As recommended by our lovers, I, motivated by the existence of the treasure chest, took Aila and dove into the gate of the advanced dungeon. To be precise, the gate was a large dome constructed around the dungeon, and once inside, a vast space as wide as a baseball field spread out.
And right in the center, the entrance to the dungeon lay open, waiting.
"There's nothing between the dome and the dungeon, huh?"
"This place was where a dungeon break occurred before. From experience, it was found that setting up interception devices here would only get in the way, so they have all been completely removed."
"I see. But do you really need to cover the dome all the way to the ceiling?"
"Yes, sir. Although you haven't faced them yet, there are flying monsters in the 'Advanced Dungeon.' This is to prevent them from flying into the city."
"Flying... like birds?"
"Like wyverns and dragons."
"Those are names I've only seen in textbooks."
"You won't encounter them until around the tenth or twentieth floor of the 'Advanced Dungeon.' During the last dungeon break, only one appeared, but it was a significant threat."
"Such things appear..."
"Don't worry. Your opponents today are the first-floor monsters."
With that, Aila showed me her terminal. It displayed information about the monsters sighted on the first floor of this dungeon.
"Fighter Goblin, Ranger Goblin, Archer Goblin, Healer Goblin, Mage Goblin, Knight Goblin, General Goblin... They're commonly known as the Goblin Army."
"Yes. Only these are on the first floor. They attack in groups of a minimum of three and a maximum of twelve. The front-line types are mostly equipped with iron, while the General Goblin is definitely equipped with steel, but it's not a match for you now."
"Hmm... a maximum of twelve. It seems quite challenging, but the one that stands out is this, right?"
I traced a part of the terminal with my finger. It indicated that all goblins have skills.
Fighters have 'Brute Strength.'
Rangers have 'Swift Feet.'
Archers have 'Archery Lv1.'
Healers have 'Healing Magic Lv1.'
Mages have 'Fire Magic Lv1.'
Knights have 'Iron Wall.'
Generals have 'Leadership.'
"The drop rate is much lower compared to rare monsters, but it seems I can acquire most basic skills on this first floor alone."
"Yes. ...Hehe, I can't imagine how many you'll have when you come out."
The 'General Goblin' that appears on the fourth floor of the 'Beginner Dungeon' only has 'Brute Strength,' but the 'General Goblin' here, being close to level 20, has a different skill set. Moreover, the 'General Goblin' appears in a considerable ratio within the group, sometimes even two or three at a time. This might be a chance to get 'Leadership.'
"Let's go!"
And with that, we stepped into the 'Advanced Dungeon.'
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The dungeons that appear in various places have names, but these are all nicknames given by the association to indicate their danger level and type. Broadly speaking, there are two types of dungeons.
One is the 'Level System Dungeon.' This type of dungeon gradually increases in difficulty from the first floor to the lowest floor, and examples include the 'Beginner Dungeon,' 'Intermediate Dungeon,' and 'Advanced Dungeon.'
The other is the 'Concept Dungeon.' These are special dungeons like the 'Unlucky Hall' and 'Heart Dungeon.' Additionally, there are 'Deep Dungeons' that allow entry from beginners to advanced users but have a significant increase in difficulty at certain floors.
And this 'Advanced Dungeon' is a dungeon for veterans where quite strong monsters attack in groups from the first floor. Inside, there were many people who looked like veterans, about five teams in total.
Their gazes gathered on me, the newcomer, and then turned to Aila.
"Hey, isn't that...?"
"Yeah, the 'Red Reaper.' Haven't seen her in a while."
"I heard she's been serving the Shojouin family's young lady recently. Did she switch sides?"
"The Shojouin family? I doubt she'd leave them so easily."
Red Reaper? You mean Aila?
I glanced at her face, but she had her usual calm expression.
Well, with Aila's skills, it's no wonder she's famous. After all, she's level 170.
"Sir, let's go."
"Sure."
I followed Aila as she led the way into the dungeon. The first floor here is a vast plain, similar to the second floor of the 'Beginner Dungeon,' with wooden villages scattered here and there.
"Basically, the number of goblin groups increases as you get closer to the villages. I mentioned that the maximum number is twelve, but that's for one group. Multiple groups can merge, so be careful as you approach the villages."
"Understood."
"Let's start with the four goblins gathered there."
Aila pointed to a group of four goblins: two with long swords, one with a short sword, and one with a bow. The fighters were equipped with iron armor, while the other two were in leather armor.
"Let's try it without using skills first."
I drew my 'Mithril Sword' and ran towards the goblins.
"Kyah!"
The archer noticed me first, shouting and firing an arrow. His skill was about the same as the thief girl I encountered earlier. Since I was still at a distance, I deflected it with my sword. Then, a long sword came from the front, and a short sword from the side.
I dodged the long sword by twisting my body and kicked the short sword up into the air. Using the momentum from dodging, I spun and slashed both of them.
"Kyah!?"
The remaining fighter hastily raised his sword, but I thrust my sword into his exposed torso, skewering the archer who was hiding behind him. They immediately turned into smoke, dropping a few items before disappearing.
Yeah, I can handle iron armor without any problem.
And fighting a variety of enemies for the first time is kind of fun.
"Good job, sir. It seems there's no problem."
"Yeah, it's my first time fighting these, but they're not much different from regular goblins. Plus, I have 'Precognition.' The more I fight, the more I can predict their movements. I also have 'Dual Wield,' support skills, and magic, which I don't use often. I'll use this group battle to train."
"I'll accompany you, sir."
Well, let's start racking up those skills!
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