As I approached the mostly buried one-eyed giant, I noticed something conveniently lying on the ground before me: the spearhead of the broken spear I had used earlier in the battle against the giant.
Its shaft was already long gone—or at least, only a small bit of the shaft remained stuck on the spearhead. But it was more than enough for me to hold it like a dagger.
So, I did. I picked up the leftover spear with my hand, feeling the weight of this makeshift dagger.
This... would be the weapon to finish the job—to end the suffering of this writhing Cyclops.
Truth be told... I had been hesitating about killing this thing.
Of course, I knew that it had tried to kill me and even eat me alive before, so I had also attempted to fight back and kill it in retaliation.
But now, it lay weakly under the rubble of the cave-in, defenseless. Killing it like this really shook my morality a bit...
Maybe it would have died on its own under the crushing weight of the rubble...
But then... there was also the possibility of it getting out of this rubble and eventually making another attempt to kill me. So, killing it now was the most plausible thing to do.
Then there was another reason why I should end this pitiful creature's life.
I looked back toward the grand marble entrance where I had taken shelter, away from the cave-in.
I saw that the barrier blocking the pathway was still up... and the glowing eyes of Zeus's face carving on top.
The way that the chief Greek god's carved face was looking at me right now... it was as if it was telling me to 'finish the job' already.
"I know, I know," I muttered back in annoyance toward the judgmental glowing eyes of the carved face.
I turned my head forward. I took a deep breath... then continued my advance toward the still-buried giant.
I looked down at the writhing Cyclops, its large eye still shut tight, twitching ever so slightly in pain. But that was not all. Blood seeped from the gaps in its eyelids... a dark reminder of the suffering I had caused it.
A slight pang of both guild and pity struck me as I watched the creature struggle and agonize in pain... and I whispered to it, "Sorry... for the pain I've caused you, big guy."
But... this was a do-or-die situation.
The Cyclops seemed to react to my words, its massive form shuddering as it tried to free itself from the rubble in a panicked frenzy. But... no matter how hard it struggled, it remained completely stuck.
It was too weaken and wounded to actually move or even lift the rubble off of its body.
It was now helplessly facing its fate... and that fate was completely tied to my hand holding the weapon that would end its misery.
Without another word, I stood right above its head.
The weight of the moment was pressing down on me... as I took one last look at the giant.
A final breath to steady my resolve once more... and then I raised the makeshift dagger-spear above my head, preparing to end this...again, once and for all.
The Cyclops managed to pry open its eye, its gaze meeting mine for just a fleeting moment, but...
The last thing it saw was the spearhead coming fast toward its eye. With a swift, decisive thrust, the makeshift dagger pierced through its eye, delivering a fatal blow.
[Level Up!]
"What...?!"
After bringing down the makeshift spear dagger upon the Cyclops—ending its life—a strange, robotic voice suddenly echoed in my head!
For a moment, I was taken aback and utterly confused by the sudden alien voice invading my mind. But then, I felt something happening to me—my entire body!
My whole being surged with energy! It was as if the very fibers of my muscles had become lighter, more powerful, and a strange, newfound vigor coursed through me!
I quickly realized what had just happened: I had gained 'experience' from slaying the Cyclops... and I had 'leveled up'!
"Alright...!"
I was now an adventurer... the very thing I had been dreaming of!
Though... it was kind of unofficial...
I wondered what would happen now that I suddenly became an adventurer without the government's permission?
Would I be held accountable? I mean... I was the victim here, you know? I had gotten into this wild dungeon accidentally and all...
Looking down at where the Cyclops once lay, I saw its remains dissipating from my sight..!
Its body was turning into an ethereal mist, and it flowed directly into me! This must have been the source of the 'experience.'
Then, another notification rang in my mind!
[Item Acquired: 10 dungeon gold coins, Cyclops's Eye.]
"Wow...!" I muttered in surprise upon hearing the announcement.
10 dungeon gold coins?! That was a lot of gold under my possession. If I remembered correctly, a single dungeon coin was worth roughly $100 USD... which meant...
"10 grand... not bad!"
It was roughly a quarter of my annual salary, which was pretty great. I might be able to afford the actual license now if I combined it with my current savings...
Shoving aside the thought of procuring the license...
"Cyclops' Eye..."
To think that of all things, the material I got from it was its damn eye...
A bit ironic, considering how much I had "abused" its eye before finally ending its life through the same eye, and it gave me its own eye as a drop.
I wasn't sure if I should be happy about receiving this supposed rare drop from it...
"Hold on, I should at least check my status."
I almost forgot about it. Since I had now become an adventurer, I should have access to adventurer's powers... such as—
"Open Status!" I called out loudly, remembering vividly how to open the status screen from the basic adventurer's Webpedia.
Then suddenly, a hologram screen appeared in front of me!
[----------------------------]
o Name : Isaac Hunter
o Job : Beginner Adventurer
o Level : 10
o EXP : 120 / 730
o HP : 20 / 140
o MP : 90 / 120
o STR : 17
o DEX : 15
o AGI : 16
o INT : 11
o WIS : 13
o VIT : 14
o END : 15
o CHR : 13
o LUK : ?
o Free Allocate Points: 5
[----------------------------]
A whole bunch of information suddenly popped up in front of me. I thought I remembered what any of these stats actually meant, but... it was just too much information overload for me to comprehend right now.
Not to mention, what was up with my 'Luck' stat being a darn question mark of all things?
Was that why I had ended up in this near life-and-death situation in the first place...?
But suddenly, a faint, echoing sound drifted through the air around me, interrupting my train of thoughts...!
"Hmm?"
It was a low, rumbling hum that seemed to vibrate through the very walls of the cave. The noise grew louder, reverberating with an almost mechanical resonance...
And it came from... the grand marble entrance!
I turned my gaze toward the entrance, where the barrier that had been blocking the pathway before was still up.
I saw the face carving of Zeus above the entrance—the glowing eyes of the carved god began to shine brighter than before!
As the glow reached its peak, the barrier below flickered and wavered for a moment... then vanished with a sudden, sharp crackle.
The way was now clear.