17. The Reject Party (Continued)
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Reject Party (Continued)
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Thud.
The last goblin fell.
Jeong Yoo-shin pulled his sword out of the goblin’s body.
They had walked for hours, almost reaching the center of the first level, when they encountered another group of goblins.
Seven in total. The fight ended quickly.
He cut off the ears of the dead goblins and put them in his pouch.
Their current extermination count was twelve. The extermination request was for ten, so they had already completed it.
“Ha, it’s been a while since I’ve done this.”
Ditto grumbled as he cut off a goblin ear.
“I was wondering why you were so quiet.”
Del replied, his hands moving swiftly.
“I was bored. Want to hear me sing?”
Ditto cleared his throat.
“Don’t. Don’t embarrass yourself in front of the newbie.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
Del and Ditto bickered.
The others silently collected the ears and put them in their pouches.
Del’s party and Jeong Yoo-shin continued on.
They soon reached the center of the first level.
They saw the stone monument in the middle of the large chamber.
The transfer stone.
It brought back memories. This was where he had argued with Karl and his party about descending to the second level.
“Let’s rest here for a bit.”
Del said while glancing at Einhorfer.
He was being considerate of the dwarf with the reduced stamina imprint.
“Okay.”
They settled down a short distance from the transfer stone.
They ate and drank sparingly and chatted amongst themselves.
It was mostly Del and Ditto bickering though. The dwarf and the mage remained silent.
“Are you all intermediate-rank explorers?”
Jeong Yoo-shin’s question brought the conversation to a halt.
“Don’t just blurt things out like that. It hurts.”
Ditto grumbled.
“We were all intermediate-rank explorers.”
Del said.
“Stop talking nonsense and let’s go. Idiots.”
Kelton stood up.
“Yeah, let’s earn some money.”
They gathered their belongings and assembled in front of the transfer stone.
The red and blue portals appeared.
He thought of Karl and his party.
“Ha…”
Jeong Yoo-shin took a deep breath and stepped into the red portal.
The second level.
The torchlight flickered in the dark cave.
One by one, the others emerged from the red portal behind Jeong Yoo-shin.
“Skar, are you okay? Your hands are shaking.”
Del asked.
“I’m fine. Just a bit nervous.”
“Okay. As I said before, we’ll be circling the outer areas of the second level as we hunt for goblins. So just stay calm.”
“Yes.”
The things to watch out for were ambushes and traps.
Ditto, who was leading the way, stopped.
“A trap.”
Looking closely at the floor, he could see it.
An area covered with leather, similar in color to the cavern floor.
If you stepped on it, the floor would collapse, and the spikes below would pierce your foot.
Thanks to the torchlight, it was easy to spot. It would have been difficult to see it in the dark.
It was a similar trap to the one Karl had triggered.
Ditto removed the leather covering the trap and stood up.
“If there’s a trap, there are goblins nearby. Be ready.”
Ditto was right.
After walking a few steps, Ditto stepped back and said,
“There are a lot of them this time. Twenty. Barbarian, get your head in the game.”
Ditto’s voice was devoid of humor.
Jeong Yoo-shin stuck his torch into the ground.
Shing.
He drew his sword, rested it on his shoulder, and tightened his grip on his shield.
“Kee keh keh.”
“Kya kya kak.”
Sinister, sharp laughter echoed from the darkness.
Del drew his bowstring.
Whoosh!
Several arrows flew like streaks of light. There were no screams, only the thud of falling bodies.
The enraged cries of goblins filled the cave.
‘Here they come.’
A goblin charged out of the darkness and swung its axe down with force.
Bang!
He felt the heavy impact through his shield, making his hand tingle.
He had blocked it.
Jeong Yoo-shin then thrust his sword into the goblin’s neck.
His arming sword pierced the goblin’s vulnerable neck, severing its carotid artery.
Splatter!
The goblin collapsed, blood spurting from its neck.
“There are more behind us! Einhorfer!”
Del shouted.
“Coming!”
The dwarf grabbed his axe and retreated.
Jeong Yoo-shin was now the only one on the front lines.
He could do this. No, he had to do this.
He psyched himself up while bracing his body for impact.
Several goblins charged at him.
Crack!
He held his shield horizontally, breaking a goblin’s neck.
He bashed another on the head with the pommel of his sword and kicked it away.
He used every part of his body to slaughter and crush the oncoming goblins.
But he couldn’t block every attack.
Thud!
A cold sensation pierced his flesh through his hard leather armor.
A goblin had rammed into him, thrusting its sword into his abdomen.
The sudden pain paralyzed him.
He couldn’t block the descending club.
Clang!
The club struck his head. His vision swam and his head throbbed.
If he hadn’t been wearing his helmet, the blow would have knocked him unconscious.
Despite his dizziness, he swung his sword, slashing the goblin across the eyes.
The goblin that had stabbed him in the gut was now blinded.
He deflected another club blow with his shield and thrust his sword into the goblin’s abdomen. He grabbed the goblin’s neck as it slumped forward, weakened.
Kreeek.
He grabbed the feebly struggling goblin and threw it with force.
The airborne goblin collided with the other incoming goblins, sending them sprawling.
“Kelton! Are you done yet?!”
Del shouted.
“Almost. Idiots.”
“[Fireball]”
A blazing fireball appeared, distorting the air with its heat, and struck the pile of struggling goblins.
The resulting explosion briefly lit up the cave.
Boom!!
Jeong Yoo-shin instinctively ducked and raised his shield. The deafening roar and the shockwave made it difficult to keep his balance.
Splat.
Torn flesh and blood splattered against his shield.
The magic didn’t stop there.
“[Light]”
The cave was bathed in bright light, revealing areas previously hidden by the darkness. Most of the goblins in front of him were dead, caught in the explosion. The few survivors were frantically fleeing.
“[Ice Lance]”
Five two-meter-long ice lances materialized in the air.
With a flick of Kelton’s wrist, they flew towards the remaining goblins.
Whoosh!!
“Kiiieeeek!!”
The sharply pointed ice lances pierced the goblins’ bodies.
“Skar!”
Ditto shouted.
“Coming!”
Covered in blood and gore, Jeong Yoo-shin ran towards the rear.
Del and Ditto were struggling against the remaining goblins, their daggers flashing.
Einhorfer was slumped on the ground, gasping for breath. His great axe was nowhere to be seen.
‘Seven left.’
He swung his sword, decapitating the goblin that was grappling with Del.
Crack!
The sword stopped halfway through the goblin’s neck. Thick grease clung to the blade, dulling its edge. Or perhaps it was Jeong Yoo-shin’s exhaustion.
He grabbed the head of the half-decapitated, staggering goblin and hacked at its neck with his sword.
Again and again, like chopping wood.
Hack! Hack! Hack!
It was then severed.
He ripped the head off and threw it at a goblin attacking Ditto.
The goblin, struck by the severed head, stumbled.
He charged forward, pushing the goblin against the wall with his shield.
Thud!
“Keek!”
Then a shield bash.
Jeong Yoo-shin’s work boot stomped on the goblin’s stomach, crushing it against the wall. He heard a sickening crunch like bursting intestines.
As he stepped back, the goblin, its eyes rolling back, vomited blood and slumped against the wall.
‘Five left.’
He picked up a discarded weapon and swung it.
He smashed a goblin’s head with the club he picked up, kicked it, and then swung his shield. When the goblin fell, he crushed its neck with his boot.
He swung his club, blocked with his shield, and kicked at their vital points. He dodged the spear thrusts, grabbed the spear shafts, and pulled.
The goblins came to him willingly.
He delivered an uppercut, and as the goblin reeled, he grabbed its jaws and ripped its mouth open.
They were all dead.
No. One left.
Jeong Yoo-shin turned around.
A goblin, too terrified to flee, was cowering and backing away.
As he approached, the goblin screamed.
“Me! It’s me, you idiot! Del!”
“Del?”
“Yeah! Damn it, stop!”
“I just came to check if you were okay.”
“No, you didn’t! Your eyes were full of killing intent!”
He looked down and saw the gnome clinging to his leg.
“Ditto, what are you doing?”
“…”
“Treat your wounds. Idiot.”
Ditto remained silent, and Kelton spoke indifferently.
The dwarf was still gasping for breath.
“Ha…”
He sat down heavily and rummaged through his backpack.
The wound on his abdomen alternated between cold and burning hot. They must have coated their weapons with poison. How typical of goblins.
He drank an antidote, removed his armor, poured disinfecting wine on his wound, and cleaned it with a clean cloth. Finally, he applied healing ointment and bandaged it.
‘Healing potions are too expensive.’
He had bought the cheaper healing ointment instead, which was still quite effective. It also seemed to have analgesic properties, as the pain subsided somewhat.
He finished his first aid quickly, having done it before.
He looked around. The others were tending to their own wounds. Only Kelton stood there indifferently with arms crossed.
“That was strange. There were too many goblins.”
Del scratched his head.
“Yeah, it’s strange. Forty of them attacking us at once. Crazy.”
“Skar, do you have some kind of strange imprint? Like one that attracts monsters?”
Del asked.
“No. I have an imprint, but it’s not that kind.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“It’s Sacred Weapon.”
“How ordinary.”
“Ordinary. Idiot.”
“Show us.”
“I’ll collapse if I use it. It’s exhausting.”
Just then, Einhorfer, who had been writhing on the ground, sat up.
“Thank you, Skar.”
“Don’t mention it. I just did what I had to do.”
He humbly accepted the dwarf’s gratitude.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“Yes. This is only my second time in the labyrinth.”
“Then what’s going on? What’s happening in the labyrinth?”
“I heard there’s been an unusually large influx of newbie explorers. It might be related to that. Idiots.”
“Most of them don’t return, right?”
Del asked.
“No, they couldn’t return. Get out of the house once in a while.”
Ditto said.
“I have to risk my life to go outside. It’s dangerous out there, damn it.”
Del grumbled.
“Okay, so there are a lot of newbie explorers. But what does that have to do with these hordes of goblins?”
“Maybe they’re banding together because there are more explorers?”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Ditto shrugged at Del’s objection.
“Monsters adapt and learn. It’s not that strange.”
At Ditto’s words, Del looked at Kelton.
“What do you think, mage?”
“There’s a better explanation than the monster learning theory. Idiots.”
“Is there a leader controlling them?”
Jeong Yoo-shin’s words surprised Kelton.
“That’s right. Idiot.”
Several things flashed through his mind.
When he was lost on the second level with Anne, they hadn’t been attacked that often.
Except for their rescue of Marie and the final attack, they hadn't seen any goblins.
He had thought that they got lucky back then, but perhaps he had been mistaken.
Goblins.
Assuming Kelton was right, from a goblin’s perspective…
There was no need to risk pursuing them when there were plenty of prey around. It was more efficient to join larger groups.
Banding together meant easier access to more pregnant pouches and more meat.
If he were a goblin, he would have made the same choice.
The conclusion was simple.
He survived his first trip to the labyrinth purely out of luck.
Perhaps there had been so many newbie explorers on the second level that day that the goblins, realizing the efficiency of banding together under a leader, had started to congregate in one area.
Did he escape through the gap that was created? He got lucky and survived, but what happened to the other newbie explorer parties?
Kelton, seeing Jeong Yoo-shin’s grim expression, stroked his white beard.
“It happens sometimes. Stronger monsters coming up from the lower levels. Idiots.”
“Old man, I’ve never heard of such a thing. Isn’t that just speculation?”
Ditto grumbled.
“Aren’t you a ten-year veteran explorer? I’m a twenty-year veteran. Back in my day, this kind of thing happened from time to time. Idiot.”
Ditto’s face crumpled at the mage’s retort.
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T/N - Dang, MC's getting more and more metal. Ripping a goblin's jaw with his bare hands is a Doomslayer type move right there.
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