Chapter-02 · EP-040

Episode 40: Level 3 Power and the Iron Dagger

After finishing lunch, I came to the Shinjuku Dungeon.

I was nervous yesterday, but for the second time, I felt somewhat accustomed to it.

I didn't feel intimidated by the other explorers passing by either.

Since my academy exploration gear had been torn up by goblins, today I was wearing jeans and the jacket I had just bought. It had a casual look, and I didn't feel out of place among the city explorers. Probably fine.

I had my newly purchased dagger at my hip and my usual wooden sword in my hand. The plan was to use the wooden sword normally, and switch to the dagger for close-quarters combat or against tough enemies. I checked my equipment in the changing room mirror, satisfied, and descended into the dungeon.

I had checked on the Skill Board before entering, and sure enough, I had reached level 3.

Things were progressing smoothly. This should make exploring easier than yesterday.

I passed through the first floor with almost no fighting, and on the second floor, I defeated both giant rats and large lizards with a single strike from my wooden sword. Against the second-floor boss, the Giant Lizard, I finally used my newly bought dagger. With my increased attack power from leveling up and the new weapon's offensive capabilities, the fight was almost like a routine task. It was anticlimactic.

Feeling a slight sense of dissatisfaction, I stepped onto the third floor.

This was the real challenge. Yesterday, I struggled when multiple goblins appeared at once, but today, I felt I could fight smoothly using this dagger.

As I walked, I encountered a lone goblin.

The ferocious little green imp attacked me as soon as it saw me.

I swung my wooden sword horizontally, aiming for the goblin's throat.

I felt the satisfying sensation of breaking its neck, and the goblin died and vanished.

"A single strike with the wooden sword too…"

Maybe I didn't even need to draw the dagger against goblins.

I continued on, encountering and defeating solitary goblins, but I wasn't running into groups.

Yesterday was abnormal. Had those goblins been herded together?

It was possible.

There was a phenomenon called "training," where you run away from a single monster, others see it and give chase, eventually forming a large group. While it was an efficient way to defeat them all at once, it was forbidden to intentionally cause a train because you could end up with an unmanageable group or involve other explorers along the way. Had they been training? Or had that room simply been filled with many goblins?

Curious, I headed towards the place where I had fought the group yesterday.

From the narrow passage, I peered into the wide open area. There, in plain sight, were three goblins.

I see. So this was a room where monsters tended to spawn easily.

I silently apologized in my heart to the explorers from yesterday, whom I had suspected of training.

I was still far away, so they hadn't spotted me. If I had a bow or magic, I could launch a surprise attack. I could probably take out at least one. It was a shame I didn't have any ranged weapons. This was a situation where a party with divided roles would be advantageous. As a solo explorer, maybe I should buy a slingshot or something. That wouldn't be too much extra gear.

Anyway, there was no use dwelling on what I didn't have. Let's go!

Retreat wasn't an option.

Wooden sword in my right hand, dagger in my left, I walked towards the three goblins.

As soon as they saw me, the three attacked. But at my current level, I didn't need any tricks to fight goblins.

I swung my wooden sword at the first goblin within range. It was sent flying and bounced off the ground.

In that opening, I slashed at another goblin with my dagger. The blade was so sharp I barely felt it as it severed the goblin's head from its body.

For the third, I landed a kick. With a solid thud, it fell backward.

All three transformed into Magic Gems.

"…Effortless. I was so desperate yesterday… To think it would change this much in just one day…"

I felt like I couldn't quite believe it myself.

I was satisfied with my complete victory.

The dagger was especially good. Really good. It had enough weight to deal damage, and above all, it was sharp. A longsword would be heavy to carry around, but at this weight, carrying it wasn't a bother.

"What a great find."

I grinned, looking at the dagger.

If I could win this easily, there was no point in just fighting goblins one by one.

One immediate goal now was to clear the third floor. In a dungeon, a transfer gate opened every three floors. Once that happened, I could start exploring from the fourth floor directly from next time onward.

For me now, moving through the first and second floors was just a waste of time. Opening the portal would make future explorations much more convenient.

There was only one thing to do: challenge the third-floor boss room.

I felt like I could do it now. With the power of level 3 and the sharpness of this iron dagger.