They said three minutes, but Isagi actually took only two and a half to deal with this guy.
He truly, once again, felt the sheer power brought about by leveling up.
To his former Level 1 self, this was a [Monster] that would have required total concentration, a significant amount of time, and a careful strategy to defeat.
Now.
It felt no different from an ordinary mob; perhaps it was just slightly more durable.
After all, not only did he dual-wield—holding the greatsword "Great Fortune" in one hand for [Armor Break] and the [Glimmer Greatsword] in the other for damage output—going absolutely ham with dual greatswords for a good while.
It also ate several of Lefiya's spells.
As for Filvis, seeing such a creature that didn't look like an ordinary [Monster], she habitually guarded the mage first, waiting for an opportunity.
As a result, when she realized this guy didn't seem that tough, it had already been done in.
Thus, in this battle, the [Elf] girl's contribution to the team was infinitely close to zero.
If she had joined Isagi in the gang-up earlier, this guy probably wouldn't have even lasted two and a half minutes.
"Ah..."
Watching the "[Kobold] Guard," draped in layer upon layer of messy iron armor, crash to the ground, Lefiya also felt an inexplicable sense of reality that she had become stronger!
A [Monster] that was once incredibly powerful and could easily wipe out everyone in the School District was now taken down so simply.
The slight haze that originally existed in the girl's heart was swept away, further firming her determination to become a powerful adventurer!
"Let's take a break."
The [Border Fortress] before them had been mostly explored.
Isagi stepped forward, dug out the [Magic Stone] from the [Monster]'s body, and simultaneously picked up the two pitch-black sharp claws dropped by the opponent.
The bone fragments dropped by the previous "[Goblin] Guard" allowed Cecil to forge decent shields and armor; these two claws should also be able to be used to forge some good equipment.
Immediately, Isagi took down the "Saintess's Sigil" hanging from the corpse of the [Kobold] Saintess.
After doing all this.
He walked around the small plaza again, finding that apart from the cave they came from, there was no other exit. He only found a rather old-fashioned contraption on the side that looked like an "elevator."
Pushing the wooden lever mechanism nearby, the "elevator," composed purely of wood and chain winches, emitted a loud, tooth-aching noise.
Subsequently, the wooden platform within began to rise, moving slowly towards the top of the pit.
Until several minutes later.
The sound of the winch stopped. Isagi pushed the wooden lever beside him again, and the wooden platform slowly descended from above.
Fortunately, a shortcut could be opened. It wasn't so trashy that they had to backtrack the way they came; otherwise, Isagi would really have to give the [Dungeon] a bad review!!
It's just...
When it was confirmed that the "elevator" worked.
Isagi returned to the center of the plaza, to the circular iron door that looked like a sewer manhole cover, wondering if he could open it.
The result!
[Does not open from this side.]
Feeling this line of text float up in his heart, Isagi fell silent, thinking that the essential elements really couldn't be missing.
I actually laughed, guys.
Having thus "inspected" the surroundings, the two [Elf] girls had already started a campfire on one side of the plaza.
The orange light blended with the pure white glow of the [Magic Stone] lamp.
Lefiya skillfully took out the slightly cold fried potato balls and jerky from her backpack, set up an iron pot to boil a simple vegetable soup, and threw the dry rations she had on hand into it.
If conditions allowed in the [Dungeon], it was always more comfortable to eat hot food.
Filvis was also helping, though the girl still watched the surroundings with great alertness, ready to notice if the [Dungeon] spawned new [Monster]s at any time.
When Isagi walked over.
The thick soup was already cooked—slightly frozen vegetables, mushrooms, potatoes, plus jerky and the fried potato balls thrown in to boil again, seasoned with eggs and curry.
It looked strange, but the taste was unexpectedly good.
The ingredients inside were too rich, but mainly, in this environment, drinking piping hot soup just made one feel blissful.
"Ah~"
"Ah~"
The boy and the girl both let out comfortable sounds simultaneously.
As if they were becoming more and more tacit, Filvis even felt a sense of intimacy from how perfectly synchronized Isagi and Lefiya were.
"Mr. Isagi, do you think we are on the 5th Floor now?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Didn't we come down such a deep distance from above? This big hole was dug by [Goblin]s, right? They couldn't have dug through the [Dungeon], could they!!"
"I don't know."
Isagi thought to himself, perhaps Lefiya's guess was right. The so-called "[Goblin] Kingdom"—could it be the entire "[Hakoniwa]" connected together after the [Goblin]s dug through different floors?!
But indeed, no one knew.
Exactly how many meters separated the floors of the [Dungeon].
If speaking purely of the corridors connecting the floors, there was indeed a considerable distance—that long slope wasn't something you just walked down in a few steps.
And it got longer the deeper you went.
Similarly, the deeper the floors of the [Dungeon], the more vast they were.
The starting road of the 1st Floor, the pit platform directly below that circular staircase, could probably hold about several thousand people.
But by the time one reached the "[Under Resort]" on the 18th Floor, its area was already roughly equivalent to [Orario], which showed the complexity and exaggeration of the [Dungeon].
The boy and the girl chatted idly.
Filvis sat to the side, completely devoid of the lonely feeling of not being able to butt in. On the contrary, the slightly hot wooden bowl in her hand, the warm flames dancing before her eyes, and the small crackling sounds of the charcoal.
All made her rarely feel that her heart seemed to be calming down.
[It really feels like a dream.]
The scene before her was something she would never have thought of, no matter how she imagined it.
So, this must be a dream.
Watching Isagi and Lefiya seriously thinking about the so-called "[Goblin] Kingdom," Filvis even wanted to laugh a little.
This was some kind of long-lost, extremely plain, and very daily scene for adventurers.
The party gathering together, discussing the expedition, and not having to think about anything else.
It was really nice.
Filvis felt a certain "warmth." This was something incredibly precious to her at this moment.
So the [Elf] girl quietly moved a little further away from Isagi and Lefiya.
[After returning to the surface, I will refuse my compatriot's invitation.]
She knew Lefiya would definitely invite her to continue adventuring next time, but she truly was no longer worthy. Her heart was already full of filth; even just watching from afar was already some kind of extravagant hope...
...
"Let's head out!"
Having eaten and drunk their fill, and rested for a good while!
Isagi checked the time with a simple [Magic Stone] clock. This thing was a must-have for adventurers to roughly tell how long it had been since entering the [Dungeon].
And now, the clock showed that fourteen hours had already passed. Unknowingly, most of the day had quietly slipped away.
Thinking that he and Lefiya had entered the [Dungeon] around noon, it should be the latter half of the night in the city now.
He didn't feel sleepy at all; his spirit was even somewhat hyper!
After confirming that it was past midnight and his [Healing Gourd] and resurrection counts had refreshed—he hadn't used the resurrection, but he had drunk three sips of the [Healing Gourd] when fighting the [Two-Headed Lizard] earlier.
The current him could be described as being in "peak form"!
Thus, it was time to meet the [Floor Boss] behind the Fog Gate on the 4th Floor. Of course, Isagi wasn't stubborn; he had already agreed with the two [Elf] girls beforehand that if the situation wasn't right, they would retreat immediately.
Anyway, once his resurrection counts were used up, he would leave and absolutely not tangle with it.
So, very quickly.
The three took the elevator back to the top of the pit.
This was still inside the fortress. Borrowing the light of the [Magic Stone] lamps, they walked along the edge of the pit, simultaneously taking out the [Kobold]s that popped up from time to time.
Not long after.
They returned to the edge of that huge pit from before.
Then, following the edge, they circled around and returned to the front of the statue of the [Goblin]s' "[Pale King]."
And soon found the gate they came through, leaving this [Goblin Kingdom · Border Fortress].
Then, following the [Guild]'s map markers.
A long time later, Isagi and the two [Elf] girls arrived at the corridor between the 4th and 5th Floors, which was also where the Fog Gate was located.
In the long cavern.
It was still full of corpses of various [Goblin] soldiers, knights, and shamans, as well as weapons and armor, piled up in layers.
And walking past this cavern that looked like some ancient battlefield.
In front of the mist door.
A Land Temple also appeared quite naturally, with even wisps of smoke curling up, completely out of place with the surrounding scene.
Isagi had already switched to the "Retaking the West Journey" Character Card at this moment, preparing to use this to fight the BOSS and see.
It was all an attempt.
Character Cards could not be switched at will during combat. As for how "in combat" was specifically determined, Isagi hadn't tested it yet.
Without words, Isagi simply nodded to Lefiya and Filvis beside him.
Then the three of them walked into the Fog Gate just like that.
However, behind the thick clouds and mist, what appeared before the three was still a stone gate carved with a giant blue moon.
Before the gate, there were still many corpses of [Goblin] soldiers and knights piled up.
Among them, there was a [Glimmer Knight] corpse dressed more gorgeously, decorated with that kind of broad fur cape. It held a pitch-black lance and a shattered longsword, leaning against the stone gate in death.
And above it.
In the center of the stone gate was a circular depression, exactly able to fit the four "Saintess's Sigils" inside.
[Saintess's Sigil · Part I: The [Goblin] race cannot produce females, yet the "Blue Moon" they worship is a Mother Goddess. Therefore, [Goblin]s view females of all foreign races as symbols of sanctity and nobility, having the Kingdom's strongest knights swear to protect them to the death.]
[Saintess's Sigil · Part II: [Goblin]s once only fought for themselves and survival, thus becoming weak and treacherous, knowing neither what kin was nor the meaning of becoming stronger. The arrival of the King changed all this; this is the proof that the Pale replaced the darkness.]
[Saintess's Sigil · Part III: The Kingdom's Pale is not light, but an existence equal to darkness. Thus, the Saintesses of foreign races were always pursuing dazzling things, leading the [Goblin]s to believe this was a curse.]
[Saintess's Sigil · Part IV: The King taught the knights what love is, but because of this, hatred began to spread within the Kingdom.]
The two quest items obtained in this exploration completed the "plot details."
Perhaps it was just as Lefiya guessed.
And right now, why were there so many corpses of [Goblin] soldiers before the stone gate, as well as this corpse of a [Glimmer Knight]?
Could it be that the [Glimmer Knight] who became a general started a rebellion, seeking revenge against their [Goblin] "[Pale King]" for the Saintess who had died in the past?
And because this general took away most of the soldiers from the [Border Fortress], the defense there was very empty, resulting in the [Kobold]s, who were originally enslaved by the [Goblin]s, occupying that place instead?
What a great show!
Isagi felt there was nothing wrong with the plot he had pieced together.
As the four quest items were inlaid inside one by one, the stone gate slowly opened, revealing a scene like a garden behind it.
Ancient stone pillars stood tall. Large clusters of fluorescence seemed to form a sky, gathering above everyone's heads, illuminating the entire courtyard and presenting a rather elegant pale blue color.
It was like a world gently caressed by moonlight under the night sky.
But amidst such gentle light, among the shattered pale masonry on the ground, there were still many [Goblin] corpses.
Among them.
There were also several dead [Glimmer Knight]s wearing heavy capes.
Their weapons had all been snapped, and their bodies even presented a strange twist. The originally exquisite pale armor on their bodies also showed quite exaggerated deformation, as if they were soda cans that had been crushed.
And at the end of all this.
In front of the corridor that seemed to lead to the 5th Floor, a [Goblin] slowly stood up.
It hunched its body and wasn't particularly tall, only a little over one meter in total. Its head was full of gray-white messy hair and a beard.
It wore no armor at all, instead being bare-chested, with pitch-black fur and complicated dark hakama-like pants wrapped around its waist. That dark green body was full of scars; rather than a [Goblin], it looked more like those dwarves with explosive muscles.
And behind it, a [Dungeon Lizard] that also looked very old and covered in cuts and bruises raised its head as well.
"The King has not permitted your audience."
The [Monster] guarding this place spoke.
At the same time, it picked up the iron hammer at its hand and mounted the lizard that had already come before it. Golden lightning suddenly exploded, and amidst that roaring, ear-piercing thunder, its name also surfaced in the hearts of the boy and girls—
[Veteran General Gmorrs].
___
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