In many fantasy-themed worlds, Goblins are considered the weakest monsters, often equated with Slimes.
Why are Goblins considered weak?
First, their small physique. The average Goblin is short, skinny, and lacks raw muscle strength like Orcs or Ogres.
Second, makeshift equipment. Usually they only wear tattered, shabby cloth and are armed with rusty stone knives, crude wooden clubs, or sharp bones.
Third, low intelligence. They're impulsive, easily panicked, and move more based on basic instincts like hunger and aggression rather than planned tactics.
However, for an adventurer, underestimating Goblins is a fatal mistake often paid for with one's life.
In the end, Goblins are still dangerous monsters. Though statistically weak as individuals, Goblins have several advantages that arrogant adventurers often underestimate.
One Goblin is trash, but a hundred Goblins is a disaster. They rarely fight fair one-on-one and prefer to gang up on isolated prey. Being aware their physique is weak, Goblins often use dirty tricks like poison on weapon tips, pit traps, or sudden dawn attacks while opponents are sound asleep. Lastly, they can live and reproduce in even the most extreme environments like dark caves, dense forests, to dirty city sewers.
Fighting Goblins is truly a life-and-death battle!
The slightest carelessness means permanent defeat.
Fighting goblins is truly a life-and-death battle!
The weak monsters they dismiss are far more agile than ordinary humans.
If ordinary people faced them, they wouldn't be able to match them at all!
On Floor 2, the atmosphere began to heat up.
Kei aimed at a group of Goblins and fired at them with Flare-chan.
*SWISH!* *SWISH!* *SWISH!*
Orange energy beams illuminated the corridor, each attempting to aim for heads or hearts. However, there were too many Goblins. Kei's mental energy depleted quickly, making her breathing increasingly heavy. Cold sweat droplets formed on her forehead and temples.
"How about it, Kei? Changed your mind? Even the weakest monsters aren't easy to face if there are many of them. This is what's called quantity overcoming quality."
Charlie floated calmly several meters in the air using Wind Spirit Arts. His position made him not a target for Goblins, while giving a clear view of the battle.
Kei: "😐"
She didn't argue, her mouth shut tight. Her mentality wasn't much different from most Orario novice adventurers who initially didn't take Goblins seriously. However, the harsh reality of the Dungeon quickly awakened her from that arrogance.
After all, even this world's protagonist had experienced tremendous difficulty when first fighting hordes of Goblins at the start of his adventure.
*SWISH!* *SWISH!* *SWISH!*
*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*
Kei didn't just stand still shooting. She ran, moving positions precisely.
She fired while dodging Goblin attacks that began learning to attack from a distance by throwing stones. Of course, not all her shots were accurate—the Goblins were agile, jumping sideways or hiding behind their companions.
The Goblins also didn't just stand still waiting to be slaughtered!
"Their numbers are endless..." Kei complained with labored breath, staring at the swarm of Goblins that kept appearing, surrounding her from three directions.
*SWOOSH!* *BAM!*
"Ugh!"
Kei winced in pain when a fist-sized rock, thrown with surprising force, struck her thigh. Sharp pain spread, but she bit her lip, enduring that pain. Her hand didn't stop, her finger kept pulling Flare-chan's trigger, sending a retaliatory burst toward the source of the throw.
"..."
Meanwhile, Charlie watched calmly from above, his face hard to read. But his eyes observed every detail—Kei's breathing that began to become irregular, her movements that began to slow by fractions of a second, and the mental energy emission from Flare-chan that began to fluctuate.
(Kei's fighting style with an energy rifle isn't suitable for long battles against hordes like this. Pumpkin's—or Flare-chan's—ammunition isn't conventional bullets but made from the user's mental energy. Although I've modified and made the channeling mechanism as efficient as possible, it's only a matter of time before that girl experiences Mind Zero.) Charlie thought inwardly, analyzing the situation calmly.
Mind Zero is a dangerous phenomenon when an adventurer runs out of Mana and their brain experiences severe shock due to Mana depletion that's too fast and drastic.
Under normal circumstances, the body will give warning with extreme fatigue and collapse before reaching the Mind Zero point. But in fierce battle, that limit can be exceeded without realizing it.
"Look! There's a commotion and strange light flashes over there!" exclaimed a Dwarf adventurer, stopping his companions' steps.
"Where? Oh, in that right side branch corridor! Someone's fighting!" Added a human who peeked from behind the wall.
They approached cautiously, hiding behind a corridor corner to observe.
"A girl? Wow, so beautiful!" Whispered a young human adventurer, his eyes sparkling seeing Kei's figure moving agilely despite being pressed.
"What kind of weapon is that girl using?" Asked an Elf with sharp eyes. "That's not a crossbow, nor a magic wand. Its shape is like a metal tube... She presses something and light comes out! That's not ordinary magic without chanting! Could it be some kind of magic sword with very rare long-range ability?"
Because Kei's battle with the Goblin horde created a huge commotion, adventurers on Floor 2 were attracted and came to check the source of the disturbance.
When they saw a young girl alone pressing back dozens of Goblins, they couldn't help but feel impressed. But what attracted more attention was the weapon in her hand—a tool they had never seen in any adventure in Orario.
For the Danmachi World with a civilization level equivalent to medieval Europe, the concept of firearms was something that transcended their era.
No wonder, among the crowd of watching adventurers, several pairs of eyes began harboring malicious intent. Flashes of greed and lust appeared in their gazes.
(That weapon... must be worth tens, even hundreds of millions of Valis on the black market...) Thought a rough-faced adventurer with a scar on his cheek.
(And the girl... so beautiful. Her body is slender but looks strong. There's a separate market for slaves with that quality...) Whispered the heart of another adventurer with a perverted gaze.
In the darkness of the Dungeon where legal authority fades, malicious intentions like robbing other adventurers, moreover raping and selling female adventurers to the slave market were common thoughts for black-hearted adventurers.
For them, robbery was already a major crime. Rather than letting the target escape and report to the Guild, better to finish them off or sell them altogether to silence their mouth.
Adding one or two points to the crime list wouldn't make much difference for those already accustomed to living on the dark side.
"Fools! Don't think so narrowly! Don't you see? That girl isn't alone!"
"Where?"
"Above! Look at the corridor ceiling, there, the white-haired man! He's just floating and watching!"
"I recognize him! He's 'Solo Leveling', Charlie Avalon! A Level 6 who's been rising in fame recently!"
"That's him?! Hisss... Who exactly is that mysterious girl to be personally guarded by a Level 6 adventurer of that caliber?"
Instantly, the atmosphere among the spectators turned cold. The malicious intent that had just grown immediately withered even before it could bloom.
They retreated slowly, trying to hide themselves completely, hoping they wouldn't attract the attention of the terrifying figure watching from above.
No one dared think about robbing or kidnapping anymore.
Offending a Level 6 in a place this confined was the same as ordering one's own coffin!
They preferred to slowly move away, leaving that area as quickly as possible, and hoping they wouldn't be recognized.
"Scram!"
Charlie glanced briefly toward that crowd with cold eyes. He only uttered one word and deliberately leaked a bit of aura, that was enough to make those observers shudder and hurriedly flee.
His focus returned to Kei who was now beginning to pant, indicating that her mental energy limit was almost reached.
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