I was in a small earth tunnel on the first floor of the dungeon. In my right hand I was holding a club (I couldn’t afford a rusted sword) and in my left hand, I had a rock.

    In front of me were three ugly goblins the size of children. One of them was holding a wooden stake, the second was carrying very dark earth, and the third was holding nothing.

    We both randomly crossed paths, and for five seconds just stared at each other. 

    Then I heard an ugly shrill from the third goblin who was holding nothing, and it immediately grabbed a bunch of dirt from the ground and started throwing it against me, while the stake goblin rushed me and the last goblin dropped the dark earth it was holding and started looking around for anything to use as a weapon.

    The goblin with the stake charged at me in a straight line with the stake in front of him. 

    (Goblins are so stupid.)

    I readied myself to hit the goblin in the head with my club.

    Then a ball of earth came flying at my face. I managed to put my hand in front of my eyes, but my vision was still blocked for a second.

    Though I couldn’t see anything for that split second, I swung my club where I thought the goblin would be.

    I almost dropped my club when I felt the impact in my hand from hitting something.

    I looked up and saw that I had hit the goblins skull and it fell into the wall.

    Then another ball of earth hit me.

    “Stop throwing that shit!“

    I looked at the goblin and threw the stone in my left hand. I missed.

    I saw the third goblin was still looking around for a weapon.

    I picked up my club from the ground.

    While the other goblin kept throwing earth at me, I decided to simply charge it and smash its head in.

    The final goblin looked at his two dead allies and decided to run away.    

    I simply chased him and hit his skull from behind.

    (God I hate goblins…)

    I sat on the ground and dusted myself off while I waited for a minute. Then all of the three goblins suddenly evaporated into smoke and left behind three very small mana crystals.

    I grew up in a village not too far from Dungeon City. My parents were both killed by a fever when I was about five. I had no siblings and the plot of land which was my father’s was taken from me. So I spent most of my time resentful, hanging out alone in the forest near the village. Until one day, very recently, I was tired of the monotony and decided to head here.

    Dungeon City is a city-state built around the world’s biggest dungeon, hence its name. Every day I have to dungeon dive to pay for my daily food and lodging expenses, with almost nothing left for savings. If I’m sick for a couple of days or get a fever that lasts a week, then I’m screwed.  

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    When I exited the dungeon to make my way to the guild, my entire body was covered in dirt. My thin leather armor and my cheap woolen clothes. Some dirt had even gotten into my underwear, curtesy of that damn goblin.

    I got to the guild right next to the dungeon exit to exchange my mana crystals for coins. 

    I went inside and was immediately hit by the airconditioned main floor. I saw rows upon rows of clerks dressed in formal wear.

    (It’s still hard to get used to the big city. Everything here is so big and modern.)

    I went over to the nearest exchange clerk, who was a dwarf with a mean face sitting behind a fortified glass panel. 

    He looked at me without talking or even saying hi. 

    (I wish one of the elf girls was on exchange duty today, I hate dwarves. I swear, as soon as I’m financially stable, I’m going to a young harlot.)

    I threw my small mana crystals under the hole in the glass panel. They disappeared and in the blink of an eye the dwarf threw out the exact amount of coins.

    (This is less than yesterday. 9 hours and I barely found any goblins.)

    “Next!” the dwarf yelled out.

    After that, I went to a cheap restaurant to bulk up on pasta.

    (This tastes so good! Back in the village, this would be a luxury, but here it’s considered cheap. The big city is so much more convenient than where I came from.)

    While eating, I also flexed my arm muscles and started touching them. 

    (Ever since I started dungeon diving, I’ve been using my muscles way more and eating way more. I can feel them getting bigger and stronger.)

    I looked around the restaurant while eating. It was mostly filled with dungeon divers like me. But I was the only one who was alone. Everyone else was in groups and laughing and having a good time.

    I ignored them.

    (Tomorrow after I’ve slept and recovered and before I hit the dungeon, I’ll go to the temple and get my Goddess’s kiss updated.)

    After eating, I finally made my way back home and started walking for one hour to the outskirts of the huge city. Then I finally arrived at the huge inn.

    Because of magic and the unlimited amount of mana crystals and raw materials in the dungeon, the city was huge and all the buildings were big and housing somewhat affordable.

    I lived in a building made specifically for new dungeon divers like myself. All you had to show was your Dungeon Diver card, and they’d give you a discount.

    I took the magical elevator 12 stories up. Then I exited into the hallway with rows upon rows of doors and found mine.

    I entered my small room with a bed and desk and window. 

    I immediately took my clothes off. I then shook it clean off dirt outside my window. Then I threw it in the laundry basket and headed over to the communal bathroom to wash myself and my clothes.