Came to Catch Goblins
Came to Catch Goblins
"Y-yes?"
"I'm telling you, minors aren't allowed to enter dungeons or Gates alone."
I was currently standing in front of the Jongno E-rank Goblin Dungeon, the place hunters supposedly go through like a tutorial after awakening.
I had come to test my combat power and steel my nervous heart, but a problem arose from an unexpected place.
The guard managing dungeon access saw me and blocked my path.
"I-I'm not a minor..."
The guard stared at me quietly at my words, then opened their mouth again.
"Kid, you shouldn't tell lies like that, no matter what."
The Association staff were the same, and here too. They just look at my height and call me a minor. My mind is definitely an adult's, though...
"R-really, I can't? I'm an adult, I swear..."
"What can I do? The law is the law. Come back when you're older, or come with other people."
No matter what I said, it seemed the guard would absolutely not let me in.
I had deliberately gone to bed early yesterday and woken up early this morning just to come here...
Just then, the conversation I had yesterday with Overtime Magical Girl popped into my head.
'They said to ask if I had any questions... Should I just ask? It's not like asking is a problem, right?'
I turned on my phone and sent a direct message.
LilyIsMyWife: Hey, hey, is there any way to sneak into a Gate or dungeon?;;
After sending the message, a problem I hadn't thought of suddenly occurred to me.
"What do I do until the message comes..."
Come to think of it, I don't know when they'll see it, or if they'll even answer if they do.
Looking at the times they always post on the gallery, it was always at night... aren't they sleeping right now?
Ding-
Fortunately, the notification sound rang immediately.
Overtime Magical Girl: Hahahahahaha
LilyIsMyWife: I'm serious; don't laugh;
Overtime Magical Girl: What on earth are you doing that the first thing you ask is that? Legendary;
LilyIsMyWife: So, do you know how?
Overtime Magical Girl: I can tell, you tried to go to the Jongno Goblin Dungeon alone and got blocked. Right?
LilyIsMyWife: How'd you know;
Overtime Magical Girl: You think you're the only one who gets blocked there? lol
Awakening is random, so there must definitely be other hunters who look like minors besides me.
Then obviously, many people must have been blocked just like me...
Overtime Magical Girl: But even if you're a minor, if your rank is high, they let you in lol
...So I'm blocked right now because my rank is low?
LilyIsMyWife: No, so how do I get in; teach me the way...
It really seems like they know the way but only intend to tease me.
Overtime Magical Girl: Find a party member lol
LilyIsMyWife: Ah, hey; stop joking and can't you tell me for real?
They need to say something that makes sense. How am I supposed to find a party member here...
Overtime Magical Girl: Want me to help?
LilyIsMyWife: That's what I've been talking about since earlier;
However, even as time passed, only the 'read' indicator appeared, and no reply came.
Surely they didn't just tease me enough and then run away because they didn't actually know?
Ding-!
Then, the reply I was waiting for arrived.
Overtime Magical Girl: Raise your hand once.
What kind of prank is this? I decided to play along and stretched my hand out into the air.
Overtime Magical Girl: Hahahaha, you're really a kid.
What is this? Are they watching me from somewhere?
As I was looking around here and there, the notification rang again.
Overtime Magical Girl: Look up.
Up? What's up there...
Thinking that, I turned my head up and was able to confirm it.
"...Drone?"
A strange flying object floating in the air. In the center, a camera lens was glinting.
The drone slowly descended next to me, and a voice flowed out from the speaker.
"Go home, kid."
"..."
A modulated voice that couldn't even be distinguished as male or female.
I'll get you later.
"Follow me. I'll get you through."
I followed the drone back to the dungeon entrance, and the guard was still standing there.
"Kid, I told you it's impossible to enter alone."
As the guard blocked me once again, the drone intervened between me and the guard.
"It's fine. I'm going in with them."
"Huh? A drone? I'm sorry, but could you please verify your ID just once?"
A surprised voice popped out of the guard's mouth as they looked at the ID displayed on the drone's screen.
"Why is an A-rank Hunter in a place like this..."
"Just brought a kid here to play."
"Have a nice day."
What is this. Were they actually an amazing person? I didn't know because they only ever wrote posts whining about not wanting to work...
As I entered the dungeon following the drone, the surrounding air changed in an instant.
When I opened my eyes, a completely different scene from just a moment ago unfolded. A vast forest was filling my field of vision.
"Wow..."
"How is it? Works right away, right?"
For some reason, their tone was infuriating, and I wanted to hit them, but I held it in. Because I'm an adult.
"Th-thank you..."
"Mmhmm, yeah. Well then, do your best."
With that as their last words, the drone vanished without a trace, as if it even had a stealth function.
"Even if they're a bit annoying... are they a good person?"
Anyway, it's a fact that they helped me get in, after all...
As I stepped into the forest, it wasn't long before I heard a strange sound.
"Kieeeeek!"
Looking in that direction, I saw three Goblins. Each of the Goblins was holding a clumsy weapon that looked like they had made it themselves.
"For that number, it looks like enough for a warm-up..."
I gripped the Gohei tightly and rushed toward the Goblins.
The Goblins were busy chatting noisily among themselves and hadn't noticed my presence yet.
"Hiyah!"
"Kyaaaak-!"
Before the Goblins could even react, the Gohei in my hand swiftly struck the top of one Goblin's head.
"One down! ...Huh?"
I had definitely struck it with all my might, but the Goblin I hit on the head stood up perfectly fine.
Not only that, the other Goblins, who had been flustered seeing their friend fall at first, were already glaring at me.
"Uh... huh? This isn't it..."
"Hahahahaha! What on earth are you doing right now?"
The user Overtime Magical Girl. A-rank Hunter Han Seol-ah couldn't help but burst into laughter at the scene unfolding before her eyes.
While browsing the gallery as always, she found a post about someone awakening.
She had just quit her guild and was in a semi-unemployed state, so she had nothing to do, and she taught them this and that with the intention of teasing them if they were a real newbie.
It was fine up until she sent one of the drones lying around her house to get them through because they said they wanted to go to the Goblin Dungeon.
-Hiyah!
-Kyaaaak! You, you guys really!
"Hahahahaha! My stomach hurts from laughing! Why aren't you using magic power?"
A fighting style that was completely incomprehensible.
The Goblin Dungeon is an E-rank dungeon. There's a reason people call it the first tutorial.
Even if you're a D-rank Hunter, you can easily take down a basic Goblin in one hit.
Getting to know your abilities while dealing with Goblins. To think they're fighting for their life in a dungeon meant for that without using any abilities.
"Really... this is so fun."
She had tried talking to them just in case, but they looked younger than her no matter how she looked at it... and their actions... this is totally jackpot, right?
In the midst of that, one Goblin finally fell.
-Huff... huff...
-Kiriririk!
-H, hey, stop right there!
Seeing that, the remaining two Goblins tried to run away, and she saw the girl trying to chase after them.
"Ah... my stomach. I should stop laughing and start helping them soon."
Because if they chase after the Goblins without being able to use any abilities like that, who knows what might happen.
"Huff... huff... stop getting up!"
After persistently hitting just one of them, the Goblin finally fell.
The Goblin that kept getting up no matter how much I hit it showed no signs of getting up anymore.
"Alright. You guys are next."
I turned my gaze toward the remaining two Goblins.
Whether they were overwhelmed by my momentum or terrified because one had fallen, the Goblins started running away while making noisy sounds.
"W-wait a second!"
If I don't catch them now, won't they bring a bunch of friends later?
Just as I was about to chase the two of them with that thought.
"Kereuk?!"
The two Goblins trying to run away suddenly fell.
"Huh?"
However, even looking around, I couldn't feel any presence.
"What is it?"
I scratched my head and reached one conclusion.
"Was it that what I hit earlier is only just now taking effect?!"
I had hit the other two once at the very beginning too, maybe magic was cast on them then and it's only activating now?
"Hahahahaha!"
That thought lasted only a moment, as laughter struck my ears.
Turning my gaze, I saw the drone of Overtime Magical Girl who had helped me.
"Whew... you're really funny. You think that what you hit earlier is just now taking effect?"
"Wh-what is it? Have you been watching the whole time? You're not a stalker or something."
They always say they're busy, but are they actually unemployed? Just watching gloomily.
"I came because it looked like it would take all day to catch the Goblins if I just watched."
"I-I can do it alone! If you were watching, you'd know! I caught one with my own hands!"
"Yeah. Didn't you hit it like 10 times?"
"......"
I want to refute it, but it's true, so I can't.
"Do you know why you can't catch the Goblins?"
"What is it."
"You're not using any magic power at all. You just purely beat them to death with that stick a moment ago. That's why it took so long."
No wonder their durability was strangely tough. I've never heard that Goblins were this tough.
"Then how do I use magic power?"
"That should be in your job description? Didn't you see it? What's your job?"
"I told you on the gallery... it's Magical Girl."
A brief silence flowed at my words, and laughter filled the space once again.
"Pfft. Ah, I shouldn't laugh, but wasn't that just a concept?"
"It really is Magical Girl..."
What is this. This feeling of wanting to hide in a mouse hole.
