"Uwaa.."
I jerked my arm, trying to pull it away from Yeoreum's grasp.
I even let out a small scream, audible only to someone right next to me.
I wanted to scream louder, but the last bit of my pride stopped me.
After all, in my previous life, I was a man of resolve, and screaming wildly didn't suit my temperament.
"Um, Sophia. Gyeoul seems really scared, is this okay? I don't want to force her if she doesn't like it."
Yeoreum asked without letting go of my arm.
Her grip was so strong, I couldn't tell if she was genuinely concerned or just making conversation.
"...This is a serious matter."
"It's a dungeon. Even adults get nervous here."
"That's true, but..."
Sophia stroked her chin, deep in thought.
I tried to take advantage of her silence to pull my arm away, but Yeoreum's grip was too strong.
"Le-let go of me..."
Once inside, it's said you can't leave a dimensional prison until you find the 'clear condition.'
I had no clue whether I could clear it with my current abilities.
"Then let's do this."
"What?"
"Once we enter the dungeon, if you kill a monster, I'll give you this bow."
Sophia offered me a bow.
It was the same bow that had pierced through a horned rabbit's head with a single shot.
Despite knowing that greed often leads to an early death, I couldn't help but feel tempted.
'A weapon would be nice.'
With that bow, I could catch more than ten horned rabbits a day.
Reading my greed, Sophia made another enticing offer.
"For every monster you kill, I'll give you ten arrows."
"Arrows too...?"
"Yes."
Arrows, now that's something.
Just like how slingshot pellets are more expensive than the slingshot itself.
Certainly, the arrows must be costlier than the bow.
Having completed all the calculations in my mind, I finally nodded in agreement.
"O-okay. But what's the clear condition here...?"
"To kill any one monster. That's the clear condition."
"...Doesn't seem too hard."
"The lower the dungeon, the easier the conditions."
Just one, huh.
With the help of those around me, I should be able to manage somehow.
I decided to put in a little effort to get that powerful weapon.
✧✧✧✧✧
— Gate —
As I pushed my foot through that shimmering portal, an entirely different world appeared before me.
"This is..."
A dense forest.
The inside of the gate was indeed a different world.
Proving this, unfamiliar trees and plants decorated the surroundings.
"Gyeoul, don't worry too much. I'm here, okay?"
"Yes, yes..."
I stood right in front of the gate, surveying my surroundings.
I had no idea where a monster might leap out from within the green forest.
Feeling a bit scared and frozen, Encia handed me the bow.
"Gyeoul, here's your bow."
"Ah, thank you."
I received the bow.
Now, I had to fight for my life.
Haaa….
After taking several deep breaths, Sophia tapped me on the shoulder.
"Lead the way when you're ready."
"Me, lead...?"
"Yes. I'll make sure no enemy attack reaches you."
"Okay..."
Since Sophia spoke so confidently, it would be a luxury to be more anxious than this.
I took a couple more deep breaths and walked towards a direction in the dungeon.
'It's a Goblin.'
The surroundings where we were is green, the same as that of the Goblin ski, so relying on sight to take care of it wasn't the best idea.
Of course, with my current vision, I could probably spot a goblin hiding in the forest, but just to be safe, I decided to focus on hearing.
Concentrating on sounds, I could even hear an ant crawling.
There was no way I wouldn't hear the larger goblin.
I walked forward, my ears perked up.
Soon, I heard the soft sound of something moving in the bushes far away.
Thump Thump
It was the sound of something walking on two feet.
The light footsteps seemed similar to those of a child.
It must be a goblin.
I raised one hand, clenching it into a fist.
It was something I remembered from a military movie I saw in my past life.
"I found one..."
"Hmm?"
"Already?"
"Leader! I can't see anything..."
Everyone whispered in surprise at my briefing.
It seemed I might be the best at finding enemies in this group.
"Over there, behind the forest. I heard footsteps... about five hundred meters away?"
"Wow, Gyeoul, you can hear that far?"
"Yes. If I concentrate, I can hear sounds from afar."
My face flushed at Yeoreum's praise.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I lowered my head, and then Encia approached me.
"That's amazing. I have good hearing among the beast-kin, but not to that extent..."
Encia perked up her large wolf ears.
However, she seemed to hear nothing, tilting her head in confusion.
'Oh.'
Maybe my tracking abilities were also decent.
Feeling a bit more confident, I boldly led the group.
"I'll take the lead."
"Okay."
So, I led everyone to a spot in the woods.
In a clearing far away, a goblin was picking berries.
"There it is."
"Can you catch it, Gyeoul?"
"Yes, I'll try..."
There was no reason to hesitate once I made up my mind.
I quickly fitted an arrow to the bow.
Stretch—
I drew the bowstring and aimed at the goblin.
My target was the head, an important spot for any living creature.
The moment the creature raised its hand to pluck a fruit from the tree.
Fwooosh—
With a brisk sound cutting through the air, the arrow was launched.
As always, the flight of the arrow seemed to move in slow motion.
This allowed me to clearly see how the goblin died.
Thwack—!
The long arrow pierced right through the back of the goblin's head.
It penetrated so deeply that only the feathered end of the arrow protruded from the back of its head.
"!"
I had taken down a goblin!
In shock, I tilted my head back to look up at Yeoreum.
She then smiled with her eyes and tapped me on the shoulder.
"Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Indeed, your archery skills are exceptional."
"It's–it's because I used to play with slingshots a lot..."
I was embarrassed by everyone's compliments.
But it wasn't a bad feeling.
I let my tail sway freely, awkwardly smiling.
It seemed like the dungeon adventure, which began with anxiety, would end on a good note.
✧✧✧✧✧
That day, I caught a total of ten goblins in the dungeon.
I wanted to catch more goblins as my confidence grew, but I left the dungeon without hesitation when Yeoreum suggested we stop.
There was no reason not to listen to such an experienced adventurer.
"We're not catching the boss, right?"
"Right. If we kill the boss, the gate disappears. That's why in these dungeons, we sometimes don't kill the boss."
"Ah..."
Perhaps to secure mana stones steadily and to cultivate rookie adventurers like me.
I was in awe of how people utilized even disaster phenomena for their benefit.
'Am I a full-fledged adventurer now?'
Before returning to the tent.
I took one last look at the gate when Yeoreum grabbed my hand.
"Shall we head home now?"
"Yes..."
And so, I returned to the tent with ten goblin mana stones.
Even if we divided two stones per person, that was a whopping forty thousand won.
The enormous amount made my ears and tail shoot up in surprise.
I had earned forty thousand won in a day.
And I even received a hundred arrows from Sophia.
If I keep this up, my life will surely improve.
I couldn't help but pick up the bow and arrows again.
"Why are you holding the bow again?"
"I want to practice shooting."
"...Just make sure you only shoot towards the tent, in case you hit someone."
"Okay."
I placed a box next to the tent and put an empty can on top of it.
That should suffice for a target.
Since the area behind the tent wasn't frequented by people, it was safe to shoot arrows freely.
Finally, perking up my ears to ensure no one was passing by, I confidently shot an arrow towards the can.
Whang-!
The swiftly shot arrow flew towards the can.
With my skills, I was sure to hit the can 100%.
Without doubt, I followed the trajectory of the arrow, but it passed right next to the can, piercing through the tent instead.
Clang-!
A sound of something breaking came from inside the tent.
However, the arrow didn't stop there; it pierced through the tent and shattered a nearby tree branch.
It was the branch to which the tent's supporting rope was tied.
One side of the tent, losing its support, sagged down.
Several glass bottles that were placed nearby fell onto the dirt floor.
Clang-!
Fortunately, not all the glass bottles broke, but a couple did shatter upon hitting a stone.
"Uh-oh..."
Why couldn't I hit a can that was so close?
I was so shocked by the scene that I just blinked my eyes.
"Ah, you've caused an accident."
Sophia sighed and approached me.
Even then, I couldn't move from my spot.
The collapsed tent and my plummeting accuracy.
I couldn't grasp which one to address first.