CH 18

“Gugya!” 

I ignored the intimidation tactics from the goblins and kobolds, and then swept them with my shortsword. The following goblins and kobolds were frightened when they saw the situation. They faltered, in other words, they were basically signalling they’d do whatever I wanted. I stepped in again and slayed them. The four bodies turned into smoke one after another, and then four magic stones dropped. On the fifth floor, monsters that appeared often appeared in a party.

“It can’t be helped.”

Even if I defeated monsters as I normally would, only magic stones would drop. The drops from goblins and kobolds cost around 100-150 yen each. I, as a beginner explorer, needed to hurry up and clear the fifth floor.

If I defeated the floor boss and acquired powerful skills, the dungeon capture would progress dramatically. As a result, I would earn more and more profit. To survive as a solo explorer, I’d have to go beyond the sixth floor. This was common knowledge.

The blessing I had was affecting the types of dropped items, so I was earning without problems even in the lower floors, but even so, I wanted to earn more items.

“Guga, gaga!”

Three goblins jumped out of a corner. A shield-bearing goblin came out in front, and two spear-bearing goblins watched from behind.

“Are these scums imitating explorers now?”

“Guga!”

“So are you staging a coordinated attack because of your hatred?”

“Gi, gi, gi!”

A spear was thrust out from behind the shield holder. When I defended against the cutting edge with my shortsword, I clumsily lost my posture and collided with the shield holder.

“Hahaha! Where’s your motivation coming from! Come and kill me without these foolish tactics!”

The angry shield holder stuck out his shield and approached me, but I defended against it with my shortsword once again and pushed him back with all my might. The shield holder was consequently stabbed by one of the spear holders. The spear holder behind him then started screaming and went on a rampage.

The goblins, who were now completely out of coordination, were taken out quickly. Three magic stones and two beginner potions dropped. The God of Evil sure is amazing. I was really looking forward to the skill orbs I’d get from the floor boss.

######

About 4 hours after reaching the fifth floor, I encountered a large room containing the floor boss. I could not reach the stairs to the sixth floor without passing through this large room.

Two young explorer parties were standing in front of the large room. The room would not open unless the floor boss itself was defeated or the explorers inside were wiped out.

When I approached both parties and greeted them, they all replied amiably. This was expected because the mood was such that we wouldn’t be able to help each other if something bad happened in this place.

The entrance to the large room finally opened after waiting about 30 minutes. The inside was empty. I was sure the floor boss would appear after you entered the room, just like in the Monster House.

The party that had been waiting for their entry enthusiastically and loudly went into the room.

The sound of the entrance of the room closing echoed, and then only silence remained

“Excuse me…”

One of the four people from the remaining party talked to me. He was a thin, young man.

“What?”

“I’m sorry to talk to you so suddenly. I’m sorry if I’m wrong, but are you the cooler box guy?”

“I’m not.”

“I’m sorry! I’ve seen him multiple times, but it seems that I made a mistake.”

“Everyone makes mistakes. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you! By the way, are you challenging the floor boss by yourself?”

“That’s right.”

“You’re bound to be strong if you were given a blessing. I envy you.”

I felt his line of sight shift to the engraving on my neck.

“Can I ask what god gave you that blessing?”

“The God of Fishing.”

“Ehhhh!”

Everyone in the party cried out.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, there isn’t, but…”

The three people behind me started whispering.

“Isn’t it better for you to prepare rather than talking to me? It’s almost your turn.”

Shortly after I said that, the entrance to the large room opened.

“That’s right. I’m going! Let’s both do our best.”

Yeah. Let’s do this.