Chapter 17 - Dungeon Floor Boss : Goblin

Dungeon – Floor 3

After a short rest, we continued onward toward the final floor—the boss room.

As we walked, more and more monsters started coming our way. Maybe it was because we were close to the core... and no one had ever made it this far before.

“Oh... six goblins at once,” I muttered, waiting for them to come to me.

The three in front charged first, leaping straight at me.

“Huh... why do they always do the same thing?” I sighed, then swung my sword in a wide horizontal arc.

Just as they entered my range—slash—three down.

The fourth one came in with a high jump, aiming right for my face.

As it neared, I stepped in and slammed my shield upward, catching it squarely under the chin.

Crack! The goblin went flying, tumbling backward through the air and landing with a harsh bounce.

The fifth one came at me, charging with a blunt dagger raised in its hand.

Before the weapon could even reach me, I swung my sword in another horizontal slash.

A clean hit—he dropped instantly.

And the sixth?

I glanced over just in time to see him rushing toward Ranya... but by the time I focused, the goblin was already collapsing with his throat slit, blood trailing through the air behind her blade.

I took a breath and activated my rune magic—[Mana Sight], a technique I’d learned from Lilith.

Even now, I couldn’t help but be amazed. I watched as the dead goblins' mana slowly evaporated, their essence fading into the air like glowing mist.

Half of the goblin’s mana evaporated into the air… but the other half drifted toward Ranya, slowly seeping into her body like shimmering threads of light.

“Gifted, huh...” I muttered, watching the remains of the goblin I had just defeated.

I let out a sigh as I stared at the goblin I had just defeated. About seven-eighths of it evaporated into nothingness—only a faint fraction, maybe one-eighth, entered my body.

Renya, hearing my mumble, turned toward me and asked,
"What is it, Prince?" she said with a puzzled tone.

I looked at her with interest and said,

“After defeating that goblin just now… did you feel anything?”

She tilted her head slightly, then shook it.

“No. Nothing.”

“I see...” I replied, half to myself.

With that, we continued walking—heading straight for the boss room.

Lower Boss Gate

As we stood before the gate, its ornate design caught my eye—it looked more like the entrance to a luxurious mansion than a dungeon boss room.

Staring at it, I asked innocently (and rather foolishly),
"Can we take this door home? The design’s just too good to leave behind..."
I said happily, admiring the door with genuine awe.
Renya let out a long sigh and pressed her hand to her forehead.
"Go ahead and try," she replied in a resigned tone.

Taking her words literally, I walked up to the wall beside the gate and slashed, then slashed again. I stabbed, then stabbed again into the wall with my sword—hard.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. For about 6 minutes.

“...Hard. Not even a scratch,” I muttered, sighing in defeat.

Seeing me looking gloomy, Renya glanced over and said,
"Done fooling around?" she asked with an expressionless face.

Then she placed her hand on the gate and said,
"Let's go in," as she pushed it open and stepped inside.
"Okay..." I replied with a tone of resignation, trailing in behind her.

As we stepped inside, six goblins were already waiting for us.

One stood at the center—the leader. A Goblin General, clad in crude armor with a sturdy shield and a one-handed sword.

Flanking him were four Goblin Soldiers, all similarly armed with worn-down swords and dented armor. Behind them, a lone Goblin Sorcerer stood, clutching a crooked staff and muttering something under his breath.

After I stepped forward to face the group of goblins alone, Renya’s calm voice came from behind me,
"Need help?" she asked, her tone serious.

I grinned, spinning the sword once in my right hand as I said,
"No. This looks like an interesting bit of training,"
then dashed forward.

The Goblin General let out a guttural cry—

“Hua!”

—drawing his sword and pointing it at me.

At his signal, the four goblin soldiers charged.

Two of them came at me from opposite sides, trying to flank me.

“Perfect… a chance,” I muttered with a grin, dashing to the left.

I intercepted the goblin's swing with a sharp parry using the shield on my arm, then leaned forward. My blade slashed forward in a horizontal swing from the right, toward his neck. —

Slash!

—with a swift, clean strike, it ripped through half his neck.

As the first one fell, I swung my sword to the right in a horizontal slash, spinning my body in the same direction.

Clang!
My sword clashed with the second goblin’s weapon. Since it had leapt into the attack, the impact threw it off balance and sent it crashing to the ground.

I pulled my sword back and raised my shield in front of my chest, taking a defensive stance.

Just as expected, the third goblin charged in, lifting his sword overhead for a downward slash.

As he stepped into range, I slammed my shield upward—

Slam!

His sword bounced off from the impact, throwing him off balance.

I thrust my blade forward and—slash!—pierced his neck cleanly.

Just as the fourth goblin moved in from behind the one I had just killed, I drew my sword back and kicked the corpse forward—knocking it into his path.

At the same time, the second goblin—the one I had clashed with earlier—was just starting to rise to his feet.

I didn’t give him the chance.

With a swift horizontal slash, I swept my blade across his exposed side—

Slash!

—cutting him down before he could react.

Three down.

With no goblins left near me, the Goblin General let out a low grunt.

“Huh…”

I looked up—

A glowing fireball was already forming in the air right in front of me.

Damn...

He’s been preparing a spell this whole time!

I ducked low and sprinted forward, dashing toward the last goblin soldier—the one still struggling beneath the weight of a fallen comrade.

He hadn’t even noticed me yet.

As he tried to push his friend’s body off, I brought my sword down in a clean slash—

Slash!

The blade cut deep before he could react.

Four down.

As I sprinted toward him, the Goblin General steadied his stance, holding his shield at the ready.

Looks like he’s about to use a skill… I thought, narrowing my eyes.

Sure enough, just as I closed the distance and searched for an opening, he activated it—

[Shield Bash]

I leapt instinctively.

He aimed the bash upward, trying to catch me mid-air—

Now’s my chance.

While hovering above him, I grabbed the front edge of his shield and flipped my body upside down—my feet now in the air.
While still midair, I drew my sword in a swift arc from right to left—
—Slash!
My strike cut across his neck midair.

The Goblin General staggered—then dropped.

With the Goblin General down, only the sorcerer remained.

As I landed with a spin and dropped straight into a standing stance, I saw the goblin mage frozen in place—just three meters behind his general's corpse.
No other spell was prepared.
Easy.
Without wasting a moment, I sprinted toward him and slashed.
—Slash!
One clean strike. Over.

From behind me, I heard Renya’s voice, casual as ever.

“Heh... that was pretty fast, Prince.”

I ignored her comment and walked past the bodies.

“Now,” I said, heading toward the glowing chest that appeared after the battle, “let’s see what kind of loot we got.”

Inside the chest were:

Goblin General’s Sword

Goblin General’s Shield

Iron Ingot

Goblin Staff

Magic Core Middle-Grade Medium quality

As I looked over the loot, my eyes landed on the mid-high-quality magic core.

A grin crept onto my face.

“Looks like it’s time for me to make an RC Digger,” I muttered, still holding the core up to the light.

Renya raised an eyebrow behind me but said nothing—probably already used to my strange ideas.