Since none of us budged, were forced to go with Kiki's suggestion and tackle the dungeon together.
Levi and Mia walked at the front.
Mia had her soul weapon resting against her hip. Even though it was sheathed, you could see mist shrouding the hilt and the tip of the weapon.
Levi, on the other hand, had a beast weapon in his hand. It was a short sword named Purple Fang. If I remember correctly, it was one of the first weapons he received from his system. It was a D-ranked weapon with a poison attribute. He obtained that weapon after defeating a D-ranked snake-like beast.
For reference, even though this was a D-ranked dungeon, the goblins inside were only G-ranked. D-ranked monsters only start showing up when the grade of the D-ranked dungeon was at its highest, which is a grade 3.9. In terms of magical power, this dungeon only had a grade of 1.5.
Levi had to rely on beast weapons until he managed to cultivate his soul weapon.
While the two walked in front, talking, Kiki walked beside me behind them, likely because she didn't want me to feel left out. She held a staff in her hand almost like a wizard.
Strangely, she began looking me up and down as we walked. She circled around me to my back and then observed me from the side as I walked, all while her hand was on her chin.
"Is something the matter?" I decided to ask.
"Didn't you have a weapon? You had to; there is no way you killed the goblin earlier with your bare hands. Unless your unique skill gives you super strength or something equivalent," she said.
"I do have a weapon. It will appear when I need it."
"Tsk tsk tsk. That's a newbie move right there. Always have your weapon in your hand in case you are ambushed. The second delay it takes to summon your soul weapon could cost you your life."
She was correct, but combat came down to the individual. In my case, since I was using a dagger, I wanted to be ambushed. In fact, I had trained my skills for it.
If a goblin saw me walking with a sword in my hand, it would be wary of the weapon and think before attacking carelessly. If it saw a dagger then it would use its high agility and keep its distance. The goblin would realize that its weapon was longer and think that it could easily win by keeping its distance. That was the mind of such simple creatures.
But if the goblin saw that I didn't have a weapon, it would attack carelessly. Since I used a dagger, I needed my opponents close, so having them try a sneak attack would work to my advantage.
The same went for humans. I transmute my dagger into a handkerchief, which fitted perfectly in the pocket of my hoodie. While holding the handkerchief, I would pretend I was attack with a dagger, and by the time the opponent was in range, the handkerchief had already transmutated into a dagger.
My body, in turn, adapted to this fighting style. My ears were now sharper, and my eyes caught the slightest movements even if it was just a cockroach skittering in the darkness.
Plus, I didn't like showing my opponent my hand, which makes my fighting style in line with my personality. And according to Sensei Barrett, this was the perfect way to fight.
"Thanks for the advice," I said, nodding to Kiki.
"Don't worry; you'll understand certain things soon. The first time I entered a dungeon, I was only 10 years old," she smiled.
"I think I was younger than that," Levi chuckled. "My father brought me to a C-ranked dungeon and began killing every monster that attacked us."
"That sounds a bit scary. Weren't you scared?" Kiki said, her mouth hanging in an '0' shape with both hands on her face.
Levi chuckled.
"No, I don't think so. I was more excited to watch him work."
Hearing his response, Mia smiled, her face softening into a pink blush as she spoke in a nostalgic tone.
"I remember that, your father said you were excitedly cheering him on."
Kiki nodded in understanding.
"I understand that. Your father was the number 1 hero after all. Getting trained by him sounds exciting."
Soon, we came upon a narrow path where only one person could pass through at a time if they walked sideways. Levi treated it like nothing and continued through first. Mia followed soon after him, then Kiki.
Watching them, it was as if an alarm bell rang off in my mind.
What are they doing?
A path like this could prove deadly if ambushed in a group. There could be a group of goblins waiting at the exit of the narrow path, and then another group of goblins could sneak up behind them for a pincer attack.
In such a narrow path, it would be wise to have someone watch your back and guard your retreat so you aren't killed from behind.
Yet it didn't even cross their minds; instead, they continued on like nothing. Maybe they were just being careless since it was a D-ranked dungeon.
Or maybe their only knowledge about dungeons came from fighting monsters head-on in a straightforward attack.
In weaker dungeons, the lower-level monsters did anything to get an advantage. Levi did mention he started out in a C-ranked dungeon, so maybe that was it.
Seeing this, I stopped to guard their backs while they went on ahead through the narrow path.
"Damien, hurry up!"
"Stop slowing us down!"
Mia's agitated voice snapped from the other side. They had gone through safely.
Sighing to myself, I continued through the path ahead, hugging the wall as I crept forward.
"Be careful," Levi shouted in concern. "Since you're not wearing armor, the pointed rocks can tear your skin."
"Thanks," I said, even though what he said was unlikely. My skin elasticity increased, making it harder for me to get cut by the jagged rocks.
I had been through this so many times that my body already knew how to adapt, so I wasn't harmed.
"Shriek!"
Suddenly, as I continued through the narrow path, I heard a loud scream, followed by the sound of swords clashing.
In response, I hurried my pace, but the sound of panic got even louder. In just a matter of seconds, I leaped from the narrow path, but when I emerged, a disturbing scene unfolded before me.
character pics*