Thrust!
Dealing with the three Variant Kobolds before him, Isagi was already well-experienced!
First, he absolutely could not let himself be surrounded; he had to find a way to create distance between them, then defeat them one by one!!
And so, in merely the blink of an eye.
The long blade in Isagi's hand pierced through the head of one Variant Kobold, the immense force of the impact sending it flying backward.
Immediately following that.
Isagi retracted his long blade, dodging the monster's sudden twisting bite while simultaneously slashing down again, cleaving its slender body in two.
"One."
The two Variant Kobolds in the distance seemed to only just react, roaring madly as they rushed toward him.
He dodged the pouncing bite of the first one to arrive, spun around to kick it away, and simultaneously slashed his long blade at the second Variant Kobold following close behind.
Combat Art: Full Moon Slash!
A magnificent cold light flashed past, transforming into a bright moon wheel in mid-air.
As it dissipated, the sound of the monster's bisected corpse hitting the ground heavily rang out.
"Two."
Only the last one remained.
Having lost their numerical advantage, this type of monster posed no threat to Isagi.
Isagi carried his blade and walked toward the final Variant Kobold he had just kicked away. In a few clean moves, he dodged its dying lunge and severed its massive head.
The battle ended within half a minute. Isagi quickly took out a small knife, digging quite a few magic stones from their bodies, and also obtaining two exceptionally sharp, fang-like drop items.
"I should be able to take these back and have Cecil forge a shortsword or dagger or something."
Weighing the materials in his hand, he noted that foul pus was still slowly oozing from the inner side of the exceptionally sharp fangs. It looked like they were poisonous—nice, very nice.
He stowed them away, then continued walking deeper into the cavern.
Isagi skillfully dodged cold arrows suddenly shot from the depths of the darkness;
He dealt with an elite Goblin squad that had greatshields and spears in front and stone-throwers in the back;
He handled Kobold assassins wielding dual blades that would suddenly drop from above like giant bats;
And, just like last night, a Goblin stood proudly alone ahead, wearing a blue kendo gi with a pure white cloth band tied around its forehead. Upon seeing him arrive, it bowed solemnly with a serious face, then drew the katana at its waist.
This guy looked a bit different from the one yesterday; it had meticulously groomed gray hair and a beard, looking somewhat like an elderly Goblin.
Hmm...
Three minutes later, he cut it down.
Although he didn't get greedy with his strikes this time, the old Goblin's attacks were indeed much fiercer than the one yesterday.
Isagi took his first sip from the healing gourd since entering the Dungeon today, allowing the wound on his abdomen to stop bleeding and recover at a speed visible to the naked eye, until it was as good as new.
This stuff is really useful. It's much more effective than ordinary recovery potions. I just wonder how it compares to the legendary Elixir that can bring the dead back to life.
It's just a pity that there are currently only three sips available per day; once drunk, it's gone. The recovery effect and number of uses should probably increase after I level up.
The corridor leading to the 2nd Floor was not far ahead.
The scent of somewhat damp earth lingered in his nose. Under the glow of plankton-like fluorescence, walls appearing light blue extended straight forward, reaching the slope at the end.
In front of the corridor, there was a flat, semi-circular chamber where several passages converged.
This wasn't Isagi's first time here.
So, the moment he set foot in the chamber, sure enough—whether up, down, left, or right—the entire Dungeon began to tremble. Although it was only for a brief instant, it was enough to shake one's mind along with it.
And right after this violent tremor, from the ceiling which was originally only three or four meters above the ground, a massive hand suddenly reached out from between the walls!
When the Dungeon spawns monsters, they usually "grow" directly out of the walls or the ground.
Therefore.
When adventurers rest in the Dungeon, they must always pay attention to their surroundings, because it's very likely that while there was nothing around a minute ago, a large number of monsters could appear the next.
And right now, something was condensing into form.
"BOOM"!
A true behemoth fell from the sky, crashing down before the corridor leading to the 2nd Floor.
It was still a Goblin!
However, it was a [Gigantified Goblin]!
But if Isagi had to name it, it should be called a "Goblin Guard"!!
Standing over three meters tall, with a visibly large stomach pouch, the Gigantified Goblin's body was bloated like a balloon. Although it only wore tattered armor that looked like it had been torn from adventurers and pieced together...
It still wrapped itself into a veritable "iron lump."
Holding a great axe and just standing there, its sheer presence was incomparable to the monsters he had defeated before.
That's right.
It was precisely because of this "Goblin Guard" that Isagi had not yet broken through the 1st Floor of the Dungeon.
"Phew..."
Of course, if he ignored it, with his speed, he could probably bypass it and enter the 2nd Floor without much issue.
But Isagi was a traditionalist.
Facing an enemy, one must naturally cut them down fair and square, then march forward over their corpse!
Battle!!
Isagi, choosing to challenge the opponent head-on once again, rushed toward it in the blink of an eye.
The battle was triggered instantly...
...
"!!!"
The roars of monsters and the sounds of violent tremors kept coming from ahead.
"What is happening, Lefiya? And that tremor just now."
"I don't know..."
The Elf girl holding a staff, who should clearly be in the rear guard, was currently walking at the very front of the team. Furthermore, the other companions accompanying her were also crowding together, all wanting to lean forward to see what exactly was causing the commotion not far away.
"What are you afraid of? This is just the 1st Floor."
A Bull-person warrior youth carrying a great axe on his back spoke carelessly from the side.
"Even Level 1 adventurers can handle this easily. We are almost all Level 2. Some expedition teams from average Familias are only at this level, right?"
"Badain, it was you and Nathan who secretly wanted to run off..."
"Relax, Teacher won't scold us. Besides, we finally made it to Orario; how could we not come to the Dungeon to play? Don't you guys want to see the adventurer town built inside the Dungeon on the 18th Floor?"
"Ugh..."
These young students from the [School District], harboring intense curiosity, had decided to launch a small "expedition" into the Dungeon.
However...
"It's just ahead! The passage to the 2nd Floor!!"
"For real? You didn't get the path wrong, did you? We walked the wrong way earlier and ended up wandering around here for ages."
"I just remembered it wrong before..."
"Tch, on the way here you said you'd explored the upper floors many times, yet you got lost on the 1st Floor."
"You guys were just the same!"
The overly energetic students clamored noisily until, after passing through the not-so-dark passage, they finally saw the downward-extending slope not far away, and...
"What is that?!"
The "Goblin Guard" appearing before the students' eyes, with its massive form clad in iron armor, momentarily stunned everyone.
And what was even more unbelievable.
Walking at the front, the Elf girl Lefiya recognized the boy fighting it at a single glance.
It was him!
"The big brother who sells fried potato balls!!"
___
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