Dungeon Survival Chapter 3

 Chapter 3: Combat

After receiving what passed for encouragement from the terminal, I took a deep breath and turned to face the dungeon corridor again.

Stone floor. Stone walls. Stone ceiling.

A perfectly square corridor stretched straight ahead as far as I could see.

From everything I'd gathered beforehand, I knew powerful monsters didn't appear on a dungeon's first floor.

The only confirmed sightings had been animal-types like rabbits and dogs and small humanoid monsters that were classic goblins through and through.

I hadn't heard any reports of slimes, which made me wonder if the physically-immune, terrifying variety were lurking deeper down, biding their time.

That said, dungeons had only just appeared. There was far too little data to draw any real conclusions.

Any so-called rules were barely rules at all.

I gripped the metal bat I'd brought and steadied myself.

I hadn't been able to get my hands on anything resembling a ranged weapon and there weren't any learnable skills yet either.

I had plenty of tools in the backpack on my shoulders but mid-fight was no time to be rummaging through it.

I found myself wishing I'd at least picked up the basics of some martial art but there was no point wanting what I didn't have.

The terminal had said HP would absorb damage but I still had no real grasp of how that actually worked.

I'd layered on as many clothes as I could manage, though how much that would actually raise my defense was anyone's guess.

In other words, I'd have to wing it.

Bracing myself, I stepped into the dungeon.

* * *

I'd set up my drawing board with graph paper and was mapping as I went, making slow progress.

The walls and floor had no visible seams so I was counting my own steps to gauge distances.

I was moving at less than a kilometer an hour. While absolutely terrified, inching my way forward slowly.

Fortunately, despite there being no visible light source, the dungeon was bright enough that I didn't need to keep a hand occupied with a flashlight. The headlamp was staying in the bag too.

I'd been following the path straight ahead for a while when a crossroads appeared.

I pressed my back against the right-hand wall and cautiously made my way toward it.

From somewhere came a sound: steady, rhythmic footsteps scraping against the floor.

「Hh!」

I held my breath and raised the metal bat.

For now, nothing seemed to be coming from the corridor straight ahead.

That left right or left.

I hadn't brought a hand mirror, which I was now regretting. You could use one to check around a corner without exposing yourself. But I hadn't, so there was nothing to be done.

I strained to listen.

The footsteps came steadily, at a pace slightly quicker than a person walking.

One set of footsteps, as far as I could tell.

Not a four-legged animal, by the sound of it.

（A goblin?）

Goblins were the classic weakling enemy in fantasy but I couldn't bring myself to be so relaxed about it.

Sure, they were supposed to be child-sized with matching strength but think about it realistically. If a grade-schooler came at you with a rusty knife, fully intending to kill you, that would be terrifying.

If I ran into one on the street, I was pretty confident I'd run the other way at full speed rather than try to fight.

But this was a dungeon.

I had solid information that defeating monsters earned you EP.

And I was an explorer... adventurer... challenger? Whatever you called it, I was here to take things on.

I had zero fighting experience but it wasn't impossible. Probably.

I stepped away from the wall and planted myself in the middle of the corridor.

I positioned myself a little back from the crossroads, ready to lunge the moment the time came.

The one piece of luck I had was that this dungeon was in my own room so there was zero chance of another person showing up.

If I swung first and asked questions later, there'd be no accidental victims.

「Hff...」

I let out a quiet breath and tried to push the pounding of my heart out of my mind.

The footsteps drew closer and closer.

And then, at last, a bald humanoid no taller than a child stepped into view.

「Hah!!」

The instant I saw it, I put everything I had into a single lunge and brought the metal bat down.

「Gk!」

The goblin's eyes went wide at my sudden appearance but before it could do anything the metal bat connected squarely with the top of its skull.

That was a critical hit if I'd ever felt one.

Against a human, that would have been a killing blow without question.

But.

「GYEAAAAAAH!」

The metal bat had not caved in the goblin's skull.

The goblin realized it had been attacked and lunged at me with a face twisted in rage.

Human in shape, but clearly not human.

Bare green skin. A gaping mouth full of jagged teeth.

Its face alive with rage rather than surprise.

And a rusty knife thrust forward.

I couldn't react in time and by the time I registered the danger the blade was almost on me.

「Ngh!!」

Still, I twisted my body, desperately trying to dodge before the blade found flesh.

The knife left a red line not across my torso but along my left arm, which I'd reflexively thrown up.

My left arm went briefly numb, but strangely, the arm I was certain had just been sliced open was completely uninjured.

I thought the layers of clothes had saved me but they'd been cut clean through. Fibers shredded, a clear hole where the knife had gone.

「Damn!」

Still reeling from the strangeness of it, I lashed out and kicked the goblin.

The front kick drove into its small body and sent it stumbling backward.

I wasn't about to let the opening go. I stepped in and swung the metal bat with everything I had.

「GYA!!」

Another solid hit.

The horizontal swing connected with the goblin's skull again and sent a numbing shockwave back up through my arms.

At the same moment, a horrible sound rang out and the goblin was sent flying, its skull visibly deformed.

The goblin flew back and crumpled to the ground, twitching.

「Hah... hah...」

Breath ragged, I kept the metal bat raised, watching for any sign the goblin might get back up.

Five seconds. Ten seconds. Twenty...

A full thirty seconds of watching before I began to edge cautiously closer.

「...Is it dead?」

Carefully. Carefully. Inching forward.

Then the goblin suddenly dissolved into tiny particles of light.

I stood frozen in surprise as the particles drifted toward me. They paid no mind to my reflexive attempt to shield myself and were simply absorbed into my body.

「...Ha. Damn, my whole body's shaking.」

My legs wanted to give out with relief but I forced myself to stay upright and tightened my grip on the metal bat with trembling hands.

I probably won. I think.

The reality of having just fought my first battle was finally sinking in.

「I don't think combat is really my thing.」

The words came out before I could stop them.

I'd read all kinds of stories where goblins were the textbook weakling and this was the state I was in after taking just one down.

It wasn't that I'd underestimated goblins. But having actual killing intent directed at me for real, I hadn't managed anything close to the slick, graceful fight I'd pictured.

I'd scraped through but I hadn't one-shot it and I hadn't come out without a scratch. Though technically, I looked fine at a glance.

「So, what now?」

Keep going, or turn back for now?

When I thought about my situation, there was no hesitation.

「I'll head back to the terminal for now. First, I want to see what one goblin was worth.」

I'd never intended to push myself.

With my legs threatening to give out the moment I let my guard down, I made my way back toward the entrance where the dungeon terminal was.