The fortress gates were unguarded because whoever designed this dungeon apparently didn't think anyone would make it this far.
Tangeni slipped through a gap in the rotted wood and found himself in a courtyard filled with goblin activity. Patrols marching back and forth, guards standing at doorways, workers hauling stolen goods from pile to pile. He pressed himself against the wall and tried to figure out his next move.
Two hundred and three viewers now, which was insane for a first stream. People were actually watching him attempt the impossible, and most of them probably expected him to die in the next few minutes.
[Chat]
[bestlittlesis: tangeni please be careful this looks bad]
[viewer_47: bro is actually at the boss area]
[lonely_ghost: no way he clears this]
"Chat, I need a distraction," he whispered. "Something to pull these guys away from the main entrance."
He looked at his hand and focused on Minor Flame. The small fire flickered to life in his palm, barely bigger than a lighter but hot enough to start something burning.
There was a pile of dry cloth near one of the goblin tents, probably old banners or bedding. He crept toward it, staying low and moving between shadows, until he was close enough to toss the flame.
The cloth caught immediately. Fire spread across the pile and smoke started billowing into the air, and the goblins closest to it started screeching in panic.
"FIRE FIRE FIRE," one of them screamed in broken Common, and suddenly every goblin in the courtyard was running toward the flames.
Tangeni ran the other direction.
He made it through a side door and into the fortress proper, leaving the chaos behind him. The interior was dark and damp, torches flickering on stone walls, and he could hear goblins running past outside as they tried to deal with the fire he started.
[Chat]
[randomgamer42: bro just committed arson]
[viewer_47: fire mage arc]
[lonely_ghost: actually smart tho]
He moved through the corridors as fast as he could, checking corners and ducking into alcoves whenever he heard footsteps. The fortress was a maze of hallways and staircases, but he could see signs pointing toward the throne room—crude goblin drawings of a crown on the walls, getting bigger and more elaborate the closer he got.
Two hundred and nineteen viewers.
The throne room doors were massive, wooden and reinforced with iron, and they were slightly open. He could hear sounds from inside, deep guttural breathing and the clinking of metal.
He pushed through the doors and felt his stomach drop.
The throne room was a crumbling great hall, pillars cracked and ceiling half collapsed, but at the far end sat a throne made of human artifacts. Chairs and tables and pieces of armor all welded together into something that almost looked like a seat, and sitting on that throne was the ugliest thing he had ever seen.
The Goblin King was fat and green and covered in warts, easily three times the size of a normal goblin. It wore a human crown that was way too small for its head, sitting crooked on top of its skull, and it held a massive iron club in one meaty fist. Around the throne stood ten elite goblin guards, bigger and meaner than the ones he fought before, all of them armed with actual weapons.
[Goblin King (E-rank Boss)]
[HP: 100%]
[Warning: Boss-class enemy detected]
He looked at the thing and knew he was in serious trouble.
The Goblin King looked up from whatever it was doing and its yellow eyes locked onto him. It said something in goblin tongue, harsh and angry, and the guards started moving toward the door.
[Chat]
[viewer_47: HES COOKED]
[lonely_ghost: RIP STREAM]
[randomgamer42: SKIBIDI GOBLIN]
[bestlittlesis: tangeni run please]
More chat messages started rolling in, all of them variations of the same thing.
[Chat]
[lonely_ghost: SKIBIDI GOBLIN]
[viewer_47: SKIBIDI GOBLIN LMAOOO]
[randomgamer42: SKIBIDI GOBLIN]
[new_viewer_88: SKIBIDI GOBLIN]
[flame_queen: SKIBIDI GOBLIN]
Two hundred and thirty-one viewers, all of them spamming the same two words.
Tangeni laughed despite himself because this was definitely not the time for jokes but chat was chat and they were going to meme no matter what. "Chat calls you Skibidi Goblin," he said out loud, pointing at the Goblin King.
Something happened.
The System pinged in his vision, a notification he didn't expect.
[Chat Consensus Achieved: "Skibidi Goblin"]
[Viewer Engagement Threshold Met]
[Effect: Monster Morale Debuffed — Combat Effectiveness -15%]
The Goblin King stumbled on its throne, confusion crossing its face like it couldn't understand why its legs weren't working right. The elite guards hesitated, looking at each other, and he saw his chance.
He charged before any of them could react, drove his sword through the first guard's chest and ripped it free before the body hit the ground. The second one swung at him but the blade went wide, affected by the debuff, and he ducked under it and stabbed it in the side. Two down, eight to go.
[Chat]
[viewer_47: THE NAME DEBUFFED HIM LMAOOO]
[lonely_ghost: CHAT IS OP]
[randomgamer42: SKIBIDI GOBLIN META]
[bestlittlesis: tangeni please be careful you're still hurt]
He was hurt. His arm was still bleeding from earlier and every swing made it worse, but he couldn't stop now. He used Minor Flame to set one guard's clothes on fire, used the distraction to stab another, kicked a third one off balance and finished it on the ground.
The Goblin King roared and heaved itself off the throne, club raised high. It was slow from the debuff but still massive, still dangerous, and when it swung its club the air itself seemed to shake.
Tangeni dove sideways and felt the club miss his head by inches. Stone cracked where the weapon hit the floor and he scrambled backward, putting distance between himself and the boss.
Four guards left and the Goblin King was lumbering toward him while two hundred and forty-seven viewers watched him bleed.
He used the pillars as cover, darting between them while the boss smashed through anything in its way. Every swing destroyed more of the throne room and every miss gave him another chance to strike. He stabbed the boss in the leg, in the arm, in the side, taking hits of his own but refusing to go down.
One of the guards caught him across the back and he screamed, stumbling forward. The Goblin King saw its chance and swung, but the debuff made it slow enough that he rolled clear at the last second.
He killed the last four guards in a blur of desperate violence, taking cuts and bruises in exchange for kills. By the time they were all dead he was covered in blood, most of it not his own, and his sword arm was shaking from exhaustion.
But the Goblin King was on its knees, bleeding from a dozen wounds, too slow and confused to stand back up.
"This is for everyone who said F-rank couldn't do anything," he said, and brought the sword down on the Goblin King's neck.
The blade went through and the Goblin King's head rolled across the stone floor. The body slumped forward, twitched once, and went still.