The Missing Adventurer

Once we arrived in Tebe, the first place we headed was the Adventurers' Guild.

We were there to collect our quest rewards.

Every commission worked the same way: the client deposited the payment with the guild first, and the guild handed it over once an adventurer completed the job.

"We're here to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠collect our quest fee."

"Of course~ Please show me your adventurer cards."

Henry and I held out our cards for the receptionist. Along with them, we handed over the village chief's letter confirming that we had completed the request perfectly.

"Here you are."

The sum was one gold coin.

A very tidy amount.

I split it down the middle with Henry.

"Thank you, hyung-nim!"

"We took down that boar together. You don't need to thank me that much!"

Then I made one more request of the receptionist.

I wanted her to update my adventurer card through the crystal orb.

I'd finally hit level 10, after all…

If you wanted decent commissions, it paid to keep your crystal reading current on a regular cycle.

The receptionist guided me over to the orb and said,

"Just place your hand on it."

Letters bloomed inside the crystal.

The receptionist stared at the crystal and gasped.

"Oh my! Congratulations! Reaching level 10 already with a Poison attribute—that's incredible!!"

Her voice set the surrounding adventurers murmuring at once.

"Level 10? Wasn't that guy a total newbie last time?"

"With Poison?"

"Even Earth attribute takes a year or two to hit level 10…"

The buzz around me made my shoulders lift just a little.

How about that? Even Poison can climb.

"Since you've reached level 10, I'll renew your adventurer card."

She slid the card into a magical device. The letters on its surface began to shift and rearrange, changing from Apprentice to Soldier.

"Congratulations on reaching the Soldier rank."

"Thank you."

"Congrats, hyung-nim! I'll catch up soon!!"

"Thanks. I'm in a good mood today, so the next round's on me!"

I clapped a hand on Henry's shoulder—and the moment I raised my arm, a ripe, sour smell rolled up from my armpit.

"Ugh… Bathhouse first. We haven't washed in days, and we reek."

"Yes, hyung-nim. Let's go!"

So Henry and I stopped by a bathhouse for the first time in ages, scrubbed ourselves clean, ate something decent, and rested.

Today was the day to buy new weapons.

I had money now, and I could finally put dual-blade techniques to proper use, so picking up a pair seemed like the right call.

I headed for the weapons shop I hadn't visited ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in a long while.

Ding-a-ling—

"Welcome in."

A dwarf-run weapons shop. It really had been ages.

I went straight to the display case of daggers.

Rows of polished blades glittered under the light, and one piece in particular caught my eye.

A dagger with a beautifully curved blade.

Its attack power was far better than my old steel daggers.

"How much for this one?"

"That? Eight silver."

Twice the price of a steel dagger—but nearly twice the performance, too.

The old man was a classic tsundere, but when it came to pricing, he was honest to a fault.

I picked up two of the kukri daggers and said,

"I'll take these."

I handed over the coins. The dwarf gave a small smile.

"Come back again."

I strapped the new daggers on right there.

Sharp blades with elegant curves.

Monster hunting really did come down to gear.

With these, I wondered if I could even punch through that red-haired thug's steel skin.

Feeling lighter on my feet, I went looking for a new commission.

Soldier rank unlocked more dangerous quests—and better pay.

The rank system existed for a reason: to keep as many adventurers as possible from dying on jobs they weren't ready for.

I was scanning the board when one posting caught my eye.

The pay looked ordinary enough, but it was about time I climbed the Tower anyway—and this let me kill two birds with one stone.

Wasn't that exactly what the phrase was for?

I tore the flyer free and carried it to the receptionist.

"I'll take this one."

With the quest accepted, I left the guild and walked toward the Tower, a faint thrill stirring in my chest.

Inside ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Tower, I pushed steadily deeper, cutting down the occasional monster that crossed my path.

Then a safe zone came into view.

Safe zones were areas monsters could neither spawn in nor enter. A blue portal waited there—the gateway to the next floor.

I walked up to it, stood before the portal, and called out,

"Transfer."

At the word, the portal carried me to Floor 2.

And the new scenery I was expecting…

I didn't see.

"What? It looks the same?"

Aside from the surroundings being a little brighter, nothing much had changed.

Well—climbing one floor wasn't exactly going to rewrite the world.

I started walking, searching for the next portal.

"Huh?!"

A short way in, a monster appeared.

It was a tree.

A tree monster standing a little taller than me. It had no eyes, but something about its shape suggested a face.

"Looks like a Halloween pumpkin, honestly."

I drew a dagger.

Time to see how well these new blades cut.

I charged the tree.

"Branches first!"

The limb parted with a smooth swish.

Next I decided to try the trunk.

Acceleration.

I closed the gap in an instant, slipped past its sluggish swing, and drove a knife into its body.

Cutting a tree with a blade.

Back home, that would have been impossible without a saw.

But this was another world—one of magic and monsters.

Swish—

The trunk parted as smoothly as soft jelly and vanished. A drop of loot clattered to the ground.

A wooden branch.

"Looks completely useless."

I appraised it anyway.

Still, it wouldn't be bad for camping.

With that thought, I started clearing the monsters along the path toward Floor 4.

Floor 2 was Ents.

Floor 3 was ordinary goblins.

Honestly, even though Floor 3 was goblin territory, their numbers were so sparse that they barely registered as a problem.

The real issue was Floor 4—where the quest waited.

The higher I climbed, the brighter the caves became. I had no idea why.

By the time I reached Floor 4, a lantern was more of a convenience than a necessity.

"All right. Let's head in."

I left the safe zone and began my search.

It wasn't long before I ran into monsters.

"Goblins again?"

Creatures I'd hunted plenty of times before. But unlike Floor 3, these ones came in a group.

Seven of them, by the look of it.

Last time, I'd taken down goblins already drunk and poisoned. These ones were fully alert.

Don't get careless, I told myself, settling into a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stance.

They charged.

I met them with Acceleration and Poison Coating.

Most of them were melee types—wooden clubs and short swords. Close-range fighters I was used to handling.

I slipped their slow swings and cut them down one by one.

One across the throat. One through the side. Another across the arm.

Even when the wounds weren't instantly fatal, the lingering paralysis poison forced the injured ones to switch hands or fall back.

I've gotten stronger.

Goblins no longer felt like real opponents. I'd held my own against seven of them without much trouble.

That confidence was a mistake.

Footsteps suddenly rose from every direction.

More goblins appeared—more than ten of them.

Way too many—

Something whistled through the air.

An arrow.

I barely managed to bat it aside with a dagger.

In the same breath, a blue mass of force came flying at me—as fast as an arrow, but wider. It slammed into me and sent me tumbling.

Wind magic.

"Ugh…"

I lifted my head toward the source of the attack.

A goblin holding a staff.

A goblin shaman.

It cackled as it looked down at me sprawled on the ground.

A goblin—laughing at me?!

I pushed myself up.

It would be a lie to say the hit hadn't hurt, but my HP had only dropped by about seven.

Less than I'd expected. Still, taking several of those would be dangerous.

I decided to deal with the archers first—they were the ones that worried me.

I triggered Acceleration and sprinted.

My sudden burst of speed left the goblin archer with no time to react. It offered up its neck.

"Kyaak!"

I pivoted and drove toward the remaining archer.

A melee fighter scrambled to intercept me, but one of them was no real obstacle anymore. I drew another breath and cut through both the fighter and the archer in a single fluid rush.

"Guek…"

The goblins crumpled to the floor.

Huff… huff…

I steadied my breathing, then pulled a low-grade potion from my inventory and drank it.

A little HP trickled back.

The goblin shaman, rattled by how fast everything had gone wrong, muttered something and hurled another wind blast at me while I was still drinking.

"You think I'm getting hit by that twice?"

I split the wind attack with my dagger. The blast parted and vanished to either side.

The shaman panicked even harder and suddenly began screeching from its throat.

"Kaaek…!"

It scrambled backward. In an instant, the remaining goblins closed ranks around it and fled.

Had it realized, in that split second, that its own life was on the line?

Truthfully, once the archers were gone, I probably could have handled the rest with my speed alone.

But I had no intention of chasing them.

I wasn't certain. It was only a possibility.

Some people might call me a coward for it—but I'd read enough fantasy novels to know better.

Monsters that knew how to retreat? Those looked far more dangerous to me.

And if more goblins showed up as reinforcements, things could turn genuinely ugly.

Lingering here any longer is a risk.

I picked up the pace of my search, avoiding goblins whenever I spotted them and hunting for a safe zone.

How long did I keep at it?

As I continued searching, the monsters around me thinned out, and in the distance a safe zone finally came into view.

The safe zone leading to Floor 5.

"F-finally!!"

I sprinted toward it.

The closer I got, the clearer the interior became.

"Is that—?!"

I ran even harder. The moment I crossed inside, I grabbed hold of something and carefully lifted it.

"Are you all right?!"

An adventurer lay collapsed on the ground.