The Ominous Cave
Thud. I took a cautious step forward. It was cold. I could feel a chilling energy slowly seeping out from within. [Chaos warns that the situation is unusual and advises never to let your guard down.]
‘What on earth is at the end of this cave…? If I go in half-heartedly, it could be dangerous.’
“I don’t know what’s coming, but no matter what happens, stay sharp so we can respond immediately.”
I stopped at the cave entrance and looked at the girls. It was obvious advice, but it was worth reminding them before we truly began.
“We’ll use the barrier only to protect the two of you. No matter what appears, don’t worry about me. Your safety is the top priority—always remember that. Got it?”
Yeriel and Lumia nodded with tense expressions. I gave them a thumbs-up in response, then advanced once more.
The cave was pitch-black and ominous, not a single ray of light penetrating its depths. It felt as though monsters could leap out at any moment. We pushed through the darkness, illuminating our surroundings with the flickering light of a blazing torch as we moved forward slowly.
‘Nothing at the entrance? Well, we’ve only just stepped inside.’
I kept my guard up, scanning the cave walls and ceiling, but all I saw were tiny insects crawling here and there. No living creatures of note. This was definitely an artificial cave created by the rules of the Great Labyrinth. If it were a natural cave that always existed on the fourth floor and this large, it would’ve been marked on the map as a notable spot.
‘…Hmm.’
As a modern person, my knowledge of exploration was shallow. Even after studying a few books at the library, distinguishing these things on the spot was difficult.
We walked in silence for two full hours without incident.
‘Shouldn’t something be showing up soon?’
Tap, tap.
“…What is it, Lumia?”
Lumia’s fingers tapped my arm. Oh, she must’ve found something. Or sensed monsters. Either way, it was a welcome signal after being wound so tight my body itched.
Lumia glanced around and whispered softly.
“I can sense a large number of monsters about a hundred meters ahead. Each one is roughly a bit larger than a goblin.”
A large number? Probably not hundreds. If it’s dozens, can we break through?
“Good. The appearance of monsters means we’ve truly entered the depths of the cave.”
I pulled the blood-red blade, Seosul, from my pack.
“This cave isn’t small, so we might get lost on the way back. Let’s mark our path here.”
At this size, the mark would be easy to spot. I carved a clear sign into the wall.
“When the monsters appear, I’ll strike first. Support me as needed. Yeriel, buffs please.”
“Okay. May light dwell in his sword, and wind upon his body.”
Divine Weapon effect: Strength increased by one stage for one hour.
Haste effect: Agility increased by one stage for one hour.
With Yeriel’s buffs in place, I finished my final preparations.
‘Alright, let’s see what kind of monsters appear.’
Chaos cautions you to be careful.
Thud. Thud. Tap.
I slowed my pace and crept forward. Soon, I spotted a group of at least twenty stocky monsters gathered together. They were only slightly larger than goblins, but otherwise identical—except their skin was thick and gray instead of green.
So the fourth floor really is crawling with goblins. Mutants? Now that I think about it, they might’ve been in the monster encyclopedia…
Well, whatever their official name, we encountered them in a cave. From now on, you’re Cave Goblins.
‘Twenty of them… We have the initiative. One big hit, then sweep them with the greatsword.’
Crackle—
‘Lightning!’
BOOM!
“Kerk?!”
“Kerak!”
Damn. Do they have innate elemental resistance? Even with a fierce bolt striking dead center in their midst, only three of the twenty were directly hit and burned to death.
Bang!
Gritting my teeth against the headache, I charged. The damage was less than expected, and the monsters had already recovered from their shock, noticing my approach.
The cave was wide enough to swing the greatsword freely. So—
Whoosh!
CRACK!!
I swung horizontally with all my strength. The tough skin meant nothing before a blade infused with mana. Two monsters caught by the sweeping edge sprayed blood and died instantly, like trees felled by an axe.
Fifteen left.
At this point, the Cave Goblins stopped taking it lying down.
“Kishaat!”
“Kerk!”
They began attacking in various patterns.
“Hup!”
Slash!
“Kek.”
Three charged on all fours like beasts. I stepped forward hard and cut them down diagonally.
Leap!
“Keaaak!!”
While the first group drew my attention, one tried to pounce from above with both hands, but it was pointless. I could see exactly where every attack was aimed. Unless it was far faster and stronger than me, there was no way it would hit.
“Too predictable.”
Thud—!
I twisted my body, dodging by a hair’s breadth, and drove my left fist straight into its hideous face. The monster’s head caved in and died instantly.
The two that hesitated for a moment charged late, but then Lumia’s chant rang out from behind.
“Black hand that grasps the night.”
Lugen’s Grasp
“Gek.”
A black hand materialized in the air, snatching the two airborne monsters and crushing their bodies like water balloons.
Pop! Splat.
Blood oozed between its clenched fingers with a gruesome sound.
Nine left.
Over half their number had fallen in an instant. The remaining Cave Goblins stumbled backward, hesitating. But monsters would always be monsters.
“Kerk, kergek!”
One particularly large specimen with bloodshot eyes roared, and the group’s movements suddenly grew more coordinated.
Including the one that shouted, the two at the very back stretched out their hands.
Scrape. Scrape scrape.
BOOM!
“?!”
Before I could react, an ocher energy gathered above their hands, and the ground in front of me surged upward.
“Kgh!”
‘What? They can use magic?’
They weren’t holding staffs, and their appearance was no different from the others, yet they attacked with magic without warning. I was caught off guard.
…But surprise was surprise. I couldn’t just stand there like an idiot.
The rising earth morphed into massive stakes trying to impale me. I quickly retreated to dodge.
“Kerk!”
Crash!
One of them still had energy left and launched a follow-up attack—a boulder the size of my torso. But—
Thud!!
I blocked it with the flat of my greatsword like a shield. The impact pushed me back three steps, but I took no major damage.
“Keak!!!”
Leaving the shrieking shaman behind, the remaining seven non-shamans charged all at once.
‘These bastards!’
They split their forces. While two shamans and three others marked me, the remaining four tried to flank and target Yeriel and Lumia from the rear.
“Who the hell do you think you’re aiming at, you rat-brained scum!”
‘Lightning!’
BOOM!
I dropped a warning bolt on the four trying to slip past. The survivors could handle the rest. I trusted them.
I dove into the remaining five, eyes blazing, swinging my sword. The monsters finally realized that clustering together would turn them all into a single splash of blood under my greatsword. They scattered, each attacking from different angles with claws and teeth.
In that case, switching weapons and moving faster would suffice.
I immediately switched to Barak and channeled mana into my feet. The sense of liberation was incomparable to wielding the heavy greatsword with both hands.
Slash.
One down. I passed a charging goblin at twice its speed and cut its vital point.
Slash. Slash!
I severed the arm reaching for my flank, then spun and beheaded the one lunging from behind, separating its head from its body.
“Kiaaaak!!!”
Seeing their kin slaughtered in an instant, the enraged shamans acted. One softened the ground to trap my feet in mud, while the other fired a barrage of sharp stone shards like wedges.
Watching the fragments approach in slowed time, I gathered mana in my arm.
‘I’ve taken down floor guardians and higher species. I’m not losing to this just because my feet are stuck!’
“Uraaah!”
Flash!
I unleashed the mana stored in my arm mid-swing, accelerating and forcibly twisting my trajectory—Ivelin’s Explosive Sword Technique.
—Bang bang bang!
Bang!
In an instant, I found the path to block all six shards, twisting three times with the Explosive Sword Technique and knocking them all away.
The two shamans stared at me with dumbfounded expressions.
Now… it was their turn to die.
A crimson, violent aura blazed along the blade from the hilt.
“Kgh.”
Gripping the trembling sword, I swung.
‘Killing Intent Release!’
BOOOOOOM———!
A condensed wave of killing intent flew forward with no chance to resist. The only thing the monsters could do, death staring them in the face, was close their eyes and curl up.
Leaving the corpses with limbs scattered behind, I immediately turned toward Yeriel and Lumia.
They were done too. Yeriel had apparently smashed the goblins’ heads with her staff; blood dripped thickly from the head of her weapon.
Whether she felt my gaze or was simply worried now that the fight was over, both girls turned to look at me.
They hurried over.
“Aren, your side’s completely finished too, right? Are you hurt? Want me to cast Heal?”
“Nah. No injuries. I’m really fine. More importantly, you two fought well. Now I can move without worrying.”
“Of course, of course! Ahem. Our support, suppression, and individual combat are all improving bit by bit.”
She really was incorrigible.
Chaos remarks that the priestess might actually be a little cute, folding its arms.
Watching Yeriel puff out her chest with hands on her hips, looking smug alongside Chaos, Lumia spoke up.
“The cave’s difficulty isn’t to be underestimated. Twenty mutated goblins in one group, and two of them shamans…”
“Yeah. We can handle the hunting, but if it keeps going like this, reaching the end will take a while. We’ll need regular breaks too.”
“Still, since we’re already here, let’s push through with everything we’ve got! I’ll smash every single monster’s head with this! No moping around, okay?”
Yeriel smiled brightly, lightening the post-battle mood.
“N-no need to go that far. Yeah. Let’s see it through to the end. There’s definitely going to be some amazing reward.”
I turned my head, surveying the blood-soaked carnage.
“In that case, we should all start farming the corpses together, right?”
“Come to think of it, those two goblins used earth magic. Where are their bodies? Anything related to magic or mysteries sells for good money.”
The moment Lumia heard the word “farming,” she asked about the shamans.
Good money? Ugh, maybe I should’ve killed them cleanly.
“Both of them exploded, so there won’t be any major organs left… Their heads and torsos are gone. Only the limbs remain.”
“Hmm. That’s fine. Even just collecting the wrist bones should fetch a decent price.”
At her words, I immediately moved to gather the scattered arms.
Let’s see. One, two, three, four. All in good condition. I successfully farmed two pairs of arms from the shamans’ corpses.
Next, I cut the ears from the eighteen dead Cave Goblins and stored them all in my pack at once.
‘Hooray for spatial bags. Skinning their tough hides would’ve been nice too, but it can’t be helped. This much is enough.’
Finally, I searched the area thoroughly, wondering if any traits had dropped. Unfortunately, no gray light appeared anywhere—perhaps the Authority hadn’t activated.
‘Tch. Well, if I hunt more, something will come out eventually.’
Besides, it was far more beneficial for it to trigger during a critical moment against a strong monster rather than on trash mobs.
Anyway, the battle was over and farming complete.
“Let’s move out again.”
Leaving the gruesome battlefield filled only with corpses behind, we once more set foot toward the heart of the cave.