Dungeon – Floor 3
After a short rest, we continued onward toward the final floor—the boss room.
As we walked, more and more monsters started coming our way. Maybe it was because we were close to the core... and no one had ever made it this far before.
"Oh... six goblins at once," I muttered, waiting for them to come to me.
The three in front charged first, leaping straight at me.
"Huh... why do they always do the same thing?" I sighed, then swung my sword in a wide horizontal arc.
Just as they entered my range—slash—three down.
The fourth one came in with a high jump, aiming right for my face.
As it neared, I stepped in and slammed my shield upward, catching it squarely under the chin.
Crack! The goblin went flying, tumbling backward through the air and landing with a harsh bounce.
The fifth one came at me, charging with a blunt dagger raised in its hand.
Before the weapon could even reach me, I swung my sword in another horizontal slash.
A clean hit—he dropped instantly.
And the sixth?
I glanced over just in time to see him rushing toward Ranya... but by the time I focused, the goblin was already collapsing with his throat slit, blood trailing through the air behind her blade.
I took a breath and activated my rune magic—[Mana Sight], a technique I'd learned from Lilith.
Even now, I couldn't help but be amazed. I watched as the dead goblins' mana slowly evaporated, their essence fading into the air like glowing mist.
Half of the goblin's mana evaporated into the air… but the other half drifted toward Ranya, slowly seeping into her body like shimmering threads of light.
"Gifted, huh..." I muttered, watching the remains of the goblin I had just defeated.
With a sigh, I observed its mana dissipating. About seven-eighths of it evaporated into nothingness—only a faint fraction, maybe one-eighth, entered my body.
Ranya, hearing my words, glanced back and asked,
"What is it, Prince?"
I looked at her with interest and said,
"After defeating that goblin just now… did you feel anything?"
She tilted her head slightly, then shook it.
"No. Nothing."
"I see..." I replied, half to myself.
With that, we continued walking—heading straight for the boss room.
Lower Boss Gate
As we stood before the gate, its ornate design caught my eye—it looked more like the entrance to a luxurious mansion than a dungeon boss room.
Staring at it, I asked a dumb question,
"Can we take it home? This door's design is too good to leave behind…"
Ranya let out a tired sigh, holding her forehead.
"Just try it."
Taking her words literally, I walked up to the wall beside the gate and stabbed it with my sword—hard.
Clang.
"...Hard. Not even a scratch," I muttered, sighing in defeat.
Seeing me sulking, Ranya gave me a look and said,
"Done messing around?"
She placed a hand on the gate and added,
"Let's go in."
"Okay…" I replied in a tone of pure resignation.
As we stepped inside, six goblins were already waiting for us.
One stood at the center—clearly the leader. A Goblin General, clad in crude armor with a sturdy shield and a one-handed sword.
Flanking him were four Goblin Soldiers, all similarly armed with worn-down swords and dented armor. Behind them, a lone Goblin Sorcerer stood, clutching a crooked staff and muttering something under his breath.
From behind me, Ranya spoke calmly,
"Need help?"
I smirked and spun my sword once in my right hand.
"No. This seems like an interesting exercise."
The Goblin General let out a guttural cry—
"Huaaaaa!"
—drawing his sword and pointing it at me.
At his signal, the four goblin soldiers charged.
Two of them came at me from opposite sides, trying to flank me.
"Perfect… a chance," I muttered with a grin, dashing to the left.
I intercepted the goblin's swing with a sharp parry, then leaned forward. My blade flashed toward his neck—
Slash!
—cleanly piercing through.
After taking down the first, I swung my sword to the right in a horizontal arc as I turned my body.
Clang!
My blade clashed with the second goblin's weapon.
As I pulled my sword back, I raised my shield in front, settling into a defensive stance.
The second goblin staggered and collapsed—but he wasn't finished yet.
Just as expected, the third goblin charged in, lifting his sword overhead for a downward slash.
As he stepped into range, I slammed my shield upward—
Slam!
His sword bounced off from the impact, throwing him off balance.
I thrust my blade forward and—slash!—pierced his neck cleanly.
Just as the fourth goblin moved in from behind the one I had just killed, I drew my sword back and kicked the corpse forward—knocking it into his path.
At the same time, the second goblin—the one I had clashed with earlier—was just starting to rise to his feet.
I didn't give him the chance.
With a swift horizontal slash, I swept my blade across his exposed side—
Slash!
—cutting him down before he could react.
Three down.
With no goblins left near me, the Goblin General let out a low grunt.
"Huh…"
I looked up—
A glowing fireball was already forming in the air right in front of me.
Damn...
He's been preparing a spell this whole time!
I ducked low and sprinted forward, dashing toward the last goblin soldier—the one still struggling beneath the weight of a fallen comrade.
He hadn't even noticed me yet.
As he tried to push his friend's body off, I brought my sword down in a clean slash—
Slash!
The blade cut deep before he could react.
Four down.
As I sprinted toward him, the Goblin General steadied his stance, holding his shield at the ready.
Looks like he's about to use a skill… I thought, narrowing my eyes.
Sure enough, just as I closed the distance and searched for an opening, he activated it—
[Shield Bash]
I leapt instinctively.
He aimed the bash upward, trying to catch me mid-air—
Now's my chance.
Grabbing the front edge of his shield mid-flip, I twisted my body upside down into a backflip over him.
With my sword drawn to the right, I slashed quickly and cleanly to the left—
Slash!
—my blade slicing across his neck mid-air.
The Goblin General staggered—then dropped.
With the Goblin General down, only the sorcerer remained.
As I landed and flipped back to my feet, I saw him standing just behind the fallen general—frozen, without another spell prepared.
Easy.
I dashed forward and cut him down in a single, clean strike.
From behind me, I heard Renya's voice, casual as ever.
"Heh... that was pretty fast, Prince."
I ignored her comment and walked past the bodies.
"Now," I said, heading toward the glowing chest that appeared after the battle, "let's see what kind of loot we got."
Inside the chest were:
- Goblin General's Sword
- Goblin General's Shield
- Iron Ingot
- Goblin Staff
- Magic Core Middle Grade Medium quality
As I looked over the loot, my eyes landed on the mid-high quality magic core.
A grin crept onto my face.
"Looks like it's time for me to make an RC Digger," I muttered, still holding the core up to the light.
Renya raised an eyebrow behind me, but said nothing—probably already used to my strange ideas.