Longer chapters from now :)
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The system's message made me quite excited. "A precious metal? But what kind of metal? Iron? Mithril?"
Following the system's prompt, a map appeared.
It was the map of the dungeon's second floor.
On the map, several red points were marked. One was very close to me, less than 10 meters away. "Is this where the system detected the metal?"
I slowly approached the location marked on the map. As I got closer, a new system message popped up.
[Do you wish to extract Orichalcum x3?]
"Oh? Is it really Orichalcum?" If I remember correctly, it's quite difficult to forge with this.
I selected "yes."
When I did, three pieces of metal emerged from the dungeon floor. All three had a yellow hue resembling gold. When I picked up one of the ores, it disappeared, and a system message appeared.
[Orichalcum has been added to your inventory]
[Points +5]
"I earn points for collecting ores? That's even more reason to keep exploring the dungeon."
I picked up the other two Orichalcum and earned 10 points. Afterward, I opened the so-called inventory.
A menu similar to the inventory from "New World" appeared. Inside were three pieces of Orichalcum. I tried taking one out of the inventory, and it materialized without issues.
"I don't know if I can forge with these metals, but it's worth testing later."
I opened the map again to search for more metals.
"Honestly, I care more about the points than the metals. As a member of the Hephaestus Familia, I can get these if I want. Unless unique metals start appearing—metals that don't exist in this world. Alright, where should I head next?"
I moved toward the next nearest red point. However, two adventurers appeared just as I was about to extract two more Orichalcum ores.
"Hey, what are you doing? Did you lose something?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just taking a break."
"Be careful. We spotted a large group of monsters nearby. We're leaving; we don't want to take any risks."
"Thanks for the warning."
The two men walked past me and disappeared. Once they were gone, I crouched and extracted the two metals from the ground. After storing them in my inventory, I reopened the map.
The map was now empty. There were no more red dots on the map.
"Did the ability deactivate? Does it use magic or something?"
That's when I started to notice some odd sounds.
Footsteps! Footsteps! Footsteps!
The sound grew louder and louder. A large group of people—or monsters—was rushing in my direction.
I drew my sword from its sheath, and several red points reappeared on the map. These points were closing in rapidly.
[Defeat all the monsters!]
A large group of monsters stood before me in a matter of seconds. I couldn't think clearly, so I began running to put some distance between us and figure out what to do.
I kept running, glancing back over my shoulder.
For some reason, the dungeon's corridors began narrowing.
The monsters continued chasing me.
Goblins and Kobolds.
Realizing that running wouldn't help, I turned around and swung my sword. "Flames!" Fire burst forth from my blade, surging toward the horde of monsters. The ones at the front burned to death.
The scorched monsters fell, and those behind them trampled over their bodies without hesitation.
They didn't care.
Tsk!
I clicked my tongue and continued swinging my sword.
My movements were heavy, far from agile. As I swung with all my strength, I managed to sever the arms of a few monsters and kill some of them.
Their numbers started to dwindle.
I turned and began running again. Thankfully, my endurance was high.
"If I use the sword's magic one more time, I might pass out. Having low magic power really sucks."
After running for some time and creating enough distance, I prepared to face them again. "How many are left? Twenty? Twenty monsters isn't too bad; I can handle this. That reward better be worth it."
The monsters closed in quickly, and I took a deep breath.
I couldn't let them surround me. I had to keep attacking and retreating, just like before. Little by little, I could handle this.
Slash~~
Slash~~
Slash~~
I kept swinging my sword. The sound of monster flesh being sliced filled my ears. Blood splattered over me as their numbers steadily dwindled.
After several long minutes, only one Kobold remained standing.
The others had vanished, turning into metals. Most of them transformed into Mithril.
The lone Kobold looked terrified. I approached him slowly, step by step. He stood still, realizing there was no point in resisting. Lowering his head, he waited for his end.
When my sword pierced his neck, his body turned into particles of light, and a piece of Orichalcum dropped to the ground.
[You have slain all the monsters!]
[Rewards: Mithril x21, Orichalcum x12]
[Points: +30]
All the metals the monsters "dropped" were added to my inventory. The dungeon walls then began to shift away from me. The corridor returned to its original size.
Soon after, I heard voices.
"Hey, did you see that guy? He was running like crazy, like he was in a fight. Do you think he's gone mad?"
"It's better not to talk to him."
'?'
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After resting for a few minutes, I thought about what the other adventurers had said earlier.
"He was running like crazy like he was in a fight…" That's what he said. I understand now. "The system created all of that. But didn't those two adventurers I encountered mention seeing a group of monsters?"
That's when I started hearing more footsteps.
Another group of monsters appeared.
This time, it was a smaller group, no more than 12 monsters. They were all goblins. "So this is the group those two adventurers saw. That massive horde earlier—it was all an illusion created by the system."
But was it an illusion? It felt like I could've died!
"Well, whatever."
I felt a bit tired, but I didn't back down from fighting the group of monsters before me. Feeling confident, I charged at the goblins and started swinging my sword.
The monsters were killed quickly.
Once they were dead, I picked up their magic stones, stuffing my pockets with them.
"Unfortunately, I can't store magic stones in my inventory."
But what should I do now? Should I keep gathering ores, or should I leave the dungeon? Maybe going down to the 3rd floor is a good idea. "I think I can make it to the 4th floor without much trouble, but beyond that, things will get a bit harder."
I'm still level one, so I'm pretty weak.
"What do I need to do to reach level two? Honestly, I have no idea."
I even thought about asking the system for help, but I don't want to become too dependent on it.
The system already makes the forging process way too easy. Suppose it starts helping me level up, too. In that case, I'll become one of those protagonists who rely on the system for everything and can't do anything independently.
And that's never a good idea.
When the system disappears, they become useless.
"I need to get better at forging because the system might vanish in the future. I don't trust some mysterious god who suddenly gave me this system."
I decided to stay on the second floor of the dungeon for a while longer.
As I searched for more ores, I continued killing any monsters I encountered.
After a few hours, I finally left the dungeon.
I gathered a large amount of Mithril and Orichalcum, but I didn't find any other metals. I thought I'd find some iron or something similar, but I only got these two types of ores.
I'm not complaining, though, since Mithril and Orichalcum are good. At least in New World, they were high-level materials.
With my sword dirty and feeling exhausted, I headed home.
When I walked through the house's front door, I came across some members of the Familia. They glanced at me and smiled before walking past and leaving. I'm unsure if it was a mocking smile, but it irritated me slightly.
I went straight to my room.
When I entered, Hephaestus wasn't there.
I took a hot bath, and as soon as I left the bathroom, Hephaestus entered the room. She glanced at the dirty sword in the corner and my filthy clothes.
"You were in the dungeon?" she asked, surprised.
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Read more chapters on my patr eon: patr eon.com/parodygirl
Next chapters: Chapter 27 - Forging with Mithril. / Chapter 28 - Bell? / Chapter 29 - You should get a boyfriend. / Chapter 30 - Forging an armor. / Chapter 31 - Hephaestus' help. / Chapter 32 - Possessive. / Chapter 33 - Don't look. +18 / Chapter 34 - The system that ruins a story.