Chapter 19

"Good morning."

The day after drinking with Salome, I visited the Adventurers' Guild early in the morning.

"Oh, good morning, Tim. I look forward to working with you today."

Salome greeted me with a smile, which was hard to believe considering she had downed a double-digit number of ales last night.

"Here, this is a hangover remedy."

"Thank you."

She must have noticed my condition, as she handed me a glass of water and the medicine. The bitter medicine, when washed down with water, naturally eased the pain in my stomach.

"Now, Tim, you're going to challenge the fourth floor of the dungeon today, right?"

"Yes, that's the plan."

We had discussed the plan last night, so she was just confirming it.

"Here is the map of the fourth floor, the types and characteristics of the monsters that appear, and a summary of effective countermeasures."

"What...? You even have this?"

The map she handed me was perfect, even including the route to the fifth floor. With this, I could probably descend to the fifth floor right away.

"The monsters that appear are new types of goblins and kobolds. The countermeasures are based on party tactics, so they might not be very useful for you, but I think you can handle anything with your equipment."

The monsters that spawn on the fourth floor include warrior kobolds, warrior goblins, kobold archers, and goblin mages.

The explanations noted that it's advantageous to switch weapons based on each party member's strengths.

"Indeed, they might not be very useful."

Since I'm acting alone, I can't use these tactics. I took the backpack containing the potions and other consumables that Salome had prepared for me.

"Then, I wish you a safe journey, Tim."

She smiled broadly and sent me off to the dungeon.

"Still, what incredible support..."

Inside the dungeon, I sighed in admiration. Salome had prepared a map from the first to the fifth floor, and I was currently walking around the first floor.

"This is a dead end... It's very accurate."

The map seemed to be left by adventurers who had cleared the dungeon in the past. Maps of the shallower floors are sold, but they are expensive. Newcomers usually don't buy them because the cost is too high, but thanks to Salome, I was able to borrow the guild's map.

So, I was walking around to verify the accuracy of the map...

"It's quite crowded, isn't it?"

I could see several new adventurer parties entering the dungeon.

"Hey, hurry up with the healing!"

"Yes, yes! Right away..."

"Damn, you're slow and your healing is weak... Useless."

"Sorry, sorry!"

They seemed inexperienced, and angry voices could be heard everywhere.

"Well, as long as they're still arguing, they have some leeway."

I remembered the time when I was kicked out of a party, and the guild announced the party's dissolution.

I silently wished them luck and headed for the fourth floor.

"First, I need to experience how troublesome it is."

On the way down to the fourth floor, I tested the quality of my new equipment.

Thanks to the mithril armor, I could move more nimbly and approached the warrior goblins faster than before. The enchanted short sword was incredibly sharp, and I was able to split a warrior kobold in two with a single strike.

Salome's suggestion to borrow money from the guild to get the equipment was definitely worth it. I could now defeat monsters more safely than before.

"The next dead end is to the left... and then the second fork to the right?"

Holding the map, I continued forward and saw the shadows of monsters ahead.

Here they come... I put away the map and drew my short sword.

Warrior goblins, warrior kobolds, a kobold archer, and a goblin mage. Since I had been briefed by Salome, there was no need to panic.

The goblin mage raised his staff, and the others' bodies began to glow.

"Is that a support spell?"

They must have noticed me, as they took a battle stance. The warrior kobolds and warrior goblins drew their swords, and the kobold archer nocked an arrow.

They seemed to be waiting for the goblin mage's spell to take effect.

"Not a chance! Ice Arrow!"

Six ice arrows shot forward. Thanks to my increased magic power and new skills, I could now shoot more arrows. I had expected to deal significant damage, as this had been enough to kill monsters on the third floor.

"Kob!"

"Goblin!"

However, the six ice arrows stopped after piercing three each into the warrior kobold and warrior goblin.

"What!?"

I had expected to at least kill one of them, so I was taken aback.

"Goblin!"

Taking advantage of my hesitation, the kobold archer fired an arrow.

"Whoa!"

It was my first time being attacked from a distance, so my reaction was slow. The arrow hit my armor and fell to the ground.

"Good thing I bought it..."

The impact suggested that the arrow had considerable power. With my previous leather armor, I would have been seriously injured.

"Tricky opponents, but if I can take out the frontliners with another spell, I'll be fine."

Once I got close, the kobold archer would be helpless. As I was thinking this...

"Goblin Heal!"

The two frontliners pulled out the ice arrows as the goblin mage cast a healing spell. Their wounds began to close one by one.

"Damn! They're more coordinated than I thought."

The healing spell was mentioned in the notes, but the precision of the magic was higher than expected, and their wounds were closing rapidly.

"Fire Arrow!"

I couldn't let them fully recover. This time, I aimed at the two backliners and shot six fire arrows.

"Kob!"

"Goblin!"

"What, again!?"

The warrior goblin and warrior kobold blocked the fire arrows, taking the hits.

"I can't take them down..."

Thanks to the healing spell, they seemed to move faster and had higher defense than on the third floor.

"Is it because of that support spell...?"

Their coordinated support was very troublesome.

"Kobobobobobob!"

Seeing my magic, the kobold archer fired a series of arrows.

"Damn, they won't give me a chance to cast spells?"

While I was distracted, the goblin mage used the healing spell again, and we were back to square one.

"This is endless!"

My weapons were useless if I couldn't get close.

"In this case, I'll have to retreat temporarily."

I decided to pull back to rethink my strategy.