Chapter 7 - Day 3, 3rd floor Encounter (2/2)

“Hee-chul oppa...”

“Huh?”

As the elevator door opened, Su-yeon suddenly blurted out, ”I’ve thought this for a long time but you sure are hard-working.”

“Eh...” I couldn’t reply and waved my hands. Su-yeon also waved at me. The elevator doors closed.

“Hah.” Hard-working. The words weren't wrong. I probably wouldn’t have been able to reach this far without working hard.

Originally, I wouldn’t have been able to solve the problem. But it wasn’t uncommon. It was hardly the first time I had been unable to solve a problem. Maybe the abilities I gained in the dungeon helped.

“It is still insufficient.” I thought back. Su-yeon and Doon-wook’s story. I wasn’t a genius and there were many people superior to me. Even if I did well, I was a long way away from being a genius. There was quite a few people who could do what I could.

Even Su-yeon was outstanding enough to enroll in a science high school for exceptional children. It was the same for the other study group members. Yes, it was still insufficient.

Abilties. More talent was needed.

◎

[Arrived on the 3rd floor.]

Upon my arrival, “Aaaah!” I could hear shouting and running outside of my field of view. It was An Su-hyun. Did he arrive a little earlier because he stepped on the stairs before me? He wouldn’t be running away due to my arrival.

There must be something else; something that terrified An Su-hyun. I had to maintain my vigilance. I could hear footsteps, but they were different from An Su-hyun’s footsteps that had already disappeared. They were a  little slower and lighter.

”Kuoh...” A rattling sound.

Then the owner of the footsteps came into view.

[Lime Goblin (Worker). Type: Ajin (Demi-human). Rank F.]

[A goblin tribe that was defeated above ground and ended up settling in the dungeon. They have their own caste system and magic culture that is different from existing goblins. The body type is bigger than other goblins, but in the case of workers, they have no weapons or magic and low health, so their combat power is very low.]

Certainly, it didn’t match the image of goblins that I had in my head.

It was approximately 160cm tall, with blue skin. There was a bulging stomach and thin arms and legs. If I hadn’t gotten a description, then from its appearance I’d have thought it was more a famished demon from h.e.l.l than a goblin.

If I wasn’t in a corner then I would have run away, but unfortunately I was. No, it wasn’t unfortunate. I raised both fists. I had already put on the gloves before entering the dungeon.

“Come.” It understood my words.

”Kya!” The goblin approached while waving sharp nails. There was no need to flee backwards. I was bigger than the goblin and it had much shorter arms.

I stepped forward, and my fist aimed for its chin.

Bakak!

I felt something breaking as my fist slammed into its jaw. After collapsing and wriggling a few times, the goblin didn’t get up again.

[Punching. LV 2. 116/200]

The goblin was wearing a skirt made of leather. It didn’t seem to have any value but a small pouch was hanging from it.

Jingle.

Two coins with a faded colour emerged. A person’s face was carved on the back and front.

[Tellan Empire Coin (Copper).]

[An imperial coin that still holds value. Made of bronze material. It is commonly used among communities or species within the dungeon.]

I placed the coins in my pocket and started walking. I realized after taking a few steps that there was a change in the dungeon.

On the first and second floors, the dungeon was a ‘cave.’ Although the paths had a certain width, there were stalact.i.tes on the walls. But on this floor, bricks was laid on the outer walls of the caves, despite a significant number of them crumbling.

There were traces of collapsed pillars and arches. There were traces of marks on the walls that used to be pictures. I could see that they weren’t drawn by the same people who built the ruins. The cave murals were unveiled in the areas where the bricks had fallen down.

It was the work of the goblins. The pictures were red like they had been drawn in blood. They were simple pictures reminiscent of ancient civilizations such as Egypt or the Mayans. That's why it was even creepier.

Goblins were creatures that hunted humans and animals, offering the bodies as sacrifices to the evil spirits that they wors.h.i.+pped. ... To be honest, I was a bit scared. It was a dark narrow cave, where there were murals that seemed to be painted in blood on the walls.

“Grrr...”

”Heok!”

Two more goblins popped into my field of view and I jumped with fright.

Bam! Bam!

I punched both of them on the chin and knocked them down. I moved forward with my nerves on edge.

“... I’m scared.”

”Don't worry, Oppa likes games like this...”

I could hear voices ahead. One was An Su-hyun. The other one was... A girl? Both voices were coming this way, so I waited patiently.

”Because the both of us are together... Kyak?!”

”What the!?”

An Su-hyun, who was facing the woman, hurriedly turned his head towards this side. He held the baseball bat in his hands like a club and had a confident expression on his face but… ”Y-you are alive?”

The words involuntarily fell from his mouth. He thought I was dead? All of a sudden, a corner of my mind snapped. My tightly wound nerves erupted.

“Do you know him?”

“Eh... Uh, a friend from Room 405.” He talked as if he knew the woman well, but An Su-hyun was still clutching the baseball bat. I put strength into my fists. I looked at him.

Think carefully. Act rationally, Kim Hee-chul.

”Good to meet you. The three of us should join together.” An Su-hyun subtly ordered. I nodded. I calmed my excited heart as I thought,  I had to move rationally.

As I approached him without any emotional response, An Su-hyun laughed with relief. “Okay. Since there is a woman here, we’ll both protect her from getting hurt...”

Let’s test it. I kicked An Su-hyun’s ankles with my foot. “Ah!!” An Su-hyun flinched and immediately swung his bat. That reaction time was impossible unless he had already decided to hit me in advance.

A normal person would jump after being kicked in the ankle, not swing a bat. He even cursed and didn’t ask why I was doing this. But to be honest, I wanted it to end up like this.

I calmly blocked the bat before he finished his swing. The club and gloves made a sound as they collided with each other.

Pak!

Now it was my turn. I punched An Su-hyun exactly in the centre of his face.

Pak!

It wasn't an emotional judgment. No matter how rationally I thought, the answer was the same: a dog needed to be taught to listen to humans.

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