Chapter 88: This Isn’t Cool Enough

For a while, the same thing kept happening.

The Red Goblins shot arrows at Revan, and Revan just stood there, not even trying to block them.

The result was always the same.

No matter what they tried, the Red Goblins couldn't pierce Revan's robe.

A ridiculous situation.

Revan couldn't help but let out a dry laugh at the absurdly low difficulty, all because of a single robe.

“This is unbelievable...”

So this is what they call being invincible thanks to gear.

With attacks completely ineffective, there was no will left to fight.

It was then—

Rumble, rumble, rumble...!

A sudden trembling vibration.

Turning his head, Revan saw that, with the tremor, the Red Goblins crumbled to dust and sank into the floor, disappearing.

And then, a thicker, deeper groaning sound echoed through the space.

“Grrrk, grrrk.”

Grrrk, grrrk.

The classic sound of a goblin scraping its vocal cords.

Turning toward the sound, this time, it wasn’t red but black goblins aiming their bows at Revan.

‘Ah, so this is that so-called master’s whim or whatever?’

Without a word, their color just changed.

What an unfriendly master, he thought.

Seeing the name tag floating above the newly appeared goblin’s head, Revan realized the difficulty had certainly shifted.

[Black Goblin / ???]

Naturally, there was no level indicator.

But he wasn’t too worried.

Just like with the Black Orc, the level would be about the same—only the stats were higher.

Before he could finish that thought, arrows whistled in from all directions.

For a moment, he tensed the hand holding his shield and his ankles, ready to dodge.

But then he gave up on that.

He was more curious about how much the arrows from all around would hurt than acting on his instinct to dodge.

So he let himself get hit.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A dull sensation.

The arrows hit Revan.

But again, they couldn’t pierce the robe.

The only difference was that, unlike the Red Goblins’ arrows which he couldn’t even feel, the Black Goblins’ arrows had a noticeably sharper sting—like someone tossing chopsticks at him.

There was another difference.

The arrows didn’t break.

That was the only real distinction between the Red and the Black Goblins.

Thwack, thwack!

The arrows were fired again.

But this time, he had to dodge.

Because the arrows were aimed at his face, not his robe.

‘My face is a problem.’

Since they were obviously aiming for his face, it was actually easier to dodge.

Revan twisted his head to dodge the arrows multiple times.

Once again, the vibration started up.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...!

As the vibration swept through, the Black Goblins turned to dust and vanished.

It seemed even the master of the floor found the Black Goblins useless.

It actually worked out well.

From Revan’s perspective, it meant he could shorten the time spent here.

The only regret was that, unlike on the first floor, there was no system alert announcing a new record.

It was then—

[Boss monster is being summoned.]

‘It’s here.’

Seeing a notification for the first time in ages since entering the Tower, Revan couldn’t help but smile.

Finally, things were about to get interesting.

Along with the news that the master of the floor had descended, that familiar raspy, metallic goblin voice echoed in Revan’s ears.

「Grrrk, grrrk.」

Revan’s gaze settled on a silhouette shrouded in darkness.

That silhouette was probably the master of the floor.

[Adjusting pain sensitivity.]

For some reason, this time, the notifications appeared one after another.

And as the system’s alert finished, the silhouette shrouded in darkness began to peel away from the feet upward.

Large feet and shins like dried firewood.

A protruding belly.

An unusually tall frame.

And the goblin’s signature long nose and pointed ears.

Finally, everything was covered by a mane of feathers like an Indian chief.

This guy was much taller than Revan, and his yellow eyes crossed with black lines gave off a strangely intimidating pressure.

[Chieftain Goblin / ???]

‘Chieftain Goblin, huh...’

A different name from Master Orc.

Since this entity had never appeared before, he’d assumed the word ‘Master’ would be attached to its name, just like with Master Orc.

But Chieftain Goblin?

‘Whatever. My view count’s basically guaranteed now.’

As far as Revan knew, even the top record holder for the second floor hadn’t seen the boss’s face.

In other words, Revan was the first to see the boss monster of the second floor.

Of course, the difficulty gap between the first and second floors was significant, but the Infinite Tower itself was really only popular for its first floor.

‘If you don’t make the rankings, you get no experience, and from the second floor onward, the difficulty is on a whole other level. Whether you prove your worth at level 50 or 60 or 70, it’s all the same. That’s why nobody bothers with the second or third floors. The value of a player is already proven on the first floor.’

The consensus in the field was that if you couldn’t prove yourself on the first floor, which you could attempt at level 50, then whether you’re level 60 or 70, it’s all the same.

So the Infinite Tower was always packed on the first floor.

「Grrrk, grrrk. Welcome to my floor, grrrk, human.」

Looking down at Revan with those ghostly eyes, the Chieftain Goblin greeted him politely.

What was this?

It was so different from Master Orc, who had immediately swung his fists.

Finding that awkward courtesy amusing, Revan decided to play along.

“Thanks for the welcome. I didn’t expect such a gentlemanly greeting, not like a certain someone on the first floor.”

「Grrrk, grrrk. You are the first human to defeat that one and receive the mark, so you deserve special treatment.」

“If you mean the mark, is it this?”

「Correct, grrrrk.」

At the mention of the mark, Revan pointed at his golden badge, and the Chieftain Goblin nodded.

It didn’t have any special options, but it seemed to carry great meaning in the Infinite Tower.

Rubbing the badge he wore like a hanger chief, Revan asked,

“So, is there a difference if I have this?”

「There is. A very big difference, grrrrk.」

“What kind of difference?”

「Grrrk, grrrrk. Those with the qualification are granted the right to ascend the Tower, grrrrk.」

“The right to ascend? Isn’t that something anyone can do once the time comes?”

「No, grrrrk. To climb the Tower within the Tower—the true Tower—you absolutely need that badge, grrrrk.」

‘The Tower within the Tower?’

Tower within the Tower? Even Revan, who prided himself on knowing all about Warlord, had never heard of that.

So his curiosity was piqued.

“Tell me more.”

「No, grrkk.」

“What?”

「Grrkk, if you want to know, defeat me. Don’t expect to learn much just for climbing a single floor, grrrrk.」

The Chieftain Goblin drew a line at Revan’s question.

As the master of the floor, it should have been a display of majesty, but to Revan it just seemed funny.

“Fine. Now this feels like a real game.”

If rewards are handed out with no price, what kind of game is that?

Clichéd as it was, the Chieftain Goblin’s provocation stoked Revan’s fighting spirit, making him grin.

‘Either way, I’m guaranteed a jackpot. The only question is whether it’s big or even bigger.’

The jackpot was already his, ever since he gained that new info about the Tower within the Tower.

And by skipping the Rainbow Goblin and Black Goblin, he’d lost several episodes’ worth of content, but in another way, he’d saved his stamina.

Before the battle began, Revan asked,

“Well, then, let me ask just one thing.”

「Grrkk, ask away, human.」

“If I lose to you now, what happens?”

「Defeat is defeat, grrrkk. As long as you’re given chances, you can keep challenging me, grrrrk.」

“So just losing to you doesn’t make me lose my gold badge or my ticket?”

「That’s right, grrrrk.」

“Okay, that’s all I needed.”

The phrase, ‘as long as you’re given chances.’

A good hint.

That was all he was curious about.

Having settled his curiosity, Revan spread his arms wide.

「...?」

The Chieftain Goblin stared at him blankly.

Feeling frustrated, Revan shouted,

“Aren’t you gonna shoot?”

「Grrrk, are you mad, human?」

“No? Didn’t you see what your underlings did? Why don’t you try it too? I’m curious how much your arrows hurt.”

「Grrrk, crazy bastard, grrrrk.」

“Enough with the babbling, just shoot already.”

「Arrogant human, grrrrk. You’ll regret this.」

“That’s for me to decide. Just shoot, don’t talk.”

Revan was dead serious.

This robe had blocked even the Black Goblins.

And the ‘Advanced Defense’ option attached to the robe was also on his leather inner armor.

That made him even more curious.

If.

If even the Chieftain Goblin’s arrows couldn’t pierce the robe, he’d have to rethink his whole plan—and maybe make things even more interesting.

At Revan’s provocation, the Chieftain Goblin brought his special weapon, the ‘Blowgun’, to his lips.

And then, with all his strength, he blew.

Fwoosh!

---

「Kuuuuu...」

Someone groaned from the floor.

It was the Chieftain Goblin.

Just like with Master Orc, he had lost both legs and was groaning, sprawled on the ground.

“Haah...! Haah...! Damn, this crazy bastard...! Finally took him down...!”

Breathing heavily, a man wiped the sweat from his chin.

It was Revan.

Revan was in as miserable a state as the two-legged Chieftain Goblin.

Flesh ripped and torn in places, fragments of the black armor he’d put on mid-battle.

The robe had long since become a rag.

And the ground under his feet was pooled with blood, dripping from his wounds.

And his skin—though mostly covered by armor—was darkened all over.

That was thanks to the Chieftain Goblin’s poison.

With his eyes half-swollen from the poison, Revan looked down at the Chieftain Goblin with difficulty.

The Chieftain Goblin gasped for breath and spoke.

「Grrrk...! You...!」

“What, what?”

「I admit... my defeat...! Grrrk...! Kill me honorably...!」

“Phew... No thanks.”

「What?」

“Why should I kill you? I’m not going to, you bastard.”

「What are you... saying...? Are you... mocking me...?」

“No, it’s the opposite. It’s me who’d be embarrassed. Shit, honestly, I thought I’d have an easy time, but you were really tough.”

「What...?」

“This just isn’t cool enough. So I’ll challenge you again later.”

「Grrrk! What do you mean by that! Grrrk! Human!」

“Shut it, see you next time. I forfeit this challenge.”

[You are currently challenging the 2nd floor of the Infinite Tower.]

[Do you really wish to forfeit the challenge?]

“Yup.”

[Forfeiting the challenge.]

[Because you have forfeited, none of your records will be recognized.]

After hours of brutal battle.

It all could have ended with one last blow.

But Revan didn’t kill the Chieftain Goblin.

It just wouldn’t make for much of a battle scene if he finished him off now and uploaded the footage.

‘I’ll make a comeback in style.’

If he posted the video as it was, it’d be a far cry from the overpowered character concept he’d intended to push.

So he decided to challenge again.

He’d gathered enough combat data on the boss in this fight.

Fwoosh!

Revan’s vision blinked out.

(Serial) The Mage Doesn't Hold Back His Power