Chapter 17
Thunk.
The last goblin fell.
Jeong Yushin pulled his sword from the goblin's body.
After walking for several hours, they encountered another group of goblins at the far end of the first floor.
There were seven in all. The fight ended quickly.
They cut off the ears of the dead goblins and put them in a pouch.
Their current subjugation count was twelve. Since the request was for ten, it was definitely complete.
“Haa, it’s been a long time since I’ve done this.”
Dito grumbled as he cut off goblin ears.
“I was wondering when you’d say that.”
Del replied, moving his hands quickly.
“I’m bored. Why don’t you sing a song?”
Dito cleared his throat.
“Don’t make a spectacle in front of the newcomer.”
“Don’t wanna.”
Del and Dito bickered.
The others silently cut off the ears and collected them in their pouches.
After finishing the work, Del’s party and Yushin started walking again.
Before long, they reached the far end of the first floor.
A stele stood in the center of a vast cavern.
The teleportation stone.
The sight stirred strange emotions in him. This was where he had argued with Kaal’s party over whether to go down or not.
“Let’s rest here before moving on.”
Del glanced at Einhofer and spoke.
He was being considerate of the dwarf, who had a stamina-reduction engraving.
“Yes.”
The party settled down a little way from the teleportation stone.
They ate and drank small amounts while chatting about this and that.
Most of the conversation consisted of Del and Dito bickering. The dwarf and mage, on the other hand, were taciturn.
“By the way, are all of you mid-rank explorers?”
At Yushin’s question, everyone fell silent.
“Don’t come at me out of nowhere like that. It hurts.”
Dito grumbled.
“We all used to be mid-rank explorers.”
Del said.
“Stop talking nonsense. Let’s go, amateur.”
Kelton stood up.
“Yeah, we’ve got money to make.”
The party gathered their belongings and assembled in front of the teleportation stone.
A red portal and a blue portal opened.
Kaal’s party flashed through Yushin’s mind.
“Phew.”
Yushin took one deep breath before stepping into the red portal.
The second floor.
Torches flared to life again in the dark cave.
One by one, the others emerged from the red portal behind Yushin.
“Ska, are you all right? Your hands are shaking.”
Del asked.
“I’m fine. Just a little nervous.”
“Yeah. Like I said before, we’re going to circle the outskirts of the second floor and hunt hobgoblins. Just stay calm.”
“Yes.”
What they had to watch out for were ambushes and traps.
Dito, who was walking at the front, stopped.
“Trap.”
A close inspection of the floor revealed it.
One section was covered with leather in a color similar to that of the cave.
If someone stepped on it, the floor would sink away and spikes beneath it would stab into their soles.
Thanks to the torchlight, they could spot it at a glance. If it had been dark, it would have been hard to notice.
It was similar to the kind of trap Kaal had stepped on.
Dito simply removed the leather concealing the floor and stood up.
“If there’s a trap, there are goblins too. Get ready.”
He was right.
After walking a few steps, Dito retreated and spoke.
“There are a lot of them this time. Twenty. Barbaroi, stay sharp.”
Dito’s voice held no trace of humor.
Yushin stuck the torch into the ground.
Shing.
He drew his sword, rested it on his shoulder, and gripped his shield handle tightly.
“Kekeke.”
“Kyakyak.”
Gloomy, sharp laughter echoed from the darkness.
Del drew his bowstring.
Whoosh!
Several arrows streaked forward like rays of light. No screams followed, only the sounds of bodies falling.
The cries of enraged hobgoblins reverberated through the cave.
‘Here they come.’
A goblin burst from the darkness and brought its ax down with all its strength.
Bang!
The heavy impact transmitted through the shield made his hand tingle.
At least he had blocked it.
Yushin stabbed the goblin in the nape with the sword in his right hand.
The pointed tip of the arming sword tore through the hobgoblin’s fragile nape and severed its carotid artery.
Fwoosh!
The goblin fell, spraying blood from its neck.
“There are some behind us! Einhofer!”
Del shouted.
“Coming!”
The dwarf raised his ax and fell back.
Yushin now had to hold the front line alone.
I can do this. No, I have to.
Yushin repeated it to himself as he took his stance.
Several hobgoblins charged in a line.
Crack!
He held his shield horizontally and crushed a goblin’s neck bone.
He brought the pommel down on its head, then kicked it away.
Using every part of his body, he butchered and crushed the goblins charging at him.
But he couldn’t block every attack.
Thud!
He felt the chilling sensation of flesh being torn through his hard-leather armor.
A goblin slammed its entire body into Yushin and drove a knife into his abdomen.
The sudden pain made Yushin’s body stiffen.
As a result, he couldn’t block the descending club.
Clang!
The club struck Yushin’s head. His skull rang, and his head spun. It was a blow that would have knocked him unconscious instantly if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet.
Even as he staggered around in a daze, he swung his sword and cut out the goblin’s eyes.
The goblin that had just stabbed him in the stomach was now missing both eyes.
He knocked aside the club as it swung at him again with his shield, then drove his sword into the goblin’s abdomen. As the goblin went limp, apparently having lost its strength, he grabbed it by the neck.
“Kreeek.”
He grabbed the goblin as it weakly writhed and threw it.
The flying goblin collided with the group of goblins charging from ahead and tumbled across the ground.
“Kelton! Are you done yet?!”
Del shouted.
“Done. Amateur.”
[Fireball]
A blazing fireball, warping the air with heat, struck the pile of fallen goblins.
The cave was filled with light for an instant.
Boom!!
Yushin instinctively ducked and raised his shield. The thunderous roar and shock wave made it difficult to keep his balance.
Patter.
The blood and chunks of flesh from the goblins torn apart by the explosion pelted his shield.
The magic did not end there.
[Light]
The cave lit up brightly. He could see even the areas that had been beyond the reach of the torches. Most of the goblins in front had been caught in the explosion and killed, while the few that remained hurriedly turned and fled.
[Ice Lance]
Five two-meter-long ice lances formed in the air.
With a single gesture from Kelton, they flew swiftly toward the goblins in the rear.
Whoooosh!!
“Kieeeek!!”
The sharply honed ice lances pierced the goblins’ torsos.
“Ska!”
Dito shouted.
“Coming!”
Yushin ran toward the rear, covered in blood and chunks of flesh.
Del and Dito were struggling desperately as they swung their daggers.
Einhofer had collapsed to the ground and was panting. His single-edged ax was nowhere to be seen.
‘Seven left.’
He swung his sword and struck the neck of the goblin engaged with Del.
Crack!
The sword had cut halfway into the neck before stopping. Sticky fat had clung to the blade, dulling its edge. Or perhaps this was simply the limit of Yushin’s strength, sapped by exhaustion.
He grabbed the head of the staggering goblin, whose neck was half-severed, and brought his sword down.
Again and again, like chopping firewood.
Chop! Chop! Chop!
It came off.
He roughly tore the head free and threw it at the goblin attacking Dito.
The goblin staggered when the severed head struck its torso.
Yushin charged in, shoved it with his shield, and pinned it against the wall.
Thud!
“Kek!”
Then he kicked it.
When Yushin’s work boot crushed the goblin’s stomach against the wall, he heard a soft crunch, as though its organs had burst.
When he lifted his foot, the goblin’s eyes rolled back. It vomited blood and slowly collapsed against the cave wall.
‘Five.’
He picked up whatever weapon was lying on the ground and swung it.
He smashed a goblin’s head with a club, kicked it away, and swung his shield. Whenever a goblin fell, he crushed its neck bone beneath his foot.
When one swung a sword, he blocked it with his shield and kicked it in a vital spot. When one thrust with a spear, he dodged aside and pulled it toward him.
The goblin was dragged along without fail.
He landed an uppercut. When the goblin failed to regain its senses, he grabbed its mouth with both hands and tore it open.
He killed them all.
No. One remained.
Yushin turned his head.
The goblin was backing away, trembling, unable even to run.
As he approached, the goblin screamed.
“Me! It’s me, you bastard! Del!”
“Del?”
“Yeah! Fuck. Stop it!”
“I came to make sure you were all right.”
“No, you didn’t. Your eyes were gleaming with murderous intent!”
When one of his legs felt heavy, he looked down and saw the gnome clinging to it.
“Dito, what are you doing?”
“....”
“Heal me first. Amateur.”
Dito remained silent, while Kelton spoke indifferently.
The dwarf was panting heavily.
“Phew.”
He plopped down and rummaged through his backpack.
The wound repeatedly turned cold and hot. It seemed the weapon had been coated with poison. It was sinister—very goblin-like.
He drank an antidote, removed his armor, poured disinfecting wine over the wound, and wiped it with a clean cloth. Finally, he took out healing ointment, applied it to the wound, and wrapped it in a bandage.
‘Healing potions are too expensive.’
That was why he had bought a somewhat cheaper healing ointment, but it was quite good. It seemed to work as a painkiller as well, because the pain felt a little less severe.
Since this wasn’t his first time, he was able to finish quickly.
Looking around, he saw everyone tending to their own wounds. Only Kelton stood there indifferently with his arms folded.
“Something’s strange. Aren’t there too many hobgoblins?”
Del scratched his head.
“Yeah, it’s strange. Forty of them charging at once? That’s insane.”
“Ska, do you have some strange engraving? Something like an engraving that lures monsters?”
Del asked.
“No. I do have an engraving, but it’s not like that.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“Sacred Weapon.”
“Pretty ordinary, huh?”
“Ordinary. Amateur.”
“Show us.”
“I have to lie down after using it once. It’s exhausting.”
Just then, Einhofer, who had been writhing on the floor, sat up.
“Ska, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I only did what I had to.”
Yushin accepted the dwarf’s thanks with humility.
“Is there anything else?”
“No. This is only my second trip to the labyrinth.”
“Then what is it? What’s going on in the labyrinth?”
“I heard an unusually large number of novice explorers entered this time. It might be related. Amateur.”
“Didn’t most of them enter the labyrinth and fail to return?”
Del asked.
“No, they didn’t make it back. Come outside once in a while instead of sitting at home.”
Dito said.
“I have to risk my life just to come outside. The world beyond my blankets is dangerous. Damn it.”
Del grumbled and continued.
“I understand that a lot of novice explorers entered, but what does that have to do with these hobgoblin hordes?”
“Maybe the monsters started traveling in groups because there are more explorers?”
“That makes no sense.”
At Del’s firm assertion, Dito shrugged.
“Monsters learn and adapt too. Isn’t that plausible?”
At Dito’s words, Del looked at Kelton.
“What does the mage think?”
“There’s a better explanation than a monster-learning theory. Amateur.”
“Is there a monster commanding them?”
At Yushin’s words, surprise appeared on Kelton’s face.
“That’s right. Amateur.”
As Yushin thought it over, several things flashed through his mind.
When he had wandered around the second floor with Anne, they hadn’t been attacked that often.
Except when they rescued Marie and during the final ambush, they hadn’t seen any hobgoblins.
At the time, he had thought they had simply shaken off their pursuers. But could that have been a mistaken assumption?
Hobgoblins.
Assuming Kelton was right, from the hobgoblins’ perspective...
They didn’t need to pursue dangerous prey. There was enough game nearby, and joining a larger group would make hunting easier.
By sticking together, they could easily obtain more pregnancy sacs and more meat.
Even if he were a goblin, he would have made the same choice.
The conclusion was simple.
He had survived his first trip into the labyrinth purely through luck.
That day, there had been many novice explorers on the second floor. Perhaps the hobgoblins had realized that gathering under a leader was more efficient and had gradually begun converging in one place.
Could they have escaped the labyrinth through the opening that formed? He had survived by luck, but what had happened to the other new explorer parties?
Seeing Yushin’s expression harden, Kelton stroked his white beard.
“It happens sometimes. Strong monsters come up from the lower levels. Amateur.”
“Mage, I’ve never heard of anything like that happening. Isn’t that just speculation?”
Dito grumbled.
“Aren’t you a ten-year veteran explorer? I’m a twenty-year veteran. Back in my day, things like this happened now and then. Amateur.”
At the mage’s retort, Dito’s expression crumpled in outrage.