Chapter 47: 47 Dungeon.

Seeing another person approaching, the kids parted away, creating a straight path for the two Adventures who came to the village. The two left the scene, prompting the other children to crowd together and whisper at each other.

Silvia shifted her attention to the back, looking at the bickering children with spread lips. She turned to the side, elbowed Jin’s rib, and asked in a hushed voice. “You’re pretty good at handling a kid”.

“Is that so? I just act natural”.

“Hmm, do you have a little brother or something?”.

Jin lifted his gaze and stared far away, recalling the figure of a little girl he had met on the road that day. “No. But I have someone I thought of as my little sister.”

“Who is it?”.

“Her name is Nina”.

“Hee,”.

The two conversed lightly and lively, ignoring the curious stares from the people passing by.

Jin observed his surrounding area, using his Jade eyes to trace some black miasma left by the monster, but nothing captured his vision. Instead, he noticed that the village was buzzing with activity.

The cause was probably the approaching winter. Many villagers were busy hammering nails to repair a broken house, hammering blazing steel to fix damaged farming tools, etc.

As they kept their pace slow, trying to capture the bustling atmosphere, they stopped before the wooden house. Just like the kid’s description, the house was much bigger and solid in structure. Logs were layered on top of each other to make a solid structure, and the roof was made of stitched straws.

Jin stood before the house door, knocking on the wooden door with a thud. “Excuse me?”.

“Yes”.

A reply came from the inside as the door creaked open. It revealed a man in his fifties with a medium build, wearing a brown leather outfit. His short black hair, tinged with a bit of grey, welcomed Jin and Silvia with a warm smile.

“Oh, may I help you?”.

Jin took out his Guild card and showed it to the village chief. “I’m an Adventurer. In the Guild, I learned that this village is struggling with missing cattle.”

When the man heard Jin’s explanation, his eyes flashed before his lips broke into a wide grin. He took Jin in his hands and rocked his torso in continuous bowing. “Oof, I am truly grateful. Thank you so much, young adventure”.

“N-No, it was my job, so don’t take it too far, please sir”. Jin’s voice stammered; he grabbed the man’s shoulder, stopping him from doing something that would burden his spine.

“Understood, please come inside. I will tell you everything you need to know and…”.

The man’s mouth stopped as he saw Jin’s open palm. He gazes at the boy straight in the eyes, wondering what is happening in his mind.

“I’m sorry for hurrying like this, but…”. Jin looked around. His breath slowed, and he swallowed his saliva, seeing a faint black trace appear on the left side of the village.

“Village chief, can you hurriedly tell me where you keep the cattle?”.

“Y-Yes very well”.

“Kyaa, a monster appeared!”.

A loud cry resonated across the village, garnering the attention of the three. Jin jolted to the side as his emerald eyes flashed, and he saw a murky black miasma coming from the left side of the village.

“Silvia, follow me.” His body bolted like wind, and he tightly clenched the Katana on his waist.

Silvia dashed forward, following Jin’s shadow. They took a right turn and followed a straight path to where the woman’s scream was coming from.

In front of them stood a long building with wooden fences trapping a restless cattle running away on the vast grass field.

Far away from the field near the forest maw, Jin spotted several creatures holding bows and wooden clubs, drooling at the sight of meat.

’Goblins’. Jin’s face hardened. He inhaled deeply and increased his speed, leaving Silvia behind with dust.

“Jin!?”. Silvia stopped her chase as she witnessed Jin arrive before the startled monster with a sword ready in hand.

She unconsciously reached out to her sword, looking at the creatures. They stood around kid level, had green skin, and had jagged teeth that drooled over the cattle. A pair of pointy ears and an elongated nose showed that it was a creature she read in a book, ’a Goblin’.

Silvia saw Jin dash forward, his steps unwavering as he arrived face-to-face with the monster. She saw Jin’s blade slice through the air, a sickening whistle that severed the goblin’s head from its shoulder.

Her eyes snapped open as she saw the clean arc he showed and the determination he carried within that silver blade.

Jin didn’t stop until there; he stepped forward, and a flurry of silver blades danced around as another shriek from a goblin rang out, its body bisected into two. One by one, the monsters fell as their body paralyzed by terror.

He swung his sword downward, severing the arm of the last remaining goblin. “*Gyaak!”.

“What happened?”.

The last shriek was etched into her mind, and a cold shiver ran through her skin. “What happened? ”

’Was he wounded?’. The blood disappeared from her face, imagining a worse thing had happened. Silvia’s body trembled, and a tight grip clenched her heart in pain. Yet, despite having cold feet, she dashed forward, approaching Jin’s side.

Jin noticed the wounded goblin clutching its severed arm; its yellow eyes darted to see its comrade being murdered easily.

*Gyaak!

“Jin”.

An anxious voice rang in the field, prompting Jin to tilt his torso to the side. Seeing a chance, the goblin held one of its severed arms and ran backwards toward the forest.

’So, he took the bait’. Jin’s lips parted in a devious smile, noticing the footsteps that faded into the forest, yet his eyes caught the trace of its black miasma.

“Jin, are you okay?”.

Silvia arrived beside him with a pale face. Her eyes began to trace Jin’s body, and then she touched it in multiple places, including his hand, stomach, and even face, but no injury was spotted.

She exhaled heavily and looked toward the goblin corpse before her face scrunching.

“Yeah, I’m fine”.

Jin calmly replied, but her eyes remained locked on the trail of blue fluid that led her gaze toward the forest. One goblin managed to escape. ’Oh, no!? ’

Dread weighed down her weary expression, and she clutched Jin’s hand, trembling. “Jin, one of them is escaping. What should we do?”

“Calm down, Silvia”. Jin placed his palm onto Silvia’s hand.

The warmth that settles on her skin spreads, warming up her frozen heart after she witnesses a hideous monster for the first time in her life.

Even though Silvia was hailed as strongest in sword fighting, all her victories were thanks to her talent (and distorted luck), who could learn a swordsmanship move in just a glance. However, regarding her experience of the world and monsters, she had zero skill.

Her heart pounded inside, and her ears started to ring so loud it made her head dizzy. Strength began to fade around her legs, and her body swayed like grass, but she gritted her teeth and shifted her feet to support herself.

The atmosphere was thick, with malice coming from the monster. Scattered corpses, creating a pool of blood and letting a tangy stench that would linger in her mind for life was enough to make her stomach churn.

“Uup!”. Silvia’s hands blocked her lips, feeling something hot welling in her throat. Her gaze wavered before she turned around and managed to regain her breath.

“Take your time, Silvia”. Jin glanced at the scattering corpse; his brows knitted together in a deep frown.

’In a territory that is branded as a safe place. No dangerous monster has been roaming around in years, and now the Sub-Quest told me there is a newborn dungeon, yet a monster began roaming a forest, raiding a village to feed their belly’. Jin’s pupils dilated as he realized something.

“Monster wave. No, that is impossible…”. Jin shook his head to dismiss the dangerous thought he was having.

It was his baseless thought. There are still many things he needs to make sure of and see with his own eyes if the Dungeon was really born near this area and what choices Jin should make in this situation.

“Jin?”.

He turned around, hearing Silvia’s weak voice. Her face was pale, but slowly, it regained its colour.

“Don’t push yourself; go rest in the village”.

Silvia shook her head, her gaze firm. She stared at his eyes with wavered expression, “What are your plans?”

“I will chase the one I let escape to see if the goblin had built a settlement nearby or just a stray”.

“I will come with you.” Silvia’s voice was weak, but her eyes were clear. She gritted her teeth and asked softly, “Please, Jin”.

Feeling hesitant, Jin stilled, allowing her unwavering eyes to gawk at her. “Okay, you can come. Don’t drift away from me.” He said.

“…”. The girl nodded as she reached out and tightly clutched Jin’s jacket.

Jin exhaled, and he walked toward the scattered corpses.

One by one, the bodies disappeared like smoke when Jin’s feet kicked them, leaving only blue blood painted the grassy field blue. He stored the body carcass inside the Item Box to be used as proof.

“Silvia, prepare yourself. If something happens, you must also not hesitate to use that sword to protect yourself.” He didn’t turn around, yet Jin’s voice carried a significant weight that pressed into her consciousness.

Silvia gulped her saliva as she gripped the sword on her waist. Her heart faltered, but upon feeling the stiff fabric on her fingers, her vision brightened, and she regained her spirit, albeit a little.

She gritted her teeth and opened her stiffened lips. “…Yeah, I will”.

Jin’s brows twitch, hearing the restless and weak tone behind him. “…Good, let’s go!”.

Silvia nodded her head, and the two began to enter the lush forest, spreading around them tall trees whose canopy cast gentle shadows around the land. Sunlight cascades between the tree crown, capturing a perfect view of soft and gentle nature.

However, before Jin’s eyes, the scenery was tainted with murky black miasma that seeped through the trees, soil, and atmosphere and almost covered his entire field of vision.

’This source of miasma, there is no mistaking it’. Jin exhaled softly and tightly, gripping his Katana while walking further inside. ’It’s near’.

After following the blood trace and miasma that kept getting thicker, Jin’s eyes widened to see an open plain. In the middle of it, a rocky structure sprouted from the ground, forming a dark maw that spits out malice and ominous premonition.

“There is no mistaking it”. Jin’s lips broke into a wide grin.

“Huh? What is it, Jin?”. A bundle of curiosity peeked from his back, tugging the boy’s jacket in rapid movement.

Jin paused for a moment, then said, “…There is truly a Dungeon here!?”.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep