Floor 1, Tutorial (2)

"Ugh…"

When I came to and opened my eyes, I was staring at a dark stone wall. Faint torchlight flickered across the ceiling above me.

Huh? Oh, right. I'd entered the Tower of Trials.

I fumbled through my memories from before I blacked out.

I killed the goblin assassin… ugh. The image of the goblin's corpse brought a weak heave to my stomach.

And then I'd cut my arm on that poisoned dagger.

Fortunately, since I'd woken up perfectly fine, it must not have been a lethal dose.

Maybe because I'd already thrown up on an empty stomach, hunger came rushing in the moment my head cleared. My stomach let out a loud growl.

"Haha."

A hollow laugh escaped me. Even in a situation like this, I was hungry. Human nature really was something else.

But I had to endure it. There was nothing to eat here. And my stomach certainly wasn't desperate enough to accept goblin meat.

It's not like I'm starving enough to eat goblin.

I lay there wallowing in stupid thoughts for a while, when suddenly my injured arm came back to me. I hastily raised my left arm and inspected the wound.

A long red line ran across my forearm. At some point, the skin that had turned black had returned to normal.

Phew…

The wound wasn't all that deep either; moving my arm gave me no real trouble. Seeing my restored skin color and a fully functioning limb put me at ease, and I finally grasped that I'd clawed my way out of death's jaws.

This time too, I had survived.

Honestly, when I first saw that blackened wound, I truly thought I was going to die. I'd only just read the description that said the poison was unidentified, and watching my skin turn black right before my eyes had been deeply shocking.

I need to be more careful from now on.

Even that dagger earlier—I had no idea it was poisoned until I read its description. The same thing could happen again at any moment. Getting injured at all might be unavoidable, but I had to do everything in my power to avoid it.

Wait—come to think of it, how long had I been unconscious?

I hurriedly checked the time.

Fortunately, there was still time left. No disaster had occurred where the limit expired while I was out cold.

The last time I'd checked, I remembered there being 17 hours remaining. So I'd wasted about five hours lying there unconscious.

11 hours 57 minutes—now 56. Roughly twelve hours left, half a day. At a glance it might seem like plenty, but I had no idea what else lay ahead. I couldn't be sure it was enough.

Impatience gnawing at me, I rose to my feet.

But I mustn't rush. Always stay cautious, never let your guard down. That was the lesson I'd earned from nearly dying to the trap and the goblin assassin.

I slid the dagger into the sheath on my belt and picked up the crossbow. I couldn't use a weapon in real combat without ever having tested it—I needed to fire it at least once.

Hmm, though I had no idea how to use it. There was a thin, long groove running down the middle. Did I just set the arrow in there and pull?

I laid the arrow in the groove, hooked it against the string, and drew. The string had little elasticity to begin with, so it didn't take much effort. Without really thinking, I fired the crossbow at the wall.

Thwip.

The arrow shot forward and buried itself in the stone. This seemed plenty serviceable.

Time to move forward again. The sword I'd dropped when I passed out earlier was lying abandoned on the dark floor. I reloaded the crossbow, slotted it into the holder on my belt, and walked a couple of steps to pick up the sword.

Huh?

Something felt strange as I lifted it. It felt lighter than before, so I gave it a swing through the air.

Whoosh!

Fast. The weight of the sword in my hand was distinctly lighter, too. Had my physical abilities improved from killing the goblin assassin?

Probably so. Nothing else explained it. It was a little disappointing that without a status window, I had no way to check my stats rising.

Dagger secured, crossbow secured. Both my sword hand and my steps felt light. I was growing. It was time to press forward again.

I took a careful step toward the darkness ahead, pressing the tip of the worn longsword firmly against the floor to probe it.

Click—

The trap triggering came through far more clearly than before. At the ting! sounding from the ceiling behind me, I darted swiftly to the left. An arrow punched through the spot where I'd been standing a beat too late.

The dodge was effortless. My reaction speed had quickened. The click of the trap activating and the ting of the arrow launching registered as two distinctly separate sounds.

At this rate, I could probably dodge these even stepping on the traps with my bare feet.

Confirming my improved physical abilities left me at a crossroads. A lot of time had slipped away while I was unconscious, and probing every inch of floor with the sword would slow my advance to a crawl.

Should I just walk?

It felt like I could dodge them… No. Don't forget your caution. Let me test it a little more. If I could still dodge after two more traps, then I'd walk.

I resumed pressing the floor with my sword as I walked. After perfectly evading three traps in a row, I quit wasting time on the floor checks. Occasionally arrows flew at the same time, but they posed no real problem.

My advance grew smooth and steady.

For nearly an hour, nothing appeared but traps. And the more traps I deciphered and arrows I evaded, the easier the next one became to dodge. It seemed that dodging the traps themselves was gradually sharpening my body.

Somewhere along the way, as I passed a dozen-odd torches, I realized I was walking without tension at all.

Then, while strolling along and sidestepping traps without much thought, my feet suddenly stopped.

There they are.

Two goblins stood beside the next torch. Whether their eyesight was poor or not, they seemed to be looking my way without registering my presence.

I carefully drew the crossbow. Crossbow in my right hand, I advanced slowly into the darkness.

I just need to take one of them down first.

If I used the shadow after this torch burned out to kill one, it'd be a one-on-one. There was some distance between us, so with luck I might even finish the second off with the crossbow before it could charge.

I slipped cautiously into the dark.

Just watch out for traps.

Some of these dark stretches held traps and some didn't. Please, let this one be clear. I could dodge them well enough, but if a trap triggered, the goblins might notice me.

I was picking my way through the darkness when a chill suddenly crawled over me. Goosebumps prickled up my neck. Reflexively, I twisted my upper body to the left.

Thwip—

A sound came even though no trap had triggered. I fired the crossbow toward the source of the noise.

"Kieeeek!"

A goblin's shriek. Damn it—they'd ambushed me. In the far reaches of my vision, two goblins began charging toward me.

Another chill flooded over me and I rolled backward in a hurry. Thwip— something sliced through the air, passing right through where I'd been standing. I swung my sword reflexively, but caught nothing. In the darkness, I could see nothing at all.

Light—the torches!

I needed to get to somewhere I could see. I hastily retreated.

Before I knew it, the goblins from the opposite torch had entered the darkness as well. Three enemies. Shit—the curse came out on its own.

Could I handle three? No, that was pointless worrying. I had no choice but to do it. I tightened my grip on the sword.

One of the goblins in the darkness was using a crossbow. I had to keep that in mind too. Focus.

With my nerves wound to their absolute peak, I drew my concentration to its very limit.

Two goblins burst out of the darkness, and between them, silver light flashed. I raised my sword in a diagonal parry.

Clang! A dull shock traveled up to my fingertips.

"Kieek! Human! Die, you!"

"Kiik! Die!"

While I was deflecting the arrow, the two goblins had already closed in to striking distance.

I ignored the translucent message floating before my eyes. Using the focus I'd honed to its extreme, I read the goblin warrior's movements.

The goblin warrior swung its sword in a diagonal arc. Slow. The blade's trajectory was plain to my eyes. I swung up and knocked its sword hard upward—the goblin's arm flew skyward, its chest laid wide open.

I cut across, fast. The heavy sensation at my fingertips told me the blade had sunk in deep.

"Kiiiik!"

Splatter—green blood sprayed through the air.

One down, two to go. The instant I cut down the first, I shifted my body left, evading a goblin's vertical overhead strike.

"Kiik! Human! You killed, friend! Die!"

The shriek rang out right in front of me, and another sword came flying. As I moved to lightly deflect it, I heard the thwip of a crossbow. I had no choice but to retreat a quick step backward.

An arrow cut through the space between me and the goblin warrior. Watching it pass, I lunged back at the goblin.

A thrust using the difference in our heights. Startled by the arrow that had zipped past its face, the goblin's reaction was late. Before it could even finish raising its sword, the worn longsword pierced its throat.

"Gghekk…"

A wet, phlegmy gurgle. Green blood trickled down from the corner of the goblin warrior's mouth.

One left now.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Thwip—the crossbow sounded. Silver flashed. I moved left and evaded the arrow.

"Kiiik! Kiiik!"

The goblin shrieked from the darkness. It seemed furious that I kept dodging its arrows. Not that I could oblige its feelings by taking a bolt for it.

Come out already, you little bastard.

I glared into the darkness, sword raised. But this goblin wouldn't budge an inch. All I could hear was the kiik of it reloading its crossbow.

Thwip— I turned my head, slipping past an arrow aimed at my face.

Hmm, if it won't come out, so be it. Then I'll have to go in. I was about to charge into the darkness when I changed my mind.

Is there any real need for me to rush in first?

I could dodge its arrows at any time. Its bolts weren't infinite either—sooner or later, the goblin would run dry. There was no need to step into pitch blackness and risk a blind scuffle. I couldn't see a thing in there, which meant I could get hurt. Like that dagger earlier, its weapon might be poisoned. One unlucky critical wound and I'd be in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠serious trouble.

When the arrows ran out, it would come out on its own. I stood silently, waiting for the thing to fire.

Thwip—dodge. Thwip—dodge. A tedious stretch of arrow-dodging repeated itself.

Around my sixth dodge, the sound of the crossbow reloading stopped altogether.

"Gghuk… gghuk…"

Instead, sobbing drifted out of the darkness.

Wait—it's crying?

I was completely thrown. This was nothing I'd anticipated. I'd expected it to charge out in a rage…

If the thing sobbing in the dark had been anything but a goblin, I might have gone and comforted it. But it was trying to kill me, so there was nothing to be done.

"Quit blubbering and come out!"

"Gghuk, gghuk, ggheughuk…"

I shouted for it to come out, but it didn't. The sobbing only grew louder.

Why wouldn't it come out? I considered it for a moment. Had it realized there was no chance of escape? Well, fair enough—I wouldn't want to walk to my own death either, knowing it was certain.

But the one with death staring it in the face right now wasn't me. Not that I could spare the goblin either.

"Hey, come on out already. You're out of arrows too, right? Hiding in there is just wasting time. You're dead either way."

"Ggheughuk."

A sniffle answered instead of words. The goblin didn't come out.

Ugh, damn it. No helping it, then. I'd have to go in. Just in case, I'd approach from a distance, swinging the sword in wide arcs. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠My reach was longer than its.

The instant I moved to step forward, a voice came from the darkness.

"Kiik. H-Human. Spare, me. Gghuk."

A tear-soaked voice. Without the goblin's grotesque face in view—just the voice alone—my resolve wavered for a moment.

No. Floor 1's objective is the annihilation of all enemies. Kill it. It had to be killed regardless. If anything, this was for the best. Killing it out in the light would soften my heart for no reason. I'd kill it in the dark.

"Ggheughuk. Spare me, human. Please, spare me…"

The goblin begged again. A desperate, pleading voice.

…Shit.

"Fine, fine—so come out and show yourself."

"Kiik?"

"I'll spare you, so come out. If you don't, I'm coming in there myself. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And then… you know what happens."

"K-Kiik. O-Okay."

Pushing through the darkness, a noticeably small goblin shuffled slowly out, wound tight with tension.