Suddenly, the space in front of Timothy shimred with a resounding thud.
He flinched, his gaze sharpening as he fixed his eyes on the disturbance.
Half-expecting the ground to collapse beneath him again, he braced himself.
But instead of the earth caving in, sothing else took form.
A second thud followed, this ti giving the shimring space a more defined shape.
It wasn't far-fetched to call it a door, tall, rectangular, and standing upright before him.
A third thud echoed softer than the first two but serving as the final touch.
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A second later, a fully ford, translucent door stood in front of him.
It was perfectly see-through, barely noticeable at all.
"I guess I'm supposed to pass through," Timothy muttered before stepping forward without hesitation.
Since there was no handle or visible barrier, his hands passed through first.
It felt like pushing through water or a thin veil.
The next mont, his entire body was absorbed into the passage.
He stumbled slightly and erged on the other side.
But it was no longer the sa village where he had fought hobgoblins and shaman goblins.
Instead, he found himself in a vast, eerily dark expanse.
No sky.
No moon.
No sources of light as far as his eyes could see.
Yet, beneath his feet, he could feel solid ground.
He dared not move forward without understanding his surroundings.
Ding!
[You have successfully entered the third layer of this dungeon.]
[Clear the dungeon or die trying.]
Timothy narrowed his eyes at the system prompt.
One word in particular caught his attention; successfully entered.
That phrasing implied many things.
He didn't dwell on it for long but made a ntal note to remain cautious.
This was the final layer of the dungeon.
He didn't need a warning to know it would be far more dangerous than the previous two.
Still, judging by the the so far, goblins were likely to remain the dominant enemy.
Taking a deep breath, he ntally prepared himself and stepped forward.
At that mont, an odd sensation washed over him, like he was truly arriving in the dungeon for the first ti.
It was as if sothing had been covering his eyes before.
He couldn't describe it exactly, but it felt like he had just crossed the threshold from one dinsion to another.
And then it clicked.
He had still been inside the space of the door that brought him here.
"So that's what it ant," he muttered, now understanding the significance of successfully entered.
It suggested that under certain conditions, he might not have been able to make it here at all or worse, he could have died trying.
But rather than worrying about why he qualified, he was more interested in what determined entry in the first place.
That train of thought was shoved aside when he heard movent ahead.
He remained still.
It was still dark, but strangely, his vision seed to be adjusting.
He could now make out vague shapes along with the weight of footsteps echoing through the tunnel.
Yes, a tunnel.
From the way the sound bounced, it was clear this was a man-made underground passage.
Then ca another realization.
Goblins, upon seeing an intruder, usually let out an ear-piercing scream.
He had been ready to take one down the mont it entered his sight, but... sothing else was with it.
He needed to observe first.
Five seconds later, a small goblin ca into view, wielding a makeshift club.
It lazily scanned the area where Timothy had been just monts ago.
And right behind it was a dog?
No.
A wolf.
Timothy squinted, unable to discern its fur color in the darkness, but he was willing to bet it was a wild one.
His gaze flickered between the goblin and the wolf, and that's when he noticed sothing crucial.
They were a pair.
'What are the chances...' he thought.
'That goblins have better night vision than ?'
That could only an...
He didn't even finish the thought before the wolf started sniffing the air, moving closer to where he was hiding.
Timothy quickly assessed its size.
Bigger than a dog but about the sa height as a goblin.
At this mont, he wasn't sure if it was due to the previous distance or sothing else, but before he could contemplate further, the system displayed two nas above their heads.
[Wild Goblin]
[Wild Wolf]
The good news? The text was green.
He didn't need an explanation to figure out what that ant.
He simplified it to traffic lights:
Red – Stop.
Yellow – Be ready.
Green – Go.
Without hesitation, Timothy moved.
Both creatures had the ability to alert others.
But in terms of intelligence, goblins were the bigger threat.
With practiced finesse, he climbed up to the ceiling, roughly three to four tis his height.
This much wasn't a problem with his current agility.
From there, he dived down, angling himself toward the wolf.
The mont his feet touched the ground, he shot forward.
In a blink, he was already in front of the goblin.
The wolf was too slow to react.
Or perhaps he was just too fast.
The goblin never stood a chance.
Before it could even process what was happening, Timothy crushed its neck.
It collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
The wolf let out a low growl.
Timothy activated Dash twice in rapid succession.
In an instant, he was upon it.
Wrapping his arms around its neck, he twisted.
A soft crack followed.
The wild wolf went still.
Timothy had no ti for a drawn-out brawl.
He needed to be efficient, especially with the wolf still lurking as a potential variable.
If there were more of them...
The two wild beasts he had taken down weren't enough to grant him a level-up, so he focused on his connection with Gray.
What better place to test its abilities than here?
This was practically ho turf for it.
Though his vision was limited, the subtle feedback he received from Gray helped him understand the termite's thoughts.
Its vocabulary was crude but improving.
It could now convey basic concepts—not in numbers, but in impressions.
When asked how many were ahead, Gray responded with fragnted words: eat, hot, not hot, small.
Timothy quickly interpreted eat and hot as the goblins and wolves.
But not hot and small?
Those would require training and leveling up before they beca clearer.
The good news was that Gray had located the boss room.
The tunnel leading to it was straightforward, with only one way forward.
Timothy could instinctively sense its location, which made him more confident about advancing.
However, beyond the boss room lay sothing even the termite hesitated to approach.
It had stopped near the ceiling entrance, unwilling to go further.
...
Timothy pushed forward.
Goblins and wolves rushed to intercept him, but they were swiftly cut down.
As he progressed, he finally understood what Gray had ant by not hot.
So of the goblins were different.
Their skin was eerily textured, their bodies slightly misshapen.
They weren't the usual brawlers, still wild though, but strangely suicidal.
Rather than fighting, they only needed to touch their opponents to spread a lethal poison.
Timothy avoided their attacks with caution, making sure none of their bodily fluids made contact with him.
He had proof of their deadliness other goblins that touched them collapsed, writhing in agony before succumbing to the poison.
Calling them poisonous was an understatent.
Their blood, no longer red or green but a deep, inky black, caused instant reactions upon contact with any living creature, though he killed them by smashing others into them before any reaction as they were also physically weak.
Beyond them, he encountered shaman goblins, who put up a better fight but still fell before his strength.
He gained two levels from them, though they were vastly weaker than the hobgoblins he had faced earlier.
After clearing out a few more goblins including the variant poison ones, he arrived at the designated boss room.
Throughout the tunnel, he had relied on limited sight and pure instinct.
Even with that handicap, he had been on a relentless rampage.
If he counted, he had slain at least three tis as many goblins as he had in the first village, including the wolves.
The boss room was imdiately distinct.
Unlike the rest of the cave, it was lit.
Not naturally, though, Timothy noted.
Standing just outside the entrance, he took in the sight before him.
The room resembled a throne chamber.
Tall pillars lined the space, and its illumination ca from glowing crystals embedded in the ceiling and walls.
Mana crystals.
High-quality, or at least dium-quality.
These rare minerals refracted light and were often used as an energy source.
Timothy's eyes glead with greed.
This place was a treasure trove.
With these, he could refurbish himself, strengthen his gear, and prepare for future battles.
But he wasn't the only one observing.
As he surveyed the room, his enemies studied him in turn.
Six figures flanked the golden throne at the back of the chamber.
And on that throne, a lone goblin with piercing red eyes sat, watching him intently.
Timothy took a mont to analyze them.
Four hobgoblins, each distinct in appearance:
— One bore a red stripe along its skin.
— Another had a black stripe.
— A third had yellow markings.
— The last was a solid green, save for its glowing yellow eyes.
The remaining two were shaman goblins, clad in rags with makeshift cowrie necklaces hanging from their necks.
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