Chapter 41

Day Two.

Due to getting used to the routine, the extermination speed of Thor and his party increased even further.

Through the first day's battle, it was determined that there were six groups of hobgoblins roaming the first floor.

The largest group consisted of three members, all combinations of Fighters and Shooters.

Hobgoblin Shamans seemed to come from the second floor.

Upon entering the cave, Mu first used <Electric Detection> for reconnaissance.

They approached the nearest location without lighting, relying on Mu's purple eyes, and engaged in combat.

Each battle lasted only about five minutes.

Afterward, they turned on the rented magic stone lamps to collect ears and magic stones.

They repeated the process of extinguishing the light, reconnoitering, and moving.

Although the hobgoblin fighters had started wielding swords, they swung them with brute force, only slightly extending their reach.

This posed no problem for Thor, who excelled in evasion.

The stones thrown by Shooters, which tended to spin irregularly due to their shape, were easy targets for Sora to <Reverse> diagonally.

The extermination of the first floor took less than an hour, much to the surprise of the foreman of the miners.

It was said that first-time parties, due to the unfamiliar environment, often couldn't even clear the first floor on the first day.

Recognizing that Thor's party was different, the number of miners increased to fifteen from the second day onward.

In the morning, they managed to defeat forty-seven hobgoblins in one attempt, and in the afternoon, they defeated another forty-seven.

Each hobgoblin's bounty was fifty copper coins, and they granted five skill points.

The rusty swords were in such poor condition and quite heavy, making them not worth carrying back, but the magic stones they could collect were grade nine, fetching fifty copper coins each.

Additionally, they hunted eighteen goblins outside.

Since they still had pork, they avoided hunting the large caterpillars and armored boars, which were difficult to carry back.

The first day's earnings were four silver coins, five large copper coins, and one medium copper coin.

On the second day, they earned four silver coins, four large copper coins, and eighty copper coins.

The expenses were about one medium copper coin for renting the magic stone lamps.

On average, each person earned about ninety skill points per day.

"Dungeons are really profitable, huh?"

"Well, usually a party of five challenges them."

"Is it because Mu is overperforming!?"

Indeed, that was the case, so Thor and Sora each pulled and poked Mu's cheeks from both sides.

Day Three.

The foreman of the miners showed them a map and explained.

The first floor of this goblin cave had a long corridor leading east, with three dead-end corridors branching off to the south and one circular corridor leading north and rejoining the main path.

The sloping path to the second floor was suspected to be at the end of the eastern corridor.

The excavation of the southern corridor was completed.

With the number of miners increasing to twenty, a new guard party was formed to prevent monsters from gathering during the waiting period.

"Good work, Thor!"

"Hey, nice to see you."

"Thanks."

"Hello."

The young adventurers who arrived were familiar faces: Sisan, Rikkar, Hink, and Alesia.

The four had met Thor when they were attacked by a group of armored boars a few days ago. They were still working to earn money for repairs and replacements of their damaged equipment.

Sisan, who had a large hole in his round shield, shyly showed a rented small shield.

Since Thor and his party had cleared the goblins around the cave, their job was to ensure the safety of the miners' trips to and from the town.

Previously, the four would be exhausted after fighting just a few goblins, but now they could defeat several groups in a day.

"It's all thanks to Thor."

"Seems like we've developed some guts. We don't get scared as easily anymore."

"You used to swing your sword wildly when you charged, but now you know how to retreat properly."

"You've started shooting arrows more often too. You used to act cool and never shoot."

"Since we've had fewer injuries, my job has decreased, but I can watch with peace of mind. Thank you for everything."

On the third day, they defeated forty-nine hobgoblins and fifteen goblins.

Including the sale of magic stones, their earnings were four silver coins, three large copper coins, and ten copper coins.

Day Four.

Hunting hobgoblins on the first floor had become stable.

They had completed the excavation of two southern corridors, and the third was expected to be finished by the end of the day.

After finishing their work and coming out of the cave, Thor was asked by Sisan and the others if they could join the mining.

In fact, the exploration party had the right to mine and take the ore, but they had abandoned it due to the difficulty of carrying it.

Thor and his party had no plans to make heavy iron armor.

For example, ten suitable iron ores mined with a pickaxe fetched two large copper coins, and ten copper ores fetched fifty copper coins.

When Thor nodded, Sisan and the others were overjoyed and rushed into the cave.

For some reason, Mu was also among them, so Thor grabbed him by the neck to stop him.

"Mu wants to dig holes too!"

"You like digging that much?"

"Playing with rocks is really fun, Thor."

"Is that so?"

"If you hit a mountain of rocks, they tumble down with a rumble!"

Thor remembered that children used to play such games during breaks.

"Alright, if you can wait until we finish the goblin hunt, I'll help you. Can you wait that long?"

"Okay! You're the best, Thor."

Thor was surprised by Mu's unexpected control.

On the fourth day, they defeated fifty hobgoblins and seventeen goblins.

Their earnings were four silver coins, four large copper coins, and one medium copper coin.

The hunting was going smoothly, and the earnings were excellent.

However, Thor's face was slightly clouded.

Day Five.

They defeated forty-six hobgoblins and thirteen goblins.

Their earnings were four silver coins, two large copper coins, and thirty copper coins.

The total earnings over the five days were twenty-two silver coins and twenty copper coins.

The excavation of the three southern corridors was completed.

Next, they would move to the north and finally the large eastern corridor to finish the first floor.

"Wow, I haven't seen such rapid progress in a long time. To be honest, I didn't expect much at first. I thought, 'If they can make it halfway, it'll be a good start.' But, to my surprise, this is what happened. I was completely taken aback."

"Too much praise makes me feel a bit embarrassed."

"No, no, it's really impressive. I almost judged you by your appearance."

"Sora is so cute, no one would believe it."

"Haha, that's true."

During breaks, they started sharing light snacks, and Sora had become quite close with the miners.

Her cute appearance and innocent personality quickly made her popular.

While glancing at the cheerful Sora, Thor discussed the future plans with the foreman of the miners.

"So, you'll take a break in the morning and start challenging the second floor in the afternoon. Is that too soon?"

"The first floor is no longer a problem. We'll just check it out lightly."

"Got it. It helps us finish our work faster, but I don't want you to take unnecessary risks. ... I heard a lot from the lumberjacks. They said it would have been dangerous without you. I didn't believe it at first, thinking it was a joke, but seeing your work, I'm convinced. Sorry for doubting you."

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm used to it."

The man smiled awkwardly in response to Thor's answer.

The remaining days until the exploration deadline were ten.