CH 9

As I descend the stairs, I find myself a familiar sight: my eighth dungeon challenge.

Luckily, there were no monsters in the first room. I look around the room and pick up the「Walls Erasing Scroll that has fallen to the floor.

If you use this, all the walls will disappear, so I was careful. After that, I see some bread and pick it up.

“Ah, how nostalgic…did this kill me on my second round?”

The 「Walls Erasing Scroll」  is the reason why I was cut in half vertically by the Hollow Knight.

There are two doorways in the room. One is the staircase where I came down from, and the other is the staircase leading to the next room.

In the past, I would have happily gone to the next room. However, I have recently discovered a certain pattern.

“There are some monsters that roam around the floor, and some that don’t.”

I learned this by experience. Many of the monsters attacked me as if they were being activated when I entered the room, but some of them simply roamed around between the rooms.

“My target is the Goblin Thief (盗人ゴブリン). I’ll hunt it down.”

It’s a subtle name when I think back on it. Maybe I should have named it Thief-Class Goblin (シーフ・ゴブリン). No, I don’t have time to think about that right now.

Waiting patiently. Sticking to the wall in front of the passageway and surprising the enemies before they notice you.

The cold touch of the stone wall on my cheek helps me keep my thoughts calm.

With my current status, I should be able to defeat the monsters with my bare hands. I can’t take on more than one, though.

“You’re here……”

The sound of the demon’s footsteps. The unpleasant sound of highly viscous liquid hitting the ground. It’s a blue slime.

I waited patiently, trying not to make a sound, not even moving from my spot.

I simply wait.

“Now!”

A monster that looks like a sphere drops from above and splatters. The clear blue sphere is unmistakably a blue slime.

I grab the core in the middle of the blue slime with all my might. I feel the pain of the acid burning my hand, but I endure it.

“Ugh!”

I grab it with all my might and crush it. The core was broken and the blue slime cease moving.

As I hastily pull my hand out, I could smell the fragrant scent.

“It hurts a little……”

This thing’s weak point is its core – the reddish-black sphere in the center of its body. It’s probably the part of the body that’s like the heart in humans.

“Let’s wait again.”

Sticking to the wall. Concentrating on my nerves, I listen for the sound of footsteps.

“There you are…… What is it this time?”

This time, I heard different footsteps. These small footsteps, as lively as a child’s, may be the demon I’m looking for.

A demon comes into the room. It was the Goblin Thief I was looking for.

The large bag on his back is swollen to its bursting point, shaking and making noise every time the goblin walks.

“Oraaaaah!”

I clench my fist and punch him in the face as hard as I could.

“Gggaaaaaaah!”

The Goblin Thief was blown to the wall with his bag. I immediately rush over and take a mounting position.

After that, I just kept hitting him. Until the opponent stops moving.

“Gii…… gii……”

The Goblin Thief breathes his last breath as I land the final blow to his face. The Goblin Thief’s face had turned a ghastly black color. The broken teeth seem to be decorating the painful visage. 

“Item, item…”

I open the large bag that fell.

Inside are weapons, armor, and other items. The Goblin Thief has a habit of roaming the levels and collecting items.

Of course, they’re a nuisance, trying to steal the items I’m carrying. If they get close to me during a melee, I’ll be in trouble.

“A steel sword+2 and a ring of protection. Oh, and scrolls and potions.”

Unfortunately, the only protective gear I have is a ring.

When I put on the ring, I feel my fingers tighten. I put the sword on my waist and now I’m ready to go. Last, I collect the scrolls and potions in the item box.

In addition, I should pick up any stones that have fallen. I can’t put them in my pocket like I can outside the dungeon. If it’s recognized as an item, it will go into the item box by itself.

I sprinkle a healing potion from the large bag on my arm. Using items sparingly can lead to death. That’s another rule that I’ve learned.

“Let’s go to the next room.”

When I enter the next room, there were two monsters as expected. It would have been dangerous to enter empty-handed.

“Evil Eye and Hollow Knight. I’ll kill Evil Eye first!”

The single-eyed demon floating in the air is the Evil Eye. When you’re hit by the light emanating from that eye, your consciousness becomes cloudy and you can’t move normally. The danger is extremely high during melee battles.

In contrast, the Hollow Knight’s greatsword strike is heavy, but that’s all. They are just a little sturdier and stronger. There’s no need to panic.

The eye of the Evil Eye stares at me.

I ran at it with all my might and slash it diagonally. I take advantage of the moment when it was frightened, to deliver a few blows. The Evil Eye falls to the ground, dead. 

Then the Hollow Knight came running towards me.

He holds his huge greatsword high and swings it down with a roar.

I step to avoid it. The great sword swings right past my head, hitting the ground and making a metallic sound.

As I step back to get some distance, I hear the sound of a trap triggering by my feet.

I back step again and duck just in time to avoid the flying arrow. This is an arrow trap. When you step on it, a hole is made in the wall and arrows are shot out of it at high speed. But I notice that this trap also has a certain pattern.

The Hollow Knight’s greatsword strikes me as I’m in a bad stance.

“Guh!”

I hold my sword with both hands and manage to survive the blow. As expected, it’s hard to take a direct hit.

I walk around to the left side of the Hollow Knight and immediately kick it with all my might. The hollow knight reels, making a deafening metallic sound.

The Hollow Knight’s movements are slow despite his heavy blows. It’s easy to kick through the gaps in a sword fight.

“Alright! It ends with this.”

I step on the arrow trap at my feet over and over again. Then, accounting the number of times I stepped on it, multiple arrows would fly at me.

And there’s now a Hollow Knight between me and the trap.

The arrow pierces the Hollow Knight with a sharp sound. I crouch down to watch, afraid of stray arrows.

The Hollow Knight stops moving, probably because of the damage. I kick it just in case, but it didn’t react.

The battle is over and I move on to collect the items. Another scroll has fallen. The name engraved on it is the「Scroll of Thunder」, a scroll that casts lightning on the monsters in the room.

“I can use some combination of techniques with this one.”

I grin. With the scroll I just picked up and this scroll, I can use the mighty and merciless combination technique.

The first rule of thumb I’ve learned in this dungeon is that you will eventually die if you don’t use your full power. If you don’t use items and traps skillfully, you will eventually die from a special attack.

No matter how high your status is, you can’t fight while paralyzed or confused. You will be tormented to death.

For that reason, I proceed with caution. There are three levels in this dungeon. I need to find the stairs that will take me to the next level.

AN: If you like dungeon roguelikes, you’ll know what to expect in the next episode.