episode_0017

Thud.

The last goblin fell.

Jeong Yushin pulled the sword from the goblin’s body.

After walking for several hours, when they reached the end of the first floor, they encountered another group of goblins.

Seven in total. The fight ended quickly.

He cut off the dead goblins’ ears and put them in his pouch.

The current number of subjugations was 12. Since the subjugation request was for 10, the request was guaranteed to be completed.

“Haa, it’s been a while since I’ve done this.”

Dito grumbled while cutting off the goblin’s ears.

“I was wondering when you were going to say that.”

Dell replied, moving his hands quickly.

“I’m bored, want to sing a song?”

Dito cleared his throat.

“Don’t. Don’t be disgraceful in front of the newbie.”

“Don’t want to?”

Dell and Dito bickered.

The rest silently cut off the ears and collected them in their pouches.

Dell’s party and Jeong Yushin finished their work and walked again.

Before long, they were able to reach the end of the first floor.

A monument was visible in the center of the huge open space.

Transition Stone.

It was a novel feeling. They had argued here about whether to go down with Kaal’s party or not.

“Let’s rest here for a bit.”

Dell glanced at Einhofer and said.

He was considerate of the dwarf, who had a stamina drain engraving.

“Yes.”

The party took a seat a little away from the Transition Stone.

They ate and drank a little, sharing various stories.

Mostly, it was Dell and Dito bickering. On the other hand, the dwarf and the magician were taciturn.

“By the way, are you all mid-level explorers?”

The surroundings became quiet at Jeong Yushin’s question.

“Don’t come at me so suddenly. It hurts.”

Dito grumbled.

“We were all mid-level explorers.”

Dell said.

“Stop talking nonsense and let’s go. Noob.”

Kelton got up from his seat.

“Yeah, gotta make money.”

The party packed their things and gathered in front of the Transition Stone.

A red portal and a blue portal opened.

Kaal’s party flashed through his mind.

“Hoo.”

Jeong Yushin took a deep breath and stepped into the red portal.

Second floor.

Torches flared up again in the dark cave.

One by one, people emerged from the red portal behind Jeong Yushin.

“Ska, are you okay? Your hands are shaking.”

Dell asked.

“I’m fine. I’m just a little nervous.”

“Okay. As I said before, we’re going to go around the outer part of the second floor and catch hobgoblins. Just stay calm.”

“Yes.”

The things to be careful about are ambushes and traps.

Dito, who was leading the way, stopped.

“It’s a trap.”

Looking closely at the floor, they could find it.

A place covered with leather the same color as the cave.

It was the kind of trap where, if stepped on, the floor would sink and the spikes underneath would pierce the soles of the feet.

Thanks to the torchlight, they could see it at a glance. It would have been difficult to find in the dark.

It was a similar type of trap to the one Kaal had stepped on.

Dito simply removed the leather covering the floor and got up from his seat.

“If there are traps, there are goblins too. Be prepared.”

Dito was right.

After walking a few steps, Dito stepped back and said.

“There are a lot this time. 20. Barbaroi, wake up.”

Dito’s voice was devoid of laughter.

Jeong Yushin planted the torch on the floor.

Swish.

He drew his sword, slung it over his shoulder, and gripped the shield handle tightly.

“Kieke ke.”

“Kyakyak.”

Ominous and sharp laughter was heard from the darkness.

Dell drew his bowstring.

Shooo!

Several arrows shot out like streaks of light. There were no screams. Only the sound of falling.

The cries of the enraged hobgoblins echoed through the cave.

‘They’re coming.’

A goblin burst out of the darkness and powerfully swung its axe.

Clang!

His hand tingled from the heavy impact felt beyond the shield.

Anyway, he blocked it.

Jeong Yushin stabbed the goblin’s neck with the sword in his right hand.

The sharp tip of the arming sword dug into the hobgoblin’s vulnerable neck and severed the carotid artery.

Poohah!

The goblin collapsed, spewing blood from its neck.

“There’s one behind you! Einhofer!”

Dell shouted.

“I’m going!”

The dwarf retreated with his axe.

Jeong Yushin now had to take on the front line alone.

He can do it. No, he has to.

Jeong Yushin repeated inwardly and took his stance.

Several hobgoblins rushed in a line.

Crash!

He held the shield horizontally and crushed the goblin’s neck bones.

He struck the head with the pommel and kicked it away.

He used every part of his body to slaughter and crush the attacking goblins.

But he couldn’t block all the attacks.

Thwack!

A chilling sensation that pierced the hard leather armor and tore into the flesh.

A goblin slammed into Jeong Yushin’s body and stabbed him in the stomach with a knife.

Jeong Yushin’s body stiffened at the sudden pain.

So he couldn’t block the descending club.

Clang!

The club struck Jeong Yushin’s head. His head rang and he felt dizzy. If he hadn’t been wearing a helmet, the blow would have knocked him unconscious in an instant.

Even as he staggered mindlessly, he swung his sword and slashed the goblin’s eyes.

The goblin who had just stabbed him in the stomach lost both eyes.

He blocked the club being swung again with his shield and stabbed the goblin in the abdomen with his sword. He grabbed the goblin’s neck, which was drooping as if he had lost strength.

Keeek.

He grabbed the goblin, who was feebly wriggling, and threw it.

The flying goblin collided with the goblin group running in front and tumbled.

“Kelton! Are you still not done yet?!”

Dell shouted.

“I’m done. Noob.”

[Fireball]

A fireball that distorted the air and burned hotly struck the tumbling goblin group.

Light filled the cave for a moment.

Boom!!

Jeong Yushin instinctively lowered his body and raised his shield. It was difficult to maintain his balance due to the loud noise and the shockwave.

Thud.

The goblin’s blood and flesh, torn apart by the explosion, pounded against the shield.

The magic didn’t end there.

[Light]

The cave was brightly lit. Even areas not visible by torchlight were clearly visible. Most of the goblins in front were caught in the explosion and died, and the few remaining were hastily turning around and running away.

[Ice Lance]

Five 2m-long ice spears were created in the air.

At Kelton’s gesture, they quickly flew towards the goblins in the rear.

Shoooooo!

“Kkieeeek!!”

The sharply honed ice spears pierced the goblins’ bodies.

“Ska!”

Dito shouted.

“I’m going!”

Jeong Yushin ran to the rear, covered in blood and flesh.

Dell and Dito were wielding daggers and fighting hard.

Einhofer was sitting down, panting. His one-bladed axe was nowhere to be seen.

‘7 goblins left.’

He swung his sword and struck the neck of the goblin clinging to Dell.

Cock!

The sword, which had dug halfway into the neck, stopped without going any further. Sticky fat stuck to the sword, and its sharpness disappeared. Or was it the limit of Jeong Yushin, who had lost strength?

He grabbed the head of the goblin, which was staggering with its neck half cut off, and brought down his sword.

Several times, as if chopping wood.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

It was cut.

He roughly tore off the neck and threw it at the head of the goblin that had attacked Dito.

The goblin, staggering from being hit in the body with the severed head.

He rushed in, pushed it against the wall with his shield, and pinned it.

Bang!

“Keeek!”

And a push kick.

When Jeong Yushin’s worker pressed down on the goblin’s stomach, which had collided with the wall, there was a soft sound as if its intestines had burst.

When he took his foot off, the goblin, with its eyes rolled back, vomited blood and leaned against the cave wall before collapsing.

‘5 goblins.’

He picked up any weapon that had fallen on the floor and swung it.

He smashed their heads with clubs, kicked them, and swung his shield. If a goblin fell, he stepped on and crushed its neck bones.

When they swung their swords, he blocked them with his shield and kicked their vitals. When they stabbed with spears, he dodged and pulled them.

The goblins followed without fail.

He gave them uppercuts and, when they couldn’t come to their senses, he grabbed the goblin’s mouth with both hands and tore it open.

He killed them all.

No. One goblin left.

Jeong Yushin turned his head.

The guy who was stupidly not running away, just trembling and backing away.

As he approached, the goblin screamed.

“It’s me! It’s me, you bastard! Dell!”

“Dell?”

“Yeah! Damn it. Stop it!”

“I’m just here to check if you’re okay.”

“That’s not true. Your eyes were gleaming with murderous intent!”

He felt one leg getting heavy and looked down to see a gnome clinging to it.

“Dito, what are you doing?”

“….”

“Heal him first. Noob.”

Dito was silent, and Carlton spoke indifferently.

The dwarf was panting, gasping for breath. His one-bladed axe was nowhere to be seen.

“Hoo.”

He plopped down on the spot and rummaged through his backpack.

The injured area repeatedly became cold and hot. It seemed that the weapon was coated with poison. Should he say that’s what you’d expect from a goblin, something sinister?

He drank the antidote, took off his armor, poured rubbing alcohol on it, and wiped it with a clean cloth. Finally, he took out healing ointment, applied it to the wound, and wrapped it with a bandage.

‘Healing potions are too expensive.’

So he bought a cheaper healing ointment, and it was pretty good. He felt the pain subside a little, perhaps because the ointment also acted as a painkiller.

It wasn’t his first time, so he was able to finish quickly.

Looking around, everyone was taking care of their own wounds. Only Carlton was standing with his arms crossed, looking indifferent.

“Something’s strange. There are too many hobgoblins, aren’t there?”

Dell scratched his head.

“Yeah, it’s strange. 40 of them attacking at once. That’s crazy.”

“Ska, do you have some kind of strange engraving? Like an engraving that attracts monsters.”

Dell asked.

“No. I do have an engraving, but it’s not like that.”

“Tell me honestly.”

“It’s Sacred Weapon.”

“That’s normal, isn’t it?”

“It’s normal. Noob.”

“Show me once.”

“I have to lie down after using it once. It’s hard.”

Then Einhofer, who had been wriggling on the floor, sat up.

“Ska, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I just did what I had to do.”

He accepted the dwarf’s gratitude with humility.

“Is there anything else besides that?”

“No. This is only my second time in the labyrinth.”

“Then what is it? What’s going on in the labyrinth?”

“I heard that an unusually large number of new explorers have entered this time, so it may be related to that. Noob.”

“Most of them went into the labyrinth and didn’t come back, did they?”

Dell asked.

“No, they couldn’t come back. Stop playing at home and get out more.”

Dito said.

“I have to risk my life to go outside. Outside the blanket is dangerous. Damn it.”

Dell grumbled and continued.

“I know that a lot of novice explorers have come in, but what does that have to do with these hobgoblin groups?”

“Aren’t they sticking together and wandering around because there are more explorers?”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Dito shrugged at Dell’s assertion.

“Monsters also learn and adapt. It’s not a strange thing to say, is it?”

At Dito’s words, Dell looked at Carlton.

“What does the magician think?”

“There’s a better explanation than the monster learning theory. Noob.”

“Is there a monster in command?”

Carlton looked surprised at Jeong Yushin’s words.

“That’s right. Noob.”

Thinking about it, a few things flashed through his mind.

When he was wandering around with Ann on the second floor, they weren’t attacked that much.

Except for when he rescued Marie and the last attack, he didn’t see any hobgoblins.

At the time, he thought they had shaken them off well, but wasn’t that thought a delusion?

Hobgoblins.

Assuming Carlton’s words were true, and looking at it from the hobgoblin’s perspective.

Even if they didn’t bother to chase them, there were plenty of prey around. It’s easier to stick with the side with more numbers.

If they stick together, they can easily get more pregnant pouches and more meat.

Even if he were a goblin, he would have made that choice.

The conclusion was simple.

Surviving the first labyrinth trip was purely luck.

That day, there were a lot of novice explorers on the second floor, and the hobgoblins, realizing that it was more efficient to stick together under the command of a leader, gradually began to gather in one place, didn’t they?

Wasn’t that how he got out of the labyrinth through the gap that was created? He was lucky to have survived, but what happened to the other new explorer parties?

Carlton stroked his white beard, seeing Jeong Yushin’s hardening expression.

“It happens sometimes. Strong monsters come up from the lower levels. Noob.”

“Magician, I’ve never heard of that before? Is that just a guess?”

Dito grumbled.

“Aren’t you a 10-year explorer? I’m a 20-year explorer. In my day, things like this happened often. Noob.”

Dito’s expression crumpled terribly at the magician’s reply.