Chapter 11: VS Hobgoblin

“Blaze Shot!”

The fired fireball hit the slime, evaporating it in an instant.

A space where the gray stone passageways intertwined like a maze. I was in the fourth level of the dungeon.

Since then, I had been observing Edgar’s actions, and it seemed that the threat was effective as he showed no signs of bothering Celia.

Besides, it’s Edgar’s study time now.

If it comes down to it, I’ve asked Camilla and Dominic, so even if I’m out of the mansion like this, there should be no problem.

“He went that way!”

“Take that!”

While glancing at the energetic adventurers, I proceeded through the dungeon, mapping it as I went.

In a game, the map would be drawn automatically, but there’s no such convenient function in reality.

“Blaze Shot”

Turning the horned rabbit I found into ash, I kept moving forward.

“A dead end… Hm?”

There was a small wooden box lying there. Could it be an item?

“Hmm?”

The wooden box was about the size that could be lifted with one hand, looking just like a typical treasure chest.

When I opened the treasure chest, inside was a white, square solid object.

“So, it’s soap… A dud.”

Soap. Basically, it’s just soap. In the game, it appeared as a cashable item. Just plain soap with no special effects. However, it had a familiar nice scent.

Well, it’s a marquis family that owns a dungeon. They probably use dungeon-produced soap in their daily lives.

“I guess I’ll take it, just in case.”

Shoving the soap into the backpack I carried on my back, I retraced my steps through the passageway, looking at my hand-drawn map.

I’ve challenged and cleared the ‘Heaven’s Trial’ dungeon many times, but I don’t precisely remember the maps of each level.

So, I often hit dead ends, but there are sometimes treasure chests randomly appearing at these dead ends. Making a wrong turn isn’t always a bad thing.

After defeating slimes, goblins, and horned rabbits, I finally reached the fifth level.

“What should I do about the boss fight…”

In the dungeon, bosses appear every five levels. If I remember correctly, the boss on the fifth level is a hobgoblin. It has higher attack and defense than a regular goblin. And there are three of them.

“Well, I think I can handle it.”

With such optimistic thoughts, I proceeded down the passage of the fifth level.

I took down goblins and slimes with ‘Blaze Shot’ in one hit, advancing further and further. Along the way, I found another treasure chest with a wooden bracelet. It’s a starter item that increases physical attack power by +1. Well, even something like this is better than nothing.

“So, this is the boss room…”

In front of me was a large double door.

The boss consists of three hobgoblins. I’ve faced one-on-three situations several times before. The power of ‘Blaze Shot’ is unusually strong, and I’ve been able to take down monsters in one hit so far, so I probably can handle this.

Without much tension or preparation, I opened the door.

The boss room was a spacious gray stone chamber. Despite the lack of a light source, it was bright as if the stones themselves were glowing.

In the center of the room stood three muscular hobgoblins. Each nearly two meters tall, they looked nothing like regular goblins. They were practically a different species.

As I stood there in astonishment, the three hobgoblins started running towards me.

“Wha—!? Blaze Shot! Blaze Shot!”

Two of the hobgoblins burst into flames from my Blaze Shot.

But that was all I managed.

“Bla—!?”

I tried to fire a Blaze Shot at the third hobgoblin, but it was too close. I wouldn’t be able to intercept in time. The hobgoblin already had me in its range and was throwing a punch with its hefty arm.

Instinctively, I reached out with my left hand to block the hobgoblin’s punch. In my confusion, my fingertips were lit with a small flame, like a candle.

I was about to pay the price for underestimating the dungeon.

Crack! Snap!

“Ugh—!?”

My body was flung backward as if my left arm had exploded.

I hit the floor of the boss room, but oddly, I didn’t feel any pain.

There was something more urgent!

I quickly turned around to see the last hobgoblin engulfed in a massive blaze.

“What…?”

As I voiced my confusion, the hobgoblin’s body crumbled away and vanished into white smoke. Looking around, there were no other hobgoblins in sight.

Instead, there was only the large treasure chest that served as the boss defeat reward.

“Did I… defeat it?”

I shouldn’t have attacked the third hobgoblin…

“Why?”

The only thing that came to mind was when I blocked the hobgoblin’s punch with my left hand. I was confused and, out of habit, had lit a small flame at my fingertips like a candle.

“Did it burn from that fire…?”

Even as I said it, it sounded ridiculous to me.

The spell that lights a flame at my fingertip doesn’t even have a name. 

There’s no way such a spell could have the power to defeat a hobgoblin!

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter