Chapter 2. Goblin (2)
Chapter 2. Goblin (2)
Do you know the fish called the anglerfish that lives in the deep sea?
It uses something like a lightbulb attached to its head to shine and lure its prey.
A hunting method evolved over an immense amount of time.
Shashashashak...
That was the same here.
"Ke-ek..."
'I'm going crazy.'
[You have defeated a Cave Centipede.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Magic Power has increased.]
Already 5 of them.
That's the number of times a roughly 50cm long centipede named Cave Centipede has attacked me.
In that time, my level has gone up twice, reaching a total of level 4.
Name: None
Level: 4
Race: Goblin
Skills Owned: Mating(S), Regeneration(E)
I hunted goblins and leveled up, increasing my Strength.
While hunting Cave Centipedes, I leveled up twice in total, increasing Agility and Magic Power.
I can definitely feel the Agility, but this Magic Power thing is really hard to feel.
Is it because the amount is small?
'My speed has definitely gotten faster.'
It seems that Agility isn't just normal running speed.
First of all, I've become able to see through this darkness a little bit, and above all, my reaction speed has increased significantly.
'I hope Stamina goes up next.'
Maybe because my Strength increased once, my calves don't really cramp or anything.
But the problem is that my Stamina is at its limit.
A body that has already reached its limit.
Cave Centipedes ambushing from all sides.
The sound of them crawling wasn't easy to hear, perhaps because this is a place where vision has degenerated, and the only means to react to them is the light of the fireflies.
I know they are drawn to this light, but even so, I can't discard it because I'd be helpless against them without it.
Because I can't suppress my presence more than these guys can.
'Should I have turned back when I saw the fireflies earlier?'
But I don't have much Stamina left to turn back now.
I've caught 5, but I've encountered more than that.
Eventually, just as I was looking for a place to rest for a moment to conserve even a little bit of Stamina, I heard something.
Woooong-
A sound like something resonating.
'Should I go?'
My level is only 4.
Race is Goblin. The only skill useful for combat is, at best, Regeneration.
After a moment of hesitation, I slowly moved my feet, thinking I should at least check it out.
"Hup..."
'What is that?'
Having confirmed the source of the faintly resonating sound, I opened my mouth without realizing it.
"Hmm? What's that sound?"
"Dunno. Probably centipede sounds."
'Crazy... Humans?'
A party consisting only of foreigners living in America or Europe, with not a single Asian person.
The reason I was shocked wasn't just that there were humans here, but the real reason for my shock was that small light located in their center.
And the black curtain softly draped around them.
'Does that black curtain prevent them from being lured?'
I don't know the principle. In my opinion, the probability of it being magic is extremely high.
Throb.
'...This is driving me crazy.'
Naturally, there were women among the party members.
A party mixed with three men and two women. The women weren't particularly outstanding in looks or figure, but my lower half shot up towards the sky... no, towards the cave ceiling, as if to announce its presence.
I slowly inhaled and exhaled to hide my excitement as much as possible and listened to the humans' conversation.
"Anyway, we need to get out of the lower floors quickly."
"Hey. It's been a year since we left the village. This is fast enough."
"I know that."
'Lower floors?'
Lower floors, huh.
Then I can think of this place not as a dungeon concept, but as a labyrinth or a tower.
After listening to their conversation for a while, I organized the information.
This place is like a labyrinth or a tower.
The place where I am is a relatively safe section of the lower floors.
I don't know the floor number, but to leave or move to another floor, I have to pass through something called a Gate.
'If it's a Gate, is it the Gate I know?'
It's a total fantasy world.
Since the existence of a Gate has come up, this is closer to a labyrinth.
While listening to their useless conversation, I suddenly felt something strange.
'There are no centipedes.'
I felt a sense of crisis that the guard I had maintained for several hours had been let down.
To think my guard would be let down just by seeing humans.
'Let's rest for now.'
It was difficult to move any further anyway.
Since I had been paying attention for a long time, it was too exhausting mentally rather than physically.
But I must never fall asleep here.
If they wake up to go to the bathroom and come this way, they'll kill me if I'm sleeping.
Just as I was trying not to fall asleep, a conversation that would wake me up came along.
"It's a cave now, but the next theme is a forest, right?"
"Yeah. A little further and it's a forest."
"Let's clear up to the forest this time. We can do it."
Forest.
Since goblins usually live in forests, a forest will probably appear if I pass this place.
'I have to follow these guys.'
Staying here any longer is insane.
I can't survive in this place with no light and no food.
In the end, I needed to suppress my presence as much as possible to follow them.
'Should I eat a centipede or something?'
But can I even eat it in the first place?
I'm confident I'll do anything to survive, but I couldn't even imagine eating a centipede.
'I've lost my mind.'
To think I'd even have such a thought.
I quickly shut my mouth because I felt like I was going to let out a hollow laugh for no reason.
How much time had passed like that?
After about an hour, they started preparing a place to sleep.
There are no centipedes around here, so it should be fine for me to get a good sleep too.
"I really can't do the third shift today. What about the night watch?"
"Then I'll do the third shift."
They were deciding the night watch. Listening to the conversation in detail, it seemed they were taking care of everything like the bathroom inside that black curtain.
That means there's no chance of me being in danger unless centipedes suddenly attack.
Relieved, I still went and sat in a place where I would be as invisible as possible to the humans, just in case of any unforeseen danger.
If I stick to the wall, centipedes could climb the wall, so I stayed as far from the wall as possible.
"Whew..."
Fortunately, there's a rock between the humans and me that's big enough to hide my body.
I fell asleep, clutching a pebble I had picked up while wandering around.
Rustle. Rustle.
Snap
Whoooong!
'...Ah.'
Startled by the sudden noise, I swung the pebble toward where the sound came from.
Hurrying to open my eyes, what I saw was empty air.
"Let's move."
"Yeah."
"Ughhh... I slept so well. This was a really good buy."
Throb.
'Damn it...'
Thanks to the woman's seductive moan while stretching, I had a very vigorous morning erection.
The noise I heard earlier must have been the sound they made when leaving this place.
That blue stone the woman is showing the man, saying she bought it well.
That must be what maintained the black curtain I saw last night.
I burned their appearance into my head and slowly followed them.
Whoosh.
They even smartly brought torches.
Since it was an extremely dark cave, their figures were clearly visible even from a distance, so I moved while keeping a fair distance.
Sometimes when they turned a corner, the light would weaken, and at those times, I didn't rush, but moved with a fast pace after suppressing my presence as much as possible.
Crunch!
"Haa... haa..."
[You have defeated a Cave Centipede.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Magic Power has increased.]
Name: None
Level: 6
Race: Goblin
Skills Owned: Mating(S), Regeneration(E)
I've dealt with about 4 Cave Centipedes just while following the humans.
In that time, my level went up again.
The biggest problem right now is the height difference between them and me.
I'm only 1 meter tall, but they are Westerners, so they all have long heights and legs.
Because of that, the distance is getting further as we move.
It's even extremely difficult because I have to move while blocking attacks from Cave Centipedes crawling around.
If my Stamina grade hadn't gone up in the middle, I think I would have lost them.
"Ke-reuk."
After taking a short break, I hurried toward the light that had already become faint.
At this distance, my footsteps wouldn't be heard at all.
Having gotten as close as possible, I listened to their conversation while breathing as slowly as I could.
"We're almost at the Gate, right?"
"Yeah. In about 30 minutes."
"Haa... I should have just gone straight. Why did we have to come here."
'Other place?'
Listening to the last woman's words, it seems there are multiple Gates per floor.
"Can't be helped. We received a request to collect Cave Centipede carapaces."
"Tch... It doesn't even pay much."
"It's a two-for-one deal."
A request, huh.
I don't see any Cave Centipedes separately. No way they could all fit in that small bag... Ah. They can fit.
If that bag is a subspace.
'I want it.'
How valuable would the loot be if I dealt with all of them.
A powerful temptation pushed its way into my head for a moment, but I shook my head.
First of all, I'm not confident I could win 1-on-1 even against that sturdy-bodied woman standing there, let alone 3 healthy men.
Am I gradually becoming like a goblin in intelligence?
I must refrain from such thoughts as much as possible. Because I might act on them without knowing.
As I kept following them like that, when my level went up one more time.
I finally discovered the Gate.
A blue Gate.
"Alright, let's go."
"Huu... I want to see some sunlight."
"We just need to get to the 20th floor."
Is it a forest from the 20th floor?
Thinking that, I only stepped into the Gate long after they had all entered it.