章 14: Exploring The Dungeon
Chapter 14 - Exploring The Dungeon
"First, I need to get rid of these extra targets."
Facing multiple goblins for the first time, Bell knew he had to understand how these goblins fought one-on-one before taking on more.
He didn't feel strong enough to just slice a goblin's neck with raw power. As long as his weapon was sharp, any monster would go down if he hit it right. That was the weapon's job, not his.
Without wasting time, Bell charged straight at the scattered goblins.
The goblins, hiding in the shadows, spotted him and rushed at Bell with their daggers. Low-level monsters in the dungeon were mindless, but fighting in a group didn't require brains—just instincts.
Bell, moving fast, zeroed in on the slowest goblin and pulled out two short knives from his Spatial Pocket.
Aiming at the slowpoke, he threw one of the knives.
Luckily, Bell had picked the slowest goblin. Its speed was slow, and its body was stiff. The knife Bell threw with all his strength could only be blocked.
Clang!
Slash!
The goblin instinctively blocked the knife aimed at its head, but the second one hit its leg. The sounds followed each other, almost like gunshots.
"Yah!"
The goblin with a knife in its leg screamed, and green blood oozed from the wound. But since it wasn't a fatal hit, the goblin didn't turn into black ash. Instead, it just glared at Bell with blood-red eyes.
Bell, who had been charging forward, suddenly stopped. He stretched out his right hand, and a fruit tree from the Spatial Pocket appeared in mid-air.
Gravity did its thing, and the massive tree, which would take three people to carry, crashed down on the four goblins.
The goblins sensed the danger and tried to jump out of the way.
But the tree fell too fast, and two of the goblins got crushed underneath it.
Bell felt the ground shake under his feet. He didn't give a damn about the two fallen goblins and instead stepped on the tree trunk, leaping over it.
Another knife appeared in Bell's hand, and he set his sights on the goblin with the pierced leg.
Bell raced down the tree trunk, using the momentum to speed up.
The goblin, still trying to pull the knife out of its leg, noticed Bell charging and picked up its dagger to stab him.
Bell was ready for this. Holding a short knife to parry, he shifted his weight to the left as he ran.
Crack!
The dagger in Bell's hand shattered from the impact, sending a shock through his arm. Bell was a bit surprised—if he hadn't shifted his weight, his hand would've been severed.
"Small, sneaky, and attacking in a horde. These goblins aren't messing around."
If Bell wasn't in decent shape, his hand would've been lost from that hit alone.
This made Bell realize that even if you could kill goblins on the first floor, it didn't mean they were pushovers.
The goblins were fast and strong. Their bodies weren't tough, but they were still a decent challenge for Level 1 adventurers.
"Yeah, a sharp weapon is a must against these bastards."
Bell now understood why adventurers spent so much on weapons and gear.
Without the right weapon, you're pretty much screwed against dungeon monsters.
Bell immediately pulled out the previous drop from his Spatial Pocket. Before the goblin could react, he slashed its neck.
Slash!
A spray of green blood shot out, and Bell, unable to dodge in time, got smeared by it.
He didn't feel any burning or itching, so the blood wasn't toxic.
"That's pretty much how the goblins on the first floor are."
The goblin's neck was slashed, and it turned into black ash, absorbed by the dungeon. A goblin fang and a small magic stone dropped on the ground.
Bell was a bit surprised but didn't bother thinking about the drop rate right now. He pocketed the magic stone and goblin fang, then turned around.
Raising his hand, he put the fruit tree back into the Spatial Pocket.
At this point, Bell noticed that items recorded in the Spatial Pocket could be marked and recycled. Whether there was a distance limit would need some testing.
After putting away the tree, Bell immediately pulled out two more goblin fangs, one in each hand. Aiming at the back of a goblin's head that hadn't gotten up yet, he threw them.
At the same time, Bell saw that one goblin had circled around while another had fallen.
"Perfect."
The fang that had been thrown to the goblins appeared again in Bell's hand. With a burst of speed, he reached the goblin on the ground in less than a second.
Slash!
As the goblin lifted its head, Bell's attack slid across its neck, spilling blood. He didn't waste time, quickly eyeing the two remaining goblins and rushing at the last one still standing.
"Yah!"
The last goblin roared in anger as it saw the others being taken out. Holding its dagger with both hands, it charged straight at Bell.
Bell narrowed his eyes and picked up speed. The weapon in his hand was ready, and he quietly adjusted his balance.
As Bell and the goblin were about to collide, Bell quickly shifted his weight.
But to his surprise, the goblin also changed its stance, switching to a one-handed slash aimed right at him.
"Really."
Bell smirked slightly, this time moving to the rear left instead of just shifting his weight. The goblin's dagger swiped past him, missing completely.
Without giving the goblin a chance to recover, Bell's knife sliced through its throat. The head didn't come off, but it was enough to kill it.
All five goblins were down.
Bell collected five goblin fangs and five small magic stones.
"This drop rate is insane. Are monster drops always this frequent?"
Even though Bell hadn't finished watching the anime, he knew that the drop rate for monster was generally low.
It was rare for low-floor monsters to consistently drop magic stones, let alone extra items like goblin fangs.
Yet, for him, the drops that should've been rare were practically guaranteed.
No matter how Bell looked at it, this messed-up drop rate seemed like pure luck. After all, you can't control the monsters in the dungeon.
And even if you could, who would rig it just for him? Bell doubted the drops were rigged.
"Maybe it's just luck."
Bell shook his head and decided to stop worrying about it. In reality, the drop rate of monsters didn't matter much to him. No one would notice unless someone shady was after him.
Plus, Bell wasn't planning on teaming up with anyone anytime soon. After all, this was a dungeon; he didn't want to overthink things.
The belief that teammates are often unreliable was drilled into Bell's mind. He wasn't like the goody-two-shoes in the anime who trusted people they'd just met.
Knowing people can be troublesome, trusting teammates was the last thing he wanted to do.
'I need to be careful for now, and it'll take some time to grow before I can do something.'
To keep his secrets safe, Bell wasn't ready to let anyone notice him just yet.
Even if he had to show his abilities later, it would only be after gaining a lot more experience. For now, he'd keep everything under wraps.
'These goblins don't seem like mindless creatures. They adapt to new tactics pretty quickly. Were they warriors in another life?'
'Whether these monsters have warrior traits or not, it's nonsense to say they lack intelligence. Without some brain, how would they learn from an attack and try to counter it? If I hadn't been more careful, I would've taken a hit.'
Bell was starting to doubt the whole monsters lack of intelligence thing.
Watching a single goblin, he realized that creatures without intelligence wouldn't have reacted like it did.
Glancing at the manual in his hand, Bell frowned. The mistakes in the manual made him question a lot. He'd need to be careful and verify himself.
Suddenly, he heard a lot of footsteps. Bell snapped out of his thoughts and quickly shoved the magic stones and goblin fangs into his Spatial Pocket.
"The data on goblins is in. Their agility is average, and their defense low. Ordinary weapons can hurt them, but their strength is no joke."
'However, as long as you avoid going head-to-head with goblins, you don't have to worry about their strength. Considering their speed and flexibility, you can take out a bunch of goblins if you play it smart.'
'Next, I need to do more exploring on this floor.'
Bell listened carefully to the sounds around him. After the last battle, he could tell his hearing and sense of smell had gotten sharper.
He couldn't pinpoint where monsters were by smell, but he could tell if they were nearby.
The sound was similar to that of goblins, so he figured it was more goblins spawned by the dungeon.
'Forget everything else; let's focus on stacking up resources. Time for my daily grind.'
A lot of adventurers skip the dungeon's first floor because it only spawns goblins, which almost always drop magic stones at a low rate.
So, most adventurers don't bother with the first floor after gaining some experience.
But Bell was different. For him, goblins frequently dropped magic stones and goblin fangs.
Spending the first day on the first floor was safer and more profitable for him than risking the second floor.
And that's exactly what Bell did.
He entered the dungeon early in the morning and didn't leave until the setting sun.
Before leaving the dungeon, Bell pulled up his hood to cover his face. This might seem shady, but when some people noticed him, they quickly looked away.
Why?
Bell only wore a simple trench coat with no backpack. In a situation like this, everyone knew this person was a total newbie, and his outfit was probably just to hide how weak he was.
Looking like this, Bell headed straight to the guild. The magic stones he collected in the dungeon needed to be processed. Besides the magic stones, he had a bunch of goblin fangs to deal with.
"I hope Miss Eina is still there."
Bell picked up the pace on his way to the guild. Before sunset, he had to get home to let Hestia know he was safe.
If he didn't hurry, he'd waste time processing the magic stones and drop items later.
Actually, the guild's working hours are pretty long, even longer than Bell had expected. Their workday runs from dawn until exactly nine to seven in the evening. However, the guild's daily tasks were simple, making the long hours manageable.
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From now on we'll have long chapters like this..{1,799 words}
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