Gilidore's Plea

Ding! Congratulations, you have defeated 'Goblin Foreman Rthuja'!

Ding! You have been awarded 2,880 EXP!

Loot Drop:

-x6 silver coins

-Foreman's Gloves

-Miner's Pickaxe

-Goblin's Essence

Izroth began to look through his loot and the first thing that he picked up was the silver coins. He smiled when he saw the amount he received, 6 silver coins! That was a huge gain for him at the moment, after all, he did not even have 10 silver to his name before this! The following item that Izroth collected from the loot drop was the 'Foreman's Gloves'. They looked exactly like those on the hands of the 'Goblin Foreman Rthuja' that he had just fought against. As he scrutinized the gloves, he did not have any major reaction to it.

Armor Name: Foreman's Gloves

Armor Rank: Uncommon

Armor Level: 10

Armor Type: Leather

Requirements: 30 Attack

ATK: 10

DEF: 10

Izroth put the 'Foreman's Gloves' into his inventory and equipped them instantly since he had nothing else on his hands.

Although it did not have any type of special effect or an active skill attached to it, it still gave him a +10 stat increase to his attack and defense. It was not as good as his necklace accessory, but it was better than nothing.

The next item was the 'Miner's Pickaxe'.

Weapon Name: Miner's Pickaxe

Weapon Rank: Common

Weapon Level: 1

Requirements: None

Attack Damage: 1

Miner(Passive) - The user of this pickaxe gains the ability to mine ores and minerals.

Mine ores and minerals? Izroth searched through the memories of the hardcore gamer within him and came to a brief understanding of what this item's function was. In fact, he had already come up with the same conclusion but just wanted to make sure he was correct. This item would allow him to gather materials that could be used in crafting different weapons and armors.

Izroth simply sat the 'Miner's Pickaxe' in his inventory to deal with later. Izroth did not believe that he would be mining ores any time soon. He had too much to accomplish and mining was not exactly at the top of his priority list.

The last item Izroth picked up from the loot drop was 'Goblin's Essence'.

Crafting Material: Goblin's Essence

Details: The essence of a goblin that has been developing within its host. This material is an ingredient for different types of potions.

Izroth put the 'Goblin's Essence' into his inventory as well. He would most likely never use it himself, but he decided to keep it because it may hold some value. Ultimately, it was still an ingredient that was used in making potions, a lifesaving item!

After gathering all the loot dropped from the 'Goblin Foreman Rthuja', Izroth looked towards the multiple entrance ways located on the opposite side of the cave from where he entered. In total there were six entrances and they all looked the exact same from the outside.

Izroth walked closer to the six entranceways before he stopped to ponder for a bit. Maybe this was some type of puzzle he had to solve before advancing? Or perhaps they led to different locations throughout the caves? He might just be overthinking things and there was nothing special about these entrances, and they all ended up leading to the same place!

Izroth let out a small sigh, "There does not seem to be a difference between any of the six paths... Is there something I'm missing? Or am I really just overthinking it after all...?" Izroth mumbled to himself.

He decided to reluctantly give up and just choose a path at random. He walked towards the fourth path and entered inside. Izroth could not see anything as it was pitch black, however, he stayed on full alert while taking his time to walk through the passageway.

After around 1 minute of walking, he finally saw some light in the distance. But the strange thing was, it seemed like sunlight!

"Did I find my way to the exit?" Izroth frowned but continued walking until he finally left the passageway. When he saw the sight before him, his eyes slightly narrowed. What was this place? It was not the outside, but there was something shining down light as though it were the sun itself.

When Izroth looked to his left and right he could see in total another five exits that looked just like the one he had come out of.

"So you would arrive at the same destination no matter which path you chose" Izroth felt a bit embarrassed about being so indecisive in his choice. Little did he know that the other five paths were filled with all kinds of traps and hidden dangers. There was only one safe path and that was the fourth path that Izroth selected! How lucky!

In front of Izroth was an area filled with stones of different sizes and shapes. Some of them were big enough to be called boulders, while others were small enough to be considered just a normal stone. On those stones though, no matter how big or small, they all shared a similar carving of strange symbols. Izroth had no idea what those symbols meant, but for some reason, he had a very foreboding feeling.

Izroth had a feeling that these stones might be related to the 'Mysterious Goblin' he was supposed to eliminate. He was not completely sure, it was just a hunch he had.

Not too far away there was a large open building with no roof over it. Two creatures were standing guard in front of the only way to enter inside. They looked just like the 'Goblin Worker' except they were of similar size to the 'Goblin Foreman Rthuja', only a bit shorter and much bulkier.

Name: Goblin Soldier(Elite)

Level: 11

HP: 1,800/1,800

ATK: 160

DEF: 60

AGI: 70

MAG: 0

Skills:

Smash(Active): Deals 120% of goblins attack as damage. Has a small chance of stunning the target for 1 second.

Club Swing(Active): Deals 100% of goblins attack as damage to all enemies in front of them. Has a small chance of knocking back the targets.

"Elite?" Izroth had already seen a boss monster and a normal monster, but this was his first time seeing an elite monster. From the stats it had, it seemed to be something that was in-between a normal monster and a boss monster!

"I wonder if the loot it drops is any good.." Izroth thought to himself as he was preparing to engage in a battle. But after only taking a few steps in the direction of the 'Goblin Soldiers', he heard a voice call out to him, "Wait! Please wait! Are you an adventurer?!"

Izroth was flabbergasted by a voice calling out in his direction from seemingly nowhere. He looked around before his eyes landed on someone hiding behind one of the many large rocks. There was a head peeking out from behind it and it belonged to a human! Was there another player here before him? Izroth frowned because just a few moments ago he did not sense any presence around him, the fact that this person could hide from his range of perception meant that he was incredibly skilled.

The person who called out to Izroth stepped out from behind the large rock but still remained hidden from the sight of the 'Goblin Soldier' monsters as though they did not want to be discovered. "Please, you must help me, fellow adventurer! My name is Gilidore, and there is something I must get back no matter what!"

Izroth laid his eyes upon the person who approached him. It turned out to be a male who was almost six feet tall, had crimson red hair, light gray eyes and a cape on his back. Though what caught Izroth a bit off guard was the character information displayed before him. At least it explained why he did not discover this person with his incredible senses.

NPC Name: Gilidore (Elite)

NPC Level: ???

Izroth frowned, "Why do you need my help?"

This was the first time Izroth had seen the level '???' since he fought against the world boss 'Shadow Wolf'. That had to mean that this NPC was incredibly strong! But if that were the case, why would it need his help to get something back?

"Please, you must! If they discover the true power of the item they've stolen, it could mean the destruction of all the nearby villages and towns! Fellow adventurer, you must assist me in retrieving that item at all cost!" Gilidore said while pleading in a serious tone.

Izroth suddenly received a message from the system!

Ding! You have received a quest!

Ding! Since you are not in a party, the quest rank has been increased!

Ding! Do you wish to accept the quest?

Quest Name: Relic of Power

Recommended Level: 10

Recommended Party Size: 4-5

Quest Rank: A

Quest Objective: The goblins have stolen a precious relic of power that contains an untapped and mighty energy. If this energy is harnessed properly, it can grant its user great and unforetold power!

Time Limit: 2 hours

0/1 Find the location of the stolen 'Relic of Power' before its secrets are uncovered.

0/1 Return the 'Relic of Power' to Gilidore.

Reward:

-x8 silver coins

-Gilidore's Cape (Uncommon)

-???

When Izroth saw the rewards a smile instantly arrived on his face. Even though Izroth could not see one of the rewards when it showed as '???' that meant it had to be something good!

"I will help you recover the lost relic, I accept" Izroth said with a firm resolve.

Ding! The quest 'Relic of Power' is now active in your quest logs!

Ding! The quest time limit of 'Relic of Power' has been started! 2 hours remaining!

"We must hurry! I'll take care of distracting those two 'Goblin Soldiers' while you go ahead. I'll soon catch up with you! Remember, we do not have a lot of time left before its too late!" Gilidore seemed elated at the fact he had finally found some help.

Gilidore then turned around and while using the giant stones as cover, increased the distance between him and Izroth but decreased the distance between himself and the 'Goblin Soldiers'. There was a little sack attached to Gilidore's waist as he reached inside and pulled out two small sphere shaped items. Gilidore tossed the two small sphere shaped items directly at the feet of both the 'Goblin Soldiers' standing guard.

The 'Goblin Soldiers' looked down at the small round object at their feet. They began to speak in an incomprehensible language to one another as though they were trying to discover what those objects were. One of the 'Goblin Soldiers' reached down to pick up the item sniffing it a few times and was just about to eat it when all of a sudden the two small objects blew up in their faces!

"BOOM!"

Although the explosion wasn't huge, it was enough to absolutely enrage both of the 'Goblin Soldiers' as they waved around their large clubs in an enraged manner.

Gilidore knew that goblins were simple-minded creatures. There were some rare variants, but most had the intelligence of a child or worse. He was aware that those miniature explosive spheres would cause them to be infuriated!

Gilidore stepped out from hiding behind the stones and waved in the direction of the 'Goblin Soldiers'. "Heeeeeeeeey! Over here! What's the matter? Afraid of a little explosion? Hahahaha!" Gilidore blatant behavior caused the furious 'Goblin Soldiers' to rush over towards him. But the closer they got, the further he retreated making them chase after him. Not too long after, the entrance to the building was clear of guards.

Izroth felt a bit of regret, "Those monsters probably gave quite a good amount of EXP and loot...". He had yet to fight against an elite monster, but with a title like 'Elite' how could it not give good rewards?

Izroth could only continue onward. Besides, he still had the rewards from the quest to look forward to! Not too long after he arrived at the entry point of the large building with no roof and took a look inside to see no monsters guarding the hall entering into it.

Izroth walked inside of the hallway and came to a wooden door, and on it was a sign with writing. But the writing was not in some weird or strange goblin language, it was actually in human language!

'Beware! I know foolish humans will try to stop! But cannot! Humans know not power! Humans waste! Power will make king!'

The sentence was a bit choppy and hard to understand. In the writing, it kept referring to humans as though it were not one of them. Could it be that this was a goblin's writing?!

Izroth was fairly surprised by the writing but understood what the basic message behind it was. "Maybe that goblin is the one who has the relic of power..." Izroth thought to himself. However, he would not get answers standing out here.

Izroth finally pulled open the door to the building while remaining on guard.

Swoooooooosh!

PARRIED!

-90 HP!

410/500 HP Remaining! (Izroth)

An arrow had flown out and struck Izroth! Even though he was on guard and managed to draw his 'Nameless Blade' in time to parry it, the arrow still dealt a good amount of damage!

Izroth eyes turned cold as he looked towards where the arrow had shot out from within the inside of the building.

Creeeeeeeeeek...

Izroth heard that strange noise and knew instantly what had attacked him... A goblin!

Name: Goblin Archer(Elite)

Level: 11

HP: 1,500/1,500

ATK: 150

DEF: 45

AGI: 80

MAG: 0

Skills:

Piercing Arrow(Active): Deals 110% of the goblin archer attack as damage. Ignores some physical defenses.

Arrow Rain(Active): The goblin archer releases a hail of arrows dealing 75% of the goblin archer attack as damage every 1 second to all enemies within the arrow rain's range. Last 5 seconds.