The unbelievably heavy bronze shield slammed into the Goblin Guard's head with massive impact, knocking its gigantic body flying.
Boom!
The huge monster crashed into the wall, carving out an even more terrifying crater behind it. It slumped there like it had been knocked senseless—clutching its helmet, now twisted out of shape from the blow. It staggered, trying to stand…
…and collapsed again.
"You've got a healer, right? Heal them first!"
Evan didn't spare the students another glance.
After barking that order over his shoulder, he tossed aside the brass greatshield again, yanked the greatsword out of the wall—
and also drew a dagger hidden at his wrist.
The boy lowered his center of gravity, crouching like he was settling into a stance.
His right hand swung the greatsword up onto his shoulder.
His left hand held the dagger in a reverse grip—its blade wreathed in a thick, blood-red glow.
Then, in the next second, he launched like a cannonball toward the Goblin Guard still slumped in the wall.
"Strip that armor!!"
A smith with the [Forging] development ability could grant "special properties" to the equipment they made.
Evan might still be only Level 1, but his weapons were basically all third-tier gear. By market price, the weapons on his body alone were worth nearly ten million valis—like he was casually carrying a fortune around the Dungeon.
Armor was one thing, but these weapons were the result of Cecile's year-long effort. Evan didn't dare break them carelessly—otherwise she'd hunt him down for real.
She could even forge magic swords—there were several spares hidden in his pack…
…
The greatsword in Evan's hands—"Dayun"—had a special [Armor Break] trait.
Each swing made the Goblin Guard's "shell"—layer upon layer of leather, chainmail, plate, all wrapped together in a chaotic mess—burst apart into fragments that flew everywhere.
Bit by bit, the monster's deep-green, bloated flesh finally began to show through.
And that was the opening.
Evan drove the dagger in viciously.
"GRAAAH!!"
The monster let out an explosive scream, finally feeling true pain. It flipped over—
and started rolling around the chamber like a lunatic.
Its hulking body, wrapped in thick armor, turned into a huge iron ball smashing wildly in every direction.
Evan could only do his best to lure it away from the students.
Thankfully, the frenzy didn't last long. After rolling around, the Goblin Guard staggered, dizzy, and tried to push itself up.
Its great axe had been flung far away.
So with Evan still right in front of it, it could only flail in helpless rage—swinging both fists in chaotic, brutal strikes.
But it was too slow.
To Evan, the Goblin Guard's movements looked like they'd fallen into slow motion.
This is it.
When adrenaline peaked—at the most tense moment a guy could have—
Evan became frighteningly calm.
As if he'd lost all emotion, with nothing left in his eyes but the monster.
Then it was the same rhythm as before:
Greatsword breaks armor. Dagger drives in.
Again and again—carving countless bleeding wounds into that massive body.
Stacking. Stacking.
Until—
Evan swung the greatsword once more, tearing the monster's chest armor completely open.
Behind it was a swollen belly—covered in hair and pus-filled blood, bulging grotesquely outward.
Once again—how many times now—he stabbed in with the dagger.
"Burst!!"
He dragged the blade across with force.
The dagger "Brown Sugar," carrying the abnormal status [Bleed], finally triggered a massive internal "detonation" after all that buildup!
"P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P!!"
From the far passageway, Lefiya—who was helping the survivors treat their classmates—could only stare as dark-blue, rancid blood erupted from the Goblin Guard's enormous body like a fountain.
This was insane!!
But what was even more insane was—
Even after that, the Goblin Guard still wasn't dead!!
It crashed down hard, yet still tried to struggle up.
Evan didn't give it that chance.
Dragging the greatsword behind him, he walked slowly to the monster's front… and then drove the weapon straight down into its head.
Execution.
This time, the Goblin Guard finally died for good.
Evan silently dug out an enormous magic stone.
Then, as the monster's body—and the armor and weapons it had dropped earlier—crumbled away into ash and vanished…
One thing was left behind.
A huge bone.
A jackpot drop.
No—an actual material drop.
Evan walked over and picked it up. The bone was a dull, dark black—like the Goblin Guard's thighbone.
It was thick, and just from the feel of it, unbelievably hard.
I'll take this back to Cecile.
Maybe she could forge another shield out of it. After all, he only had one brass greatshield right now—and everyone knew that if you're holding a shield, you should also be carrying another shield on your back… for peace of mind.
"Whew…"
Evan put his weapons away and let his heartbeat settle.
Then he looked toward the passage leading to Floor 2…
…and then looked back at the other side of the cavern, where the boys and girls lay sprawled everywhere.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to escort them back to the surface first.
Not just for safety—
But also to verify a suspicion…
…
Luckily, the girl who had been tugging Lefiya back and even trying to run was a healer.
After a round of healing magic and stamina-recovery potions, the students regained some ability to move. Those who couldn't walk were carried on backs.
And since this was still Floor 1, and they also met other adventurers along the way who helped, they made it back to the surface quickly.
The whole route was safe.
They didn't encounter any of the "special monsters" the Dungeon spawned specifically to target Evan.
That was exactly what he wanted to confirm.
Once those special monsters appeared and were defeated, it took a long time before they could "respawn." That was probably true of all Dungeon monsters—unless it was a special situation like a Monster Festival, one place wouldn't keep spawning endlessly.
And also: the Dungeon's "malice" toward him probably had a limit.
For example, that Goblin Guard—if the Dungeon could just spawn a second one mid-fight and turn it into a double-boss battle, then what was the point of playing at all?
And if it wasn't just two… but three, four…
That would be completely unwinnable!!
"Each floor probably has something like an energy gauge… spawning special monsters for me drains it, and recovery only happens slowly over time…"
Standing at the Dungeon exit, Evan muttered to himself, pulled out a notebook, and wrote down all his theories.
The pages were packed with notes—special monsters he'd encountered these past days, traps, their traits, counters, and conclusions.
Study notes. Got it?
Clearing a Dungeon is a deep discipline.
Learn. Learn without end!!
"U-um… hello!"
A girl's sudden voice pulled Evan's eyes away from the page and back up.
The sky had grown late—orange sunlight slanting low. Without realizing it, the whole afternoon had passed.
At the Dungeon exit, there were usually guards from the Ganesha Familia—Orario's city "military police," responsible for maintaining order. They'd helped send the injured School District students to Dian Cecht Familia's White Healing House.
But Lefiya hadn't gone with them.
Because—
"I… I want to repay you!"
"…Huh?"
-------
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