RE: The Extra's Dominance-Chapter 9 - The Stygian Lair [1]

My second day in the academy was uneventful. I think that's good, but at the same time, boring...

Well, I got called by some professors—a lot, actually. Some of them were coincidences, but some were obviously intentional.

I feel like they want to embarrass me or something...

They thought I wasn't listening, so they decided to bully me. What are they? Ten years old?

Well, to be fair... I'm not really listening to the lectures, but with and , answering their questions is just like like a walk in the park.

I used a lot of mana using those skills, but seeing them fail to embarrass me just feels satisfying, so it's fine.

The system also recorded the lectures, so I can study them later on.

Also, it seems like some students noticed Yuki, especially the main characters, but they didn't tell any professor, so it's all good. I think...

And about the professors, they didn't notice Yuki because they were too focused on their lectures.

And whenever they look in my direction, Yuki goes into the spatial storage to avoid being seen.

So for now, Yuki's existence is not well known in the class.

*****

Two days later...

It was now Thursday.

It's currently [3:30 PM].

The professors just announced that it's only half day today, and we don't have classes tomorrow.

They said they have a meeting, but I know they're just preparing for the freshmen's assessments.

Well, we have three and a half days of free time, and I already have a plan on how to use them...

'I'm gonna enter a dungeon.'

Am I gonna get items or artifacts? Well, yes.

But that's not the main point of this decision.

My goal is to gain more experience in fighting—that's what I need the most at the moment.

Yes, I didn't neglect my training, but I greatly lack real-life experience...

Also, I plan to make Yuki rank up.

And to do so, she needs to eat a lot of monster cores. She eats pretty much everything, but it won't make her rank up unless they contain mana.

So that's why I plan to enter a dungeon.

Luckily...

In our free time, like holidays and weekends, students can freely leave the academy.

So there's no need to get permission to leave.

Anyway—

'A dungeon only exists in games and novels. I'm kinda excited to enter a real one myself...'

Though, that thought didn't last in my mind as I remembered what dungeon I was going to enter.

*****

"Let's see."

Currently, Raven is checking all the things he packed beforehand.

He doesn't know how long he'll be inside the dungeon, so he prepared a lot.

"Looks like I have everything I need."

After double-checking the items he prepared, Raven put them all in his spatial storage.

"Let's go, Yuki."

-Kyu!

Yuki answered, raising her wing.

'Cute.'

And with that...

...

Raven left the academy around [3:40 PM].

He's been ready to enter the dungeon ever since he upgraded two of his artifacts.

So this time, he's sure he didn't forget anything, unlike when he went in the Red Wolves' Mountain.

....

After leaving the academy, Raven rode a rapid train.

He arrived in Zreles City in just ten minutes. It was only a city away that's why it was a short ride.

Anyway, after getting there...

Raven traveled for half an hour to reach his destination.

The place is called that because there are no animals, beasts, or even monsters residing there.

Even the trees in this mountain are leafless and dead.

But since no beasts or monsters lived on this mountain, it was left unguarded.

Which made it easier for Raven to infiltrate.

Oh, by the way...

The dungeon Raven is planning to enter is an undiscovered dungeon.

In his novel, a few months from now—

This dungeon will be discovered by the black market because it will overflow.

At that time, the main characters 'coincidentally' happened to be near The Sad Mountain.

So they responded...

They saved a lot of civilians from the dungeon overflow and then got hailed as the [Young Heroes] afterward.

Well, obviously, that won't happen this time because of Raven's actions.

Though, there are going to be a lot of events in the future that can earn them that title.

So it's no big deal... Hopefully.

'I'm basically trying to save a lot of lives. I'm trying to prevent the dungeon overflow by raiding it.'

Raven thought to himself and shrugged, feeling a bit guilty for messing up a part of the story.

Anyway, dungeon overflow happens when a dungeon boss is left alive for a long time.

Or when the dungeon is not raided for a long time, resulting in it being full of monsters and eventually overflowing.

After killing a boss monster, a new one will appear in that dungeon. The higher the rank of the boss monster that got killed, the longer the time before a new one appears.

Also, monsters spawn endlessly inside dungeons, so some dungeons need to be raided continuously to avoid overflow.

...

After climbing the mountain for an hour or so, Raven arrived at a cave entrance.

"This is a dungeon, right?"

He asked the system.

Raven could feel mana coming from the entrance, and with , he could pretty much confirm it.

But he still asked, just in case.

[You're right, it's a dungeon.]

"Can you appraise it?"

The system did not answer Raven's question. Instead, it projected the dungeon's information.

Swoosh~

=====

[The Stygian Lair]

Difficulty: F+

-It's very dark inside and full of traps.

=====

The appraisal skill of the system is good because it gets information from Raven's novel and from the Higher Being who created this universe.

"Stygian Lair..."

Raven nervously muttered.

Originally, he planned not to touch this dungeon because it's too dark inside and it could lead to his death.

But after acquiring the skill

from the [Cat's Earring]—

He changed his mind.

He also want the reward from this dungeon anyway.

Raven originally planned to save Zeals and buy the dungeon's reward in the future, but that would be a waste of money and time.

So he just decided to get it himself.

Oh, Raven is still wearing the training bracelets, but he plans to remove them once the situation calls for it.

So with that...

Raven activated

and turned his eyes into a cat's, then focused mana into his eyes to make his vision much more clearer.

And after that—

Tap-

Raven entered the dungeon's entrance.

...

...

After entering the dungeon...

Raven immediately noticed that the mana inside was a bit denser than outside.

Which is good for training.

"So this is why it's faster to get stronger inside dungeons..."

Raven mumbled while holding his head as a nauseating feeling washed over his body.

This is pretty common when it's your first time entering a dungeon. Fortunately, he didn't throw up.

*****

(Raven's POV)

It's dark inside the dungeon.

But I can see just fine. I still feel sick, but I can move normally now.

Looking around, I concluded that I was in a safe zone, seeing no monsters around.

There's just a straight path ahead... So I walked toward it.

...

After walking straight for about ten minutes...

I saw two tunnels, left and right. I can tell that the left path is a pretty relaxed one, while the right is... Well, not.

How?

Well, because I can see goblin trails on the right path.

Normally, I would go left because of this, but I'm here to gain experience.

So I chose to go to the right.

And not long after doing so—

Swoosh- Swoosh- Swoosh-

Swoosh- Swoosh-

Five arrows went flying in my direction!

Luckily, they're not as fast as the moving targets that I practice with at the academy, so I can follow their trajectories just fine.

I transformed my fingernails into cat claws and coated them with mana.

Then—

Whack!

I slashed two arrows down and dodged the other two. The last arrow missed me.

Looking at where the arrows came from...

I saw five goblins, each about three feet tall, holding bows and arrows in their hands.

I could also see the goblins hitting one of them.

'Maybe they're hitting the one that missed.'

The distance between me and them is about twenty meters.

Goblins are rank monsters, as they can use weapons and have fairly good intelligence.

The path we're on is narrow, so long-range weapons are an advantage here.

And knowing that, they took advantage of it...

"Too bad for you guys, I'm using a long-range weapon too."

I said as I raised my gun and aimed at them.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Five gunshots were heard consecutively.

Thud-

And with a small 'thud' sound—

Five goblins fell to the ground. They were dead.

All of them. My bullets didn't miss.

"That's 5,000 Zeals."

I said while walking toward the monsters' corpses to collect their cores.

-Kyu!

But then, Yuki came out of the spatial storage.

Looks like she can sense the monster cores.

"Well, I can settle for 4,000 Zeals."

*****

Having no sunlight or moonlight entering the dungeon...

It was quite hard to tell what time it was.

Luckily, I have the system, so it's no problem for me.

I've been here for nine hours now.

"This is one hell of a cave."

I've been trying all the paths I can and creating a map while doing so. And because of that, I encountered a lot of traps and goblins.

I've been seeing goblins a lot, and it's making me feel sick already.

I can't even sleep well, for fuck's sake!

Goblins are good at ambushing, they know they lack the strength to fight head-on.

-Kyuuu!

I looked at Yuki. She was trying to cheer me up.

I smiled.

"I'd lose my mind if you weren't with me."

And patted her head.

Then I continued exploring the dungeon...

...

After another hour of walking—

I discovered a huge door.

'Looks like I'm near the boss.'

Anyway, I didn't enter or even open the door.

Instead... I camped near the area and slept.

This could be called a safe zone, as no monsters go near the boss room.

*****

I woke up at [5:32 AM].

It's already Friday.

And after getting ready... I entered the room I saw last night.

"...!"

What greeted me made my eyes widen in surprise.

It was spacious inside.

But... It's not the boss room!

There's no boss monster in here!

Instead, what's inside is a herd of goblins!

This room is their base!

The room's floor and walls are well-made, but the ceiling is pretty rough, as you can see some stalactites attached to it.

I immediately hid behind a rock pillar, I could see a lot of goblins patrolling the area.

Roughly counting, looks like there are about 50 goblins in here.

"What the hell...?"

I unconsciously mumbled.

[The Transcend Beings discovered you doing something interesting, so they made it more exciting.]

The system then appeared and said that to me.

"Exciting my ass. They just want me dead, don't they?"

I tried leaving the room—

But the door didn't even budge when I tried pushing it.

"Fucking hell."

I cursed.

-Kieek?

It was then, I heard a noise coming from my side. Turning my head to the source of it...

I saw three goblins looking at me with wide eyes.

And without wasting a moment...

Kicking my feet onto the ground, I dashed in their direction.

Bam-

My fingernails turned into claws, and I covered them with mana. Then I swung it toward them!

In the middle of doing so, I poured mana into the training bracelet I have on my wrist, resulting in my hand becoming heavier!

And with that, my claws slashed downward toward the head of the goblin in the middle!

SLASH!

Not just a slashing sound, but also blood splashing echoed around us.

After that, I spun the left side of my body to the right, drawing an arc motion with my left foot covered with mana.

Boom–!

With a loud sound...

I pinned the head of the goblin to my right to the ground.

Its head was crushed.

I saw the last goblin running away.

I pointed my left hand in its direction...

"[Bind]"

And cast a magic.

FWIP—

-Kiee?!

A black rope made of mana erupted below the goblin's feet and restrained it.

It's a support magic that I learned from one of the books I got on the Red Wolves' Mountain.

And it looks like after acquiring the [Ring of Gluttony], my mana changed to the color black. It was transparent pink before. And now, even when I'm not wearing the ring, it remains black.

Anyway—

Bam!

I dashed to the restrained goblin and stabbed its neck with my claws.

Phuck-

And with that...

Thud-

They're all dead.

"Tsk, dirty."

I whispered as I cast a [Cleanse] magic on myself.

[You have a great fighting sense, even the Transcend Beings are impressed! The way you used your training bracelets to make your attacks heavier is just plain splendid!]

The system said.

"They can go to hell then."

And I replied, pertaining to the Transcend Beings.

I'm not interested in what they said. I'm suffering because of them.

I stored the goblin corpses in my spatial storage.

"I need to get the hell out of here."

Then I decided to hide.

It got pretty loud while I was killing them, so goblins will come swarming here any moment now.

I started to adjust some of the functions of the magic [Bind].

And after reconstructing some of its functions—

I aimed my right hand at the ceiling of the room.

"[Grapple]"

And mumbled those words.

A magic circle appeared in my hand. Then a similar black rope shot out of it!

But this time, there was a claw made of mana attached to the very end of it.

It propelled toward a thick stalactite on the ceiling of the room. freeweɓnøvel.com

Crank-

And with a clutching sound... The claw of my magic connected to the base of the stalactite.

I then coated my hands with mana and climbed the magic rope.

I found a small footing near the stalactite, so I transformed into a cat and settled there for now. This is where I'm going to form my plan for this situation.

After that, I canceled and the rope disappeared into thin air.

[You're really good at this.]

The system appeared, complimenting me.

"I just adjusted some things to make that magic. I also have the help of [Understanding]."

I responded to it with a shrug.

"Yuki."

Then I called Yuki.

-Kyu!

She then came out of spatial storage and looked at me weirdly at first.

Maybe because it's the first time she saw me in my cat form.

But not long after, Yuki approached me and rubbed her head on me.

I smiled at her cuteness. Unfortunately, I had something for her to do.

"Okay Yuki, can you fly all around the room and look at every disgusting green shit down there?"

I said.

"Just fly near the ceiling and use stealth."

Then I instructed.

-Kyu!!

Yuki saluted using her wings and immediately flew away.

'Cute.'

I'm glad that she became my familiar.

*****

Based on what I saw from Yuki's eyes—

A total of 53 goblins are here, and 22 of them are long-range weapon users.

"I need to get rid of all the long-range users and just shoot the rest dead from up here."

-Kyu!

"Yes, you did a great job."

I patted Yuki with my cat paw. It feels weird, but not unpleasant.

"Anyway, let's kill them when they're sleeping."

Is what I thought at first, but I need to leave here as quickly as possible.

For no reason, I'm just feeling impatient.

So I went back down the ground...

And waited in one certain path in the room. In this pathway, only five goblins can enter at the same time.

So it's a good place to ambush them.

Anyway, not waiting long...

Four goblins entered my sight.

I went out in cat form, and they looked at me with curiosity.

Seeing that I was smaller than them, they approached me with grins on their faces.

And when they were half a meter away from me, I canceled the skill and went back to being human!

Except for my fingernails, which were still claws and coated with mana.

Then, I slashed at them sideways.

SLASH!

One died, and the other three were wounded.

-Kie—

"[Silence]"

The remaining goblins tried to scream, but no voice came out of their mouths.

I cast a magic on them.

Then, I slashed the remaining goblins dead, and they dropped to the ground.

Thud-

"I'll just do this again and again. Easy peasy."

I mumbled with a smile on my face.

Though, as I was storing the goblins' corpses—

-KIEEEEK!!!

A loud ear-tearing scream echoed throughout the room. I turned my head to where the sound came from...

And saw a goblin pointing its hammer toward me with a terrified expression.

Looks like they were originally a group of five, but the other one was left behind a little.

"Shit."

I cursed unconsciously.