Jin-woo stood near the cave entrance for an hour. He watched groups form and enter the dungeon. He sent party requests to players who looked like they were searching. Most ignored him. Some declined.
At 9:23 AM, a warrior named BladeFist sent him a party invite.
Jin-woo accepted immediately.
The party filled quickly. Two other warriors besides Jin-woo and BladeFist: IronWall (level 11) and SwordDancer (level 12). One priest: HealBot (level 11). One mage: FireStorm (level 10).
"Everyone ready?" BladeFist asked.
The party said yes.
They entered the cave.
The tunnel led down to the first room. Five Goblin Warriors stood there, same as before.
"I'll pull three," BladeFist said. "IronWall takes one, Jin takes one. Mage and priest stay back. Focus fire on my targets first."
BladeFist charged. His sword hit the nearest goblin. The goblin and two others turned and attacked him.
IronWall ran left and attacked a fourth goblin. Jin-woo ran right and attacked the fifth goblin.
This time, the fight was organized. BladeFist held three goblins while FireStorm threw fireballs at them. The first goblin died in twenty seconds. The second died in fifteen seconds. The third took twenty-five seconds.
Meanwhile, Jin-woo fought his goblin one-on-one. Power Strike hit for 71 damage. Two normal attacks for 28 damage each. Another Power Strike for 69 damage. The goblin died.
IronWall's goblin died at the same time.
"Good," BladeFist said. "Next room."
They moved through the tunnel. The second room was larger. Eight Goblin Warriors stood in a circle around a fire pit. Two Goblin Shamans stood behind them—smaller goblins in robes, holding wooden staffs.
"Shamans first," BladeFist said. "They cast fire spells. Kill them fast."
He charged into the room. The goblins reacted immediately. The eight warriors ran toward the party. The two shamans raised their staffs.
A fireball launched from the first shaman's staff. It hit BladeFist for 78 damage.
FireStorm threw a fireball back. It hit the shaman for 62 damage. The shaman's health: 88/150 HP.
Jin-woo ran past the Goblin Warriors toward the shamans. He activated Power Strike and swung at the first shaman. The blade hit its chest.
CRITICAL! -103 damage
The shaman's health: 0/150 HP. It collapsed.
SwordDancer killed the second shaman five seconds later.
Now only the Goblin Warriors remained. Eight level 12 goblins against five party members. The warriors spread out across the room, each fighting one or two goblins. HealBot stood in the back, casting healing spells every few seconds.
Jin-woo fought two goblins at once. One hit him for 44 damage. Another hit him for 38 damage. His health dropped to 168 HP. A green light surrounded him—HealBot's heal restored 60 HP.
Power Strike came off cooldown. Jin-woo used it on the first goblin. Critical hit, 98 damage. The goblin's health: 0/200 HP.
He turned to the second goblin. Three normal attacks killed it.
The rest of the party finished their goblins. The room cleared.
"Everyone good?" BladeFist asked.
Jin-woo's health was at 203 HP. His stamina was at 95/180. Other party members confirmed they were ready.
"Boss room next," BladeFist said. "Stay spread out, focus the boss, don't stand in fire."
They walked through another tunnel. It opened into the largest room yet—circular, about thirty meters across. Torches lined the walls. In the center stood a goblin twice the size of the warriors.
Goblin Chief - Level 15
Health: 5,000/5,000
The Goblin Chief held a large axe. He wore thick armor made of iron plates and leather. His health bar was yellow—boss-tier enemy.
"Pull!" BladeFist shouted.
He charged. His sword hit the Chief's leg for 34 damage. The Chief roared and swung his axe. The blade hit BladeFist's shield for 112 damage.
The party spread out around the Chief. Jin-woo attacked from the right side. SwordDancer and IronWall attacked from the left. FireStorm stood at the back, casting fireballs.
The Chief's health dropped steadily. 5,000 HP became 4,800. Then 4,600. Then 4,300.
At 3,500 HP, the Chief roared. A red aura surrounded him.
Goblin Chief uses Enrage!
Attack power increased by 50%
Attack speed increased by 30%
The Chief swung his axe faster. He hit BladeFist twice in three seconds. Each hit dealt 140 damage. BladeFist's health dropped from 380 HP to 100 HP.
HealBot cast a heal. Green light surrounded BladeFist. His health went back to 210 HP.
The Chief turned and swung at IronWall. The axe hit his chest for 156 damage. IronWall's health: 0/290 HP. He collapsed.
The Chief's health kept dropping. The party kept attacking. 3,000 HP. Then 2,500 HP.
HealBot's mana bar was getting low. It showed 180/450 mana. Each heal cost 50 mana.
At 2,000 HP, the Chief roared again. He turned and charged at HealBot. The axe swung down.
CRITICAL! -267 damage
HealBot's health: 0/220 HP. The priest collapsed.
Now there was no healer. BladeFist's health was at 85 HP. SwordDancer's health was at 134 HP. Jin-woo's health was at 171 HP. FireStorm's health was at full—the Chief hadn't targeted him yet.
"Burn him down!" BladeFist shouted.
Everyone attacked as fast as possible. Jin-woo used Power Strike on cooldown. Normal attacks between Power Strikes. The Chief's health dropped faster.
1,500 HP. Then 1,200 HP.
The Chief swung at BladeFist. The axe hit for 138 damage. BladeFist's health: 0/410 HP. He collapsed.
Only three party members remained: Jin-woo, SwordDancer, and FireStorm.
The Chief's health: 847 HP.
SwordDancer attacked from the left. Jin-woo attacked from the right. FireStorm threw fireballs. The Chief turned toward SwordDancer and swung. The axe hit for 145 damage. SwordDancer's health: 0/315 HP. He collapsed.
Two party members left. The Chief's health: 523 HP.
Jin-woo and FireStorm kept attacking. Power Strike hit for 74 damage. Fireball hit for 58 damage. Normal attack hit for 29 damage. Another fireball hit for 61 damage.
The Chief's health: 301 HP.
The Chief turned toward Jin-woo. The axe swung. Jin-woo tried to dodge but was too slow. The blade hit his shoulder for 132 damage.
Jin-woo's health: 39/250 HP.
One more hit would kill him.
Jin-woo backed away. Power Strike was on cooldown—three seconds remaining. The Chief walked toward him, raising his axe.
FireStorm threw a fireball. It hit the Chief's back for 59 damage. The Chief turned away from Jin-woo toward FireStorm.
Power Strike came off cooldown.
Jin-woo ran forward. He activated Power Strike and charged the attack. Two seconds passed. The Chief was swinging his axe at FireStorm.
Jin-woo released the attack. His sword hit the Chief's back.
CRITICAL! -109 damage
The Chief's health: 133 HP.
FireStorm threw another fireball. It hit for 55 damage. The Chief's health: 78 HP.
Jin-woo swung a normal attack. 28 damage. The Chief's health: 50 HP.
The Chief turned back to Jin-woo. The axe came down. Jin-woo rolled to the side. The axe hit the ground where he had been standing.
FireStorm's fireball hit the Chief's head.
CRITICAL! -87 damage
The Chief's health: 0/5,000 HP.
The Goblin Chief roared one final time. Then he collapsed forward and dissolved into light particles.
DUNGEON COMPLETE
Goblin Cave cleared!
+500 Experience
Loot available
A chest appeared where the Chief had died. Golden light surrounded it.
Jin-woo and FireStorm stood there, breathing hard. Jin-woo's health was at 39 HP. FireStorm's was at 118 HP.
Outside the boss room, three blue lights appeared. IronWall, BladeFist, and HealBot respawned at the dungeon entrance. They ran back through the tunnels and entered the boss room.
"Nice work," BladeFist said. "That was close."
He walked to the chest and opened it. Items appeared in the loot window, visible to all party members:
Loot:
Goblin Chief's Grips (Uncommon) - Gloves, Defense +8, STR +2
50 silver (10 silver per person)
"Rolling for gloves," BladeFist said. "Everyone roll."
The roll interface appeared. Jin-woo clicked the button. A number appeared above his head: 34.
BladeFist: 12
IronWall: 67
SwordDancer: 89
HealBot: 23
FireStorm: 41
SwordDancer had the highest roll.
"Gratz," BladeFist said.
SwordDancer took the gloves from the chest. They disappeared from the loot window.
The 50 silver automatically split five ways. Jin-woo's inventory updated: +10 silver.
The party stood in the boss room for a moment. Then BladeFist said, "Good run, everyone. I'm out."
He opened his menu and left the party. The others did the same. The party dissolved.
Jin-woo walked out of the dungeon. He checked the time. 11:34 AM. The dungeon run had taken two hours and eleven minutes.
He opened his inventory. His total copper: 4,241 copper (42 silver and 41 copper). He had gained 10 silver from the boss split. Repair costs and potions had cost him 3 silver during the run.
Net gain: 7 silver for two hours of work.
Jin-woo converted the numbers in his head. Seven silver was about one dollar and forty cents.
He thought about the gloves. Uncommon quality gloves with good stats. If he had won the roll, he could have sold them in the marketplace for maybe 30 or 40 silver. Six to eight dollars.
"Not great," Jin-woo said quietly. "But the gloves could have been good money."
He looked at the dungeon entrance. Other groups were forming, preparing to enter. He could try again. He could run the dungeon three or four more times today.
But two hours per run meant at most four runs. Even if he won a loot roll—which wasn't guaranteed—that would only be maybe ten to fifteen dollars total for eight hours of work.
Jin-woo needed to think. He needed to find better money. The dungeon wasn't the answer.
But then he thought about the gloves again. Thirty to forty silver for one drop. If he could win just one good item per day...
Jin-woo walked back to the dungeon entrance. He started looking for another group.