Lucien and Nicky were holding their breath, staring excitedly at the spinning screen filled with items. Dozens of items from different game genres flashed rapidly before their eyes.
"Please… at least give us a RARE item," Nicky muttered, watching the screen with anticipation.
The roulette wheel began to slow down. It decelerated noticeably as it reached the RPG section. Magical books, swords, and armor appeared on the wheel. Slower… slower… and finally, it stopped.
'DRAGON LEATHER GAUNTLET (EPIC): A gauntlet crafted from black dragon leather.To unleash its full power, the entire set must be completed (1/3).Unarmed Attack Damage +30%Physical Defense +20Magical Defense +20ATK +20'
Lucien and Nicky couldn't believe their eyes. An Epic-tier item was right in front of them.
The gauntlet was made of jet-black leather. Despite being dragon leather, its surface was smooth. It was a long piece of armor that extended almost up to Lucien's elbow. On it was an engraving resembling a pair of claws, and beneath it, a line of runic letters they couldn't read.
"You lucky bastard… This is exactly why I never play anything except FPS games with you. You're always lucky and always get the best items," Nicky said, grabbing Lucien by the shoulders and shaking him.
Both of them were incredibly happy.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Put it on already."
Lucien looked at the item and tried to wear it, but it was far too large for him. After checking the character screen for a moment, he noticed something.
"Equip, Dragon Leather Gauntlet."
The item disappeared, and a few seconds later, it reappeared on Lucien's arms as if it had been custom-made for him.
"I guess since it's an RPG item, I need to equip it."
The two friends laughed and excitedly talked about the item when Mia approached them.
"Sorry for making you wait. I had some things to take care of, but I'm better now."
Nicky looked at Mia suspiciously, then nudged Lucien.
"Well damn… You smooth bastard. I leave you alone for just one day and you already got yourself a girlfriend?"
Mia blushed and smacked Nicky on the head. He grabbed his skull in pain.
"No, no—this is Mia. Some things happened, and we had to come this far together," Lucien said quickly, explaining everything to Nicky.
Nicky listened while nodding.
"So, what do you think we should do now, Lucien? You're the one who's good at games."
Both of them looked at Lucien, waiting for a solution.
Lucien began to think. Outside was extremely dangerous, and according to what Nicky said, no help was coming.
"All I know for now is that this place is a dungeon, and we've been given a quest."
Mai checked the quest tab.
"Kill 300 goblins? Seriously? Only 28 have been killed so far."
Lucien continued.
"We've only defeated about 15 goblins ourselves, which means there's at least one other group out there. If we're lucky, we won't have to deal with all 300."
He went quiet for a moment.
"And… we don't know how strong the boss is, do we?"
Nicky finished what Lucien left unsaid.
"Exactly. We know we can handle goblins. Hunting small groups won't be a problem, but a boss is a completely different matter."
Nicky opened the market and bought a bunch of stones.
"I'm ready. I've got enough stones, and they're cheap anyway. No matter what, we'll have to fight."
Lucien smiled. It was a terrifying smile.
Nicky knew that look. Whenever Lucien accepted an extremely difficult quest or prepared to face a powerful boss, he always wore that expression.
"I'm used to this crazy side of yours in games, Lucien, but I never expected real danger to excite you this much. You were always afraid of Rowan, and now you're not even scared of hundreds of goblins."
Lucien clenched his fists and stood up.
"Rowan is no different from a big goblin to me now. I don't want to be afraid of him, goblins, or anything else anymore. Are you coming?"
Nicky stood up as well, playing with the stones in his hands, smiling with excitement.
Mia also stood up, surprising both of them.
"Going with you is safer than staying here. Just look at them—everyone's given up, just waiting for their turn."
They looked around. The students were indeed sitting in fear, muttering prayers for help to arrive.
"Then let's go."
They moved forward, passing through a half-destroyed barricade and into the corridor. It was eerily quiet—no living or dead creatures in sight—only weapons left behind on the ground.
Lucien carefully examined the area and picked up a spear. Like the previous ones, it seemed to be made from school supplies, but this one was sturdier, with an actual blade at the tip.
"Take this. You can't defend yourself forever with that umbrella."
Mia thanked him and took the spear, and they began walking through the school together.
Every corridor was littered with scattered items, bags, broken doors, and shattered glass. As they walked, they kept bumping into things, making noise, freezing in place every time they heard a sound.
Soon, they heard noises from upstairs. They ran to the stairs and climbed up quickly.
At the top, they saw a group of students fighting dozens of goblins. Most of the students were using table legs, scissors, and chairs—except for one person.
Rowan.
Rowan and his group were there. In his hands was a large, curved sword—a kind of talwar, but thicker. The blade sliced through goblins effortlessly, while the other students were clearly struggling.
"What do we do?" Nicky asked, looking at Lucien for permission.
"Let's attack. We can't let them take all the rewards."
The moment he heard that, Nicky began firing stones one by one. Each stone hit a goblin, dropping them one after another.
Lucien charged forward and began punching goblins. Each one disappeared with a single punch.
At first, the students were shocked by the sudden appearance of this group, but they quickly adapted and continued fighting.
Mia ran forward with her spear, successfully impaling the goblins in her path.
The number of goblins gradually decreased. As they thinned out, the fight became easier, and when the last goblin vanished, silence fell.
Everyone stood there, breathing heavily, looking at one another. Something felt off.
"Lucien! You idiot—you're still alive?" Rowan shouted angrily.
"You sneaky little bastard. Who told you that you could come here and steal my prey?"
The entire group stared at Rowan in shock. They had saved him and the others, yet he was looking down on them.
"If it weren't for us, those goblins would've killed all of you," Nicky snapped. "Instead of thanking us, you're angry?"
"Well, well… Look at that. Nicky defending his little boyfriend," Rowan sneered.
"So you made it this far thanks to him, Lucien. But he won't be able to protect you anymore."
Rowan raised his sword.
"I'm a GENRE PLAYER, a GACHA PLAYER. I got this sword—see? Luck is on my side.
'TALWAR (UNCOMMON): A recreated version of a traditional sword. ATK +10'
With this blade, I was going to kill all the goblins and spin the roulette even more—but you stole all the GG rewards.
Now you're going to give them all to me, kneel down, and apologize. Maybe then I'll spare you."
Rowan laughed as he swung his sword.
Nicky took aim, ready to attack. Mia tightened her grip on her spear.
Neither of them had ever attacked another human before—but they weren't afraid to get their hands dirty for Lucien.
Lucien clenched his fists and burst into laughter.
"Do you remember what I told you, Nicky?" he said.
"Rowan is just a big goblin… and we set out to hunt goblins."