Acquiring Talent in a Dungeon

Chapter 8 - Day 3, 3rd Floor Control

One hit wouldn't be enough. I cornered An Su-hyun against a wall as my fist struck his abdomen. I did it again and again until his upper body bent over.

“S-Su-hyun oppa!” I reflexively frowned as I heard a woman’s shrill scream.

"What is this? Why?”

Let’s see. This wasn’t a question that I would answer. I gazed at An Su-hyun’s face. Fear could be clearly read in his eyes as his fingers held his bleeding nose. My fists were more violent due to what happened yesterday.

“Tell me. What happened yesterday?” It was a command to speak. An Su-hyun was conflicted, but he already had no strength left to hold his club. All that remained was his pride. A woman was right in front of him.

"Do you want more?”

“Yesterday...”

In the end, he confessed to yesterday’s crime in a trembling voice. Despite the fact that he tried to justify his actions, he was the one who ran away alone in the first place. Disappointment flashed through the woman’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. I have sinned greatly, so please forgive me.”

An apology emerged from his mouth but it wasn’t very meaningful. I extended the palm of my hand. An Su-hyun thought I would pull him up and reached for my hand.

"That’s not it, hand me the club.”

“Why...”

"Why should I trust you with a weapon?” If An Su-hyun had a weapon then he would there was a 100% probability that it would be aimed at the back of my head given half a chance.

“Give it to me.”

“T-that is my item. I lent it to him.”

The woman intervened. An Su-hyun perked up as he felt some hope. As if to corroborate this excuse, he pointed to the woman and said, "That's right... It isn’t mine.”

"Why does that matter?” I kicked at An Su-hyun who misunderstood and exposed his palms.

“Lower your eyes. Don’t look at me. I want to kill you because I’m so irritated.”

“...”

I said it, but I honestly thought it was childish. It was absurd for a grown man in his 20’s to say such things. It was only appropriate for immature middle and high school students. Unfortunately, these were my thoughts.

There were dogs who couldn’t be controlled through calm voices and logic, but instead through force. There were a lot of them. As many as the number of people in the world. No, maybe more than that. An Su-hyun was a dog.

I wasn’t a genius who could manipulate a dog skillfully, nor did I have the patience of a saint. Just looking at a barking dog made me want to bite it back. I usually restrained myself but there were no laws here. There was no reason not to choose a more comfortable method.

[Talent has been acquired.]

[Talent - Compulsion: The ability to break the opponent’s will with physical/verbal violence. Charisma will increase according to the level. Your persuasive powers and discipline will slightly increase.]

This was an unexpected development. It was evidence that my actions were successful. "I won’t say it a third time.” The dog turned and revealed its belly.

I received the club.

[Old Ebony Club. Equipment item. Rank E.]

[A wooden bat made of top quality ebony wood. It seems to have been made for decorative purposes, but performs well as a blunt weapon due to the quality of the materials.]

"Oppa! That is mine...” The woman looked at her feet due to her fear. An Su-hyun didn’t answer. He just looked at the ground with a terrible expression.

I asked the woman. "Any other weapons?”

“Huh?”

"I don’t want to miss any other weapons.” The woman shook her head.

"Uh, no. That is the only one... I thought it would be better to leave it to a man rather than wield it myself...”

"Are you familiar with An Su-hyun?”

She shook her head again. “Just... I live in the building. I know that is the manager... Today was the first time I’ve actually talked to that person.”

A little while ago, she had called An Su-hyun ‘Oppa.’ Now he was ‘that person.’ I could tell her type with one glance: a woman who was dependent on men. Today was the first time she spoke to the red-haired man but she had handed over a weapon.

She wasn’t the type to be a competitor. I put the club into my inventory.

"My...”

"Once I judge that it is safe, I’ll give it back.” I cut off her words. Even though she looked young, she knew how to behave. I pulled An Su-hyun up.

“That way, you will take the lead.”

“Excuse me. Hee-chul ssi, my words are serious...”

Look at this, it actually worked. A dog was trying to become a person. Of course, if he repeated the same behaviour then he might become a dog again.

"Just take a few steps. I will tell you the direction.” Thus, they started to awkwardly move together. I was successful. It was important that I now controlled the actions of these two people.

“Grrr...” The cries of goblins were heard in front of me, outside of my field of view.

"S-So many...” An Su-hyun stuttered as he stopped moving.

There weren’t just two goblins. Right now, five had appeared in front of us. I could hear cries from behind them as well.

“Excuse me... If I don’t have the club then my bare hands...”

"Both of you, stay here.”

“Eh?”

“Huh?” I just moved forward. I ran out with an outstretched fist, punching the face of the one in the lead and waited for the others.

"Gruk!”

I swung towards a goblin coming from the right. It was out with one hit to the chin. I kicked the one on the left, then followed up with a fist. So far, I had taken care of three enemies. I stepped back and glanced behind me.

An Su-hyun had a blank expression on his face. I didn’t need to worry about him striking me in the back. For now. I swung my fist again.

Bam!Bam bam!

There were a total of nine enemies. After taking care of all of them, I leaned against a wall while breathing roughly. Even if I had a technique, it was physically difficult.

“...”

“...”

The two people were looking at me with stunned expressions.

“Cool...” The woman made an admiring sound. I searched their pockets and found 20 coins. An Su-hyun’s eyes shone but there was nothing he could do. The woman’s eyes also flashed.

She was looking at me instead of the coins. "Incredible!” She was the type of woman who caught your eye. She carried a cardigan in her arms while her outstanding body stood out in relief under the short-sleeved polo shirt.

I made An Su-hyun walk another way. And from then on, the woman started to speak earnestly. "I am Yoo Su-jeong.”

“Kim Hee-chul.”

"Do you go to O University?”

“Yes.”

“Are you a boxer? You looked awesome.”

"Nope.” Although I gave short replies, that just made Yoo Su-jeong become more aggressive.

"But what are you doing with your handphone?”

"Drawing a map.”

She was silent for a moment before pulling out her handphone and drawing a map.

“Eh...!” An Su-hyun turned around at the small cry that emerged from Yoo Su-jeong’s mouth.

“What...? Is there something there?”

"Nope. I almost fell down.” She shook her head and An Su-hyun glanced at me.

This was completely… I didn’t respond, but I didn’t try to stop it. He was easier to handle due to the presence of Yoo Su-jeong.

“...Chet.” It was funny that An Su-hyun was handled by Yoo Su-jeong who claimed not to know him. Thus, we proceeded through the dungeon. Goblins approached us, but they were sparse.

It was a maze but the composition was so simple that it was comparable to the first floor rather than the second floor. Furthermore, none of the boxes from the second floor were spotted.

We found the stairs that An Su-hyun and Yoo Su-jeong came down. Then they found a staircase leading to the 4th floor.

[Stairs. It leads to the 4th floor.]

[Changes in the following floor: Dungeon space has expanded. You can encounter +1 explorer. Monsters below D rank will emerge.]

[Personnel entry restriction 0/2]

Personnel entry restriction? Two people? The other two people’s expressions brightened as they saw it. As soon as they turned the corner in front of the stairs, there was a hallway.

It was big. The second floor had a large room with the dummy in it, but this hallway was dozens of times larger. I was able to determine the size due to the torches. There were torches hanging from pillars that were arranged in a circular shape. It was very clear who lit the torches.

“Grrr...”

“Kyahh...”

The hallway had layered stairs that got lower as they headed to the centre. Goblins were camping in the centre. “Oh my god...”

“Crazy.” Yoo Su-jeong and An Su-hyun cried out.

We could hide behind the pillars and look down undetected, but the sight was enough to cause fear. There were dozens of goblins. Even if they had the combat power of an elementary school student, it was difficult to take care of such large numbers. In addition, there were two superior goblins among them.

[Lime Goblin (Warden). Type: Ajin (Demi-human). Rank E.]

[They lead the tribe’s warriors, occupying the stairs near the village and preventing any attacks. Their physical capabilities are right above the workers. However, their ability to use combat tools such as whips can be frustrating and annoying.]

E rank was the same as the dummy. There wasn’t just one box beside them, there were seven, no eight boxes. The boxes were all piled up. And there was a staircase.

It was quite different from the existing staircases. There was a geometric pattern around the stairs that had the same style as the wall murals.

[Stairs. It leads to the 4th floor.]

[Unique Staircase - Lime Goblin’s Habitat]

“Excuse me... Are you planning to go down the stairs?”

“I will look around.” After replying to An Su-hyun, I led the two of them around the rest of the dungeon. Apart from some goblins that showed up, the rest of the third floor was the same. Some of the other paths only led to dead ends. In the end, we returned to the hallway.

"..."

“...”

An Su-hyun and Yoo Su-jeong’s complexions were pale. The two of them had finally realized something.

[Personnel entry restriction 0/2]

The word ‘safe’ was obviously attached to those stairs. Two out of the three people could go down the stairs. At least one person needed to use the stairs in the hallway.

They had to go through the guarding goblins.