Pioneer

Esdras closed his eyes and braced for the impact, however, he just landed with a soft thud unexpectedly.

He was prone on his back so as soon as he recovered from the shock he shot back up in alarm.

He looked around and found himself in a cavern, the walls of the earth were carved into rooms as the kobolds did to the trees only these were prison cells.

Some of the walls had torches on hangers so it wasn't exactly dark but dim. Some of the cells had their iron bars broken and others were still closed.

'So… this is a dungeon?'

But this came as a surprise to Esdras since this world did not have dungeons at all. No, this was not due to a lack of information by the original Esdras.

If dungeons were a thing then everyone would have at least some knowledge of them right? The natives of this world did not even know what a dungeon is.

[Ding! You are the first person to discover a dungeon in Arandos! You have acquired the title of Pioneer.]

[Ding! You performed a great feat, the flames are blazing! You have been granted the Halo of Evasion, it will protect you from three fatal strikes.]

[+2 Origin points!]

[Pioneer: 1) all the EXP earned in dungeons is doubled.

2) The item drop rate increased by 30%

3) you are less likely to get lost in dungeons

4) Basic information acquisition when you enter a dungeon.

Esdras was dumbfounded, he actually discovered the first dungeon in all of Arandos? That was unbelievable… and he even got two Origin points, just like that?!

No, wait wait a moment it was unbelievable. How is that possible?

The only plausible explanation he could think of was that only he the bearer of a divine shard could access dungeons and so it was inevitable that he would be the first.

But it was a flimsy explanation, considering that he was awarded that title for being first. That implies that he could have been the second or the hundredth person to discover a dungeon.

Perhaps this is the appearance of the first dungeon in Arandos?

Wow, this was admittedly a lucky encounter.

Now that he thought about it there was another first happening in Arandos right now.

It was the invasion of the Belkazak army, it was the first time that the orcs of the Jagged fangs mountains united under Belkazak.

As if that was not enough, the orc crowned himself king and marched against the great kingdom of Elbrim. The attack devastated the west of Elbrim, and a Duke was among the victims.

It was unprecedented, no one expected the orcs to unite and even launch a coordinated attack.

The orcs did not stop, Belkazak declared that he would eat the heart of the king of Elbrim by the end of the war and marched to the capital.

This is when his Eminence, the court mage of Elbrim, and a Master mage called the Octarine magic tower into action.

This is why Esdras and everyone were joining the war effort. Naturally, they were minor players in the grand scheme of things.

Actually, when Esdras first came to this world he thought that it was a low-level fantasy-style world.

Everyone is talking about how Belkazak has seven trolls in his army. Trolls were considered very powerful monsters in this world. Encountering one was a very unfortunate event.

This was one of the reasons he thought this world was just some low-level world and in fact, it still was but he was beginning to get an ominous feeling…

Before he could think more he heard a low growling noise approaching.

Esdras looked around and picked up his fallen sword, very quickly and silently he moved and pressed his back against the wall right by the corner.

Whatever monster it was, it had to pass by here to go to this part of the prison. Yes, he was camping, he was that guy in call of duty.

He held his breath and watched as the light approached, he heard weird-sounding footsteps hitting the dry ground beneath.

The monster passed by the corner unaware and at that moment Esdras aimed at the neck and slashed with all his might behind the blow.

The monster was quick to act it used the pole of the bone spear to lock the sword in the last moment but the impact still sent it crashing against the opposing wall.

"Skeee!"

Esdras didn't let up, he closed in and stabbed through the scales of the monster, but it was a monster after all it extended its neck and tried to bite him.

He dodged the extended neck in time and maneuvered behind the monster, with a kick to the back of its knee it lost balance and fell.

Esdras finished it off by beheading it.

[+ 16 EXP]

Esdras sat on the floor panting, he was not tired out by physical exhaustion but by how close that was. That biting attack was horrible and unexpected it almost got him.

Finally, he had time to get a closer look at the monster.

[Troglodyte Lv. 2]

It had a dull grey scaly hide, the frame resembled a cave lizard it had a tail but it was cut off.

A level-two monster, that was dangerous. It had at least one skill, it was good that he didn't give it the chance to use it.

Esdras waited for the corps of the Troglodyte to dissipate and drop items but nothing of the sort happened. He frowned, and with his sword, he cut open the Troglodyte's chest.

There he found a finger-sized flask filled with a red liquid.

[Low Health potion: heals minor injuries]

Esdras gained basic knowledge about the dungeon thanks to his title and knew a few things. Like the fact that the dungeon was made up of three floors.

It was a strange thing, he simply found the information in his head and was a little doubtful before he cut open the Troglodyte which was extremely disgusting.