind magic made her zippy as lightning. Rio, sadly, doesn’t have wind magic in his toolkit, so he’s experimenting with alternatives. His big idea? Use his water jet spell (normally for swimming) to boost movement on land. First test? A bit of ice on the ground, a few jets on his back… and he barely budges. Majestic fail. He plans to try again with more jets, but first—off to the library for research on alchemy and demons. Because who needs leg day when you have magical propulsion?
Back in the city, Lihya (a.k.a. Lynn) is on a spell book scavenger hunt, searching for anything resembling that giant ice cube spell Abel swears he saw Rio use. Not even the forbidden books mention it, which means one thing—it’s probably an original spell. But one requiring a ton of mana. She’s still skeptical that Rio managed it so casually. Just as she closes her book, in strolls the elf girl Sarra, who greets Lynn like an old buddy. Lynn explains her spell-hunting dilemma, and Sarra offers to help—though she’s just back from a mission to the royal capital and running late for a meeting. Classic elf exit.
Meanwhile, the boys—Itto, Amon, and Nils—report to Nina at the guild front desk about their brief dungeon dive. She’s surprised they’re back so soon, but Itto explains and hands her the magic stone. Nina confirms it came from a goblin archer. On the fifth floor. Which is… not okay. She hurries off to inform the Guild Master (and thanks the boys for the crucial heads-up).
Upon hearing the news, the Guild Master is just as stunned—goblin archers shouldn’t show up before the tenth floor. He asks Nina how many high-ranking parties are currently in town. The options? Abel’s party, Crimson Sword, and the White Brigade. He tells Sena to summon them all for a serious meeting.
Not long after, Abel arrives—but he’s less than thrilled because he hears White Brigade will be joining, and their leader, Phelps, is not exactly his favorite person. Sure enough, Phelps is already there, smug as ever. After a frosty hello, everyone settles in as the Guild Master explains the situation: a rookie group encountered a goblin archer way too early in the dungeon, and it’s likely a sign of a coming Tidal Bore. It’s been ten years since the last one, so… yeah, red flags everywhere.
He offers both parties 100 gold up front, 200 more upon return, to investigate—not to fight. If they find evidence of the Tidal Bore, they are to return immediately. Once confirmed, the Guild Master will shut the double walls of the dungeon and call for reinforcements from the regional knights.
The Guild Master has already secured permission from the local lord to act, but he still needs to inspect the dungeon before making any major moves. So, he asks the big question: are they willing to take the job? Both Abel and Phelps agree on behalf of their parties, and the investigation is set for the next morning.
Meanwhile, Rio wakes up early with big nerd energy—he’s heading to the city’s Northern Library to learn more about alchemy. Ido casually mentions that only D-rank adventurers and above are allowed in, but no worries—Rio qualifies. Amon does point out that the real juicy stuff—like forbidden texts—is B-rank and up, so Rio shouldn’t get his hopes up about accessing those. Bummer.
Soon, Rio arrives at the Northern Library, which makes the Southern Library look like a corner bookstore. The place is huge, and he realizes he might need help finding the demon-related texts he’s definitely not supposed to be talking about out loud. Lucky him—right as he’s climbing the stairs, he runs into Sarra! Both are surprised to see each other, and the timing couldn’t be better.
Back at the dungeon, Crimson Sword and White Brigade are all gathered outside the gate, ready for the investigation. But right as the Guild Master is about to open the gates, Abel gets that classic “main character gut feeling” and stops him. He asks Lihya to use wind magic to scan the first layer of the dungeon. She does—and it’s not good. Over a hundred monsters are camped out right at the entrance. Translation: the Tidal Bore has already begun.
The Guild Master wastes no time—he declares a state of emergency and calls on every available adventurer to prep for battle. It’s all hands on deck.
Meanwhile, back at the library, Sarra formally introduces herself to Rio and is pleasantly surprised to see him again. When she asks what he’s doing there, Rio is about to say “researching demons,” but realizes that sounds… a little sketchy. So instead, he goes with “studying alchemy,” which, while still nerdy, is less alarming. Sarra is intrigued. Rio casually mentions he wants to build a golem someday—no big deal.
Sarra laughs, because that’s no small feat, but she offers to help him get started. She knows the library like the back of her elven hand. As they walk together, she asks if Rio likes reading. He says he loves books, but hasn’t had many chances to read lately. The way he says it, though, sounds like he just escaped a 200-year slumber. Sarra chuckles, but Rio just awkwardly changes the subject by complimenting her being an elf.
She admits it’s rare for elves to live in human cities, so yeah, she’s a little weird—but if staying in the city meant meeting Rio, she wouldn’t change a thing. Smooth.
While they’re bonding over books and awkward elf compliments, the dungeon situation goes full apocalypse mode. All the gates slam shut, and adventurers take their positions on the walls. Then, with dramatic timing, the dungeon’s main gates burst open and hundreds of goblins come charging out. Archers loose volleys of arrows, mages light up the battlefield with fireballs—it’s chaos. And it’s only just begun.
Whenever someone gets injured, they’re rotated out of formation for healing so they can jump right back into the action—like a battle royale with a healthcare plan. But with goblins pouring in like it’s Black Friday at a sword sale, even the Guild Master is starting to sweat.
Phelps tells his party to conserve energy, and Abel warns Lynn not to go full “mana maniac” too early. Sadly, they’re running low on arrows, and Abel is questioning how much longer they can hold out before the goblins start asking for autographs.
Luckily, a few moments later, Niels shows up with a few other bold (and possibly reckless) adventurers, hauling every arrow they could lay hands on—basically a mobile ammo drop. Along with that, Niels delivers a message from the Guild Master: once the smaller goblins are handled, Crimson Sword and White Brigade are up next to face the boss.
A few hours pass, and most of the regular goblins have been reduced to XP. Now, the boss is expected to show. The Guild Master gives the signal. Both Crimson Sword and White Brigade leap from the wall like synchronized gymnasts, with Lynn casting a magic spell to ensure a graceful landing (no broken ankles today!).
There are still a few goblins lurking below, so Abel and Phelps clear them out like pest control pros. Then it happens—the big bad emerges. But plot twist—it’s not one goblin general… it’s three. That’s bad. Three generals usually means there’s a Goblin King nearby, which is like a boss fight on “nightmare” difficulty.
Abel quickly forms a plan: he and Phelps will each take a general, while Ria and Sheena go after the third. Everyone nods like action movie heroes, then springs into battle. Abel dodges one of the generals and slices off its arm like he’s ordering deli meat. Victory seems close—until he senses something… off.
Suddenly, he shouts for everyone to get down. A wind slash tears through the air, instantly slicing all three goblin generals in half. Dramatic much? Everyone narrowly avoids becoming sushi.
The attacker? None other than the Goblin King, and this guy did not come to mess around. Abel and Phelps charge in. Phelps tries to spear him, but the king’s armor is tougher than overcooked steak. He falls back, realizing brute force won’t cut it—literally.
But Abel keeps going, dodges the king’s attack using his “Perfect Shadow” technique (probably trademarked), and lands a strike to the chest. It’s not a kill shot, but Abel never expected to solo the big guy.
That’s when he calls out to Lynn, who’s been charging a wind bullet spell like a magical sniper prepping the final shot. As Abel jumps out of the way, she fires—and turns the Goblin King into Swiss cheese, finally ending the goblin crisis.
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