Staff.

Moderately heavy and solid.

If your Strength stat is 10.5, you can take down every monster on the second floor.

• You're choosing a staff?

• She's lost it again, ffs

• Can you be serious for once?

• A freakin' staff?

• Ya wack

• Just pick sword-shield

"Wait, why though... The staff is actually really good."

Smack.

In my previous life, I trained with a staff that extended like the Ruyi Jingu Bang, so I had proper experience. (changes weight and size)

When fighting humanoids, you can get a similar impact to a spear by striking the head, and if the enemy is wearing a helmet or armor, unless the strike pierces through, it can even be more effective than a spear.

And since it hits rather than stabs, there’s no delay pulling it back, making it great for fighting multiple enemies and preventing mishaps like the weapon getting stuck or deflected from excessive force.

It has longer reach than a sword, can block ranged attacks more reliably, and is incredibly versatile—a true jack-of-all-trades weapon...

First, I grab the staff and give it a swing.

Vwoong~ Vwong

I swing it one-handed, then grip it with both hands at a proper distance and thrust forward.

Voom goes the clean sound as it fits snugly in my hand.

Nice.

This is it for today.

• You really went with a staff??

• Just die already

• No no no no no

• Let's just go sword-shield

• I can't say where I'm from, but our guild also recommends sword-shield on floor 2

• Yeah unless you're a spear specialist, everyone goes sword-shield. Statistically highest survival rate

• Wanna give you my six-inch staff

• Listen to the viewers!!

• Sword-shield sword-shield

"Come on, just watch. I'll show you."

I ignore the chat full of clowns and start the floor 2 trial.

• Crazy bitch;;

• Ffs I've seen this scene before

• She went like this for floor 1 too

• God, she's so damn stubborn

• You got this, Dohee~~

• That mule-headed girl, lol

• That ass-stubborn girl, ooh yeah

​

Inside the dark cave

Faint light leaks from the walls, just enough to show the path ahead.

About 2 meters high and 3 meters wide.

"Looks like goblins."

This time I turned off chat and donations, so it really feels like talking to myself.

Monsters that live in caves are usually small and weak. Of course, powerful ones can live in caves too, but not in something this small.

Step... step...

I move slowly across the jagged cave floor.

"Uneven floor, goblin traps. As long as I watch out for those, nothing should go wrong."

Since I got caught on floor 1, I also watch my back.

Step... step...

Even small footsteps echo loudly. I slow my breathing and focus on the surrounding sounds.

The dim light limits visibility. At times like this, ears work better than eyes.

One step, two steps... then

Shoop!!

From ahead, in the faint darkness, comes the sound of a goblin blow dart.

I lightly swing the staff to intercept the dart's path—ting! It deflects harmlessly and falls to the ground.

Roughly 50 meters ahead. But I don’t dash in.

Can’t see the enemy yet.

I lower my posture and run forward at a steady pace, scanning the area.

"No follow-up attack. An ambush? Trap? Yep, there's a trap."

I easily step over an obvious tripwire trap.

As soon as I cross it...

KYEEEE!

Grrrr...

A wider part of the cave. Small cracks in the floor and walls.

Two goblins, hiding in pits, leap out from both sides.

Two more charge from the front, and one more from farther back.

A simultaneous ambush from all directions. If I had tripped, I'd be dead.

"Is that all you got?"

But for me, it's nothing.

I thrust the staff at the goblin charging from the right with a dagger. Clean hit to the neck. Its neck snaps instantly.

Using the recoil, I whip the staff backward without looking.

Thwack!

A clean hit to the jaw knocks the second one out.

KYAAAH!

Two goblins charging head-on with daggers.

They’re right in front of me, too close to thrust.

I turn the staff horizontally and shove forward with force. It catches their necks.

They try to block with their hands, but the staff overpowers them and knocks them down.

I bring the staff down on their heads before they can get up, smashing their skulls.

Crunch!!

Splat!!!

Disgusting sounds as blood gushes from every hole in their faces.

Last goblin.

Ki... kiiit!

Frozen in fear, it stops mid-charge, holding a chipped dagger in both hands, trembling.

Thwack!

I rush in, smash its torso, break its ribs, then crush its head as it falls.

Thud...

"Is that all?"

Only five goblins? Barely a warm-up.

Boom...

"Ah, right... it can't end that easily."

A heavy thud echoes from deep inside the cave, and he appears.

Hobgoblin.

Nearly 2 meters tall, easily 150 kg with a bloated gut, wielding a rusty iron club.

Grrrr...

We lock eyes.

KRAAAAH!!

"HYAAAH!!"

We charge head-on.

ROAAAR!!

He strikes first, raising the iron club and swinging it diagonally.

"Right side."

I lean left, step forward with my left foot, and barely dodge the blow.

Vwooooom~

A harsh whoosh in my ear.

As I evade, I thrust my staff through the opening and strike his face.

Smack!!

GAAH!!

Clean hit to the nose. His nose gets crushed.

One hit in, but the fight's just begun.

Furious, he swings the club wildly.

But an enraged enemy is easy prey.

His attacks fall into a predictable pattern.

Overhead swing? Step aside.

Diagonal swing? Shift weight and deflect.

Even if my body has dulled, I can see where he’ll strike just from his eyes and muscle movement.

No way I'm getting hit.

I poke him with the staff during dodges.

Each hit slowly adds damage to his head.

ROAAAR!!

Frustrated, he raises the club high overhead and swings it down.

"You think that'll work?"

I dodge the exaggerated swing and strike his left jaw.

Crack!!

His brain shakes. He staggers.

"Now!"

I put my weight behind it and slam into his throat.

Wham!

GHUK!! KH-KH!!

He drops his weapon, choking and clutching his throat.

I slip behind him and smash the backs of his knees.

THUD!!

The giant hobgoblin crashes to the ground unbelievably easily.

From here, it’s one-sided.

He raises his hands to shield his head, but I strike between them.

Crack!!

One eye bursts and the skull around it caves.

Crack!!

Half his forehead shatters.

Crack!

The crown of his head collapses.

CRACK!!!

His skull cracks, and he flails in desperation.

CRACK!!

The cranium fully crushes, destroying his brain.

His massive head splits, brain matter spilling out, and his twitching hands go limp.

Dead.

Victory is mine.

"Whew... You saw that, right? Haha!! Honestly, when only five goblins showed up, I was worried it’d be too easy."

They mocked me so hard for choosing a staff. But I had the Weapon Master trait, mastering every weapon in my previous life. There’s nothing I can’t use in this tutorial stage.

"See? Staffs are seriously the most stable in combat."

Oh right, "This hobgoblin’s pretty big... maybe it has a mana core?"

I grab a dead goblin’s dagger and cut open the hobgoblin’s belly.

"Hehehe... let’s see~~"

I dig under his organs, toward his dantian where energy gathers.

"Ohhh... got it!!!"

Jackpot. This thing’s worth almost twenty million won...

Then,

Shoop!!!

Something flies from behind.

"Huh?"

On instinct, I throw out my left hand to block the projectile.

"Ah!"

A sting. I stop immediately and yank out the dart stuck in my hand.

'Goblin poison dart?'

I lift my head and see a goblin lying on the ground, holding a dart shooter in its mouth.

'No way... was it hiding in the pit this whole time after shooting?'

I assumed all the goblins had attacked at once, so I didn’t check the pit. The hobgoblin showing up right away didn’t help.

But a goblin’s poison dart only causes mild paralysis in small areas.

"Hoo... You're dead, buddy."

I grab my staff and dash at him—wait, huh?

Zzzzt!

Ah... huh?

Something’s wrong. It should only numb my palm, but my whole body is...

This feels like...

Suddenly, a support message from DottaMeok flashes in my head.

[Actually, goblin poison darts only work properly on women, and if hit, it causes paralysis for about 2 hours. You really need to be careful.]

Ah... no way... was that actually true?

"Ngh, no!"

My whole body isn't paralyzed yet. Now's not the time to worry if that tip was legit or not.

I pour all my strength into a final charge.

'I have to kill it before my body goes numb!!'

"RAAAAHHH!!!"

Grrrk!?

Seeing me still moving after being hit, the goblin panics and backs away in fear.

"Like hell... I'm going down to this!"

Clatter!

"Huh?"

My balance shifts, and the world flips downward.

Ah...

The tripwire trap I stepped over earlier.

I caught it.

Thud!!

I crash down chest-first, a disgraceful fall.

"Guhh!!"

My body, almost completely limp. It doesn't feel like paralysis anymore but like a full-body muscle relaxant kicked in.

“Heehee? Keh-hehe!!”

The goblin grins in victory and fires another dart at the top of my head.

Thwp!

"Nngh... no, stop!!"

With a second dart, my body completely gives out.

I can still twitch, move my tongue or eyes slightly, but the big muscles in my limbs are useless.

I'm completely subdued...

‘Ahh...’

A goblin approaches slowly, grinning while holding a dagger.

“Kekehehe…”

It looks down at me, completely immobilized, as if mocking me.

"Uh.. ugh... Ah, no... don't..."

My tongue is slightly relaxed, making it difficult to speak properly.

The goblin grabs my hair, lifting and dropping my head to check my condition.

"Damn.... you bastard..."

Realizing that it's safe, it begins to slowly cut my clothes with the dagger.