‘I guess I will check the dungeon… if the fights are too hard there, then I will return.’
‘What if someone clears the dungeon first and gets the job?’
‘Good question…’
That was one of the reasons that I wanted to go to the dungeon as soon as possible and be the first person to get the job. Doing that obviously would help me in the long run. Who knew if the job would be available after someone else gets it?
Some things in this world seemed like it worked like a game, but even games had limited resources inside them. It was clear that in each zone, the amount of experience and rewards that everyone could get were limited. So, more than ever, first comes first served. Those who find those resources first and use them to obtain even better resources will stay ahead and will eventually put some distance between the others.
I began to head in the direction of the dungeon and found some monsters along the way, but they were disposed of quickly with my throws. As my confidence grew, I also got better at it,
Before sunset, I eventually crossed the forest and then reached the next area. It was a swamp… The dungeon was only a hundred meters ahead. It looked like a mausoleum in the dim, eerie light. Its stone structure was cold and foreboding, with weird carvings etched into its surface, depicting damaged figures and long-lost symbols.
The air around it felt thick, heavy with the scent of decay, as though the very land around the dungeon had absorbed the whispers of death itself. The swamp surrounding it stretched endlessly, its stagnant waters murky and dark, dotted with patches of rotting vegetation. The atmosphere was oppressive, as if the swamp itself was a graveyard, a land that had long been forsaken by life. There was no sign of movement, no birds, no rustling of leaves, only the suffocating silence, broken only by the occasional distant croak of something unseen, lurking in the shadows.
“Shit, staying here at night is…”
It was better to stay inside the dungeon… or so I wanted to believe. I couldn’t see the monsters in the area, but they should be there. It made me wonder what kind of job I would get in a place like this.
‘Stop wasting time. You can’t rest in a place like this, so while your body has gotten stronger, you are also using more energy than usual. The more you keep wasting time, the harder conquering the dungeon will be.’
He had a point… still, as usual, I couldn’t accept that much when he was making sense. Regardless, I began to cross the swamp and noticed that the most muddy areas was close to the trees.
The surrounding trees were twisted and gnarled, their branches reaching out like long, crooked fingers, as if they were waiting for the right moment to grab me. The thick trunks seemed to lean inwards, casting ominous shadows that made the air feel even heavier.
With every step I took, it felt as if the trees were watching, their bark contorting into shapes that almost resemble faces, eyes that glinted in the twilight. I couldn’t shake the sensation that at any moment, one of them might lash out, ensnaring me in its grip. The tension in the air was palpable, and I couldn’t help but feel my muscles tighten, every instinct on high alert as the oppressive forest closed in around me.
While I moved looking at the trees, I heard a weird sound coming from the ground… from the mud pool in front of me. I saw a hand emerging. I felt like a jolt of electricity spread through my body thanks to the shiver. I immediately jumped backward and got ready to fight, but then when I landed… I felt my leg being grabbed by something.
When I looked in that direction, I saw a pair of hands emerging from the mud and soon it tried to pull me in. Without hesitation, I stabbed the wrists of the hands and then they weakened enough to let me move.
I dashed in the direction I came from before turning around and then facing the beasts. My heart was racing like a large drum with each heartbeat. That only got worse when I saw what tried to drown me in the mud…
“Goblins?”
From the murky mud pools, the goblins began to emerge, their grotesque forms half-rotten and encrusted with thick layers of mud. Standing at 1.8 meters tall, they towered over most goblins that I had imagined, making their twisted appearance all the more unsettling. Their skin, mottled with patches of decay, hung loosely from their frames, and the smell of rot mixed with the fetid swamp air.
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Their eyes glowed with a faint, sickly light, barely visible beneath the grime and filth caking their faces. Clumps of mud clung to their bodies, masking their skeletal features and making their movements even more jarring as they moved through the swamp. As they approached, the sloshing sounds of their feet sinking into the muck echoed, each step sending a sickening squelch through the still air. The sight of these putrid creatures, with their bloated, decayed limbs, was enough to send a chill down anyone’s spine.
‘I thought that it was supposed to take a bit longer before I had to fight undead enemies…’
While I was a bit nervous, they were moving very slowly… I quickly analyzed the situation. Given that they were undead goblins, they shouldn’t be able to feel pain, but in exchange for that, they should have lost some things like their ability as it was evidently in front of me. They didn’t look like they had skills either… so their endurance and ability to surprise their targets from the pools of mud should be their main weapon.
Without hesitation, I threw my four knives at the closest enemy… despite my assumptions about its speed, the monster was able to block the last two knives with its hands after the two others pierced its head. While they caused critical damage, it wasn’t enough to make the beast stop.
-36!, -36!, -21, -21
As expected, it didn’t fall since it had more healthy than the four armed bears. I clicked my tongue and got ready to charge… After clicking the ground, I approached the wounded monster, but the other stepped forward faster and then got in the way. I stabbed its hands when it tried to grab me and then I spun my body, hitting its head with a roundhouse kick.
-21, -21, -19
The second monster stumbled backward, and the first used that chance to grab my left arm and then approach its mouth at my neck. I stopped its attack by slitting its throat, but even that didn’t finish off the beast.
-36!
I used the other arm to push away the monster and then finally stabbed its head with my two main knives. The beast finally stopped moving and fell to the ground.
-36!, -36!
You received 07 EXP.
You received 04 Origin Coins.
The other monster got more eager to bite me when the other goblin zombie died. With large steps, it approached, but soon it stopped when I kicked its stomach. When the beast stumbled, I pierced its head from both sides and slowly twisted the weapons.
-36!, -36! -18!, -18!
You received 07 EXP.
You received 04 Origin Coins.
The monster fell dead, and I sighed in relief… the creature had two times more healthy than the four armed bears, so it was a bit annoying to deal with more than one at the same time. Still, it was manageable. What wasn’t manageable was the smell…
‘Crap, I feel sick…’
The smell of rotten flesh and blood stuck to the weapons like a heavy, sick paint. The once-sharp blades now carried the stench of decay, an acrid, sour odor mixed with the sickly sweetness of coagulated blood. The fetid scent of decaying tissue was overpowering, as though the very air had absorbed the vile remnants of the Goblin zombies. It made me feel like puking.
The blood on the steel had dried into a dark, crusty layer, with the putrid aroma of rot seeping from every spot. As I gripped the weapons, the smell felt like it was moving into my hands, lingering even after I wiped them. The metallic tang of blood was sharp, but it was overwhelmed by the earthy, musky reek of decomposing flesh. It was a scent that would bother my nostrils long after the deed was done.
‘Well, can’t you kick just fine? Why didn’t you use that on the four armed bears?’
‘Because they are huge. You aren’t very smart, are you?’
Heavier people have more mass, which makes them more resistant to being moved or damaged. While a stronger individual can generate a high amount of force, if that force is not enough to overcome the inertia of a much heavier body, it won’t be able to move or damage them effectively. Heavier individuals also have more momentum, which can make it harder for the attacker to stop them or redirect them.
At the same time, strength doesn’t always translate to speed or leverage. A stronger person may not always have the agility or positioning needed to use weak points effectively, while a heavier person can rely on their body weight and momentum to neutralize incoming attacks.
Such a phenomenon can be ignored with enough strength, but I wasn’t that strong yet. In any case, the monsters died, and they turned into ashes after a while, and they left a single piece of bone behind.
‘Of all the things that they could have dropped…’
I had no idea what they could be used for, but I didn’t like that I had to use such things. It was too big for alchemy, but I couldn’t discard its uses yet. In any case, I resumed my journey to the dungeon, imagining if I would find other kinds of enemies there.
The goblin zombies emerged from the mud pools to drag me to their spots as well, but I was able to stop them before they had the chance. I threw two knives at their legs and that hindered their poor mobility even further. Despite the fact that they came in pairs to attack, they didn’t cause that much trouble… Still, I was in a hurry since it was getting darker and I had no idea how the night would affect their behavior.