Chapter 83 Chapter 20.1 - Dungeon
"We've arrived. We'll leave the car here since it won't be of any use inside the dungeon," Anya announced as the caravan came to a stop.
Exiting the car, we were greeted by a vast and unfamiliar landscape. Dungeon entrances weren't always conveniently located within cities, so Hunters often had to travel to reach their destinations.
"The dungeon has a limit of seven people entering. Once we're inside, it'll be closed to access, and we'll lose our connection to the outside world. Any questions?" Anya inquired.
A resounding chorus of "No!" echoed from the team members.
"Good. Is everyone prepared?" Anya continued. These were all questions asked in order to relieve the tension since, at this point, even if one was not prepared, it wouldn't matter.
"Yes," the team confirmed in unison.
"Alright, then. We're entering now," Anya said, tapping her watch to send a notification to the guild.
As the members were looking around, they were clearly surprised.
"To think a dungeon could appear in such a place," Ethan mumbled to himself.
"Dungeons are appearing everywhere around the world. It does not necessarily need to be in the middle of the city. And most of the time, the dungeons that are entrusted to guilds are in such places since they are the cheapest ones." I spoke.
"You seem to know quite a lot about dungeons."
"I just read a lot.
"Then how come your grades are at this bottom."
"I don't read the knowledge that won't be helpful to me even if it is pushed by the academy."
"Heh….Julia says the same."
"Julia says it because she is dumb. I am not like her."
"Sure, sure."
As I was talking with Ethan, Anya approached us. "Come on, guys," she urged, leading the way.
THUMP
As I was walking further, suddenly, I felt the demonic mana being released, though it was subtle.
'This guy….Is he trying to temper the gate? No, since the others sensed nothing, it shouldn't be something big.'
Of course, even if he was doing something, in the game, nothing had happened inside here about the gate, so it shouldn't be something hurtful.
'And, right now, I can't inform others either.'
WRRRR!
As we entered the yellow gate, the same wave of nausea washed over us, though I managed to keep it under control.
"Hmm? Isn't this your first time entering a gate? You seem to be handling it well," Emily observed, looking at me.
"Burgh-!"
Clearly, I was different from the guy on the sides who was puking and emptying everything inside his stomach.
"It is. I am just holding it well."
"We'll need that resilience," Anya chimed in. "Now, let's go. First, we'll explore the dungeon and gather any resources we can find."
As I looked around, the environment inside was just as any other person would expect.
A type of Amazon Forest surrounded us, coupled with the heavy rain and hot atmosphere; it was pretty sultry.
It resembled the first dungeon I visited inside the black market, but this one's mana density was a lot higher than others, mainly because this one was filled with a lot stronger monsters.
"We will encounter goblins and lizardmen inside the outskirts of the forest. Be prepared." Anya informed.
'Right. This dungeon had goblins and lizardmen in the first part.'
Of course, when it comes to the world of games, everyone knows the most common mob character.
Goblins.
A small type of humanoid monster that likes to ambush and copulate with human females.
I took my position within the group, positioned behind the frontline fighters. Our formation was the one we discussed before.
In the middle was Fred, a position of healer. It is the best place for one to be protected and healing and buffing but, at the same time, the best place for one to debuff and curse others.
'This was the reason why demon contractors later abused this position.'
I could see him still acting as if he was inexperienced, clearly looking like he was afraid, but in fact, he was slowly spreading mana to attract monsters.
On my right side was Ethan, and on my left side was Emily. They will be the ones to protect the rearguard, which will be me in this case.
Though the absence of a scout was apparent, I refrained from volunteering for the role, citing my supposed inexperience. Instead, I remained in the rear.
This was to make sure Fred wouldn't know about my sightseeing abilities and, at the same time, observe him and the terrain from a safer space.
However, despite my reserved position, my senses remained sharp thanks to my [Perceptive Insight.]
'Hmm, a stench of blood. Recently, an animal died here.'
I detected the smell of blood in the air while slowly activating my [Keen Eye].
'A group of five. They haven't noticed us yet. Let's see when she will notice.'
This was also a good test to see how far my senses went compared to stronger Hunters. I was sure Anna was on the level of rank-4 to rank-5 right now. Since there was no definitive explanation of one's parameters, it was mostly impossible to know one's rank.
And it didn't take too long for Anya to notice that either. In only a matter of seconds, she did the same.
"Sniff, sniff. A group of five in front, get prepared," Anya also seemed to sense the monsters since she signaled as she moved cautiously toward the goblins.
Although the rank of goblins can vary according to the mana level of the dungeon, generally, they are classified as intermediate rank-2 monsters.
And since the strength of a monster is stronger than a human of the same level, a cautious approach is required.
"Newbies, you will be the one to fight those. Be prepared."
Signaling me and Ethan, Anya said.
'Hmm, straight to the point, good.'
This was how the parties worked. As the leader, she needed to assess our strengths to have a more clear grasp of the scene.
"Ethan, you know what to do, right?" Anya asked, looking at him.
"Yes."
"Astron."
"Yes."
"Then, you may go."
"Huff…" I relaxed my breath, not taking my eyes off the goblins and Ethan, observing his muscles.
'He will dash to the right.'
And from the way he clenched his muscles and positioned himself, it was obvious.
SWOOSH DASH
Ethan bolted toward the goblins on the right side as I anticipated, drawing their attention. It was my cue to act.
His spear moved like a serpent as he immediately slashed the first goblin from his chest.
SPURT
"KIEEEK!"
I grabbed my bow and swiftly knocked two arrows. My fingers moved with practiced ease, aligning the shots in my mind. I imbued my bow with my mana, increasing the strength of the arrows.
'I should use white color right now.' Even though I had figured out how to change the colors of my mana, I still didn't know what exactly they did aside from some clues.
SWISH SPLURT
My arrows found their mark, but the goblins proved tougher than expected. They staggered but didn't go down. They were wounded, but not fatally.
'This….'
"KIEEEK!" "KIEEEEK!"
The goblins, seeing their kin injured, started to scream in their guttural language. They were frantic, but Ethan reached them before they could react further.
SWOOSH SPLURT
With a swift, precise strike, he slashed the chest of the first goblin, his movements a blur of deadly grace.
'As expected, with spear, he is the best.'
Even though he was ranked on the lower side of the academy, his strength at this point should be around the rank-3 to rank-4.
The force of his attack sent the goblin sprawling, and she didn't hesitate to deal with the next one.
SWOOSH SPURT
I followed up with another shot, this time using a stronger arrow that buried itself in the chest of the goblin, ending its life.
Ethan was engaged with the last goblin, and despite the creature's instinctual attempts to defend itself with its knife, it couldn't withstand the relentless onslaught.
CLANK CLANK SWOOSH SWOOSH
Albeit the last one managed to block Ethan's strikes with his knife out of instinct, of course, without intelligence, it wasn't able to block the third one following.
THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD
With a loud sound, five of them fell to the ground, dying immediately.
Swinging her spear into the air to clear the blood on it, Ethan started returning.
Ethan turned back with a satisfied expression, wiping the sweat from his brow. "What do you think?" Looking at me with a clear smirk, he asked.
'Ah…This guy is also affected by Fred's skills at this point.'
I knew looking for confirmation was not Ethan-like, but actually, it was something he wanted.
Since he awakened later as a child, he actually sought other people's confirmation from the corner of his heart since he was always discarded as useless in his family, even though he was not treated badly.
"You did well," I acknowledged, hiding my true capabilities behind a fa?ade of inexperience. "But remember, caution is key. These creatures can surprise you."
If there was one thing that I had learned in the dungeons and in the game, it was the fact that one should never trust the dead-lying monsters.
SWOOSH
Before he could reply, I released another arrow, firing it just past his face. The arrow struck the goblin that had tried to attack him from behind, ending its threat.
"Huh?" Ethan turned to see the goblin's lifeless form, its posture revealing its final intent.
"You forgot to make sure the goblin was dead," I pointed out with a cold voice, maintaining the appearance of a rookie. "Don't get ahead of yourself."
However, this was not normal, knowing Ethan's capabilities.
'His senses are getting affected.'
This was also in the game; it seems Fred had laid quite a lot of debuffs for the party.
CLAP CLAP
"You both are good. It seems this raid won't be hard at all," Anya praised us, her expression proud.
However, she wasn't done with her feedback. She approached us, her tone serious. "However, know that those goblins are the weakest ones. They were intermediate rank-2, so, Astron, next time, use stronger arrows or more than one arrow on each goblin, clear?"
"Yes," I nodded. While I had hidden my true capabilities during the fight, I knew I needed to step up when facing stronger foes.
"And, Ethan. As Astron said, always make sure to kill your enemy before you turn your back on them."
Ethan nodded sheepishly, acknowledging his lapse in vigilance. "I know, I was just careless."
"Good, let's keep going," Anya said, resuming our march into the dungeon. As we ventured deeper, it became clear that our group of F-rank adventurers would be handling the monster encounters directly.
'A group of seven goblins ahead,'
I sensed the presence of our next challenge as we continued down the passage.
Anya issued her instructions swiftly, dividing tasks among our group. "Group of seven. Fred, Emily, and Ethan get ready. Fred, you will use your spells if necessary. Astron, just watch and don't intervene unless the situation is dire."
"Understood," I replied, ready to gauge the abilities of my party. I was also curious about Emily's skills.
Without hesitation, Emily and Ethan dashed forward, their agility and combat skills evident in their swift movements.
Ethan reached the goblins first due to his superior stats and footwork, his spear ready to strike.
SWOOSH CLANK SPURT
Ethan's blade cleaved through one goblin, ending its life swiftly. Another goblin managed to block his attack, but their momentum was broken.
SWOOSH SPURT
Emily was quick to join the fray, her blade flashing as she attacked. Her strikes were precise, and she dispatched one goblin swiftly.
CLANK
Her second strike was thwarted by the goblin's gear, but it staggered under the force of her blow.
"KREEEK!" "KREEEK!"
SWOOSH SLASH
As Emily dodged a goblin's attack and struck its arm, Ethan utilized the reach of his spear to pierce another goblin from a distance, preventing it from reaching her.
PIERCE SPURT
However, the goblins displayed varying tactics. Not all of them relied on melee combat. Two goblins fired arrows, targeting Emily.
Ethan blocked one with his spear, but the second arrow found its mark, piercing his leg. The arrow was tainted with poison, and greenish fluid dripped from the wound.
GRAB SPLURT
Ethan swiftly removed the arrow and clenched it in her hand. Blood spurted from the wound, but Fred, our healer, was quick to react.
"Purify. Heal."
With his spells, he first purified the poison and then healed Ethan's wound.
"Thanks," Ethan nodded in gratitude, his focus returning to the battle.
Ethan resumed her assault, now more vigilant about the arrows and other projectiles.
SLASH SWOOSH SPURT
With Emily and Fred's support, Ethan dominated the battle, ensuring the goblins were swiftly dispatched without sustaining any further wounds.
After the skirmish, we resumed our exploration of the dungeon. However, our progress was interrupted by a sudden, blood-curdling scream.
"CREEEEK!"
The source of the sound was dangerously close, and we braced ourselves for what might come next.
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