Chapter 4 – Training (Part 3)

 

When it came to Dungeon & Stone, I was an expert. What monsters will appear and from where, what their behavior is and what their weaknesses are - I could list all this without difficulty. Based on this, I made the final decision. The combination of the body of a barbarian and my knowledge of the game allowed me to survive perfectly in this labyrinth. Or at least I thought I could.

"Damn...

As soon as I entered the labyrinth, my eyes darkened. Not metaphorically, but literally, nothing was visible. I probably wouldn't even notice if someone put a blindfold on my eyes right now. It wouldn't make much difference.

"."

I felt as if I had been hit the back of the head. The other barbarians had only one weapon each, so I had no doubts either. On the 2nd floor, a torch is not needed because the crystals on the wall serve as a source of light. Of course, there is also a dark area on the 2nd floor. With the exception of the extreme part leading to the 2nd floor, the dark zone was strictly in one area...

Oh, did I really get into this section?

I quickly put forward a hypothesis. When entering the labyrinth, the starting position was random. That is, it must be accidental, but you have never been thrown into such a place. Even if you started from the outskirts, there was always a glowing crystal nearby. However, it wasn't the world of playing through a monitor. What if all these things were some kind of convenience that the creators of the game provided to the player?

What if, in reality, a shitty starting point like the dark zone was the norm? If so, it could explain my current situation. Yes, it should have been. If the entire 1st floor was like this, I had no certainty that I would survive a single day.

"Hah...

I was able to calm down after gathering all my thoughts.

Fortunately, my eyes had already adapted to the darkness, so it was much better than before. However, I could still only make out the outlines. At least, the situation was not so deplorable as to bite his tongue and kill himself. I decided to go ahead and check everything I needed. In the end, I was finally alone.

– Status window, equipment window, character information, status, inventory. Check the log, and.

Of course, none of this worked. However, I did not expect it.

"Then let's go."

Holding the shield in one hand and holding on to the wall with the other, I moved forward. My speed was a little faster than if I was crawling. Or maybe not? Perhaps it would have been faster to crawl, but I could not walk faster than now. It was dangerous...

"Ahh!"

Suddenly, a sharp pain flashed in my ankle. I felt pain that I had never experienced in my life, and my nerves went crazy. But even in such a situation, I tried to understand what had happened. What went wrong? Even without the battle log, the answer came quickly.

[Character stepped on a goblin trap].

Damn, I just stepped on a trap.

***

Where did I stumble? The answer came easily.

The shield gave a sense of stability, but it also blocked most of my vision. If I had hung a shield on my belt and focused on watching my step, I might have seen a trap in my path. What's the use of a shield if you can't see anything anyway? I should have focused on practicality, not mental toughness.

Bloody hell.

"Phew...

My mind was confused. I wanted to scream, but I desperately suppressed this desire. I wasn't sure if shouting would make me feel better. But I knew for sure that screaming would only make the situation worse.

*Dumb-dumb-dumb*

My heart was beating like crazy.

— Ху, ху, ху...

I pursed my lips and forced myself to control my breathing. I couldn't think about the pain I was feeling.

On the 1st floor, there is only one monster that uses a trap.

Goblins. And they had to be nearby.

I reflexively raised my shield to cover my head. Then I stopped breathing and focused all my attention on what I could hear. I couldn't hear anything. It was so quiet, as if time had stopped.

Maybe they are not here...?

I didn't know. Could be. Maybe I was lucky and they left their position right at that moment. Even goblins need to poop.

yes, of course. You don't think you could have been so lucky.

I resigned myself to the hope that crept in and put it out of my mind. There were two reasons for this.

The first is that there is a difference between positivity and idealism.

The second is that what I need now is a negative way of thinking.

If you can't be sure, assume the worst.

The goblin heard my scream. He hid in the darkness and calmly waited for me to lose all my strength. That's why I didn't hear a sound. So it was in the game. If there was a trap, there was always a goblin next to it.

"Huh...

I slowly resumed my breathing. In any case, since it's quiet here while I'm on the alert, I should be able to detect his movement.

First, let's deal with urgent matters.

— ... Hmp!

Lowering my leg, I opened the trap with both hands and pulled my leg out. Then, tearing off the hem of my trousers, I took off my boot and pressed on the wounded spot. I decided to throw away the dirty shoes. In fact, it couldn't even be called a shoe. These were sandals, which are closer to flip-flops. Damned barbarian idiots. If they had sent us with leather boots, I wouldn't have become semi-disabled because of one trap...

Damn, what am I thinking now?

I found myself acting illogically, and my mind cooled down. Let's not be even more pathetic than we are now. No matter how much I curse the barbarians, the situation will not change. In the end, it was my fault that I didn't check my steps properly.

So stop whining and check your injury... Damn, that's really bad.

I no longer felt anything in my right leg. I felt only warmth, but even that was beginning to fade.

"I know you're hiding, so come out," I muttered quietly.

There was no sign of movement in the darkness. So I slowly moved forward. My footsteps echoed softly off the walls of the labyrinth.

*Top! Top*

My leg was broken, but the pain wasn't as bad as I expected. Perhaps it's because of the paralyzing poison... I didn't know if it was good.

"Come out, you idiot.

I provoked the goblins without hesitation and continued to move forward.

Time was not on my side. If I have to fight, the sooner I get to it, the better. One had to think about being wounded, but the possibility that this bastard was waiting for his comrades could not be ignored.

"Aren't you going?"

Of course, all of this could just be my delusion, and there might not be any goblins here. In that case, I'd just be a dummy who stepped on a trap and now behaves like crazy.

But what's wrong with that? If I were crazy, I'd like to be a madman who survived.

"Then just stay there." I'm leaving.

I sped up. It was still only a little faster than crawling, but it was like a marathon sprint.

Левая нога. Правая нога. Левая нога...

As I walked, my right leg began to throb. I was choking loudly. It was one of two things. Either the effect of the paralyzing poison has worn off, or the pain has become so severe that the poison is no longer enough. Come to think of it, neither was bad. If the effect of the poison has worn off, that's good, and the fact that I feel pain means that the nerve cells are still alive.

Why can I only think positively?

I didn't want to think about it now. I didn't even have a chance to think about it now.

— ... Your mother is a goblin.

The words escaped from my mouth without a filter. Maybe I've spilled too much blood. It seemed to me that my brain was saturated with alcohol.

"Your father is a goblin, too.

Of course, as long as I spat out these insults, my legs didn't stop moving.

"So you're a goblin.

Then, the creature made a sound for the first time. It was a small sound, but it was very loud to my ears, which focused on it.

*Slap*

Finally, the bastard showed up.

"What?" Can't stand it when your parents are insulted?

Of course, I knew that this was not the case. It wasn't even an insult in the first place... The sound came from behind. It would be more accurate to say that the goblin was forced to move as I moved further and further away from him. I sped up even more. The sound of the monster's footsteps also accelerated.

*Shlep-slep-slep-slep-slep*

The sound of his footsteps, which was becoming more and more distinct, was unusual.

Every time he walked, the sound was as if something sticky stuck to the smooth surface and then fell off. Although I knew that the goblins were no more than 3 feet (1 meter) tall, it seemed to me that a huge monster was chasing me. To get rid of my fear, I continued to talk to him.

I was a barbarian. If I could engage in close combat, I would never lose to a goblin.

"Don't just follow me, come here, you bastard.

For this reason, I continued to provoke the goblin, but he continued to follow me at the same distance. He didn't even seem to want to hide anymore.

"Grk, Grk...!"

The sound was close to howling, but somehow I could feel it.

"Grghhhh!" Grk!

The bastard giggled. He was genuinely happy to see his victim bleed and die. He probably hoped that I would hear it and be frightened.

... Clever bastard. Ok. Plans change.

I stopped on my way. Then I tripped and fell to the floor.

*Boom!*

I hit my forehead on a stone, and it seemed to me that it was about to split, but I did not make a sound. From that moment on, it was a battle for patience. If he thinks I'm down and comes up first, I'll win. If I really lose consciousness earlier, my defeat.

"Grk?"

I decided to believe in the strength of this body, which had walked about 300 yards (270 meters) with a broken leg.

*Slap!*

The sound of footsteps was getting closer and closer. It was so slow that I wanted to yawn. Even though his prey had fallen as he had wanted, he was still suspicious.

Damn it, why are goblins so careful?

Then the curses fell on their own. Goblins were the weakest trash mobs in the game. They used poisons and set traps, but other than that, their combat power was weak. But the goblin I encountered?

*Slap*

It was definitely not something to look down on. I understood why the village NPCs always talked about goblins' intelligence. As I understood, these goblins were several times smarter than the barbarian bastards.

*Slap*

It stopped about 5-10 meters behind me. Why?

As I was thinking about it, a dull blow came to my shoulder.

*Blow. Crack*...

A what? That freak threw a stone at me?... He won't keep shooting, will he?

"Grk...!" Grk!

In spite of my fear, the monster let out a cry of joy. When there was no reaction to the stone blow, it seemed that he really believed that I was dead.

*Schlep! Schlep! Schlep! Schlep! Schlep!*

The goblin quickly approached me. I could feel how excited he was as he slipped by. I calmed my nerves and estimated the distance to it by the sound. And when I realized that he was close enough,

"Oh, you bastard!"

I jumped up and stretched out my hand in his direction. I decided that reaching out faster than raising a shield and hitting the monster with it. However, I soon felt that my plan had failed. Again, there were two reasons for this.

Firstly, the distance between us was about one step.

And secondly, the bastard's movements turned out to be much more agile than I expected.

"Grk!"

The goblin arched his back and took a step back. I couldn't see it, but it seemed to me that this is exactly what he did. Instinctively, I knew I had missed.

Damn it, what now?

I went through the gears in my head and prepared the next plan. But at that moment, my body moved on its own.

?

It was a really strange feeling. It was still dark around, but I intuitively understood where the goblin had jumped. As soon as I realized this, my hand was already in place and moving towards the goblin.

"Grk?!"

I felt something in my fingertips. It didn't matter if it was a wrist, or an ankle, or a neck.

"AHHHH!" I shouted and slammed the goblin to the floor.

*Crackle!*

The sound of a breaking object was heard. But I couldn't relax yet, so I immediately climbed on top of the goblin's body.

"G-grk!"

The tables overturned.

"I'm above you, and you're under me, you bastard!"

I punched the goblin in the face like a madman. There were moments when I fell to the floor during a blow, but the body of this barbarian turned out to be much stronger than I thought. Instead of hurting my fist, the stone floor shattered.

Soon, the goblin's movements stopped. And...

*Fuzz*

The dust dispersed. It was extraordinarily shiny dust. I stopped my fists. At some point, the body of the goblin below me crumbled into small pieces.

I mean, come on.

"Ha!" Damn, are they even the same thing?

Please, one or the other. Is it a game or just a similar reality?

How can I know which one she looks like?

[You defeated the goblin. Experience +1]

Soon after, the goblin's body disappeared without a trace. Feeling disheartened for some unknown reason, I picked up a small stone that had been left in place.

[You have obtained a level 9 mana stone].

It wasn't strong, but it glowed dimly. It was a magic stone that served as currency in Dungeon & Stone. How much did it cost? Soon, a memory popped up in his head.

"A piece of bread."

The average cost of mana stones spat out by goblins in the game. I grinned.

"Hahaha... Is that all I get after that?

My confused mind cleared up a little. It was like that moment of laughter that comes after a good cry.

—He-he-he, he-he-he.

I was inside a maze, and there were monsters. Dead monsters would disappear, leaving behind an item. And in the city outside, unearthly races existed and lived among themselves. Truly, this was the reality of this world. But...

There was no more confusion on my part.