We stepped into the ruins.
Honestly, I wondered if there was any point in distinguishing between the inside and outside of the ruins with a ceiling blown away and walls crumbled, but technically, this area belonged to the interior.
Looking at the debris stretching out to the sides, it seemed like it must have been a hallway before it collapsed, right?
The floor, which once had luxurious marble, was now filled with shattered stones and weeds, with beast droppings and bugs scattered everywhere.
After about forty seconds of walking, we arrived at a vast space beyond the corridor, which looked like more of a ruin.
Except for the fact that the stone floor was several times larger than the corridor and there was a black pit in the center leading underground.
An unnaturally gaping hole. The entrance to the underground dungeon formed beneath the ruins.
“Look! The remnants of magic are flowing out from down there!”
Amy, who was a few steps behind me, pointed at the pit with her staff.
“Something’s definitely down there.”
Her voice was filled with anticipation and excitement. Given the value of magic books, it was a natural reaction.
Even though the mage tower’s basic magic books were mass-produced, their prices were ridiculously high.
Broke mages had to either borrow money to buy a magic book or throw themselves into dungeon exploration to find one themselves.
Once they found a magic book, they could not only use it themselves but also reveal its contents to the mage tower and earn a reward.
“Let’s go down. Everyone, get ready!”
We loosened up and finished our battle preparations, then lined up one by one to descend into the gaping hole.
◆◆
Dungeons tend to be cold. It’s the inevitable fate of dark underground spaces that don’t get a single ray of sunlight.
Of course, mid-tier or deep dungeons are somewhat different, but low-tier dungeons with less than five floors were basically no different from naturally occurring caves.
Cold, damp, and with incredibly foul air.
However, this place in the Northern Kingdom, Hervor, was an exception.
Just like dungeons formed in other countries, there wasn’t a ray of sunlight here, but surprisingly, the inside of the dungeon was much warmer than outside.
It could be called relative warmth.
Just avoiding the biting cold winds that howl all year round made the dungeon feel much warmer compared to outside.
Of course, as someone who was naturally resistant to the cold, it didn’t matter to me, but it seemed to be a big difference for Kikel.
“Caw caw! I’m alive! Finally!”
He seemed in high spirits since entering the dungeon.
“By the way, it’s quite dark….”
Bolton looked around and made a brief observation. Not that he’d see anything, though.
The underground dungeon we finally entered was pitch black without a hint of light. We couldn’t see even a step ahead.
Since monsters needed to see where they were going, they usually concoct some sort of light source with shabby torches or glowing mushrooms….
…But nothing here.
It seemed like the monsters in this place had developed other senses instead of sight, maybe hearing or smell.
“Amy, could you provide some light?”
“Leave it to me.”
Nodding, Amy pulled out a book from her pocket and opened it.
A basic magic book sold by the mage tower—the Book of Adventures.
It contained basic spells useful for beginner adventurers.
“Sphaera Lucis.”
Holding the Book of Adventures, Amy raised her staff into the air and muttered some incomprehensible words.
Then, a beam of magical light burst forth from the open book, forming a brilliant orb that floated above our heads.
『Light Sphere』
This was a basic lighting spell that created a glowing sphere, usable as a lantern or torch… it could even serve as a flashbang depending on the output adjustment.
It was said that Amy could only use it about six times a day, and she needed to save at least one for emergencies, so it was a magic lantern we could use about four more times.
“Ooh, bright! It’s like morning!”
Kikel tilted his head with interest, watching the glowing orb—like a cat chasing a laser pointer.
Of course, since what was above his neck wasn’t a cat’s face but rather a lizard’s, it was more amusing than cute.
Anyway, having secured light, we began to explore the interior of the dungeon, relying on the magical glow.
◆◆
The slightly uneven dirt floor was filled with stalactites, and the stone walls were covered with moss.
Unlike the ruined area above ground, the dungeon’s interior resembled a naturally occurring cave. At least, the first floor did.
It was a bit spacious for a cave, though.
I sharpened my senses, leading the way with Kikel, while Bolton and Amy followed closely behind.
We didn’t need a rear guard; a mage or cleric could cast defensive spells or divine miracles, unlike archers.
So, unless they were one-shotted, we could adequately respond to most ambushes.
After walking for about twenty to thirty minutes,
“Sniff sniff. Stinks. Rotten meat. Goblins.”
Kikel, peering into the darkness, stopped and crinkled his nose in warning.
Being a beastfolk, it seemed his sense of smell was quite sharp.
“Goblins, huh? How many do you think?”
I drew my sword and asked since it was still some distance away, and I hadn’t sensed anything yet.
“Of course, I don’t know. The smells are all mixed.”
Kikel looked down at me, his tail flicking as if to say, “What kind of question is that?” How was he supposed to distinguish them by smell alone?
Even if his sense of smell was good, it seemed he wasn’t on par with beastfolk standards.
Well, even though everyone talks about a “dog’s nose,” I’d never heard of a “lizard’s nose” in my entire life.
Why? Because a lizard’s sense of smell would still be inferior compared to a dog’s.
So, it wouldn’t be right to blame him for not being able to distinguish the numbers. It wasn’t his fault he was born less sensitive than a dog.
“If you don’t know, we can’t do anything about it. But if it’s only goblins, it shouldn’t be a big deal. We’ll handle it ourselves.”
I said, loosening my shoulders while signaling the two behind me to stay put.
Unlike warriors who could keep fighting as long as they had stamina, mages and clerics had a limited number of spells and divine miracles they could cast.
Whether it was attack or defense, even a basic spell wouldn’t last long against goblins.
“Sounds good!”
“That would be best. Thank you!”
“Got it.”
It seemed our party members shared my thoughts and nodded without dissent.
After walking for a few more seconds,
Swish!
With the sound of slicing air, something came flying at us from the darkness.
“Kyaah!”
Kikel raised his shield and blocked the incoming object.
Then came a thud, followed by a long stick landing on his shield.
A shabby arrow.
“Kyaaaah!”
Kikel let out a snake-like scream and charged toward the direction the arrow came from.
Compared to me, his movements were sluggish, but seeing a nearly 2m muscular lizardman charge like that was like seeing a runaway tank.
“Amy! Light, please!”
I dashed forward, following Kikel. Amy shifted the position of the light sphere with her staff to illuminate further ahead.
“Kyaah! Kyaah!”
The enemies hidden in the darkness were fully revealed.
They looked like a bald boy targeting his friend’s mom, mixed together with a wicked witch’s face from a fairy tale, drenched in half-rotten juice.
With their shabby bodies wrapped in filthy rags barely recognizable as colors, they clutched filthy metal bits or wooden clubs.
Just as Kikel had said, they were goblins.
“Kerrek! Kerurrr…!”
Maybe it was due to the sudden light or Kikel charging in with a war cry; the goblins were wide-eyed and yelled in a flustered fashion.
Ten in total. Two were archers, and there weren’t any higher-tier goblins.
Which meant they were basically just warm-up exercises. I kicked off the dirt floor and sprinted after Kikel.
“Kerurreeek!”
Excited by the scent of fresh adventurers, the goblins split into two groups and charged at Kikel and me.
“I’ll handle the archers! You take care of the rest!”
Kikel shouted without looking back, lifting his shield and charging like a runaway bulldozer.
“Kek!”
“Kekaaah!”
Two goblins charged at him, swinging their wooden clubs in an attempt to stop him.
What a futile effort that was.
Crash! Bam!
One goblin was sent flying after being slammed into by Kikel’s shield, its head smashing against the dungeon’s ceiling. Like a child hit by a truck.
Thud!
The goblin’s head burst upon hitting the rock ceiling, turning it into the most handsome goblin of them all.
The other one didn’t fare much better.
As Kikel swung his shield to bat one away, he swung his tail in the opposite direction, squashing the goblin flat as it met a pitiful end.
“Kaka-kak!”
The lizard’s laughter.
In the blink of an eye, Kikel dispatched the two and hurled a spear at the goblin archer, pinning it to the wall, before he closed the gap on the remaining one and clawed it to pieces.
He was definitely as capable as the reception lady had assured.
Sure, it was mostly because of his size, but in a sea of average goblins, size equaled power.
If you looked at it that way, he was one of the top-tier warriors among the basic armored fighters.
What was I doing during all this?
What do you think?
“Ke, kerreer!…”
The goblin I skewered with my sword thrashed in its death throes.
I kicked its belly to send it flying and swung my sword in the air to shake off the blood.
That made five of them.
While Kikel charged toward the pinned goblin archer, I mercilessly sliced down the remaining five goblins.
It was as easy as breathing. Each time I swung my sword, one would fall to the ground without much effort.
Cleaning the blood off my blade was far more troublesome than killing them.
◆◆
The goblin horde kept popping out afterward, painting the dungeon walls red.
“More goblins just keep coming out. Are there no other monsters…?”
Amy mumbled while yawning due to boredom.
Perhaps because the enemies were so weak for a dungeon where magic was detected, she wore a somewhat disappointed expression.
“It’s still the first floor. Who knows what we’ll find deeper down?”
I reassured her.
That wasn’t a lie. The monsters on the first floor of a lower-tier dungeon were usually wandering monsters that weren’t the original residents of that dungeon.
This place must be the same.
Given that there were goblins everywhere, it was likely that wild goblins had taken refuge and built a den here.
However, from this layer onward, things could change.
Once wandering monsters took control of one floor, they’d be too busy surviving and breeding on that floor to seek others.
In other words, true dungeon exploration started from this level onward.
◆◆
And indeed, it was true.
After pushing through a goblin-filled cave, we finally reached a stone staircase leading down.
The entrance to the underground second level.
After a brief rest and maintenance in front of it, we descended the staircase.
Unlike the first floor, which had been a cave, the second underground level was a maze-like space lined with well-crafted bricks.
It felt somewhat like an underground cemetery, a catacomb.
There, we finally encountered new monsters.
Creeek…!
With a creaking noise, skeletons approached us, wielding rusty swords and spears.
…For some reason, I felt a compulsion to exclaim, “Wow!”
“Ugh. Of all things, undead? What horrible luck.”
Amy frowned and sighed softly.
“Undead…!”
Bolton’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he fired up with enthusiasm.
The contrasting reactions were quite entertaining to watch.
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