Stefan knew it was trouble, but what other choice did he have? Sure, he had his doubts about the Goblin and he hated the idea of being indebted to one, but the hell should he do? He have heard of many stories about warlocks and people making deals with monsters and beings of great power, but the events that unfolded earlier was more akin to a joke told at a tavern. A distasteful but amusing joke perhaps, but a joke nonetheless.

The person in front of him was a Goblin. It was lifting something from beneath the pile of coins while it kept an eye on them. Stefan knew that this particular Goblin wasn't a monster like his kind, but he was still a Goblin. Only his behavior and oddly Human way of moving around and posture made it clear that he was no ordinary Goblin. And after what happened earlier, Stefan wasn't sure if the Goblin was even a Goblin. He thought of the Goblin as a monster with oddly Human quirks.

He looked at his rough hands and remembered the feeling of shaking hands with the Goblin. It felt just like a farmer's hands but smaller and more beastial. It was an easy deal to make with the Goblin and one that could be easily broken by either side. He would help the three of them escape the dungeon to the best of his abilities, and all they had to do was to keep his room and existence a secret and to not kill him. Both sides had the potential and capability to kill each other, but they had more to lose compared to the Goblin. A terrifying position to be in if not for his other request.

A strange request from a strange Goblin. He wondered if the Goblin even had an inkling of what "friends" meant. Perhaps he was thinking of something else, maybe he was thinking of a truce? Maybe something else entirely. Stefan chuckled to himself and he glanced at the Goblin. It was a truly odd sight.

"But can we trust you?"

He murmured to himself as the Goblin finally pulled out something that caught his eye.

"Gifts! Gifts for friends!"

In his green hands is a shortsword that gave off a faint glimmer around its edge. Stefan's eyes narrowed on the design and he glanced at Semilia instinctively.

"An Elvish blade..."

"Most likely. Excuse me, Mister Goblin... May I take a look?"

The Goblin nodded and handed him the sword. Stefan wasn't surprised with how light it was compared to his old one, but it still felt well-balanced for a sword this short.

"It's made out of Mithril mixed with some high-quality steel. See?"

Stefan tapped the sword with his finger.

"The steel's probably Dwarven iron mixed with orichalcum. This is an excellent sword worthy of an Adamantine Adventurer. Where did you get this?"

Stefan gave the sword a few swings and some swift strikes while the Goblin watched him closely.

"Deep in dungeon. Powerful sword and burns dead things."

"So it's a sword that burns Undead."

"Yup. Sounds like something an Elvish weapon would do."

Riel chuckled while Semilia grumbled something about Elves. Stefan was about to hand back the sword to its owner when the Goblin shook his head at him.

"Gift! Keep gift as mark of friendship."

"R-Really?!"

Stefan glared at the two girls who suddenly sprang up from their seat with an excited look on their faces.

"I-I won't refuse this gift, but... Are you sure you want to give away something like this?"

It was a token of friendship from the Goblin, and he knew that it wasn't a trap. It was a beautiful sword, and it was better compared to his now bent and rusty shortsword. It was probably worth a fortune as well, but everything in this room was worth more than what they make in a good year.

He looked back at the Goblin and it beamed back at him with its sharp teeth. He wasn't trying to be threatening, in fact he was clearly doing the opposite with its attempt at smiling. Stefan still felt uneasy about it due to the sense of guilt he was feeling towards the small creature. He was a Goblin, a monster meant to be killed and not befriended.

"Monsters more dangerous down there. Good weapon can kill dangerous monsters."

The Goblin's voice pulled him out of his thoughts and it made him even more uneasy.

"Y-Yes, I know about that but I can't repay something like this if I lost it!"

"It's okay. I have other swords."

"But-"

"Friends help friends. This how I help friend in need."

It was a childish yet innocent argument but one that carried a lot of weight in his heart. Stefan glanced at the sword in his hands and looked back at the Goblin below him. It was a foolish way of saying that he had other weapons like the one in his hands and that he could afford to give them away.

Stefan smiled at the joke playing out in front of him and laughed. He placed a hand on the Goblin's shoulder and smiled back at his unlikely friend.

"Very well. Since you gave me this, I'll give you something as well. I don't have much, but I think you should have the honor of calling yourself a friend of mine. My name is Stefan and I'm a Swordsman and leader of this party. What is your name, friend?"

The Goblin stared at him, eyes wide with surprise. He pointed a green finger at him and nodded.

"Stefan. You are Stefan. I am Goblin. I have no name and no clan."

It was an awkward introduction, but Stefan was fine with it. To be honest, it's better than the time he first recruited Semilia.

On the other hand, the Goblin knew that Stefan was having trouble with introducing himself. It wasn't the first time he saw the exact same scene play out in front of him, but it was still amusing to find someone like Stefan. He knew how Human introductions work, and he could tell that Stefan was trying to be sincere about it.

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Unlike a certain pointy-eared girl behind him.

"S-Stefan, are you sure about this?"

Stefan and the Goblin looked at Semilia. Her arms were folded together as she looked at the Goblin with distrustful eyes.

"I'm... I'm still not sure about what he wants and I still don't trust him all that much... but he's the only one who might be able to help us get out of here."

"Yes. I am also friend of Stefan. To be friend is to earn trust."

The Goblin had his reservations and doubts about them as well. It was dangerous for people to know about his existence, and it's more dangerous if they know where he lives. Of course, he could've murdered or left them to die, but it would weigh heavily on his conscience. His second option was to do the one thing that worked for him in the past.

Yes, it wasn't a strange concept to understand. But to be "friends" with adventurers was considered impossible and suicidal. He glanced at Semilia and Riel, taking note of their distrustful stares towards him. He snorted and turned his back towards them and went back to his prior task. He thought of what she would've done in this situation, then he chuckled to himself.

Stefan and Semilia was talking with each other about something while Riel watched the Goblin. He didn't trust them and they didn't trust him either, but he knew that they couldn't betray him. Well, at least not while they're trapped in the dungeon. After that, he was sure that he'd have to leave this place. He thought about retreating into a deeper section of the dungeon, but he was also counting on them keeping their end of the deal.

But to get them out of the dungeon, he needed them to trust him. And to get their trust...

"Another gift."

His claws clutched the red bow and the ivory quiver beside it. Unlike the sword, this was the only bow he had in his home and it is very special.

It was made out of some kind of wood and painted with a magical layer of varnish. It felt warm to the touch, clearly enchanted with some sort of Fire Magic and he could see the runic engravings carved into it. Its bowstring was clearly magical and made from Unicorn hair. But the Goblin cared little about that since he didn't use a bow, but he was interested in the enchantments and magical materials of the bow.

"I don't use bow. You can hav-"

"Semilia Greenhand. Thank you for the generous gift!"

He wasn't even able to finish when Semilia grabbed the bow from his hand. She looked elated as she took a closer look at the weapon.

"Firewood! It's a Firewood Bow! This is amazing!"

"A Firewood Bow? I thought those things were hard to make."

Stefan stroked his chin as he took a closer look at the bow. The Goblin imitated him as well and took note of the strange word he just learned.

"Yeah! Firewood trees only grow around active volcanoes and it's hard to harvest them since they just turn to ash but this is definitely a Firewood bow!"

"Oh! And it's enchanted as well! I'm not sure about the enchantments, but it's clearly a Level 6 enchantment."

Riel poked at the runes and nodded. The Goblin nodded as well and pondered if he should correct her assessment. In the end, he shrugged it off and walked away. It was clearly higher than that, he thought to himself.

"I still don't trust you, but thanks for the bow! Ow."

Stefan struck the back of her head wiith his fist and sighed at her. The Goblin didn't really mind at all, since that was usually how other Goblins react to gifts. Although he did felt a bit relieved after seeing Semilia rubbing her head in pain.

The pointy-eared girl looked at him and frowned. She walked away, inspecting the bow's elegant design with her fingers. His ears twitched at the jingling sounds coming from her pockets and frowned even more. She didn't like him, that much was clear, but at least ask nicely if you wanted some gold as well!

"Sorry about that, Mister Goblin. Semilia here is prickly when it comes to people she didn't like."

He glanced up at Stefan and noticed that he was also staring at her pockets. He definitely knew about what the small handful of gold that she took from him.

"It's okay. I don't mind. Can't spend money anywas. Also, I give final gift to mage."

Riel's eyes narrowed at the sound of her name and she looked at where the Goblin was standing. Then gasped.

Treasures spilled all over the floor while the Goblin pried his staff from the small mountain of gold underneath it. Gold coins and jewels spilled everywhere as the staff finally came loose. The Goblin staggered backwards and nearly tripped over some of the diamonds at his feet but he managed to catch his footing somehow.

The staff in his hands was as black as the midnight sky and it was as hard as the strongest of steel yet it felt as smooth and natural as a wooden staff. The tip arched into a cresent shape with a large ball of bright crimson floating in the middle along with some smaller fragments of magical crystals hovering around the crescent shape. Its form was beautiful and sleek, it was light and manoeuvrable, and it was one of the most powerful artifacts within this room, perhaps the dungeon itself.

"Gods, awake me from my dream..."

"Riel, w-what do you think of that staff?"

Semilia turned towards the mage. Riel's face was white and her body stiff with surprise and shock.

In front of her was a staff made from Fae wood mixed with some unknown alloy with a large mana crystal suspended at the tip. She could also tell that it had layers upon layers of various enchantments weaved into and on it with powerful and ancient magic. Some of those enchantments were mixed in during the crafting and forging process, others were weaved in during the assembly or in the ingredients themselves, and a handful were casted on the finished output itself.

Many more assumptions ran through her mind, but she knew well that the thing she was looking at was real and right in front of her, no matter how unbelievable that was to her. She was looking at some Legendary Class item, possibly even higher than that, and it is within arm's reach of her. Not held by powerful Archmages or great Wizards, but by a small Goblin brushing off the dust with his hand.

"Incredible... It must've been a masterwork item."

She instinctively reached out for it, grasping at the unseen magical energy that surrounded the staff. It was both an excellent weapon and the grandest work of art she had ever laid eyes upon.

The Goblin shrugged his shoulders and walked over towards her and did the unimaginable.

"Here. Need this."

The Goblin handed her a staff that all mages would kill for willingly and without a fuss! He had no reluctance in his eyes nor did he glance back at it as he shoved it unceremoniously in her hands.

He watched Riel examine the staff closely while he smiled quietly to himself. In front of him were three adventurers that had been given powerful weapons and more than a match for most of the monsters around this section of the dungeon. The Goblin knew that they couldn't clear the dungeon even with such power and he had no plans to do so, but he could at least make them clear some areas he's been having trouble with.

Yes, with their help he might be able to finally rid himself of that particular thorn on his side. It wasn't "friend-like" of him, but he knew that this was his chance. He could tell that they weren't as strong as the ones that occasionally venture down here, but they would do.

The only easy way out of this hole was through that room. He shuddered at the thought of the room, and what lived within it. It was the place of his greatest failure and it nearly cost him his life when he tried to take it. He looked at the adventurers, oblivious to the schemes he was currently thinking up from the depths of his mind.

For his plan to work, he needs them. The same also goes for them since they need him to guide them through the dungeon. In his mind, that was how friendships work. Yes, that was all it was to him. They were a friend for now, and possible enemies in the future. And in a place as dark and gruesome as the dungeon, friends need to stick together.

Friends...

The Goblin chuckled at the word. For most races, it meant something that had to do with bonds and trust. In the language of his kind, it meant something else entirely. He looked at the adventurers while they prepared themselves. He watched how they talked with each other and he sighed to himself.

Perhaps if he wasn't a Goblin, would they talk to him like that? If he wasn't a Goblin, would they have bothered to ask for gold instead of stealing? Would it have been easier if he wasn't a Goblin? If he wasn't a Goblin, could they have been friends? The Goblin sighed heavily and pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind once more. He would ponder about it some other day. For now, he needs to get these people out of his home.

And to get them out of his home, he would need to bring them to the lair of the Mother of Spiders.