episode_0016

We moved our steps into the ruins.

In truth, it might not have made much sense to distinguish between the inside and outside of the ruins, considering the collapsed ceiling and walls, but in terms of location, we were within the interior.

Judging by the long stretches of debris on either side of the walls, perhaps this area was once a corridor before it collapsed?

The floor, which must have once been covered with smooth marble, was now littered with broken stone fragments and weeds, with animal excrement and beetles scattered about.

After about forty seconds of walking, just beyond the debris-filled corridor, we were greeted by a significantly larger space.

Similar to the corridor, it was a space that was nothing short of ruin.

Except for the fact that the area of the stone floor was several times larger than the corridor, and there was a gaping black hole leading underground at one spot on the floor.

An unnaturally gaping hole. It was the entrance to the underground dungeon created beneath the ruins.

“Hey, there. Magical residue is flowing out from below,” Amy, who was following a few steps behind me, pointed to the entrance with her staff.

“It’s definitely something down there.”

Her voice was filled with anticipation and excitement. Given the value of a mage’s tome, it was a natural reaction.

Even though the tomes sold by the Magic Tower were nothing more than mass-produced goods, their prices were exorbitant.

A magic user without money had no choice but to either go into debt to purchase a tome or delve into dungeons to search for one themselves.

Once a tome was found, not only could they use it themselves, but they could also reveal its contents to the Magic Tower and claim a reward.

“Let’s go down. Everyone, get ready.”

After lightly stretching and preparing for battle, we lined up and descended one by one into the gaping hole.

◆◆

Dungeons are generally cold. It’s an inevitable fate of the gloomy underground spaces that never see a ray of sunlight.

By the time you reach the middle or deep levels of a dungeon, things tend to change a bit, but in dungeons less than five levels deep, there was frankly little difference from naturally occurring caves.

They were equally cold, damp, and even the air was oppressively stale.

However, the North Kingdom’s Herbolman seemed to be an exception.

The dungeon here, like dungeons in other countries, did not receive a single ray of sunlight, yet the interior was surprisingly warmer than the outside.

Or should I say relatively warm. Just the fact that one could escape the relentless biting cold wind made the interior feel much warmer compared to the outside.

Of course, for me, who was naturally resistant to the cold, it didn’t matter, but it seemed to make a huge difference for Kikel.

“Click! Click! I’m alive, finally!”

He seemed to have been in a good mood ever since entering the dungeon.

“By the way, it’s awfully dark…”

Bolton looked around and muttered a brief observation. Not that there was anything to see.

Finally entering the underground dungeon, there was not a single ray of light. It was so dark that you couldn’t even see a step ahead.

Usually, monsters would use crude torches or luminescent mushrooms to create some form of lighting, as they also needed to see ahead, but here… nothing.

It seemed that the monsters here had developed senses other than sight, perhaps hearing or smell.

“Amy, could you please provide some light?”

“Leave it to me.”

Amy nodded and took out a book from her bag. It was a basic spellbook sold by Matap, “Adventurer’s Tome,” containing useful spells for novice adventurers.

“Sphaera Lucis.”

As Amy held up her staff into the air while opening the spellbook, she murmured some incomprehensible words. Then, rays of magic light burst forth from the open spellbook, forming a dazzling sphere of light above our heads.

『Luminous Sphere』

This was a basic magic spell that created a sphere of light, which could be used as a versatile lighting spell, such as a lantern or even a flashbang depending on the output control.

Amy mentioned that she could only use it about six times a day. To prepare for emergencies, she needed to reserve at least one usage, making it a magic lantern that could be used about four more times from now on.

“Oh, it’s bright! Feels like morning!”

Keikel shook his head as if intrigued, gazing at the light orb. His movements resembled that of a cat chasing a laser pointer.

Of course, it was more comical than cute, given that the object hanging over his neck wasn’t a cat’s face but a lizard scale.

Nevertheless, with the illumination secured, we relied on the magical light and began exploring the dungeon’s interior.

◆◆

The slightly uneven earthen floor was adorned with geodes, and even the stone walls were covered in moss. Unlike the shattered and ruined ruins on the surface, the dungeon’s interior resembled a naturally formed cavern. At least the first floor did.

It was somewhat spacious for a cavern though.

Sharpening my senses, I led the way alongside Keikel, while Bolton and Amy followed closely behind.

There was no need for a rear guard. Unlike archers, defensive magic users or clerics could manifest defensive spells or divine miracles, so unless struck down in a single blow, they could adequately respond to most surprise attacks.

We walked like that for about thirty minutes straight.

“Sniff, sniff. Smells. Rotten meat. Goblins.”

As Keikel, peering into the darkness untouched by light, pressed forward, he stopped in his tracks, sniffling through his nose to issue a warning.

Seemingly due to being a different species, he seemed to have a keen sense of smell.

“Goblins. How many?”

I asked, drawing my longsword. The distance was quite substantial, and I still couldn’t sense anything yet.

“Obviously, I don’t know. The smells are all mixed up.”

Keikel looked down at me, as if to say, “Do you really think I can tell?” He snorted, tail flicking. It seemed his olfactory abilities weren’t at the level of a canine’s, let alone a reptile’s.

Well, even if he had a good sense of smell, it wasn’t at the level of a humanoid. After all, I’d never heard of a metaphor like “lizard nose” in my entire life. What could be the reason? Perhaps because compared to dogs, reptiles were inferior when it came to their sense of smell?

So, even if he couldn’t distinguish the number of creatures, it wasn’t his fault for being born less sensitive than a dog.

“If we don’t know, there’s not much we can do. Still, if it’s just goblins, it shouldn’t be a big deal. Let’s handle it ourselves.”

I instructed the two men and women behind me to stay quiet as I shrugged my shoulders lightly. Unlike warriors who could continue fighting as long as their stamina allowed, magic users and clerics were limited in the number of spells and divine miracles they could cast. It would be a waste to use them on creatures like goblins, especially when we might not even get to use them for more critical situations, whether it be for offense or defense.

“Alright!”

“That sounds good. I’ll count on you.”

“Got it.”

My party members all nodded without disagreement, sharing the same thoughts as me. Then, after walking for another several tens of seconds…

Swish!

With a cutting sound through the air, something flew in from beyond the darkness.

“Yaaah!”

Kirkel blocked the flying object with his shield. Following that, with a thud, a long branch grew on top of his shield. It was a crude arrow.

“Kishaaaah!”

Kirkel let out a scream resembling that of a snake being struck, and dashed toward the direction from which the arrow had come. His movements seemed sluggish compared to mine, but for a nearly 2-meter tall muscular lizard charging at such speed, it was akin to a tank plowing through.

“Amy! I need some light!”

I followed closely behind Kirkel as he rushed forward. Amy, using her staff, moved the location of the light source further ahead.

“Yaaah! Yaaah!”

The figures of the enemies hidden in the darkness became clearly visible. They looked like characters straight out of a children’s storybook, with faces similar to the ogres in fairy tales, and an appearance resembling a mixture of a tightly wound young boy aiming for a friend’s mother, and a half-rotten, mud-soaked concoction.

They were goblins, just as Kirkel had said.

“Kek! Kerrr…!”

Was it due to the sudden light, or perhaps because of the lizardmen charging in with battle cries? They shouted in confusion, their eyes wide open.

In total, there were ten of them. Two were archers, and there were no higher-ranking individuals among them. In other words, they seemed like warm-up exercises. I pounded the ground hard and sprinted after Kirkel.

“Kerrrrk!”

Excited by the scent of fresh prey, the goblins split into two groups and charged toward Kirkel and me.

“Take care of the archers! Leave the rest to me!”

Without even looking back, Kikel shouted loudly and charged forward like a brakeless bulldozer, shielding his head with his shield.

“Kek!”

“Kejaak!”

Two goblins rushed at him, swinging their wooden clubs, but it was a futile effort.

Thwack! Kwang!

One goblin, struck by the shield, flew like a ball and smashed its head against the dungeon ceiling, almost like a child hit by a truck. With a crack, its head stuck in the rock ceiling, transforming the creature into the most handsome goblin in the dungeon.

The fate of the other goblin was not much different. As Kikel pushed one away with his shield, he simultaneously whipped his tail in the opposite direction, causing the goblin hit by his tail to flatten out and scurry away.

“Kagakakak!”

The lizard’s laughter.

In an instant, Kikel dealt with the two goblins, threw a dart at the goblin archer pinning it to the wall, and approached the remaining goblin, tearing it apart with his claws.

Indeed, as the receptionist lady had vouched for, his skills were quite impressive. Admittedly, he was somewhat out of their league, but among the generally mediocre bunch, strength often equated to skill.

What had I been doing all this time? Nothing out of the ordinary.

“Ke, Ketyurek….”

A goblin, pierced through the heart by a longsword, convulsed and vomited blood. I kicked its belly, sending it flying, then swiped my sword through the air, spilling more blood.

That made six.

While Kikel charged towards the goblin archer, I effortlessly slaughtered the remaining six goblins. It was as easy as breathing. Just let your body lead, swing the sword appropriately, and one by one they fell.

Cleaning the blood off the blade was several times more bothersome than killing them.

◆◆

The goblin horde, whenever they reappeared, would paint the dungeon walls red.

“These goblins keep popping up. Are there no other creatures…?” Amy murmured, yawning out of boredom.

Was it because the enemies seemed too weak for a dungeon where magic had been detected? She looked somewhat disappointed.

“It’s only the first floor. We might find something else if we go down,” I reassured her.

It wasn’t a lie. The monsters on the first floor of low-level dungeons are usually not original residents of the dungeon, but rather wandering creatures that have somehow found their way in.

This place seemed to be no different. Seeing goblins everywhere, it was likely that wild goblins had taken refuge in the dungeon and made it their lair.

However, something could have changed from this floor onwards. Once wandering monsters took control of a floor, they tended to settle down and breed there for life, rather than seeking out other floors. This meant that true dungeon exploration began from this floor onward.

◆◆

Indeed, it was true. After advancing through the cave filled with goblins, we finally reached the stone staircase leading downward.

The entrance to the underground second floor. After a brief rest and preparation in front of it, we walked down the stairs.

Unlike the underground first floor, which was a cave, the underground second floor was a maze-like space covered with well-polished bricks. It felt like a communal graveyard built underground, almost like a catacomb.

There, we finally encountered new monsters.

Clink…!

Accompanied by a creaking noise, skeletons approached wielding rusty swords.

…For some reason, it felt like we should exclaim “Wow!”

“Ugh. Of course, they’re undead. Just my luck, seriously,” Amy grumbled, furrowing her brow and letting out a small sigh.

“Undead…!” Bolton, standing beside her, flashed his eyes and ignited his zeal.

The stark contrast in their reactions made watching quite entertaining.