When I woke up this morning my mana depletion was mostly gone. meaning it should be fine if I went to a dungeon, so after doing a few things. my body felt as light as usual and there was no headache or any tiredness in sight.
Feeling like I had made a full recovery, I chose a dungeon near my house to raid.
Doing some research, you would find that this one is quite popular for beginners in this city. The first floors are said to be inhabited by weak and low-level monsters such as goblins and slimes, so even without good skills or magic, newbies can get good results from a monster encounter, getting experience and levels.
Before actually entering through the dungeon gate I had to register in a post close by.
It's a single document that doesn't collect much information, just your name and a declaration of consent in which you confirm that you're aware of the dangers of entering a dungeon and agree that there would be no guarantees of safety and any situation one might encounter falls under their own responsibility, as such, a third party or authority intervention should not be expected, even law enforcement.
it was a bit nerve-wracking to sign it since most of the contents in there were about the different things that might happen once inside.
There was no way to enter without signing it though, so from the beginning, there was only one option for me.
Aside from that, an agreement term about sharing information about any findings if ever required could be found by the end of the document.
In the past, there were a lot of crimes being committed inside a dungeon, and if the criminal got outside and there was enough proof of his crimes, then, he'd be arrested. This document is more of a way for the government to protect itself, but maintaining order was still a priority.
It was hard to find proof of a crime like murder inside a place where there were monsters literally trying to kill everyone though. But even if you managed to escape the government, adventurers also had their own way of doing justice, as not one of them wanted more risk factors in their workplace.
Turns out, it's really hard to get out alive from a dungeon when the people inside want you dead, so attempted murders and whatnot fell a lot, as people would much rather do it on Earth and face jail time than do it inside a dungeon and face... well, something less appealing.
In the end, the adventurers inside the dungeons managed to make the amount of fuckery diminish greatly.
Once I had entered the dungeon proper, I found myself in the settlement of the first floor, a place with some establishments, mostly for trade. like some small stores selling equipment or people offering tips for cash. There were also some escorts for first-timers.
Approximately 200 hundred people were in this settlement, and among them, there were a lot of newbies looking for parties.
A guy was offering a match-making service for parties, which was a bit pricey at $20, but that was fine.
Forming a party is important for beginners since we don't have much experience in fighting and we often let our guard down at the wrong moment or make silly mistakes that can end up in death.
By having someone with you, these risks are reduced.
Normally in a party, if someone makes a mistake, there would be someone else to guard or help them, which can be the difference between thriving or failing at a dungeon raid.
The guy I was talking to before took me to what would be my party, a dude dressed all in black, as tall as me, around 180 cm. He seemed a bit distressed, but that's to be expected from someone's first time.
Everything would be alright as long as he does well.
Looking at his right, I might've found the source that was making him uncomfortable.
A somewhat tall girl at around 170 cm was dressed in shorts and a top, both of which were quite revealing, so even I got a bit anxious to approach since I didn't even know where to look.
It seems like the two would be my party members.
The guy is called Roy, and the girl says she's Sam. I've never met them before, and I can't even confidently say that they weren't from my school since I didn't really know anyone there either.
I guess I'd at least be able to recognize Sam if I had ever seen her though, she seems to be the type of upbeat person who grabs everyone's attention wherever she goes.
One of the most important things when making a party is knowing each other's capabilities, so of course, when we start exposing our skills, I instantly lie about my Gift.
Roy: "So before we dive in, it's probably safer to know what everyone is capable of right?"
Sam: "Totally!"
Miwen: "Agreed."
Roy: "Well, I'll start then, as I've already said, I'm Roy, and my Gift is [The Black Swordsman], I get 2 skills from it, [Darkness Magic] and [Swordsmanship], both at level 1. It also facilitates the use of [Darkness Magic] in bladed weapons, although I don't have a sword, I guess this knife I had at home should count as a bladed weapon..."
Sam: "Sam here! My Gift is [Martial Arts Specialist], it allows me to learn martial arts at a faster rate! It also boosts my strength. I guess I got it because I practice some martial arts in a dojo."
Miwen: "My Gift is [Godspeed], it makes me quicker, but it seems not by much as of right now... I guess I got it because I like finishing things quickly."
Roy: "That's not always good."
Miwen: "Bro, not in that way."
It's bad to outright lie about your Gift, but since [Gacha Kingdom Building] doesn't have any effects in actual combat, I'd prefer to pass my [Movement Speed Up] skill as a Gift.
First of all, explaining everything that [Gacha Kingdom Building] does would be a chore in and of itself, and also, since it's not a combat Gift by nature, at least not in an obvious way, my standing between them would probably go down.
I don't think they, as newcomers, would refuse to form a party with me, but since the only noticeable difference between me and them was my enhanced speed, passing it off as my Gift would facilitate things.
And to be fair, they don't really need to know about the rest since it doesn't affect them right now.
I guess the items I might get from the [Mana Banners] might be relevant to them since they've brought kitchen knives while I got an actual dagger.
But I can just say it was something I bought, and if the need arises, I can give them a dagger like this if I get one again without telling them how I got it.
Normally, a girl surrounded by two guys would raise a lot of red flags, but due to Sam's Gift and the fact that she seems to have some experience in fighting, she could probably wipe the floor with Roy and me.
Roy: "Right! I forgot to say, but even though I'm capable of darkness magic, I don't know any spell, also I only have a single mana point so by using even the most basic spell once I'd be down for the day. So I think we should probably all act as physical attackers."
Miwen: "It's fine, let's just move as a unit and cover each other's blind spots, we should be safe against most things by doing so."
Sam: "Yeah, let's advance while covering each other, we are all glass cannons here."
And so our "strategy" was set.
Well, there's not much to discuss as we don't even have that many skills, so the obvious to do is to use our advantages the best we can, so basically the strength of Roy and Sam and my own speed.
Attack, attack, and if doesn't die you just attack again, as long as we can overpower the monsters here, going all out on the offensive is a valid tactic.
While we advanced. Roy took the position in the middle, Sam was on his left, and I was on his right, taking care of looking for any dangers on the right side and the back.
Sam was doing the same on the left side and Roy focused on what was right in front of us, thus, he was the first to notice a monster, a single goblin.
Our first battle was against this monster, and of course, a 3-on-1 against a goblin was easy, even more so when the 3 members had combat skills.
We had no way of confirming the level of this monster, but since the boss of the first floor in this dungeon is only level 3, it should be, at max a level 3 himself thanks to the dungeon capping the max level one can get to in the floor to be the same as that of the boss.
If he was at level three, this means he could have spent Level Points on his Status, strengthening a single status two times, or strengthening two different statuses a single time.
If he had a skill, he could also have improved it.
Even still, the three of us should be able to deal with him, even if it's the worst-case scenario.
If that were the case, one of us might've gotten hurt though, making it so that we had to call off the raid. So approaching it with caution and then attacking simultaneously to end things quickly would be best.
But while I was thinking that, Roy jumped at him with his knife, which made me very surprised.
He tried to slash at the goblin and managed to cut his shoulder on the left side.
The goblin grabbed his arm and his claws penetrated Roy's skin, making him bleed a bit.
Sam came quickly and punched the head of the Goblin, after which I killed it by taking the opportunity to stab its neck.
I didn't feel much resistance, and in a single attack, it was over.
If I had to guess, it was either a level 1 or maybe 2 at most. A level three would probably be harder to deal with.
It seemed like Roy kind of panicked a bit upon facing a monster for the first time, his first impulse was to jump at it, while Sam and I were still calculating the possibilities.
Thankfully this goblin was alone, I failed to consider that in our first battle, our reactions wouldn't be in sync and we wouldn't all work in harmony.
My decision-making speed wasn't ideal either, had I noticed Roy's action before, I could've helped him and prevented an injury.
It was minor this time, but it can be the mistake that leads to someone else, so matching everyone was something I tried to keep in mind.
Sam: "Are you okay Roy? Wanna call it off for today?"
Roy: "It stings a bit, but it's not even bleeding much, it's mostly superficial I guess, I can go on."
Sam: "If you say so..."
Miwen: "Don't overdo it, if it gets worse tell us."
Roy: "Alright. Let's keep going then."
The claws of normal goblins usually are not poisoned, there are some subspecies that may have that attribute though, a Gift or Skill should also make it possible. It would be better to look after this cut, but since Roy says he's fine, arguing about it wouldn't be good.
After our first battle, we continued through the dungeon and dealt with 3 slimes and 2 goblins.
I noticed that I had no idea how much time had passed here. There are only cave-like walls all around, and of course, no sunlight either. It felt like we'd been exploring for at least an hour, but it could've been much longer already. Thankfully I could check my phone, which showed that we were in the dungeon for more than an hour.
Eventually, we came across two goblins, one of them also had a club, which makes him extra dangerous...
Miwen: "Sam, Roy, you take the one unarmed. I'll distract the one with the club."
Sam: "Are you sure? wouldn't it be better for us to go 2-on-1 on the one with the club?"
Miwen: "Roy is hurt, so it's better to avoid putting him in dangerous situations, also, having a club is not that good for that goblin, especially against me, since the club should make him slower. Thanks to my [Godspeed] I should be able to deal with him with ease. It's also a weapon that doesn't work very well for fast attacks, so as long as I pay attention I should be able to dodge it."
Roy: " Still... it would be better for me to help you."
Miwen: "Don't worry, I wouldn't suggest it if I wasn't sure I could do it."
Sam: "Fine, but try not to die ok?"
Miwen: " Leave it to me."
I ran toward the goblin with the club.
As I dashed to his side, both goblins came running to me at the same time.
That's when Roy and Sam jumped at the unarmed one who was behind.
The goblin with the club continued to chase after me, and after I managed to put some distance between our two groups, I decided to fight it properly.
The first strike was his, coming at me full force with a large swing.
If that hit my head I have no doubt that I'd go down instantly, but due to our height difference, it seems it is hard for the goblin to hit me anywhere above my chest, so it focuses on hitting my legs, arms, and abdomen.
Not that any of his swings connected to me, and after the fourth swing he seemed somewhat tired.
I thought I'd be able to dodge everything with ease, but I had to concentrate a lot, it was also my first 1v1 battle, so I couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous.
Even though I was a bit anxious, taking the opportunity after his first swing, I made a bunch of fast slashes towards him.
He tried to use the club to defend himself but that didn't amount to much as I was faster, and having to move that big weapon was exhausting for him, so eventually, I managed to cut his throat.
The goblin died instantly after that and to my surprise, his body was absorbed by the dungeon, and a Monster Core was left behind.
It's not unusual for some monster on the dungeon to be absorbed by it, but it's the first one today that it happens to, it's also the first one to drop a Monster Core.
I was going to go to a dungeon office later to have it bought since I have no use for it right now.
While looking back it seems that Sam and Roy were about to deal with the goblin they tackled.
Sam baited it and managed to grab one of its arms, leaving Roy with a clear opportunity to kill it.
Its body is not absorbed by the dungeon and no Monster Core appears.
Sam: "Hey, you alright?"
Miwen: "Completely. Also, look at this."
I show them the Monster Core, no reason to hide it, since it's in a novice dungeon, and from a low-level monster, it probably won't even sell for much.
Roy: "Cool, that's the first tradeable good we got today."
Miwen: "Yeah, there's also the club if you want to sell it."
Roy: "I don't think it's worth it... unless Sam wants it?"
Sam: "No way."
The club is a bit big and heavy, and since it doesn't sell for much, it's not really worth carrying it around.
The monster core can be kept in a pocket so there was no reason not to take it, even though at this level it probably definitely wouldn't sell for much either.
Miwen: "Should we continue then?"
Roy: "I think I can go on for longer."
Sam: "No problems here."
And so we continued raiding the dungeon.
After killing our 12th goblin, he also drops a monster core, Roy keeps it since he was the one who killed it.
And then after our 16th goblin kill, another monster core drops, this time Sam kept it.
This way we have sorted everyone's loot for today, but every single one of us knew that we were close to a level up, so no one wanted to stop before leveling up for the first time.
As such, we kept going deeper on the first floor, even finding a door that led to a boss room.
Of course, we didn't enter it, knowing we probably didn't stand a chance.
But soon after, when our count was at 9 slime kills and 18 goblin kills, we decided to check the status, and there we found out that everyone's level had increased.
Roy: "What are you guys gonna do with the Status Points? For me, it's gotta be the Strength status!"
Sam: "I'll go with Speed I guess, it seems to be very helpful in a 1-on-1, and I don't need to increase my strength right now thanks to my Gift."
Miwen: "I'll also go with strength since my Gift boosts speed."
And so, we all decided where to invest the 2 Level points each of us got, we also decided now was a good time to call it quits, since we've made pretty good progress.
After leaving through the gate, we go to an office close to the dungeon, there we can trade the Monster Cores we got.
it seems the Monster Core Sam and I got were both of a level 1 Goblin, so they paid us $1 for each Goblin Monster Core, Roy got lucky and his was of a level 2 Goblin, so he got $2.
Yeah, it's definitely not much, but there's nothing we can do about it, of course, even though Roy got the bigger pay, neither Sam nor I minded.
We decided to add each other's contact so we could raid the dungeon again tomorrow, and with that, everyone went their own way.