"I wasted so much time collecting scraps when it was right here," I muttered, shaking my head. Still, I shrugged it off. Survival didn’t have time for regrets.
The next door loomed ahead. Beyond it, the Assassin Room.
I stepped through, and a chill swept over me. The room was a labyrinth of mirrors, their glass panes stretching from floor to ceiling. Dim torchlight flickered, casting jagged shadows that slithered across the reflective surfaces. My distorted reflection stared back from countless angles, each version of me twisted and blurred.
A whisper of movement cut through the silence. My stomach twisted into knots.
I sighed. "This is my least favorite room."
{What do you think? Should I activate turn-based mode?}
[Im questioning why you haven’t already. This is the deadliest monster on the second floor, and its instant kill has claimed more penitents than any other mob on the floor.]
"Well, I uhhh..." I floundered, the chill of the room seeping into my resolve. "Activate turn-based mode. Now."
The air snapped, and the world froze in place. A jagged, goblin-like figure loomed inches from my back, a rusted dagger raised high. Its eyes gleamed with murderous glee.
My turn began. My pulse hammered in my ears. The Assassin Goblin's jagged silhouette seemed to blur and shimmer, its edges dissolving into the mirrored shadows. I activated Aim, my vision narrowing as a golden glow centered on the creature's heart. My fingers itched on the bowstring.
Release.
The arrow shot through the air and struck true. The goblin let out a strangled cry, its body collapsing—
—only to flicker and vanish into mist.
An illusion.
A chill ran down my spine. A dozen reflections rippled to life across the mirrors, each one a perfect copy of the goblin. Each one poised to strike.
"Scan!" I shouted.
The skill pulsed out, a wave of light bouncing off mirrors and twisting back at impossible angles. The room blazed with false signals—and then one ping stood out, just behind me.
My gut clenched. I spun and loosed another arrow.
This time, the goblin shrieked as the arrow buried itself in its side. Blood splattered the mirror, and the reflections shimmered and cracked.
But my turn didn’t end.
The goblin’s illusions swarmed around me, daggers flashing. I tightened my grip on the bow, my breath ragged.
It’s not over yet.
Enemy Entry 0014: Goblin Ninja
- Weak Points: Eyes or ears. Some enjoy one weakness or the other, but this one has both.
- Health: 15/15
And then, they all froze.
The world stilled around me in that eerie, weightless way that only turn-based mode could achieve. The goblins' snarling faces locked into grotesque masks of aggression. Their eyes glowed, faint points of light piercing the murky shadows. The air felt thick, as if time itself were holding its breath.
Above me, Aurentum's inky black form pulsed faintly, his voice a smooth, chilling whisper. “Three pitiful constructs. I expected more challenging opposition. Do try not to disgrace yourself, Rod.”
I took in the scene, my pulse quickening despite the stillness. Three goblins, each one identical in their twisted, sinewy forms: jagged teeth poking from gaunt faces, clawed fingers curled into rigid anticipation. Their eyes—cold, malevolent, and shimmering with a weak-point glow—promised violence the moment time snapped back into motion.
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I wasn’t sure how I was going to figure out which one was real. My scan said it could detect the real one, but nothing looked off. Each goblin pulsed with the same faint aura of hostility, their weak points shimmering identically. No tattered cloak or misplaced limb gave away the truth.
My mind raced. Light-based skills would work. Yeah, great, except I didn’t have any. I clenched my teeth, muttering, “Figures I’d hit a puzzle without a Mystic’s Eye.”
Aurentum’s low chuckle oozed disdain. “A Mystic’s Eye wouldn’t save you from poor judgment. Perhaps if you relied less on fleeting fortune and more on observation, you wouldn’t need crutches.”
I shot a glare up at him, his crystalline form hovering with infuriating calm. “If you’re so wise, why don’t you just tell me which one it is?”
“That would defeat the purpose of your trial, wouldn’t it?” Aurentum’s facets shimmered with a dark gleam. “Besides, I already see the truth. The question is: will you?”
The frozen figures loomed like statues, but their menace was palpable. My fingers drummed impatiently against the wooden curve of my bow. I needed to end this before they swarmed me. I glanced again at my scan’s notification:
“Scan complete. Real target identified.”
Identified how? I looked closer. My eyes flitted from one goblin to the next. Their gnarled faces twisted with the same snarl; their eyes glowed with the same hateful light. I squinted until my vision blurred. Nothing.
Aurentum’s voice curled around my thoughts like smoke. “Look beyond the obvious, Rod. Deceptions unravel in the details.”
Wait. Something was different. I blinked and leaned in, focusing on their eyes.
The glow was the same, but the gold—the gold was wrong. The first goblin’s eyes shimmered with a bright, fresh gold, almost too vivid, like untouched treasure hoarded by a fledgling dragon. The second’s eyes pulsed with a duller, flickering hue, as if the light within was on the verge of sputtering out. But the third…
The third goblin’s gold was deeper, darker—like ancient coins buried beneath the dust of forgotten crypts.
Aurentum’s tone grew icy, a hint of impatience lacing his words. “Do not hesitate, Rod. Indecision is the harbinger of ruin.”
“Why would the real one hide?” I whispered, a bead of sweat sliding down my temple. “Because it’s trying to blend in. To look less like a threat.”
The silence of turn-based mode felt suffocating, like the world was waiting for me to decide. My hands were clammy on the bowstring. If I guessed wrong, the goblins would unfreeze, and I’d be torn apart in seconds.
“No pressure,” I muttered, trying to steady my breath.
Aurentum’s cold amusement sharpened. “Pressure either tempers iron or shatters glass. Which are you, I wonder?”
I drew the bowstring back, the tension humming through my fingers. My aim hovered over the third goblin, the one with the shadowed gold. It felt like aiming into a void, a gamble on a gut instinct. My heart thudded in my chest.
Time resumed.
The goblins lunged, their screeches tearing through the stagnant air. My fingers released the string. The arrow streaked through the chaos, a silver blur.
It struck the third goblin square in the forehead.
Critical Hit!
The goblin’s form wavered, its dark gold eyes flickering once before it exploded into a burst of shimmering mist. The other two goblins disintegrated into hollow illusions, their snarls melting away into nothingness.
I exhaled, my shoulders slumping as the adrenaline bled out of me. “Finally,” I muttered, but my victory tasted hollow. The maze loomed ahead, its shadows curling like tendrils of ink.
Aurentum’s crystal form dipped slightly, his voice an oily purr. “Barely adequate. Let’s hope your instincts last longer than your luck.”
“Thanks for the encouragement,” I shot back.
He chuckled, cold and hollow. “Encouragement? No, Rod. I offer only certainty… and certainty is rarely kind.”
I took a breath, deep and shaky, forcing the tension from my shoulders. The corpse of the real goblin lay sprawled where the arrow had struck true, its form crumpled, eyes dull and lifeless. The scent of rot and iron mingled with the damp air. For a moment, my gaze lingered on the remains.
A voice like fractured obsidian slid through my thoughts.
“Do not waste time with sentiment, Rod. The path ahead is relentless.”
“I know,” I muttered, tearing my eyes away. This wasn’t about pity. It was about survival. I knew better than to scavenge too soon. Organic matter would be more useful later, especially in this cursed maze where the boundaries of life and death blurred. I’d need it for crafting, for alchemical transmutations—or worse, for stitching myself back together if things went sideways.
Enemy Entry 0014: Goblin Ninja (Level 10 – The Third Tribe)
Description
The Poisonous Twin of the Goblin Trickster. Don't get hit unless you enjoy fire spreading through your veins while your organs shut down and you suffer incontinence. What fun! Oh, and he can make copies of himself.
Weak Points
Eyes or ears. Some enjoy one weakness or the other, but this one has both.
Stats
Health: 45/45
Vitality: 15
Defense: 6 (10 when guarding)
Item Drops
Gold
Amount: 15–55
Chance to drop: 75%
Poison Daggers
Amount: 1–2
Chance to drop: 24%
Antidote
Amount: 1
Chance to drop: 1%
Leather Quiver
Stone Arrow
Amount: 26/26
Condition: 1/5