Chương 25: A full party of ugly

Pain spears into my ears as the wall explodes with sound. I don't even see the projectiles move through the air. I expected a bunch of arrows to fly out and plink off the stone. That's not what happens. In a blink, hundreds of two-foot-long metal quills exit from one side and bury themselves in the stone on the other side of the wall. My body flinches instinctively as several of the quills strike the stone awkwardly and ricochet violently.

Some go in my direction, one in particular barely missing as they fly past me and clatter to the ground.

"Holy shit!" My gaze takes me to the quills on the ground behind me. Bending over, I pluck one up and look at the wall. Each quill that didn't ricochet penetrated several inches into solid stone.

"What are they trying to kill?! A fucking dinosaur!?" If my fortitude were double, no triple, no ten times what it is, I would still be reduced to chunks of meat. Carefully, I make my way to the shield. The wire is completely loose, with no mechanism pulling it back to reset the trap for a second go. I breathe a sigh of relief and take a look at my weapons. My gauntlet doesn't have a single dent in it, so it looks like it wasn't hit.

Seeing the shield in a handful of pieces, with wooden splinters splayed everywhere, it's safe to say it didn't fare as well. Didn't see what happened, but the poor thing didn't stand a chance. I'm not surprised. That trap was clearly designed to take down some sort of mythological creature with heavy armor. The sound of my gulp echoes through the silent corridor as I imagine what would have happened had I not seen the thin wire. Death travels freely in the dungeon.

No amount of healing can save me from a trap like that. Looping back, I pick up a new shield from a previous room before continuing. I spot a few suspiciously raised stones, along with a slit in the wall, but nothing else happens. Spotting brown in the distance, I move closer carefully. The end of the hallway is in sight. Two smaller hallways branch to the left and right, no doubt with two rooms each. But in front of me stands a colossal wooden door. Much higher in quality than the one leading out of the tutorial.

Much larger, too. No rust, no splintery wood, metal is polished to a shine. It's four feet taller and a couple wider. Two giant, gleaming, hanging circles of metal sit on the front of the door. This has to be a boss room. Honestly, I couldn't see a mage opening this thing, depending on how thick it is. The temptation draws me to see what's inside, but the boss might react immediately. The dungeon has been nice and explained everything so far, but it would be stupid to risk it.

After looking down both hallways, I shrug and go to the left. The walk is quiet. The layouts of the hallways so far have been similar. In fact, from what I've learned of the dungeon so far, I'd bet money that they're identical. After walking for a few minutes, several slightly raised stones in the floor stick out to me, but they go ignored. Being in one environment for so long has sharpened my sense of them. Sure enough, the telltale opening in the wall is ahead.

Slinking up to the side, I peek the smallest part of my head over to see what's inside. [Hobgoblin lv. 11] [Hobgoblin lv. 11] [Identify Living Being(lv. 4) > (lv. 5)] [Hobgoblin lv. 11] [Highest stat: Strength] [Hobgoblin lv. 11] [Highest stat: Agility] Whoa! With the level up, I go back over the first two. [Hobgoblin lv. 11] [Highest stat: Intelligence] [Hobgoblin lv. 11] [Highest stat: Endurance] This is a nice development. My gaze shifts back to the enemies.

Clicking my tongue silently, I bend back to hide while thinking of what I saw. Full party. That's annoying. A shieldman with a sword, a shieldman with an axe, an archer, and a mage. Mage is intelligence-heavy, archer is agility-heavy, swordsman is endurance-heavy, and axeman is strength-heavy. Exactly what I expected. My eyes both shine and grimace at what I see. Grimacing because of the archer, shining because of the fully armored shieldmen.

With a leather chestplate, leather skirt, and thigh protection, winning this fight will finally allow me to don a full set. Neglecting most of the room, fighting an archer again is a nightmare for me. I simply don't have the armor available to tank the hits. Thankfully, I have a healing skill, so as long as the archer doesn't disable me with a hit to the stomach, neck, or face, I should be able to shrug the arrows off.

Even my kneecaps are safe from taking me out of the fight, thanks to my last kills, Still, asking me to fight a group of four by myself is a bit much. The dungeon doesn't fail to remind me that it's designed for a tamer, not a warrior. Or maybe this is what it's like for a warrior, too. There's no way for me to know. Sitting next to my shield, I close my eyes and turn to my mana. It only takes a minute of sweeping, but finally, the drain leading to the healing skill overflows.

Smiling to myself, a blue screen expands in front of me. [Health: 305] It wasn't easy, but I'm finally full on health. I glance to the side at my shield. It would be nice to wear one gauntlet and a shield to protect against the archer, but the only way I've beaten shield hobgoblins so far is with a two-pronged attack. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. A shield is just too unwieldy to perform such an action. Oh well, ambushing hasn't failed me yet.

"Kevin, focus on the fight, avoid or block all attacks, don't feel pain, and punch as hard as you can without…" Wish I had a convenient slider that let me control how hard I could punch.

"Losing health." Should be good enough. Slowly, I move my gauntlet over and give the metal cell bar a tap and yank it back. The grunting of the goblins stops immediately. The scrape of weapons. Feet slap the stone beneath them. A deep breath fills my lungs, and I pull my arm backwards. One, two, three. The cell door opens. My muscles tense and explode at the sight of green. With my core tensing, my gauntlet flies and slams into the side of the axeman's head.

Like last time, it's crushed against the doorframe with a crunch. Chime I push through, bringing both of my arms up as I approach the swordsman. It holds its shield up and locks it into place. A smile crosses my face. Works every time. Abandoning the movement, my legs bend, and I throw a deep hook into its stomach. It grunts, but the chestplate absorbs the blow. The spikes on the gauntlet don't sink as deeply with the leather in the way. It takes a single step back, but swings with it.

My body bends without my mind's input and twists to the side. Like a machine, my body uses the momentum to send another hook directly into the goblin's face. It dodges slightly, but my eyes widen slightly as I feel my body correcting for the reaction mid-punch. Spikes dig deep, and the hobgoblin falls while dropping its weapons and clutching its face. My body takes me down with it, an arrow flying right above my head. With the shield attached to the flailing goblin, I turn and dash to the door.

Right before I twist around the doorway, a poke hits my thigh. With the command going, I don't feel the pain, but the slight weakness lets me know the archer landed a shot. The gauntlet falls off my left hand, and I slip it through the straps in the shield. My shielded hand reaches around and pulls the arrow out with a small spray of blood. Not wanting the enemies to regroup, I curve around and push into the room. Instantly, an arrow thunks against the shield, but I move.

On the edge of my vision, I still see the lone shieldman clutching its face. I ignore it as I rush with the shield in front of me. Another arrow strikes my armored shin, glancing off. Smiling, I peek over the shield to get information during the archer's reloading. A ball of mana fills my vision, and my shield just barely comes up in time. Mana is not the same as an arrow. The mass collides with the edge of my shield, blasting it apart with a splinter of wood. My charge halts, and I stumble to the side.

Another arrow comes while I'm open. It strikes my arm and digs in. With a grunt, I get back up and continue rushing. A good third of the shield is gone, leaving a gaping hole of vulnerability. Two more arrows strike. One buries in the shoulder guard, the other next to its friend in my upper arm. My shield pushes to the side as I come upon the archer. It hastily tries to pull another arrow out of the quiver, but my gauntlet comes crashing down. The archer's face caves in with a crunch and falls limp.

I turn to the mage, but it's gone. Flipping around, I see the mage at the entrance of the room with its eyes closed, building another ball of mana. In front of it stands the swordsman. The left side of its face bleeds in a waterfall, with its right eye staring at me in fury. A sigh escapes my mouth as I pull the shield up and charge again. Not having to cover my eyes because of the arrow, I see the swordsman rush at me likewise. It lunges with a swing, blocked by my broken shield.

I raise my gauntlet and prepare to slam down. Instead of blocking, the goblin calls my feint and swings again at my open right. My body jerks back, but the sword cuts deeply into my waist. Chime A trace of pain slips through the command. The hobgoblin cuts deeper as it pulls back, resetting and watching me. A grunt escapes me from the pain. I look down at the cut. Over an inch deep. Panic escalates, but the command stomps it out. My gaze meets the now smiling hobgoblin.

"Kevin, punch as hard as you can," I say with a stern expression. My rush begins again. The shieldman meets me. Muscles coil and burn as my arm pulls back. Chime The shield locks into place as my fist connects. The hobgoblin stands firm, but the shield doesn't. A spiked fist blasts through the shield with a shower of splinters. My gauntlet slams into the shieldman's head, caving it in and snapping it backwards. Chime My mind breathes a sigh of relief, but my body moves, twisting backwards.

A ball of mana flies over me and connects with the wall, popping and scattering stone shards. When I look back at the mage, it stares at me in disbelief and fear. It tries to run, but I'm far faster. When I reach it, I pull up my fist. Confusion fills me, and I look down to see my arm hanging limp, the gauntlet on the ground several feet behind. Annoyance crosses my face, and I slam down with my shielded hand. The edge collides with its head and sends it stumbling down.

Repeatedly, I slam the shield into the mage's head. After a few swings, my foot comes up and comes down with all of my weight, flattening the mage's skull. Chime Chime"Damn, that's annoying." I can't be too angry, considering every chime that isn't a kill is a gain. While panting heavily, I slump down against the wall. A blue holographic screen expands in front of me. [You have slain Hobgoblin lv. 11 x4] [Partial experience granted x8] [Empowered Control Tamed Being(lv. 1) > (lv. 2)] [Enhanced Skeleton(lv. 5) > (lv. 6)] [Bleed Immunity(lv. 1) > (lv. 2)] Oh yeah. I look to my side, the cut is bleeding slowly but surely, thanks to my bleed immunity. A couple of bloody bandages are pulled from my pocket, and I wrap the wound. My hand moves to pull out the arrows, but it doesn't move. At my side, the arm still lies limp and numb. Awkwardly, I have to shake off the shield from my left hand and pull out the arrows from the same arm. The blood flows so slowly that I don't even bother bandaging the wounds.

The screen's words grow with my will. [Health: 305(249)] [Mana: 260(64)] [Stamina: 230(154)]"Heh" Damage that would have kept pre-dungeon me in the hospital means nothing now. My waist bends awkwardly to the side, squeezing the wound closed. I shut my eyes and look inwards. Returning to the bathroom of my core, the mana sweeps into the drain at the center. The familiar well of life opens within me, and I sigh, the frantic pace of battle finally beginning to wane.

Using the same feint on that axeman wasn't the smartest move. Still, these fights are getting harder. Taking down an entire party alone is no easy task. How are other people clearing their tutorials? Is mine way harder because I'm expected to clear it with tamed beasts? Or is everyone else struggling just as much? God, I wish I had some friends with me. Clearing a dungeon with a party is textbook for a good time. When the mana in my body runs dry, I rummage through the corpses and eat my fill of jerky.

This time, the reward box has increased to the size of a small suitcase. It even starts looking a bit ornate, with curved corners and a more intricate clasp. After a few seconds of admiring, I kick it open. [You have discovered a reward] [Accept(15) / Bank / Consolidate] This is probably a big reason why I'm suffering so much. The smart move is to open it every two to four times for more practical items. Wouldn't have to spend nearly as much time recovering if I had a flow of new armor and potions coming at me.

My greed is as insatiable as I am after a round of healing finishes. Consolidate it is, then. With the screen closing, I stand and get to the proper rewards. I flip the axeman onto its side and start undoing straps. After a few minutes of experimenting, I finally get the armor off. To get the best possible quality, my current armor is ditched for the new set. It takes almost half an hour, but the last strap is pulled tight.

Hobgoblins are naturally thinner than I am, especially in the arm and stomach department, so it feels a bit tight. Thankfully, the straps are adjustable enough not to bother me. Smiling, my arm knocks against the hardened leather of the chestplate. The whole ordeal was far harder with one arm, but it's starting to regain feeling and movement. I make my way out of the room and toward the main hallway.

Since I'm out of commission and the next room is going to be even harder, let's see what's on the other side of the hallway.