After wrapping up our first skirmish on Floor 5 without a hitch, Hinata-san and I pressed further into the depths.
We fought several more groups encountered along the way, and after about an hour, we finally arrived before the Floor 5 Monster Room.
『Whoa, whoa, I thought you might be kidding, but you’re really going in...』
『Please don't just challenge a Monster Room like it's a walk in the park...!! (shaky voice)』
『The difficulty here is on a completely different level than the one on Floor 4, you know? Leveling Junkie Bro, are you sure about this?』
I had given Hinata-san a rough overview of today’s and tomorrow’s plans beforehand, so she seemed composed, but the viewers were sending over a flurry of anxious comments.
In response, I gave the camera a confident nod.
"Of course! My preliminary intel gathering was flawless!!"
Since there might be some new viewers who weren't up to speed, I decided to give a brief rundown of the Floor 5 Monster Room.
"The Monster Room here in the Shinjuku Dungeon Floor 5 spawns exactly twenty-five Goblins. The breakdown consists of four separate five-unit parties: a Level 12 Assassin, a Level 12 Knight, a Level 12 Lancer, a Level 11 Archer, and a Level 11 Mage. The final five make up the command party: two Level 12 Knights, two Level 12 Lancers, and one Level 12 Commander. That’s twenty-five total. The command party is notorious for its AI; the others will always move to keep the Commander protected."
『Ugh, that’s brutal...!!』
『What the hell is that setup...?!』
『Twenty-five is bad enough, but having Knights and Riders dedicated to protecting the Commander is way too much of a pain...!!』
『Even for seasoned Explorers on Floor 5, that's a 'you enter, you die' tier encounter.』
『Maybe you should really sit this one out...? Man, I don't want to see you two die.』
"Takeo-kun... are you really going to be okay? Should we use... that?"
Caught up in the viewers' anxiety, Hinata-san seemed to be getting nervous as well. She whispered the question, offering to use her Support Magic right away, but I shook my head.
"It's fine, Hinata-san. There's no need to go that far yet."
To be honest, with my current power, I could probably slaughter every single Goblin in under ten seconds if I didn't mind the massive HP drain.
However, doing that would mean losing out on genuine combat experience, and there was a chance my efficiency would plummet once I actually activated Seeker.
Thus, I had decided to fight normally for the first few rounds.
Ah, as a side note.
The reason I haven't used Seeker to level up yet is that I'm waiting for the Skill Level to hit its cap.
My experience efficiency is bound to take a hit at first, so if I'm going to use Seeker, I want it at maximum level to maximize the experience multiplier.
Since the penalty is the same whether the skill is Level 1 or Level 5, it’s only logical to wait until it reaches Level 5 before putting it to work.
"Alright, Hinata-san, let's do this!"
"Okay!"
With that, we pushed open the heavy doors and stepped into the Monster Room.
●◯●
I tossed my backpack against the wall and drew my sword, settling into a stance. Hinata-san retreated to the edge of the room, keeping her back to the wall to stay clear of any stray projectiles.
In the center of the room—directly in my line of sight—a Magic Circle significantly larger than the ones on Floor 4 began to glow with a brilliant light.
An instant later, twenty-five Goblins materialized in a perfect, orderly formation.
They were split into five groups of five. The command party held the center, while the other four parties arrayed themselves to the front and sides like a protective shell.
『Wait, hold on. The pressure coming off them is insane.』
『Are you serious... This is just Floor 5? It's got to be a bug. In a game, Floor 5 would still be the tutorial area!』
『Wait, Explorers actually have to fight this?! Even with a five-man party, it looks like a tiny band trying to take on an entire army!!』
『"Twenty-five Goblins? Might be doable." My naive thoughts were just crushed in a heartbeat.』
『First off, each individual Goblin is huge and jacked! A muscular Goblin nearly 170 centimeters tall isn't a Goblin anymore—that's an Ogre!!』
The chat log trembled at the sight.
Admittedly, the sheer intimidation of the scene was likely comparable to standing before an actual ancient or medieval battalion.
Of course, these things are mostly immune to gunfire, which makes them even harder to deal with than a human army.
Be that as it may.
As a Goblin Genocider, I wasn't about to start shaking, even if their numbers were ten times higher.
While not as potent as Pleasure Killer, it seemed the Goblin Genocider title was exerting its own influence on my psyche.
It wasn't a negative change, so I didn't see it as a problem.
Besides—looking at my status, there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
―――――――――――――――― Strength: 170 (+85) Constitution: 150 (+75) Intelligence: 12 (+6) Spirit: 72 (+36) Agility: 160 (+80) Dexterity: 160 (+80) ――――――――――――――――
These were my stats as boosted by Goblin Genocider!
Frankly, I didn't even need to use Fighting Spirit or any other enhancement-type Skills.
I just needed to fight "like I always do."
I started by activating Taunt, accompanying it with a crude provocation.
"Hey! Come and get it, you virgin Goblins!! I'm going to make sure you die as pathetic virgins!!"
『Oh, the humanity.』
『What did the Goblins ever do to you?』
『You're probably a virgin too, damn it!!』
"Gugya!!"
The Commander thrust his rapier into the air and shrieked.
His Leadership skill activated instantly, boosting every stat of the Goblins by twenty percent, excluding HP and MP.
—That was the difference. On Floor 5, the Commander’s Leadership skill was Level 2.
Still, it didn't change a thing.
"Here I come, bastards!!"
I kicked off the floor and accelerated into a sprint. Simultaneously, I imbued my blade with the fire-attribute Magic Sword.
Charging straight ahead, I closed the distance in a flash and bore down on the Goblin Knight at the head of the vanguard.
I slammed my sword into the Knight's raised shield, letting the momentum of my charge carry the blow.
Boom!
The moment my sword collided with the shield, a massive explosion of fire erupted between them, letting out a deafening roar.
The shockwave sent the Knight flying like a kicked ball, and it went tumbling backward, taking several Goblins behind it down in a heap.
A hole had been torn in their formation. Perfect. I leapt right into the center of the gap.
"Hyah-ha!!"
"Gugya!!"
The Commander barked out orders immediately, and the Goblins began to shift, attempting to encircle me now that I had breached their lines.
But—too slow, too slow, too slow!!
I rampaged through them before they could even finish reorganizing their formation.
I swung my sword wildly, cutting down every Goblin within reach.
Since I was inside their original formation, the Knights—the tanks—weren't in a position to block me. Until they fixed their line, the room was my personal playground.
Of course, the Knights and Assassins were lunging at me aggressively, and the Archers and Mages were firing whenever they didn't have to worry about hitting their own kind.
Even so, my chaotic movements sapped the momentum of their counterattacks. With my overwhelming Agility, I could dodge everything simply by surrendering my body to my Danger Sense.
『Whoa, whoa, whoa!!?』
『He's not even testing the waters?!』
『He just charged right into the center of the nest!!』
By the time I had slaughtered about six of them, the enemy had managed to reform, surrounding me on all sides.
Chills ran down my spine as I sensed threats from every direction.
It was the pre-activation signals of the Lancers, Archers, and Mages preparing their mid-to-long-range attacks.
An instant later, a volley of attacks converged on me.
I immediately dropped my center of gravity, crouching low like a beast before sprinting forward.
Several projectiles whistled through the air just inches above my head, grazing my hair.
The Goblins were all aiming for my upper body; simply staying low was enough to evade the entire volley.
As I closed in while dodging, I delivered a flying kick to a Knight bracing its shield.
"Ora! Get lost!!"
"—!!"
The Knight dug its heels in. I slammed my foot into the shield—or rather, I didn't.
"Thanks for the boost!!"
Just as I'd done in the past, I planted the sole of my foot on the upper half of the shield and bent my knee to absorb the impact. Using the force of my own leap, I pushed the shield down so its front face tilted upward.
Then, I jumped again.
"————!!"
I controlled my posture mid-air and looked down.
The Commander's party hadn't joined the encirclement; they were standing a short distance away.
Reaching the apex of my jump, I swung my sword with a sharp snap. My target was the Commander.
A blade of fire soared from the arc of my sword, cutting through the empty air.
It streaked toward the Commander with pinpoint accuracy—
"Gugya!"
"Not bad!!"
But just before the fire could strike, a Knight threw himself in front of the Commander, catching the blast on his shield.
The fire exploded, sending the Knight tumbling.
The Commander was caught in the blast as well and went rolling across the ground, but the remaining three Goblins stayed on high alert, refusing to give me an opening.
Firing more slashes with Magic Sword would probably be a waste of effort.
Unlike Floor 4, their defenses were formidable. This wouldn't be as simple as I'd hoped.
However.
"Guga!!"
"Hello there. But you're second in line."
I landed at the end of my parabolic arc directly in front of the Commander's party.
The moment my feet touched the floor, I lunged forward to dodge the thrusts of two Lancers and gave a polite greeting to the Knight standing in my path. Simultaneously, I slammed my sword into his shield, the resulting explosion blowing him away.
With the obstacle gone, my gaze fell on the Commander, who was still scrambled on the ground with the other Knight.
I locked eyes with the panicked Commander and gave him a warm, gentle smile.
"—!!?"
No words were needed. I didn't even bother to close the distance; I simply swung my sword where I stood, sending a blade of fire screaming toward him.
Without even staying to see the result, I leapt backward to evade the Lancers' follow-up.
A roar echoed through the room as the fire blade hit its mark.
The Commander was officially dead, and the Goblins' stats instantly dropped by twenty percent.
I turned to the remaining Goblins, who were visibly shaken by the loss of their leader, and spoke.
"Me... kill... all... of... you."
" " "—!!?" " "