By the time I stepped through the exit, the boss room had already shrunk to half of its original size. I wondered briefly if the dungeon would eventually force me to choose a destination floor as I moved deeper, but for now, the transition was seamless. I was now standing at the entrance of the fourth floor, having cleared two levels in a single day.

  Before advancing into the unknown corridors, I remembered that I had a specific technical test to perform. I brought up my Player Window and focused on the bonus spell I had acquired: Warp.

  “Dungeon Walk!” I commanded.

  As expected, the skill worked without a hitch, opening a shadowy path back toward the first floor. I cancelled it immediately and then prepared the other spell.

  “Warp!”

  As I shouted the name, a similar phenomenon occurred. A shimmering portal manifested before me, also linking back to the first floor. On the surface, they seemed identical, but I knew the system wouldn't provide two identical skills without a reason. I needed to test their limitations under pressure.

  I advanced into the fourth floor, passing through the first major intersection until I encountered my first target. It was a humanoid creature—the first of its kind I had faced inside the dungeon. It was so small and stout that I momentarily wondered if it might be a dwarf, but the sickly gray skin and jagged features quickly dispelled that thought.

  ***

  Race: Gray Goblin

  Sex: None

  Status: Normal

  Level 4

  ***

  A goblin. It was a staple of every fantasy world I had ever read about, and I was actually surprised it had taken until the fourth floor for them to appear. Unlike the mindless slimes or instinct-driven centipedes, this creature carried a weapon and exhibited signs of rudimentary intelligence.

  Before initiating the fight, I stood my ground to finish my technical test.

  “Dungeon Walk!” I muttered.

  The skill failed instantly. As the job description had warned, it wouldn't activate while an enemy was nearby.

  “Warp!”

  “Woah!” I gasped.

  To my surprise, the Warp spell functioned perfectly, ignoring the proximity of the goblin. A path to the first floor opened immediately. It was a vital discovery: while Dungeon Walk was a convenient travel tool, Warp was a true escape spell.

  I took care of the goblin next. Even if it fought with humanoid logic, I had already defeated a coordinated group of bandits; a lone, Level 4 goblin was no threat to me. The creature didn't charge blindly like the mosquitoes. Instead, it hesitated, observing me with a grumbling, elderly-sounding murmur. It tried to intimidate me, baring its yellowed teeth and screaming as it finally lunged with a rusted knife that was about as long as my hand.

  I raised my shield and waited. I expected something impressive—perhaps a hidden technique or a sudden burst of speed—but the creature simply began banging its knife against the iron rim of my shield as hard as it could. I stood motionless, gauging its strength. My inaction seemed to cause a misunderstanding in the goblin’s tiny mind; it clearly thought I was paralyzed by fear or unable to respond, so it began to attack even more fervently.

  Deciding I had seen enough, I timed a light swing of my steel sword immediately after its next strike. The goblin was visibly perplexed. It hadn't expected a counter-attack from someone it thought it was dominating. To its credit, it managed to get its knife up in time to block, but the sheer force of my Strength stat sent it flying several meters.

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  The creature collapsed, its hands and legs shaking as it struggled to stand. It had clearly realized it misjudged me. I walked toward it slowly, allowing it to regain its feet. It tried one last, desperate strike, but the blow was devoid of any real power. I didn't even bother to block; I simply tilted my body to the side, letting the knife whistle past, and slashed my sword across its neck.

  Its head separated from its body with a clean, wet sound. It was a simpler fight than the mosquitoes on the previous floor, mostly because the goblin lacked their erratic agility.

  As the creature dissolved, ten copper Obscura coins fell to the floor. I finally understood the progression: 1, 3, 6, 10; it is increasing with the floor's number. There were 6 coins on the third floor, and on the fourth floor, it increased by four, so the goblin dropped 10 copper coins.

  The rewards were scaling linearly with the floor number. Considering the floors were getting larger and the fights more time-consuming, I resolved to clear the fourth-floor boss before calling it a day.

  I moved swiftly through the corridors. Even without a map, the dungeon followed a certain internal logic. By searching thoroughly and memorizing key intersections, I found I could navigate toward the center relatively easily. I was particularly curious about the boss of this floor. If other bosses were simply larger versions of regular monsters, what would a goblin boss look like? Goblins didn't have specialized shells or multiple cores; they were just small people.

  I practiced my movement as I went, choosing different paths to see where they led and mapping the floor in my mind. It took significantly longer than the third floor, but eventually, I arrived at the massive twin doors. Along the way, I killed twenty-five more gray goblins, collecting 210 copper coins in total.

  I encountered several other parties near the boss room. Most were groups of two or three people, fighting the goblins with extreme caution. It made sense; for most people, fighting a humanoid that used weapons and tactics was a jarring experience that required a high degree of focus. I didn't see any injured raiders, but many of them seemed to be struggling with the psychological weight of taking a life that looked so much like their own. It felt as though the dungeon was a training ground, slowly acclimating warriors to the reality of combat in a specific order.

  When the glow of the boss doors faded, I took my turn and stepped inside.

  ***

  Race: Gray Goblin

  Sex: None

  Status: Normal

  Level 4 Floor Boss

  ***

  The boss was a level 4 monster, just like the ones in the hallways, but it possessed the "Floor Boss" designation that set it apart. It was taller and much bulkier than a normal goblin, with visible muscles and pieces of scavenged leather armor strapped to its right shoulder, abdomen, and knees. Its weapon wasn't a jagged knife, but a large blade that looked more like a short sword.

  Before the fight began, I reviewed my stats. My Swordsman job had reached level 12, giving me 105 total points. This was exactly enough to equip Level 5 Increase Exp Drop and Level 5 Decrease Required Job Exp. Together, they boosted my growth by 36x. Since I had five jobs equipped simultaneously, this meant each one was leveling up roughly seven times faster than a standard adventurer.

  The boss goblin didn't charge like a mindless beast. It stood its ground, watching me with discerning, seasoned eyes. It was a warrior's gaze. It seemed to recognize that I was a threat who had already cut through its kin. This was the first time a monster hadn't attacked me the second I materialized.

  Seeing the stalemate, I decided to initiate. I walked forward, keeping my shield tight. The moment I took my first step, the goblin broke its stance and charged. We met in the center of the room. I blocked its first swing with my shield and felt a decent amount of pressure—it was slightly stronger and faster than its underlings, and it clearly had some level of combat experience.

  I fought defensively for several minutes, analyzing its style. It was better at blocking and parrying than any monster I’d seen so far. It managed to stay on its feet after a blow that would have sent a regular goblin flying, redirecting my force with a degree of skill that surprised me.

  However, as the fight dragged on, I realized my own approach was flawed. I was playing the role of a "tank," blocking everything and waiting for the perfect single strike. While safe, it was incredibly inefficient. It wasted time and energy, and it wouldn't work if I were ever surrounded by multiple enemies. I didn't need to be a samurai looking for a one-hit kill; I had a shield to defend and a sword to wound.

  I shifted my strategy to a more aggressive counter-attacking style. I began to strike back the instant the goblin’s blade hit my shield, not waiting for it to reset. I started to land shallow cuts on its limbs. The goblin noticed the change and grew more cautious, but the bleeding was starting to sap its vitality.

  It lost its composure as the injuries accumulated. I exploited a major opening, slamming my shield into its sword hand with enough force to send its short sword clattering across the floor. Bewildered by the loss of its weapon, the goblin froze for a fraction of a second. I didn't hesitate. I swung my steel sword in a powerful arc, decapitating the boss in a single, final stroke.

  As the body dissolved, I looked at the exit. The fourth floor was finished.

  [Edited]