"Purify!"
The word echoed across the tunnel as light won over the darkness.
Joy had to shield her eyes temporarily to not become blind.
When the light subsided Joy finally could feel that the Shaman had gone stiff, the grip on her arm completely loose as if all strength had been drained from his body. Looking at the monster under her she was met with a blank look, dangerous sensation of lightning on his other hand gone.
She didn't waste a second; the next moment she yanked her arm free, jumping back right in time as a guttural scream assaulted the ears of every person, and lion, in the vicinity.
The boss desperately tried to stand up but the spear had embedded on the floor, anchoring him in place. Joy became visibly coarsened by the sight, he was hunching so much in his attempt to escape she feared her spear would snap in two.
Her fears were proven unnecessary when, a second later, a bright red flashed on the corner of her eyes, followed by a surge of heat as a pillar of flames engulfed the boss.
"Not so tough without your power source uh?!" Mack shouted from behind, the smirk on his voice almost visible. She had to scratch her head as to what he meant by that, but it most probably had to do with what Gabi had done.
And talking of her friends, after finally having time to breathe Joy took a look around her, searching for them. Lud was resting besides Sal and Carol, both women up and drinking what Joy suspected to be a mana and health potion, respectively, if her friends' bitter looks were anything to go by.
'Do those things really taste that bad?" she mused while looking at the far end of the tunnel where she spotted Gabi. The girl was kneeling besides the now completely blank orb panting heavily, whatever trick she had pulled having drained her.
Jake and Leo rushed past Joy in a matter of seconds after the pillar disappeared, both going straight into work. The Thief aimed both the kukri and his dagger onto the shaman's injured torso, cutting as much as he could before falling back before the monster's arms could reach him. Leo, on the other hand, waited until the goblin had extended his arms to grab Jake, pouncing on them and biting with as much strength as he could muster, his teeth glowing a soft orange at the moment of contact.
The Boss screamed, wailed, whimpered and struggled, trying everything to break free and strike back at his assailants but the constant barrage of slashes and bites were making him loose too much blood, which coupled with the spear piercing right above his stomach and the loss of the Demonic Energy had completely drained him of what strength he had left.
The final blow came moments later, a thin sword piercing his forehead from behind.
As his vision began to darken the only emotions he could feel were hatred and a deeply rooted regret. Hatred for those who had stopped him from reaching his goal, who denied him of what he wanted, and regret for not being able to even glimpse at the treasures that the world had to offer.
*****
< Congratulations! You have defeated the Boss "Goblin Shaman"! >
< Your Party has cleared the Dungeon "Goblin's Den"! >
With the notifications the standing members slumped to the ground. The fight hadn't seemed so though, but it had drained their minds a lot, the feelings of dread, fear and a few others were weighting down on them after the rush of adrenaline from earlier.
The only two who didn't seem as affected as the others were Mack and Leo thanks to their experiences. Leo was a veteran, having fought battles way worse than the last one made it look like a walk in the park in his eyes, although he didn't like the fact that his powers were suppressed. Mack, on the other hand, had the knowledge of how the game worked, and because he saw it as another reality in a sense and had already went through a situation where his 'fight or flight' instincts had flared he didn't suffer so much of a mental breakdown.
The group stayed quiet for what felt a long time, but the silence was eventually broken by a very gamer like question, lifting the heavy mood.
"So, where's the loot?"
Not surprisingly, the one who asked was none other than Sal. The guy always seemed to grasp the right timing, or wrong one depending on who you asked, to shoot a comment that would either lighten the mood or annoy everyone present. In any case, the moment the remark was spoken almost everyone's head snapped to where he was trying to stand up, hand pressed against the wall for support. The group exchanged looks and burst into laughter.
Mack was hiding his chuckles with his hand, but the mirth on his eyes completely betrayed his efforts. He took a large breath to calm himself before jabbing a finger on the corpse's direction, the laugh still on his voice.
"If you want the loot so badly its right there, you just need to take it."
Sal looked at the corpse then blinked once, then a second time followed by a groan. "Aw man! Seriously?"
"Yup. We will have to strip the guy to get the loot," the happy atmosphere became divided by one of disgust and shudders, but there was no denying they were going to laugh their asses off of whoever had the misfortune of undressing the goblin.
"Or, we could stay with whatever we got from the goblins on our way here. Pretty sure there must be a good weapon in that pile, one chance in a thousand, though it will cost us quite the amount to have it properly appraised and repaired."
The group exchanged another glance. The choice was obvious.
*****
One stripping session and a very green Jake later, the boy would never be the same ever again, the party of 8 looked at the three items they had recovered: the mask, the 'robe' and the orb.
Not surprisingly all of them were caster related items, and none of the girls were excited, or willing, to wear those things. As such, it became unanimous that they would be given to Mack, which while happy, really hated the fact that he was getting all the loot.
"You girls are sure you don't want these things?"
"Yup" "Absolutely"
He looked back at the items in front of him.
[Tainted Shaman's Mask]
Grade: Uncommon/Gray
Level Requirement: 10 or higher
Poison Resistance +15%
MP +20
*An old mask used by shamans of the Goblin race. The mask was used to fend off poison and allow the treatment of sick brethren, but with time it was turned into a symbol of fear*
• Passive Skill: Fear
Has a 10% chance of inflicting the
[Goblin's Tattered Robe]
Grade: Uncommon/Gray
Level Requirement: 10 or higher
MP +50
Defense +15
*Once a pristine robe used by members of the church, this piece of cloth was ripped, sewed and twisted into something inconceivable.*
• Passive Skill: Rotten Smell
The robe gives off a smell of rotten meat, sending away any beast or monster that is weaker than the wearer and inciting any that is stronger than him/her.
The items weren't so bad; in truth they could be very useful under the right circumstances so Mack didn't have any reason to decline then. That didn't help easy his guilt, though, so he focused on the last item they recovered, the orb which was already regaining its purple glow.
It was a good thing his bet had played off, but that was a very close call. The moment he had laid his eyes on the artifact he knew it was some kind of power source, and knowing that the Boss was trying to become an apostle solidified his belief that, if they could somehow destroy or cut the connection of energy between the two, things would become very easy. He only didn't know how until the black sludge hit him and Gabi healed him. If she could undo a curse made of Demonic Energy by using Higher Energy, than perhaps she could do the same with the orb, even if temporarily.
Taking the object in his hands he checked the displayed info, letting a groan right after.
"What's it?"
"This thing is a Quest Item." He held the orb for the others to analyze.
[Orb of Demonic Might]
Grade: Quest Item
Requirements: Defeat the corrupted "Goblin Shaman"
This artifact was created with the inborn energy of one of the 9 Demon Lords. The fact that such item has found his way to the Mortal Realm is more than enough for concern and more dangers may wait in the near future.
• Bring the Orb to any Church of the Higher Gods to initiate the Main Quest [Demonic Purge];
• Bring the Orb to any Church of the Demon Gods to initiate the Main Quest [Apostle's Trials];
"Woho! We hit the Jackpot!"
"Don't go firing the just yet Sal," Mack cut his friend's outburst instantly, a pensive look on his face.
"Why not? We got a Main Quest Item right in our hands, let's get it to the Church and start it already."
"Because," he rose up to look at his friend, "this is most probably a one person type of Quest. The Demonic version says [Apostle's Trials], so whoever takes the Orb will most probably be offered the position of an [Apostle], but do you think that would be extended to all of us?"
"Uh, no, then…"
"Then we have to choose who will take the item, and I am going to suggest Jake for that one."
"Me?" said male pointed at himself.
"Yeah. The 'good' version of the quest says [Demonic Purge], so you can expect to fight against a lot of the lower ranked critters. That also means you can end up getting a Special Class like [Demon Hunter] or [Demon Slayer], which I think suits you more than anyone here."
"Wow, uh, thanks for the vote of confidence dude, but-" he said with an awkward smile on his face.
"No problem," Mack cut him, changing the subject swiftly, "now let's get moving, we have some more loot to get." With that he walked deeper into the tunnel.
"Hey, what do you mean by that?" The others followed behind, curiosity bubbling inside.
"Goblins are greedy creatures, almost as greedy as a normal dragon," that garnered him a stinky eye from Leo, "and we are inside a goblin's nest. What do you think is at the center of it?"
The group ended up into a large chamber and, although not filled with piles of gold, jewels and whatnots, there surely was a decent amount of wealth in knowledge in that place. The chamber resembled a research facility with bookcases filled with scrolls and thick books, stone and wood tables sporting herbs and chemical instruments lined the walls alongside with two wood chests.
Since Mack had already gotten his share he decided to wander around and check the scrolls and books, only to get his hopes of finding a good Spell crushed thanks to an unsightly handwriting that sent his mind rearing back.
The others fared a little better, with Lud finding a pair of earrings that increased Magic Power by 20 and decreased her casting time by 10%, and Gabi finding a staff that increased her Mana pool while allowing her to launch physical attacks.
Sal, Joy, Carol and Jake didn't find much in the weapons department, but they did get a few pieces of copper and even silver from the chests, with Carol even snatching a scarf that increased her speed.
By the time they had finished and were walking back all 7 had recovered ten pieces of silver and added new gear to their arsenal, Joy and Sal even admitting that the shields had helped and that they would keep them. It was during their walk that Jake approached Mack, the softly glowing kukri in his hand.
"Thanks for lending me this, it's a really good weapon," he look at the blade with longing eyes as if he already missed it. "I wonder when I will get one as good as this."
"What the heck are you talking about?" Mack smacked him on the back, making him almost drop the weapon. "That thing is yours. I am a mage; I don't use daggers, swords or whatever even though I could."
Then, a knowing smirk appeared in his face as he moved his hands behind his head and strolled forward without a care in the world. "Besides, it's not like that is the best weapon there is, it doesn't even have a special effect to it. Wait 'till we find a good one, then you can drool all over it!"
Jake seemed to burst into flames after the remark, his face red as a tomato. He took in one of his attack stances and dashed after Mack, causing the group to laugh even harder. Perhaps it was a good thing that they could find humor even while treading inside enemy territory, but they should never lower their guards.
As the voices distanced themselves from where the Shaman's corpse was left a whirlwind of shadows appeared on the wall followed by a hand, the member seemingly made of a mix of tar and ink. The hand beckoned the body and a bright light surged from its chest in an ethereal form.
The light flowed towards the hand, condensing itself into the shape of a pitch black card. A large, toothy smile appeared on the shadows, its pearly white teeth making a huge contrast to the black that surround it.