After sitting on the floor lost in thought for a moment, I decided to go as deep as possible.
"Sitting around here won't change anything."
With that, I headed toward the lower levels of the dungeon.
"Is that a goblin?"
I spotted a goblin, one of the iconic monsters of fantasy worlds.
"Six of them is a bit much..."
Before I could even finish the thought, I started to lose my mind again.
'Damn! I need to check how many attacks it takes to lose consciousness completely!'
Even as my mind grew hazy, I felt the blood in my entire body begin to boil.
"Ha! Haha!!"
I could feel my emotions rising before I even made a move.
'Something... feels a bit different from before?'
There was a clear difference; I was feeling things I hadn't in the previous fight.
'Thud! Thud! Thud!'
As I stepped forward, the sound of metal clanking against the floor echoed. The goblins' gazes immediately fixed on me, but—
"""Gyaaak!!"""
"""Gyaaak!!!"""
This time, before my opponents could even reach me, I charged them first.
"Gyaaak?!!"
Perhaps startled that their target had suddenly appeared before them, most of them hesitated for a moment.
"Crack!!"
"Gyaaaaaak?!!!"
In an instant, one of the goblin's arms flew off into the distance.
"Gyaaak!!!"
Another one lunged at me, but—
'Thump!'
From a low stance, a single kick took out its leg at the knee. It lost its balance and fell face-first to the floor.
"Gya, gyaaak!!"
"Gyaaak?!!"
I recalled hearing that monsters born in the dungeon were supposed to have no emotions, but the goblins before my eyes were clearly filled with fear, and—
"Ahaha! Farewell!!"
'Crunch!!'
Caught in a fit of elation at the sight, I laughed loudly and chased after the remaining goblins, stomping their heads until they burst like balloons or tearing out their spines.
"Haa... haa... Ugh?!"
A moment later, coming to my senses, I couldn't suppress the rising disgust and retched. Fortunately, since I hadn't eaten anything, nothing came up.
"Huff... What the hell? Am I a complete madman?"
Taking a life? They're just monsters, so it shouldn't matter. Yet, there was only one reason for my reaction.
"What kind of crazy bastard enjoys killing like this?!"
It wasn't the thrill of the hunt; I clearly felt that I was enjoying the act of killing itself.
"...I should just take the magic stones and get out of here."
Even if it was only against monsters, what I felt just now was definitely dangerous. I hurriedly left the dungeon.
"Damn... If this keeps happening, it'll be troublesome..."
It seems the only way left to earn money is to use the knowledge I possess.
"Sigh..."
I was about to head to the guild to sell the magic stones I'd obtained, but—
"Should have fought a bit more cleanly..."
I had to first remove the blood and bits of flesh stuck to my armor.
"Next time, I should wrap my fists in bandages... they're a bit sore from all the scratching."
Using the towel I'd brought just in case, I wiped the blood off my face and hands, then headed to the guild.
"Huh? Kai! Welcome... Eek?!!"
I startled the guild employee in charge.
"Phew... From now on, use the facilities in Babel Tower to wash up before coming!"
"Yes, sorry..."
Seeing how genuinely startled she was, I automatically became apologetic.
"Heehee, don't look so down~ Everyone is like that at first."
"...Then, couldn't you have explained that from the beginning?"
But for some reason, when I asked that, she paused for a moment and started stammering.
"Uh, well, you see... it's like, a kind of initiation?"
"...You just forgot, didn't you?"
"..."
"Right?"
"...Sorry."
"..."
Any guilt I felt vanished instantly.
"Eek?!!"
.
.
.
Honestly, I don't know what kind of face I made, but the people around me turned pale instantly. The girl in front of me was trembling, tears welling in her eyes, so I guessed my expression was pretty terrifying.
"I, I'll tell you everything now! Please, stop making that face!!"
She hurriedly grabbed my arm and took me to what seemed like a private room inside the guild.
"From the second floor of Babel upward, there are various amenities for adventurers, such as a cafeteria, an exchange counter, and medical clinics. From the fourth floor up, there are adventurer shops... typically, the Hephaestus Familia has branches from the fourth to the eighth floors."
She began explaining everything an adventurer needed to know, point by point.
"Um... that's the end of the basic orientation..."
"There's quite a variety, huh?"
"Yeah... Orario makes its money by exporting magic stones and related products from the dungeon, so I heard these facilities were established over time to support that."
"...But you forgot to mention all these important things during my initial orientation?"
"S, sorry..."
When the session ended and we left the room, several employees looked surprised.
'Misha giving a lecture for that long...'
'Working at the guild for a long time, you see scenes like this.'
'Indeed, indeed.'
'...But didn't you join later than Misha?'
'Hey! In times like this, just let it go!'
Judging by the other employees' whispers, it seemed she wasn't the most diligent worker by nature.
'No, this is only this much!!'
'Because of the monster horde that appeared at the end...'
'Today's total profit is...'
By the time the orientation finished, quite a bit of time had passed, and the guild was bustling with adventurers.
"...Misha?"
"Huh?"
"I want to exchange some magic stones. Where should I go?"
"Ah, for that, go to the exchange counter over there and say 'I came to exchange magic stones'!"
"Got it. Then, I'll be off."
As I headed to the exchange counter, Misha slumped down at her desk, exhausted.
'...Was my expression that bad?'
At the exchange office, I traded the eight magic stones I'd gathered today for cash.
"Eight magic stones from goblins and kobolds. That's a total of 3,200 valis."
"Thank you."
It was a small comfort that only eight stones could fetch 3,200 valis.
"Sigh... How should I explain this to Lord Miach..."
Even on the walk
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