How did I turn my victim into a phoenix-like hero?

Sirocco dodged the thrown spear, landed, grabbed it with his backhand, aimed at the neck of the departing goblin, and hurled it with all his might.

A sharp cracking sound came from the neck of the goblin, and its head turned at an exaggerated angle in a direction it shouldn't have.

The third one.

"Won!"

My first experience with a real dungeon, my first time fighting monsters...

So many enemies in my first battle... thankfully, I managed to take them all down.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to learn and train with Brid; real combat and games are indeed two different things.

Sirocco didn't even notice that he was covered in blood. He finished off the three motionless goblins with a few more blows to make sure they were dead. Only then did Sirocco sit down on the ground, breathing in the foul, pungent air and feeling the joy of surviving a disaster.

"And I wasn't injured, so I'd say I got a three-star clear."

It might be good to overwhelm the opponent with numerical superiority, but the feeling of a comeback from a desperate situation is also nice to experience occasionally.

Sirocco definitely doesn't want to experience that a second time.

20. What I gained from my first life-or-death battle

After experiencing his first battle, Sirocco reflected on his experience.

If you can gang up on someone, then gang up on them.

Don't pursue it relentlessly.

Make flexible and effective use of the terrain.

Sirocco secretly memorized it, looking at the three corpses on the ground with disgust:

"What follows is rather disgusting..."

Sirocco approached the corpse of a goblin, its gruesome death—eyeballs bulging out of their sockets—which somewhat damaged Sirocco's mental fortitude, but he shook his head and raised his broadsword once more.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha, may you have a safe journey."

Muttering these words, Sirocco swiftly sliced ​​open the goblin's chest, ignoring the convulsing body and splattering blood, and retrieved the small, bright yellow fragment located in the center of the chest.

This is a "crystal nucleus".

"Crystal Cores" are magical crystals found on monsters, the source of income for explorers, and the foundation upon which this world operates.

Unlike the game where it's simply a matter of "Kass took the crystal core from the monster," in the real world, one has to dissect the corpse oneself. If Sirocco hadn't been a cook who frequently slaughtered poultry, he would have vomited up the soup and all...

"Crystal cores" can be processed using human technology and used in various fields—such as rocket fuel, power supply systems for power companies, and refrigerators for preserving food. The ring watch in Sirocco's hand is also made from "crystal cores," and is therefore considered a valuable resource.

In short, this "crystal core" contains incredible power, and can be exchanged for money at the dungeon's trading post. Essentially, it's the money explorers can earn directly in the dungeon.

Speaking of explorers of this world, it is also a dazzling profession that basks in the national spotlight.

A general term for anyone permitted to infiltrate a dungeon or labyrinth.

Those who were originally admitted to the National Explorers Academy can enjoy preferential treatment: they can learn everything about dungeons, such as monster forms and the use of magic, in the morning, and then go to the dungeon for practical combat in the afternoon.

Explorers Academy not only admits students, but also attracts many companies to poach their talent.

"Although most of them were poached by Benor and Varossa Group..."

After all, the students' studies consist of learning how to infiltrate dungeons.

Beyond "crystal cores," the city also possesses other resources that support the profits of the energy industry.

For companies and organizations looking to gain an early advantage in dungeon research, "Explorers" would be a great early-stage investment target... However, rather than calling them "Explorers," Sirocco would prefer to call them gold miners, laborers who fight monsters to obtain "Crystal Cores."

With these random thoughts in mind, Sirocco completed the task of stealing the "crystal cores" from the three goblins.

Sirocco looked at the three "crystal cores," or more accurately, "crystal core fragments," which were only the size of a fingernail.

The crystal cores from the monsters on the first and second floors are all this small, and they can be exchanged for very little money. The exchange also determines the purchase price based on the size of the crystal core.

"These crystal cores should only be enough to make 100R."

The battle rewards for risking your life are too meager, but there's nothing we can do about it, since this is an early-game map.

As Sirocco casually gazed at the bright yellow crystal in his hand, the three goblin corpses from which the "crystal core" was removed underwent changes.

First, it rapidly lost its color, then its chest cavity shattered, and finally its entire body turned to dust and disappeared without a trace.

After losing their crystal cores, monsters become nourishment for the dungeon.

If I had lost the battle, would I have turned to dust like this?

"store."

After the command was given, a triangular light blue laser beam shot from the ring surface and swept across the crystal nucleus, causing the bright yellow crystal in his hand to quickly dissipate.

It has already been stored in the ring table.

Don't ask, the answer is the power of technology.

Sirocco brought up the ring chart window and glanced at the ability values.

<Name> Sirocco

<Lv>2

<Occupation> - Newcomer -

<Explorer Level> - Level 1 -

Max HP: 10

MP Limit: 9

STR Strength: 3

END Durability:6

AGI Agility: 8→11

DEX Dexterity: 5 → 17

INT Magic: 8

<Talent> — Heating —

<Skill>

The agility stat increases rapidly, mostly due to a combination of solo combat and dissection. The durability stat remains unchanged, and compared to Brid's training, being chased by a monster for three kilometers is nothing.

"This talent is really just for show. Skills can be acquired, but talents can't be changed."

Sirocco brought up another layer of the map to confirm his current location.

"Ok?"

Surprisingly, it was not far from the monster spawn point I wanted to go to. After bypassing the long-legged spider's territory, it would only take a few more minutes to get there.

Being chased by goblins turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it significantly reduced the time spent traversing the map.

Sirocco found his hair sticking to his cheeks and itching from the sweat. He wiped the goblin blood off his hands with his pants, took a rubber band from the ring and tied it into a ponytail, then wiped the blood off his broadsword with his sleeve.

Guided by his memory, Sirocco continued to venture deeper into the first level.

--------

The development team's game balance was based on the presentation, but in some areas it was done with exceptional rigor.

For example, a map.

It was vast, chaotic, convoluted, and brimming with malice, but thankfully it wasn't randomly generated. Every fork in the road, every crossroads, and every strange sight was meticulously designed. Yet, even after ten years, the two financial giants of this world, Benor Corporation and Varosa Group, still hadn't fully unraveled every level of the maze.

At that moment, there happened to be someone who memorized all the maps, and that person was—

I.

A terrain resembling a canyon, divided in the middle by a bottomless, dark ravine.

Looking down into the abyss, which seemed to be gaping open, Sirocco broke out in a cold sweat. Then he looked at the opposite bank, which was more than 50 meters away—his destination.

The wind howled coldly through the canyon. Sirocco looked around again, confirming that he was indeed here. He took a deep breath and then closed his eyes.

If I make a mistake, I'm doomed.

Take a step toward the cliff.

“.....!”

Sirocco was certain that half of his body had already detached from the cliff. Unlike the feeling of his left foot stepping on gravel, his right foot felt like it was stepping on marble.

Let's move on to the second step.

Both feet felt like they were stepping on a marble floor.

Sirocco dared not be careless, and continued forward in the darkness...

If there were a second person present at this moment, they would surely see a ponytail-wearing boy floating in mid-air between two cliffs without using any skills or talents.

When the sand touched her feet again, she knew that she had reached the other side.

The surrounding space was now a bright, pale blue, completely different from the view initially seen from the opposite bank.

Hidden space.