"First, what's needed is to completely eliminate redundant targets."
As his first time fighting multiple goblins alone, understanding their characteristics in one-on-one combat was crucial.
Bell didn't consider himself strong enough to slice through a goblin's neck with just a knife.
"As long as the weapon is sharp enough, any monster will die if struck."
This wasn't his own strength—it was the weapon's.
Bell immediately stepped forward and charged at the scattered goblins.
The goblin lurking in the shadows noticed and instantly rushed at Bell with its dagger. Low-level dungeon monsters lacked intelligence, but fighting in a pack required no wisdom—only instinct.
As he ran, Bell quickly identified the slowest goblin and pulled two short knives from his four-dimensional space. He aimed at the sluggish creature and hurled them. Bell wasn't particularly skilled at knife-throwing, so he relied purely on brute force.
Luckily, Bell had chosen the slowest goblin. Its speed was lacking, and its agility was poor. Against the knives Bell threw with raw strength, it could only attempt to block.
"Clang!"
"Shhk!"
The goblin instinctively deflected the first knife aimed at its head, but the second, slower blade sank into its leg. The two sounds came in quick succession, matching the knives' trajectories.
"Gyaaa!"
The wounded goblin screeched, turquoise blood dripping from its leg. Since the injury wasn't fatal, it didn't turn to black ash but instead glared at Bell with bloodshot eyes.
"Success."
Bell, still mid-charge, suddenly halted. He raised his right hand toward the four remaining goblins, and a fruit tree from his four-dimensional space materialized mid-air.
Gravity didn't allow the tree to hover. The massive fruit tree—large enough to require three people to carry—crashed down onto the goblins with crushing force.
The four charging goblins sensed the danger and instinctively tried to leap aside. But the tree fell too fast. Two, their reactions slightly delayed, were crushed beneath it.
Bell felt the impact through the ground. Ignoring the pinned goblins, he vaulted onto the tree trunk. Another knife appeared in his hand, his target now the goblin with the blade still lodged in its leg.
Bell pushed off the trunk, his descent accelerating his speed further.
The injured goblin, acting on instinct, tried to pull the knife from its leg.
But before it could, the sudden movement redirected its attention.
Especially when it saw the human it had been hunting now charging straight at it.
The goblin immediately raised its dagger and stabbed toward Bell.
Bell, already prepared, locked onto its movements. He blocked with his own knife while subtly shifting his weight left mid-sprint.
"Crack!"
The knife in Bell's hand shattered instantly under the impact.
A jolt of tremendous force traveled up his arm, surprising him slightly.
Had he not adjusted his stance beforehand, the blow might have broken his hand outright.
"Small stature, adept at hiding in shadows, and freakishly strong. Is this what goblins born in the shallowest dungeon floors are like?"
If Bell hadn't trained his physique, that single strike could have crippled his hand. It also drove home a realization: just because a basic knife could kill first-floor goblins didn't mean they were weak.
Their speed was nothing to scoff at, and their strength was terrifying.Their only weakness was their frail bodies. But that fragility was precisely why they were monsters Lv.1 adventurers could handle.
"A sharp weapon is non-negotiable against these things."
At that moment, Bell understood why adventurers invested so heavily in gear. Against dungeon monsters, lacking proper weaponry meant instant disadvantage.
Bell swiftly drew a goblin dagger from his four-dimensional space. Before the creature could react, he slashed across its throat.
"Shhk!"
Turquoise blood arced through the air, splattering Bell's face. He felt no burning or odd sensations—apparently, goblin blood wasn't corrosive.
"So this is the general state of first-floor goblins."
The decapitated goblin dissolved into black ash, reabsorbed by the dungeon. A goblin dagger and a small magic stone clattered to the ground.
The drop rate surprised Bell, but he didn't dwell on it. Stashing the loot, he turned and recalled the fruit tree into his four-dimensional space.
That's when he noticed: anything stored in the four-dimensional space was marked. Marked items could be retrieved. Whether there was a range limit required further testing.
With the tree secured, Bell drew two goblin daggers. He hurled them at the remaining goblin still struggling to rise.
Simultaneously, he noted one goblin had dodged the tree, while the other remained facedown on the ground.
"Perfect opening!"
The reclaimed dagger reappeared in Bell's grip as he sprinted. In under a second, he closed the distance to the prone goblin just as it tried to stand.
"Shhk!"
The instant the goblin lifted its head, Bell's blade slit its throat. Blood sprayed, but Bell didn't pause. With a glance at the last standing goblin, he lunged forward.
"Gyaaa!"
The final goblin roared in fury at its kin's deaths. Gripping its dagger two-handed, it charged Bell head-on.
Bell narrowed his eyes and accelerated. His dagger was ready, his balance subtly shifting.
As they clashed, Bell twisted his weight—but the goblin unexpectedly adjusted mid-strike, switching to a one-handed slash aimed at Bell's torso.
---
"Really."
Bell allowed a faint smile to cross his face. This time he didn't shift his center of gravity to the left, but rather diagonally back-left. The goblin's dagger whistled harmlessly past his side, not even grazing his cloak.
Not giving the goblin time to recover, Bell's already-prepared knife slashed straight across its throat. While the strike didn't decapitate the creature, the wound was instantly fatal.
All five goblins had been eliminated.
Bell collected five goblin daggers and five small magic stones.
"This drop rate is absurdly high, isn't it? Are monster drops normally this generous?"
Even without having finished that anime, Bell knew monster drop rates weren't supposed to be this favorable. Getting magic stones consistently from basic monsters was already unlikely enough, let alone equipment drops.
Yet what should have been miniscule odds had somehow become 100% for him - something was definitely strange.
No matter how Bell analyzed it, he could only attribute it to luck. After all, the dungeon monsters weren't under anyone's control. Even if they were, why would they be programmed to drop items specifically for him? Bell refused to believe drops could be manipulated.
"Must just be luck."
Bell shook his head and dismissed the thought.
In reality, the abnormal drop rate didn't matter much.
As long as no suspicious individuals took notice, no one would realize anything was unusual.
Besides, Bell had no intention of joining any adventuring parties in the future.
This was a dungeon, after all - no place for naive idealism.
The saying "party members are often scammers"was deeply ingrained in Bell's worldview. Unlike the noble protagonist from the original story who could blindly trust strangers at his back, Bell knew better. In a world where people's hearts could be more dangerous than monsters, "teammates" were the last people he'd ever trust.
"I need to remain cautious and buy time to grow stronger before revealing anything."
To maintain his informational advantage, Bell planned to avoid attention for as long as possible.
Even if circumstances eventually forced him to expose some of his capabilities, it would only be after he'd built up sufficient strength.
For now, keeping secrets was paramount.
"These goblins don't act like mindless creatures at all. They adapt to tactics after seeing them just once. Were they Saints in a past life or something?"
"Regardless of any Saint Seiya comparisons, calling these monsters unintelligent is clearly wrong.
Would creatures without intelligence immediately counterattack after seeing a trick? If I hadn't been extra careful just now, that last strike would have hit me.
Annoying."
Bell now seriously doubted the guild's claims about monster intelligence. A single goblin encounter had revealed multiple flaws in that assumption. Mindless beasts wouldn't display such tactical adaptation.
Frowning at the guild guidebook in his hand, Bell noted several inconsistencies. If the basic information about goblins was this inaccurate, how much could he trust the rest? This warranted further investigation.
Suddenly, multiple footsteps echoed nearby. Bell shelved his thoughts and stashed the magic stones and goblin daggers into his four-dimensional space. Philosophical musings could wait until he confirmed the area was secure.
"Goblin combat data compiled. Average speed and agility, extremely low defense. Vulnerable to normal weapons, but possess surprising strength."
"However, avoiding direct clashes negates their strength advantage. Given their movement patterns, a skilled hunter could farm them efficiently with proper positioning."
"Next step: expand operations on this floor."
Bell attuned his senses to the dungeon's ambient sounds. After the earlier battle, he noticed his hearing and smell had sharpened noticeably. While he couldn't track monsters by scent alone, his enhanced hearing could detect nearby movement.
The approaching footsteps matched goblin patterns. Time for another hunt.
"Enough speculation. First priority is hitting today's valis quota. Then comes steady growth."
Most adventurers considered the first dungeon floor a waste of time.
Since it only spawned goblins that rarely dropped anything beyond magic stones (and even those weren't guaranteed), veterans quickly moved deeper.
But Bell was different. With his abnormal drop rates yielding both magic stones and quality daggers, farming the first floor made perfect sense. Better to build resources here than risk the second floor unprepared.
And so he had.
Entering at dawn, Bell only emerged as evening shadows lengthened.
Before exiting, he carefully pulled up his hood. While this made him look somewhat suspicious, most observers quickly dismissed him after noting his lack of gear - just another clueless rookie trying too hard to appear mysterious.
Bell headed straight for the Guild. The magic stones needed processing, and the surplus goblin daggers could be sold.
Twenty daggers would suffice for personal use.
The upper floors' weaker monsters shouldn't require better equipment.
If he encountered something beyond a goblin dagger's capabilities, retreat would be the only sane option.
"Hope Eina's still at the counter."
Bell quickened his pace. Before nightfall, he needed to report his safety to Hestia.The stone appraisal and sales process always took longer than expected.
The Guild's operating hours were more extensive than Bell had imagined - from 9 AM to 7 PM daily.
Thankfully, the work wasn't particularly strenuous despite the long hours.
Staff worked in shifts, so sometimes counters were unmanned.
But today, luck was on Bell's side.
---