Chapter 10: Traps

Clicks echoed from the walls as tiny openings appeared across the stone walls, pillars, and even the ceiling.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Hundreds of poisoned darts shot out from every direction, all converging on Ethan at once.

The Shadow Wraiths reacted instantly. Their dark blades flashed through the air, cutting the incoming darts in half before they could reach Ethan.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Broken darts scattered across the ground as another wave immediately followed.

The Shadow Wraiths continued cutting down the incoming darts.

"...Interesting."

It hadn’t expected them to deal with the trap so easily.

But it didn’t hesitate. Its finger pressed another switch.

Click.

The ground beneath Ethan suddenly split open, and several holes appeared around him as flames erupted from them.

Ethan didn’t move, he knew this trap.

The flames weren’t meant to kill him. They were meant to force him away from the center.

The walls around him opened.

More poisoned darts shot toward his position.

Ethan raised his hand.

"Cut them."

The Shadow Wraiths immediately moved.

Their blades flashed, cutting the darts apart before they could reach him.

Ethan remained exactly where he was.

The flames continued rising around him, but none could reach his position.

"...You didn’t move?"

The goblin boss sounded surprised.

Ethan looked toward it.

"You really think I’d fall for the same trick twice?"

The Goblin Boss stared at him.

For the first time, its expression became cautious.

The Shadow Wraiths continued cutting down the incoming darts.

The Goblin Boss’s smile slowly disappeared.

"...Interesting."

It had expected the poisoned darts to at least slow them down, but the Shadow Wraiths continued cutting through them as though they were nothing more than falling leaves.

The Goblin Boss clicked its tongue.

"Annoying."

It reached for another switch, but Ethan suddenly raised his hand.

"All of you."

The two hundred Shadow Wraiths emerged from the surrounding darkness at the same time.

Their dark blades rose.

Ethan’s eyes swept across the chamber

Every part of this place hid another mechanism.

He wasn’t going to wait around and let the Goblin Boss decide how the battle proceeded.

"Shadow Strike."

Two hundred blades struck at once.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The entire chamber shook as the shadow strike skill tore into the stone walls. Cracks spread across the surface, and chunks of stone fell to the ground.

The Goblin Boss’s eyes widened slightly.

It hadn’t expected Ethan to attack the chamber itself.

The Goblin Boss watched the Shadow Wraiths attack the walls. When the reinforced stone withstood the blows, its expression relaxed again.

"That’s your plan?"

It gave a short laugh. "Destroy the chamber before I can use the traps?"

The Goblin Boss shook its head and tapped the wall beside it.

"You’re too late. I spent months preparing this place. Every wall, every pillar, every mechanism was reinforced. I even prepared for people who would try to destroy the chamber itself."

It knocked on the stone twice.

Knock. Knock.

"Go ahead. Keep attacking the walls."

Its grin widened.

"I’d actually like to see how long your little shadows can keep this up."

Another Shadow strike struck the wall.

Boom!

A deep crack spread across the stone, but the reinforced structure held.

The Goblin Boss laughed.

"See? Even someone with overwhelming strength would have trouble breaking through this."

Its gaze shifted toward the Shadow Wraiths.

"Your shadows are troublesome, I’ll admit that. But troublesome isn’t the same as..."

"Is that so?"

Ethan’s voice interrupted it.

The Goblin Boss stopped.

Ethan was looking at the Essence Orb in his hand.

Inside the transparent orb was an image of an iron arm, its muscles tightly flexed.

The Goblin Boss’s eyes narrowed.

"...Another Essence?"

Ethan said nothing.

He had been saving this one.

The Waykeeper’s final gift.

A Variant Essence born from the enormous strength of a Peak Level 7 monster.

And more importantly...

From the grip that had allowed that monster to hold its massive stone axe through everything Ethan’s legion had thrown at it.

Ethan tightened his fingers around the orb.

Crack!

The Essence Orb shattered.

A powerful surge of energy rushed into his body.

[Variant Essence absorbed.]

[Strength +140]

[Variant Effect Activated]

[Iron Grip]

[Variant Effect: Iron Grip]

[The user’s grip becomes extremely firm. Weapons held by the user are extremely difficult to disarm or knock away.]

The connection between Ethan and his legion immediately responded.

[One Mind, One Legion activated.]

[Strength +140 shared with all Shadow Wraith Soldiers.]

[Iron Grip has adapted to the physiology of the Shadow Wraith Legion.]

[Shadow Weapon Control greatly increased.]

The two hundred Shadow Wraiths tightened their hands around their dark blades.

The Goblin Boss’s grin slowly faded as it finally understood.

That Essence hadn’t merely increased Ethan’s strength. It had strengthened his entire legion.

And the effect that had once allowed the Waykeeper to hold onto its axe through overwhelming force had now been transformed into something suited for creatures that fought entirely with shadow weapons.

The Goblin Boss stared at the Shadow Wraiths for several seconds.

"...Interesting."

There was no fear in its voice. If anything, it sounded impressed, almost as if it wanted to study them.

"So that’s what you’ve been hiding."

Ethan raised his eyes toward the reinforced wall.

"You said it would take overwhelming strength to break through."

The Goblin Boss smiled again, though this time there was less confidence in it.

"I said it would be difficult."

Ethan’s hand slowly rose.

"Then let’s make it difficult."

The two hundred Shadow Wraiths raised their blades.

The Goblin Boss immediately reached for another switch.

"Not so fast."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

"Shadow strike."

Two hundred dark blades struck the reinforced chamber at once.

Boom!

The entire room shook. Cracks spread across the walls and pillars as chunks of stone fell to the ground.

.The reinforcement held, but barely. Another wave of Shadow strikees struck with a deafening boom, and a section of the wall finally cracked open.

The Goblin Boss’s expression changed. It immediately reached for another switch.

Click.

The floor beneath Ethan suddenly split apart.

Spikes shot upward from the opening.

Ethan stepped back.

At the same moment, several sections of the ceiling opened.

Massive stone blocks crashed down between him and the Shadow Wraiths.

Boom! Boom!

The legion scattered to avoid the falling stone. At the same moment, the Goblin Boss disappeared.

The Goblin Boss had avoided a direct fight from the beginning. Its traps were the reason it had survived this long, but this chamber was more than a battlefield.

It was where it had spent months building its mechanisms. It wouldn’t simply stand by and watch Ethan tear everything apart.

A section of the floor opened several meters away from Ethan, and the Goblin Boss emerged from it. Its small body shot forward, a short blade flashing toward Ethan’s neck.

Ethan twisted aside and a shadow wraith blocked the attack.

Clang!

The Goblin Boss immediately retreated and disappeared.

Ethan didn’t chase it. His attention remained on the bright light surrounding its body. No matter where it appeared, the light never left it.

That was the key.

As long as that necklace remained intact, the Shadow Wraiths couldn’t reach the Goblin Boss. Even its shadow was hidden beneath the light.

The Goblin Boss appeared again from another part of the chamber and attacked before retreating once more.

It continued teleporting between its fixed positions, striking whenever it found an opening and disappearing before the Shadow Wraiths could surround it.

Ethan remained where he was thinking of a way to catch the Goblin Boss.

It appeared behind him again, its blade thrusting toward his neck. Ethan turned and blocked the attack.

Clang!

The Goblin Boss grinned. "Too slow."

Ethan ignored the blade and reached for its neck.

"Found it."

The Goblin Boss immediately tried to retreat, but Ethan was already within reach. His fingers closed around the necklace.

Crack!

The necklace shattered.

The light disappeared, revealing the Goblin Boss’s shadow beneath its feet.

"Shadow Bind."

The surrounding shadows surged forward.

Chains of darkness wrapped around the Goblin Boss’s arms and legs, pinning it firmly to the ground.

The Goblin Boss struggled and raised its wrist, but the cuff only flashed before going dark. It tried again, its expression changing when nothing happened.

The Shadow Bind had completely immobilized it.

Ethan slowly walked toward it.

The Goblin Boss struggled harder.

"No!"

Ethan stopped in front of it and reached for the metal cuff around its wrist.

"Give it back!"

The Goblin Boss twisted desperately, but the Shadow Bind didn’t loosen.

"That’s mine!"

Ethan ignored its protests and removed the cuff from its wrist.

He looked at the device in his hand, and a memory briefly surfaced. In his previous life, he, Lucian, Elena, and the others had fought this same Goblin Boss.

They had been forced to deal with its traps, tricks, inventions, and constant escapes for hours before finally defeating it.

Compared to the other dungeon bosses, this one had been completely different. Most relied on strength, speed, defense, or some other overwhelming ability.

The Goblin Boss relied on none of those things. It relied on its mind.

Goblins were one of the major races of the world.

They were known for their intelligence, craftsmanship, and talent for invention. Alongside humans, they were among the races most capable of creating tools, weapons, mechanisms, and other technologies.

The goblins in this dungeon were merely primitive creatures living far from civilization.

But the Goblin boss was different. It had built traps, mechanisms, a light-emitting necklace, and even a teleportation device inside a dungeon, all without outside assistance.

He had the mind of a true goblin inventor and fought like a strategist.

Perhaps that was why it had become the boss of this Hell Difficulty dungeon.

Ethan looked at the small goblin struggling against the Shadow Bind..

"A troublesome little bastard."

The Goblin Boss glared at him.

"Give it back!"

Ethan ignored its complaints and looked at the Goblin Boss.

There was something far more valuable to him than the cuff.

Spirit Essence.

Strength, Agility, and Constitution Essences could still be found among ordinary monsters, but Spirit was different. It was far rarer, usually found in monsters that relied on intelligence, magic, mental abilities, or other forms of power beyond brute strength.

And this was a Hell Mode boss.

"I wonder how much Spirit you’ll give me."