Ch. 128

At that time, no one who had entered the Goblin King's castle had ever seen the Goblin King.

This was due to the impassable section known as the "Infinite Wave".

‘Despite that, everyone knew the boss of the castle was the Goblin King.’

It was likely because of the systematic layout. 

However, since no one had ever passed through the wide hall where the Infinite Wave occurred, no one had made it to the boss room.

‘The number of goblins in this Infinite Wave was around...’

Quite a lot—over 3,000. While each goblin was weak, it was no easy feat because even without the infinite element, each wave had 100 goblins.

‘In the original story, clearing this section needed a significant amount of time and potions.’

I opened my inventory, after scanning the green fog, and took out the healing potions I had prepared in advance.

“Zain, Troy. Take these.”

“A healing potion? Master? Why are you giving us something so precious all of a sudden?” 

Zain accepted the potion, his eyes shining. Even as he tucked it into his coat, his gaze was questioning.

“I’m not giving it to you to sell, so don’t get any ideas. Just keep it—you might need it.”

“…Hmm. I see. That’s a shame.”

“Were you seriously going to sell it?”

"Well..." 

Although Zain didn’t know the specifics of our location being a dungeon, he easily accepted the potion since it was clear that this place was filled with monsters.

Troy, on the other hand, accepted the potion with quiet gratitude.

“Here, take one.” 

I handed another to Terdius. 

He probably didn’t need it, but since I was giving them to Zain and Troy, it only seemed fair.

Terdius shook his head. 

“No, I’m fine. There’s no way I’d get hurt in a place like this.”

“Ah…well, if you’re so sure about it.”

Should I call that confidence or arrogance? 

Either way, fine by me. I wasn’t gonna push the guy who said he doesn’t need it. I simply returned the unused potion to my inventory.

In fact, with this party—Zain, Troy, and Terdius—healing potions probably weren’t necessary. They were all reliable.

‘But still, you never know...’

There was no telling when a variable would come up in a hidden route so I wanted some sort of fallback.

-Child, be careful. I have a bad feeling about this.

‘I understand.’

I replied silently, gripping my mace tightly.

The green fog thickened throughout the hall.

“Everyone, be careful.” 

I warned my companions in a soft voice. As I spoke, the silhouettes of goblins began emerging from the fog.

Dozens of similar looking goblins appeared, each armed with different weapons. Their numbers matched the game—around a hundred.

“Krrrrr-”

“Kirik.”

With their strange howls filling the air, my companions and I rushed forward. 

Fianlly, the Infinite Wave had begun.

***

Two hours earlier.

Diego Church Cathedral, Central Castle Library.

In the library that housed countless books from across the Continent,  only one person was present.

By the window, basking in the warm sunlight, sat Rawin, the Seventh Apostle of the Diego Church. 

He despised interruptions during his reading time more than anything, and whenever he entered the library, others left voluntarily.

The only sound breaking the silence was the gentle rustle of turning pages.

Yet Rawin couldn’t focus. The words on the pages blurred as thoughts about his friend consumed him.

‘…What should I do?’

He definitely mentioned the Kyros Church. That strange religion. What method could he use to pull his friend out of it? 

The question nagged at him relentlessly.

‘How on earth did Leviathan even get involved in such a bizarre faith?’

Of course, he had the thought. Leviathan wasn’t merely involved—he was the leader of the Kyros Church. He had founded it himself.

‘Did he need money?’

It has to be cult since it worships a non-existent god. That was Rawin’s conclusion.

‘…If it’s just a matter of money, I can do something about that.’

Rawin began calculating his wealth mentally.

As one of the seven apostles of the Diego Church, his income was substantial—far exceeding the allowance of most nobles. 

So he could easily give him as much money as a small, obscure religion’s leader earned.

If Leviathan had considered converting to the Diego Church, he could have recommended him for a priestly position—or even a bishop position.

‘After all, with my recommendation, becoming a bishop wouldn’t be out of reach.’

There might be opposition, but with the recommendation of an apostle, reaching that level was entirely possible.

‘So now, all that’s left is persuading him.

‘If all my dear friend, Leviathan, wanted was money, he would have more than enough.’

As Rawin pondered this, a slight smile played on his lips. But then– 

He felt a tremendous energy sweep past him in an instant.

‘This energy…’

It was unmistakable. The Third Apostle, Terdius. Recognizing the source, Rawin turned his head and checked the direction Terdius was headed at high speed.

All he was able to see was Terdius heading toward Mount Quieron.

‘....Huh? Why is the Third Apostle heading to Mount Quieron?’

He was moving quickly, and something felt off. The only notable location on Mount Quieron was the Goblin King's castle.

Yet, the Third Apostle, who had never shown any interest in the Goblin King’s castle, was suddenly heading there.

‘What’s going on?’

Something about Terdius’s behavior felt particularly unsettling today. Rawin closed the book he had been reading and opened the window.

‘I guess I’ll have to follow him.’

And so, Rawin leapt out the window.

***

“Huff, huff.”

“Huff…”

In the vast hall, only the sound of labored breathing could be heard. We had killed roughly 1,500 goblins so far.

‘Are we halfway through this now?’

For the past hour, goblins had been swarming us non-stop.

Even though the wave was called "infinite", there was a clear limit. The starting point was around 3,000 goblins, so it was safe to say we were almost halfway done.

‘No matter how weak these goblins are…’

Fighting without pause for an hour was bound to leave us utterly drained. Zain, Troy, and I were completely exhausted.

Only Terdius seemed to be in good condition.

“Let’s drink these first,”

I said, offering healing potions to Zain and Troy.

They nodded weakly and drank the potions. I followed suit, and as the liquid coursed through me, I felt a surge of energy.

‘It feels incredible every time I drink it.’

The effect was like taking a tonic that was 100 times more potent than anything in modern times.

As I rested briefly, sipping the potion, I noticed the green fog growing thicker.

‘This is where the real trouble begins.’

With half of the goblins defeated and the fog intensifying, we had clearly entered Phase 2 of the Infinite Wave.

‘From now on, the goblins will get stronger.’

Our short break ended as the silhouettes of goblins emerged from the thickened fog. 

These goblins were about 1.5 times the size of the previous ones.

“They’re coming again,” Terdius said, and we continued with the battle.

I swung my club tightly with one hand, releasing holy power with the other.

“Grrrr-!”

Phase 2 goblins were more ferocious than before, charging at us with incredible speed.

Wham!

I swung my mace with all my strength, smashing multiple goblins in a single blow.

-Child, watch your back!

I focused on the battle, receiving help from Kyros from time to time.

“Damn it!” 

Just then, Zain’s voice suddenly sounded frustrated. I turned to see a swarm of about ten goblins coming at him. 

Him shooting arrows would clearly not be enough to tackle them, so I started to move toward him—but someone was faster than me.

Whoosh-!

Terdius moved like the wind, his blade cutting off the goblin’s head. 

Zain and I were stunned by Terdius’s wind-like speed.

‘Terdius is truly remarkable after all.’

But his feats didn’t stop there.

Even as the goblins grew stronger and kept appearing, Terdius moved as if he wasn’t tired at all.

Terdius’s new black form moved with such ferocity and speed that it was nearly invisible, cutting down the goblins in an instant.

Thanks to his efforts, the Infinite Wave ended much faster than expected.

Finally, the green fog cleared, and no more monsters appeared.

“Ha…”

I let out a deep sigh and sat down on the floor. Zain and Troy followed. We were able to sit comfortably because the goblin corpses had vanished as soon as they were killed in the Infinite Wave.

“This is exhausting,” 

Zain said, wiping sweat.

“Is it over now?” 

Troy asked, drinking some water.

“…It should be,” 

I replied with a nod. Then, I glanced at Terdius, who stood nearby, quietly wiping the sweat.

‘As Terdius said, it might have been dangerous if I hadn’t brought him along.’

Of course, I could have called on Alphius, Chester, or Selena to clear the Infinite Wave.

‘Still, the exhaustion would’ve gotten to them too.’

Thankfully, it didn’t take too long with Terdius by my side. 

The power I witnessed from Terdius today was far greater than I could have imagined.

Turning my gaze away from Terdius, I looked around the massive hall. 

At the far end stood a large, extravagant door.

“I think we need to go there,” Terdius said, wiping his sweat. 

I nodded and rose to my feet.

After a brief rest, it was time to move again. Zain and Troy followed.

Together, we approached the door.

-Child, you look really tired.

‘I am a little tired.’ 

Despite recovering somewhat with the stamina potion, we were still pretty exhausted.

Still, we pressed on.

As I opened the enormous door and stepped inside, we saw a large table filled with a sumptuous feast.

“Food…!”

Troy instinctively moved toward the table. I barely managed to grab him and pull him back.

“Troy, snap out of it!”

Troy, known for his gluttony, had been restraining his nature lately. But the intense battle had reawakened his greed and appetite.

“This is a monster’s castle. There’s no reason for there to be a generous welcome for intruders.”

Hearing this, Troy finally came to his senses.

I had considered taking a short break since no monsters were appearing in the dining hall, but seeing Troy’s condition, I decided against it.

Instead, we headed straight for the next door at the end of the room.

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