Earth Dungeon 3.1

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Chapter 3.1. Goblin

I continue walking in the dark. Even in the darkness, I'm used to it. So I can see around to some extent and don't have that much trouble walking.

The old me arrived at my destination in a good mood, wearing a jet-black robe, and I thought, I was cool. Rather than being cool, it was suspicious, but I didn't care about that.

The place was a vacant lot with no houses. The place is used as a field, and vegetables are growing there. It is May now, so the harvest will probably still be in several months.

There's a wooden fence built to prevent monsters from attacking the land, but it's broken in some places, and there are stains on the soil. It seems to be useless.

A short distance away from the fields. There's a forest, and at the far end of the forest. There're piles of dirt. And one of the piles of soil has a large hole in it. It is a dungeon.

The soil around the dungeon is fertile. There is no continuous crop failure,  if it gets contaminated with poison, it will be decontaminated and become ordinary land.

If only one ignores the appearance of demons. There are places in the inner city that are growing fields around the dungeon, but in the first place, the old me has never entered the inner city. There is an ID card there. With my occupation 'A hard-boiled old man'. I don't think they will let me in.

There's a drum next to the field, and a bonfire is burning with crackling sparks. The leather-clad thugs hanging out next to it were standing absent-mindedly and holding wooden sticks with knives tied to them.

"Master Sakimori! You have come well. We have been expecting you."

I only nodded back at the thug-like man is probably the group leader. He must have been anxious. If they were made to watch at night. They could get eaten by monsters at any time.

"Well then, we'll be leaving now. I'll leave you to it."

The thugs were about to leave without saying a word.

"Hey, wait a minute, you're going to let a guy who looks like a bean sprout exterminate monsters? Then why don't we take down the demon ourselves? The reward is good, right?"

A man who must have been at least 1 meter 90 tall called out to them. He was unusually stout for a resident of an abandoned town. Usually, they are skinny, and if they are big, it means they don't need food. He's an executive level that controls the territory. He shouldn't force himself to do such a deadly job.

He twisted his mouth as if mocking me and crossed his arms to show off his muscles.

"I, idiot! You ain't seen many monsters, have you?"

"I've killed a goblin once when it slipped into the outer city. It was easy. If he can do it, we can do it. If I lead the fight, it should be a piece of cake."

The group leader hurriedly chided him, but the man must have thought the leader was a fool. The group leader was upset, but the man laughed through his nose and glared at the leader. I understood the reason for the guy's ego, he had been acting as a bodyguard in the outer city and had flowed down into the ruined town.

"Damn you! Don't get smart just because you killed one goblin! Goblins, you know, when they get together, even ten of them, they're terrifying. And you!"

"Ah, yes, yes. I'm going to beat them, you know? I can do it with ease."

I sighed at the idiot who was showing his fighting spirit and bracing himself against me and gave a cold stare at the group leader.

"You're going to pay me extra for taking this guy down, okay? You'll be using precious mana."

I ask in an intimidating tone of voice. I know the outcome, and I don't want to do it. It's a waste of mana. Mana is the MP for a human to use magic. Magic power is magic attack power.

"Hehehe. Oh, no, hey? Master is such a good friend, aren't you? I'll buy you a drink at the bar next time."

I exhale as I hear her outwardly asking me to punish her.

"Okay. You owe me one. Come on, asshole."

I bent my hand and gave the big jerk an agitated look, and of course, he turned red with rage.

"You're dead, you bastard!"

Putting all his strength into his arms, Good For Nothing-kun raised his fist in the air, trying to unleash a fist.

"Ugh?"

I stopped his movement with a snap. He tried to move with all his strength, but he couldn't move a twitch like a stone statue.

[Shadow Bind]

The bonfire's shadow overlapped with my unnaturally stretched shadow. It's shadow magic that seals my opponent with my own shadow. In addition, since I have to encounter it quite close, there is not much way to use it. If I allow a monster to approach this far, it will kill me.

I was relieved it was magic that didn't consume much mana, and I pulled out a large knife from my waist.

"So, do I just stab this guy like this?"

At these words, Good For Nothing-kun, his face breaking out in a cold sweat. Seeing the knife glinting in the bonfire light, he tries to shake his head. But couldn't move because his movements got blocked.

"Well, this guy's got a good idea of Master's power. That's right!"

With a rub of his hands, the leader answered me and yelled at Good For Nothing-kun, who blinked furiously and seemed to say he understood.

"Well, then, no problem. Just leave. This place will be a battlefield. I won't care if you guys die."

After I had released my shadow bindings, Good For Nothing-kun slumped to the ground and began to tremble. This must have been the first time he had met someone with my skill level.

"You, you're amazing! Why would someone with such power be in an abandoned town? Even in the inner city, you'd have no trouble getting a job as a bouncer!"

I waved my hand at Good For Nothing-kun, who looked at me with respect when I thought he had gone pale. Seeing the attitude that he wants me to get out of here, the leader kicks the guy's ass, says see you later, and leads everyone away.

"Oh my goodness. Don't make me do useless things that consume mana."

[The smirk on your face is not at all convincing.]

My hallucinations soon set in. The old me would grin and laugh and say I was hard-boiled. I love these situations.