Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

A few days passed.

“Wow! I can finally see the light!”

We reached the cave entrance and silently gazed at the bright light coming from outside.

Now that I think about it, I feel a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to see the end. Should we have gone deeper into the cave after catching Grilops?

Maybe it’s because we’ve been relying on torches in the dark cave, but I felt a bit restless and had these thoughts, then shook my head.

‘No. If we had been greedy and ventured further down another path, we might have all died. Let’s stop these foolish thoughts.’

[Chaos emphasizes that while challenge and improvement are the most important virtues for an adventurer, one should also always keep in mind the importance of self-control and survival.]

In other words, control your greed and keep challenging yourself, but make sure to rest when necessary and not overdo it.

Finally, we made it out of the cave.

“Ugh. It’s good to be out. Now, all that’s left is to return to the city, right?”

Yeriel stretched and spoke.

“That’s right. If anything happens on our way back, let’s ignore it. We just need to focus on reaching the nearby village, nothing else.”

“Hiya… This lush greenery! I’m so sick of caves now. Don’t you think so too, sir?”

Jacob shook his head, looking fed up.

“That goes without saying. When we return, we should take some time to rest and recover from all the fatigue.”

There’s a term called burnout syndrome.

Every time we enter and exit the dungeon, something happens that makes things difficult. I felt the need to take a break and recover from all the fatigue, not just keep training.

‘If I keep going in and out of the dungeon without rest, there will come a day when my motivation fades and I’ll want to settle down. To become a high-ranking adventurer and live comfortably, I need to take care of myself in advance.’

I haven’t forgotten my biggest goal since I first arrived in this world.

To become a high-ranking adventurer and live happily enough to forget about the 2 billion won from Earth.

Isaac, I’ll live well for your share too, so watch over me from heaven.

I looked up at the sky and then at my wristwatch.

The current time is 2:35 PM.

“Let’s keep moving until nightfall. Lumia, take care of the navigation. Jacob, as a thief, you should be good at finding the way, right?”

“Yes. Leave the detection to me.”

“Of course! Give me the map and compass. If I lead the way, we won’t get lost.”

He sounds confident. Should we get going?

I hope someone else has already cleared the way, like on the third floor, so we can just walk straight there. Am I being too greedy?

Led by Jacob and me, our party headed towards the village.

.

.

.

One day, two days, three days.

We advanced without rest, alternating between combat and rest.

Lumia, with her beastkin sense, could detect the presence of others.

With Jacob, a thief, added to the mix, it was no trouble at all to quickly move towards the village where the portal was located.

Crunch.

“Keheuk.”

“That’s the last one.”

After cutting the throat of the last goblin rogue, I looked around.

‘No damage, no problem. Are we almost there?’

Before I could open my mouth, Jacob spoke first.

“Sir! We’re almost at the southern village!”

“Yes. Let’s not let our guard down until the end. Anyone need a break?”

I looked at each of them, and they all looked like they wanted to get back as soon as possible, not needing any rest.

We collected the ears and crude equipment of the scattered corpses and put them in our backpacks as we walked.

Thud, thud.

There it is!

The village ahead of us was clearly larger in scale than the one on the third floor. But…

Crunch!

Boom!!

The problem was that as we got closer to the village, we started hearing loud battle noises.

‘I had hoped that someone else would have cleared the way, but it’s a bit surreal that it actually happened. What should we do? Let’s go to the village entrance first, right?’

I led everyone and hurriedly moved forward.

“Keak!”

“This bastard set up a trap and tried to run away? Did I look easy to mess with?”

Thud!

───

[Turk]

[Strength: D+] [Agility: D-] [Endurance: D+] [Stamina: D-] [Mana: D-] [Luck: D-]

[Acquired Traits] (Collapse)

Intermediate Dull Technique

Hot-tempered

Anger’s Strike

Murderous Instinct

Developed Intuition

───

At the entrance, we saw an adventurer chasing and killing a goblin who was trying to escape the village.

“These damn goblins. They should have stayed hidden in the corner, but they came out and wasted my time. …Who are you guys?”

“Don’t mind us…”

“Hey! What if there are other people?”

Before I could say anything, the burly man shouted from behind, drawing everyone’s attention.

In the distance, a frail-looking magician raised his voice so loud that it echoed in our ears.

He must have cast a common spell to amplify his voice.

“I’m asking just in case, but are you trying to pick a fight with other adventurers?”

“Hmm. Of course not. This time, I let you know as soon as I saw you! And, from what I can see, you don’t seem like you’re in the mood to fight.”

The magician sighed in relief.

“That’s good, but I’m a bit tired from wasting mana to get here quickly. Just wait far away from us, please.”

‘If you’re going to make your conversation so loud that we can hear it, why not just come over and talk directly? Are you trying to show off, telling us not to mess with you because you’re this strong?’

“That’s right. It won’t take long, so stay away from us. You don’t look like you’re just staying on the fourth floor, but thanks to us, you won’t have to deal with the trouble.”

…Just staying on the fourth floor. How can he say that?

Goblins here, goblins there.

On our way to the village, we encountered not only ordinary goblin warriors but also goblin archers, rogues, and even shamans.

There were no other creatures, just all these variant goblins.

If we had gone straight to the portal without getting distracted in the cave,

And if no other mutants had appeared, the fourth floor might have been easier than the second floor in terms of the environment.

Anyway, I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble so close to returning.

“That’s how it is. We’ll wait at the entrance, so you can finish your business.”

After a brief standoff, the warrior went inside, and we waited at the entrance.

“Ahren.”

Not long after, Lumia, with her pointed ears, spoke.

“I can’t sense any commotion inside anymore, so it seems like the other party has left.”

Haha, they left without a sound.

A party of that level was still on the fourth floor.

Well, I’ve experienced firsthand that you can’t let your guard down in the dungeon.

“Great! Now it’s our turn. Oh, what about the monsters? Surely they didn’t kill them all.”

“Yes… The village is larger than the one on the third floor, so there are quite a few goblins hiding here and there. It won’t be easy to pass through quietly.”

That’s true.

I recalled the relaxed state of the burly adventurer and their party, as seen in their status window and behavior.

Instead of clearing out the entire village, they probably just dealt with the monsters that attacked them on their way to the portal.

After hearing Lumia’s words, I nodded and gave a brief briefing.

“Our goal is the escape portal. Everyone, stay alert and move as quickly as possible.”

I patted the backpack on my back.

“We’ve already collected quite a lot of loot, so let’s not farm here. If any monsters appear, just take them out and don’t waste time.”

With that, I summoned my sword and held it lightly.

“Then, let’s go!”

We still had a bit of distance to cover before reaching the center of the village where the portal was located.

I gestured to the party members behind me and took the lead, opening the way.

“Keruk!”

“Keraak!”

Perhaps the goblin horde, which had been hiding like mice, was emboldened by the fact that we seemed more manageable than the party that had ransacked the village earlier.

Bang!

A goblin warrior with a crude iron sword and shield charged towards me, but I struck first.

‘It’s definitely different. It’s become easier to control and use my mana since acquiring the Mana Affinity trait. The speed is also improved.’

Screech!!

One down.

I leaped into the goblin horde and struck the leader’s neck before he could react with his shield.

“Keruk!”

“Keshaat!”

A large number of goblins rushed forward, not intimidated by the death of their comrade.

‘Ugh, they’re just a bunch of pests. These cockroach-like bastards.’

Screech! Chwaak!!

I ducked and aimed for the lower half of a goblin rogue, sending his skull flying, then leaped up and slashed the vital point of another goblin who was jumping towards me.

‘Thunder!’

Jajak!

Instantly, I rained down small bolts of lightning in several directions, and the goblin horde hesitated for a moment, giving Lumia the opportunity to quickly chant her magic.

“O darkness, desire and devour.”

[Desiring Darkness]

-Rip.

-Crack. Crack.

The darkness that rose from the center of the goblin horde transformed into a mouth-like shape and devoured the goblins with a chilling sound.

The magic disappeared, and not even a single bone fragment of the goblins remained.

“Ke, Keruk!”

The goblins behind the horde began to panic as the center of their group was cleared.

‘We’re almost at the center now.’

“I see the portal ahead. Everyone, a little more effort!”

“Yes! Take this!”

Not only me and the girls, but also Jacob, who was relatively weaker in combat, was steadily taking down the goblins one by one with his daggers.

Pew!

A goblin archer’s hidden arrow flew towards Lumia and Jacob, but…

“Holy light’s protection!”

[Divine Shield]

Yeriel instantly manifested a protective barrier, deflecting the arrow and preventing any damage.

We finally reached the portal.

After dozens of goblins were killed in an instant…

The remaining monsters, realizing that they couldn’t match our strength, hid or fled.

“I’ll secure the area and follow you later. Everyone, go ahead and enter the portal.”

I turned around and guarded the rear, standing in front of the portal.

My right hand held the sword, and my left hand was covered in cold energy as I spoke.

“Let’s go to the guild together to settle the earnings and rest. Especially you, Jacob, since you need to settle the earnings too, don’t go anywhere and wait near the checkpoint.”

“Yes! I’ll go first, so see you outside!”

“Ahren. Don’t take a different route and go straight to the portal, right?”

I nodded.

After confirming my answer, the three of them took turns entering the portal, which glowed with a bright yellow light.

Now it’s my turn…

-Kaaang!

-Crack!!

“Yes. I knew you’d be the last one to go.”

‘Of course. The dungeon wouldn’t let me off that easily.’

It wasn’t just a goblin rogue with crude weapons, but a goblin assassin with dual daggers who had stealthily thrown one of his daggers to reveal himself.

The trajectory of the dagger aimed at my heart was clear, and I struck it down before charging towards the assassin.

Goblin… yes, let’s call him a goblin assassin.

The goblin assassin crouched and ran towards me at full speed.

He reached me in an instant, but I wasn’t afraid in the slightest.

‘Let me show you what I’ve prepared. Feel how cold it is.’

I scattered the cold energy I had been gathering in my left hand towards the goblin.

Whoosh.

Then, without hesitation, I swung my sword.

The goblin assassin, hit by the cold energy, was slowed down, and he could sense his impending death as I struck him.

“Ki, Kie. Kerak!!”

‘What can you do in front of my sword other than scream?’

A fatal opening leads to death.

Screech!

Took!

I gracefully slashed the goblin assassin’s neck with a single stroke.

“The rest are hiding, so one goblin shouldn’t be a problem.”

I cut off the head that was rolling on the ground and put it in my backpack, along with the two daggers that had fallen to the ground.

I turned my back to the portal and took a step.

Two steps.

This is only my third time returning, so the excitement remains the same.

Anyway, we survived the hardships and trials once again.

‘Let’s go. Everyone is waiting for us.’

I stepped into the shimmering portal.

Whooosh!

The yellow light filled my vision, flickering.