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Although Emilia had already known about it, descending through the dark cave entrance still made her a little uneasy, so she wasn't surprised by the fact that everyone else was getting goosebumps.
[You have entered the dungeon 'Goblin's Den'!]
Danielle frowned. "What was that disgusting feeling just now?"
"It just felt like I passed through some slimy curtain..." Nico couldn't help but shudder.
Robin, Sylvia, and Crystal looked around warily, while Emilia continued to lead the way with her 'Vigilance' skill active.
'That must be the 'observation zone' of the dungeon boss...' Emilia hummed thoughtfully. 'Hopefully, the other parties can keep it distracted enough to not hinder us too much till we get to the third level.'
After being upgraded to level two, her 'Area of Vigilance' had doubled from ten meters around her to twenty, but it was clearly nothing compared to the [Great Goblin King] in the dungeon, who could watch and manipulate a vast dungeon like this.
'Although it should be possible to protect them completely through the first floor, I should let them practice and get a sense of danger in the first level while I can...' Emilia thought.
Of course, they were much 'better' equipped to deal with dangers than any other team, but Emilia wasn't stupid enough to believe that it would make the dungeon trivial.
After all, the average level of monsters in this cave was much higher than the majority of the players. And unlike the 'trap' world outside the cave, which was filled with large but isolated monsters, it wouldn't be so easy to gang up on the enemies here. In fact, it would be just the opposite.
In the previous timeline, only the hero's party had managed to clear it on their first try, and even that could be considered a fluke.
For a team of average players, getting to level twenty and forming a party of ten could be considered the minimum requirement to safely clear the 'Goblin's Den'.
"Careful! I sense danger ahead!" Robin warned.
Danielle frowned. "Emilia?"
The crimson-haired blinked, appearing a little confused. "There's nothing within twenty meters, at least."
"Then continue leading, but be extra careful!" Danielle motioned for the rest of them to be ready as well, then took out a 'torch' from her inventory. "Ignite!"
Compared to the 'small fireball' that she had initially planned on using to light it in emergencies, 'Ignite' was clearly superior in terms of utility, allowing Danielle to light the torch using such a tiny fraction of mana that it almost instantly regenerated.
With some more light to scatter the cave's slimy feeling, Danielle was able to relieve much of the team's discomfort, though they still followed Emilia vigilantly, ready for action.
The further they went, the wider and taller the cave seemed to get. Before long, Emilia had to make a decision to either stick to one of the walls, or completely lose her sense of direction.
'The goblins watch and ambush people from their hidden settlements within and above these walls, right?' Emilia frowned. 'The center should be the safest, but...'
The crimson-haired girl only hesitated for a moment before making her choice, and the rest of the team wasn't surprised by the fact that she chose to cling to the right wall.
After all, even with the torch lit, they could only see a few meters around them at best, and it would be a disaster to get lost and wander around in circles while there were two teams already ahead of them.
Only a minute later, however, something fell from the 'sky' straight onto Emilia... or her sword, to be more precise.
"Graahk!"I think you should take a look at
Looking at the now skewered green creature, Danielle and the others couldn't help but be stunned.
—Killed [Inferior Goblin], +2000 Experience, +2 Silver Coins
Even Sylvia couldn't help but shake her head in wonder. 'Is her luck so good that monsters are now falling on her sword from the sky, just to give her free loot?'
Soon, however, they realized that they were quite wrong, and it was only because of Emilia's inhuman reactions that she was able to make the situation look so lucky.
"Kyaa!"
"I-It's on me, h-help!"
"Owww!"
The subsequent dozens of goblins that dropped from above made the unprepared girls scream in terror, as neither their bows nor staves could fend off the monsters' scimitars very well, though their crisis only lasted for a moment.
A faint pinkish-purple aura burst through the area, and the expression of all attacking monsters turned slack for a moment before they collectively rushed towards Emilia while ignoring everyone else.
"T-That must be the [Challenger's Charm]!" Danielle breathed a sigh of relief, then tensed again. "Quickly, don't let them gang up on her!"
Their star player was clearly fast, but it wasn't to the point where she could be invulnerable to attacks from multiple angles.
With little room to maneuver amidst so many foes, even Emilia had to compromise and accept a few hits, no matter how much faster she was than her opponents. Or at least, that is how it appeared to the rest of her teammates.
In fact, even if the goblins were much faster than players and larger monsters of the same level, Emilia could have easily led them around by the nose if she so wished. After all, there were less than twenty of them, and most of them had been concentrated in one direction.
But since she thought this was a good opportunity to let her teammates gain some valuable experience, Emilia decided she might as well sacrifice some of her health.
It was the first time any of them had seen Emilia get 'really' injured, and as they saw some blood flow down her legs and arms from the wounds of the goblins' scimitars, it was impossible for any of them to remain calm.
"Shadow Siphon!"
"Light Arrow!"
"Minor Heal!"
"Ignite!"
"Dark Arrow!"
Their coordination was completely thrown to the wind as everyone panicked, and aside from all their skills being aimed at the enemy, nothing else seemed to be on their mind.
Even Crystal, who should have known better, was no different, and Emilia couldn't help but groan as she continued to 'barely' fend off her assailants. 'At least aiming correctly. Otherwise, with her new hundred-point boost to intelligence, even I might be obliterated in one hit...'
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