Chapter 11 – The First Dungeon

&R;​ｅad̃ oɴ ́KɑţRｅàdｉng‍​Cａf​ê

The entrance to the dungeon was located at the edge of a dense forest, so thick that you couldn’t see even an inch ahead. Despite the late hour, the dungeon entrance was bustling with players. Some parties were checking their gear around campfires, seemingly waiting for the dungeon to reset, while others were recruiting new members on the spot.

Not only that, but there were also merchants selling potions and other miscellaneous items on the ground. Of course, the prices were higher than in the village, but business was still booming. Even with a 10-20% markup, many players bought potions and other items from these merchants.

If a buyer didn’t have enough gold, the merchants would also accept items dropped in the dungeon as payment, but at slightly lower prices than the shop value.

Isolin and I led our party toward the dungeon entrance.

[Goblin Village]

Entry Limit: Maximum 5 players

Recommended Level: 10

That was all the information available about the dungeon. There were no details about the monsters inside or the items that could be obtained.

“Hey, if you’re not going in, could you step aside?”

While I was examining the dungeon entrance, an unfamiliar voice reached my ears. Turning my head slightly, I saw a party of five lingering nearby.

They seemed ready to enter the dungeon immediately. My eyes lit up, and I quickly approached them. Most of their equipment looked unfamiliar, and their overall levels were quite high.

They must have had a lot of experience with the dungeon.

“Hey!”

I grabbed the arm of a man about to pass by and started asking light questions—things like what to watch out for inside the dungeon or the boss’s attack patterns.

However, the man’s reaction was colder than I expected.

“Move aside.”

“Ah…”

His gaze was icy. The man glanced at me and Isolin, then led his party into the dungeon without another word.

This was the first time I’d experienced such a cold reaction since arriving in this world. Everyone had been kind to me when I smiled at them as a little girl… It seemed the man really didn’t like children.

(tl: XDD)

“Supreme, are you okay…?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded at Isolin’s question and shrugged. People’s personalities are as varied as their appearances. Not everyone can be kind.

I forced a smile and looked around at my party members.

“The dungeon’s difficulty doesn’t seem too high. Should we head in now?”

Everyone nodded in response. Even Isolin, the party leader, didn’t object, so it seemed fine to proceed.

I took a deep breath and jumped into the dungeon entrance.

Thud—!

As my small body passed through the blue barrier, the world I was looking at began to shake, and in an instant, I found myself in a different space.

The smell of the air had changed. It was a mix of dampness and a fishy, unpleasant smell. The ground beneath my feet was also wet, with sticky mud clinging to the soles of my shoes.

We had arrived in a dark forest. The only light came from the moon in the sky.

At that moment, the rest of the party members appeared one by one.

Isolin, Zeblin, Palm Tree, and Sky Shrimp arrived. Now, all five party members had entered the dungeon.

“It’s too dark… Does anyone have a lamp?”

“Ah, I do.”

Zeblin responded to Isolin’s question. He pulled out a small lamp from his inventory, lit it, and hung it on his belt.

The faint light from the lamp began to dispel the surrounding darkness, revealing a path that had been invisible before. The path, starting from where we stood, led deeper into the dark forest.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Naturally, Zeblin took the lead. His short sword and kite shield gleamed in the moonlight, casting faint reflections.

“They said finding the way shouldn’t be too hard. Just pull the monsters we see ahead, chip away at them slowly, and be careful of roamers…”

Although we had already briefed in the city before heading to the dungeon, I started explaining again, just in case. Then, Isolin, walking beside me, asked:

“Hey, Supreme?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask since the beginning… What do ‘pulling’ and ‘roamer’ mean? Is there some hidden meaning? Or is it just the literal meaning?”

The party, which had been moving smoothly, suddenly came to a halt. Zeblin, who had stopped, turned around with a look of disbelief.

My expression probably wasn’t much different from his. I carefully wiped my mouth and asked Isolin:

“Isolin, can you tell me how much experience you have with RPGs?”

“Hmm, I’ve played MapleStory and Lost Ark…”

(tl: maplestory is small indie rpg game 2003)

I wiped my face at her answer. I had assumed she had a lot of experience with RPGs since she took on the role of party leader and recruited members herself, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

Who would have thought I’d have to explain these terms myself? I awkwardly smiled and began to explain.

“‘Pulling’ means using a ranged skill to lure a monster from a distance.”

“Oh?”

“You know why we do that, right?”

“Hmm. Roughly. To lure them to a safe spot and take them down, right?”

“You catch on quick. Exactly. As for ‘roamer’…”

“Ah, I think I can guess what that means. In League of Legends, roaming means moving to another lane, right? So roamers are monsters that don’t stay in one place but move around?”

Thankfully, she was smart. I nodded at Isolin, whose eyes were sparkling, and replied:

“Yeah. That’s why we have to be careful of roamers. They’re monsters that constantly patrol the dungeon without a fixed location. If you accidentally aggro one, it could trigger a chain reaction, pulling all the nearby monsters.”

“That’s an interesting concept… They don’t use these terms in the RPGs I’ve played.”

“They were common terms in older RPGs.”

“How old are we talking?”

“That’s…”

I closed my mouth at Isolin’s question. To answer her, I’d have to step out of the character of Supreme, the 12-year-old girl.

“Supreme, do you like yanggaeng?” (Korean snack)

Supreme, the 12-year-old girl, doesn’t know what yanggaeng is.

“…”

“What about hongsam candy?”

Supreme, the 12-year-old girl, doesn’t know what hongsam candy is either.

Enough of this pointless conversation. I signaled to Zeblin, who was hesitating ahead.

“Hmm, shall we get moving again?”

We began exploring the dark forest once more. The sticky, damp mud clung to our shoes as a foul-smelling wind crept in from the depths of the forest.

After a while, the narrow forest path suddenly widened, revealing a shabby tent. A group of goblins lay scattered around it, deep in sleep.

Judging by their loud snoring, it seemed they were affected by the nighttime, unlike field monsters.

“They’re all asleep…”

“Even monsters sleep at night.”

“But field monsters don’t sleep…?”

Our voices lowered, fearing the goblins might wake up, and our postures naturally crouched. Zeblin, hiding in the dark bushes, turned around and asked:

“What should we do? Should we pull them?”

The decision was up to the party leader. I ignored the subtle glances and looked at Isolin.

“Hmm… I don’t see any roamers around, do you?”

“No. No unusual movements detected.”

“Four goblins sleeping… Can anyone see how many more are inside the tent?”

“I’ll take a look.”

Sky Shrimp, the archer, stepped forward at Isolin’s question. He stood up and peered at the goblin tent.

“Do archers have good night vision?”

“Yes… I have a passive skill called ‘Owl’s Eyes,’ so it’s pretty bright.”

“So, can you see anything?”

Sky Shrimp didn’t react to Isolin’s cheeky tone. Even though he now knew her actual age was quite young from our earlier conversation.

“There’s one more inside the tent… And three goblins sitting on a large rock behind the tent, making something. It’d be dangerous to charge in recklessly.”

“Hmm. I guess we’ll have to do that ‘pulling’ thing this time.”

At Isolin’s words, Sky Shrimp immediately drew an arrow and nocked it.

Creak—!

The taut bowstring trembled as he pulled it back, and Sky Shrimp looked at Isolin for final approval.

“Shoot!”

Whoosh—!

With the girl’s short command, the arrow flew through the darkness.

And then.

Nothing happened.

“What?”

“Ah, it missed…”

Sky Shrimp, seemingly trying to make up for his mistake, drew the bowstring again. The high-tension string was pulled back in an instant, and another arrow was fired.

Thwack!

Thud—!

The sound of a heavy impact followed the arrow’s release. This time, it had hit its mark.

Screech—!

The goblin hit by the arrow, along with the four goblins sleeping near the tent, began charging toward us.

Clearly, the sound of the attacked goblins must have echoed throughout the forest. Yet, there was no special reaction—likely due to the game-like mechanics applied in this world.

“They’re coming! Get ready!”

At Isolin’s shout, Zeblin and Palm Tree rushed forward.

Whoosh—!

The sword and kite shield swung through the air. The two warriors’ attacks intercepted the charging goblins.

Vrslop_translator