FNGs

((A/N: I made a mistake. Originally, I planned for Callum's next ability to be <<Ethereal Strike>>. However, I decided that the ability was simply too powerful for such a low leveled character and I split it up into two different abilities.

Instead, I gave Callum <<Long Reach>> back in Ch. 48; later, I accidentally incorrectly identified the ability as <<Ethereal Strike>> when he used it in Ch. 52 and 55. I have since corrected both incorrect usages. I'm sorry for any confusion.))

Callum watched the Goblin Champion die with great satisfaction; he was extremely happy to be able to use <<Long Reach>> when he truly needed it. His previous attack, earlier in the dungeon, had been a simple test of his latest ability.

He looked around for the next target before he realized that there were no more goblins left. After checking the party icons to verify everyone was ok, he started to collect what loot he could find.

The party reformed at the bottom of the pit where everyone started dumping out all the loot they had gathered into one massive pile. Ravi began to sift through everything and stored everything he could in his storage ring.

Callum's eyes were greedily focused on the treasure chest that Alea was dutifully checking over for traps; he realized that one of the goblins must have counted as a Mini-Boss. The first cavern of the second floor was not a joke.

_____

'Loot Acquired

Beast Core (Common) (Durability: 10/100), Mana Potion (Common), and 8 Silver.'

_____

The party had immediately gathered around the chest after Alea cleared it of traps. The loot was in some ways a marked improvement over the chest from the first floor boss' chest; the fact that this was just a Mini-Boss' chest whet all of their appetites for what was to come.

Amarok padded over to Callum's side for what was quickly becoming a sort of bonding ritual between the two after a battle.

"<Clean>."

A portion of Amarok's fur was cleaned of green goblin blood and other organic matter Callum decided it was best to remain ignorant about. He repeated the cantrip as often as he could and finished cleaning Amarok's entire body before he started on himself.

Ravi took some time to sift through the loot. Most goblin equipment was useless to the party in all but dire circumstances. However, blacksmiths could break down the items into their component materials in order to reuse them.

The quality of the metal was subpar and the extra work required to extract it made the work barely profitable in most cases; except when there weren't nearby mines producing locally sourced ores.

The added transportation costs of bringing in ores from outside sources made goblin weapons more suitable for lower quality metal items, such as farm implements. Breaking down the weapons was also a good source of XP and skill growth for blacksmiths.

Normally, Ravi would not have bothered with Trash or Common tier goblin items when adventuring deep into the wilds like they were. However, the nearby presence of Callum's castle and the need for base metals spurred Ravi's greed.

While Ravi sorted through everything, Callum walked over to join Boren, who was sitting on a nearby boulder. The two talked over the fight and took turns practicing their inflated stories of the fight for future retelling at a tavern.

During their tall tales, Callum noticed that there were more goblin corpses at the bottom of the pit than there should have been, including a third Witch Doctor; most of the goblins should have raced up the spiraling ledge

"Where did that Witch Doctor come from? And what are all these goblins doing down here?" Callum asked Boren while he pointed out the third Witch Doctor.

"They were in that shaft," Boren pointed to a tiny cavity in the pit's walls that would not have been visible when they observed the large space, "A bunch of them flooded out of that and attacked Alea after she was revealed when she killed one of the Witch Doctors."

"She was able to dance around and whittle them down with Osmar's help; don't worry, we would have said something if she had been in real danger," the dwarf finished by including the rest of the party with a wave of his hands.

"I didn't even realize any of that was happening," Callum replied as he tried to piece together what happened by how the dead goblins were arrayed.

"Yeah, it's a common problem among new adventurers, but you need to work on your awareness. I've noticed that you either get tunnel vision or you get distracted by what's going on elsewhere."

He spat out a wad of phlegm to the side before continuing, "Either will get you killed; worse, it can get one of your friends killed. Keep your head on a swivel and be aware of what's going on but don't let yourself get distracted."

Boren clapped the much taller Callum on his arm as they got up when Ravi indicated he was done sorting the loot, "You fight well for someone so new to it, I'm sure you'll adjust soon enough. You'll be dispensing advice to Efingees in no time."

"What are Efingees?" Callum replied as they joined the rest of the party at the only passageway, except the dead end shaft.

"Fucking new guys," Alea said with a smirk before she headed into the tunnel to scout ahead.

_____

The party steadily advanced through the dungeon's second floor in a similar manner to the first floor. Ravi had to take a more active role due to the increased danger this floor posed; the mapping took longer due to this.

However, the floor was not considerably larger; except for the initial pit, the layouts of the two floors were remarkably similar. However, the patrols and the other Mini-Bosses were much tougher compared to the first floor.

Under Ravi's expert leadership, they killed hundreds of the various goblin types. The party did occasionally have to rest for a short while in order to let their Mana and Stamina bars refill after the Mini-Boss fights. However, Ravi's healing kept them all relatively healthy.

Once Ravi had mapped out everything, they circled back towards the Floor Boss' room. It had been easy to identify thanks to the large set of doors that would have been intimidating if they hadn't been falling to pieces.

"We'll take our lunch here," Ravi said, "Don't eat anything too heavy, there's no telling what's on the other side of these doors."

The party enjoyed a light meal and quiet conversation before they confronted the Floor Boss. Not only did the break allow them to briefly relax, but it also ran down the cooldown timers for some of the party's abilities and spells.

Their Mana and Stamina bars were also fully replenished while they ate.

The experienced party members shared their knowledge with Callum about the doors before them. They could not be stealthily bypassed, their opponents would know as soon as anyone tried to enter the room regardless of the method used.

Scrying, divining, asking the spirits, or any other methods of determining what was behind the door were also blocked. The only way to know what was on the other side was to simply open the doors and walk through.

Combat would be initiated once someone entered the room, including via stealth. This was a method that dungeons commonly used to increase the difficulty for Floor Bosses and later Mini-Bosses.

These mysterious rooms were especially dangerous in unexplored dungeons where dungeon divers couldn't collect information about the layout of the room or the types and numbers of opponents they would have to face.

Ravi was taking no chances and wanted his party to be fully ready for whatever they might face.