Early in the morning, Neuman finished his breakfast and stepped out.
He had made up his mind to leave the city today. Just yesterday, he had asked around and learned about a cave-like dungeon not far from the outskirts.
It had appeared only a week ago, and while many adventurers had already entered it, none had managed to clear it completely.
The dungeon was roughly half an hour away, and Neuman wanted to venture inside, hunt some beasts, and raise his level.
The road out of the city was dry and dusty, and a few others were traveling the same way, likely with similar intentions. Some of them were clad in polished armor that gleamed in the sun, prepared for the unknown. Neuman, however, wore no armor. Instead, he carried only a gleaming spear, its polished tip catching the sunlight with each step.
As Neuman approached the dungeon, he could see a small crowd gathered around a cave. Wagons stood parked in no particular order, and merchants sold supplies at inflated prices. Groups of adventurers lounged nearby, swapping tales and boasting about past exploits. The air buzzed with anticipation and a bit of nervous energy.
The cave entrance itself was unimpressive, just a dark, gaping hole in the side of a small hill. Neuman took a deep breath, adjusted his, and joined the way heading into the darkness.
Time to see what this dungeon was all about.
Just as he was about to step inside, a pair of merchants spotted him. Neuman wasn't wearing armor but was armed and strode over with practiced smiles.
"Hey, kid," one called out, eyeing Neuman's gear. "You planning to enter the dungeon looking like that? You won't last five minutes in there."
The other jumped in smoothly, "How about some protection? I've got the best armor you'll find this close to the dungeon, and for just 50 silver, it might just save your life."
The merchant grinned as he presented a thin, scratched-up piece of armor. "This'll keep you alive," he said with confidence.
Neuman didn't even slow down. He walked past the merchants without a glance, his expression unreadable—but a quiet chuckle echoed in his mind. They really thought I'd buy that junk?
As he crossed the threshold into the cave, the shift was immediate. The air inside the cave was cool, damp air that clung to his skin. The entrance opened into a large cavern, dimly lit by some glowing moss on the walls.
The adventurers who had entered before him were scattered about, some heading deeper into the dungeon, others resting at the entrance.
Neuman gripped his spear, ready for a fight that might erupt anytime. He scanned the cavern, his eyes adjusting to the dark. He could see several paths leading off into the darkness. He decided to take the path to his left, the one that seemed to lead downwards.
As he ventured deeper, the air grew colder, and the silence was broken only by the occasional drip of water and the distant sounds of battle. He passed by a few corpses but ignored them and continued forward.
He noticed that some of the bodies were wearing similar armors that the merchants outside were trying to sell; those armors didn't seem to help much in the end. He pressed on, his senses on high alert, ready for whatever the dungeon might throw at him. He was here to get stronger, and he wasn't going to let a few measly monsters stand in his way.
While walking, the area around him started to darken; seeing this, Neuman simply formed a ball of fire ahead of him that could provide some vision to him.
After walking for ten minutes, he still didn't find any beast or other adventurer.
Some time later he saw the ending of the path. Neuman got the idea that this pathway must be cleared already, so he didn't see anyone.
He then walked back to the place where the pathways separated and chose the path next to the path he had taken.
This time he saw many corpses littered on the floor, which was like the path that he previously saw. There were corpses of beasts and humans in the way.
The beast had a wolf-like face but had some wooden weapons clutched in its hands. From the knowledge he has, these beasts were kobolds.
The Kobolds were not common here, they are present in hilly areas, and them appearing here is uncommon. But Kobolds were quite weaker, as they were not able to use magic and can only use the crude weapons they had made or the ones they took from others
And beasts in the dungeon who can't use magic are just waiting to get slaughtered. Still, it was strange that this dungeon wasn't cleared in a day or two; otherwise, such dungeons are first to be cleared.
After coming to the end of the passage, he still didn't see anyone there. Now Neuman was agitated; it had been almost an hour, but he still didn't see any beast.
This time he came at the separated pathways and went straight to the last passage. It didn't take long before he came across many corpses.
After walking for some time, he heard some fighting noises. Neuman walked on the path ahead and came across an opening; there was a group of people fighting some kobolds. While fighting, some were giving commands to others. While some were focusing on using spells and attacking, Neuman could even hear some cursing loudly.
Seeing Neuman, some of the adventurers were shocked, wondering why someone would enter such a dangerous place alone, but nonetheless they continued to fight the kobolds.
There were around ten adventurers that were fighting the kobolds. Neuman noticed that the pathway ahead was divided into three different paths, and some kobolds were coming out of them.
This pathway of the cave was big, unlike the previous ones, so the people were able to fight; otherwise, it would be difficult for them to fight in a congested area.
Neuman, without wasting any time, prepared his spear and ran towards the leftmost path. When Neuman passed the adventurers ahead, some were shocked seeing him run past them.
One of them shouted, "Hey kid, don't run ahead there will be more of the kobolds in the path, so it's better to move in a group."
Neuman ignored the man and continued to run ahead, he dodged the attacks from the kobolds and ran in the leftmost path and soon disappeared from their vision.
Some of the kobolds followed him inside, and the kobolds attacking the group lessened, and the group cleared the kobolds soon.
After clearing the group, no kobold followed up, and they started to rest; those who were severely injured dripped some healing potion on the injuries and drank a little.
Then one of them suddenly said, "The kid is really crazy, running ahead alone. I'm afraid till we reach the end of the cave we will only see his corpse on the way."
But one of them suddenly said, "No one is crazy enough to enter a dungeon like this; he must be confident in his abilities. There is no need for us to worry about him."