Chapter 18
The goblins were playing pranks on each other, tapping shields and shaking their heads, appearing quite friendly.
“Krruk.”
“Kekek.”
Taesan watched them expressionlessly.
If it were just a single goblin, it wouldn’t pose a problem.
In Easy Mode, they were common monsters on the 10th floor, fairly weak.
In terms of sheer strength, the 1st floor’s boss, the Giant Rat, was much stronger.
However, what sets goblins apart from other monsters is their semblance of intelligence.
They work together, set traps, and hunt in packs, becoming stronger in groups.
This advantage allowed them to appear in both the middle and upper layers.
There were four goblins in the room.
In Easy Mode, such a number wouldn’t appear until beyond the 20th floor.
Moreover, in Easy Mode, each could be handled by a different player.
Here, Taesan was alone.
Taesan knew this fact and had prepared accordingly. He assessed the goblins’ armaments.
Two of them were equipped with long swords. To the goblins, they seemed long, but for Taesan, they would be more akin to short swords.
Another had a shield and a dagger, with the shield barely covering its upper body.
The last goblin held a bow, likely to provide cover from the back. Their clothing was thin leather, barely covering their modesty, with an armor value of 1 or 2 at most.
Having assessed their equipment, Taesan planned his approach and mentally prepared his tactics.
After finishing his assessment, Taesan kicked open the door.
Boom!
“Kak!”
“Kieek!”
The sudden intrusion startled the goblins, but only for a moment. Their eyes filled with murderous intent, the previous playful demeanor gone, replaced by deadly monsters.
Taesan immediately pulled out his bow and fitted it with a paralysis arrow. He drew the string and released.
Thwack.
“Kieek!”
[The bow-wielding goblin takes 10 damage.] [The target is paralyzed. It cannot move until it is hit again or 30 seconds pass.] Unlike the Giant Rat, these regular monsters had a longer paralysis duration.
Taesan took out another paralysis arrow.
As the goblins screamed and charged at him, it was a situation ripe for panic, but Taesan remained unshaken and pulled the bowstring.
[Calm proficiency increased by 1%.] The arrow flew, piercing the arm of a sword-wielding goblin.
“Kik, kiek.”
The goblin trembled and stopped, its eyes darting around. Two were incapacitated, leaving the sword-wielding and shield-bearing goblins.
They had already closed the distance. There was no time for arrows. The shield-bearing goblin swung its dagger at Taesan.
Taesan swiftly stowed his bow and drew out his tower shield. He dodged the dagger and pushed with the shield.
Thud!
“Kaak!”
The shield-bearing goblin was sent flying. The difference in shield size was overwhelming, and Taesan had the upper hand in strength. In a head-on clash, victory was his.
[The shield-bearing goblin takes 3 damage.] But with the goblin also blocking with its shield, the damage was minimal. Remembering goblins had health around 40 to 50, pushing them to death was practically impossible.
“Karuk!”
The sword-wielding goblin attacked.
Clash!
The tower shield resisted. The damage was manageable. Taesan contracted his body then exploded forward, hitting the goblin.
[The sword-wielding goblin takes 8 damage.] “Kaak!”
The goblin flew away. Taesan quickly switched the tower shield back into his inventory and drew a rusty sword, charging at the shield-bearing goblin.
Despite its attempts to defend with the shield, Taesan’s strength prevailed. The shield was pulled away, exposing the goblin. Taesan swung the rusty sword.
[The shield-bearing goblin takes 9 damage.] [The shield-bearing goblin takes 8 damage.] “Kiek…”
The goblin slumped.
[You have defeated the shield-bearing goblin.] Two down. Two remained, but one was ablaze and writhing on the ground, effectively leaving just one.
“Kik, kiek.”
[The sword-wielding goblin is intimidated by you. Its actions are restricted.] The sword-wielding goblin retreated with a fearful expression. As Taesan advanced, it gritted its teeth and swung its sword. Taesan deflected the blade and struck its neck.
[The sword-wielding goblin takes 9 damage.] “Keek!”
He dodged again and struck the neck.
[The sword-wielding goblin takes 9 damage.] [You have defeated the sword-wielding goblin.] Only one remained.
Taesan approached the goblin still aflame and screaming.
“Kieek…”
With its dying scream, the goblin transformed into rewards.
[You have defeated the bow-wielding goblin.] Victory. Taesan wiped the sweat from his brow and sat down. He pressed his muscles all over, beginning to relax.
“Not bad.”
It wasn’t easy. He used two paralysis arrows and consumed some health, but it wasn’t life-threatening.
His health and mana were substantially depleted, but victory rewards replenished them, and aside from Breathless Assault and Fireball, he didn’t use any other skills. The progression was smoother than anticipated.
As he advanced, the number of goblins and the quality of their equipment would improve, but with the gains from Spirit Ascension, the difficulty shouldn’t be too high.
Taesan started to check his rewards. He hadn’t leveled up yet. Judging by the experience points, clearing one more room should do it.
[Your Spirit Ascension has been activated. Intelligence permanently increases by 1.] “Simple enough.”
The same message appeared four times. Taesan muttered to himself at the uniform system window.
Still, the increase in intelligence was welcome. It added bonuses to various mental checks and reduced mana consumption. With more skill usage ahead, intelligence was a crucial stat.
Skill proficiencies also steadily increased, with some skills undergoing changes.
[Special Always-Activated Skill: Expanded Vision] [Proficiency: 20%] [Grants a wide field of vision, slightly beyond human capability.] Changes usually start around the 20% mark.
Expanded Vision now included content about being slightly beyond human capability.
Indeed, Taesan could see perfectly well up to 270 degrees around him, even perceiving slightly beyond obstructions.
It was a positive change.
Insight also saw changes.
[Special Always-Activated Skill: Insight] [Proficiency: 24%] [Allows the perception of many things. It appears to identify weaknesses in creatures and might find hidden rooms. Occasionally provides critically important information.] “Good.”
Taesan murmured softly. The change in Expanded Vision was nice, but this was even better.
Occasionally provides critically important information.
That single sentence held immense value here in the labyrinth, effectively drawing luck artificially. Given its activation condition, it had a value comparable to Endure.
The slow rise in Insight’s proficiency meant Taesan initially thought it would be around the 5th floor before obtaining it, but it happened much quicker—a welcome miscalculation.
Next were the items.
Goblins didn’t drop meat or skin but had a chance to drop the equipment they wore.
A small sword and shield lay before Taesan.
“Time to switch one out.”
Equipment changes with each floor progression. Taesan began his inspection.
