Seeker 3

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Chapter 3. My First Dungeon Exploration (1)

The entrance to the dungeon is a gaping cave on the bank of a river.

I showed my temporary license to the staff at the administration hut in front of the entrance. And then I stepped into the cave.

After a short distance, I came to a place where a glowing magic circle was painted on the ground.

This is where the cave ends.

I step into the magic circle.

As I stood in the middle of the magic circle, the pattern on the back of my right hand glowed, and bright white light enveloped my vision.

A moment later, I was in an unknown place.

It looks like the inside of a cave, but it is a bit magical, with the walls all around me emitting a gentle light.

The place I am in is about the size of a small conference room.

Looking at the ground behind me, I saw the glowing magic circle.

I thought it must be a dungeon exit, but to be sure, I stepped on it again and went back and forth.

It worked as expected.

Now, I have confirmed the exit.

Let the dungeon search begin again.

There are three paths leading from the room.

The front left, and right sides of the room all seem to lead to a cave passageway.

"Okay. Let's go."

Strangely enough, I have no fear.

They say that the Seeker can lose their life, but they're in a calm state of mind and let it go at that moment.

That may be another effect of being a seeker.

Not knowing which path was the right one, I decided to take the front path.

The cave meanders along slowly.

"...... Long. I mean, nothing is happening."

I walked for about ten minutes, but nothing happened.

After another ten minutes of walking, I came to a crossroads.

Not wanting to get lost, I decided to keep going straight.

After a few more minutes of walking, I came to a three-way intersection in the shape of the letter "T (ト)".

We decided to continue straight.

It was about time I had gone far enough.

I saw "something" rushing toward me from the front of the cave.

It was humanoid and small in stature.

Their head resembled that of a ferocious dog, eyes glowed red, and saliva dripped from their mouth.

In their hand was a crude knife.

One of them came at me.

I felt the spear in my right hand and charged at it.

It must be the first-tier monster Kobold that the old man at the armory had mentioned.

"Take this!"

I watch the timing of when the attacker comes within range, and thrust my spear out vigorously.

The monster screamed.

The spear pierced the monster's chest.

When I pull out the spear, instead of blood coming out from the pierced part, something like a black mist leaked.

Kobold staggers but does not fall.

It leaps at me and closes the gap again.

I thrust out my spear for another blow.

This time, however, it evades my spear by quickly leaping to the side, as if it had anticipated my attack.

"Damn ......!"

I barely dodge the knife that Kobold thrusts out at me.

I hit it with an elbow drop when it lost its balance by leaning forward and stabbed it again with a spear where it fell.

That seemed to be the final blow, and the whole body of the dog-faced monster turned into a black mist and disappeared.

Somehow, the knife in its hand also disappeared in the same way.

A jewel, a mixture of black and purple, lay in its wake.

It seems that monsters are different from ordinary living creatures - in other words, they are defined as 'non-living creatures'.

There may be some ethical considerations on the human side that made it so. But monsters do things that were inconceivable from the common sense of living creatures, so the definition of 'non-living creatures' is probably not entirely wrong.

"Hah, hah ...... phew. I guess I managed to win."

I pick up the jewelry and put it in my wallet.

The jewelry is about the size of the tip of your pinky finger.

This gemstone is called a Magic Stone.

If I bring it home, I can buy it for some price at a "Cash Exchange".

According to what I was told in the course, a Kobold magic stone costs 400 yen per piece.

Strictly speaking, 10% of withholding income tax is deducted from that amount, and the take-home pay before tax refund is 360 yen.

It is a bit harsh to be paid 360 yen for fighting for your life, but there is no point in complaining about it.

When I checked my status, the <Experience> column had changed from (0/10) to (4/10).

I hope to see more of this in the future.

"Good. Let's keep going at this rate."

I decided to continue onward.