Stepping through the dungeon portal, I arrived at Goblin Forest, a Tier 1 dungeon.
“True to its name, this Goblin Forest is nothing but a forest.”
“Please be careful, as we never know when or where a goblin might jump out.”
“That’s right. While healing is always possible, I can’t do anything about death.”
‘Wait, I could die?’
“I’ll, I’ll be as cautious as possible…”
“Don’t worry. Tsundere and I will protect you, Summoner.”
“Hmph, just try not to get in the way.”
‘No matter how I look at it, I feel like I’m just a burden.’
“My apologies. I won’t interfere, so please fight carefully…”
“…Tsundere, I know that’s just your personality, but you should have been more tactful and kind in a situation like this…”
“N-no, it’s not like I wanted to say it that way…”
“No, it’s not your fault at all… It’s just that I’m too incompetent…”
‘I’m sorry, an incompetent Summoner like me insisted on coming to this dungeon.’
“Summoner, it’s alright. You are by no means incompetent.”
“That’s right! If you, Summoner unnie (TL Note: A Korean honorific used by a younger female to address an older female), are incompetent, then every other summoner in this world shouldn’t even qualify for a summoning license!”
“…Saessak, a summoning license is merely a title; it’s practically a permit. There’s no separate exam to take, you know?”
“…Huh? Summoner, that’s a really old story.”
“The association regulations changed, and now you have to take an exam to be granted a license. Haven’t you renewed yours?”
‘…I’ve truly never heard of this before.’
‘What? Am I in big trouble? I’m not going to get arrested for unauthorized summoning, am I?’
“Let’s go renew it later…”
“I suppose I must…”
“Um, I don’t think this is the time for a leisurely chat…”
“Huh? What’s th—?”
Peering behind Tsundere, I spotted five frozen goblins.
‘What the — when did those guys get frozen? No wonder it felt a bit colder around here.’
“Haa, please prepare for battle quickly. I’ll buy us as much time as I can.”
“Ah, yes!”
While Tsundere was buying time, I pulled an arrow from the quiver on my back and readied myself to draw.
“Hyap!”
‘…But isn’t that just freezing them all, rather than merely buying time?’
‘Besides, these five goblins that have been frozen since earlier are already dead, aren’t they?’
‘Tsundere… you were a fearsome one after all…’
“Summoner! Behind you!”
“Kieek!”
“Ugh, what!?”
A goblin burst out from behind me, and without thinking, I instinctively stabbed its head with an arrow.
“Huh…? I got it…?”
‘…Was an arrow originally meant for stabbing, not shooting?’
“Tsundere, in times like these, you should tactfully keep quiet.”
“…Hmph.”
‘Kids, I already heard everything.’
“C-cough. Anyway, let’s keep moving forward. If push comes to shove, we can just open a magic circle and escape, right?”
“…Summoner, do you have enough magic power to open a magic circle?”
“Huh? I have enough for that. More importantly, I brought three Emergency Escape Warp Stones, so escaping won’t be an issue. Plus, I packed plenty of other things I thought might be useful.”
Anticipating the possibility of getting stranded, I had brought various items.
For instance, emergency rations to last a month, five bundles of 100 healing potions, and a warm sleeping bag to sleep anywhere, anytime…?
‘But wouldn’t this much luggage actually hinder us?’
“…Honestly, I don’t know why you brought a sleeping bag, but the more emergency rations and healing potions, the better.”
“Let’s proceed further for now. Tsundere, you be careful too.”
“Uh, okay!”
“Hmph, it’s not like I need your concern; I take good care of myself, you know?”
‘Tsundere is being her usual tsundere self. How cute.’
With me positioned between Tsundere and Saessak, we began to advance.
“By the way, what’s at the end of this dungeon?”
“It’s been a long time since I last came here, so my memory is a bit hazy, but if I recall correctly, there should be a treasure chest.”
“A treasure chest?”
‘Was there a treasure chest in this dungeon…?’
“Well, it’s called a treasure chest, but it’s really more like a storage room.”
“Ah, I completely understand.”
‘…I don’t think you understand at all.’
“Sigh, you never had any interest in dungeons, Summoner unnie. I wonder what made you suddenly take an interest…”
‘Sorry, but in the village, there was nothing to do besides work and sleep, was there?’
‘That’s why I became interested in dungeons, wasn’t it?’
“Well, I was bored anyway, so I just tagged along.”
“Tsundere…?”
“I-it’s not like I followed you because I was worried about you, so don’t get the wrong idea.”
“…So you followed because you were worried.”
“I-I told you it wasn’t!?”
Watching Saessak and Tsundere’s friendly bickering brought a smile to my face.
‘Ah, this is so healing…’
“Kieek!”
“Ugh, what!?”
‘Oh, I’ve stabbed another goblin’s head with an arrow.’
“…Summoner, no matter how I think about it, you should probably be using a spear, not a bow.”
“No, I didn’t mean for this to happen…”
‘Goblins, please stop ambushing me… I want to shoot my bow properly…’
“…Everyone, please be quiet.”
“Huh? Saessak, is something wro—”
“There’s a horde of goblins up ahead…”
“Ah, right.”
‘Come to think of it, Saessak is a fairy, isn’t she?’
‘As a fairy, does the forest feel completely like her home? She can sense the goblin horde without even seeing them.’
‘…Perhaps goblins are also a type of fairy. Although goblins don’t look like fairies, they are the same kind of fairy as Saessak, aren’t they?’
‘Of course, our Saessak isn’t strangely shaped like a goblin; she’s a cute fairy.’
“…Summoner unnie? Why are you suddenly…?”
“Ah, sorry… you were so cute, I just instinctively…”
“…Please don’t do things like that in a dungeon. It’s dangerous.”
“S-sorry…”
Having instinctively stroked Saessak’s head while she was on alert, I was scolded for doing something dangerous in a dungeon.
While it was obvious that such actions were inappropriate in a dangerous dungeon, her words stung a little.
‘More than anything, it’s Saessak’s overwhelming cuteness that’s to blame.’
“…Summoner unnie, please try to stay focused.”
“Understood…”
‘Of course, if I were to say that, I’d probably just be told I’m crazy for saying such a thing in this situation.’
“Summoner! Behind you!”
“Huh? Ugh, what!”
A goblin sprang out from behind me. This time, I didn’t stab its head with an arrow.
‘…I merely struck it down with the bow itself.’
“Yap!”
“Kwek!”
Then, I immediately aimed for its head, using the arrow as it was truly intended for the very first time.
“Unnie, how did you manage to strike its head with the bow and then shoot an arrow right after…?”
“Huh? Isn’t that simple?”
“No, it just seems a little cruel…”
‘…Cruel?’
‘No, what’s cruel about this?’
‘Besides, that guy threatened me first. It was self-defense.’
“From the moment we raided the forest where the goblins lived, they seem more like the victims…”
“…Tsundere, sometimes it’s best to pretend you don’t know such things.”
Incidentally, since this game was originally planned as an RPG, the combat style certainly feels very RPG-like.
Though, when I actually played it, it was just the summoned beings and enemies moving a few times before it ended.
Anyone watching might mistake it for that old popular flash game, Hanxxjaeng (TL Note: A common placeholder for a censored or fictional game title, often implying a simple, repetitive combat system).
“So, where exactly is the end of this place?”
“Indeed… We should be nearing the edge of the forest soon…”
“…Wait a moment, something is coming from that direction.”
“Huh? What’s coming?”
“…I don’t recall orcs appearing here, so why…?”
“What? Orcs?”
‘Orcs are appearing here? I thought this was Goblin Forest?’
‘Well, I suppose some games treat orcs as stronger goblins or goblin leaders, but…’
I’ve often seen orcs categorized with goblins in some games. However, in ‘Everyone’s Summoner’, there was an entirely separate dungeon called Orc Forest specifically for orcs.
‘More importantly, Orc Forest is a Tier 3 dungeon, isn’t it? It makes no sense for them to appear in Goblin Forest.’
As I pondered this, the ground began to tremble, accompanied by the growing sound of something approaching.
“Ugh, what!? How powerful are that orc’s legs that the ground is shaking like this!?”
“Kyaa!”
“Tsundere! Are you alright!?”
“Yes, I’m fine…”
The shaking ground caused Tsundere to lose her balance and nearly fall.
It was a good thing I quickly caught her. She definitely would have been badly hurt if she’d fallen.
“But why on earth are orcs appearing in Goblin Forest…?”
“I don’t know either… The trees haven’t told me anything about orcs appearing in Goblin Forest…”
‘…Saessak, are you by any chance an elf? How can you talk to plants?’
‘Ah, well, she is a grass-attribute fairy, so maybe that’s why.’
“Summoner, I think it would be best if we turned back for today.”
“That’s right. No matter how I think about it, it’s too dangerous. It might be different with more people, but the three of us alone would be overwhelmed trying to defeat an orc.”
“Ugh, yeah… Let’s head back now. The three of us definitely can’t defeat an orc…”
Ultimately, the appearance of the orc forced us to flee the dungeon.
‘Warp Stones… I’m glad I brought them.’
****
“Phew, I really shouldn’t go to any dungeons for a while.”
The day’s events had convinced me to steer clear of dungeons.
‘No, seriously, why would an orc even appear in Goblin Forest? This has to be a bug.’
‘…But were an orc’s footsteps ever strong enough to cause vibrations? No matter how large an orc is, it shouldn’t be shaking the ground to that extent.’
“…That’s true. Orcs aren’t usually capable of causing that much vibration…”
When I mentioned this to Saessak, she also expressed her doubts.
‘Perhaps it wasn’t an orc after all, but something else?’
Of course, there was no way for us to truly know the identity of that vibration.
It might have been a real orc, or perhaps it was just a simple earthquake.
For that reason, we decided not to dwell on the origin of the tremor. After all, it was unlikely we would ever encounter it again.
“I’m seriously never going back to Goblin Forest again…”
While the goblins were certainly weak, their sheer numbers were overwhelming.
‘There were just so, so many of them… those goblins…’
