Deep inside the mine, the air grew damper and colder. Now and then, droplets of water fell from overhead, echoing sharply through the gloom.
Kōichi and Chris moved forward carefully. The glow sticks in their hands could barely light the path a few meters ahead.
"Ugh... There's a weird smell here. Like rotten mud and... some kind of moldy fur?"
Chris wrinkled her nose, her ears twitching slightly. Her sharp Thief senses were clearly picking something up.
The moment she finished speaking, several pairs of green eyes suddenly lit up in the darkness ahead.
A piercing screech tore through the mine's silence. A horde of scrawny Goblins, their skin a sickly gray-green and their eyes glowing blood-red, burst out from cracks in the rock walls and from behind abandoned mine carts.
They brandished rusty short swords and wooden clubs, growling in incomprehensible voices. They had clearly been affected by some force and driven into a frenzy.
"Berserker Goblins! Is it the ring's curse? They're way more vicious than usual!"
Chris cried out softly, but her body had already reacted on instinct.
She slid forward like a ghost, and the two cold, gleaming daggers in her hands flashed from their sheaths.
Her left dagger precisely deflected a Goblin's wooden club, while her right dagger darted like a venomous snake into another Goblin's chest.
Her movements were swift and fluid. Every strike carried stunning efficiency, with not a single wasted motion, as if she were dancing along the edge of a blade. Several Goblins did not even have time to get close before dissolving into particles of light beneath her blades.
"Kōichi, watch their speed!" Chris warned him even as she finished off the enemies in front of her.
Kōichi did not hesitate either. Facing the Goblins rushing toward him, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
"Freeze!"
A cold blue beam shot from the tip of his staff, instantly freezing the three fastest Goblins charging ahead.
They were locked in place with their savage expressions intact, turned into living ice sculptures.
"Lightning!"
Immediately after, dazzling electricity gathered at his fingertips and lashed toward the Goblins on the other side like a whip.
The Goblins struck by the lightning convulsed violently, their charred bodies collapsing to the ground with blue smoke rising from them.
Kōichi did not stop. While casting spells, he followed the Goblins' charge routes and precisely created slick mud pits and sharp stone spikes beneath their feet.
The Goblins slipped and fell in the mud, then howled in pain as they landed on the stone spikes.
"Nice work, Kōichi!" Chris called out in admiration. Her figure darted among the Goblins like a streak of silver lightning, finishing off the enemies slowed or knocked down by Kōichi's magic.
Her Thief techniques and Kōichi's spells matched perfectly. One handled close-range cleanup, while the other controlled the battlefield and dealt damage from afar. Their efficiency was astonishing.
In no time, the pack of Berserker Goblins had been wiped out, leaving only scattered Manatites and a few broken weapons on the ground.
Kōichi even felt slightly unsatisfied. The fight had been much easier than he expected, and even felt a little... satisfying.
"Phew, those Goblins were a lot tougher than usual. Without you here, I really would've had some trouble on my own."
Chris sheathed her daggers and wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, her face flushed with a hint of excitement. "Your magic is seriously strong! Especially Freeze, it's amazing for controlling the field!"
"You weren't bad yourself, Chris," Kōichi replied with a smile. "You're the most agile person I've ever seen. Every attack landed at exactly the right moment. It was practically art."
After being praised by Kōichi, Chris's cheeks flushed slightly again. She scratched her head in embarrassment.
"Hehe, not really. That was just the basics. Now that we've dealt with those little nuisances, let's keep going. The ring should be further inside."
At the deepest part of the Goblin nest, the Chatterbox Ring lay quietly atop a piece of ore glowing with faint purple light.
It was not plain like ordinary silver jewelry. Instead, it was set with a red gemstone that seemed to pulse continuously, giving off a sweet yet dangerous aura.
Kōichi stared at the ring, and a faint dizziness suddenly washed over his mind.
A seductive voice whispered by his ear.
"Put it on... Put it on, and you'll know everyone's secrets. From the Guild poster girl's underwear color to the true thoughts in that silver-haired Thief's heart..."
Kōichi's eyes slowly grew unfocused, and his right hand reached toward the ring against his will.
"W-wait! Kōichi! Don't touch that!"
Chris screamed and lunged forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
She had meant to knock Kōichi's hand away, but the mine floor was slippery, and the fight had already worn her down. The moment she landed, her foot slipped, and she crashed straight into Kōichi's arms.
Their fingers tangled together in the chaos. As if it had a will of its own, the ring traced a strange arc through the air and slipped firmly onto the middle finger of Chris's slender left hand.
A dazzling pink light burst out, illuminating the entire mine.
"I-it's over..."
Chris stared blankly at the ring on her hand. Her face went from pale to the red of a fully steamed crab in an instant.
Kōichi had not even recovered from the soft, fragrant body that had crashed into his arms when Chris suddenly clamped both hands over her mouth. Her body trembled violently, and tears of shame filled her eyes.
"Chris? Are you all right? Since you put it on, you just have to do the embarrassing action to take it off, right?"
Kōichi asked cautiously.
But the ring's magic had already begun to take effect.
Broken words started leaking through the gaps between Chris's fingers, honest thoughts she would never normally say aloud.
"Uuuh! Actually... actually, every night under the covers, I secretly practice cool Thief poses, and I think they're super cool... And, and even though Aqua-senpai is always causing trouble, she's actually kind of cute when she cries. Every time I see it, I want to pinch her cheeks..."
Chris's eyes widened in horror. She desperately tried to shut her mouth, but the ring's power left her vocal cords completely out of control.
"And! When Kōichi hugged me just now, I-I actually thought his arms were really warm, and I even wished he could hold me a little longer... Aaaah! What am I saying?! Just kill me already! How can I say something like that out loud?!"
Kōichi stood frozen in place, listening to this Goddess avatar fire off confession after confession, completely petrified.
A Truth or Dare attack at this level was far more destructive than all those Goblins combined.
"Um... Chris, calm down. What you're saying is definitely pretty explosive, but we just have to get the ring off!"
Kōichi was screaming internally too, but seeing Chris so embarrassed that she looked ready to pass away on the spot, he decided saving her came first.
"I can't take it off! The condition for removing this ring is... is..."
Chris's voice became as tiny as a mosquito, but the ring's light grew brighter and brighter, forcing her to shout it out.
"I have to do something incredibly embarrassing!!!"
Deathly silence filled the mine.
Kōichi looked at the silver-haired Thief in front of him, usually so dashing, but now so ashamed she looked ready to combust. He swallowed hard, and only one thought crossed his mind.
Just how awful is the personality of this world's creator?