Passing the guards and stepping into the cave's interior, a musty, damp smell pierced my nose.
The inside of the cave was wider than I'd imagined.
At the center stood a massive gate emitting a red glow, flanked by four knights from the kingdom and empire lining the walls on either side.
In front of the gate were three guards affiliated with the neutral zone.
Of course, it wasn't just knights.
There were people bearing their family crests, others with mercenary guild emblems etched into their armor.
Even those marked by the Mage Tower's insignia or tribal tattoos.
Groups of various people were forming parties in twos and threes or recruiting members.
A quick glance revealed a few familiar faces.
Some from yesterday's basic training were there too.
Had they already joined a guild?
No one paid me any particular attention, so I headed straight for the gate.
The guards standing watch showed no reaction, staring straight ahead.
I passed through the gate just like that—
Rumble.
An unpleasant floating sensation washed over me, my vision rippling before shifting to a different scene.
A vast dungeon illuminated solely by sporadically embedded torches on the walls.
It was the exact scene of the Underground Labyrinth Dungeon's first floor, one I'd seen countless times in the game.
Looking right behind me, the large gate was still shimmering.
The exit was intact as well.
Including this spot, there were ten such locations serving as both entrances and exits.
The guards had warned not to forget the way back here... but I didn't need to worry about that.
MapUnderground Labyrinth Dungeon - Floor 1
Activating the map from the Status Window unfolded the labyrinth dungeon's layout.
However, everywhere except my current position was shrouded in thick black fog.
Moving forward a bit, the fog on the map lifted slightly in sync with my steps.
It seemed I had to explore on foot to reveal the map like this.
It was a shame not to see the full map, but I roughly knew the paths anyway, so this was fine.
Just like the dungeon entrance, plenty of people were gathered here, resting or regrouping.
Some looked like they'd already been through a fight, with damaged gear.
"Alright then..."
Before diving into combat, I pulled up the Status Window for a final check.
Inventory3 / 7 Hejin Bag (2 slots) Emergency Escape Scroll 1st Circle: Fireball Magic Scroll ★★★ 1st Circle: Heal Magic Scroll ★★★ Empty
I'd only brought one of each scroll since they didn't stack.
One attack spell, one recovery spell, and an emergency escape scroll for dire situations—totaling three.
The rest were stored in the item vault, so I could pull more into my inventory as needed.
If the vault ran low, I could just draw more from the gacha.
Next up.
Owned RunesBasic Vitality Recovery Rune x99 Basic Mana Recovery Rune x99 Faint Strength Rune x9 Minor Magic Power Rune x9 Thin Protection Rune x9
I'd filled up mostly on recovery runes.
First, I pulled out three: ones boosting strength, magic power, and defense.
All runes had a 15-second cooldown, so I used them one by one, three times total.
The rune-inscribed stones orbited slowly around me before crumbling into dust.
At the same time, a subtle sense of comfort settled into my body.
This level of buffing wasn't game-changing, but better than nothing.
After doping up, I cautiously stepped forward, staying alert to my surroundings.
Leaving the exit area immediately revealed countless forks and corridors.
With the map open beside me, I picked one corridor and pressed on.
How long had I walked like that?
"Kiruk."
Around the midpoint, I spotted a room with its iron bars mostly rusted away, leaving a large hole.
Through the bars, small green-skinned monsters revealed themselves.
Goblins.
There were at least ten of them.
Clutching rusty daggers and crude clubs, they eyed me like fresh prey and charged through the bars with greedy stares.
A newbie explorer might panic and flee here or struggle to form ranks with party members.
But I stood my ground, watching them approach.
'Let's test it out.'
I casually raised my right hand and murmured softly.
"Chain Lightning."
In that instant.
Crackle!
A single bolt of lightning erupted from my fingertips, shooting straight toward the lead goblin.
"Kek?"
Before the goblin could react, the blue flash pierced its heart.
But that was just the start.
Zzzap—!
The lightning piercing the first goblin writhed like a living serpent, jumping to the next one beside it.
Then to another.
The blue electricity spread like a spiderweb, engulfing the entire goblin pack in an instant.
"Kieeeek!"
Their death cries echoed down the corridor as they collapsed into charred husks.
The pack of over ten goblins vanished without a trace.
⚙ System Notification ⚙[Goblin defeated.]
[Experience gained.] [Goblin defeated.]
...
A waterfall of system messages poured in.
I slowly walked over to where the goblins had been.
Amid the ashen corpses on the floor lay small, glowing blue stones.
Mana stones.
Substitutes for currency in this world and the source of all magic tech.
I bent down and picked them up one by one into my inventory.
A total of ten.
Being goblin drops, they were particularly small.
Size determined weight and value, but these looked worth about 20 labyrinth gold coins each.
That made roughly 200 labyrinth gold coins from the fight.
Labyrinth gold coins, minted in Labyrinth City, were low-grade things—basically copper coins plated with a bit of gold, hardly worthy of the name.
But backed by the Labyrinth Lords, they passed muster within the city.
Of course, outside the city, no one took them, so you had to exchange them before leaving.
A light meal in town cost around 50 labyrinth gold coins, so each was worth about 1,000 won.
Staying at an average inn ran 200 per night, so to build a buffer, I'd need to hunt a lot more.
"Hoo..."
But fatigue hit hard after the fight.
I leaned against the dungeon wall and took a light breather.
Chain Lightning was 1st Circle magic, but as a legendary spell, it guzzled mana at my level—my head throbbed.
I popped mana recovery runes every 15 seconds, but one or two weren't enough.
After eight runes, the headache vanished like a lie.
For now, I'd need at least two minutes of rest after each fight to recover mana.
It seemed inefficient, but it was necessary.
Just as warriors and knights trained their bodies, mages built magic power by casting frequently.
Since it grew magic power beyond just leveling, I couldn't fear the consumption.
Rest over, I stood back up.
The farming had only just begun.
---
"Kieek..."
The last goblin collapsed with a short death cry.
That made exactly 100.
At the same time, a large window appeared.
⚙ System Notification ⚙[Level increased.]
Even soloing 100 goblins' worth of EXP, I'd only just hit level 2.
2nd Circle unlocked at level 20.
"Long road ahead."
I'd been delving deeper for quite a while now.
Fewer and fewer other explorers or knights around.
The knights had warned against going too deep alone... but I had my reasons.
Namely, the treasure chests hidden in the dungeon.
Each floor of the labyrinth dungeon hid a set number of treasure chests.
They respawned on a cycle, all dropping from the boss monster's loot table.
Back in my online gaming days, bot farms and rice eaters infested these spots.
In ten years of playing, I could count on one hand the times I'd opened one.
"It was definitely around here."
Relying on memory after staring at fully mapped guides made navigation tricky.
After a few more forks and a narrow passage.
"Huh? You're definitely..."
A man suddenly blocked one passage.
I vaguely recalled the emblem on his chest.
The guy from yesterday's basic training, from a fallen noble house.
He'd apparently joined a mercenary guild since his armor bore the Dawn Guild's mark.
"Hey, you. How'd you know to come here?"
No reason to answer, so I tried to brush past.
He blocked my path with his body.
"Hold up. This area's Dawn Guild territory. Can't let you through."
"...Just wanna look around."
"Sorry, no entry. I'm just following orders to block the way."
His blocking stance felt off—forced.
Blocking with his body meant only one thing.
It's in there.
The treasure chest.
"Why block the path? Hiding something inside?"
"No use fishing for info. I don't know anything. Save your energy and turn back."
"And if I don't?"
"Then I'll block you with my body. Don't think about shoving past. You know what happens if you cause trouble here, right?"
The man grinned slyly.
Figures.
They'd been monopolizing chests by physically blocking paths like this.
No wonder only a newbie guarded it.
Confident veterans could kill a rookie like him without breaking a sweat, but...
Few would go that far for a single first-floor chest.
I considered ways to ditch him and slip in, but nothing clever came to mind.
I'd skip this chest.
There were plenty hidden on floor 1; I'd check elsewhere first.
Per the guards, the floor wasn't fully cleared yet, so other chests were likely untouched.
"Got it? Now scram. If you wanna make bank, join the boss hunt tomorrow. I'm heading there too."
Without a word, I turned down the opposite passage.
Each floor's boss respawned once a week in the designated boss room.
Anyone could join the fight, earning EXP based on contribution just for participating.
The final blow-taker hogged the main loot, so with luck, you could snag an artifact.
'Tomorrow... I need more spells.'
Chain Lightning was great for farming mobs but iffy against bosses.
Lightning could chain wrong and hit allies—big trouble.
I headed to the next treasure chest spot.
Five hidden on floor 1 total.
If I hustled, I could snag two more today.
One of them had to still be there.