Val was surprised by the traces of mana that were present in everything around him, but he knew he was far too ignorant to be able to figure it out. He decided to accept that it was the nature of the dungeon, which had all been influenced by spatial manipulation.
Val looked around, trying to see if he could find any clues to decide on a direction to travel. There was nothing different in any of the surrounding locations so Val decided to just head in a random direction and hope to find something.
This was his first time inside a dungeon and he did not know if there was anything special or specific he should be looking out for. Val just kept his [Mana Eyes] active in their passive state and walked through the forest.
It did not even take 5 minutes of walking for the trio to encounter a lone goblin.
The 3 noticed the goblin, and Leo had already activated [Light Speed Dash] before the goblin noticed them, when Leo got in range he pounced at the throat of the goblin and ripped it out with ease.
The goblin died immediately and Val secured the left ear, for proof of subjugation.
Once everything was completed with their initial fight inside the dungeon, the trio continued their exploration of the dungeon. Again, it did not take long for them to encounter another goblin.
This time Larz was the one to act, shooting [Wind Blade] at the goblin, and cutting off all of the goblin's limbs as well as the goblin's head. Larz did this without moving from Val's shoulder where he was sitting.
Val did the same as he had with the last goblin and collected the left ear.
Once they were done with their second goblin they continued on, and just like the last two times, it did not take long for a third lone goblin to appear in their sight.
It was Val's turn to kill the goblin and he did so with ease, utilizing the [Shadow Slice] skill of his black short sword, he cleanly cut off the goblin's head. Val found the lone goblins to be good practice for him to get used to using the shadow skills of his sword in battle.
The trio continued exploring the first floor of the dungeon while continuously slaying lone goblins for a few hours.
It had become apparent to Val that on the first floor, the vast majority of encounters with goblins would be with a lone goblin and not a group. The booklet had made it seem like there was a more even split between groups of goblins and individual goblins, but from Val's experience so far this was not the case.
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The trio had found a nice place to stop and eat food, they did not need to prepare or cook any food, as they still had some leftovers from the food stalls the night before. Though Val noted that he would have to stock up on food again when he got back to Loka Town because both Larz and Leo were little gluttons and ate a lot more than him. If Val was not so rich, he may have been worried about going broke just trying to feed the two of them.
The trio did not stay long in one spot, the dungeon was huge and they wanted to explore as much as possible before leaving. After they finished their lunch they began the exploration again.
For the next few hours, they continued to hunt goblins and secured 32 goblin ears.
Unfortunately, they had not yet found any treasures or sub-bosses. They had been exploring and Val was getting frustrated at the lack of progress.
It was extremely hard and unlikely to find a treasure or even a sub-boss, with most adventurers not finding either on the first floor. Treasures were found slightly more frequently on higher floors, as fewer people had explored them, but they were still rare.
Val, however, had become a little arrogant and entitled, he had lived the majority of his life at the very bottom of society, with nobody below him, and everything he had, he had to work for. Even survival was a struggle at times, but ever since he awakened, everything had been working out for him, with treasures and encounters occurring as if he was the protagonist of a story.
This made Val believe that everything would work out for him perfectly again. But for the first time since awakening, it had not gone as he planned.
The trio kept exploring and killing goblins for another few hours, until nighttime approached, and Val decided it was time to head back to town.
Val planned to stay in the dungeon overnight in the future but he was not currently prepared to do so. He would have to stock up on food and water, as well as some other stuff to make his stay a little more comfortable, such as a bed.
Val had read in the booklet that the way to exit the dungeon was similar to how you enter, except you do not have to touch the dungeon. He grabbed Leo and let Larz enter [Personal Dimension], then closed his eyes and willed himself and Leo to leave the dungeon. After a minute of this, they became surrounded by light and when Val opened his eyes he was back at the entrance of the dungeon.
It is believed that the Gods made it take a long time to exit the dungeon so that adventurers could not just escape whenever they were in a tough spot. If they tried to leave the dungeon when they were in battle, they would definitely be killed by the monster before they left the dungeon.
There was a guard on duty near the entrance of the dungeon, who was currently speaking with a group of young adventurers who had left the dungeon just before Val.
It was not the same lady as this morning, and Val waited patiently for his turn to 'sign out'.
After the young party left, heading back to Loka Town, Val 'signed out' and headed back to town as well.
Today had been a disappointment for him and had put him in a bad mood.
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When Val returned to Loka town he went to the adventurers guild and exchanged his goblin ears for some bronze coins. The compensation was not a lot relative to Val's current wealth, but that would never stop Val from maximizing the money he earned.
Val's upbringing had firmly cemented in his mind that he would never return to being dirt poor and struggling to have a single meal a day.
After he completed the exchange at the adventurers guild he headed back to the inn to eat and rest for the night.
On his way, he stocked up on street food that he thought would be good, getting enough for a few days. He would have liked to get more but he would not be able to eat it all before it spoiled, even with the help of the two gluttons.
Once he returned to the Inn, he saw Michelle who was at the front desk, waiting for customers to enter.
He had a quick chat with her but did not stay long, he was still in a bad mood and feeling down, and he just wanted to go to his room and cuddle Leo and Larz.
He also did not want to run into Bindy and Lizzy, it would still be awkward between them, and he did not want to have them ask him to assist them just yet, he wanted some time to continue exploring the dungeon.
Val may have failed this time but he would continue his dungeon exploration, he would not be satisfied until he had found a treasure.
He also wanted to take some time to think of a new plan.
Once Val had finished his short chat with Michelle he headed to his room, when he arrived he let Larz out and took a quick bath.
His room had a small, old bathroom attached, which had a sink and a small tub that he could use to wash himself.
It was pretty low quality and old, but it was very similar to what was at the orphanage, however, now he did not have to share with other kids, so to Val, it was an upgrade.
After Val was done washing up, he lay on his bed with his two familiars and began thinking about what went wrong today, and why he did not find any treasures.
As he thought about the day, he realized that he should have expected that he would not have found a treasure on the first floor on his first time inside a dungeon.
Val had checked himself and realized how arrogant he had become. He thought in-depth about everything that had happened since he had awakened, and how lucky and truly blessed he had been.
It was impossible for this sort of luck to continue, having fortuitous encounter after fortuitous encounter endlessly was not realistic.
Val realized that he had to think about things more thoroughly and come up with plans that did not rely on him being exceptionally lucky.
As Val had this epiphany, he looked to either side of himself, observing the sleeping feline and dragon, and realized, that he had been truly lucky and blessed since awakening.
Everything he did was far more enjoyable and made him feel far happier with these two by his side.
With that final thought, Val slowly shut his eyes, ready for another day of adventuring and exploring the dungeon, but this time without unrealistic expectations.