Chapter 03

"¡Grghroaaarrr!"

The thunderous roar of a monster reverberated through the dungeon, sending shivers down my spine. There it was, right in front of me, with its ugly green face, sharp teeth, and that stupid grin. It held a stick as a weapon, ready to attack.

My heart raced frantically. It was the first time I faced a real monster. I tightly gripped the dagger given to me by the guild. I knew that my survival in this new world depended on it.

The goblin charged towards me at a speed similar to a human's. I narrowly dodged it, but its body collided with my side, pushing me back.

My sweaty hands searched for a blind spot. I saw my opportunity and attacked without hesitation.

"Ah!"

With a cry of pure adrenaline, I plunged the blade into its small body. I felt resistance as it pierced flesh and bone.

I managed to hit it right in the chest. The goblin let out a whimper and collapsed at my feet.

Blood stained my hand as I withdrew the dagger. I felt nauseous at the sight of its lifeless body. My stomach churned, and I barely managed to control the urge to vomit. But somehow, I endured it.

Suddenly, the monster's body began to glow brightly. Two spheres of white light were expelled from its interior and fell to the ground. Before I could react, another thumb-sized energy ball shot straight towards me.

[You have absorbed the Excelia of a Goblin]

+7 Strength

+5 Dexterity

+5 Endurance

+4 Agility

I was surprised when I saw the message.

"Who would've thought I'd level up in the middle of a battle."

Usually, Basic Abilities points were earned only when the gods of the respective Familia decided to update their members' 'Status.'

Having my basic abilities points automatically increase in the middle of a fight was beyond my expectations.

With my thoughts eased, I opened my 'Status.'

[Stats]

Strength: 7

Endurance: 5

Dexterity: 5

Agility: 4

Magic: 0

***

I tried to calm my racing nerves after the battle. I picked up the two grayish spheres that had come out of the monster's body.

Are these the items that monsters drop due to my ability? I scratched my cheek in confusion.

The spheres emitted a soft glow as I held them in my hands. On reflex, I accessed the information through my System, not quite understanding how.

[Item]

—Soul Sphere

[Grade]

Gradeless

[Description]

Result of the materialization of a soul. When the sphere shatters, it gives rise to a random item corresponding to the rank of the soul sphere.

***

When I thought about how to access the information about these spheres, I didn't expect the System screen to appear. It turns out that from that moment on, I could obtain useful information.

Both were of the same grade, but I wanted to know if the item inside would be similar or if it would vary.

There was only one way to find out.

I clenched my fists, and with a crack, the sphere shattered.

A bright light almost blinded me. I felt the sphere being replaced by a heavy material.

When my vision cleared, I saw the object in my hand. My lips curled in disappointment as I discovered it was a sword, albeit old and rusty. The blade was so dull it looked like a stick.

"Damn, thank goodness I don't have to fight with this."

It wouldn't be of any use to me.

I grabbed the other sphere and smashed it.

It was a dagger that, like the sword, was made of the same material, with the only difference being that it was in better condition.

[You have obtained a Fang Dagger by shattering the sphere]

[Item]

Fang Dagger

[Grade]

Gradeless

[Stats]

Strength: 5 | Dexterity: 7

[Abilities]

No abilities

[Description]

A dagger made from a goblin's fangs.

[Equip]

***

The blue panel opened before me with the information. My gaze fell upon the simple guild dagger and the chipped Goblin's weapon.

Just grazing my fingertips on both, the System allowed me to know their "Stats." This could give me an idea of how much Stats my weapons had later on.

Silently, I compared the description of each "Stat." As expected, the guild one far surpassed the Goblin's in all attributes.

[Item]

Novice Dagger

[Grade]

Gradeless

[Stats]

Strength: 10 | Dexterity: 15

[Abilities]

No abilities

[Description]

A metal dagger given by the Adventurer's Guild to rookies venturing into the Dungeon.

***

Undoubtedly, this dagger was better than the previous fang dagger. Although being on the first floor explained its weakness.

I had already checked in the system that the more you killed the same monster, the fewer rewards it would give. Expecting something great here was naive.

I set aside the useless goblin weapons, crouching down to inspect its body.

"Magic Stones can be a pain to find."

I regretted not reading the novice adventurer's manual earlier. It explained everything about monsters.

When I got out of here, reading would be my priority. Carefully, I plunged the dagger into the monster's chest.

-Clank!- The sound indicated something hard. I cut through its insides, and a purple stone emerged.

Magic Stones that monsters harbor have multiple uses, from exchanging them for valis to using them in certain machinery.

This one was small, the size of a walnut, so it was more of a mere fragment than a stone. Still, it could be sold at the guild.

I opened the leather bag at my waist and deposited it inside. Although it was the first one, little by little, I would fill it up.

Monsters on the second floor would surely contain better rewards. If I kept going like this, I would soon be able to afford better weapons and equipment.

For now, I was content with advancing step by step in this dungeon.

I needed to kill a large number of monsters to reach that goal.

I want more Valis to make Kami-sama happy.

***

Walking through the corridors, and after a few minutes, I came across two goblins.

I wasn't sure if I could kill them, but I gathered my courage.

Maybe the effect of "Gaia's Blessing" was already working since my mind felt calmer in a few seconds.

I hid in a crevice in the walls and grabbed a stone.

I threw it with all the force I could gather, and with a slight sound, the goblin's head took the impact.

-Grahhh!-

The goblin was furious and headed in my direction. The other one had a dumb look as it walked through the corridors.

Excellent.

I came up with the idea of killing the first one and then facing the other. As the goblin passed by, I stuck out my leg, and the goblin stumbled.

Its nose, now crooked, scraped magnificently against the hard floor. Before the little goblin could get up, I delivered a fatal blow.

Being splattered with blood, I plunged my dagger deeply into the green neck, causing the monster to lose its head.

A "soul sphere" of the same color as the previous one fell to the ground, and a white ball entered me.

[You have absorbed the Excelia of a Goblin]

+3 Dexterity

+2 Endurance

+1 Strength

+1 Agility

***

-Grahhh!-

I didn't check my status, it wasn't necessary to monitor it with every absorbed Excelia.

The last goblin used its short legs to run towards me. In fact, it was aware of my presence from the previous noise. I waited for it to approach and made my move.

Dodging them became easy; I don't know if it was because my strength increased or because the goblins were dumb, but their movements were predictable.

I stabbed the dagger into the monster's side, but it wasn't enough to kill it. However, the monster was already injured: its movements became clumsier.

I slid alongside the monster and plunged the dagger into its skull.

[You have absorbed the Excelia of a Goblin]

+1 Strength

+1 Endurance