Around an hour later, Ivan's bloodied hand plunged into the last of the wolves they needed a heart from, before pulling its heart right out with a swift motion.
Ivan then stored it in his inventory like he did with all the rest of them. Iris, also with a bloodied hand, stared at him puzzled before deciding to question the heart's disappearance.
"Where the hell does it disappear to?" Iris exclaimed, her voice tinged with frustration at the fact that she could never understand the workings behind most things Azrael did.
"Spatial magic," Azrael lied calmly as he began crafting.
[ Crafting Bloodhound (43/43) | Time left: 15:00 ]
[ Required item to craft wolf fang (53/53) ]
[ Would you like to craft this item? ]
[ Y/N ]
Ivan quickly accepted as the crafting process for the wolf fang began.
[ Crafting Wolf Fang | Time left: 15:00 ]
"Ok done, let's get going," Ivan said as he looked at Iris.
"What? Where are the weapons you talked about? Won't you pull them from thin air like the others?" Iris asked genuinely.
"I'll get them; it'll just take some time," Ivan said as he looked back at the crafting timer.
Ivan was then caught off guard by the sickening thud of the goblin's club hitting his body, sending him flying across the forest and snapping trees like bristle twigs.
"What? I didn't notice them," Iris exclaimed, deftly evading one of the goblin's swings before stepping back to shoot an arrow at it.
"Ivan! Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, attempting to fend off the goblins with her precise shots, but the arrows lacked the power to deal significant damage.
With blurry vision and pain coursing through his body, Ivan quickly retrieved a health potion from his inventory and drank it, replenishing his health.
[ HP: 100 (+73) ]
"Half my health with one hit, these things are dangerous," Ivan muttered, glancing above the goblin's head to check their level.
[ Jungle Goblin: Lvl 50 ]
"So many Level fifty mobs in one place, this isn't good," Ivan observed as he watched Iris valiantly fight against the dozen goblins, though they were quickly overwhelming her.
In that critical moment, Ivan noticed what one of the goblins had noticed as well. As Iris attempted to aim at one of the green monsters, she left herself vulnerable, and a goblin's fist cocked back, ready to deliver a crushing blow.
However, his club only met metal, Ivan acted swiftly, jumping in to block the impending attack with his sword.
[ Def +1 ]
[ STR+1 ]
Ordinarily, encountering such a strong goblin would excite Ivan, seeing it as an opportunity for growth, but outside the game, the stakes were different. One wrong move, and he would die.
"They're all Level fifty; we can't win, especially with these weapons," Ivan said, his hands throbbing from blocking the goblin's attack.
"Yeah, let's run," Iris replied, backing away from the goblins as she dashed through the forest, with Ivan closely following her.
As they wheezed past trees in a rapid motion, the goblins relentlessly pursued them.
"Where are we heading?" Ivan asked without slowing down.
"The boss room. Let's see if we can lose them before we reach it. And the weapons?" Iris maneuvered through the forest at high speed.
"About twenty more minutes until they're ready. If you add mana to the bow, it should do more damage," Ivan advised.
With extreme marksman skills, Iris turned around, aiming for one of the approaching goblins. She added mana into the bow and shot an arrow right into the heart of the goblin, stopping it in its tracks.
Using her remarkable precision, Iris continued shooting at the goblins while trying not to lose too much pace. However, some of her shots didn't do as much damage as others.
"The arrow only has a fifty percent chance of doing significant damage," Ivan informed as they set their eyes on a nearby building.
"Over there," Ivan pointed, drawing Iris' attention to the building as they increased their speed, dashing towards it.
Once they reached the building, they circled it in search of a way in, and eventually, they found a window on the side. With swift movements, they both went through it.
[ Inconsistent Time-Flow ]
As Ivan stepped into the building, notifications began to plague his vision.
The desperate bangs of the Goblins on the wall echoed through the room as they tried to get in. Their attempts to break through the walls due to the window's size were futile.
"You think they can get in?" Ivan asked.
"Of course, they can. Be ready," Iris said. However, as the bangs continued without success, it became evident that the goblins couldn't get in, the walls surprisingly sturdy. They soon gave up, and the noise subsided.
"We might be in the boss room," Iris suggested, looking around what appeared to be a temple.
"I doubt it," Ivan replied, as he hadn't seen a notification indicating the presence of a boss yet.
[ Inconsistent Time-Flow ]
[ Inconsistent Time-Flow ]
[ Inconsistent Time-Flow ]
The red notifications persisted, clouding Ivan's vision before suddenly vanishing.
Then an ominous feeling settled on Ivan and Iris as a small rip in space began to form. From the rip emerged a figure wielding a pure black staff and donned in a tattered robe, standing there silently.
[ The Merchant of Time is present (Lvl: ‽) ]
[ The Merchant of Time fears you ]
"So... this is where my failure brings me," the figure said, its voice reminiscent of forgotten thoughts placed back into the listener's memories.
"I could kill you both... yes, maybe that is right," the figure continued.
"It happened many eons into the past or was it the future, or even it never happened, no it did, I won't let you confuse me," the figure rambled as it strolled around the room.
"Who are you?" Iris questioned.
"Stop, do not speak," the figure replied.
Iris had considered attacking, but every attempt to move was met with a dreadful feeling, more than just fear, but a revelation that doing so would certainly lead to her demise.
"You see, I never saw sense in the actions of the Finding Ones, but I knew the Inhabitants of the Unnumbered Floors were lost, I knew YOU were lost," the figure said as a consistent notification showed to Ivan.
[ The Merchant of Time fears you ]
"They always told me I lacked devotion, I lacked righteousness, but how could I be devoted? When you watched it all happen, power was not the problem, no. You could have ended their peasant existences in mere seconds, but you let it happen, all to protect this world from the united evil of Oasis? And then, as if that was not enough, you erased it all, robbed me of my joy, and then robbed me of my sorrow," the figure paused, turning to look at Ivan.
"I could kill you both, maybe that is right. You forsook the many for one. However, soon even this world will be plunged into Oasis as well, and then you will answer to the dying billions if that 'one' was worth it," the figure warned.
[ The Merchant of Time fears you ]
"I could kill you both, maybe that is right," the figure repeated.
[ The Merchant of Time fears you ]
"You keep saying that, and yet you fear me," Ivan retorted.
"Huh," the figure muttered, looking at its trembling hands.
"Haha, you're right, I am afraid," the figure admitted, lifting its head to face Ivan.
"But tell me... who wouldn't tremble in the presence of God?" the figure asked.