Rupegia Ch. 03: Royd’s Kerfuffle

The gore coupled with the free nudity is making me feel sick.

The fourth goblin appears. It has a spear and a loincloth.

Finally, some decency. But does this mean that he's more experienced?

He charges at me and his spear slides off my shield. I try to counter, but he keeps his distance this time.

Question answered, he really is smarter.

It takes a few hits, but I manage to deflect his spear with my shield in a way that he opens up his guard, so I lunge forward and slash his face.

He falls and tries to bring his spear back, but I put my foot on his arm, then I pierce his heart. With his free hand, he grabs the blade of my sword and his face distorts in pain.

"Grah..." He lets a small moan and dies.

That was odd, the first three didn't show any emotion, but this one did.

I'm getting creeped out by the flashbacks of the goblin drowning in his own blood.

I cut the goblin's ear and quickly move on.

Soon after, I meet another naked goblin, this one with a sword. I try something out and let him hit my shield with, then I riposte and kill him.

The hits don't hurt, but they tire me out. The spear doesn't have much weight behind it, but the sword does. If I want to last in this dungeon, I can't let myself get tired after every fight. Just because I can block, doesn't mean that I know the best way to block.

I wander about without meeting anything for a while, then I finally encounter a Mandrake. It's am ugly thing about half a meter tall, just like the books said.

Immediately after seeing it, I get dizzy and almost fall as my ears get attacked by an extremely high pitched buzzing.

This is fucking terrible I don't want to meet this little shit ever again.

The monster immediately charges, and I can see it pointing its two spear-like arms towards me.

I barely regain my footing in time to desperately slash at it before it collides with me. I feel the sword sliding along its chest, but it doesn't sink as deep as before. Its skin is much tougher than a goblin's.

With the slash, I send it back to the ground, then a greenish, transparent fluid starts pouring out of its chest wound.

The little fucker is tenacious, it immediately gets up again and points its arms towards me. In my rage, I do a savage chop, and my sword gets embedded into its head, then it goes limp.

"You are now level 6," says the familiar female announcer.

--

Haha, what the fuck. I have an ugly baby head in my hand, dripping with green blood.

A sigh escapes my lips.

Fuck this world.

I suck it up and cut off its two ugly distorted yellow feet because they're valuable as ingredients. I open my skill window and I put the 4 points into [Mental Resistance]. This way, the next Mandrake will be more bearable.

I could put those points into [Sword Use], but the benefits seem to be decreasing drastically. Just knowing "how" to swing a sword won't help me if I can't physically swing it the way I want. I have to raise my "Stats" some more, I think.

I continue forward and meet another goblin with a dagger. This time, I try my [Lightning Bolt] on it, and it takes four hits before it dies.

Took too long and used too much mana. I need to put more points into magic before I can use it as a main source of damage.

--

It has been a few hours, so I'm starting to become hungry. I sit down and pull out some meat and vegetable sticks to eat.

Afterward, I heed nature's call. The dungeon absorbs anything you leave around, so it's going to be okay. It's really embarrassing to be so vulnerable in the open like this, but with [Sense Presence], I know when someone is coming.

I temporarily put a point into [Conjuring Magic] and [Light Magic], then I use them to clean myself. It takes one-fourth of my mana, so the mana cost is kinda high.

After moving a good distance away, I decide to sit down and wait for a little until my mana is back to full.

--

While resting, another goblin appears. This one has a loincloth and a sword.

He screams while charging, but his skill can't compare to mine, and I easily decapitate him. I wasn't fully rested, so I change resting places again.

I notice that the enemies are giving less experience than before. I guess I'll have to go to the next floor once I level up.

The next monster is Bush Baby appears. Its vines are long, about three times the length of a spear, so the strategy is to cut the vines multiple times until I can approach it safely. If I rush it, the vines will bend and pierce me from the back.

This monster is quite annoying to deal with. The attacks are fast and start to tire me out. My [Block] isn't good enough, so my body starts hurting from the exertion. It's taking me too long to cut the vines, so I cast [Lightning Bolt] three times, and on the third, it gets stunned.

An opportunity!

I jump forward and cut off the first vine, but the second barely escapes. Now I just have to deal with one vine until its body is in range of my sword.

The vine slams against my shield once and I slash the air, then it slams a second time and I miss again. On the third slam, I get the timing right and cut it off. Now I can reach it with my sword.

I dash towards it, then I slash its head and a long cut appears. It loses its balance, and that's enough of an opening for me, so I chop, and my sword gets stuck midway into its head.

It's a bit of a shame that the leaves got damaged, but I have no time to care for it. I cut off its head and apply [Regeneration] to myself, easing the pain from the tiredness.

I look at my stats and see that the monster did one point of damage to my health. That's rather surprising since it didn't even draw blood.

After a minute, the pain stops and I move on. I go towards the stairs to the next floor because the monsters around it are stronger.

--

Two Mandrakes appear side-by-side.

Fuck.

I think I got a little too confident. Even with [Mental Resistance] I'm just barely able to remain standing up. This is a problematic situation.

I instinctively cast [Lightning Bolt], and it hits one of the monsters, slowing down its charge. The other jumps and aims for my heart with its pointy arms.

Good thing that they're dumb. I just slash at the first one, then the second comes right behind, and it slams against my shield. Its attack packs more punch than the Bush Baby, so I grit my teeth and hold my ground.

The first one falls back due to the push from the slash, and the second one falls on my feet. Feeling the danger, I kick the second one and it flies away a few meters. The little shit is tough as fuck, so the kick hurts my toes.

The first one gets up and jumps again, then I bash its head with my shield. It falls backward on the ground, then I pierce its face with my sword. It wriggles for a few seconds then stops moving.

I look forward and the other Mandrake is mid-jump, so all I can do is block with my shield. The impact makes me step backward, and I lose the grip of my sword that's still stuck on the body of the Mandrake.

This is bad.

I kick the Mandrake again and feel an immense pain on my toes. This time it doesn't fly far.

I cast [Lightning Bolt] twice, and on the second time, it gets stunned. That's enough of an opening for me to get my sword back.

It stops convulsing for a moment, then it starts to move again, but it's too slow. I chop down with all my strength before it can react, and my sword sinks into its skull until it touches the nose.

I dislodge my sword and sit on the ground while trying to avoid looking at all the gore. My head is spinning and my arm is tired from the impact, so I cast [Regeneration] again.

That was brutal. My heart is racing and fear courses through every inch of my body.

Mandrakes are a weak enemy, but two at the same time is no joke. I need to go back near the entrance and keep killing goblins. If it wasn't for my [Mental Resistance], I think I'd be dead by now.

I harvest the enemies and notice something change within me. I open my "Skills" and see that I got [Dismantling] level 1.

That was easy, shouldn't I need to practice more? Or was it because I had already acquired some knowledge through books? Eh, whatever...

--

I hurry back to the entrance and keep killing goblins. After the sixth one I hear, "You are now level 7."

I put all my points into [Sword Use] (now 9+1), then I decide to take a break and rest.

A few minutes later, I get three large hits on my [Sense Presence], but these aren't monsters. Soon enough, I start to hear footsteps, then I see three adventurers coming towards me from down the corridor. I quickly put points in [Andraste Language].

"Oh? Greetings," the man in the front says. He seems young, perhaps slightly older than me. He has neatly combed brown short hair, giving him a refined air. He carries a shiny short sword, a pristine large kite shield, and he's wearing some really-well made black leather armor with thick padding. He seems wealthy.

Beside him, there's a rough-looking man wearing chainmail and a bastard sword. He looks a few years older than us. I see short light brown hair peeking from below his chain coif.

Behind them, there's a woman in a dark blue robe wielding a simple wooden staff with a blue gem at the tip. She's a fully grown woman with straight brown hair that reaches her shoulders. She has a cute and calm face with a button nose and a small chin.

"Hello," I answer. I get up and do a full nod.

"You're here for training?" The young man asks.

"Yes, I'm practicing my sword," I respond calmly.

He smiles gently. "Well then, be careful when you meet more than one monster. It's easier to just run away because it's really hard to fight while alone. Be well." He waves and moves on.

"T-thank you. Goodbye," I answer meekly, then I roll my eyes at my own awkwardness.

What an odd exchange, but I also wish had I met him about an hour ago.

Are they planning on staying here for the night? It's going be dusk soon, so starting to explore now is a waste.

I shrug and continue hunting goblins.

--

I meet another Mandrake, and it's alone this time. [Mental Resistance] helps a lot when it's just one. I'm no longer dizzy, but my ears still hurt a lot.

It seems that the extra points in [Sword Use] make it much easier to slit its throat in a single slice. This takes some aim, but at least this way it's much harder to get my sword stuck on its body like what happened last time.

Then I meet another Bush Baby. This time I make steady progress and shave away its vines until I can bury my sword in its head. It's still tiring, but at least I don't need to use magic.

This is considerable progress for just a day. It's very motivating, but I feel like this isn't how things are supposed to be done.

I kill two goblins and rest again.

The Experience is very low now. I need to kill forty goblins just to level up. My best chance to level up is to find Mandrakes or Bush Babies. But it's already late, and I'm way too tired to continue hunting.

I go back towards the dimensional door, then I exit the dungeon, and I'm teleported right beside the entrance. I see that it's already night, so at least my sense of time wasn't completely screwed by staying so long inside the dungeon.

--

The squad of guards has changed. There are five of them and they mostly stay inside their small hut while a single one stays outside, near the entrance to the dungeon.

I give him a nod, then go towards the grove to find a secluded corner. I find a pair of adventurers making a tent in a small clearing, then I move away from them and set up my camp.

I pull out of my "Items" a ready-made meal. Near the Crafter's Corner there are plenty of stalls that sell small boxes with food that's easy to eat, so I bought a few. This one has a loaf of bread with bean paste inside, a handful of a vegetable that reminds me of broccoli, and a few pieces of fried Rabid Rabbit meat. I feel a little uncomfortable with eating anything with "Rabid" on the name, but it actually tastes good. It's slightly marbled, which makes me surprised that it's so cheap.

I brush my teeth, I put a lot of points into Conjuring so that I can fill a bucket of water to wash, turn on my [Monster Repellent] crystal, position my [Proximity Warning] crystals around me, bring out my sleeping bag, and finally, I try to sleep. Let's put emphasis on try, because this bag is really uncomfortable. I should've bought a tent and a better sleeping bag.

The dungeoneering guide says to sleep with your armor on, or at least have leather armor if you can't sleep in your plate or chain. So I guess this can't be helped, adventurers are just fated to sleep badly.

I stare up at the sky, but I only see clouds, not even a single star. Eventually, my tiredness overwhelms my anxiety and I fall asleep.

--

I dream again of the goblin drowning in its own blood.

--

The sun wakes me, and I feel that my body is sore and stiff. This was a terrible night.

Fuck, is this going to become a trauma? I'm already uncomfortable sleeping in the open like this, I don't need recurring nightmares screwing with me.

I break fast with a goblin meat stick. It's very salty and dry, but I only have water to drink. I need to buy some fruit juice when I go back to town.

I miss coffee, I miss chocolate milk, I miss tea, I miss soft drinks (diet only).

I look into my stats and notice that my "Magic Power" and MP have risen by five. It seems that using spells slowly builds up your mana and power. Unfortunately, no other stat has risen, so I guess I need to nearly kill myself every day to raise my "Strength" or "Endurance."

I stretch a little; recover my crystals; store my tent; and turn off my repellent stone; then I get ready to go back inside the dungeon.

--

I decide to get closer to the stairs again. Mandrakes or Bush Babies are too rare, and it's taking too long to level up, so I'm getting greedy.

I meet two Mandrakes in sequence and easily dispatch them. I'm really getting used to handling their shrieking. My strategy to deal with more than one is also ready, but I'm a little dubious about how to deal with two Bush Babies.

My theory-crafting is cut because I detect a goblin coming towards me. I meet it head-on and see that it's wearing a full set of padded leather armor: jacket, pants, mittens, boots, and a cap. It wields a small round metal shield and a shortsword.

I need to aim for the neck or face, trying to cut through that armor just won't be possible.

"GYEEEH!" The goblin screams and charges forward.

I deflect the first blow and attack with my sword, but it dodges backward and evades. I try to follow up with an upwards slash, but it blocks my attack with the edge of his shield.

It tries to slash sideways towards my face, but I evade by jerking my body backward. The goblin is short, so his sword barely reaches me, but still, it was dangerously close.

The goblin overcommits and swings wide, creating an opening for me. I bash its shield and it loses its balance, then I follow up and thrust at its neck.

It jerks its body and avoids a fatal wound, but I still manage to inflict a nasty cut on its neck, and blood starts pouring profusely over its shoulder.

It jumps backward and tries to regain its balance, but I cast [Lightning Bolt] and immediately slash towards its face. The bolt hits and its entire body twitches. The goblin didn't get stunned, but its reaction is dulled enough that my slash cuts at its cheek deeply.

"GAAAAH!" The goblin screams and loses its balance again.

This time, its guard is fully open, so I lunge and jam my sword into its eye socket. It groans as its body twitches, then goes limp and dies.

"You are now level 8."

Now, what do I need, exactly?

I clean my sword and sit down to think.

Perhaps more [Mental Resistance]? The two Mandrakes were rough to deal with, but maybe there's another way to deal with them that doesn't involve Resistance. Mandrakes are vulnerable to fire, so maybe one point in Fire and then the rest in [Mental Resistance]? Also, [Blessing Magic] level 1 sounds good. I'm not using a lot of spells, so maybe I could spare some MP for a self-buff.

Hm... Blessing will be left for later. I'll put one point in [Fire Magic], and the other three in [Mental Resistance] (now 7). The biggest threat to me right now is reduced mental capacity during a fight with a Mandrake leading me to make a bad decision. There's also what the wealthy adventurer said, I can just run if I meet two dangerous enemies, but I have to be capable of making a correct decision. In the lower levels, monsters don't generally work together, so it was a coincidence that they were walking together.

With that done, now I need a target to test my [Fireball].

The first guinea pig to volunteer is a naked goblin with a dagger. I cast [Fireball] and I hit it right on the face, then he falls backward and screams in pain.

Weren't the naked ones supposed to be emotionless? I need to revise this theory.

Ah, exposed flesh is more vulnerable to fire than lighting, so [Fire Magic] is more useful here than lightning. If the stunning effect of [Fireball] on the Mandrakes and Bush Babies is stronger or equal to [Lightning Bolt], then I will take the point in [Electric Magic] and put it in [Blessing Magic].

I thought that fire damage only did more damage to enemies in comparison to [Electric Magic], but I ignored the physical aspect of burning something alive. I didn't think about it because the book spent more time talking about harvesting and the fact that the monsters are vulnerable to [Fire Magic] was only mentioned in passing. Perhaps it's because it's an easy enemy. Magic seems pretty powerful here, so I find it difficult to believe mages would spend their precious mana killing such small fry when the front line could effortlessly hack their way through.

I think this sort of information would likely be found in magic books, but I didn't look too deep into the ones at the guild because they were a bit too esoteric. I need to go to the university's library for that.

I keep grinding monsters, and after half a dozen goblins, I finally find a Mandrake. Its scream was really painful before, but now it's completely bearable. I think now I'm ready to fight two Mandrakes without much risk.

I immediately cast [Fireball] at the monster.

The ball hits its face and the screaming reduces in intensity. It's super effective! The Mandrake slows down and almost stops. It pats its head with its pointy hands in a desperate attempt to stop the small fire that the spell created.

A perfect opportunity. I charge and easily decapitate it.

Also testing this spell on a Bush Baby might be prudent, but I'm feeling confident it's going to be even more effective. The Bush Baby leaves seemed very dry, so I believe them to be a weak point against [Fire Magic].

I remove [Electric Magic], put a point into [Blessing Magic], and cast [Wind Armor] on myself. The magic creates a ball of light on my palm, then I touch myself, and the spell is cast on me. This magic creates a sort of wind-based "kinetic shield" that protects my entire body, slowing down physical attacks by using air resistance. Every few seconds, I can see small distortions around my body, and also a slight breeze whenever that happens.

Unfortunately, the spell has a huge cost, and half of my MP is gone. Coupled with the two [Fireballs] I used, I barely have any mana left, so spend some time resting.

I notice that meditating really does increase the rate that my mana recovers, but I need to make sure that I don't fall asleep since I have to keep my eyes closed.

--

I get up and move forward. I think I'm ready for the next level, so I move steadily towards the closest stairs and kill a few goblins on the way.

The stairs are just a simple downward set of steps that end in the same ominous black rectangle like the one of the entrance and exit. I cross it, and the same floor select menu appears, but now it has a "2nd floor" option, so I press it and I'm teleported to the new floor.