The players followed the Error Player.

Watching him act like a goblin raised some questions, but they had no place to retreat.

‘Maybe he has a plan?’

They held onto a sliver of hope. On the negative side, one could say they had been too careless.

It made sense, though.

They had witnessed his strength firsthand when he had fought off the 5th wave. The sight of him easily taking down mid-tier monsters had captivated them.

How was this possible? They didn't understand, but none of the players bothered to try and make sense of it. Sometimes, it was easier to just accept things as they were.

‘Anyway, this is an opportunity.’

Opportunities to receive help from a strong player didn’t come around often. They couldn’t afford to waste this chance.

All the players were thinking about was what they could gain from this. They planned to collect rewards and ascend to the 5th floor.

They all shared the same thought...

“Goblins are coming!”
“Where's the wizard?!”
“Call him now! We need him to wipe out these filthy goblins with magic!”

Once a wave was cleared, the difficulty increased. The mid-tier monsters' levels would rise.

Instead of mere serfs, elite monsters with classes would appear.

A wizard with a pointed hat and a long, gnarled staff appeared.

“Heh. There sure are a lot of goblins.”

An old man with white hair peeked over the wall.

“Wizard! Please cast your magic!”
“I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry,” the old man replied, gripping his staff.

The staff absorbed mana, and following the wizard’s incantation, runes rearranged and a formal spell activated.

“Retreat, retreat! Kereuk!”

Fire magic. Bright red flames engulfed the goblins.

At that moment, one goblin stepped forward.

“My kin! Don’t be afraid! Kereuk!”

He gestured, and an ice wall shot up in front of them.

Ssssshh-!

The flames and ice collided, creating a thick mist that enveloped the area.

Not a single goblin died.

Despite their low vitality, goblins couldn't withstand the wizard's magic. But the player at the front had saved them!

The Error Player shouted.

“For Gulrak!”

“G-Gulrak? Who’s that? Kereuk.”
“I don’t know.”
“Is it a skill? A morale-boosting skill...”

A cannonball shot rang out.

A massive cannonball shattered the village's wall.

Ignoring the firmly closed gate, they were able to enter the village.

‘Many will die trying to cross that... but we made it in one go.’

The atmosphere was good.

The players exchanged looks, nodding to each other.

There was no time to waste. They decided to get swept up in the heat of battle and start killing mid-tier monsters.

"Kereuk! Kereuk! Good. Good. As expected, our kin. The stupid humans can’t keep up with the determination of goblins. Kereuk!"
"Who would’ve known there was such a strong one among our kin? I never dreamed it. Kereuk."
"Kereuk. Maybe he’ll become stronger than the floor’s master."

One by one, the goblin overseers, each managing their respective zones, gathered around. They couldn’t help but join in, as this event seemed far more exciting than the usual smooth trial.

The overseer shouted.

“This goblin will prove that goblins are the most fitting race for the Tower of Struggle!”

“Right!”

Clearing the trial was expected. But what mattered to him was the process.

‘I can’t use Hatching Breath.’

To use Hatching Breath, the Illusionary Tome was required. You had to change your race to gain the specialized bonus and then use the breath.

But what if the overseer caught me?

‘This is all to earn the bonus, but I can’t lose it at the last minute.’

That would be the worst possible outcome.

‘I am a goblin.’

The floor’s master was a goblin. The overseer was a goblin.

I had to earn their favor. I had to make them want to give me rewards, even if it meant sacrificing a little bit of logic or causality.

‘Just like Jo Seohui and Daimus did.’

I stepped forward.

The foolish goblins seemed to like this kind of thing.

I saved my kin with Frozen Prison.

Whether other players died didn’t matter much to me, honestly.

But I still saved them. It seemed like the foolish goblins would appreciate this kind of thing.

I boosted the players’ morale.

We charged toward the human village together.

I was still at the front.

But it wasn’t quite enough. I had to firmly secure the favor of the overseers and the floor’s master.

Then, an idea crossed my mind.

The name of the helmet’s owner.

‘They gave me Gulrak’s Helmet?’

There had to be a reason for that. I was sure of it.

I shouted Gulrak’s name.

I didn’t know who it was, but I praised Gulrak.

‘That familiar gaze...’

I knew it was a lie.

I knew it was a lie as much as I knew the players listening silently did.

But it worked. Like calling a name at an award ceremony. If you don’t call the name, it’s minus. If you do, it’s neutral.

‘Maybe the goblins, being foolish, counted it as a plus.’

I imitated the brave goblin. I acted out the scene they wanted.

We entered the human village and started killing monsters.

‘The wizard is mine.’

The overall skill level of the humans increased. If I were to explain in terms of stats, their strength went up by one.

But the players didn’t back down. Their willpower allowed them to overcome the difference in stats.

I found the old wizard.

He was retreating after casting his second spell when he encountered me.

“G-Goblin!”

The old man’s voice trembled. It was shockingly realistic for a monster.

Unlike other mid-tier monsters, he seemed... alive, full of vitality.

I decisively killed him. It wasn’t hard.

Surviving through the onslaught had triggered my survival instincts.

‘Right now, I’m a goblin, but I’m not just any goblin.’

With my stats, I could at least compete with peak humans.

[You have defeated an unnamed wizard.]

When I killed an unnamed mid-tier monster, nothing appeared.

But this wizard was different.

A new message popped up.

[4th floor, take revenge on the humans.]
Elite Monster Slayer Bonus +5

The number was surprisingly large. It fueled my desire to push forward.

The other players were struggling. I could see my share of the rewards shrinking.

‘Only the important things.’

Killing unnamed mid-tier monsters or serfs didn’t matter, unless there was an upgrade after warrior rank.

“Goblins, damn them...!”

The players pushed back against the mid-tier monsters. Cornered, they swung their weapons with frustration.

‘The warrior rate has increased a lot.’

That meant many had died, and there wasn’t much change in overall strength.

The players weren’t scared anymore. They were all smiling, satisfied with the rewards they had earned after completing the invasion.

The goblins' faces weren’t pretty, but the atmosphere wasn’t too bad.

"Impressive. You’re the best goblin I’ve seen so far. Kereuk."
"The goblin most suited to the Tower of Struggle."

As the invasion neared its end, more goblin overseers gathered, watching the players.

‘All the overseers of the 4th floor are here. What’s going on?’

It was absurd.

[Invasion Report]
Defeated unnamed mid-tier monsters × 87
Defeated unnamed wizard × 1
Contribution Rank: 1st

The report began. The number of monsters killed was fewer than the previous wave.

But my contribution rank was still first. Naturally, since I had taken down the wizard alone.

‘I’d rather have bonus stats instead of equipment rewards.’

The equipment rewards from the 4th floor were useless. They didn’t offer the performance I needed.

Golden Dagger and Secutor Helm—nothing particularly special.

What I needed were stats.

I was holding on with a tooltip error, but I didn’t know when or where I might face a stronger opponent.

The overseers whispered among themselves. Their voices were muffled. It seemed they had some conversation to have in private.

“Thanks to you, we cleared it safely.”

A goblin approached. I recognized him by the markings.

Though I still didn’t know his name, he was the player who had given me information when I first arrived.

“You survived?”
“I thought I was done for. I was surprised when you went in alone.”

I had intentionally drawn aggro.

To show it to the overseer and the floor’s master.

‘Did it work?’

It seemed to have worked, seeing all the overseers gathered.

“Did you get your reward? I saw you kill the elite monster—the wizard.”
“Yeah. They gave me 5 bonus stats.”
“You must’ve killed him alone. They usually give 1 each, don’t they?”
“...Was the old wizard a monster that always appears during the invasion?”
“No. He only starts appearing after you clear a wave.”

They said the wizard wasn’t supposed to be there.

“A difficulty without the wizard... That means the invasion itself shouldn’t be that difficult.”

Whether or not there was a wizard, mid-tier monsters locked the village gates and defended.

If the players didn’t recklessly try to break through, they could easily make it through without much damage.

“So, the survivors return to the 4th floor settlement. They’ll stay longer to promote to warriors.”

They would push through the invasion stage and aim for promotions during the invasion phase. It was a solid strategy.

“Many succeeded in the warrior promotion. They’ll probably all try to ascend to the 5th floor.”

“What about the rewards after the warrior promotion? Are they not aiming for those?”
“With a goblin body, I can’t risk my life in a place where I can’t show my full potential.”

If I had to, I’d risk my life as part of the stakes. But how much I’d raise those stakes was something I needed to decide.

‘That makes sense.’

I’m an Earthling, after all. Even risking my life in a goblin body doesn’t make much of a difference.

But the other players weren’t in the same situation.

“Kereuk! The floor’s master, the hero Gulrak, seems to have manifested in battle.”
"If we had a kin like you, our settlement wouldn’t have been burned by humans!"

The goblin overseers spoke one by one. The atmosphere looked good.

I couldn’t help but feel a little hopeful.

[Overwhelming Achievement!]
[You have obtained 'Hero of the Species (F)' as a reward.]