“Did you hear? About the dungeon that appeared near Fabuchi Village.”
“Ah, the Goblin Dungeon, right? Should we try challenging it?”
Inside a bustling tavern, the men were talking without paying any mind to the other customers around them.
The man who brought up the rumor of a certain dungeon smiled wryly at the response he got.
“That’s right, but if you’re talking like that, you probably haven’t heard the recent rumors.”
“Isn’t it just that a small, convenient dungeon appeared near a village?”
That was indeed the common understanding. Even now, many adventurers continue to challenge the dungeon.
However, the man who started the conversation knew about the rumors that went beyond that.
“If you think it’s just goblins, you’re going to get wiped out. Even adventurers who could defeat a Goblin King have gone missing after entering that dungeon.”
“So, there are more than just goblins…?”
“No, apparently it’s still only goblins, but they’re not the regular kind.”
Adventurers had initially underestimated the dungeon, thinking it was just a simple goblin lair.
Then, facing a horde of goblins that could enhance each other, they let their guard down and were defeated.
“So, there are stronger, special goblins?”
“Not just stronger, they say these goblins might actually have higher intelligence. Apparently, they can even work together as a team.”
“Goblins? But they’re supposed to be low-intelligence monsters! How can they do that?”
Unlike wild monsters, who are known for their low intelligence and lack of coordination, the goblins in the dungeon helped and strengthened each other.
The news finally spread after a cautious adventurer party decided to retreat after realizing the dungeon’s dangers.
“So, the Goblin King must be a lot stronger than usual, then.”
“Yeah, it might even be better at group combat than some parties.”
“That means if we went, we’d probably get wiped out…”
“Even if we tried recruiting temporary allies, we’d just end up with a group that can’t coordinate properly.”
“Yeah… maybe it’s time we start looking for new party members.”
They sighed, taking swigs of their drinks.
Ever since the hero’s defeat, everything had been going wrong.
The hero had been resurrected, but the process had greatly weakened them, and now they were hunting wild monsters to regain their strength.
Meanwhile, the kingdom, believing it needed more power to fight the upcoming Demon King, had become obsessed with finding reincarnated individuals to help.
As a result, even though adventurers like them had been making a living hunting weak monsters, they were pushed out.
So, they were left with two options: accept dangerous quests or take on low-paying, unpopular ones.
The former had caused them to lose comrades.
Now, they were just trying to survive by completing the latter, and it was hard to keep going without drinking.
“At this rate, we’ll just burn through our savings.”
“Right? If we could form a party like before, maybe we could take on that Goblin Dungeon.”
“I told you to forget about it…”
“But come on, if we just don’t let our guard down against goblins, we should be fine, right? The goblins’ enhanced teamwork might be troublesome, but we’re not that bad off ourselves.”
True, if they fought carefully, they could handle the goblins’ horde.
But these were dungeon goblins, enhanced and specialized by the dungeon’s skills.
Even though they had heard the rumors, they couldn’t shake the idea that, because they were facing goblins, they could handle it.
Unknowingly or not, the dungeon filled with only goblins had become an enticing challenge.
The fact that many had failed didn’t discourage them; rather, it made them think, maybe we can do it.
And if they succeeded where so many others had failed, the rewards from the kingdom would certainly be worth it.
However, unlike the man who was eager to press forward, the other man’s face darkened as he shared another troubling bit of information.
“I’ve heard that even some stronger adventurer groups have been wiped out.”
“What? Even strong adventurers were defeated by goblins?”
“Just drop it.”
Suddenly, a voice cut into their conversation.
They didn’t want to accuse the person of eavesdropping, but they were slightly irritated at the interruption.
When they turned to look at the person, though, they forgot about complaining altogether.
“You… that uniform. Are you a soldier from the kingdom?”
“Yeah. I overheard you guys talking about the dungeon we had to retreat from. I hate to interrupt, but I thought I’d share a bit of info.”
The two men exchanged a glance.
It wasn’t just adventurers; even the kingdom’s soldiers had already tried the dungeon.
What was even more surprising was that they hadn’t even completed it—they had fled, just like everyone else.
The two men exchanged glances.
It wasn’t just rookies; it was clear that the man was a soldier with experience.
At the very least, he was someone they wouldn’t be able to take on.
“Why would someone like you…?”
“We were hired by the reincarnated individuals to investigate the Goblin Dungeon. I didn’t think it was something to worry about, but we had to fulfill their request as much as possible.”
“So, that’s why you, a soldier, would go all the way there…”
“Is it really that dangerous, this Goblin Dungeon?”
“Yeah. The boss room has a horde led by a Goblin King, and they strengthen each other, making them annoyingly strong.”
That was exactly what they had just discussed.
It seemed that the rumors were true after all.
“When you say it’s troublesome, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to defeat them, right?”
“That’s right. If it was just about defeating the goblins, we could have managed it.”
“What do you mean? If it’s just about defeating them, what else is there?”
It sounded like there was something beyond just monsters.
The men questioned the soldier’s words.
“Traps.”
“Traps…?”
“The moment we were about to defeat the Goblin King in the boss room, huge rocks started rolling down, injuring our comrades and forcing us to retreat.”
“While fighting the boss, there were traps like that…?”
“And even the soldiers of the kingdom were taken out in one blow, so we had no choice but to retreat…”
It seemed that even they had underestimated the situation.
They thought it was just a stronger goblin horde, but they were mistaken.
Traps activated during the boss fight—a dungeon that nasty wasn’t worth the risk.
“That’s… really unfortunate…”
“We did complete the investigation request, though. There were injuries, but no deaths. But still, I wouldn’t say it’s a place you should approach casually.”
“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind. Thank you.”
◇
“No way…!”
“I’m sorry, okay…!”
Pilkaya’s voice was full of disbelief, and all I could do was apologize. How many times had this happened?
“I get that you’re frustrated, but if you activate everything at once like that, of course people will get suspicious.”
The kingdom’s soldiers had arrived.
Pilkaya had warned me beforehand, but this time the intruders were clearly much stronger than usual, and the simple dungeon was overwhelmed.
The goblins were quickly defeated one by one, and they kept pushing forward, not stopping until they reached the boss room. They weren’t intruders; they were invaders.
The goblins led by the Goblin King in the boss room were also taken down one by one.
I should have let them clear the dungeon, but in my panic, I triggered all the traps I had set in the boss room.
I had triggered every trap I set…
I was stunned as I watched the massive rocks rolling down, but the soldiers who were caught in the damage must have been even more surprised.
Most of the soldiers were incapacitated by it, but one soldier remained and managed to help the others escape.
That soldier… fled. After all the work I put into adjusting the intruders, it all went to waste.
“At least if I had killed them… No, the kingdom probably knows by now. If the soldiers don’t return, they’ll get suspicious. Either way, we might have been stuck.”
“What the heck…? Why did soldiers from the kingdom suddenly show up? Did we drive off the intruders too successfully?”
“No, I don’t think there was any problem with Rey’s adjustments.”
“That’s right. Rey did his best. Let’s pat his head.”
“Thank you…”
Fiona and Primilla defended me, but it only made me more uneasy.
Why were the soldiers suddenly dispatched?
With that unsettled feeling, I went ahead and began replenishing the lost monsters and traps.
