NOVEL NEXT Chapter 60
“Oh, this dungeon gives off a taxi vibe, doesn’t it?”
Feels like a taxi that would send a person to the river Jordan express, making you want to search for a reset button—this is the atmosphere of the dungeon.
I know the monsters in this dungeon.
“Good thing I don’t have a fur allergy.”
Fur balls here, fur balls there. A bit ferociously looking fluff balls surrounded me, giving me wary looks. The fluff balls, slightly bigger than goblins and smaller than orcs, made whining noises as if trying to assess the situation while glancing at each other. Can they communicate like that?
Well, dogs bark to communicate, so there’s no way kobolds can’t talk. I plunged my shovel blade into the ground and waited until all the kobolds showed themselves. My target is the leader. By the time I could sing a song or two, the kobolds seemed to reach a conclusion, and the leader, who looked somewhat important, finally revealed itself.
Maybe trying to look cool, the leader wore a skull on its head and brandished a staff towards me, letting out an incomprehensible screech.
“!@#$!!”
What is it saying?
Since I have a translation skill, can’t it at least tell me what the monster is saying? Every time it screeches like that, I’m left wondering. It’s probably just insults anyway. Before the kobolds could attack, I muttered the name of my skill in a low voice.
“Crafting.”
Sharp spikes shot up into a barricade around me. Naturally, chaos ensued. With whimpering sounds, the bloodied monsters fell. Ignoring the fleeing kobolds, I focused on the one that appeared to be the leader.
The leader kobold seemed startled by my counterattack and began shouting at the other kobolds. At least that’s what it looked like to me. However, the kobolds just stared at each other, glancing back and forth between me and the leader.
It seemed even monsters didn’t want to jump into danger recklessly. I reinforced the barricade with my skill and rummaged through my bag.
“!@(#ㅕ!#$(!!”
“I’m not in the mood for fighting those infected with rabies.”
Yellow would be good. I pulled out a pouch filled with paralysis powder from my bag. It was an item I acquired in the back alley of Lorelei. While it wasn’t much, no need to waste effort. I sprinkled the powder around and swung my shovel wide. The powder wafted through the air. I equipped the mask I had prepared earlier.
It was an antibacterial mask made from hydra leather—just my handmade creation.
“!@#*&!#$!?”
The kobolds around me collapsed, their eyes glazed. I slowly walked toward the leader, keeping my eyes on it while stepping over the fallen kobolds. The leader, now deprived of its minions, appeared frightened as it turned away from me. But there’s no way I’m letting my prey escape.
“Crafting.”
I erected a wall in the leader’s only escape route. With its only exit blocked, the leader screeched and charged at me. But I’ve lived for ten years with monsters that couldn’t even scratch me, no matter how they attacked. This level of resistance meant nothing.
The kobold, in its last-ditch effort, was whacked with my shovel until its skull crumbled. It better not have died yet! I grabbed the leader kobold by its scruff and shook it. After a few shakes, the leader finally came to its senses and looked at me with horror.
‘!@*!&#!!”
“Hey, do you know anything about treasure? Or about the one hiding back there?”
“!(@#???”
“Crafting.”
I roughly shaped a universal treasure box out of dirt and pointed my shovel at it. The leader seemed to understand my deeper intent and nodded furiously, wagging its tail. Its desperate attempt to survive was tear-jerking. I secured it with a rope I brought along, tying it as my day-one pet.
“From today, we’re a team.”
“Woof?”
Can’t say it’s not a dog. The kobold looked at me, tilting its head just like a real dog as I strapped it over my shoulder and plunged my shovel into the ground.
“Crafting.”
—————-
While exploring the deserted island’s dungeon, I realized something.
Why bother searching for stairs when I can just dig through? If I can create shortcuts with my skill, I could take it easy, right? Why do I even have to bother exploring?
Of course, it’s better to wander around to gather materials from monsters or mine useful ores scattered in corners, but skipping the dungeon clear rewards and absconding seems the most efficient, right?
Safe, fast, with guaranteed risk-to-reward ratios.
So, I kept creating spiral stairs I had made as a hobby on the deserted island and descended vertically through the dungeon. As expected of a dungeon filled with kobolds, it was noisy every time I went down, but I silenced them with my skill. It didn’t take long to reach the final floor. A couple of taps on the back of my head, but nothing major.
Is someone cursing me?
After descending five floors, I found myself facing a gigantic door.
It was the same type of door I had seen in a dungeon on the deserted island. Seeing the eerily similar door brought back memories of my island ordeal. It wouldn’t unleash tentacle creatures here too, would it? According to what I knew, the boss of this ‘Kobold’ tomb would be…
“Woof!”
“Why? Scared again?”
How did this coward become a leader? I gently set down the whimpering kobold and approached the door. The gigantic door looked like it wouldn’t budge even if a giant pushed it, but it opened as easily as any regular door.
I opened it just enough for my head to squeeze through and lifted the kobold by its scruff.
“Time to work.”
“Eee…”
As soon as I shoved the kobold through the crack, it played the role of a danger detection radar like a champ during the descent to the fifth floor.
“Woof!”
Seeing its tail wagging, it seemed that the dungeon boss was just like a game. Every time it spotted its kin as we descended, its tail wagged with hope, so my guess was highly likely accurate. I kicked the door open and stepped into the boss room.
“!*@(&ㅕ()#$!!!!”
What was this guy’s name again? Let’s just call it the kobold general for now. Anyway, the kobold general screeched at me while swinging a massive bone like a club. Each time its feet hit the ground, it reverberated ominously like thunder.
Couldn’t you turn on the lights before entering?
“Doggy, it was fun so far.”
“Woof?!”
It was a good doggy.
I offered my condolences for the one’s demise who had turned into minced dog meat after being clubbed by the kobold general. I should have given it a nicer name. But it did its part, so it’ll go to a good place. I’m not sure if heaven exists for real, though.
“!@(&#!&(!!!”
So, the poison smeared on doggy fur and the food it was force-fed had been sprinkled all over the kobold general’s body. Being a boss-level monster, it probably had some resistance to poison, but it should be effective to some degree. Hearing the kobold general’s confused wails, I immediately activated my skill.
“Crafting.”
Sharp spikes erupted from the ground, piercing through the kobold general’s feet. Paralyzed by sudden pain, the kobold general couldn’t move and cried out in agony.
“Crafting. Crafting. Crafting. Crafting. Crafting.”
This was the perfect opportunity to attack while it was helpless. I created a sharp pillar and relentlessly stabbed it into the kobold general’s body. Its feet, thighs, palms, waist, ankles… the kobold general, deprived of its freedom, slumped down. The area around us was already soaked in a crimson pool of blood.
Finally, I used my skill to slam the pillar down onto the kobold general’s head. The head shattered, and a key dropped out.
“…Clear.”
I picked up the key that had fallen from the kobold general’s corpse.
Had this been a game, I might have set a speedrun record. There likely wasn’t anyone who could pull off digs like this in the dungeon. Players adept at bizarre movements akin to bunny hops might be faster, but…
That’s done.
Shall we open the treasure chest now?
I carefully approached the treasure chest. It could be a mimic if I’m unlucky, but treasures that can be opened after defeating the dungeon boss are almost never mimics, so it should be safe. I inserted the key into the lock and turned it. The treasure chest opened easily, revealing its insides.
Ultimately, since it was a beginner dungeon, the contents weren’t particularly valuable, but if I wiped this place clean along with the surrounding dungeons, I could earn enough for tuition. Let’s quickly gather it all and move to the next dungeon…
“Oh…”
Huh?
“I discovered a dungeon and decided to drop by, but what a delightful sight I’m getting! How about partnering up? Let’s share equally!”
…Why is this guy popping up here?
A woman clad in an array of tools reached out to me. I didn’t take her hand but instead observed her twitching ears and her swaying tail.
Cat Beastkin?
No, why is she here?
Does random encounters work in this supposed game world too?
“Well, how about 60-40? A fair proposal, right?”
Faced with this absurd proposal, I answered curtly.
“Crafting.”
“Gyaah!”