12 First Floor Shenanigans
Once Riveria had left, I collected some supplies and made my way out of the house, moving toward the dungeon for the first time. I wore light leather armor that allowed for a wide range of mobility, which offered a bit of protection against sharp stabbing attacks like getting bitten or clawed by a monster. The foe-hammer hung at my hip like always. I felt my stomach clench with a bit of nerves as I walked into the show of Babel and made my way to the Adventurer's entrance to the dungeon.
The dim artificial light of torches and candles quickly replaced the bright and warm light of the sun as I walked down a large spiral staircase that led to the first floor of the dungeon. I watched as adventurers constantly flowed in and out of the dungeon. Some coming out were cheerful and happy, while others carried bloody and limp comrades adorned with downtrodden and numb expressions. It was a good reminder that the dungeon is not a game. People die here.
Reaching the entrance to the first floor I steaded myself with a short breath before pushing my way down the first of steps into the dungeon proper. Light blue walls greeted me as I stepped down onto a rough stone floor and looked around at the somewhat cramped confines of the first floor. Various pathways of differing sizes led away from the entrance to the floor. Looking to the biggest, I figured that it was the 'Beginning Road' that most newbie adventurers first take.
Choosing to ignore that path, I drew my blade and strode through one of the smaller paths, almost in the entirely opposite direction of the larger paths. While this path was smaller, it was still big enough for three people to walk abreast comfortably. This may have been a bit foolhardy to forge my own path from the beginning, but I figured that if I struggled with the first few floors of the dungeons, much less the first, with my powers, then I might as well kill myself now out of shame.
I moved through the floor at a relaxed pace. I had been told that the constant tension of knowing you may be attacked at any moment was one of the struggles many faced when in the dungeon. The mental fatigue of constantly being on high alert for hours or days at a time. However, with Magic Sense and Though Acceleration, I didn't need to worry about these two factors, at least in the Upper Floors. I could easily sense a monster coming well before it could ever sneak up on me.
In fact, I used my abilities to sneak attack the monsters. I waited around an abnormally sharp bend in the corner as I felt a group of three goblins approach. The small, green, bulbous-headed monsters didn't even stop to check the corner, walking straight into the thrust of my blade, which pierced the first through the eye. The other two shouted in confusion and rage as the first dropped to the floor, a spasming mess, sword still embedded in its brain.
With a flick of my wrist, I pulled my blade back and dropped into a ready stance. While I was sure they couldn't harm me, it still paid to be cautious when in battle, no matter how likely victory seemed.
As expected, they simply charged me in a rage, arms flailing widely and teeth gnashing loudly. It was unexpected, a bit cute, in a pathetic way. I easily cleaved through the flailing arms of the goblin on the left, then planted my boot into the chest of the second, knocking it to the floor as the delimbed goblin cried out in pain. Its suffering didn't last long as I beheaded it a moment later as the last goblin scrambled to its feet and lunged for my ankle.
I looked down passively as I raised my foot, causing the goblin's arms to grab at the empty air where my foot had been. Next, I did a small hop, raising both feet until my knees touched my chest before stomping down as hard as I could on the monster's head. There was a crunch as my feet sank into an oversized green head, and purple blood squirted from the dead creature's eyes, ears, and nose.
Once the short and uneventful battle was over, I looked down at the bodies and got to work with a sigh. My sword was not the best tool for harvesting stones, but it was all I had. I ended up breaking the first magic stone accidentally when I stabbed a little too roughly into the corpse and shattered the stone. Only then did the goblin's body dissolve into dark smoke and sink back into the dungeon.
I moved on to the next body, except this time, I used my new Extra Skill: Flame manipulation. Unlike the fire magic spells that had seemingly fused to create this skill, activating it was instantaneous and required very little magic. Plus, there was no need to envision any detailed process and no magic circle. That's why skills are considered to be far superior to magic.
I used my skill to conjure two condensed balls of fire in the air beside my head before they blasted into a concentrated beam of fire that vaporized a hole in both the dead goblin's chests. A second later, there was a soft ringing sound as magic crystals met stone after falling a short distance. With their cores gone, both courses disappeared a moment later, allowing me to gather both magic stones from the ground easily. I dropped the stones into my storage, then continued on through the halls of the dungeon.
The next group of monsters I encountered was a small pack of four kobolds that I spotted at the end of a long hallway with a few branches between us that led into the central hallway we were in. I sensed two globins in one of the adjoining hallways and another kobold in another. If I rushed forward, those 'hidden' monsters would pop out into the hallway behind me, so I would have to fight from the front and back.
Luckily, this was the first floor, and unlike later parts of the dungeon, the monsters had no sense of bestial intelligence. Hence, the kobolds just charged down the hallway at a loping pace, passing the hidden alcoves of their companions, who quickly emerged a moment later. That left me facing five kobolds and two goblins charging me down a narrow hallway. I couldn't have asked for a simpler situation to deal with as I raised my blade and condensed a fireball the size of a basketball on the end.
However, before launching the attack, I hesitated. Easy kills would do nothing for my falna, even with my Exponential Growth subskill. So I let the flames dissipate as I covered my blade with my aura instead. That way, I would still be training my magic while dealing with the monsters in a more up-close and personal manner that will gain me more excelia to boost my stats. As the monsters approached, I also studied their movements with my skill, Mathematician.
Once the monsters were on me, I used Predictive Calculation and my speed to dodge their attacks by a hair as I ducked and weaved in amongst the small crowd. Every once in a while, if they began to get too tired to attack me, I would lash out and cleave through an arm, leg, or neck of one of the monsters. Then, to finish the last monster, I let out a wave of flame from my body, which incinerated all the corpses, turning them to ash and freeing the magic stones.
Just as before I slipped the stones into my storage as I moved toward the entrance to the second floor. I had my fun on the first floor and felt that it was time to start moving down toward the more challenging monsters. Along the way, any monsters I encountered were finished at a distance with an Aura Slash, which ripped them apart in one blow more often than not. I collected all the stones as I went, but I didn't pay any attention to the drop items. I doubted they would be worth much, being from the first floor.
With a better idea of what to expect in the dungeon I weaved through the passages of the first floor before I finally found the way down to the second floor. It was located in a fairly unassuming room with only a few goblins poking around within. I didn't even bother with magic or blade, simply beating the goblins down with my fists before moving forward. The last goblin I finished by tossing it down the stairs, sending it speaking and bouncing straight into a group of adventures.
Startled, they all struck at the poor goblin, turning it into a mangled and nearly unrecognizable corpse. Then, they all gave me unreal amounts of side eye as I passed them, heading down to the second floor, but I just shrugged in return and continued my exploration.
