Becoming an adventurer by copying monster abilities

Regarding the question of whether or not to go in, Torin and Peggy naturally agreed.

As for Luke's attitude...

Newcomers don't deserve to have an attitude.

The cave is large enough for two or three adults to walk side by side, and because it was daytime, the visibility was fairly clear.

As soon as we arrived at the cave entrance, before we could even take a step, an indescribable stench wafted out from the depths of the cave.

It smelled like rotting raw meat mixed with excrement, making one want to vomit.

The ground was covered with tiny footprints, about the size of a human child.

However, the toes are unusually long, and the tips have small grooves carved into the ground by the nails.

The unique footprint shape confirms that this is indeed a goblin's lair.

The further you go in, the dimmer the light at the cave entrance gradually becomes.

Many old wooden hammers, rusty plowshares, and scattered animal bones were found on both sides of the cave.

Luke couldn't tell if there were any humans among them, but a vague unease lingered deep within him.

The cave was larger than I had imagined. After turning a corner and walking for a while, I finally heard sounds coming from the depths of the cave.

"Coo coo...Gah!"

A faint light shone deep in the cave, flames rising, with a dilapidated iron pot steaming on top.

Several skinny goblins lay crookedly on either side, dozing off.

There were also two others responsible for cooking, who were throwing things into the pot.

It included a few flesh-colored insects, some weeds, and... a pair of leather shoes.

With food like that, it's no wonder they send out most of their goblins to forage.

The group assumed battle stances, and their formations began to shift.

Torin walked in front, with Peggy close behind.

Luke kept watch over the two from behind.

As for the old hunter Sutton, he had already nocked his bow and arrow and quietly aimed at the goblin who was singing and dancing beside the iron pot.

The group crept forward stealthily, their eyes brimming with barely concealed excitement.

Putting aside the bounty on goblins themselves, these filthy creatures love to collect shiny things to decorate their lair.

For example, gold coins, gems, or armor and equipment.

A goblin nest with nearly thirty members is likely to contain some valuable treasures!

"Whoosh!"

A sharp wooden arrow swept past the group, striking a goblin chef precisely in the head.

This arrow was the clarion call for the attack; Torin and Peggy, who had already gotten close, charged forward instantly.

Although they are not professionals, they have been adventurers for many years, and their physical fitness is far superior to that of ordinary people.

Moreover, this place is full of weak, old, sick, and disabled goblins who might not even be able to defeat a wild dog.

There were 12 in the cave. Luca only had time to pierce one that had just gotten up from the ground with his spear before the battle was over.

These frightened green dwarfs crumbled at the slightest touch and were all dealt with as easily as cutting melons and vegetables within minutes.

"Where's the torch? Could you please provide some light?"

Tolin rushed to the innermost part, and when he turned around, he accidentally knocked over the soup pot, extinguishing the fire below.

Visibility inside the cave suddenly decreased.

Luke fumbled around for a while, then found a tinderbox in his backpack and lit the torch that had been soaked in tung oil.

"Phew, thanks."

Humans always hate darkness; it's an instinct ingrained in our genes.

Especially in the wild, even after the battle is over, the dark environment can still make people feel uneasy.

"Not bad, not bad, you're a quick learner, newbie. I'll give you one goblin ear later, consider it a treat for two cups of Old Oak Barrel's 'Black Wheat Wave'!"

Tolin was very generous; he really made a lot of money from this hunting mission.

"Thanks."

Luke, of course, would not refuse the offer of two silver coins; having just become an adventurer, he was in dire need of money.

"Let's hurry up and clean up the battlefield, and try to get back before dark so we can still visit the old oak barrel..."

Tolin, who was speaking eloquently, suddenly stopped talking.

Luca, who had just cut off the goblin's ear at his feet, looked up at the sound.

The strong man who had been standing at the deepest part of the cave had disappeared, replaced by a corpse with only half its body remaining.

A cold light slashed down from his shoulder to his waist, easily wiping away Torin's upper body.

The remaining part of his body spewed out a large amount of blood upwards like a small fountain, even reaching the top of the cave three meters high.

Under the dim light of the torches, a huge shadow was cast onto the cave walls, filling the entire cave and exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.

A humanoid creature nearly eight feet tall gradually revealed its form.

His prominent cheekbones squeezed his small, greedy eyes into a slit.

Beneath the flat nose, in the wide-open mouth, the yellow and black teeth were crooked and jagged, with stringy saliva hanging from them.

Although his body was bulky, you could still see the strong muscle lines on his arms.

Her enormous belly hung loosely, like a human-shaped balloon that had been inflated but was now slightly deflated.

"Eat...cannibals!"

Sutton was the first to react; even this usually calm and collected veteran hunter's voice became somewhat shrill.

In a panic, he quickly drew his bow and shot an arrow at the head of the enormous monster.

Contrary to intuition, the monster called the ogre, despite its seemingly bulky and enormous body, possesses an incredibly fast speed.

With a simple raise of his hand, he blocked the flying arrow; the arrowhead disappeared completely after penetrating less than an inch into his arm.

This arrow caused no real damage; instead, it greatly aroused the opponent's ferocity.

The ogre roared and rushed to Peggy, who was closest to it, and swung its giant axe down with a whoosh.

All of this happened so fast that Peggy had already stepped back when she heard the words "cannibal".

But the ogre's speed far exceeded his expectations, and in the blink of an eye, the blade of the giant axe was already in front of him.

He was forced to raise his round shield to block.

The round shield, made of solid wood and covered with iron, was only slightly blocked by the enormous impact before being cleaved in two.

But this also caused the trajectory of the giant axe to deviate slightly.

Peggy, who was originally going to be cut in half at the waist, only paid the price of losing an arm, and was sent flying by the enormous force.

Monsters of this caliber are definitely not targets they can handle.

Without needing to be reminded, Luke had already started running wildly towards the cave entrance.

Despite losing an arm, Peggy displayed an astonishing will to survive, quickly getting up from the ground and sprinting towards the outside of the cave.

The elderly Sutton found himself at the very back for a time.

The ogre behind them had no intention of letting the three go, its massive body rampaging through them.

Their speed was even faster than that of the three of them.

As the ogres drew ever closer, a resolute look appeared on Sutton's face.

He's old now, and has spent his whole life dealing with low-level monsters, so he's destined to never reach the threshold of becoming a professional.

But his end should never have been like this, dying at the hands of cannibals.

Torin was right; Sutton once escaped from an ogre's lair all by himself and with just an arrow.

This is real.

However, his teammate who was shot in the knee was not so lucky.

He ran desperately, panting, while simultaneously drawing his bow and arrow.

He aimed at Peggy, who was closer to him and whose severed arm was still bleeding profusely.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow leaves the bowstring...