"Huff...Huff...Huff"
Kneeling on one leg, whilst supporting myself with my sword, which was stabbed on the ground, I gasped for breath.
-Click!
-Kueeeekk!
Before I could even have enough time to catch my breath, a goblin tried to sneak up from behind me, but fortunately, I was still alert and dealt with it in one swift movement.
'And here I was telling myself to keep my arrogance in check.."
Holding the left side of my stomach, I felt my whole body become dizzy. I overexerted myself.
Looking at my surroundings, the area around me was littered with corpses.
My previously clean clothes were now drenched in green blood.
For the past hour, I had been fighting against more than 20 goblins.
At first, I thought that dealing with 20 goblins wouldn't really pose a problem with my current abilities, but I had severely overestimated my capabilities and underestimated the goblin's abilities.
Just because goblins were supposed to be weak, didn't mean they were actually weak.
Yeah sure, maybe in a 1-on-1 they were easy, but not when more than 20 of them were coming at me at the same time.
It also had to be noted that my rank was still G+.
I was inside of an F ranked dungeon, meaning that every monster I was fighting had higher stats than me!
If it weren't for the fact that I practiced the [keiki style], I would've never been able to make it this far.
Although stats were important, they weren't everything.
It had to be said, stats were only a mild representation of one's ability.
If someone with high stats were to fight a highly skilled warrior that had lower stats, but far better battle awareness, then the highly skilled warrior could still win.
It was like in games when fighting a boss.
The boss always had better stats than the main character, but he/she could nevertheless still beat the boss.
As long as you adopt the right strategy, you could win regardless of your stats. Well...given that the disparity in stats was not that different. If the stats of the boss was a lot higher than your game character, then you might as well kiss your game goodbye.
On the off-chance that the boss was stronger, but the difference in stats between boss and character wasn't that big, then you could do several things to beat it.
Like for example, if you hit a monster on their weak spot.
By hitting their weak spot, the monsters will sustain far more damage as compared to a regular strike.
In goblin's cases, their weak spot was was located right on their forehead, just in between their brows.
Because my sword's art was extremely fast, I was able to swiftly deal with the goblins with one quick stab.
It may sound easy, but it really wasn't.
I had to fully concentrate each time, as a slight miss could cause me to lose my rhythm.
Moreover, because there were so many of them coming at me at the same time, I had to kite them for one hour before I could finally kill them all.
It was only after that I dealt with all the goblins, that I felt pathetic for telling myself how I shouldn't become arrogant and always humble myself in the face of danger.
Had there been one or two more goblins, I really might've died.
Mhhh...maybe not died, but I would've at least gotten severely injured.
Well if we look at this on a positive note, I was almost halfway towards reaching my goal of collecting 50,000 U.
Because the [Keiki style] primarily focused on dealing a singular swift movement at unimaginable speeds, the corpses around me were all in pristine conditions, meaning that I could sell them for more money.
Tapping on my bracelet once, I grabbed a goblin and placed it on top of my bracelet.
-Sham!
Right after placing the goblin on top of my bracelet, it disappeared.
"Great stuff"
Like this, for the next 10 minutes, I placed all the goblins that I killed inside of the bracelet.
"Phewww, 21 goblins huh"
If each goblin went for 1,000 U, right now I had accumulated a total of 21,000 U.
Well, that was if we exclude the 11% clause which would be around 2310 U.
Wiping off the sweat that had accumulated on my forehead, I tapped my bracelet twice and a water bottle suddenly appeared in front of me.
"Dimensional storages sure are handy heh...."
By tapping the bracelet once, I could put anything inside of the bracelet as long as it didn't exceed the storage capacity.
By tapping twice I could retrieve whatever I stored inside of the bracelet, as long as I thought of what I wanted.
Truly convenient.
Taking the water bottle, I took big gulps.
All that exercise had made me extremely thirsty.
After drinking the water, I took out a [Stamina recovery potion] and drank it.
Soon after finishing the [Stamina recovery potion], I felt a rush of energy enter my body, making my previous fatigued expression turn much better.
I used three [Stamina recovery potions] during my fight with the goblins, yet even with that, I was completely drained by the end of the fight.
Standing up, I decided to stop looking for goblins for a while.
Since I didn't think I was ready to face another goblin horde and hunting a single goblin at a time was just a waste of time, I decided to directly look for boss monsters.
If goblins and monsters of similar strength were considered weak opponents, boss monsters, which were a lot stronger than regular monsters in dungeons, were considered formidable opponents for those who were of the same rank.
Not only did they have much more health, but each of them also had the strength that almost neared the next rank.
If you were in a G rank dungeon, a boss monster's strength would be at around G+ almost nearing F- rank. Making them extremely tough opponents to face.
...Wait, why deal with a boss monster that were stronger than a horde of goblins?
It was simple really.
When fighting against the horde of goblins, I had to repeatedly aim for their weak spots while kiting, moreover, because I was being attacked by all sides, I barely had enough time to breathe.
It was like doing HIIT cardio for 1 hour straight.
With boss monsters, although they were stronger, I could have more room to breathe.
Depending on the boss monster I was going to face, chances were that fighting against them was going to be easier than fighting against a horde of goblins.
Boss monsters were all different.
Some were slow, some were extremely fast, some were tanky, some were super strong, there were many different types of boss monsters, and depending on which one I was going to face the difficulty was going to vary.
For example, if I were to face a really strong boss that had limited mobility, against my sword's art it wouldn't pose as much of a challenge as I could just overwhelm it with my speed. However, if I were to face a similarly fast boss monster then things would become troublesome.
The difficulty of a boss monster depended on how well I could counter its flaws.
Each F rank dungeon had around 25 bosses, and although I didn't know the exact location of each boss monster, with my knowledge as the author of this novel, I could more or less get a basic idea of where they were.
Although each dungeon was different, they followed a specific set of rules which I had set up.
Though looking back at it now, I think I may have overcomplicated them a bit...
A dungeon followed a law of conservation of energy.
Once a dungeon was created, its energy capacity was permanent. Meaning that if the balance within the dungeon were to be increased, the dungeon would break and destabilize.
so as long as the dungeon capacity remained greater or equal to the external energies inside of the dungeon (monsters + humans), then the dungeon will function without a problem.
Moreover, the monster's energy was always constant, so the only thing that could cause a dungeon to break was if the external energy increased to the point that the overall energy exceeded the dungeon energy capacity.
To make things easier to understand, let's assume a dungeon was a half-filled balloon, where the air inside of it represented the total number of monster energy inside of a dungeon.
Once a human entered a dungeon, the amount of air inside of the balloon increased proportionally to the human's strength. The stronger the human was the more air was filled inside of the balloon.
if suddenly too many humans entered the dungeon, or too much air was blown into the balloon, then the balloon will pop, and in the case of dungeons, they would break and desync.
That was the first and most basic rule of a dungeon.
The second rule was that, once a monster was slain, the dungeon will replenish its energy by 'spawning' another monster with equivalent strength.
Since a dungeon was located in the demon world, the monsters which were 'respawned' in the dungeon were just monsters that were found in the nearby region.
'Respawning' was the process in which a monster was replaced by another inside of a dungeon.
Dungeons were a source of nourishment for monsters, and once a monster inside of the dungeon was killed, a monster would automatically be drawn by the dungeon to fill its spot.
However, a dungeon could only draw a monster that fit the 'missing energy capacity'
If the monster was stronger than the monster killed, then the dungeon would automatically reject its existence and prevent it from entering.
A dungeon could only be considered cleared when the dungeon could no longer 'spawn' monsters, as all the ones in the vicinity had died.
Yeah sure, you could technically clear a dungeon by just exceeding its dungeon capacity and causing it to desync, but that would be stupid.
Not only will the hunters inside of the dungeon find themselves stuck in the demon world, due to the desync, but you would also lose a source of income as the monsters inside of a dungeon went for a lot of money due to their tough bodies.
Moreover, dungeons were only dangerous for those that entered, for the most part, they were harmless.
Why would anyone want to clear them?
Lastly, in the third rule, the number of boss monsters present inside of a dungeon differed depending on the rank of a dungeon.
Where the higher the dungeon rank the lower the number of boss monsters present in the dungeon.
Moreover, each boss covered a certain area inside of the dungeon and each split the dungeon evenly.
This meant that all I had to do right now was find a boss monster, and from there, using a map, I would be able to locate where the other bosses were.
...or at least get a general idea.
Walking forwards, I could see the towering sand dunes before me.
'There should be a boss monster in this area..'
Staring at the sand dunes, I was almost certain a boss monster was going to be there.
Not only was the terrain here different compared to the other areas of the dungeon, but as I looked around I could see goblins and other monsters staying away from this place.
Thus I took a brief moment to prepare myself before making my way towards the desert-like terrain.
As I walked up the dune I felt a sudden wave of heat wash over my face, prompting me to take out a towel and cover my face with it, leaving a slight opening for my eyes.
As I was walking forward, I could feel my feet slowly sinking into the stand, making it harder for me to move forward.
-Kuuuak!
Moreover, with the occasional monsters popping from beneath the sand, my journey towards the boss became extremely arduous.
-Click!
Swiftly taking out my sword, in one smooth movement, I stabbed towards the monster that was trying to attack me.
-Clank!
"Huh?"
Surprisingly for the first time today, I couldn't kill a monster with one strike.
-Screeech!
Letting out a large screech, presumingly due to the pain of being hit, the monster which resembled a worm tried to assault me.
Lowering my body, I twisted my body and elbowed the worm sending it flying in the air.
-Shlup!
Diving deep beneath the sand, silence returned to my surroundings.
Looking beneath, to my feet, I closed my eyes and felt the ground below me.
"huuuu...."
Letting out a long breath, I concentrated on feeling any vibration coming from beneath me.
"There you are.."
-Shaa!
Appearing from behind my back, I stabbed my sword behind me, right in between my armpit.
-Screeeeeeech!
Hearing the loud screech and feeling my sword become heavier, I turned around, and like a skewer, the worm hanged from my sword as it penetrated deep into its mouth.
-Thump!
Slashing my sword down, the worm fell on the sand.
Staring at the corpse of the creature I just killed, I thought
'It seems like its weakness is the mouth...'
***Author note***
Sorry, this chap is a bit of an info dump. ;(
Hopefully, it doesn't ruin the experience for you. I am learning as I continue writing and I will make sure not to do this again.
I will probably revise this chapter in the near future and I'll try to make it not as tedious to read.
Using my sword to turn over the body of the monster that I just killed, I speculated that it was some sort of sandworm variant.
Everything from the top and bottom resembled a worm, however, its mouth once opened resembled a four-petal flower. But unlike flowers, it was anything but pretty.
If one looked closely, once the worm-like monster opened its mouth, chainsaw-like teeth sharply protruding from the edges of its mouth would meet your sight.
Its exterior which was as hard as titanium had some sort of mucus-like substance excreted from its body.
-Tshh!
Using my finger to pick up some of the mucus, I felt a stinging sensation on my finger prompting my brows to involuntarily frown.
'Could this mucus be the reason why they can travel in the sand like a fish swims in the ocean?'
Examining the mucus up close, I took a look at the area where the worm was, and from there I could instantly understand how the worm was able to move freely in the sand.
The mucus that the sandworm-like creature excreted had some sort of acidic property which slowly eroded the sand around it, enabling it to move freely in the sand.
'Fascinating...'
Wiping the mucus on my finger with the sand, I placed the corpse into my bracelet.
Taking my phone out, I opened the monster encyclopedia and quickly scrolled down the list.
After scrolling for a bit, I finally found a monster that matched the description of the monster I killed.
==========================
Name : Sand sprout
Rank: F-D rank
Description : Monster that is typically found in desert regions, and is around the size of an adult arm. If caught off guard, with its razor-sharp teeth the sand sprout can easily tear off the limbs of its prey, rendering them immobile. Has extremely durable skin that is as tough as titanium, and excretes a strong acid measuring at around a ph of 1.
Weakness : Mouth, the only area that is not protected by its tough outer exterior.
Location : [Everlasting sunset], [Dunes of sorrow],[Lord's wrath],...
==========================
"ph 1?"
Raising my brow, I looked at my finger, which previously touched the mucus-like substance.
Fortunately, apart from my finger being slightly red, there seemed to be no abnormalities.
'It looks like consuming the [Seed of limit] helped my body become stronger...considering that an acid of ph1 is nothing to me anymore...'
Putting my phone back in my pocket, I continued venturing deeper into the dungeon in hopes of finding the boss of this area.
During the journey, for every monster that I killed and knew nothing about, I would look through the monster encyclopedia app on my phone in hopes of finding more about them.
-Screeech!
-Phfttttt
Without even looking at what attacked me, I stabbed my sword to the right and once I felt my sword become heavier, I tapped my bracelet.
"38..."
So far, the most dominant monster present in this desert-like place was the sand sprout, and since I have fought about a dozen of them, I could more or less predict their movement now.
First, if you paid close attention, right before they attacked, you could feel a slight vibration beneath your feet. With this slight vibration, I could approximately determine when they were going to attack.
Moreover from what I observed, they never attacked the front, which meant that they would only attack my right, left, or back.
Knowing this, whenever I feel a slight vibration coming from beneath the sand, I could reduce my scope of concentration and react faster.
Secondly and most importantly, for some odd reason whenever they attacked they would always let out a loud screech.
Because of this, judging the precise position of where they are going to attack was easy.
However, even though they were extremely fast, even if they did screech before they attacked, due to their tremendous speed not everyone could react in time, falling victim to their ambush.
But once you knew their pattern, they were essentially the easiest monster to deal with.
"huh, what's that?"
Squinting my eyes, a couple of kilometers from my location I could see a couple of silhouettes that looked like humans.
They seemed to be in some sort of mess, as they were all not moving.
"Party wipe?"
It wasn't that uncommon for parties to be wiped inside of a dungeon, as a lot of things can go wrong in one.
"Should I help..."
To be honest, I didn't have any obligation to help as everyone was on their own inside of a dungeon...but from the looks of it the party has at least 5 people, so what could cause them to be in this situation?
Let's calmly think this through...
Could they possibly be trying to arouse a passerby's pity, and then suddenly attack them when they let their guard down in hopes of stealing their loot?
Hmm...Probably not.
First off, considering where we were, chances of finding anyone nearby was extremely low so this sort of scheme wouldn't work here.
Even if it was like that, I didn't think they could beat me...
Slap!
Slapping myself hard on the cheek, I continued staring at the people in the distance.
I almost reverted back to my arrogant self.
There were five people in total, furthermore, since they were in an F rank dungeon, they were all most likely either F rank Heroes or Villains.
Although I was confident in my strength, I shouldn't be confident to the point where I could defeat five F-ranks without coming back unscathed.
The more I observed the more I was sure that they weren't trying to rob people, as they genuinely looked like they were in distress.
Now the real question was whether I should help them...
If I did help them then it would mean that some of my supplies would be cut short as I would have to share some of it with them, but that aside there's one thing that's been bugging me since the beginning...
Why haven't they called for help yet?
Although from a distance it looked like they were all dead, if one looked closely, they were all breathing.
Moreover, some of them were even moving, albeit lightly.
I was sure they would've had no problems sending a distress signal and wait for help.
But why weren't they?
This situation was very odd.
Part of me wanted to just leave and ignore them, but my instincts were telling me that if I were to leave right now, I may come to regret it later on...
"Ah...screw it!"
lightly sighing, I jumped down the sand dune I was on and slid my way towards where the party was.
"Screw it, even if it's a trap I'll just escape"
Although I had my suspicions, it was better to be safe than sorry...
More than me wanting to help them, it was more about figuring out what had happened.
There was simply no way a party of five F ranks could be reduced to this state in an F rank dungeon.
Even the boss monster would have a tough time against five F ranks.
As I edged closer to their location, there were evident signs that a battle had taken place. Typically the sand in the desert was shaped in little waves, however, here the sand was all over the place as craters could be seen everywhere.
Judging from the state of the surroundings, a big fight had taken place. However, oddly enough, there were no monster carcasses around the area.
Normally when fighting against a monster, you would see signs of blood everywhere or some sort of sign that a fight against a monster had taken place.
But as I observed closely, apart from some red blood, presumingly coming from the party members, there wasn't anything that suggested that they were fighting against a monster.
The more I thought about it, the odder the situation was...
Actually, now that I thought about it, why were they still alive?
Normally, once you fought against a monster, there were only two endings.
Either you die or they die.
Nothing else.
But here, although the party was injured, they were still alive.
Did this mean that they weren't fighting monsters but another group?
But even then, why leave them alive?
Something strange was definitely happening here, and if I wasn't careful enough I could get implicated in this as well...
Arriving before the group, I noticed all of them staring in my direction with blank eyes, but even though they seemed to be able to sense me, they didn't seem to be able to speak nor process what was happening.
No, rather than the fact that they didn't seem to be able to think, it was more like they were too dehydrated to think. This further added to the numerous questions that had piled up in my mind.
How long had they been like this?
To be dehydrated to the point of not being able to speak, how many days have passed since they had been attacked?
The more I looked at this situation, the more questions emerged in my mind.
Arriving before the party, I quickly headed to the individual that was nearest to me.
Wearing a massive armor that resembled a rhinoceros, I tried to flip his body which was facing sideways.
Gripping the massive plates of metal on his forearm, I tensed my quads and tried to flip his body over. Feeling the enormous weight of the armor, I silently cursed at the fact that I had chosen to help him first. Not only did it resemble a rhinoceros but it also weighted like one!
Judging from how much I was struggling, I presumed the armor was at least a hundred kilograms.
-Clank!
Finally, after struggling for a bit, I managed to flip his body upwards.
Kneeling down on one leg, I quickly lifted his helmet off his face to get a better look at him.
"Dry lips, void, and dilated eyes...the situation is much more dire than I originally thought."
Checking his conditions, everything pointed to the fact that he was extremely dehydrated.
Not only was his skin extremely dry, but his muscles constantly twitched, showing how serious the situation was.
Seeing that I didn't have much time, I quickly tapped my bracelet twice and a water bottle appeared before me.
Placing the water bottle in his mouth, I slowly watched as he struggled to open his mouth.
Although it seemed like he knew that a water bottle was placed in front of him, because he was too dehydrated, his brain had already started shutting down.
Seeing this, I tilted the water bottle and let the water fall into his mouth.
"Gulp..gulp...gulp..."
Initially, as the water fell into his mouth, he took slow gulps, but as time passed the light gulps slowly turned into big gulps, and slowly but surely, his eyes which had lost clarity returned to their normal state as he frantically drank the water.
Watching him greedily drink the water, I let out a wry smile and turned to the others.
Looking at them, they seemed to be in similar conditions to the guy who I had just helped.
Because I only had one water bottle, I could only wait for him to finish before helping the others.
Fortunately, because the water bottle could store up to 50 liters of water, I didn't have to worry about running out of water.
"Kh..th-a-nnngg"
"Shh..eat this while I'll help the others"
Regaining some of his strength, the guy who I had just helped tried to speak, but I immediately shushed him and gave him some jerky to eat.
Although I wanted to know exactly what had happened, he was still in a bad state.
Right now the main priority was helping the others, I could find time to talk to him once everyone else was fine.
Taking the water bottle from him, I went to the next person and a similar scene repeated before me.
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