Dungeons (2)

The cave was littered with grotesque totems.

The goblin shaman, clutching a staff adorned with a skull, seemed to be performing some kind of ritual, but it looked like it was more for show than anything serious.

A dungeon that had just appeared, a newborn one at that—what kind of ritual could it possibly need?

'Hobgoblins, as expected.'

I remembered this first dungeon well. It was always a single shaman accompanied by four regular goblins. That couldn't be wrong.

Perhaps things had changed now that it had become reality. In the game, it was only my party that entered, but now there were other adventurers too. If the difficulty had adjusted based on the number of participants, that would make sense.

Well, even if the situation had changed, all I could do was trust Mirabel.

"Miss Mirabel, can you handle this?"

"Relax, Master."

Mirabel began to gather her magic power.

Kirrrrrrk!

Sensing something amiss, the goblin shaman let out a strange cry. It waved its staff frantically, issuing commands to the surrounding goblins, who began to rush forward.

At the same time, the shaman started muttering an incomprehensible incantation. It was casting a spell.

The regular goblins charged, wielding chipped daggers, while the two hobgoblins swung their large swords and axes.

The distance between them and Mirabel was closing fast.

Yet, Mirabel made no immediate move, and I found myself glancing at her anxiously. Was she really okay?

But my worries were soon dispelled as Mirabel calmly took action. She gently tapped The Celestial Oath on the ground.

Thoom.

A soft, white ripple spread out from her, forming a magic circle on the floor. The ground beneath the charging goblins began to writhe and transform into a sticky swamp.

The goblins were quickly submerged. Though they struggled in panic, it only caused them to sink faster. The hulking hobgoblins sank up to their waists, while the smaller goblins had already disappeared underwater.

Mirabel proceeded with her next spell.

In the game, combat was turn-based, with attacks going back and forth, but in reality, there were no such limitations. If you were good enough, you could attack infinitely.

Two fire arrows, created by Mirabel, shot toward the goblins, leaving behind trails of fiery sparks like fireworks in the night sky.

By that time, the goblin shaman had finished its incantation. The shaman twirled its staff, as if dancing, and a thick black fog spread out, swallowing the fire arrows whole.

But it didn't stop there.

The fog covered the swamp, reducing its binding force, allowing the hobgoblins to find solid ground beneath their feet. The hobgoblins emerged from the swamp, freed from its grasp.

The shaman's spell had nullified all of Mirabel's magic.

"Anti-magic…"

Mirabel's face twisted with frustration at being countered by a mere goblin. As inappropriate as it was for the situation, I couldn't help but notice how much more expressive she had become. A father couldn't be prouder.

The hobgoblins, now regrouped, charged forward once again, determined to exact revenge for the earlier attack. While the shaman had blocked Mirabel's first spells, her arsenal of magic was far from exhausted.

Moreover…

"Do you understand what went wrong?"

"Yes. I won't make the same mistake next time."

Mirabel had learned a valuable lesson: in battle, you must prioritize eliminating certain targets first.

Lowering The Celestial Oath slightly, Mirabel summoned a bolt of lightning. A spear of yellow energy crackled to life in front of the glowing crystal on the staff and shot forward.

The lightning spear was faster than sound.

There was no way a monster like the shaman, which needed to chant, could react in time. In the blink of an eye, the lightning pierced through the shaman, illuminating the dark cave for a brief moment.

The shaman's torso disappeared entirely, leaving a smoldering, blackened stump from which smoke rose.

All that remained were the two hobgoblins, now defenseless without the shaman's protective magic. The outcome was inevitable—they too were swiftly dispatched by Mirabel's magic.

It was a complete annihilation.

An entire dungeon, cleared by a single girl with little combat experience.

"Hoo…"

Mirabel exhaled deeply, releasing the tension from her body, and then turned to me with a cautious expression.

"Master… did I help you? Was I able to prove my worth?"

So that's what she was worried about.

She needn't have been.

This was the moment to shower her with praise.

"You did wonderfully. You're one step closer to your freedom."

"Ah… that's a relief."

Mirabel's cheeks turned red as she blushed. Was she embarrassed by the compliment? I'd have to make sure to praise her more often so she could get used to it.

As I walked past the defeated monsters, I began to look around.

"What's wrong, Master? Did I make a mistake?"

"No, not at all. I'm just looking for something…"

The skill book wasn't anywhere in sight. The drop rate was low, and back in the game, I had to grind endlessly to get it. Was that going to be the case here too?

That would be far too unreasonable.

This wasn't like before, where I could just hit the auto button and wait. Back then, I could grind hundreds of times in a single day, but now I could only manage four runs a day at most.

Just in case, I began inspecting the goblin corpses. Useless items like [Goblin Ears] dropped. Next, I checked the goblin shaman's remains.

[Staff of the Goblin Shaman]

It contains a malevolent power. Slightly increases the power of dark magic.

Also useless.

Still holding onto a sliver of hope, I lifted the tattered robe the shaman had been wearing.

"Oh?"

My hand brushed against something square and solid. It felt like a book. Heart pounding, I pulled it out.

[Magic Tome of the Goblin Shaman]

A magic tome carried by the goblin shaman.

There it was!

Of course it had to drop. After all, the hobgoblins had appeared when only the shaman should have been present. If the difficulty had increased, the drop rate should have increased as well.

"Is that what you were looking for?"

"Yes. It's a gift for you, Miss Mirabel."

"..."

Mirabel gave me that look again.

I understood why. The Celestial Oath was a dead person's relic, and now I was giving her something looted from a goblin's corpse.

It did seem like all I ever gave her were things belonging to the dead. No wonder she wasn't thrilled.

"It's something you'll need for your revenge."

"If it's for that purpose… Well, if it's something you're giving me, Master, I'll gratefully accept it."

Though reluctant, Mirabel finally accepted the reasoning when I mentioned revenge.

I sighed in relief and tucked the magic tome into my coat pocket. In the game, you could instantly learn a skill just by selecting it, but I wasn't sure how things worked here.

We had time to figure it out, so she could take it slow.

'Still, something feels off.'

In the game, the book was called [Soul Magic Tome], but now it's labeled [Magic Tome of the Goblin Shaman].

Well, I probably shouldn't worry too much about it. The item the shaman dropped was always the Soul Magic Tome.

I'd look into it more after we got some rest at the inn—

Boom!

A massive explosion echoed through the cave, shaking the ground as if an earthquake had hit. Bats hanging from the ceiling flew off in droves.

Boom! Boom!

The explosions didn't stop. The noise was getting closer, coming from the direction we had entered.

'What's going on? Are there still more monsters?'

Mirabel, who had been relaxing, tensed up, her guard instantly back up. And then, the final barrier I had set up shattered.

"Who the hell blocked off all the paths? Which lunatic thought it was a good idea to barricade the dungeon? If I find them, I'll grind them into dust!"

A voice full of irritation echoed through the cave.

I recognized that voice.

Through the cloud of dust, two figures emerged, heading toward us.

They were dressed in spotless white robes, despite the dirt and debris all around.

"Hic."

With a small, startled gasp, Mirabel instinctively shrank back. It was the clergy we had met at the tavern.

"Oh? What the hell? It's that rude guy from before," the female priestess said in a dramatic tone straight out of a soap opera. When her eyes met mine, she pointed at me with a look of disbelief.

"And the cute little girl is here too. So, you two were adventurers?"

"Haha, yes, we dabble in adventuring. But may I ask what brings you here, Priestess?"

As the priestess moved closer, Mirabel's trembling intensified. I pulled her behind me protectively.

"…We received a report that every path was blocked off. The guild requested backup to deal with the situation."

The priestess frowned as she noticed my defensive stance but refrained from complaining, likely due to our previous encounter.

Maybe putting up those walls had been a mistake. I had only done it to secure the magic tome, but I hadn't expected the clergy to show up.

"Did you block off all the paths?"

Her tone left no room for denial. I couldn't lie, so I decided to handle it like the slave trader I was.

"Yes. By any chance, did you run into a group of rookie adventurers on your way here?"

"You mean those kids? Yeah, we met them at the rest area."

"The boy who was acting as the vanguard tried to abandon his party and join us. He was insistent about it. We were in a difficult position, as was his party."

"So?"

"No matter how hard we tried to shake him off, he kept following us. We had no choice but to create some distance. We were fine, but without a vanguard, his party would've been wiped out."

The priestess rubbed her chin, thinking it over.

"Still, was it really necessary to block every path? There are other parties in this dungeon besides them. You've inconvenienced everyone here. Surely, there were other solutions."

"Hmm, you may be right. I didn't think it through. If we meet them again, I'll formally apologize and offer compensation—enough to make it right."

In a world where money could even buy off soldiers, a few under-equipped rookies wouldn't be hard to appease. A little hush money, and they'd be thanking me for the walls.

"If you can settle things with them, then I suppose I have nothing more to say."

Since I had admitted my mistake and offered a solution, the priestess couldn't press the issue any further.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Priestess. Allow me to treat you to a meal once we're outside. Now, if you'll excuse us—"

"Before you go."

The priestess stopped me. The relaxed air around her suddenly turned sharp, her gaze brimming with hostility.

"You picked up something in here, didn't you?"