Chapter 7: The Shattering of Reason!
In the dimly lit corridor of the Dungeon, Luke held the sword hilt tightly in his right hand, the pitch-black blade extending outwards, confronting the Goblin not far ahead.
"Guwaaaaa—"
The Goblin also stared intently at Luke.
It held a crude wooden club resembling a kanabo in its hand, while continuously emitting unpleasant, low growls from its mouth.
Compared to the image recorded in the monster encyclopedia, this Goblin's skin tone was somewhat dark.
Its deep green wrinkled skin was covered in grey spots.
Small head, pointed ears, sticky saliva drooling from the corners of its mouth...
It perfectly matched the encyclopedia's description of "disgusting."
However, what surprised Luke somewhat was that this short, ugly Goblin not only didn't charge him directly but instead maintained a considerable distance, while its small, bean-sized eyes kept scanning him up and down, seemingly searching for something?
What exactly is it looking for...
After facing off against the Goblin for a moment, staring at those small eyes revealing a cunning glint, Luke's brow suddenly twitched.
He vaguely understood why this Goblin was hesitating to attack.
It was observing his movements, weighing the difference in strength between them, and searching for any potentially fatal openings... almost like a seasoned hunter.
Are you kidding me?
Just a mere Goblin, the weakest monster in the Dungeon, how could it possibly possess such high intelligence?
Although he really didn't want to believe it, the current situation forced Luke to accept this fact.
Even the weakest monster in the Dungeon possessed intelligence comparable to humans!
"What the f***ing hell!"
Encountering such an unexpected situation on his first meeting with a Dungeon monster, Luke couldn't help but curse aloud.
The tension in his heart gradually intensified, and sweat began to seep from the palm of his sword-wielding right hand.
In this passage containing only Luke and the Goblin, besides the Goblin's low growls, there was no other sound.
The stagnant silence allowed the tense emotions to ferment.
Even though it's just the weakest monster in the Dungeon, Goblins are indeed more troublesome than imagined...
Besides, I'm just a novice right now.
My combat awareness, my experience fighting monsters, are both completely zero...
Maybe I really should find an experienced party to join first?
So, really... should I fight?
Excessive tension caused many chaotic thoughts to bubble up in Luke's mind, and simultaneously, a slight intention to retreat couldn't help but arise within him.
And it was this momentary hesitation that was perfectly captured by the Goblin, which had been carefully observing him all along.
An opening appeared!
"Gulu— Waaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Amidst the piercing roar, the Goblin launched a fierce charge towards Luke.
Its left hand and both feet scrambled forward wildly, while its right hand dragged the crude wooden club behind it.
Its expression, due to its ugly features, appeared even more ferocious and savage.
Luke's heart had already conceived the thought of retreat.
Seeing the Goblin suddenly erupt, his mind instantly dissolved into chaos.
It's attacking... The Goblin is attacking?!
Wait... What should I do now? Should I run?
Block! Right, I need to block its attack first!
But how should I block? With the sword?
What should I do after blocking?
Amidst the jumbled thoughts, the Goblin had already closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
Facing that wrinkled, ugly face, Luke subconsciously took a step back but tripped over a stone due to excessive panic and fell to the ground.
"Wu—"
At the moment of falling, the sound of a blunt weapon cutting through the air sounded above Luke's head.
Looking up, he saw the Goblin swinging its wooden club with full force.
Although a Goblin's strength wasn't great, such a full-powered attack, if it landed squarely on a fragile human skull, would be enough to end the fight instantly.
This Goblin... is serious... seriously trying to kill me?
Staring blankly up at the Goblin filled with killing intent, Luke's eyes trembled, his pupils instantly contracting, and a shiver ran through his entire body.
If I don't do something now, I'll definitely die!
"Guwaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Seeing its full-force strike had missed, the Goblin let out an angry roar.
Simultaneously, it spun the wooden club in its hand and brought it down hard towards the man's head.
The crude wooden club rapidly enlarged in Luke's vision.
The violent force stirred up an airflow, blowing away all extraneous thoughts from his mind, leaving only a blank daze.
Am I... going to die?
Killed by one of the Dungeon's weakest Goblins?
Such a way to die is just too pathetic...
In an instant shorter than a flash of thought, just as the Goblin swung its club, about to hit Luke's head, he suddenly moved.
Like a reflex action, his right hand slashed upwards from below, the movement fluid and swift.
Clang!
A flash of black sword light cut through the passage.
The next moment, warm liquid with a strong, foul odor sprayed onto Luke's face.
Blood...?
He looked up at his raised right hand, currently gripping the sword hilt tightly.
Several trickles of warm blood flowed down the blade, quickly dyeing his sword hand red.
Did... I do this?
Plop—
While Luke was stunned, the Goblin standing before him suddenly fell backward.
On its body, a long, narrow sword wound stretched from the lower right abdomen up to the upper left chest.
Dark red blood, along with its internal organs, gushed out from the wound.
The stench from within the biological cavity instantly filled the passage.
Slowly lowering his raised right hand, Luke stared intently at the Goblin's corpse.
Just moments ago, he was shrouded in the shadow of death brought by this Goblin.
Yet now, this Goblin had become a lifeless corpse.
And if he hadn't subconsciously swung his sword and killed this Goblin just now, would it be him lying on the ground, becoming a corpse, continuously spewing blood and organs?
Maintaining his posture of sitting on the ground, Luke suddenly felt a chill run through his body.
Even though his strength value had reached 10 points, he suddenly felt the longsword held in his right hand was incredibly heavy, so heavy he could barely lift it.
"Listen well, Luke-kun... The Dungeon is no place for games. From the moment you step into the Dungeon, you are already being watched by monsters. They will constantly be born from the Dungeon, fearing neither pain nor death, rushing forward wave after wave just to take the lives of adventurers..."
Hestia's pre-departure instructions resurfaced in Luke's mind, feeling exceptionally profound now.
Combat, death... This is the eternal, unchanging main theme of the Dungeon.
As for encounters... those who choose to become adventurers seeking such things have mostly already become wandering souls within the Dungeon.
Only those who are prepared have the right to survive here.
Gurgle—
Just as Luke's mind was somewhat distracted, the ground beneath his feet suddenly changed.
The originally hard rock ground became like a swamp, instantly swallowing the Goblin's corpse.
Even the blood splattered on the ground vanished without a trace.
If not for the Goblin's bloodstains still on Luke's body, probably no one would be able to tell that a battle had just occurred here.
The dead who fail in battle don't even have the right to leave behind a corpse.
This is the cruel reality of the Dungeon.
Trembling, Luke exhaled a turbid breath and used his sword to push himself up from the ground.
Although he had successfully killed that Goblin, he was still inside the Dungeon, so it wasn't time to rest yet.
Moreover, whether it was intuition or something else, Luke currently had a feeling of being watched by something.
—Gurgle!
Just as Luke steadied himself, the cave wall in front of him suddenly squirmed.
Several dark shapes fell out from it, transforming into somewhat humanoid creatures.
Kobolds...
Monsters belonging to the same weakest tier in the Dungeon as Goblins.
This time, Luke didn't hesitate anymore.
He slowly raised the blade with his right hand and proactively charged towards these few monsters.
"Jijijijiji!"
Although these Kobolds had just been born from the Dungeon, killing had already become their instinct.
Therefore, facing Luke's attack, they unhesitatingly raised their sharp hands and charged forward, screeching.
"Die... monsters!"
His pupils reflecting the ugly, ferocious faces of the Kobolds, Luke swung down the blade in his hand without hesitation.
Although he completely lacked combat experience, the gap brought by having all stats at 10 was enormous.
Whether in speed or strength, or reaction speed determined by mental power, Luke stood in an invincible position.
So, even just swinging his sword wildly, each time the blade fell, it could take the life of a Kobold.
The pitch-black sword light flickered continuously within the cave of the Dungeon's second floor.
With each swing he made, his movements became more refined and standard than the last.
Passive skill [One-Handed Sword] Lv.1: Small increase in sword skill comprehension ability, able to use one-handed swords proficiently;
Small increase in all attributes when holding a sword, small enhancement to combat intuition.
Talent passive skill [Sword Bone]: Condenses sword intent into sword bone, greatly increases sword sense when holding a sword.
Without Luke consciously realizing it, the two passive skills he possessed had already begun to take effect, continuously improving his basic sword techniques, gradually making his swings sharper, no longer like the sparse, loose, wild swings of a novice.
And the most direct effect of improving basic sword skills was that Luke's efficiency in killing monsters increased steadily.
From initially relying on brute force to kill one monster per swing, he could later combine various actions like chopping, slashing, stabbing, etc., forming the rudimentary shape of a somewhat crude sword technique set.
One swing could kill two or three monsters under his hand.
And as Luke continued his slaughter, the speed at which blood gushed from the monsters' bodies even surpassed the Dungeon's absorption speed.
The blood plasma the Dungeon couldn't absorb in time coated the cave walls like paint, forcibly dyeing the originally eerie blue cave into a dark, crimson red.
Buzz!
Once again clearing the monsters in front of him, just then, a cold sensation suddenly rose from behind.
Luke, almost without thinking, turned around and thrust his sword out.
"Gu..."
The pitch-black longsword pierced through the Goblin's short, thick neck without any resistance.
Pinkish blood foam mixed with air continuously bubbled out from the wound created by the sword blade.
Coldly watching the Goblin still attempting its death throes, Luke directly pulled the blade horizontally.
"Pu—"
The strong blood pressure directly sent the Goblin's ugly little head flying into the air.
Retracting his longsword, letting the Goblin's warm, foul-smelling blood splash onto his body, Luke turned to look at the second-floor Dungeon cave, which he had personally transformed into a hell of blood.
Deep within his mind, a crisp sound suddenly echoed.
As if something had snapped, shattered.
The next moment, he withdrew his gaze and lifted his foot, walking towards the third floor of the Dungeon...
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