Soon after they rested up, they approached the barrier to the second floor.
As if pulled by an invisible force, the key floated upwards by itself, slotting into the holographic keyhole. There was a faint sound of clicking afterwards, prompting the key to disappear as the barrier shattered away, first into chunks of reddish light before ultimately being absorbed into the floor.
Now that the barrier had dissipated, they were able to hear the sounds of something from up above. It sounded like a mixture of tables banging and glass clinking, alongside a sound that could be described as a mixture between a dog's barking and a particularly strained laughter.
"The second floor… it still has the same mechanics as this one, in that you have to kill the floor ruler, but you can no longer ignore the surrounding enemies," Nora explained as they walked up the stairs. "You'll see in a bit."
[You have entered the second floor of Kobold Castle, The Everlasting Party!]
[Defeat the floor ruler to advance to the next floor!]
They took a look around the floor. Unlike the first floor, it was far more lavish. Statues made of marble, vases made of gold and silver, and most of them were relatively intact save for shallow marks made from careless clawing. All in all, it was a contrast to the first floor, where the mess of bones and remains of furniture made it look like the lair of an animal.
"The place looks more lavish, but what does that has to do with the-"
Dylan didn't even get to finish his words before the next few lines of notifications appeared and answered his unspoken question.
[Find a way to take out the Three Warchief to unlock the way to defeat the floor ruler!]
[Zarek the Mad: Kill 0/1000 kobold grunts, obtain the Red Cleaver]
[Gharal the Wise: Solve the riddle and obtain the Blue Feather]
[Reazar the Calm: Obtain the Green Hourglass from within the main room]
"See, this is not just a battle, but a scavenger hunt, too, besides-"
"Hey, talk later, duck!"
The moment Charles warned them, the four hid around the corner of the wall. A massive creature had just passed the hall they were about to enter, and from a passing glance, it looked like a black dog made of shadows, with massive teeth and claws that oozed black smoke as it prowled through the place. A three-colored aura could be seen covering its whole body like an iridescent sheen.
Right as it passed, a notification appeared in front of their eyes.
[Barghest]
[Rank: ???]
[A mythical black dog found in English folklore. Believed to be an omen of death, it is said that dogs would follow it whenever it appears]
"I can take that thing on myself, but I'm not sure I'd be able to protect Charles, let alone both of you," Henrietta helpfully supplied.
"In that case, we should get the items first. Say, Nora, what happened to your friends?"
"They were captured when we attempt to take the Hourglass. I wasn't thinking, so I just ran down and quit the quest while I could. They insisted I run, and I did, hoping I could find someone to save them, but now… I kind of regret stalling the rescue,"
"There's no need for the doom and gloom, Nora, I believe if we work together, we can save them. So… one of the artifacts seem to be in the main room?" Charles said, attempting to divert the topic.
"That sounds easier than the others at least. Should we check it out?" Dylan piped up.
"Sure, we don't exactly have much options at the moment, really."
--
As they expected, the artifact was indeed easy to find, however, actually getting it was another matter entirely. They were hiding close to a double door made of mahogany, its borders made of gold. In a stark contrast from the luxuries all around them, the door was banged and scratched up, allowing them to look at the many, many cracks to see what was happening inside.
The room was the source of most of the noises, and as such, now the voices felt so loud and close it was almost unbearable. Bigger kobolds dressed in far better gear than the grunts or the floor ruler they fought, were drinking and eating around a dozen meters long table, bloodied beast meat and strangely humanoid corpses littering the table, mixing in with whatever liquid spilled onto the floor from their drinks.
"Urp…"
Nora closed her mouth, the tear escaping her eyes all but telling that she was trying to suppress her urge to gag and her own assumption of the worst.
"Calm down," Charles suggested and patted her back.
Her reaction was understandable, but in order to succeed, they have to calm down.
"Let's not assume the worst, we still have an item to steal," Charles gave her a reassuring smile, "and I know how to do just that."