The monster that appeared had a humanoid form, like a kobold, but its head did not resemble that of a dog.
Its face was terribly ugly, as if it had deformed a human child, with twisted ears and nose, a large open mouth, and bright red eyes.
Its skin was a dark green. With its thin, twisted arms, it held a sword-shaped weapon.
Upon seeing us, it ran towards us drooling.
“It’s a goblin. Rokuyari, I leave it to you.”
“Got it.”
Kazane stepped back. I took a step forward, holding a spear and a shield, preparing to face the unknown monster. It was considerably faster than a kobold, but not beyond our capabilities to deal with.
“Hah!”
As it approached, I forcefully threw my spear at it.
However, my attack was mistimed, and the agile goblin leaped back, avoiding it.
Both of us missed the opportunity to attack, facing each other a few steps apart, intensely watching and waiting for the chance to strike.
If Kazane had supported, it would have been easy, but it seems they want me to handle this situation alone.
“—Kishaaaaa!”
Perhaps impatient, the goblin let out a strange cry and lunged towards me. I tried to defend myself with my spear, but the goblin leaned slightly to the side, narrowly evading my thrust.
Then, it got closer.
“—Ooooooh!”
When it seemed like the goblin was about to close the distance between my spear and it’s dagger, I extended my shield with my left hand and lunged at him.
The goblin, unable to react to my move, was knocked down by a shield tackle and staggered.
Seizing that opportunity, I attacked the goblin with the spear.
Although I managed to stab its chest, one hit was not enough to make the goblin disappear.
When the goblin counterattacked sharply, I struck him with the shield to knock him down once more.
By stabbing the fallen goblin again with the spear, this time the goblin turned into a black mist and disappeared.
On the ground remained a magic stone with a mixed black and green color like a marble pattern.
As I picked it up, I heard soft applause.
“Excellent job, Rokuyari.”
“I don’t think I did much… My fighting style was a bit clumsy. Although, they are certainly a bit stronger than kobolds.”
“But winning without injuries is quite impressive.”
“You never know when I might face that thing again. I don’t think I would lose, but I might end up with a few wounds.”
“Haha, you’re very modest, Rokuyari. It’s reassuring to have someone like you as a partner rather than someone who boasts a lot.”
Partners… those words with such profound meaning should be avoided as they could create misunderstandings.
Well, that’s just my excessive paranoia.
Men tend to get confused quickly, don’t they?
While checking my status to confirm the gained experience, I found out that the goblin granted 7 experience points.
Comparing it to the 4 experience points from a kobold, it’s not bad.
The purchase price for the magic stone should have been 600 yen (540 yen net) for the goblin.
This is a 50% increase over the 400 yen (360 yen net) for the kobold’s magic stone.
Additionally, it is said that the explorer who lands the final blow takes all the monster’s experience.
In this current battle, Kazane did not receive any experience.
“However, I’m not so sure about level three… it seems a bit challenging. It might not be impossible, but maybe we should wait a bit longer on the second level to assess the situation…”
Kazane muttered to herself, showing a pensive expression.
“Personally, I would like to gain more experience on this level. But I guess it wouldn’t be as interesting for Fuu-nee, right?”
“Ugh… I’m sorry, it was my fault, so please, stop saying that… It makes me uncomfortable…”
Kazane placed her hand on her chest over her leather armor, looking uneasy.
However, thanks to her good humor, I start to understand a bit of the dynamics between us.
“So, how about we wait a bit more and when I reach level 4, we try to explore the third level? I’m only 27 experience points away from leveling up, and I feel like I already have a good grasp of what the second level is like.”
“Well, I think that sounds good. If that’s what you wish for, Rokuyari, let’s follow that plan.”
And so, after that, we agreed to continue exploring the second level together.
