Today, all of you will be visiting the dungeon with me. Knight Adrian stood tall in front of the line of trainees, wearing his usual armor with a sword hanging at his waist. Just as he finished speaking, a hushed silence fell over the crowd, only to be replaced by loud murmurs.
“Dungeon? Are we going to face monsters?”
“How can we face monsters when we haven’t been awakened yet?”
“I wonder what kind of monsters we’ll encounter.”
“Hey! Stop whining. It’s only going to be a low-level monster, I’m sure. What are you so scared of?”
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“Silence!”
Adrian shouted at the top of his lungs, sending chills down everyone’s spine. Michael stared at him in shock, his body frozen in place, unable to move even when he tried.
“Is he using some kind of skill? What’s happening to my body? It’s like I’m frozen just from hearing his shout.”
Adrian scanned the crowd and nodded at the silence that had settled over the young trainees. He had used his skill to render those with low Will unable to move for a short time. He continued,
“The Count’s Mansion has a private dungeon for all the young soldiers still in training, so you can gain some experience fighting monsters. You don’t need to worry; the monsters will be level 1. Besides, there will be guards with you to look after you in case of an emergency.”
Everyone was given a short iron sword to prepare for the upcoming battle with the monsters. Michael examined the sword and used his appraisal skill on it, soon revealing the information above the sword.
Item: Short Sword
Quality: Common
The sword's quality was common, the lowest rank in this world. Items were categorized into different ranks: common, uncommon, rare, epic, and legendary. Legendary was the highest level of items known so far, or at least that’s what he had read in the library.
‘Maybe there are some Divine or Godly artifacts beyond the legendary. It’s said that no one has seen the legendary artifact for thousands of years, and I wouldn’t bet against that. I’m sure the royal families of the Kingdoms and empires are hiding them in some graves.’
Michael mused, waving the sword a few times in the air. His basic Sword Mastery skill had reached level 4 after a month of training, and after gaining 10 more points in intelligence, he could feel the improvement rising rapidly.
Adrian led everyone to the back of the barracks where the soldiers stayed. Michael noticed many soldiers—more than 20—who were training, emitting a fearsome aura and pressure.
‘That’s it, boys. Now follow me. We are going to the dungeon. You need to keep the children safe inside the dungeon from any unexpected events.’
Upon hearing the order from Knight Adrian, everyone hurried to don their armor and followed him toward the entrance of the dungeon in a well-trained manner.
‘Gulp. One punch, and I’ll be blown away before I even know it.’
Michael swallowed hard, looking at the aura. He focused ahead, and after some distance, they reached the location of the dungeon. There was an entrance to the cave, which was the so-called dungeon, featuring a large door with symbols engraved on it.
Michael used his appraisal skill, but all he could see was the name of the door: the gateway to the dungeon. Adrian stood in front of the crowd,
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‘Open the gates,’ he pointed toward Michael and the others, ‘You lot follow me and stay steady.’
We all followed inside the dark and gloomy cave. Dungeons in this fantasy world full of magic and wonders were common, but it was Michael's first time, and that’s why he felt nervous at first. However, his skill helped him calm down. With torches hung on the walls, the inside of the cave was well lit.
Even then, he couldn’t shake off the gloomy feeling of the cave. They reached a large open hall with a high ceiling, and Adrian faced the crowd once again.
‘’This is the first level of the dungeon; there are a total of 10 levels starting from this ground floor. To reach the next level, one needs to go downstairs. So basically, the lower the floor, the higher the difficulty. For now, you lot will be facing monsters on this floor. As you guys haven’t been awakened, you won’t receive any exp to level up.’’
Clank
‘’There’s your cue. The monsters are coming, so get ready. No need to worry; as I mentioned earlier, all the monsters on this floor are level 1, so you won’t have any difficulty facing them at all.’’
Knight Adrian shouted once again, and everyone, including Michael, focused on the other side of the hall where a big hole led to some unknown place. One could hear the footsteps of the monsters and the sound of iron colliding, proving that the monsters were armed.
Michael’s muscles tensed up, and soon a monster emerged from the hole. It was a green humanoid creature, barely reaching 3 to 4 feet, with an angular face, sharp nose, and pointed ears. Its eyes were rather large compared to its skinny body and thin limbs. It was carrying a short sword that looked similar to itself but appeared quite rusty.
Its teeth were sharp, resembling fangs, giving it a menacing appearance despite its small stature. Though small, its sharp eyes earned it the title of a cunning monster, grinning with saliva dripping from its mouth.
Monster: Goblin
Level: 1
‘Just as I thought, it really is a goblin. They look weak, but these bastards are pretty cunning. As they are the lowest in the goblin hierarchy, they can’t speak and only know how to kill.’
Michael read the stats of the goblin, which were lower than his, giving him a boost in confidence once again. Soon, more monsters of the same kind started popping up from behind, followed by even more.
Michael steadied his feet on the ground. He wasn’t blind to the danger of rushing forward only to meet his untimely death. The goblins charged toward the crowd like hungry wolves, brandishing their swords. Everyone held their breath and braced themselves to confront the impending foes.
Haa
When the monsters reached the center of the hall, everyone shouted and surged toward them, led by the bulkier boys who looked twice Michael's size. The first boy clashed with a goblin’s sword, swinging his weapon with full force and sending the creature flying backward.
Bam
Michael stepped in front of a goblin that barely reached his chest and swung his sword with all his might, countering the goblin's attack.
Clank
[You have caused 5 damage]
The swords collided, pushing the goblin back and causing it to tumble to the ground. Without giving the creature a chance to recover, he leaped forward and plunged his sword into its eye, piercing through from one side to the other.
Screech
The goblin let out a bloodcurdling scream, a high-pitched wail echoing off the dungeon walls, blending with the cries of the other goblins and creating an atmosphere of slaughter that sent a chill through Michael, embedding in his mind the harsh realities of this dangerous world.
[You have gained 10 experience points]
[You have achieved your first kill]
[You have gained 100 experience points]
‘’Huff huff’’
Though it was a brief fight lasting only a few seconds, Michael felt breathless. It was his first time killing a monster. The green blood flowed from the goblin's wound, and Michael felt nauseous at the sight of the blood pouring from the devastated injury, nearly making him throw up, but he held his ground. Soon, he calmed down thanks to his skills. He pulled his sword from the goblin and turned to look around, only to hear a loud shout.
‘’Look out, boy. In front of you.’’
Michael barely had the chance to react when he saw a goblin right before his eyes, its sword pointing toward his face and coming closer at a rapid speed. Michael tried to dodge, but it was already too late. Just as he thought he was going to die, the goblin went flying, torn into pieces.
‘’What are you doing losing your focus in the middle of the battle? Focus on your enemy and your surroundings at all times. This is not a dummy practice. It’s a battle of life and death. One wrong mistake can cost you your life. Stay focused.’’
Michael looked to his right, where he had heard the shout coming from, only to see Knight Adrian pointing his blue glowing sword at him and speaking in a serious tone. It took him a moment to realize who he was addressing.
‘’Yes, Sir.’’
Michael nodded vigorously and refocused on the monsters. ‘I made a mistake. I stopped in the middle of a battle. It’s all because of my lack of experience. Adrian saved me this time, but it won’t be the case when I’m alone, and besides, I can’t even use mana here, so I need to pay more attention to my safety and surroundings.’
Michael cursed himself for making such a mistake. It couldn’t be blamed on him, as it was his first time taking the life of a being that even resembled a human child, though it was just a monster; still, the feeling of murder lingered inside him. He steadied his resolve and plunged toward another monster, ready to kill the being that had almost taken his life away.