The Discarded Son's Skill Market
Chapter 19: The High Goblin

Chapter 19: The High Goblin

"Hah..." John, Landon, and Robert fell backward, trying to catch their breath.

Behind them, Zaid fulfilled his role as the supply man and handed them water.

Meanwhile, up ahead was the seemingly inexhaustible Alice, searching for any goblins playing dead so she could finish them off.

"Shit, I thought I was going to die..." Robert shivered.

"That’s because Landon was late coming to help us!" John complained, though he wasn’t really angry. If anything, he was smiling.

What a great haul they’d just scored!

However...

"Don’t get too excited, boss. Those guys are still out there," Landon replied, still unable to take his eyes off the spot where the assassins had fled.

His words silenced the group, who turned to look behind them.

"Were they assassins from the Order of Silence?" John asked.

Landon nodded.

"What are those guys doing in an F-Rank dungeon?" Robert muttered, puzzled.

"To kill us, obviously." John frowned and looked at Zaid. "Are they after you?"

Zaid shook his head. "I have no idea. They attacked me once before, but the attack seemed to have been meant to attract the beasts’ attention, not to kill me."

For the rest of the battle, they didn’t try to attack him, but rather to get rid of Alice and Landon. However, Alice’s brutal performance forced them to retreat, so they failed to achieve their goal, whatever it was.

"What is this Order of Silence, anyway?" Zaid looked at John.

"A dangerous organization of mercenaries for hire. It’s said they can rival the great guilds and operate throughout the country."

"Is that so? Were these just low-level then?"

"They were wearing the emblem of a branch split in half—that means they’re the weakest. But they’re well-armed." John looked at the dagger stuck on the other side of the wall. "Level 1 weapon. They all carry one like that."

Gulp! Zaid swallowed hard. That level of wealth wasn’t often seen outside of powerful guilds.

To hire an organization like that...

’The Zacharys, right? Or it could also be that damn woman, Elara.’ Zaid clenched his fists.

He hadn’t expected those people to get in his way right from the start.

’It seems I won’t be able to prove myself as long as I’m still weak.’

Robert looked at John and asked him, "Should we go back, boss?"

John frowned and thought it over. "Going back might mean facing those killers."

"But if we don’t go back, we’ll end up in a dead end. They’ll be able to surround us and..."

"We have to keep going deeper." Alice suddenly interrupted them coldly.

They stood still at the sound of her voice. They weren’t used to hearing her speak with such force.

This girl’s strength wasn’t as high as John’s. Stat-wise, she was below him. However, her talents and that ridiculously powerful magic she possessed allowed her to rank above all of them.

In a 1 vs. 3 battle, Alice would defeat the group of three.

"If we level up, it’ll be easier to face a group of assassins. There are a lot of beasts here. Maybe we can level up a little." She explained the reason for her suggestion.

John agreed with her.

By unanimous decision, they continued on.

The hours passed, and soon a day had gone by.

"There aren’t many monsters left at this point," John said, pulling his fist out of a goblin’s heart.

"That means we’re getting close to the boss room."

It was late afternoon, and thanks to the peculiar nature of the dungeons, they weren’t hungry.

However, according to Robinson, it was necessary to eat on time, since that’s misleading. That’s why they were having a good meal.

Zaid glanced at Alice out of the corner of his eye; he carefully observed her expression. She had sweat on her face, even though the fight had been over for her a while ago.

’Could it be that she can’t control her Beast Mode?’

That was dangerous. Since that big battle, they’d faced only about 30 more goblins. They came across the last group of four after more than three hours without seeing anyone.

That just meant they were very close to the boss room.

If Alice were to lose her current strength right before going in to fight the boss...

Zaid suddenly frowned and looked behind him. "Did you hear something?"

"Hear what?" John looked at him and followed his gaze.

Robert and Landon immediately went on alert. Over the past day, they’d learned that Zaid was extremely sensitive.

"The assassins?"

"No..." Zaid took the last few bites of his sandwiches and stood up. "Finish eating quickly—I think we’re in trouble."

Alice nodded.

Zaid walked deeper into the dungeon and peered around the corner of the wall toward the other side.

They were at a crossroads; normally, there would only be small beasts here. However, he heard something strange that made him question his understanding of the dungeons.

When he looked in the other direction, one branch of the crossroads was a dead-end road; it was blocked. That made his hair stand on end, and he turned back the other way.

Out of the corner of his eye, a pair of bloodshot eyes blinked wildly, and he instinctively leaped backward.

BOOM!

A powerful impact knocked down the section of the wall where he had been just a moment ago, just as a High Goblin materialized before him.

The High Goblin attacked again...

"Watch out!" Robert shouted from behind and leaped forward.

John, who was closest to Zaid, quickly pulled him out of the way, managing to dodge the High Goblin’s attack.

"A High Goblin with killing skills..." John couldn’t believe his eyes. To have such bad luck in the very first dungeon...

"Are we doomed?" he murmured... They had been in the forest, too.

"Don’t get distracted—attack!" Alice suddenly shouted, and even while eating her sandwich, she appeared beside Zaid and raised her scepter toward the goblin.

Robert had managed to get his attention, and Landon was already ready to attack, so the only one missing from the formation was John, but...

"Go," Zaid said. "You have to fight on the front lines."

John stared at him. "If the assassins attack, I won’t be able to defend you."

"I don’t need you to defend me." Zaid patted him on the shoulder. "If I’m a burden, just get rid of me, right? All those years on the streets must have taught you that. Just do what you have to do."

John sighed. He didn’t say anything else; he jumped into the fray alongside his team, leaving Alice standing next to Zaid.

"If you can fight better up close, come closer. I’ll be fine," Zaid said suddenly, so that only Alice could hear him.

"Don’t be silly. This is a piece of cake," Alice replied coldly, but she wasn’t as confident as she had been before. A drop of sweat trickled down her cheek...