Rupegia 3 Royd's Kerfuffle

Oh wait, it's morning already? Did I sleep? I don't remember sleeping, maybe I just fainted and woke up. Anyway, my mind is swimming with the possibilities. There's way too many tropes being thrown at me, I can just predict what's going to h...

"Breakfast is ready!" Says a female voice with a knock. That must have been the innkeeper's daughter. She's a really cute girl, blonde hair in a ponytail and a small face, really feminine, she's always so bright. She must be my age, by that I mean this-world-age not original-world-age. She has a brother, they kinda look like twins. Me and a few of the customers really can't stop glancing at her once in a while, does she notice this? She always comes to me with a warm smile, m

No, wait, I can't run from this, I need to finish that train of thought. I can possibly predict some developments about my reason for being here and what could happen next. Ciel said that the G.o.d of Creation is not on this cycle so the G.o.d of Destruction must have followed him. Because of that this realm is more or less stable. So if in the future The G.o.d of Creation comes back or maybe if something calls his or the G.o.d of Destruction's attention then s.h.i.+t will happen.

So I think I need to prepare and get stronger while not messing with the balance of this world. But am I really supposed to be a hero? The message that G.o.d sent me is suspicious, why not tell the reason I'm sent here? Why apologize? Did something go wrong? Was I not supposed to come here? I guess that doesn't really matter in the end. In the isekai stories a hero is sent for whatever bulls.h.i.+t reason just to create a story or an impetus to return to the previous world or save the current world. In the end the "why" doesn't matter, what matters is what I do next.

There's too many possibilities and zero answers or evidence. The best I can do is simply prepare and keep the balance of the world. There's a possibility that I might have to fight the Monster King, so information on him is essential. The possibility of realm transfer is another thing I need more information on. Maybe my original world is part of this cycle, with this it might be best for me to raise my piety and communicate with a humanoid G.o.d. Lastly, this might be simply an ultrrealistic VR game. If I die, will I return back to the world? This is just wishful thinking but if I get any evidence that this is just a game then my last question might return a positive.

Now let's get back to the present. I need to train on Royd's Kerfuffle, so I'm going to buy some equipment, supplies, and look at the dungeoneering guild for tools.

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Today breakfast is a simple vegetable soup with a small piece of mutton and sweet bread. Honestly it was kinda nice.

After that I go to the Crafter's Corner section of the town. Walking around is tiring, I wasn't sedentary, but I'm not used to this amount of exercise. Yesterday I fought until I collapsed, my muscles are still a little bit sore. Maybe I should rest, but I'm anxious since I'm not confident yet I have a stable source of income.

I saw that there are a few pieces of Grey Berserker leather armor on the market. They are, unsurprisingly, grey. They are 3 gold pieces each, seems expensive but considering how that bear is known for being tough I parted with my money, I got a jacket and pants. There are more expensive pieces like h.e.l.l Wyvern, Kite Dragon, troll, ogre and Dragon Lord but I feel like this one should do for a small dungeon. I also learned that the leather jacket that I had was from a hobgoblin. After I saw the merchant appraised my armor I switched my skills to Armor and [Weapon Appraisal].

There are two forms of appraisal, spell or [Appraisal Eyes]. Spell is the more common but it is flashy and I don't want people to know I'm using it. [Appraisal Eyes] lets me look at a piece and the information appears on a black screen in front of me after I stare at the equipment for a few seconds. The eyes version costs continuous mana, so I'm going to look at the equipment quickly.

With 10 points in appraisal it seems it only gives me "Material" and "Quality" info of the equipment. There's still a few instances of "???" on each equipment.

I choose a "high" quality steel one handed sword following the same design as my current one, which was made of iron. I also choose a small round iron black s.h.i.+eld, it too has a "high" quality. Finally I pick a hobgoblin leather mittens and cap and the cheapest bow, quiver and 20 arrows. Even if I don't know how to use a bow yet I can put points into archery once I level up. All of it cost me 3 gold. None of my equipment has any decorations on it, there are more "fas.h.i.+onable" versions of it but they are more expensive, of course.

I notice that cotton padding is quite expensive. Most of the padding available is from monster fur and is even more expensive than cotton. I will go without it for now. Hopefully it won't hurt much.

Then I go look for supplies, blankets, cloth, cutlery, plates, bowls, rope, lantern, food that's easy to eat, spare clothes, whetstone and finally oil for equipment maintenance. There is straw pail for use as toilet paper, but even children are trained into [Conjuring Magic] and [Light Magic] level 1. With that you can use the [Conjure Water] and [Clean] as a way to clean yourself after heeding the call of nature. I guess this is what the entrance guard meant when he said I had no life skills.

Then I buy a few lowest-grade health, mana and antidote potions. They are not for use during combat, they act after 5 minutes and work up to 30 minutes. The potions have a small s.h.i.+ne to them. I guess the standard way of knowing something is magical on this world is to see if it s.h.i.+nes or not.

Then I go to the dungeoneering guild for tools for expedition. Especially if you are alone you need items that keeps you safe from monsters while you sleep, eat or answer the call of nature. The most common is scented candles, but there's the danger of the wind putting it out while you sleep and you being attacked while sleeping, so at least a monster repellent stone is necessary. This stone uses mana to reproduce the effect of the scented candle but it doesn't run out, the downside is that it is more expensive and requires mana to recharge. After I put 1 point into [Mana Control] I can manage to turn it on or off or recharge it.

Another important tool is the escape bomb. It's a more concentrated version of the scented candle and it's used to run away from monsters. The seller tells me it stinks horribly so I should throw it on the monster or the ground and not on myself if I don't want to pa.s.s out from the smell.

Then there's the proximity crystals. Monsters aren't the only danger on a dungeon, thieves occasionally prey on adventurers. So if you are going to sleep inside the dungeon you need something to warn you if there's something or someone getting close.

And finally I bought the map with the 10 first floors of the dungeon.

The stone and crystals were expensive, 5 gold total but it's something I will never have to buy again.

A huge hole opened in my funds, more than half my gold coins gone. I still have the rose coin but I have no idea what the exchange rate on it is. I'm also afraid to exchange it because I still haven't seen anyone use it, so I might get scammed. Another day I should go to the merchants guilds or bankers and see if there's a place for money exchange.

The dungeoneering books mentioned that s.p.a.ce magicians normally ferry people between the dungeons entrances and the town. I even noticed there are a few spots, like besides the temple, where you can have a magician transport you. It's a simple hut where a guy with one of those crystal b.a.l.l.s awaits for someone to request transport.

But teleportation gets more expensive depending on the contents of your [Item Box], so I don't wanna expose that I have nothing in my [Item Box] yet to random people. It's suspicious to walk around without a backpack and having no [Item Box] because this spell seems to be another magic that everyone learns when they are a child so everybody can at least carry coins in it.

I don't think everybody has level 20 [s.p.a.ce Magic], so it must be possible to learn spells before you have the required level. Must be why the [Item Box] starts small and why magicians are normally the ones that carry the most supplies. Even if the magician isn't an offensive one the dungeoneering book always recommends having one just for the [Item Box]. They are glorified pack mules.

I don't wanna hire a magician yet so I will go there on foot with the crude map that I got from the dungeoneering guild. It seems the Sea of Trees is to the south of the town, to the north there are the farms and to the northwest is the entrance to the dungeon. It takes one hour on foot, so I'm going to arrive there around two hours before noon.

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I leave through the west gate and start following the road. This town really seems busy, there's a line of multiple wagons waiting to enter and groups of people in between, most look like adventurers. While leaving I take the bother to put my silver and copper coins and some things like sleeping bad and food into the [Item Box] spell, the guard at the gate uses a crystal ball to read the contents of my [Item Box] spell. I can also see the list he's seeing so I know they at least can't count how many coins there are, only that I carry coins. Looks like it is an anti-smuggling measure. Since trade goods are taxed you can't just put anything into your [Item Box] and travel to wherever you want.

After I'm a little away I put everything back into my "Items" and spec my skills for fast movement and stamina. I have 31 points, so I put them like this:

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Wolf Ryder Skill Report

Physical

Skill Name: Level Skill Name: Level Skill Name: Level

Sword Use: 5+1 Dodge: 3+1 Parry: 0+1

Block: 3+1 Sense Presence: 5+0

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Magical

Skill Name: Level Skill Name: Level Skill Name: Level

Mana Efficiency: 4+0 Mana Recovery: 4+0 Electric Magic: 1+0

Nature Magic: 5+0

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Miscellaneous

Nothing

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With 10 into [Blessing Magic] I can use [Swift Foot] on myself. Adding that to [Enhanced Stamina] I can walk much faster without tiring.

At one side of the road, there's the farms, at the other there's the Sea of Trees. I recognize that most plantations are of beans, the plant is a short sprout and if you look carefully you can see the bean pods. More in the distance you can see water wheels so there's a river that runs close to the town. I can't see any sheep, maybe they are deeper in so it's harder for monsters to find them.

Soon the cobble road turns north, which means I'm close to the dungeon.

Beyond the plantations, very, very far I can see it turns abruptly into mountains. Before the mountains there's a valley where there are quite a few dungeons, so one day I will go there. On the side of the Sea of Trees, the trees are so tall I can't even see what's beyond. The area around the town is a plateau surrounded by mountains, but n.o.body fully mapped the Sea of Trees so it's unknown what's beyond there.

At the horizon a small forest can be seen appearing amidst the farms, this is the evidence I'm close to the dungeon. The trees surrounding the dungeon grow fast so they are never completely destroyed. A small wall surrounds this forest and a single squad of guards protects the entrance in the rare chance a monster comes out of this dungeon.

When I get close they just nod at me, uninterested in the common adventurer pa.s.sing by.

And then I reach the entrance to this dungeon. It's a dimensional door, which means it is an ominous black vertical rectangle that glows slightly. I remove [Swift Foot] and [Enhanced Stamina] and make my skills as follows:

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Wolf Ryder Skill Report

Physical

Skill Name: Level Skill Name: Level Skill Name: Level

Sword Use: 5+1 Dodge: 3+1 Parry: 0+1

Block: 3+1 Sense Presence: 5+0

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Magical

Skill Name: Level Skill Name: Level Skill Name: Level

Mana Efficiency: 4+0 Mana Recovery: 4+0 Electric Magic: 1+0

Nature Magic: 5+0

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Miscellaneous

Nothing

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This way my main attack is the sword, [Lightning Bolt] is a backup, [Entangling Vines] for utility and there's always room for [Regeneration]. With that there's only one choice here, I step inside the black door.

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Crossing it is like entering a dark room. I can see myself but I can't see anything else, there's not even an exit behind me. As if I opened my menu, a small black window appears in front of me. It has only two lines written on it: "1st floor" and "Exit". I choose "1st floor".

A familiar feeling strikes me. Like when I first got transported to this world I feel the ground vanish from my feet and I feel like free-falling, but this time I remain conscious. After a second the ground reappears under my feet and slowly the darkness around me is lifted.

I'm in an empty room, grey square tiles are the only decoration, black seams keep the tiles together. There's only one exit out of this room and behind me the same ominous black door is present. Every few tiles there's a small gem that glows faintly, this is how the dungeon is illuminated. There are spots and even levels without light higher up so it's another reason to keep on the low levels for now.

Now I start exploring.

There are 3 types of enemies found here. The first are goblins, which carry a variety of conjured weapons. These weapons disappear when the caster dies, most equipment is like that on dungeons. The goblins are so weak that even a greenhorn like me can take them down in a duel.

The second enemy is the Mandrake, a small walking root that looks like a baby. It will scream while attacking to disturb the enemy. It's weak and only its feet have some value, the rest of the root is inedible. The more mature ones have leaves growing out of their heads that have some value for potions.

The third enemy is the Bush Baby. It's not the animal Bush Baby but an actual baby-looking monster that has a bush on its head. It's a relative to the Mandrake that doesn't scream, and attacks with piercing vines, there's a chance to be poisoned by the vines if the wound is deep enough. It's even less valuable than the Mandrake but it's more dangerous.

These are the enemies on the first 10 floors, I'm not here to make money but to acquire experience.

I start walking around the labyrinth, I keep the floor map near my hand because I can't get lost here. I don't wanna stumble upon one of the stairs to the next level so I keep near the border of the maze. Its size is actually surprising, this floor is half the size of Rabanara.

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I meet my first goblin, around 1 meter tall. He's wielding a single spear and his genital is dangling about. I feel sick just looking at him. I detected him from far away but there's no way for me to sneak behind in these corridors and rooms so I have to face him from the front. Once we see each other he charges with his spear, there's no room for hesitation, I have to fight him. My sword is shorter than his spear so I just wait for him to come.

He thrusts, I deflect with my s.h.i.+eld and counter thrust. My sword goes directly into his chest with little resistance. He drops his spear and tries to grab my sword. I kick him and he slips out of the sword. He tries to grab his spear again but it's too late, I slash downwards and my sword gets stuck midway through his skull, he's dead.

I dislodge my sword, brain matter drips out of his wound, f.u.c.king h.e.l.l. There's blood on my boots but I have to deal with it for now.

That was easy. The sword cuts cleaner than the previous one so it's like a hot knife through b.u.t.ter. I'm also not so afraid of taking a hit after Toga taught me how to defend myself by beating me up, the wonders of healing magic may be affecting how I think about wounds. I'm feeling a little kind of hot now that I put on the mittens, cap and leather pants but considering how safe I feel on this armor I can't complain.

I cut the ear as proof of extermination and wipe my blade on a piece of cloth. The reward is only 5 copper if there's no corpse but I can't really appear with dozens of goblin corpses on my [Item Box]. Appearing with the Grey Berserker might have been a mistake in the first place but Sonny and Gordon where so happy they ignored my strangeness. I won't repeat that again so soon.

In a few minutes the dungeon will completely reabsorb the goblin corpse, so now I move forward.

Two other naked goblins appear in sequence, both using daggers so I kill them before they reach me with a single blow to the head. The second one was a female and had small b.r.e.a.s.t.s. The gore coupled with the free nudity is making me really sick.

The fourth goblin has a spear and a loincloth. Finally, some decency. But does this mean he is more experienced?

He charges at me and his spear hits my s.h.i.+eld, it stings a bit but he keeps his distance this time. Question answered, he really is smarter.

It takes a few hits but I manage to deflect his spear with my s.h.i.+eld in a way he opens up his guard. I lunge forward and slash his face. He falls down and tries to bring his spear back but I put my foot on his arm and then I pierce his heart. With his free hand he grabs the blade of my sword and his face distorts in pain.

"Grah..." He lets a small moan and dies.

That was odd, the first 3 didn't show any emotion and this one did. I'm getting creeped out by the flashbacks of the goblin drowning in his own blood. I quickly cut his ear and move forward.

I meet another naked goblin, this one with a sword. I try something out and let him hit my s.h.i.+eld with his sword, then I riposte and kill him. The hit really hurt, the spear doesn't have much weight behind it but the sword does, this means I can't really get hit by attacks or soon my arm will get hurt or worse. Just because I can block doesn't mean I know the best way to block to minimize the damage.

After a while I finally meet a Mandrake, it's about half a meter tall. Immediately after seeing it I get dizzy and almost fall down, I can't hear anything else beside an extremely high pitched buzzing. This is f.u.c.king terrible I don't want to meet this little s.h.i.+t again.

The monster immediately charges, I can see it pointing two sharp looking arms at me. I barely regain my footing and manage to desperately slash at it at the last moment. I can feel the weight of the monster this time, its skin is much tougher than the goblin.

With the slash it falls back down. I gave it a nasty diagonal slash on its chest and greenish transparent fluid start pouring. The little f.u.c.ker is tenacious, it immediately gets up again but in my rage I savagely slash at it. My sword gets embedded into its head and it goes limp.

"You are now level 6," says the familiar female announcer.

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Hahah, what the f.u.c.k, I have an ugly baby head in my hand, dripping with green blood. A sigh escapes my lips.

f.u.c.k this world.

I suck it up and cut its two ugly distorted yellow feet because they are valuable as ingredients. I open my skill window and I put the 4 points into [Mental Resistance], this way the next Mandrake will be more bearable.

I could put them into [Sword Use] but the benefits seem to be decreasing drastically. Just knowing "how" to swing a sword won't help me if I can't physically swing it the way I want. I gotta increase my stats more.
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I continue forward and meet another goblin with a dagger. This time I try my [Lightning Bolt] on it, it takes 4 hits for him to die. Took too long, too many spells and too much mana used. I really need to put more points into magic.

All of this has taken a few hours and now I'm hungry, so I sit down and bring out some meat and vegetable sticks and start eating. Afterwards nature calls, the dungeon absorbs anything you leave around so it's gonna be okay. It's really embarra.s.sing to be so vulnerable in the open like this but with [Sense Presence] I know when someone is coming.

I temporarily put a point into [Conjuring Magic] and [Light Magic] and use it to clean myself, the mana cost is kinda high. I had a little less than half the total of mana but it took ¼ of my mana to clean myself.

After moving a good distance away, I decide to sit down and wait a little until my mana is back to full.

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While resting another goblin appears. Another one with a loincloth, he has a sword. He screams while charging, but his skill can't compare to mine, I decapitate him. I wasn't fully rested so I change resting places again.

I notice that the enemies are giving less experience than before, I guess I'll have to go to the next level once I level up.

This time a Bush Baby appears. Its vines are long, three times the length of a spear, so the strategy is to cut the vines multiple times so you can approach it safely. If you rush the vines will bend and pierce you from the back.

This is annoying to deal with. The attacks are fast and hurt, my blocking isn't good enough and my arm is exploding in pain. It's taking me too long to cut the vines. So I cast lightning 3 times, on the third he gets stunned.

An opportunity! I slash the first vine and the second barely escapes. But now I just have to deal with one vine until his body is in range of my sword. One block, two blocks, there! I slash again and the second vine gets cut in half. Now I dash towards him.

The tip of my sword slashes his head, a long cut appears and it loses its balance. That's enough of an opening and I slash again, my sword gets stuck midway into its head.

A little bit of a shame that the leaves got damaged but I have no time to care for it. I cut its head and apply [Regeneration] to myself, my s.h.i.+eld arm was hurting so much. I look into my stats and see that the monster did 5 points of damage to my health, that's a considerable amount because it didn't even draw blood. Should have bought some padding.

After a few minutes the pain stops and I move forward.

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I go near the stairs to the next floor, the monsters near the stairs are stronger.

I think I got a little too confident, two Mandrakes appear side-by-side. f.u.c.k.

Even with the resistance I'm just barely standing up, this is a problematic situation. I instinctively cast [Lightning Bolt], one of monsters gets. .h.i.t and his charge slows down. The other jumps and aims for my heart with its pointy arms.

Good thing they are dumb. I just weakly slash at the first one, the second comes right behind it and I manage to defend with my s.h.i.+eld. The attack packs more punch than the Bush Baby, I grit my teeth and hold my ground.

The first one had fallen backwards due to the push from the slash, the second one fell on my feet. Feeling the danger I kick it and it flies a few meters. It was surprisingly light, but hard, my toes are hurting.

The first one gets up and jumps again. I bash its head with my s.h.i.+eld. It falls backwards on the ground then I pierce its face with my sword. It wriggles and stops moving.

I look forward and the other Mandrake is mid jump, all I could do was block with my s.h.i.+eld. The impact made me step backwards and I lose the grip of my sword that was stuck on the body of the Mandrake.

This is bad. I kick it again and feel immense pain on my toes, this time it fell backwards but not as far. I cast lightning twice, on the second time it gets stunned. That's enough of an opening that I can get my sword back.

Once it stops convulsing it starts to move again. Too slow, I'm already mid slash and my sword gets stuck in the middle of its face.

I dislodge my sword and sit on the ground. My head is spinning, my arm hurts. I start casting [Regeneration] again.

That was brutal, my heart is racing and fear runs through my body. It's a weak enemy but 2 at the same time is no joke. I need to go back near the entrance and keep killing goblins, if it weren't for my equipment I would be dead by now.

I harvest the enemies and notice something change in me. I open my skill menu and see I got [Dismantling] to 1. That was easy, shouldn't I need to practice more? Or was it because I had already acquired some knowledge through books?

I hurry back to the entrance and keep killing goblins, on the 6th goblin I hear.

"You are now level 7.

I put all my points into [Sword Use] (now 9+1).

I decide to take a break and rest. A few minutes later I get 3 large hits on my [Sense Presence], these aren't monsters. Soon enough I start to hear footsteps and after that I see 3 adventurers coming towards me. I quickly put points in [Andraste Language].

"Oh? Greetings," says the one in the front. It's a young man, about my age, neatly combed brown short hair. He's wearing some black leather armor, below it I see his s.h.i.+rt has some embroidery on it. He carries a short sword and a pristine kite s.h.i.+eld. He's clearly wealthy.

Beside him there is a rough looking man wearing chainmail and a b.a.s.t.a.r.d sword, he looks a few years older than us. He has short light brown hair peeking from below his coif.

Behind them there is a woman with a robe and a simple wooden staff with a blue gem on top. She's a fully grown woman with straight brown hair that reaches her shoulders. She has a cute and calm face with a b.u.t.ton nose and a small chin.

"h.e.l.lo," I answer. I get up and do a full nod.

"You here for training?" The man asks.

"Yes, I'm practicing my sword."

The man smiles.

"Well then, be careful when you meet more than one monster. It's easier to just run away because it's really hard to fight while alone. Be well," the man says and after a wave he starts to move forward.

"T-thank you. Goodbye," I answer meekly.

What an odd exchange, but I also wish had I met you about an hour ago.

Are they planning on staying here for the night? It's gonna be dusk soon so starting to explore now is a waste. I shrug and continue hunting goblins.

I meet another Mandrake, it's alone this time. The [Mental Resistance] helped, I'm no longer dizzy but it still hurts a lot. I learned how to slit its throat in a single slice. This takes some aim but with this attack I can kill it and not get my sword stuck on its body like what happened last time.

I then meet another Bush Baby. I can make steady progress now and shave away its vines until I can bury my sword on its head. My arm still hurts but at least I don't need to use magic. This is considerable progress for just a day. It's very motivating but I feel like this is not how things are supposed to be done.

I kill two goblins and rest again. Their experience is very low now, I need 40 goblins just to level up. My best chance to level up is to find Mandrakes or Bush Babies. But it should be late, I'm way too tired now.

I go back towards the entrance and exit the dungeon, I'm teleported right beside the entrance. It's already night. At least my sense of time wasn't completely screwed.

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The guard squad here changed. There are 5 of them and they mostly stay inside a small hut while a single guard stays outside near the entrance to the dungeon.

I nod to him and move to find a secluded corner in the small woods. I found a pair of adventurers making a tent. I move away from them and set up my camp.

I bring a ready-made meal out of my "Items". Near the Crafter's Corner there are plenty of stalls that sell small boxes with food that's easy to eat. This time I bought a few that were composed of bean paste on bread, a few pieces of a vegetable that reminds me of broccoli and a few pieces of Rabid Rabbit meat. I feel a little uncomfortable with eating anything with "Rabid" on the name, but it actually tastes good. It's slightly marbled which makes me surprised it's so cheap.

I brush my teeth, put a lot of points into conjuring so I can fill a bucket of water to wash myself, turn on my monster repellent stone, put out my motion crystals around me, bring out my sleeping bag, and try to sleep. Let's put emphasis on try, because this bag is really uncomfortable. I should have bought a tent and a better sleeping bag. The dungeoneering guide says to sleep with your armor on or at least have leather armor if you can't sleep in your plate. So I guess this can't be helped, adventurers are fated to sleep badly.

The sky is cloudy, I can't see any stars.

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I dream again of the goblin drowning in his own blood.

f.u.c.k, is this gonna be a trauma? I'm already uncomfortable sleeping in the open like this I don't need recurring nightmares s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g with me.

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The sun wakes me. My body is sore and stiff, this was a terrible night. I break fast with a goblin meat stick. I need to buy something to drink. I miss coffee, I miss chocolate milk, I miss tea, I miss soft drinks (diet only).

I look into my stats and notice my "Magic Power" has risen by 5 and my MP by 5. It seems using it slowly builds up your mana and power. Unfortunately no other stat has risen, I guess I need to nearly kill myself everyday to raise my strength or endurance.

I stretch a little, recover my crystals, store my tent, turn off my repellent stone, and get ready to go back inside the dungeon.

I decide to move again towards the stairs. Mandrakes or Bush Babies are too rare, it's taking too long to level up and I'm getting greedy.

I meet two Mandrakes in sequence, I'm really getting used to handling them. My strategy to deal with more than one is also ready. I'm still a little dubious on how to deal with two Bush Babies. But my train of thought is cut because I meet an armored goblin.

It's wearing full leather armor and pants, mittens, and cap. It has a small round metal s.h.i.+eld and a sword. I need to aim for the neck or face, slas.h.i.+ng the body won't be very effective.

"GYEEEH!" It screams and charges forward.

I deflect the first blow and attack with my sword, he dodges backwards and evades. I try to follow up with an upwards slash but he blocks with the edge of his s.h.i.+eld. He then tries to slash sideways at my face.

This time I evade by jerking my body backwards. He's short so his sword barely reaches me, but still it was close and dangerous. He swung wide and created an opening for me. I bash his s.h.i.+eld and he loses his balance, I follow up and thrust at his neck. He jerks his body and avoids a fatal wound but I still manage to inflict a nasty cut on his neck. Lots of blood pours over his shoulder.

He jumps backwards and tries to regain his balance. I cast [Lightning Bolt] and immediately slash at his face. The bolt hit and he twitches. He's not stunned but his reaction is dulled enough that my slash cuts at his cheek deeply.

"GAAAAH!" He screams and loses his balance again.

This time he's fully open so I slash downwards and cleave my sword into his head. I manage to cut through his cap with sheer strength. He sways and goes limp, he's dead.

"You are now level 8."

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Now what do I need exactly? I clean my sword and sit down to think. Perhaps more [Mental Resistance]? The 2 Mandrakes were rough but maybe there's another way to deal with them that doesn't involve resistance. Mandrakes are vulnerable to fire, so maybe 1 point in fire and then the rest on [Mental Resistance]? Also the [Blessing Magic] level 1 sounds good, I'm not having to use a lot of mana so maybe I could spare some mana for a self buff.

The blessing will come for later. I will put 1 on [Fire Magic] and the other 3 on [Mental Resistance] (now 7), the biggest threat is reduced mental capacity leading me to making a bad decision. It's just like the wealthy adventurer said, I can just run if I meet 2 dangerous enemies, but I have to be able to make this decision. In the lower levels monsters don't generally work together, it's mostly coincidences they are walking together.

So now I need a target to test my [Fireball].

The first guinea pig to volunteer is a naked goblin with a dagger. I cast [Fireball] and it hits right in the face. He falls backwards and screams, weren't the naked ones supposed to be emotionless? I need to revise this theory.

Oh, exposed flesh is more vulnerable to fire than lighting, so the [Fire Magic] is more useful here than lightning. If the stunning effect of fire on the Mandrakes and Bush Babies is bigger or equal than the electricity then I will take out [Electric Magic] and put on [Blessing Magic]. I thought that fire damage only did more damage to enemies in comparison to [Electric Magic]. I didn't think the stunning potential was greater because the book spent more time talking about harvesting and just said with a pa.s.sing notion that it was vulnerable to [Fire Magic].

Perhaps it's because it's an easy enemy. Magic seems pretty powerful here, so I find it difficult to believe mages would spend their precious mana killing such small fry when the front line could effortlessly hack their way through. I think this info could be found on magic books, but I didn't look too deep into the ones at the guild because they were too esoteric. I wanna go to the university's library.

I keep walking and after a few dead goblins I finally find a Mandrake. The scream went from really painful to bearable, I think now I'm ready to fight two Mandrakes without much risk. I immediately cast [Fireball].

The ball hits and the screaming reduces, it's super effective! The Mandrake slows down and almost stops. It pats its head with its pointy hands in a desperate attempt to stop the small fire that started on its chest.

Perfect opportunity. I charge and decapitate it.

Testing it on a Bush Baby might be prudent but I'm feeling confident it's going to be even more effective. The Bush Baby leaves seemed very dry, it seems to be a weak point against [Fire Magic].

Now I remove [Electric Magic], put a point into [Blessing Magic] and cast [Wind Armor] on myself. The magic creates a ball of light on my palm, then I touch myself and the spell is cast on me. This magic creates a sort of wind "s.h.i.+eld" that protects my entire body. It slows down physical attacks by using air resistance. Every few seconds you could see small distortions around my body, I also feel a slight breeze whenever that happens.

Unfortunately the spell had a huge cost, half my MP is gone. Coupled with the two [Fireb.a.l.l.s] I used I have to spend some time resting. I noticed that meditating really does increase the rate that my mana recovers, I just need to make sure I don't fall asleep since I have to keep my eyes closed.

­­

I get up and move forward. I think I'm ready for the next level. I move steadily towards the closest stairs and kill a few goblins on the way.

The stairs is just a simple straight downwards stair with the same black ominous rectangle on the end. I cross it and the same floor select menu appears, just now it has a "2nd floor" option. I press it and I'm teleported to the new floor.

The floor looks the same as the previous one, drab and boring. The goblins aren't naked anymore but the Mandrakes and Bush Babies are still the same.

Now even the Mandrakes and the Bush Babies are giving little experience. So it seems the enemies ramp up in power little by little. I'm thinking now that I have [Fire Magic] I would be okay on the 3rd floor. Then I find another armored goblin.

He's wearing the same leather armor but the s.h.i.+eld is bigger and he's taller, now he's just a little bit shorter than me. I'm 165cm by the way. This one I have to be cautious, he has much more skill and intelligence than the others. Just to confirm my theory he smiles and charges towards me.

We trade even blows. His blows are stronger than the Bush Baby vines, so I have to focus on deflecting more so it hurts less. But this leaves me with little openings to cut him. I'm getting pushed back, I have to do something.

I notice his attacks follow a timing, so I prepare and bash his s.h.i.+eld when he is attacking. He wasn't expecting me to counter with such precision so I break his posture. I bash again and put all my body into it, he loses his balance and falls on his a.s.s.

I swing repeatedly while he tries to crawl away backwards, his sword hand is busy supporting his body and he can't get up. His smile turned into an angry frown. I swing my sword and hit the side of his s.h.i.+eld, he's not strong enough to resist and his s.h.i.+eld arm opens up.

I step on his sword hand and he drops the sword, he moves the s.h.i.+eld back to defend himself but now he's vulnerable. I grab his s.h.i.+eld and move it out of the way, then I stab my sword in his face.

This one was tiring. I need time to catch my breath and apply [Regeneration] to my arm. Curiously, his s.h.i.+eld didn't disappear. I put some points into appraisal and it tells me it's an iron medium-sized round s.h.i.+eld. It has no painting or decorations on it and it's of "medium" quality. Average at everything, I guess it might be worthy of something so I put it into "Items".

I have to kill at least another 10 of these goblins to level up. The experience gained seems to be dropping really fast, or is it actually my growth that is too fast? Perhaps killing the same monster over and over again brings less experience each time.

­­­­

I eat my lunch away from the goblin corpse, then move on and reach the entrance to the 3rd floor. I'm getting a little nervous but I decide it's worth the risk.

At the 3rd floor the first Mandrake with leaves on its head appears. It's a mature Mandrake, nearly a meter tall. The pain from the scream is slightly higher, but only slightly so it's still bearable. Good thing their power seems to increase slowly, or else I would have to put all my points into [Mental Resistance].

It charges forward like the other Mandrakes, but it's faster than the younger ones. I steel myself, grit my teeth and ready my s.h.i.+eld. Like always, it jumps into my chest with its pointy arms aimed at me. Once it's in the air, at the perfect moment I bash my s.h.i.+eld.

"Dooon"! The sound of metal resonating can be heard even while under the effects of its scream. But slowly the scream dies out. My arm hurts like h.e.l.l but it was effective, the Mandrake flies far away and one of its arms is broken.

Considering how the scream stopped, I guess I succeeded in stunning it. I give chase and slash at the downed Mandrake. Its head falls out and a fluid greener than the one from the younger Mandrakes spews out.

I look at my s.h.i.+eld and notice there's a small broken piece of the Mandrake's pointy arms stuck on it. Wow, I guess I need a better s.h.i.+eld now, there's also a small dent on it from the other arm. That bash sure packed a good punch but I don't think it's the best choice. If they charge and jump the best options still seems to be to just slash.

Maybe a spear is the most effective tool here against these charging enemies, but if you meet more than one you need a backup weapon in case it gets stuck in an enemy. Thinking about this I pull out a dagger I had and put it into my belt behind my back. Even with a sword it's useful to have a backup weapon.

I feel something changed within me so I open my status screen, I gained the skill [s.h.i.+eld Bash] with 1 skill point. Hm, s.h.i.+eld bashes seem effective at stunning enemies, this is another skill that's important to have.

­­

I keep moving on. The goblins are stronger and require more effort on this level. They all graduated from loincloths and are using basic woolen clothes, a few have one or two pieces of leather armor. So those fully armored that I met are rare occurrences? The dungeoneering book didn't tell me much about those abnormalities, the only thing that I can remember is that monsters can go up a level on rare instances. Maybe they are from a lower level then? "Lower" as in a level deeper "down" that has stronger monsters.

The mature Mandrake is still not a common sight. The Bush Babies didn't increase in power also. It seems the experience gain is still low. This is leaving me frustrated, the speed of my level progress dropped sharply. It's annoying not having an idea on what's the proper rate of progress in this world. There's a skill called [Increased Growth] and another called [Inspire Growth]. I a.s.sume they help with experience gain, but I don't really have the room to increase those skills yet.

I can't remove my mana enhancements because I'm starting to use [Fireball] more often to make fighting Bush Babies or Mandrakes less tiring. I can't remove my physical combat skills or otherwise I feel I will lose the advantage against the goblins. Is my best choice to find a partner? I saw a duo of adventurers pa.s.sing by and avoided another duo another time, so it really seems like people only come here in pairs. But I can't trust anybody yet, my adaptability and rapid growth will be extremely suspicious, I can't just partner with anybody.

As my body gets tired I decide it's time to get out of the dungeon. At this rate tomorrow before noon I might get another level. But I'm way too tired for today, my legs are aching.

When I get out I see the sun and understand that it's gonna take a few hours until dusk. Today has really been tiring. Now what do I do while I wait? I don't really wanna talk to the guards and other adventurers also keep their distance. I should have bought a book, there's no internet or computers here so my 2 main sources of entertainment are gone. Can I maintain my sanity without my games? This might be the true trial of the hero in this world.

­­

I pa.s.s the time by maintaining my weapon and updating my notes with the magic spells of other magic types. "Notes" is a rather terrible interface to use so I think I will keep most notes on actual paper.

On most magic schools I can see magic only up to 15 points, but after that I can only see "???" and it doesn't allow me to cast it. The only level 20 spells I can see are [Item Box] froms [s.p.a.ce Magic] and [Purify Body] from [Light Magic]. So I guess I'm missing something else, is it mana pool? Is it the "Intelligence" or "Wisdom" stats?

Finally as dusk falls my [Wind Armor] runs out. I could see on my "Status Effects" the entry "Wind Armor", then it disappeared. As it ran out I felt a small breeze on my whole body.

I have decided that on my next level I will put 4 points into [Blessing Magic]. I can get the [Sharp Blades] spell with it and it might help me with cutting the armor of the goblins or ensuring a one hit kill on the Mandrakes and Bush Babies. There's no other immediately useful spells and I'm scared to put points into certain dangerous sounding magic schools like [Cursing Magic], so I will make it do with only those I know are safe.

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Just as the night falls I finally fall asleep. This is the last day I sleep here, I'm going back to town tomorrow. At least this night I didn't dream of the Gargling Goblin but I dreamt of slicing flesh, very unpleasant.

­­

I wake up and do my morning routine. Stretch, eat breakfast, recover my things, brush my teeth and put on some deodorant powder. The lack of this powder is what made the Mossy Fangpine track me easily during my first day. There was a magical deodorant powder that had a faint perfume on it, but I didn't want to spend money on that yet, I can still endure the smell of leather for longer.

This morning I tried to wash my dirty clothes, but I wasn't as successful as I wanted. It seems I damaged my underwear a little. With the [Mana Control] skill I can hold a [Fireball] in my hand and slightly change its size, I used it for speed drying but I fear that's what damaged the clothes.

After that I get ready to go back into the dungeon. I enter the dungeon at the same time as another adventuring duo. They kind of looked like a couple, I got kinda jealous. Fortunately they didn't go to the same floor as me.

Progress goes smooth but slow. No more armored goblins or mature Mandrakes for bursts of experience.

"You are now level 9," finally says the voice after half my morning is used.

­­

I put it all on [Blessing Magic] (now 5) and cast [Sharp Blades], I have to touch my sword for it to work. The blade looks much more polished now, at least it doesn't s.h.i.+ne ridiculously. But now I gotta rest, half my MP goes away again.

After that I move on again and butcher my way through the enemies. I'm really happy now, I can kill anything with one good hit, my sword just slides through them. I even managed to cut a goblin in half while he was wearing leather armor!

Ok, the sight was gruesome and traumatizing to see his guts spill on the floor and blood fly everywhere, but holy s.h.i.+t, I cut a goblin in half. f.u.c.k, am I enjoying this? I either have a mental problem or a natural talent, depends on which world you are from.

But the experience dropped again. I can't fight on this level anymore, so I decide to go to the 4th floor.

The mature Mandrakes are more common now. Not all of them have leaves that can be harvested, which is a shame since it's the most valuable part of it. Unfortunately the goblins and Bush Babies didn't get stronger, so I decide to keep going down until at least the goblins improve.

After my lunch I get to the 5th level, but it wasn't much better. The Bush Babies are now also 1 meter tall and hit harder but my strategy is polished and I cut their vines easily. I decide to risk it and go to the 6th floor.

Finally the goblins are also giving good experience. Since goblins are still the most common enemy by far they need to give considerable experience or else it's a waste of my time. Now they are mostly armored with at least two pieces of armor.

I can already predict the evolution of power of the monsters on this dungeon.

The maze is made of multiple corridors and small rooms, most of them end in dead ends but there's still plenty of paths that you can take to navigate the floor. At the end of a dead end is normally a monster waiting. Occasionally there's a monster roaming the paths but they generally don't enter a path that leads to a dead end. So the dead ends are the most common safe spot for resting after you kill the monster at the dead end.

The speed of experience gain is steady but I'm getting tired much more often now, I have to take multiple breaks. While I was waiting at a dead end I get 3 familiar hits on my [Sense Presence]. I immediately remove [Mental Resistance] and trade it for [Andraste Language], I need to research the difference between each level of language proficiency, I always go for 10 but now I keep it at 7.

"Hohoh, greetings again. You progressed a lot haven't you?" Says the wealthy adventurer.

His party is the same, but I can see dirt, blood and tired eyes on him and the other two members. Though the woman is the only one without a drop of blood on her clothes.

"Yeah, I got the hang of dealing with these monsters. They are quite dumb so I had to come down to keep the challenge."

"Indeed, my teacher instructed me to come to this level because anything else is too weak. Though I dove further, after this level the goblins get stronger much faster. So we came back here for an easier time. I'm called Nour, What's your name?"

"Wolf Ryder."

"Then, Mr. Ryder, would you mind if we rest with you? Is this area safe?"

Again with the "Mister". Also, he didn't say a last name, was it a blunder to say mine? Do normal people not have a second name?

"Y-yeah, no problem. The monster at the dead end is dead."

The three of them sit down. The woman and the other man at the corner, they bring out canteens and start to drink. Nour sits on a wall facing me.

"The woman is my sister, Rania. The man is my slave guard, Liam."

"h.e.l.lo," Rania says on a monotone.

"Greetings Grand Ryder," says the main with a nod.

"Grand" Ryder? That feels even weirder, but I guess it's a way for slave to respectfully address other people. The words that I hear are foreign but because of the language skill it is translating into the closest thing I know. The words they speak also sound slightly garbled, I need to focus to understand what they are saying. This must be the effect of not having 10 points in language.

I wave my hand to them and smile.

"You know [Blessing Magic]? I didn't see you using [Wind Armor] the first time we met."

Oh s.h.i.+t. Quick, time to lie.

"I didn't want to... Train with enhancements on. I wanted to train my sword without magic first and then use it when I'm comfortable I'm skilled enough."

"Bahahah! That's the same advice teacher gave!" Roared Nour.

"Told ya it's good advice," says Rania while smiling wryly.

"Agreed, master. The path to glory is a long journey," says Liam, in a serious tone.

"Alright, alright. I'm not going to rush out to the world or anything like that, I learned my lesson," says Nour while holding his hands up and lowering his head.

"But anyway..." He continued, "Exploring dungeons alone is uncommon, why don't you partner with somebody? [Blessing Magic] is valuable in a team."

"Don't pry into another's business," Warned Rania.

"Geh... I'm sorry. Mr. Ryder just piqued my interest."

"Forgive my brother, Mr. Ryder. He's far too curious and carefree," says Rania with another wry smile.

"T-That's not a problem... " I answer with fl.u.s.ter, "I don't mind. I'm traveling alone because I'm new around here, I... Pick my partners carefully."

"Hey Rania, we found teacher's son," says Nour while chuckling.

"That just means that teacher's mentality leads to a longer life," She replied.

There's nothing I can do but smile at this exchange. Nour might be a little nosy for me, who's trying to hide secrets, but it's hard to be mad at him. He seems good-natured.

"Well, okay... But Mr. Ryder, have you thought about buying a slave as a companion? If you buy a Blood Slave there's no chance they will betray you."

"Blood Slave?"

Is this related to [Blood Magic]? I remember that there was some forbidden magic like that.

"With [Slavery Magic] you can forbid the slave from doing or saying certain things so they will never hurt you or spill secrets. Just like my companion, Liam."

"Hmmm..."

So it's [Slavery Magic] then? Why call it "Blood Slave" then?

"Can you ex-..."

My question gets cut short. I get 2 hits on my [Sense Presence], one small and one huge, both monsters. Just what the h.e.l.l is this. I instinctively get up and draw my sword.

"Monsters are coming," I say.

All 3 of them look confused but they stand up and draw their weapons. Liam looks at me suspiciously.

"I didn't hear anything," Liam says.

Oh no... This enemy is dangerous, extremely dangerous. The enemies that were walking suddenly start sprinting, they detected us.

"Chain mail?" Questions Liam in confusion, he can hear the enemy now that they are sprinting and making much more noise.

"Run!" I say and dart towards the corridor, they all follow me.

But it's too late, the enemy is fast. When we get near the entrance to the corridor, the enemies are already at the doorway, we are trapped. These monsters are the reason I don't wanna go to the 11th floor, it's the Orc Headhunter and Swamp Goblin.

On the 11th floor there's a trap, it's a roaming duo of monsters much more powerful than the ones normally on the floor. They hunt weaker adventurers and prey on them, this is why n.o.body spends any time on that floor. The worst thing is that the Escape Bomb doesn't work on the orc, his resistance is too high.

The duo is a terrifying combo. The Swamp Goblin is a brown, filthy goblin that wears simple rags. He uses a blowgun that shoots poisoned darts that weaken the physical capabilities of adventurers. If you are to fight them the first priority is the goblin. The orc is a green ugly monstrosity of 2 meters. He has a pig snout, large eyes and huge tusks coming out of his mouth. He has superhuman strength, a claymore he uses with a single hand, a large kite s.h.i.+eld, a hauberk with a metal cuira.s.s, vambraces, schynbalds and cuisses. You will be lucky if you survive a single strike from him.

"MASTER! RUN!" Screams Liam while he charges the orc.

That was the wrong move. Me and Nour have s.h.i.+elds, we can defend against the goblin and dodge the orc while Rania snipes the goblin. But we never agreed on cooperating, so Liam must be thinking on sacrificing himself instead on betting on defeating him.

I just can't let him suicide charge, so I charge behind him. I cast a small [Entangling Vines] towards the goblin and hide behind my s.h.i.+eld. Perfect timing, while the orc is occupied with Liam his reaction was slow and I duck under his slash, I slip past him. I feel the orc gaze at me, I think he understood what I'm doing.

I hide behind my s.h.i.+eld without being able to look ahead.

*Ptoon*, a dart hits my s.h.i.+eld and bounces off. Good, now that goblin is dead. The vines grab both his legs and hold him in place. He tried to fire his blowgun and didn't dodge, now he's gonna pay for it. He screams and nearly loses his balance.

I reach him. I savagely slash down diagonally my sword and lop off a part of his head. Brain matter is visible, he's dead. I immediately turn around to see Liam getting blown away several meters while defending with his sword.

"NOOO!" Screams Nour. He was striking the orc at the same time as Liam but the orc had defended with its s.h.i.+eld effortlessly.

The orc has one big vulnerability, it's metal armor, it's vulnerable to electricity. I frantically remove a point from [Sword Use] and put it into [Electric Magic] while praying that Nour won't die on the next hit.

Now with a hand free the orc savagely slashes sideways. Nour defends with his s.h.i.+eld and gets splattered on the wall, all the air from his lungs gets expelled.

The orc doesn't finish him and instead jumps towards Rania. I finish my casting and a bolt flies towards the orc. He freezes and starts convulsing, he's stunned, but for how long.

I rush and jump towards his back. I try to slash his neck but he turns at the same time and I only wound him. While turning his s.h.i.+eld comes towards my face. All I could do was meet it with my own s.h.i.+eld and a loud noise of metal hitting metal fills the dungeon.

My s.h.i.+eld arm hurts the most it ever did, it might be broken. I don't know, I don't have time to check. I cast [Lightning Bolt] and the orc gets stunned again.

"[ICE LANCE]!" Screams Rania with a cracking voice.

I see the orc jerk away in a speed I didn't think was possible and suddenly, a spear of ice appears on the orc's s.h.i.+eld shoulder. It's a complete penetration right on the bone joint, the spear is a good 10cm wide, that arm is useless.

From behind the orc I see Rania fall on her knees, was that an advanced spell? It certainly did a lot of damage to the orc. Maybe she's inexperienced and is now suffering from mana drain like I did once. This means I can't rely on her anymore, I need to kill the orc myself.

The orc roars in rage and pain, he grabs the lance and pulls it out without hesitation. I get up and cast [Lightning Bolt] again. The orc twitches, he doesn't get stunned but that's enough of an opening. I stab the orc in the groin, it seems it's a vulnerable area where the chain mail and plate mail don't have a proper coverage.

The orc screams again and gives me a weak blow with his sword that I defend with my s.h.i.+eld. I scream in pain and I get pushed backwards. My sword gets jerked around but I don't lose the grip on it, it must have done a lot of damage to the orc.

"RAAAAAAH!" Liam screams.

A dagger flies towards the orc's face, he deflects it with his own sword. Immediately after Liam comes and slashes towards the orc. The orc defends against the slash, but that means it's another opening. I jump and slash again towards his throat but again he dodges and only a wound is done.

The orc is b.l.o.o.d.y. His chest is full of blood dripping from his two wounds on his neck, his legs are b.l.o.o.d.y with a large amount of blood coming from his groin, his shoulder has a large gaping hole. But he still keeps fighting. He kicks Liam again, who seems to be too slow to react and he gets blown away many meters. Then he tries to counter me with his own sword, I managed to parry it! Is he losing strength? He did counter from an awkward angle though.

"[SHOCKING TOUCH]!" Screams Rania again in an even more cracked voice.

That's a level 10 [Electric Magic] spell. Suddenly the orc starts to convulse and I see Rania fall down behind him, she must have run out of mana. The distance is not enough for me to slash at his neck again, but it's enough for me to pierce his groin again.

This time my sword pierces deeply, I quickly try to pull it out but it's stuck. The orc screams while still mid convulsion. I give up on the sword and grab my dagger and jump on his neck.

He's stinky and filthy, his smelly breath is on my face and my right hand that grabbed onto the back of his huge head feels something sticky. I ignore this and savagely stab his neck. It's tough, the dagger's blade is not sharp enough, but I keep stabbing into the previous wound and it grows larger.

Then the orc stops convulsing. Oh no, he's going to hit me. Is it gonna be a punch? Or a stab? Or a slash? Or is he going to just grab my head and crush it? I have no time to get away I can just bet I can open his neck enough he loses consciousness.

"STOOOP!" Nour screams and with the corner of my eye I can see he threw himself and grabbed the sword arm of the orc.

This means he can't react anymore. Thank you Nour, I will use your opening. I stab the orc neck even more savagely, blood spurts all over my face and chest. In the next few seconds the orc's roar dies down. He falls on his knees, his angry expression goes blank and he starts to fall backwards.

Oh no! Not that way you will crush Rania. Both me and Nour pull him and he falls face down on his own pool of blood.

"You are now level 10."

Me and Nour stare at him for a few seconds. Then reality comes back to me and I rush towards Liam to our back and apply [Regeneration] on him. He's alive but unconscious. I have no idea how he feels so I'm going to heal him until he wakes up and decide if I should heal Rania next. It's best that everyone is awake, even if in pain.

When Liam wakes up I see that Nour did something to Rania. She's laying down and he's holding her head, she's shaking but conscious.

"Poison..." Liam mutters.

I think he got hit by the Swamp Goblin, this is why he's killed first and everyone hides behind the s.h.i.+elds. Liam got poisoned and lost nearly all his power during the fight.

From one of my breast pockets I bring out a metal flask. Those metal flasks are for battle-potions, they won't break during normal battle unless directly hit. This one contains an antidote, I have 3 of them. I got a little scared of the Mossy Fangpine and the Bush Babies also have a chance to poison you if you get hit so I got a few. It's going to take around 10 minutes for it to work though, so I'm gonna keep healing Liam until then.

I drink a mana potion and continue the healing. My arm hurts a lot and Nour could be hurt too but Liam could have a few broken bones so he gets priority.

Rania seems to have stopped shaking, she's still sitting on the same spot. Nour then comes over to me.

"Is that [Regeneration]?" He asks.

"Yeah. I don't have a lot of mana and I'm not very experienced so this is going to take some time.

"Oh no, you already did a lot. Here, let me give Liam one of my potions" He pa.s.ses a red potion to Liam, the glow is stronger than the ones I have.

Liam takes it and after a few minutes he gets strong enough to sit down.

"Thank you kind Sir, but it's enough for now. Please heal yourself," says Liam.

I don't wanna argue since my arms is still hurting a lot, so I just do as he says.

It takes 5 minutes but the pain lowers a lot and my mana runs out. The potion is still acting so my mana is recovering faster than normal. Once I stop healing myself Nour turns to me.

"Thank you, Mr. Ryder," Nour says, his voice is shaky and his face is pale. "You could have run after killing the goblin but you didn't. You certainly saved us, 'specially Liam who was going to sacrifice himself for us."

I don't know if he drank a health potion but he could still be hurting all over his body.

"I just... I didn't think I should run away."

"You have a n.o.ble soul," Nour says.

"Thank you..." Says Rania, her voice barely comes out.

"Indeed, I owe you my life," says Liam.

I'm getting a little overwhelmed. I don't know how to react, so I just smile weakly and nod.

"We need to leave this place fast. These two monsters shouldn't be here, there's something wrong in this dungeon," I say.

The adrenaline is running out and the reality is sinking in. I don't know why the orc came here, he should be on the 11th floor. I'm scared I will meet another one, I just wanna go home.

"He must have entered the exit... Multiple times," Rania says.

"For multiple floors!? That's insane, how could such a rare thing happen repeatedly?" I say.

It's true that a monster could enter the exit door on a dimensional dungeon like this and appear on a floor above. But that's something rare to happen even once, for it to happen multiple times is a miracle. We won the lottery of bad luck to find him.

"Perhaps the lord has been skimping on his duties," says Liam.

The Lord manages the dungeons. If the monsters are not culled often then dangerous monsters can appear, or like in this case, an extremely dangerous monster goes to a floor he's not supposed to be on.

"We need to report this," says Nour. "Mr. Ryder, do you have s.p.a.ce on your [Item Box]? We need to bring these corpses to the guilds. Since you did the most, the least I can do is to have you take all the rewards for these kills."

"Is that really okay? I didn't kill them alone."

"Yes, it's the least we could do for now," Nour insists.

I don't wanna argue, so I just collect both corpses. Liam and Rania stand up and start walking.

The exit is somewhat near, we walk together towards it. Since I'm the one in the best condition I go in front with Nour on my side. Liam and Rania are still weakened, the poison is still running through Liam's body and Rania has no mana.

We kill two goblins effortlessly. Having two people in the front means that one takes the attack and the other counters. Mine and Nour's swords are sharp enough they die in a single hit.

Then we get to the exit. The guard near the entrance jumps when two completely bloodied adventures and two exhausted looking ones appear out of the exit.

Nour does the talking, he mentions to the guards what happened and blood runs out of their faces. Meeting the Orc Headhunter is a nightmare for the people around here.

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Two guards escort us back to town. Luckily they don't ask to look into my [Item Box], I made a blunder and put the corpses into the "Items" storage.

When we get into the hunters guild the guards run towards the closest attendant and murmur something, then both hurry up the stairs. The presence of the guards and the bloodied adventurers attracts quite a bit of attention. We wiped ourselves while walking but there's still quite a lot of blood that seeped through our clothes that even the simple [Clean] can't remove so we look quite ghastly. Liam and Riana are looking better now but they still look tired.

A few minutes later, an old man and Sonny come down. The old man is short and skinny, he lacks hair on the top of his head but the hair on the side is well maintained. His hair and beard are pure white. His beard makes men envious with its magnificence protruding from his jaw. He wears simple velvet clothing the same color as the uniform with only the guild symbol embroidered on his chest as decoration. The guards signal us and we all go towards the dismantling area.

Inside Gordon and his a.s.sistant are processing some meat and look our way when we enter.

"Well then, could you show us the corpses?" Says the old man, he points towards the large empty tables.

I pull out the bodies and surprised gazes abound. The orc and goblin lost their equipment, but they are still recognizable as the dangerous duo due to their physique.

I wish I hadn't looked at it but curiosity got the best of me. The orcs genitals are completely shredded, I felt pain in between my legs just by looking at it.

"So it's true. We really need to send a complaint to the Lord," says the old man.

"Now then. My name is Silas, I'm the guildmaster, could you all sit and tell us the story in detail?" says the old man. He motions us towards the benches on the wall.

We sit and retell our fight.

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"Quite the predicament Sir Nour," says Silas.

He called him "Sir"? So it really is true Nour is an important person, I just wonder why he didn't use his last name.

"And we all benefit from having someone like Mr. Ryder among us," Silas smiles at me.

I'm bad at being praised, should I say something in response?

"A Grey Berserker and now an Orc Headhunter, you really are giving us a surprise. Though I wish it was of a different kind when talking about the orc," says Sonny with a wry smile.

"I truly think I have bad luck," I say while chuckling.

"Depends on the perspective. Those two monsters are really valuable and the prestige that comes from killing them is not small," Responds Sonny.

"I just want a calm life," I say.

Gordon laughs while butchering the orc. Sonny murmurs something and casts a spell. I don't know what magic it is but he seems to be talking towards n.o.body while looking at the orc.

"The spirit confirms it, he was killed at the 6th floor," says Sonny.

So you can talk to monster spirits too? I know you need only a few points in [Spirit Magic] to be able to weakly communicate with spirits, but a monster spirit being able to talk is new to me. Talking to spirits could be useful for information gathering.

"Have you decided how the bounty is to be shared?" Asks Sonny.

"Oh we aren't taking money, Mr. Ryder saved us so all the reward goes to him. If the talk is over we will take our leave now if possible, we are all extremely tired," Nour replies immediately.

"Oh it's done, the rest is with us," says Silas.

They didn't even let me reply.

"Then we will be off. Mr. Ryder, one last thing, could you come here to the guild tomorrow before noon? I would like to properly give you my thanks and reward you," Nour continues.

"I-Is that right? Sh-shouldn't the bounty reward be enough?"

"That's just some money, you saved our lives so I should at least reward you a bit more. Please, just come tomorrow."

"Alright then. I will come."

"Thank you, then see you tomorrow. Goodbye Mr. Silas."

And then Nour and his companions leave after light bows.

"Now then, the reward for a runaway monster of threat level 5 is 5 gold. His corpse is going to sell for 3 gold and the goblin for 1 gold," says Sonny.

That's a huge amount, runaway monsters are a serious threat to everybody. The orc skin sells for a lot, this one specifically is way tougher than normal.

I also take this opportunity and bring out all my remaining proofs of extermination. They summed up to 4 silver and a bunch of copper coins, a pittance. But at least I recouped the cost of the days I wasted because I reserved the inn for 10 days but didn't sleep there for the last 2.

I give my goodbyes and leave. Silas was there the whole time and spent it observing me. It seems I already caught the eye of the guildmaster. But I will be laying low for the week, no grand feat will come while I stay relaxing and training safe inside these walls. I also don't believe in jinxing, so I say this with confidence.

It's almost night so I go towards the inn bath and get a few glances when I enter it with bloodied clothes. I will just take out a fresh set of spare clothes when I finish so there's no problem there.

Today I order a drink while eating, they only have something similar to apple cider for now, the juice ran out and there's not much wine in the town. I eat my meal with happiness, not necessarily because it's good but because I'm happy to be alive. Once I left the guild I felt like a huge weight fell off my shoulders. All I want is some comfort and love, away from being in situations where I have to frantically stab a disgusting orc in the neck.

The innkeeper daughter seems extra lovely to me this dinner. I learned her name is Selina, she wanted to start small talk but she was busy today. Instead I enjoyed my meal, a vegetable salad with a lot of cooked beans with some sauce. The vegetables of this season seems to be slightly sweet, similar to carrots and pumpkins. They go well with the beans and go extra well with mutton. But today I don't have mutton, instead I have marbled Rabid Rabbit meat, it's of a much higher quality cut than the one sold at a stall.

After eating I drop on my bed and go to sleep immediately.