I dream again of the goblin drowning in its own blood.
--
The sun wakes me, and I feel that my body is sore and stiff. This was a terrible night.
Fuck, is this going to become a trauma? I'm already uncomfortable sleeping in the open like this, I don't need recurring nightmares screwing with me.
I break fast with a goblin meat stick. It's very salty and dry, but I only have water to drink. I need to buy some fruit juice when I go back to town.
I miss coffee, I miss chocolate milk, I miss tea, I miss soft drinks (diet only).
I look at my "Stats" and notice that my "Magic Power" and MP have risen by 5. It seems that using spells slowly builds up your mana and power. Unfortunately, no other stat has risen, so I guess I need to nearly kill myself every day to raise my "Strength" or "Endurance."
I stretch a little, recover my crystals, store my tent, and turn off my repellent stone, then I get ready to go back inside the dungeon.
--
I decide to get closer to the stairs again. Mandrakes or Bush Babies are too rare, and it's taking too long to level up, so I'm getting greedy.
I meet two Mandrakes in sequence and easily dispatch them. I'm really getting used to handling their shrieking. My strategy to deal with more than one is also ready, but I'm a little dubious about how to deal with two Bush Babies.
My theory-crafting is cut because I detect a goblin coming towards me. I meet it head-on and see that it's wearing a full set of padded leather armor: jacket, pants, mittens, boots, and a cap. It wields a small round metal shield and a shortsword.
I need to aim for the neck or face, trying to cut through that armor just won't be possible.
"GYEEEH!" The goblin screams and charges forward.
I deflect the first blow and attack with my sword, but it dodges backward and evades. I try to follow up with an upwards slash, but it blocks my attack with the edge of his shield.
It tries to slash sideways towards my face, but I evade by jerking my body backward. The goblin is short, so his sword barely reaches me, but still, it was dangerously close.
The goblin overcommits and swings wide, creating an opening for me. I bash its shield and it loses its balance, then I follow up and thrust at its neck.
It jerks its body and avoids a fatal wound, but I still manage to inflict a nasty cut on the side of its neck, and blood starts pouring profusely over its shoulder.
It jumps backward and tries to regain its balance, but I cast [
Lightning Bolt
] and immediately slash towards its face. The bolt hits and its entire body twitches. The goblin didn't get stunned, but its reaction is dulled enough that my slash cuts at its cheek deeply.
"GAAAAH!" The goblin screams and loses its balance again.
This time, its guard is fully open, so I lunge and jam my sword into its eye socket. It groans as its body twitches, then goes limp and dies.
"You are now level eight."
Now, what do I need, exactly?
I clean my sword and sit down to think.
Perhaps more [Mental Resistance]? The two Mandrakes were rough to deal with, but maybe there's another way to deal with them that doesn't involve Resistance. Mandrakes are vulnerable to fire, so maybe one point in Fire and then the rest in [Mental Resistance]? Also, [Blessing Magic] level 1 sounds good. I'm not using a lot of spells, so maybe I could spare some MP for a self-buff.
Hm… Blessing will be left for later. I'll put one point in [Fire Magic], and the other three in [Mental Resistance] (now 7). The biggest threat to me right now is reduced mental capacity during a fight with a Mandrake leading me to make a bad decision. There's also what the wealthy adventurer said, I can just run if I meet two dangerous enemies, but I have to be capable of making the correct decision. In the lower levels, monsters don't generally work together, so it was a coincidence that I met both at the same time.
With that done, now I need a target to test my [
Fireball
].
The first guinea pig to volunteer is a naked goblin with a dagger. I cast [
Fireball
] and I hit it right on the face, then he falls backward and screams in pain.
Weren't the naked ones supposed to be emotionless? I need to revise this theory.
Ah, exposed flesh is more vulnerable to fire than lighting, so [Fire Magic] is more useful here than lightning.
If the stunning effect of [
Fireball
] on the Mandrakes and Bush Babies is stronger or equal to [
Lightning Bolt
], then I'll take the point in [Electric Magic] and put it in [Blessing Magic].
I thought that fire damage only did more damage to enemies in comparison to [Electric Magic], but I ignored the physical aspect of burning something alive. I didn't think about it because the book spent more time talking about harvesting and the fact that the monsters are vulnerable to [Fire Magic] was only mentioned in passing. Perhaps it's because it's an easy enemy. Magic seems pretty powerful here, so I find it difficult to believe mages would spend their precious mana killing such small fry when the front line could effortlessly hack their way through.
I think this sort of information would likely be found in magic books, but I didn't look too deep into the ones at the guild because they were a bit too esoteric. I need to go to the university's library for that.
I continue grinding monsters, and after half a dozen goblins, I finally find a Mandrake. Its scream was really painful before, but now it's easily bearable, so I think I'm ready to fight two Mandrakes without much risk.
I immediately cast [
Fireball
] at the monster.
The ball hits its face and the screaming reduces in intensity. It's super effective! The Mandrake slows down and almost stops, then it pats its head with its pointy hands in a desperate attempt to stop the small fire that the spell created.
A perfect opportunity. I charge forward and easily decapitate it.
Also testing this spell on a Bush Baby might be prudent, but I'm feeling confident it's going to be even more effective. The Bush Baby's leaves seemed very dry, so I believe them to be a weak point against [Fire Magic].
I remove [Electric Magic], put a point into [Blessing Magic], and cast [
Wind Armor
] on myself. The magic creates a ball of light on my palm, then I touch myself, and the spell is cast on me. This magic creates a sort of wind-based "kinetic shield" that protects my entire body, slowing down physical attacks by using air resistance. Every few seconds, I can see small distortions around my body and also feel a slight breeze whenever that happens.
Unfortunately, the spell has a huge cost, and half of my MP is gone. Coupled with the two [
Fireballs
] I used, I barely have any mana left, so I spend some time resting.
I notice that meditating really does increase the rate that my mana recovers, but I need to make sure that I don't fall asleep since I have to keep my eyes closed.
--
I get up and move forward. I think I'm ready for the next level, so I move steadily towards the closest stairs and kill a few goblins on the way.
The stairs are just a simple downward set of steps that ends in the same ominous black rectangle like the one of the entrance and exit. I cross it, and the floor select menu appears, but now it has a "2nd floor" option, so I press it, and I'm teleported to the new floor.
It looks exactly the same as the previous one: drab and boring. The goblins aren't naked anymore, but the Mandrakes and Bush Babies are still the same.
After a few kills, I notice that even the Mandrakes and the Bush Babies are giving little experience. So it seems that the enemies ramp up in power little by little.
I'm thinking that now that I have [Fire Magic] I'll be okay on the third floor.
--
After a few more kills, I find another armored goblin. I think it's a male, the females seem to have a slightly smoother skin and fewer wrinkles.
He's wearing the same leather armor as the one from before, but the shield is bigger and he's taller, so now he's just a little bit shorter than me. I'm 165cm, by the way. Yes, I'm short, I know, it's hard to forget.
I'll have to be more careful with this goblin since it looks like he has much more skill and intelligence than the others. Just to confirm my theory, he smiles before he charges towards me.
We trade even blows, but his attacks are heavier than the Bush Baby vines, so I have to focus on deflecting more to tire me less. This leaves me with little openings to strike back, so I start to get pushed back.
I have to do something.
I notice his attacks follow an obvious timing, so I prepare myself, then I bash his shield right before he winds up his slash. He wasn't expecting me to counter with such power, so I manage to break his posture.
I bash again, putting all my body into it, and he loses his balance then falls on his ass.
I strike his shield while he desperately tries to crawl away backward. His sword hand is busy supporting his body while he defends himself with his shield, so he can't get up, and his smile turns into an angry frown.
I step on his sword hand, making him drop it, then I drop my shield, grab his, and open his guard. He tries to wrench free, but I have the physical and mechanical advantage, so I stab him in the face until he dies.
This one tired me out, so I need time to catch my breath and apply [
Regeneration
] to my arms.
Curiously, his shield doesn't disappear like the rest of his equipment did. I put some points into Appraisal, and it tells me it's a simple iron shield. It has no painting or decorations on it, and it's of "medium" quality. Average at everything, but I guess it might be worth something, so I put it into my "Items."
I have to kill at least another ten of these goblins to level up. My Experience gain seems to be dropping really fast, or is it actually my growth that is too fast? Perhaps killing the same monster has diminishing returns, rewarding me less Experience each time I kill them.
--
I eat my lunch away from the goblin corpse, then I move on and reach the entrance to the third floor. I'm getting a little nervous, but I decide it's worth the risk.
On this new floor, I meet my first mature Mandrake. It has valuable green leaves on its head, and it's nearly a meter tall. The pain from the scream is slightly stronger, but only slightly, so I'm still okay. It's a good thing that their power seems to increase slowly, or else I'd have to put all my points in [Mental Resistance].
It charges forward like the other Mandrakes, but it's faster than the younger ones. I spread my legs, grit my teeth, and ready my shield.
Like I had predicted, it jumps towards my chest with its pointy arms aiming towards me. Once it's in the air, I wait for the perfect moment to bash it with my shield.
Pain flares in my hand as my whole shield resonates with the strike, but my attack was perfectly effective. The Mandrake flies far away, one arm broken, and the screaming stops, so, I guess I succeeded in stunning it.
I give chase and slash at the downed Mandrake. Its defenselessness allows me to execute a perfect slash, and my sword slices clean through its neck, then its head drops from its shoulders, and a fluid greener than the one from the younger Mandrakes spews out.
I look at my shield and notice that the tip of one of the Mandrake's pointy arms is stuck in it while the other arm left only a small dent.
Holy shit, I guess I need a better shield now.
That bash sure packed a good punch, but I don't think it's the best choice. If they charge and jump, the best option still seems to be to just slash.
Maybe a spear is the most effective tool here against these charging enemies, but if I meet more than one, I need a backup weapon in case it gets stuck in an enemy. Thinking about this, I pull out a dagger I got from a goblin, then I hang it on my belt behind my back. Considering it's my life on the line having a few backup weapons doesn't seem to be excessive.
I feel something change within me, so I open my status screen and see that I've gained the skill [Shield Bash] with 1 point.
Hmm. Shield bash seems to be effective at stunning enemies, so I guess this is another skill that's nice to have.
--
I move on and notice that the goblins are now stronger and require more effort to kill. They all graduated from loincloths and are now using basic woolen clothes. A few even have one or two pieces of leather armor.
So, the ones fully armored are rare occurrences? The dungeoneering book didn't tell me much about these abnormalities, and the only thing I remember is that monsters can go up a level of the dungeon in rare instances. Maybe they're from a lower level, then? "Lower" as in a level deeper "down" that has stronger monsters. The fact that the stairs go "down," but the floor select screen goes "up" is a bit confusing.
The mature Mandrake is still rare, and the Bush Babies didn't increase in power, so my experience gain isn't increasing, making me rather frustrated. The speed of my progress is dropping sharply.
It's annoying not having an idea about what's the proper rate of growth in this world. There's a skill called [Inspire Growth], but it doesn't seem to be very useful with such an ambiguous name. I don't really have the time and the points to test it, either, so I just ignore it.
I can't remove my mana enhancements because I'm starting to use [
Fireball
] more often to make the fights less tiring. I can't remove my physical combat skills, otherwise, I feel like I'll lose the skill advantage against the goblins.
Is my best choice to just find a partner? I've only sensed pairs of adventurers coming here, and no solo explorers like me. The problem is that I can't really trust anybody to pair up. I think that my adaptability and rapid growth will be extremely suspicious.
My body gets increasingly tired, and I decide it's time to leave the dungeon. My legs are aching, my arms are hurting, and I feel like my body is swaying. I've been fighting all day, after all, and at the rate that I'm gaining experience, tomorrow before noon I might get another level.
When I get out, I see the sun and understand that there are still a few hours until dusk.
Now, what do I do while I wait? I don't really want to talk to the guards, and adventurers normally don't interact with others.
I should've bought a book. There's no internet or computers here, so my two main sources of entertainment are gone. Can I maintain my sanity without my games? This might be the true trial of the hero in this world.
--
I pass the time by maintaining my weapon and exploring the other magic skills, making a note of every spell, but I don't have the MP to test all of them. "Notes" is a rather terrible interface to use, so I think I'll keep most of my notes on actual paper.
Most of the magic skills only show me spells up to 15 points, but after that, I can only see "???". The only level 20 spells I can see are [
Item Box
] from [Space Magic] and [
Purify Body
] from [Light Magic], so I guess I'm missing something. Is it mana pool? Is it "Intelligence" or "Wisdom" stats?
The spells are mostly self-explanatory, and while some sound useful, I lack the MP and "Magic Power" to make them impactful enough to justify using them in combat.
From [Fire Magic], I can use my "cheat" to cast the spells: [
Fireball
], [
Fire Whip
], [
Fire Arrow
], and [
Firestorm
].
[Earth Magic] has the spells: [
Earth Bullet
],
[Earth Wall
], [
Dust Storm
], and [
Soul Sand
].
[Water Magic] has: [
Torrent
], [
Water Wall
], [
Water Blade
], and [
Water Breathing
].
[Wind Magic] has: [
Wind Blade
], [
Wind Hammer
], [
Wind Wall
], and [
Perfect Arrows
].
[Electric Magic] has: [
Lightning Bolt
], [
Shocking Touch
], and [
Rush
].
[Light Magic] has: [
Clean
], [
Spirit Light
], [
Heal
], and [
Inspire
].
[Dark Magic] has: [
Torment
], [
Ghost Images
], [
Inflict Pain
], and [
Soul Siphon
]. I got chills just from putting points in this magic school, and I don't want to do it ever again.
[Space Magic] has: [
Telekinesis
], [
Gravity Crush
], and [
Item Box
].
[Summoning Magic] has: [
Summon Small Bird
], [
Summon Dog
], and [
Summon Small Golem
].
[Blessing Magic] has: [
Wind Armor
], [
Sharp Blades
], [
Swift Foot
], and [
Rainbow Shield
].
[Nature Magic]has: [
Constricting Vines
], [
Vine Weapon
], and [
Grow
].
[Conjuring Magic] has: [
Conjure Water
], [C
onjure Bland Meal
], and [
Conjure Dirt
].
[Spirit Magic] has: [
Spirit Eyes
], [
Spirit Link
], [
Soul Touch
], and [
Materialization
].
[Illusion Magic] has: [
Ghost Lights
], [
Double Image
], [
Ignorance
], and [
Pacify
].
[Cursing Magic] has: [
Weaken
], [
Sap Power
], [
Befuddle
], and [
Demoralize
]. This one makes me uncomfortable to put points in, but nowhere near as bad as [Dark Magic]
These are the only ones that give me actual spells, and the other magic schools don't, for some reason. Aside from [
Torment
], there doesn't seem to be any simple spells that can compare to the stopping power of [
Fireball
], and I
really
don't want to use [Dark Magic], so I'll stick with my little stove flame.
As I theorycraft and play around with my magic, dusk comes, and I suddenly feel a small breeze run against my whole body. I look at my "Status Effects" and see that the entry "Wind Armor" has disappeared, so my [
Wind Armor
] has run out.
I decide that I'll put four points into [Blessing Magic] the next time I level up so that I can get the [
Sharp Blades
] spell. It might help me with cutting the armor of the goblins or ensuring a one-hit kill on the Mandrakes and Bush Babies.
Night falls, and I look up, but I only see a cloudy sky again, and I can't see the moon.
Wait, is there even a moon here? I think there are stars, but I didn't pay attention to the moon.
I turn off my lights, but it takes a few hours of restless tossing and turning until I finally start to feel sleepy. The uncomfortable sleeping bag makes it harder to sleep, but I'm going back to town tomorrow, so I'll just deal with it again today.
--
This time, I don't see the Gargling Goblin again, but I have a very unpleasant dream. I only remember the disturbing sensation of slicing flesh with my sword.
--
I wake up feeling stiff, but at least I don't wake up as tired as yesterday. I get up, stretch, eat breakfast, recover my things, brush my teeth, and put on some anti-scent powder to mask my growing stink of sweat. This powder is essential to prevent the monsters like the Mossy Fangpine from tracking someone's scent, so my first meeting with it was just inevitable. Curiously, there's a magical anti-scent powder that has a faint perfume, but of course, I wouldn't waste money with that, I can still endure the smell of leather.
I wash my dirty clothes with magic, but I don't think that this was a good idea. With the [Mana Control] skill, I can hold a [
Fireball
] in my hand and slightly change its size, so I use it for fast drying, but it seems that the spell has damaged the fabric.
After that, I return to the dungeon at the same time as another adventuring duo. They kind of look like a couple, and I start to feel very uncomfortable.
I feel so lonely… I don't even want to think about how things are back on Earth. I just… don't want to think about it.
Whenever I think about Earth, I start to feel depressed and I lose my motivation, so I think that it's best to bury those thoughts until I can deal with them better. Doesn't sound like a healthy thing to do, though.
I slap my cheeks and enter the ominous black rectangle, then I choose "3rd Floor." I appear in the same drab room as before, but I'm completely alone. Fortunately, it seems that the couple didn't go to the same floor as me.
--
Progress is smooth but slow since I don't encounter any armored goblins or mature Mandrakes for bursts of Experience.
"You are now level nine," the announcer finally says after half of my morning is gone.
I put my new four skill points all in [Blessing Magic] (now 5) and cast [
Sharp Blades
]. Like [
Wind Armor
], a glowing ball appears on my palm, so I push it into my sword. The blade subtly changes and now looks like it's been polished, but at least it doesn't shine ridiculously.
I touch the edge with my finger and feel that it's dangerously sharp. It's impressive, really.
I take a short rest because the spell used half my MP, then I move on again and butcher my way through the monsters.
It makes me happy how easy it is to decapitate the monsters now. I can basically kill anything with one good hit. I even manage to cut a goblin in half at the waist!
Ok, the sight of his guts spilling on the floor is gruesome and traumatizing, and now there's just blood everywhere, but holy shit, I cut a goblin in
half
.
Fuck, am I enjoying this? I either have a mental problem or a natural talent, depends on which world you're from.
Unfortunately, the experience gain continues to drop. It becomes a waste to fight monsters on this level, so I decide to go to the fourth floor.
The mature Mandrakes are much more common now, though not all of them have leaves that can be harvested, which is a shame since it's their most valuable part. Unfortunately, the goblins and Bush Babies didn't get stronger, so I decide to keep going down levels until at least the goblins give me good exp again… or is it "up" a level…?
After lunch, I get to the fifth floor, but it isn't much better. The Bush Babies are now one meter tall and hit harder, but my strategy is polished, and I easily cut my way through their vines.
I decide to risk it and go to the sixth floor.
--
Finally, the goblins are now giving good Experience. Since they're still the most common enemy by far, they need to worth killing or else it's a waste of my time. Now most of them are wearing at least two pieces of armor.
It seems that monsters evolve in a very predictable pattern.
The rate of Experience gain is steady, but I'm getting tired much more often now, so I have to take multiple breaks.
While I'm waiting at a dead end, I get three familiar hits on my [Sense Presence]. I immediately remove [Mental Resistance] and trade it for [Andraste Language]. I need to research the difference between each level of the language skill, I always go for 10 but 7 will have to do this time.
The three adventurers enter my room and notice me.
"Hoho, greetings again. You progressed a lot haven't you?" The wealthy adventurer casually asks.
His party is still the same, but now I see dirt, blood, and tired eyes on the three of them, though the woman is the only one without a drop of blood on her clothes.
I respond with a faint smile, "Yeah, I got the hang of dealing with these monsters. They're quite dumb and weak, so I had to come to this floor for a challenge."
He nods and smiles back. "Indeed, my teacher instructed me to come to this level because anything below is just too weak. We went much deeper into the dungeon, but after this level, the goblins got stronger much faster, so we came back here for an easier time." He puts a hand over his chest as he politely introduces himself, "I'm called Nour, what's your name?"
"Wolf Ryder."
He nods respectfully and asks, "Then, Mr. Ryder, would you mind if we take a rest with you? Is this area safe?"
Again with the "Mister." Also, he didn't say his last name, so was it a blunder to say mine? Do normal people not have a second name?
I get a little nervous, but I decide to be friendly and reply, "Y-yeah, no problem. I killed the monster at the dead-end."
The three of them sit down near the wall, Nour sits by a wall facing me while the woman and the other man sit at the corner, then they pull out canteens and start to drink.
Nour introduces his companions as he motions to them, "This woman is my sister, Rania, and the man is my slave guard, Liam."
"Hello," Rania greets in a monotone.
"Greetings, Grand Ryder," the man follows with a more diligent demeanor.
"Grand" Ryder? That feels even weirder, but I assume this is how a slave respectfully addresses others.
The words that I hear are foreign, but because of the language skill, everything is being translated to its closest meaning in English. The words they speak also sound slightly garbled, so I need to focus to understand what they're saying. This must be the effect of not having 10 points in the language.
I wave my hand to them and smile.
Then I feel a faint breeze, and Nour narrows his eyes as he inspects the visual distortion of my [
Wind Armor
]. "You know [Blessing Magic]? I didn't see you using [
Wind Armor
] the first time we met," he casually inquires.
Oh, shit. Quick, time to lie.
I force a smile and answer, "I didn't want to… train with enhancements on. I thought it'd be best to train my sword without using magic first until I got a few levels with it"
"Bahahah!" Nour suddenly laughs out loud, then he looks at his companions. "That's the exact same advice that Teacher gave us!"
"Told ya it's good advice," Rania replies with a wry smile.
"Agreed, master. The path to glory is a long journey," Liam adds with a serious tone.
He sounds like a sage.
Nour raises his hands and lowers his head in defeat as he admits, "Alright, alright. I'm not going to rush out into a dungeon or anything like that. I learned my lesson…" Then he lifts his head and crosses his arms as he stares at me. "But anyway… exploring dungeons alone is uncommon, why don't you partner with somebody? [Blessing Magic] is valuable for any fellowship."
The advice book said that fellowships are like parties.
"Don't pry into the business of others," Rania warns him.
He flinches and smiles wryly. "Geh... I'm sorry. Mr. Ryder just piqued my interest."
Rania turns to me and smiles wryly. "Forgive my brother, Mr. Ryder. He's far too curious and carefree."
"That's not a problem… " I answer and awkwardly rub my neck. "I don't mind answering. I'm traveling alone because I'm new around here, and I… pick my partners carefully."
"Rania, I think he's Teacher's son," Nour teases and chuckles softly.
"That just means that Teacher's mentality leads to a longer life," she replies flatly.
There's nothing I can do but smile at this exchange. Nour might be a little nosy for me, but it's hard to be mad at him because he seems good-natured.
Nour rolls his eyes at his sister's teasing and turns to me again. "Well, okay… but Mr. Ryder, have you thought about buying a slave as a companion? Blood Slaves can be more loyal than even sworn knights," he suggests with a subtle smirk.
"Blood Slave?" I blurt out a question, but then Nour raises a curious eyebrow at me, so I try to salvage my question, "I mean, how can a Blood Slave be that loyal?"
He smiles subtly at my awkwardness and answers, "Well, you can use [Slavery Magic] to make sure that they always obey, but that doesn't inspire loyalty. The important thing is that the Gods watch over the Blood Slaves, so you can be certain that they're always the best servants. Just like my companion, Liam."
So, is it related to [Blood Magic]...?
"Hmmm… can you ex-…" My question gets cut short. I get two hits on my [Sense Presence], one small and one huge, both monsters.
Just what the hell is this.
I instinctively get up and draw my sword. "Monsters are coming," I somberly report.
All three of them look confused, but they stand up and draw their weapons. Liam looks at me suspiciously.
"I didn't hear anything," he states, but I ignore him as I recognize what's coming at us.
Oh no... This enemy is dangerous, extremely dangerous.
The monsters suddenly start sprinting as they've seemingly detected us, then we start to hear a jingling in the distance.
Liam turns his head towards the noise and questions in confusion, "Chain mail?"
"Run!" I shout and dart towards the corridor. It dawns on them what's coming, and they immediately follow me.
I run as fast as I can, but it's too late. When we get near the entrance to the corridor, the monsters are already at the doorway, trapping us inside.
We stop and our blood runs cold as we see the two figures coming to kill us. These monsters are the reason I don't want to go to the eleventh floor: the Orc Headhunter and the Swamp Goblin.
There's a trap on the eleventh floor, a roaming duo of monsters much more powerful than the ones normally found in the area. They hunt weaker adventurers and prey on them, so this is why nobody spends any time on that floor. The worst thing is that the Escape Bomb doesn't work on the orc, its endurance is too high. The duo is a terrifying combo.
The Swamp Goblin is a brown, filthy goblin that wears simple rags. It uses a blowgun that shoots poisoned darts that weaken the physical capabilities of adventurers. It's physically weak, so it's the priority target.
The orc is a green ugly monstrosity around two meters tall. It has a pig snout, large eyes, and huge tusks coming out of his mouth; its strength is superhuman; it wields a claymore that he uses with a single hand, and a large kite shield; and it wears a hauberk with a metal cuirass, vambraces, schynbalds, and cuisses. I'll be lucky if I survive a single strike from this thing.
"MASTER! RUN!" Liam screams while he charges the orc.
That was the wrong move. Nour and I have shields, so we can defend against the goblin and dodge the orc while Rania snipes the goblin, but we never agreed on cooperating, so Liam must be thinking of sacrificing himself instead of betting on us defeating him.
I just can't let him commit suicide, so I charge behind him. I cast [
Entangling Vines
] at the goblin's feet and hide behind my shield.
Lucky for us, our timing is accidentally perfect. The orc is occupied with Liam, so its reaction is slow, and I manage to duck under the quick slash it sends at me, slipping past it without a hitch, but as I pass, I feel the orc's gaze on me. I think it knows what I'm doing.
I ignore him and completely hide behind my shield, blocking my vision of what's ahead, then I hear a soft *ptoon* as a dart hits my shield and bounces off.
Good, now that goblin is dead.
The vines grab both of its legs and hold them in place. It fired its blowgun and didn't dodge, so now I'm going to make it pay for it.
The goblin screams in terror and anger, then I reach it and savagely slash down diagonally. My sword slides through its skull and lops off a part of its head.
I stop and stare as the life in the goblin's eyes is snuffed, his brain matter exposed by my attack, then he collapses, and I immediately turn around, just in time to see Liam getting blown away several meters.
"NOOO!" Nour screams. He's attacking the orc, but the monster is just effortlessly defending with its shield.
The orc has one big weakness, its metal armor, which is vulnerable to electricity. I frantically remove a point from [Sword Use] and put it into [Electric Magic] while I pray that Nour doesn't die in the next attack.
Now with a free hand, the orc savagely slashes sideways. Nour defends with his shield, but he gets splattered on the wall and all the air from his lungs is forcefully expelled.
The orc doesn't finish him and instead dashes towards Rania. I cast [
Lightning Bolt
] at the orc's back and it immediately stops moving, then its body starts convulsing. It's stunned, but for how long?
I do a mad dash towards it and prepare to strike. I try to slash its neck, but it turns towards me at the same time, and I only wound it as it gets out of my reach. His shield suddenly comes towards my face, and all I can do is meet it with my own.
A loud noise of metal hitting metal fills the dungeon, then pain flares in my shoulder as I feel it almost gets dislocated from the impact.
I'm forced to take a few steps back to maintain my footing, then I cast [
Lightning Bolt
] and the orc gets stunned again.
"[
ICE LANCE
]!" Rania screams with a cracked voice.
I see the orc jerk away with a speed I didn't think was possible, then a spear of ice suddenly pierces the orc's shield shoulder. It's a complete penetration right at the bone joint, and the spear is a good 10cm wide, so the orc drops the shield as its arm is now completely useless.
From behind the orc, I see Rania fall to her knees.
Was that an advanced spell? It certainly did a lot of damage to the orc.
Maybe she's inexperienced and is now suffering from mana drain like I did once, so this means I can't rely on her anymore. I need to kill the orc myself.
The orc roars in pain and anger, then he grabs the lance and pulls it out without hesitation.
I get up and cast [
Lightning Bolt
] again. The monster twitches, and even though it doesn't get stunned, that's enough of an opening.
I stab the orc in the groin, and I feel my sword sinking into flesh. It seems like this is a vulnerable area where the chain and plate mail don't have proper coverage.
The orc screams again and gives me a weak blow with his claymore that I defend with my shield, but it's enough to push me backward.
My sword gets jerked around, but I don't lose my grip on it, so it does even more damage to the orc as it's violently ripped out of its body.
"RAAAAAAH!" Liam screams his lungs out as he charges.
A dagger flies towards the orc's face, but it deflects it with its claymore. Liam reaches the orc a second later and slashes at it. The orc parries the attack, but that's another opening for me.
I jump and slash towards its throat, but it evades again with an impossibly high speed, so I only manage to wound it.
The orc is bloody. Its chest is completely stained from the blood that's pouring from its two wounds on its neck, its legs are red as a large amount of blood flows from its groin, its shoulder has a large gaping hole that bleeds even more than the other wounds. But even with all this, it's still fighting like a barbarian.
It kicks Liam again, who seems to be too slow to react, and he gets blown away a few meters, then the orc tries to counter my attack with its claymore, but I manage to parry it!
Is it losing strength? It did counter from an awkward angle, though.
"[
SHOCKING TOUCH
]!" Rania screams again with an even more cracked voice. That's a level 10 [Electric Magic] spell.
Suddenly, the orc starts to convulse, now completely defenseless as the spell wracks through its body, and I see Rania collapse behind him. She must've run out of mana.
I'm too far to immediately slash at its neck again, but it's enough for me to aim for the groin. This time my sword pierces deeply, and I quickly try to pull it out, but it's stuck.
The orc roars while still convulsing from the spell. I give up on the sword and grab my dagger, then I jump and aim for its neck.
The monster is stinky and filthy. My right hand grabs onto the back of its huge head, and it gets coated in something sticky, then its smelly breath hits my face. I ignore my disgust and savagely stab his neck. The skin is incredibly tough, and the dagger's blade isn't sharp enough to penetrate deeply, but I keep stabbing into the previous wound to widen it.
The orc stops convulsing.
Oh no, he's going to hit me. Is it going to be a punch? Or a stab? Or a slash? Or is he going to just grab my head and crush it?
I have no time to get away, so I just have to bet the lack of blood pressure will save me!
"STOOOP!" Nour roars, and with the corner of my eye, I see him throwing himself on the sword arm of the orc, then hugging it with all his strength.
Thank you, Nour. You've bound the monster for me, so I'll use your opening.
I stab the orc's neck even more savagely, causing blood to spurt all over my face and chest. The orc's roar starts to die down as I split its neck open, then it falls on its knees. Its angry expression goes blank, and it starts to fall backward.
Oh no! Not that way, you'll crush Rania!
Both Nour and I pull the monster towards us, then it falls face down in a pool of its own blood.
"You are now level ten."
Nour and I stare at him for a few seconds as we catch our breaths, then reality comes back to me, and I rush towards Liam.
I kneel before him and apply [
Regeneration
]. He's alive, but unconscious. I have no idea if he's bleeding internally, so I'm just going to heal him until he wakes up, then I should try to wake up Rania next. It's best that everyone is awake, even if in pain.
Nour kneels beside Rania and pours a glowing blue potion into her mouth.
Isn't she going to choke on that?
She suddenly wakes up and coughs a few times, then she opens her eyes weakly and starts swallowing the potion properly. After she finishes drinking, her body starts shivering, and Nour hugs her tight.
Oh, okay. I guess that worked.
Liam wakes up a few seconds later, but he's too weak to get up. He slowly turns to me and mutters, "Poison…"
I think he got hit by the Swamp Goblin. This is why that monster is killed first while everyone hides behind their shields. Liam got poisoned during the fight and lost most of his physical strength.
I pull out a battle potion from one of my chest pockets and pour the thick dark liquid into his mouth.
I got a little scared of the Mossy Fangpine and the Bush Babies, so I have three. It's going to take around ten minutes for it to work, though, so I'm going to continue healing Liam meanwhile.
After a minute, I drink a mana potion as my MP steadily drops. My shoulder hurts, and Nour could be wounded too, but Liam is much worse, so he gets priority.
Rania stops shaking and Nour helps her sit, then he comes over to me.
"Is that [
Regeneration
]?" He weakly asks.
"Yeah. I don't have a lot of mana, and I'm not very experienced, so this is going to take some time," I softly respond.
He shakes his head gently. "Oh no, you already did a lot. Here, let me give Liam one of my potions." He kneels and helps Liam drink a red potion. I see that its glow is much stronger than the ones I have.
Nour returns to Rania, then a few silent minutes pass, and Liam gets strong enough to sit. "Thank you, kind Sir, but it's enough for now. Please heal yourself," he pleads.
I don't want to argue since my shoulder is hurting, so I just do as he says and use the last of my mana to ease my pain. The potion is still acting, so my mana is recovering faster than normal.
Once I stop healing myself, Nour turns to me, his face still pale, and praises me with a weak voice, "Thank you, Mr. Ryder. You could've run after killing the goblin, but you didn't, you saved us, and most of all Liam, who was going to sacrifice himself for us."
True… throwing myself on the orc's chest was certainly reckless.
I awkwardly rub my neck and reply, "I just… I didn't think I should run away."
"You have a noble soul," he whispers with a smile.
"Indeed, I owe you my life," Liam affirms solemnly.
"Thank you..." Rania chimes in with a hoarse voice.
I'm getting a little overwhelmed, and I have no idea how to react, so I just smile weakly and nod.
But then the adrenaline starts running out, and the reality sinks in. The orc should be on the eleventh floor, and I don't know why it came here. I'm scared I'll meet another one, so I just want to go home as fast as possible.
"We need to leave this place. fast. These two monsters shouldn't be here; there's something wrong with this dungeon," I nervously plead.
"He must have entered the exit… multiple times," Rania supposes.
"And crossed multiple floors?! That's insane, how could such a rare thing happen repeatedly?" I retort bitterly.
A monster could indeed enter the exit door on a dimensional dungeon like this one and appear on a lower floor, but that's something rare to happen even once, so for it to happen multiple times is a miracle. We won the lottery of bad luck to find him.
"Perhaps the Lord has been skimping on his duties," Liam suggests dispiritedly.
The Lord manages the dungeons. If the monsters aren't culled often, then dangerous ones can appear, or like in this case, an extremely dangerous monster goes to a floor it's not supposed to be on.
"We need to report this," Nour asserts, then he stares at me intensely. "Mr. Ryder, do you have space in your [
Item Box
]? We need to bring these corpses to the guild. Since you did the most, the least we can do is to let you take all the rewards for these kills."
I raise my eyebrows in surprise and ask, "Is that really okay? I didn't kill them alone."
Nour nods and insists, "Yes, it's the least we could do for now."
I don't want to argue, so I just collect both corpses, then Liam and Rania stand up, and we start walking towards the exit, which is fortunately nearby.
Since I'm the one in the best condition, I lead the vanguard with Nour at my side. Liam is still too weakened from the poison to lead.
We kill two goblins on the way effortlessly. Having two people in the vanguard means that one tanks the attack while the other flanks. Our swords are also sharp enough that we can kill the goblins in a single hit.
We get to the exit soon after that. The guard near the entrance jumps in place when two completely bloodied adventures and two exhausted-looking ones suddenly appear before him.
Nour does the talking. He retells what happened, and the guards' faces pale. Meeting the Orc Headhunter is a nightmare for the people around here.
--
Two guards escort us back to town, and we wipe ourselves while walking, but enough blood has seeped through our clothes that even a [
Clean
] can't remove it.
Luckily, the customs officers don't ask to look into my [
Item Box
] since I made a blunder and put the corpses in my "Items."
When we enter the hunters' guild, one of the guards runs towards the closest attendant and murmurs something, then they both hurry up the stairs.
The presence of the guards and the bloodied adventurers attracts quite a bit of attention. Liam and Rania are looking better now, but they still seem very tired, while Nour and I look quite ghastly because we couldn't fully clean our armor.
A minute later, an old man and Sonny come down. The old man is short and skinny, his pure white beard protrudes from his jaw and makes men envious with its magnificence, and though he lacks hair on the top of his head, the pure white hair on the sides is well maintained. He wears simple velvet clothing, the same color as the uniform, with only the guild symbol embroidered on his chest as decoration.
The guards signal to us, and we all go towards the dismantling area. Over there, Gordon and his assistant are processing some meat and stare at us in surprise as we enter.
"Well then, could you show us the corpses?" The old man gently asks, then he gracefully motions with his hand towards the large, empty tables.
I pull out the bodies, and I hear a few gasps of surprise. The orc and goblin lost their equipment, but they're still recognizable as the dangerous duo because of their physique.
Curiosity gets the best of me, and I take a look. The orc's genitals are completely shredded, and I feel pain between my legs just from looking at it.
"So, it's true. We really need to send a complaint to the Lord," the old man mumbles, then he turns to me and smiles gently. "Now, then. My name is Silas, and I'm the guildmaster. Could you all take a seat and tell us the story in detail?" He motions towards the benches on the wall.
We obey and retell our fight.
--
"Quite the predicament, Sir Nour," Silas comments with a worried frown.
"Sir"? So it's really true that Nour is an important person. I just wonder why he didn't use his last name.
Silas turns to me and smiles as he adds, "And we all benefit from having someone like Mr. Ryder among us."
I'm bad at being praised. Should I say something in response?
Sonny smiles wryly and continues, "A Gray Berserker and now an Orc Headhunter. You're giving us a surprise after surprise, though I wish it was of a different kind when talking about the orc."
I chuckle and reply with a tired grin, "I think I just have bad luck."
The fact that I've been isekai'd should be enough evidence of my bad luck.
Sonny glances at the corpses and ponders, "Depends on the perspective. Those two monsters are really valuable, and the prestige that comes from killing them isn't small."
"I just want a calm life," I mumble and frown.
Gordon laughs while butchering the orc, then Sonny murmurs something and casts a spell. I don't know what spell it is, but he starts talking towards nobody while looking at the orc. He suddenly turns around and reports, "The spirit confirms it, he was killed on the sixth floor."
So mages can talk to monster spirits, too? I know that I only need a few points in [Spirit Magic] to be able to communicate with spirits, but a monster spirit being able to talk is new to me. I guess this is really useful for information gathering.
"Have you decided how the bounty is to be shared?" Sonny asks us with an impassive tone.
Nour shakes his head and immediately replies, "Oh, we aren't taking the money. Mr. Ryder saved us, so all the reward goes to him. Now, if the talk is over, we'll take our leave. We're all extremely tired, and all we want is to rest."
"Oh, it's done. The rest is with us," Silas agrees with a nod.
They didn't even let me reply.
Nour turns to me and smiles gently as he says his farewell, "Then we'll be off, Mr. Ryder, but one last thing. Could you come here to the guild tomorrow before noon? I'd like to properly give you my thanks and reward you."
I'm taken aback, and I stumble a little during my response, "I-Is that right? Sh-shouldn't the bounty reward be enough?"
He gives me a warm stare. "That's just money. You saved our lives, so I should at least reward you a bit more. Please, just come tomorrow."
I sigh and relent with a nod, "Alright then. I'll come."
He grins, pleased with my response. "Thank you. Then I'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye, Mr. Silas."
Nour and his companions give Silas a quick bow and leave.
Sonny comes towards me and reports, "Now, then. The reward for a runaway monster of threat level five is five gold. His corpse is going to sell for three gold and the goblin for one gold."
That's a huge amount because runaway monsters are a serious threat to everybody. The orc skin sells for a lot, and this one, especially, is way tougher than normal.
I also take this opportunity and bring out all my remaining proofs of extermination but not the bodies I collected. It all sums up to four silver and a bunch of copper coins. A pittance in comparison to the orc, but at least I recouped the loss from the days that I didn't sleep at the inn.
Silas spends this short time simply observing me. It seems that I've already caught the eye of the guildmaster, but I'll be laying low for the week, so no grand feat will come while I simply relax and train safe and sound inside these walls. I also don't believe in jinxing, so I can say this with confidence.
After I take my money, I say my goodbyes and leave.
--
It's almost night, so I go towards the inn's bathhouse and get a few concerned glances when they see my bloodied armor. I'll leave the cleaning of the blood for later, so I take out a fresh set of spare clothes after I take a wash.
Today, I order a drink while eating. They only have something similar to apple cider currently since nearly all fruit juice ran out, and there's not much wine in the town.
I eat my meal with happiness, not necessarily because it's good, but because I'm happy to be alive. Once I left the guild, I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. All I want is some comfort and love, away from being in situations where I have to frantically stab a disgusting orc in the neck.
The innkeeper's daughter seems to be extra lovely to me this dinner. I learn that her name is Selina, and she starts some small talk, but it doesn't last long because she's too busy.
Once she leaves, I just decide to enjoy my meal: a vegetable salad with a lot of cooked beans and some chicken sauce. The vegetables of this season seem to be slightly sweet, similar to carrots and pumpkins. They go well with the beans and extra well with mutton, but today the meat is different. The inn is serving the delicious, marbled Rabid Rabbit meat, and it's of a much higher quality cut than the one sold at a stall.
After eating, I drop on my bed and immediately fall asleep.
--
--
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