Boss Room.
Boss Room.
The place I entered after pushing through the thick gray mist was a vast cavern that couldn't even be compared to the narrow, suffocating passages.
Of course, since there was no light source like torches, it was just as pitch dark.
And there, in the center of that wide space.
"Kiririk! Kyak!"
The goblins who noticed the intruder's presence were all emitting hostility toward me at once.
Five ordinary goblins. And at their center, a creature slightly smaller than an adult male, but boasting muscles incomparable to regular goblins—an evolved specimen. A hobgoblin, gripping a heavy club, its eyes gleaming with ferocity.
"Gigik! Kyaaaaaak!"
As the hobgoblin slammed its club against the ground and let out a nerve-wracking roar, the five goblins around it all charged toward me at once.
Judging by how well they followed its command, that hobgoblin was likely the alpha, the leader of this nest.
Without panicking, I clicked my tongue lightly, raised the mini flashlight I was holding in my left hand along with the plastic bag, and shone it.
"Kieeeek?!"
The intense LED light of modern civilization struck directly into the retinas of the goblins, which had become extremely sensitive to light from living in the dark nest.
It wasn't a light source that illuminated the entire space like a torch, but the flashlight's beam, which only lit a limited area, had the effect of a flashbang on the goblins.
Just as the first one charging toward me staggered, clutching its eyes from the sudden flash, I cleanly pierced its forehead with the tip of the plastic umbrella, which I had hardened like a steel sword by infusing it with mana.
Thud.
The goblin with a hole in its head lost strength and collapsed, then its corpse began to turn into black ash and crumble. Without missing that timing, I kicked the goblin's body, which had started to collapse to the ground, with all my strength.
Wham!
"Gigigik?!"
The goblin's remains, which had instantly turned to ash and scattered into the air, became a thick smokescreen that completely covered the face of the second goblin following behind.
Its vision blocked, it flailed around, and without a moment's hesitation, I drove the plastic umbrella under its chin, cutting off its breath.
"Kyaaaaak!"
Seeing two of its kin lose their lives in an instant, the remaining three goblins, enraged, charged at me all at once.
I stepped back slightly to evade the attack of the fastest one, then instantly reinforced my legs with mana, using the first goblin's head as a stepping stone—I stomped hard on it and leaped into the air.
A cracking sound, and I heard the goblin's neck bone break beneath my foot.
"Kiek?!"
Using the airtime from my jump, I mercilessly drove the umbrella vertically into the crown of the fourth goblin, which was reaching its arms toward me midair.
As I landed, I pulled out the umbrella, and the last remaining goblin bared its teeth and lunged at my legs.
Even after its fellow goblins had died so helplessly, it charged calmly without panic. That's quite commendable.
I should give a gift to such a worthy one.
I tucked the flashlight I was holding in my left hand roughly into my pocket. Then, with the plastic bag still in my left hand—the white plastic bag that had held items from the convenience store—I threw it straight at the goblin's face.
Rustle!
The goblin reflexively flailed its hands as the unfamiliar object clung to its face. It seemed my gift wasn't very familiar to it.
That moment of opening. Seizing that instant. I swung the umbrella I was gripping like a rapier, wide like a baseball bat, and cleanly sliced through its throat.
The sharp blade of mana formed at the tip of the umbrella created a gruesome cut along its trajectory.
Swish, rustle.
In an instant, the five goblins turned into black ash and scattered on the ground.
Hmm. It seemed my gift wasn't to its liking. Then I'll take the gift back. So I picked up the plastic bag that had fallen to the floor.
"Grrrrr..."
Seeing its subordinates annihilated in the blink of an eye, the hobgoblin gnashed its teeth and raised its club. It must have thought that since all its underlings were dead, it was time for it to step in.
Even though goblins are so reproductive that the theory of spontaneous generation from spores is widely accepted, maintaining the nest wouldn't be easy with only that one hobgoblin left.
Even if it kidnapped female animals or human women from elsewhere to increase their numbers, it wouldn't be easy... Hmm.
Wait, that hobgoblin—it's staring intently at my face...?
Is it targeting me? Because I'm a woman? Trying to make me its mate?
Is this thing crazy?! Even if I haven't been in a woman's body for long, being looked at with those eyes is disgusting!!!
As if indifferent to my feelings, the hobgoblin was preparing to charge at me.
The moment its leg muscles explosively expanded and it was about to leap toward me.
I let out a light sigh and reached into my pocket.
A small goblin magic stone I had picked up while clearing various traps and dealing with ambushing goblins.
Honestly, against just a hobgoblin, I could easily take it down after a few exchanges with the umbrella... But there was no reason to get my clothes dirty by engaging in a bloody close-quarters fight with a creature that had both the size and weapons to harm people.
Above all, it was unpleasant and troublesome. That hobgoblin's gaze was extremely irritating. So I just wanted to finish this quickly and go home.
I curled my middle finger like I was going to flick it, fixed it with my thumb, and placed the small magic stone between my thumb and middle finger.
Then, I mixed the magic stone's mana with my own to create a mana bullet.
Bullet loaded. I aimed the prepared bullet at the hobgoblin's vicious face and lightly flicked my middle finger.
Ping!
A sharp tearing sound as it split the air.
The mana bullet I flicked shot out in a straight line in an instant, just like a bullet fired from a gun, and literally blew the hobgoblin's head off without a trace.
Crack!
The headless massive body staggered a few steps, then collapsed into a huge pile of ash.
"I used one magic stone, but... well, it's still cheaper than the dry-cleaning bill."
Good. Goblin's Nest subjugation complete. I collected the hobgoblin's magic stone and the goblins' magic stones that had fallen to the floor and put them in my pocket. Hmm. A magic stone much larger than the goblins'. If a normal goblin's stone is the size of a fingernail, a hobgoblin's is about the size of two finger joints.
It's been a while. This feeling too. After I fell into the other world, I struggled to survive knowing nothing, and ended up becoming an adventurer.
Once was enough for that experience. Indeed.
Just then.
Wooooong-!
As soon as I finished collecting the magic stones, the flow of mana filling the goblin's nest began to fluctuate strangely.
Then, the entire space rippled as if an earthquake had struck, and my vision flashed white.
"Uh, ugh?! It's a person! Another person came out of the Gate!"
Even though I was definitely inside a dark cave just moments ago, when I came to my senses, I was outside the Gate.
The area around the Gate was already cordoned off with police tape, and it was complete chaos with numerous police officers, paramedics, and gathered citizens.
"Student! Are you okay?! Wait, that's a restricted area—how did you—?"
A young police officer ran up urgently, grabbed my shoulder, and shouted. His face was a mix of worry and bewilderment.
I was about to just mumble some vague explanation, not knowing where to start.
"Officer! Don't yell at that student! That student is our savior!"
"That's right! If it wasn't for this student, we would have all died in that monster den!"
The survivors I had guided to the exit using glow sticks ran over from near the paramedics and surrounded me protectively.
"That student saved us all with just an umbrella in that dark place! She even chased away the monsters!"
"What... with an umbrella...?"
The police officer stared blankly at the 5,000-won transparent plastic umbrella in my hand. Amidst the survivors' passionate defense and the barrage of questions from the police, I adjusted the mask covering my nose and mouth, put on the most awkward smile I could, and answered earnestly.
Good thing I was wearing the mask. If my face were exposed, it would be troublesome.
"I just... happened to find the way to the exit... I was lucky."
Of course, the police officer seemed half-suspicious of my words.
"Student. No matter what, how could you do something so reckless?! From now on, absolutely, no matter what, you must never jump into dangerous places. Do you understand?"
While inwardly grumbling, 'If I hadn't jumped in, those people would all be dead,' I nodded obediently on the outside.
Well, it's only natural for a police officer to react that way. After all, it's like facing a wild beast, not a human, with just an umbrella.
"Anyway, we need to check your identity... Could you leave your name and contact information?"
"Ah, yes. My name is Kim Su-yeon, and my contact number is..."
After roughly handing over my contact info to the police, I slowly backed away before I got caught up in any more troublesome affairs.
"It's not like I did anything that great! My bus is about to leave, so I'll be going now! Take care!"
Leaving behind the survivors' expressions of gratitude trying to hold me back and the police officer's flustered voice, I half-escaped into the crowd at the terminal, hiding myself. Just in case, I even used Invisibility Magic to blur my presence, so they probably wouldn't be able to follow.
After that, everything moved quickly. I bought a ticket from the automated machine and boarded the bus heading home as if diving in. It was only after the intercity bus departed that I let out a sigh of relief.
The back seat of the bumpy intercity bus traveling down the road.
Watching the scenery passing by outside the window, I sank my tired body deep into the seatback. Hmm. This really is an out-of-shape body. If I hadn't reinforced it with mana, I'd already be groaning from muscle pain.
I slipped my hand into my pocket and felt the smooth magic stones I'd collected from the nest.
But then.
"Huh?"
I narrowed my eyes, sensing that something had changed.
The amount of mana gathered inside my body was definitely different from before.
The amount of mana that had been forcibly squeezed out through the Vitality Conversion Method had increased.
My innate mana vessel—the total amount I'd been slowly accumulating with the Vitality Conversion Method—had clearly and distinctly increased compared to before I entered the dungeon.
Just like clearing a dungeon in a game and gaining experience points to level up.
"This... It seems like something far more troublesome than I thought is happening."
Feeling the increased flow of mana inside my body, I pressed my forehead as an inexplicable headache washed over me.
A foreboding feeling that a peaceful retirement, or rather a peaceful university life in my twenties, was already out the window was creeping in.
