Getting information and first dungeon.
General POV
In a small town street, a young man wearing a rabbit mask and a hood was walking, observing the surroundings with a small wine-red cat and another slightly grayish-white cat on his neck, and a tiny shrimp blowing bubbles on his shoulder. He occasionally lifted his mask to put a piece of meat from a skewer into his mouth or into the mouth of the small cat.
POV of the MC
I walked around the town a bit; it was really a small town with low buildings and some population, but there were practically no players in sight. Soon, I arrived at my destination, which was the town hall. The town hall was relatively small with some strong guards in front of it. I entered and looked for an information desk, which wasn’t hard to find.
"Good afternoon, sir. How can I help you?"
"Good afternoon, do you have a map of the kingdom and the town? I would also like information about libraries and nearby hunting grounds..."
"Hmm, one moment... please wait beside."
I did as she asked and sat on a bench.
It took about 20 minutes, and she brought the items and the requested information. I had to pay for certain information and the maps, but I found it fair.
"Thank you for everything."
"Of course, sir, come back anytime. Ah, a tip for the high payment, if you want to sell certain items or buy, you might want to try a larger town where you can usually find an auction house managed by the gods of commerce and their representatives. As long as the payment is right, items can be bought not just from this continent but depending on the house, even from other continents."
‘Oh… that’s interesting information… in case I find special items that aren’t useful…’
"Thank you."
After saying goodbye, I went outside the town to a more isolated area.
"Summon: Ghost Horse"
A light blue and gray magical circle appeared on the ground with images of skulls and a horse in the center and some lines resembling ectoplasm.
From there, a bluish-gray spectral horse emerged.
I lightly touched it and asked it to disguise itself; soon, its spectral hue turned brownish, but it was still slightly above the ground.
I mounted it and directed it towards a small dungeon that doesn’t give much useful loot but is close by and theoretically isolated, according to the information I confirmed with the secretary.
It didn’t take long, and we arrived. Before reaching there, I had already dismissed the Ghost Horse to avoid drawing attention. There was the image of a small cave with only one or two groups of players nearby, considerably fewer than more popular spots.
I didn’t intend to talk to anyone and planned to go solo, which wasn’t a problem since each previously conquered dungeon has a space for a group, so that’s not an issue.
Of course, even if I didn’t want it that way, it didn’t mean it would be.
And accordingly, I saw a player with a large shield and sturdy armor looking like a Tank approaching my path.
"Hi!! How are you? Are you alone, want to join us? We have a group of three missing one member."
"Nice to meet you, no thanks, I prefer playing solo."
"Oh, alright..."
He smiled and went to look for others, fortunately not arrogant or insistent.
Something that, from what I understand, happens quite a lot.
Now, the reason I don’t play in groups… is more because I don’t know them. If we were friends before or somehow it wouldn’t be a problem, and there wouldn’t be as much hassle, whether due to skill viewing or group leader interactions and such things, although I don’t mind being or not being the group leader.
.
After saying goodbye, I entered the Dungeon.
.
It was a cave with various stalactites and stalagmites and was illuminated by some bright moss plants.
As for the enemies, there were three small green enemies carrying spears and short.
[Goblin (normal) lvl 13]
[Goblin (normal) lvl 13]
[Goblin (normal) lvl 14]
I whispered,
"Aqua, stay above and get ready to provide support."
"Ron, spread the mist."
I also drew my sword.
Ron meowed softly a few times and gathered his power, aided by Aqua’s water combination.
A mist covered and began to spread while hidden wine-red threads in the mist were ready to poison the enemies.
The Goblins seemed wary of the mist and became cautious, but when the mist reached them, they screamed in slight pain, and small poison marks appeared on their bodies,
Ack!!
Ron and Aqua continued attacking, small and swift water thorns hidden attacked one’s eye and another’s heart.
Meanwhile, Ron appeared among them and moved his claws, which were surrounded by a higher concentration of poison.
He quickly made several cuts on them.
I, who was at a distance, activated my manual’s Skill.
"Impact"
Strong energy concentrated at the tip, and water covered the entire sword when I injected mana and invoked the property of my bond with Aqua.
I pushed one away to deal high damage, while another was being tied and attacked by water whips from above by Aqua and cut at vital points and poisoned by Ron, who discreetly hid in the mist, sometimes dissolving and reforming.
They were relatively weak monsters in general terms, and my Status was considerably higher combined with the poison that was weakening them. It didn’t take long for us to kill them.