Chapter 13 - The Second Floor (3)

Nine goblins charge at me in total: eight ordinary goblins and one goblin swordsman.

Calling it a swordsman is a bit much when all it has is a scimitar with a blade about sixty centimeters long... Still, unlike a carving knife, that qualifies as a proper edged weapon.

"Grrrk!"

Watching the goblin charging straight at me, I choke up on my hammer and slam it into its temple.

THUD!

One hit, one kill. The goblin dissolves into light before it even has time to hit the ground.

But it's too early to celebrate. I've only taken down one.

"Grrrrrk!!!"

No sooner have I killed it than two goblins leap at me from either side, carving knives clutched in their hands.

I dash right and shove one away with my shield, then immediately turn and bash the other with my hammer.

THUD!

That makes two. But there's not even time to catch my breath.

Another goblin leaps at me from behind. When did it get back there?

It's the goblin swordsman.

"Kyaaa!"

Hissing like a snake, as if being a swordsman makes it something special.

I immediately stop what I'm doing and roll across the ground.

WHOOSH!

The blade passes overhead with a sharp whistle. Seeing me rolling on the ground, the goblins seize their chance and rush me.

This is why the second floor is several times more dangerous than the first. I might be able to overpower four ordinary goblins through sheer physical strength, but that won't work against this many.

I'd have no choice but to take some injuries.

If I were alone, that is.

THUNK!

An arrow flies out of the undergrowth and pierces a goblin between the eyes. Looks like Erwin has found another sniping position.

PAT!

Using the momentum of my roll, I spring to my feet. Then I raise my shield and charge straight into the enemy's midst.

Drawing aggro is a warrior's job, isn't it?

"Come on, you little shits! All of you!"

I block with my shield, swing my hammer, dodge, kick them away, and even headbutt them.

As I rampage through the middle of their formation, walking a tightrope with my boiling barbarian blood, Erwin settles into position again and fires arrows like mad.

WHISTLE! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

With arrows coming every two or three seconds, the goblins can't get their bearings.

"G-grrk!!"

Perhaps because she's rushing a little, her arrows don't always hit a vital spot...

THUNK!

But they always hit somewhere: a shoulder, an arm, a belly, a chest, a thigh. Sometimes they even burst into flame, as though she's imbued them with her spirit's power.

Not to be outdone, I smash the little bastards' skulls one after another as they flounder, too worried about the arrows to do anything else.

THUD! THUD!

Soon, only two goblins remain, and they turn to flee. I sprint like mad and grab one by the hair to finish it off, while Erwin puts an arrow through the back of the other's head.

「You have slain a goblin swordsman. EXP +1」

With the battle over, Erwin emerges from the undergrowth and approaches.

"Mister, are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm fine too."

"Good. Let's collect the magic crystals, then."

We split up and search the area for arrows and magic crystals. I'd killed the goblin swordsman during the melee, but claiming its scimitar is out of the question. Just like on the first floor, its clothes and weapon turned into light and vanished along with it.

"Here are six."

Including the two Erwin killed in her opening ambush, our haul comes to eleven magic crystals.

Considering I spent the whole first day wandering around to earn forty-four, this is more satisfying than I'd expected. The actual fighting took barely two minutes.

"Here. Take these."

"Two? Thank you!"

I take nine and give Erwin two. The split accounts for the fact that, although they're all Grade 9, the swordsman's crystal weighs a little more than an ordinary goblin's.

"We can keep doing it like this, right?"

"Yes. Was there anything awkward or dangerous for you during that fight?"

"No, not particularly."

Afterward, I take some time to go over the battle and look for ways to improve our fighting style. I can't find anything to fix just yet, but that's probably evidence of how inexperienced we still are.

As we fight more and gain experience, we'll naturally get better.

"All right. That's enough for now. Let's keep moving."

"Okay!"

I check the time once more before we leave.

[01 : 31]

How much can we earn before day four is over?

* * *

We move in an expanding radius around the portal. Once that radius extends beyond three kilometers, we really do encounter a goblin pack about once every five minutes.

Naturally, that brings us face-to-face with goblin archers too.

"Kikikiki!"

With a cry a little more distinctive than "grrk," the goblin archer is certainly a threatening opponent. It uses a small shortbow that reminds me of a harp, and, like the other goblins, it coats its weapons—in this case, its arrowheads—with poison.

It can even use stealth magic.

However...

「You have slain a goblin archer. EXP +1」

As long as I stay focused, this barbarian body can react to incoming arrows, either dodging them or blocking them with my shield.

Well, I still need to be careful.

"There's another goblin archer! Take it out first!"

"Okay!"

Barbarian or not, an arrow through the skull means instant death. I'd better buy a helmet first thing when I get back to the city.

"Let's rest for a bit."

"Ah! Finally!"

After finishing another battle, we head to the clearing near the portal to rest.

"You can sleep first if you want."

"Really?"

She really doesn't know how to decline an offer, does she?

I chuckle and nod. She plops down in the clearing, then glances at me like a puppy that needs to pee.

"Um, what about the backpack and blanket?"

"... Here."

I set down the now much heavier bag, take out the blanket, and drape it over her.

Less than a minute later, I hear her snoring.

SNURR, SNURRR...

It's infinitely softer and more restrained than traditional barbarian-style snoring...

But she must really have been tired. Until now, she's always slept without making a sound.

Hmm. Maybe she feels safer now than she did back then.

[18 : 20]

We've spent about fifteen hours roaming Goblin Forest and hunting. Every fight involved more than ten enemies, but the more accustomed we became to it, the fewer dangerous situations we faced and the faster we finished.

As a result, we've earned an amount I couldn't have imagined on the first floor.

Not that there weren't tense moments.

"Whew..."

As our hunting radius expanded, we started running into explorers too. Eleven encounters so far. Every party had at least three members, and some included nonhumans.

Each time, we followed custom, giving each other space and passing by, but every encounter drained a huge chunk of my energy.

Those explorer bastards scare me more than goblins do. Especially now, when I have extra reason to be wary.

"Her being so pretty is a problem too."

I sigh as I look at the soundly sleeping Erwin.

Silvery hair that still flows silkily despite days of sleeping rough, captivating amber eyes, and features that tick every box for beauty.

Lucky for a woman... but for an explorer? I'm not so sure.

One bastard in a party we encountered actually licked his lips the moment he saw her.

I just hope what I'm worried about never happens...

"... Am I that pretty?"

What the fuck? You were snoring a second ago.

"Go to sleep."

"Okaaay."

Apparently still half-asleep, Erwin gives a vague answer and immediately starts snoring again.

SNORE, SNORE.

Seriously, what's with her?

The elves I know weren't like this.

* * *

Day four, day five, day six...

Time flies after we enter Goblin Forest, and soon day seven begins. The day we finally leave the Labyrinth has arrived.

"When we get back, I'm going straight to bed..."

"Same here."

There's only one way to leave the Labyrinth and return to the city: wait until the floor closes.

At the appointed time, the Labyrinth spits out all the explorers on that floor into the city. For the first floor, it's 168 hours; for the second, a somewhat longer 240 hours. The higher the floor, the longer you can stay in the Labyrinth.

Our plan, though, is to descend to the first floor just before day seven ends and make our exit to the city.

"Today, we'll stay nearby instead of going as far out as yesterday."

"Okay!"

There are several reasons to leave early. When the first floor closes, the portal disappears too, taking our emergency escape route with it. We're also starting to run out of food.

We could try buying food with magic crystals from explorers we happen to meet...

'But there's no need to push our luck.'

Above all, we have fewer than ten intact arrows left. However sturdy they might be, and however much they're designed for reuse, they're consumables. This was inevitable.

If they'd been made from wood back on Earth, we probably couldn't even have reused them more than a few times. It reminds me all over again that this really is another world.

[22 : 27]

After continuing to hunt for quite a while longer, I check the time and stop.

"Let's head back now, just in case."

"Okay!"

We're currently about four kilometers from the portal. It'll take forty minutes at most to get there.

That will leave us with some time to spare... but arriving early will be much easier on my nerves than being too late to go down.

Besides, there's something I need to discuss with her before we part.

"Be careful. There are traps again."

We're retracing our route, but fresh traps have already appeared in the forest. That means the goblin packs have respawned.

Not that they suddenly materialize out of thin air like in the game. There are things that look like rabbit holes all over the forest, and the goblins always crawl out of those.

Once, I tried waiting in front of one, and even had Erwin set fire to it, but nothing happened. I also tried digging, but the whole thing quickly collapsed, so I couldn't see what was underneath.

STEP.

Erwin stops up ahead.

"Goblins, about seventy meters away at one o'clock. Eight regulars, two swordsmen, and two archers."

She's gotten used to this too, giving me a complete briefing without any need for follow-up questions.

"We're fighting them, right?"

"We are."

No lengthy discussion is necessary. When I nod, Erwin leads the way through the undergrowth as usual. Then she signals me to stop, moves another ten meters ahead on her own, settles into position, and draws her bow.

WHISTLE!

The arrow flies.

THUNK!

It probably hit a goblin archer. I told her to make them her top priority whenever possible.

"Mister!"

"Got it. Fall back."

Erwin fires another arrow into the charging goblins and withdraws. By now, this handoff is thoroughly familiar.

I charge forward and slam my hammer into a swordsman among the ordinary goblins first.

THUD!

Judging by that satisfying impact, I won't need to hit it twice.

"WAAAAAAH!"

I let out a roar from the center of their formation, and the goblins falter.

Look at the little shits getting scared.

THUD!

In that instant of hesitation, I dash forward and burst the other swordsman's head too.

"Grrrrrk!!"

After so many chaotic melees, I've become a master of these brawls. The same goes for Erwin.

WHISTLE! THUNK!

She must already be in position, because the arrows start coming in earnest.

Back when our coordination was off, I sometimes crossed her line of fire and nearly got hit by an arrow. But gradually, that stopped happening.

I've started getting a rough sense of which enemy she'll prioritize in a given situation and where she'll aim. I imagine it goes both ways.

THUD!

Just over a minute later, I end the battle by smashing in the back of a fleeing goblin's head.

I'd been told there were two goblin archers, but not a single arrow came my way throughout the fight. Apparently, both of Erwin's opening shots hit archers.

"Good work, Erwin."

"Hee-hee."

"Still, tell me when you've killed all the archers. It's a pain having to keep watching out for them."

"I wasn't sure whether the last one hit."

Hmm, fair enough. Inaccurate information could actually put us in danger.

She's really all grown up now.

For some reason, I feel proud.

"Let's grab what we need and get moving."

"Okay!"

As we search the area for magic crystals, Erwin calls to me urgently.

"Mister! There's something strange over here!"

I hurry over to find a fist-sized orb of light floating in midair. I know what it is, even though this is my first time seeing one in person.

"... An Essence. A goblin archer's, no less. I'm sure of it."

Honestly, the sight leaves me feeling oddly uneasy.

Can we really be this lucky?

"A-an E-Essence? Th-this?"

"Yes. No doubt about it."

"Wh-wh-wh-what do we do?"

As her reaction makes clear, an Essence is worth more to an explorer than any treasure. Essences are essentially the skill system of [Dungeon and Stone].

"I-if I eat it, will I turn into a goblin?"

"Of course not. You'll just gain some of the abilities the goblin had."

Like the guy who tracked us by scent on the first floor, for example. That tracker probably absorbed a razor mane wolf's Essence.

"What do we do...?"

How many times is she going to ask the same question?

Our split may be nine to one, but it looks like even she wants this.

"Do you want it?"

"No, it's not like that... but if you're offering, well..."

I don't have any particular reason not to give it to her, but is it just me, or is she growing more shameless by the day?

I chuckle and speak.

"Make me one promise, and I'll give you the Essence."

A goblin archer's Essence isn't particularly appealing to me as a barbarian. It might help a little right now, but there's a limit to how many Essences I can absorb.

Removing it later would only cost me a fortune for nothing.

"... Really?"

"Yes."

I can't help laughing at her wide eyes.

It's amazing, however I look at it. The chance of an Essence dropping from a slain monster is extremely low. Yet on my very first expedition, I get not an ordinary goblin's Essence, but a goblin archer's?

Even "beginner's luck" doesn't do this justice.

Is my miserable luck finally turning around?

"I was going to wait until we got down to the first floor to say this, but I'll say it now. Erwin—"

"Hey, you two! What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Damn it. I knew this was too lucky.

Just as I'm about to ask Erwin for that promise, a shout comes from the distance.

"Don't move!"

A party of four human explorers. Having spotted us from afar, they rapidly close the distance, their expressions grim.

Honestly, my reaction is: Of course.

"M-Mister?"

This is how things are supposed to go.

Lucky? Me? Not a chance. I've been different from everyone else since I was little. For me, good fortune has always been something I could only just manage to obtain by fighting for it myself.

"Erwin, get ready to fight."

Just like this.