The onlookers' gazes were drawn to Dante as he made his way toward the portal all by himself. Puzzled expressions crossed their faces, and murmurs of curiosity began to ripple through the crowd as they tried to make sense of the unusual sight.
"Is he a newbie, maybe?" Someone speculated, craning their neck for a better view.
"I think so." another person chimed in.
"Or perhaps a powerful Holder just having some fun." suggested a girl who appeared to be about sixteen, likely someone who had recently undergone her own ritual.
"I wonder what his skill potential is?"
As the crowd engaged in whispered speculation, Dante's masked appearance added an element of mystery to his presence. All eyes were fixed on him; witnessing someone undertake a dungeon solo, even an F-class one, was an uncommon and intriguing sight for them.
As the murmurs swirled around him, Dante remained unfazed, resolutely continuing on his path.
Approaching the dungeon's entrance, Dante handed his badge number to a member of the staff, while the guards flanking the entrance fixed their gaze upon him.
"You do realize you can still die in there, right?" one of the guards cautioned Dante.
Dante simply nodded, conveying his understanding, and the guard said nothing more, gesturing for him to proceed.
Stepping through the portal, Dante was plunged into darkness, and a sensation of weightlessness enveloped him. His mind braced itself for any potential confrontation, fully aware that upon arrival, he might immediately face one of the dungeon's menacing creatures.
"Did anyone catch his name?" a curious voice inquired.
"I heard it's Eka."
All eyes remained fixed on the spot where Dante had disappeared, curiosity and intrigue swirling amongst the observers.
***
Upon regaining his senses, Dante cautiously raised his hands. He had no choice but to enter the dungeon unarmed initially, as his funds were limited after paying the solo fee, and he planned to find a weapon within the dungeon itself. Fortunately, the area around him appeared to be devoid of any creatures.
He found himself in a sprawling plain, with nothing but grass extending as far as the eye could see. The rising sun cast a vibrant hue upon the grass, energizing Dante. As an F class dungeon, conquering it was relatively straightforward: locate the teleportation stone and destroy it to access the boss room. However, he needed to level up before attempting to face the boss. Uncertain if his choice was the right one, Dante knew he had to take this first step to change his life.
Summoning the status screen, a translucent interface materialized before him.
STATUS SCREEN:
Player: Dante (Human)
Health: 100/100
Energy: 100/100
Level: 1 (0/150)
Stat Points: 0
Skills: Concentration
Attributes:
Strength: 1
Defense: 1
Vitality: 1
Endurance: 1
Agility: 1
Inteligence: 1
Dante, having reviewed his status screen, meticulously examined his surroundings, paying particular attention to the ground for any traces of monsters. Finding none, he decided to change his location. His extensive reading about dungeons had equipped him with fundamental knowledge in hunting and survival.
'My first target: a goblin,' Dante thought to himself as he continued to shift locations. With his skill active, he only discovered slime traces, which he ignored since he couldn't harm them with his bare hands.
After several location changes, Dante found himself in a forest. He deduced that he was on the dungeon's outskirts, explaining the reason of scarcity of monsters in the area.
Activating his Concentration skill to enhance his investigative abilities, Dante's heart rate slowed, and his mind sharpened. In his mental map of the surroundings, he eventually identified a set of footprints. The footprints were child-sized, likely belonging to a 7 or 8-year-old.
Dante could "see" the trail of footprints in his mind, allowing him to track their movements in a specific direction. His consistent use of Concentration on himself, which began after his "ritual," had honed this investigative ability over time.
As he tracked the footprints, Dante began to form an image of the creature he was following. Suddenly, a peculiar sensation washed over him, and he instinctively looked up just in time to see an arrow hurtling towards his head. His eyes widened, and he swiftly controlled his body to dodge the projectile.
Whoosh!
Bang!
The wooden arrow found its new home in a tree trunk just behind Dante, its residual vibrations still palpable. Dante, having narrowly avoided the attack, took cover behind the nearest tree. A knowing grin played across his lips as he realized that he had finally located the monster he was seeking.
"A goblin!" Dante exclaimed under his breath.
Normal goblins were roughly the size of small children. Despite being considered among the weakest dungeon creatures, engaging them in direct combat was a challenge for regular humans, unless they possessed exceptional combat skills, such as military training, and even then, it was a risky endeavor. This was one of the reasons Holders were so respected—due to their remarkable abilities.
The goblin lowered its bow and slowly advanced towards Dante, maintaining a distance of several dozen meters. Despite the gap, the goblin's keen perception allowed it to gauge this distance accurately. When a nearby bush rustled, the goblin instinctively fired in that direction, but the arrow merely struck the earth, creating a hollow thud.
Again, the bush stirred, and the goblin fired, only to miss its target once more.
This sequence repeated several times. As the goblin's frustration mounted, it suddenly realized it had exhausted its supply of arrows. Instead of retreating, the goblin drew a dagger and charged recklessly at the place, slashing wildly with the blade, resembling an enraged child having a tantrum.
A figure appeared behind the goblin, clutching a rock the size of a human head.
With all his might, Dante raised the rock high above his head and brought it down upon the unsuspecting goblin. The creature, consumed by rage and oblivious to the impending danger, remained unaware of the anomaly behind it. In a resounding crash, the rock struck the goblin's skull.
Bang!
The goblin tumbled forward, crushed beneath the weight of the shattered rock fragments.
Dante, anticipating a notification screen similar to those found in RPG games, waited anxiously, his breath held in anticipation.
"How many experience points will I get?" Dante muttered to himself.
Seconds ticked by, yet there was no notification in sight. As he watched the goblin gradually rousing from its stupor, Dante realized that he had not slain the creature. Acting swiftly, he moved to the goblin's side and seized its dagger. With a swift, decisive motion, he plunged the blade into the goblin's head, causing a spray of green blood to gush forth. Dante quickly sidestepped to avoid being drenched.
"You killed a goblin! +50 Exp."
The long-awaited translucent screen finally materialized before Dante.
"I did it!" Dante celebrated silently as he promptly checked his status screen, which now displayed an update.
STATUS SCREEN:
Player: Dante (Human)
Health: 100/100
Energy: 80/100
Level: 1 (50/150)
Stat Points: 0
Skills: Concentration(+50%)
Attributes:
Strength: 1
Defense: 1
Vitality: 1
Endurance: 1
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 1
His experience points beside the "Level" increased by 50, while his "Energy" decreased to 80 due to using his skills twice, with only a few seconds between each use. Each use of his skill consumed ten units of energy.
'Goblin provides me with 50 experience points. I need to kill two more goblins to level up,' Dante thought as he salvaged the bow and arrows from the dead goblin. These items would prove useful for his journey.
Dante activated his skill, Concentration, and followed the tracks left by the deceased goblin, hoping to locate more of its kin and dispatch them swiftly. He retraced the footsteps of the goblin; even during his skill's cooldown, he could still faintly discern the tracks, albeit less effectively. However, activating his skill sped up the tracking process.
Before long, he spotted two more goblins. Constant use of his skill had depleted his energy, leaving him with only 35 units, with the last 5 units gradually replenishing. Dante knew he needed to kill them quickly, just like he did with his first kill.