Chapter 3: Pillager’s Gambit: The First Strike Against Goblins

In Dungeon Overseer, goblins were just minor enemies.

Typically, in roguelike games, the early stages are easy, but the middle and later stages are difficult.

If an unbeatable monster appears in the early stages when there are no skills or abilities to rely on, progression becomes impossible.

That’s the role of goblins in Dungeon Overseer.

To die for the player.

Players kill goblins to gain combat experience, level up their skills, and earn money.

To become a great overseer, you had to efficiently manage your exploration party using the funds and characters that grew from killing the early goblins.

The first mission I sought after falling into this place was, of course, goblin extermination.

I felt that killing goblins was the only way to move on to the next stage.

But it turned out that goblin extermination jobs were rarer than expected.

The real newbies were mostly given tasks like gathering or delivering things.

So, I didn’t get to fight goblins very often.

“Let’s head out then.”

I wasn’t too worried.

The goblins I’d fought were much weaker than I had imagined.

Goblins are weak for two main reasons.

Gear and morale.

In Dungeon Overseer, the most important things in battle aren’t levels or skills, but gear and morale.

Gear is one of the few elements that directly affect a character’s specs.

In short, equipment rules everything.

Equipment is everything.

And goblins are poorly equipped.

The best they can manage is gear that’s equivalent to the Neolithic era.

I’m not exaggerating; they charge at us with weapons no better than those used by primitive humans, and they only seem threatening because of their numbers.

They might be dangerous to civilians in a surprise attack, sure.

But I’m an explorer.

And I’m not alone.

Just look at the gear our party leader has.

[Daro (Lv 2, Human, Common Equipment, Healthy)]

[Equipment]

Handmade Raider Helmet (99%)

Chainmail Armor (Upper)

Scrap Metal Vest (Upper, Overwear)

Handmade Raider Gauntlets (99%)

Steel Greaves (Lower)

Arming Sword (Right)

Leather Buckler (Left)

It’s not flimsy, but standard gear.

Standard.

It makes me realize just how high the threshold for “standard” is in this world.

With his body fully covered in metal armor like that, even if a truckload of goblins armed with clubs and crude knives attacked, they couldn’t leave a scratch.

That’s why they’re called minor enemies for a reason.

Of course, there’s always a chance that their numbers could overwhelm us and land a lucky hit.

If we get surrounded and outnumbered, it could be dangerous, but that’s why we’re here.

With Jian and me supporting, there won’t be any problems.

Then there’s the goblins’ second weakness.

Their morale is terrible.

Once a few of them die, their spirits plummet, and they flee.

We call it a “morale break.”

When their morale drops, they can’t fight.

So even if we face thirty or forty goblins in battle, the number we actually have to fight is about ten.

Once you take down those ten, the rest scatter due to a morale break.

Unless we’re really unlucky, this mission is as good as done.

The only slight concern is if a goblin shaman does something crazy and blows up the party…

But that’s Dungeon Seeker’s job to handle.

“Let’s go…”

Somi muttered gloomily as she led the way, wearing her wide-brimmed hat.

Does she really hate walking that much?

Somi and Daro walked side by side at the front, while Jian and I followed behind.

“Don’t worry too much.”

I was zoning out when a soft voice brushed past my ear.

It was Jian.

“I’m not worried.”

Platinum blonde hair and simple, clean clothes like a monk’s.

The mystic, wearing white gloves, encouraged me with a friendly smile that made me feel refreshed just by looking at him.

His brightly smiling face struck me as particularly beautiful.

“It’s written all over your face though—you’re worried.”

“I didn’t write anything like that.”

“Hahaha, then I must’ve seen it wrong.”

Even his laughter was as refreshing as spring water.

He had a nice voice too.

“If we get into a fight, stay behind me.”

His suggestion pricked my pride a little.

I knew how to fight, in my own way.

“Hiding behind someone isn’t really my thing.”

I unknowingly responded with a slightly sulky tone, and Jian calmly replied,

“You have to protect me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Fight from behind me. Trust me to handle the front.”

I didn’t know what our leader had said to Jian after the strategy meeting, but it seemed like he was already treating me like a potential liability.

As we walked toward the mission site, Jian started telling me about what I should and shouldn’t do during a fight.

Don’t turn your back on the enemy.

Don’t lose your nerve.

Even if you want to run, hold out for the sake of your teammates.

Formation is the most important thing.

And so on…

No matter how much of a bumbling necromancer I might be, did he really think I wouldn’t know that much?

Still, I listened to Jian’s nagging without complaint.

It was a nice distraction from just walking, and I enjoyed his voice like listening to a radio.

It was much better for my mental health than listening to the Dungeon Seeker grumble up ahead.

“Daro, if we keep walking like this, we might get ambushed and wiped out.”

“What kind of ambush could happen on an open plain?”

“Obviously, someone must’ve ticked off the overseer, and that’s why we weren’t even lent a wagon.”

“No way.”

“They want us to die walking there, don’t they?”

“Exactly.”

Ridiculous.

The Dungeon Seeker’s Seeker Lantern neither glowed nor changed color.

It was a lantern that automatically emitted a blue light when enemies were near.

Have you ever heard of a party with a Dungeon Seeker getting ambushed?

I’ve played over 1000 hours of Dungeon Overseer, and not once have I seen it.

[Dungeon Seeker]

The Dungeon Seeker, equipped with ancient magical tools, is a scholar and explorer who ventures through musty underground tombs.

Wandering dungeons in search of living knowledge, the Dungeon Seeker overcomes obstacles with the strange tools they discover during their explorations.

Their lantern sheds light on the truth even in the darkest places, and in moments of crisis, their sentient whip lashes out on its own to protect its master.

The Dungeon Seeker has the following traits:

*Highly Educated

They are intellectuals with a vast education. Certain events will turn out positively.

*Indomitable Guide

They are never ambushed.

You won’t get lost at crossroads events.
The amount of information needed to reach the destination is reduced.

*Precise Appraisal*

You can guess the use of an item without using any tools.

You sometimes automatically identify cursed items.

You sometimes appraise the performance of items carried by enemies.

*Seeker of Truth*

You sometimes investigate historically related objects on your own.

You sometimes take historically related objects without permission.

You feel uneasy if there are too many unexplored areas at the end of the expedition.

Although not explicitly listed in the traits, the Dungeon Seeker also turns exploration-related events into positive outcomes.

By lore, the Dungeon Seeker is an archaeologist exploring underground with a lantern and whip, and the historically related objects mentioned in the negative traits rarely appear anyway.

At most, you’ll take some old wine cups or stone fragments with inscriptions.

It’s not a loss to take them—in fact, because of the Dungeon Seeker’s mood bonus, it’s treated as a good event thanks to the *Seeker of Truth* trait.

So, what Somi’s talking about, the ambush event isn’t going to happen no matter what.

However, the Mystic didn’t seem to know that, as he looked at me with a worried expression.

“What should we do? Should we ask Daro to take a break?”

There was no way for me to explain the Dungeon Seeker traits to him.

“No need for that.”

“Won’t Somi struggle?”

“She’s just pretending. Later, she’ll probably say, ‘I’ve suffered the most, so I deserve more loot,’ and try to snatch it up.”

Honestly speaking, if a Dungeon Seeker throws a tantrum about taking something, no one can stop them.

Even the overseer can’t prevent them from taking things.

No one can stop it.

That’s how influential the Dungeon Seeker is.

But strangely, it was quiet.

When I looked beside me, I saw Jian distancing himself with a disappointed expression.

“… How can you be so cold when a teammate is struggling?”

“She’s not struggling, really.”

“From a necromancer’s perspective, I suppose it might seem that way.”

This was 100% because of my trait.

My reputation was being dragged down because of the necromancer trait.

Despite all the signals I gave, Jian still ended up asking Daro if we could rest for a while.

“Should we take a break?”

The funny part was that Somi eagerly agreed to it.

“Let’s rest!”

But there’s a clear difference between a real leader and the rest.

“That won’t do. We haven’t even fought yet, resting would be a waste.”

“But Somi is our guide…”

“If she’s already tired after just this much walking, then she’s not a Dungeon Seeker.”

I was impressed.

Oh wow, the leader’s experience shows.

Somi’s face clearly showed she wasn’t happy.

Even though Jian was looking at her sympathetically, Daro remained cold and led the party like someone who had mercury flowing through his veins.

Well, time is money for explorers.

It’s not like the mission is rigidly fixed. For explorers who take one job, rest, and then take another, speed is crucial.

Somi, realizing that complaining wouldn’t work on Daro, stopped whining.

Jian quietly muttered that the leader should be more considerate of his teammates.

Look, if you keep coddling everyone like that, you’ll never get anywhere.

Thanks to Daro’s expert leadership, we were able to reach the vicinity of the goblin nest without any trouble.

At the entrance of the goblin nest, Somi’s Seeker Lantern emitted a blue light for the first time.

“It’s a scouting party. Get ready.”

The goblins were waiting in a higher position than us, which made the terrain slightly unfavorable for our side, but thanks to the Dungeon Seeker, we had the initiative.

Following Daro’s command, we ambushed the goblin scouting party.

Sometimes, I think about this.

If this wasn’t the world of *Dungeon Overseer*, a roguelike universe, but instead a JRPG-like setting like *Dragon Quest* or *Final Fantasy*, wouldn’t the combat difficulty be much easier?

If there was at least a resurrection system, we could charge into dungeons recklessly for the sake of clearing them.

Or maybe a system where you return to 24 hours before death.

Anyone who’s played a lot of roguelike games knows.

How brutal and unforgiving the battles can be.

It was fun when I was playing a game.

But now that I’m fighting for real, it feels like death.

Daro, who was at the front, drew his arming sword.

Without any signal, he dashed toward the goblins.

[Pillager]

A pillager is a rogue who roams the wilderness with the weapon of their choice.

Rough, ruthless, and sometimes the most brutal of killers, a pillager wields a sword from the front lines and retreats to fire arrows, piercing the enemy’s eyes.

Though eating with a murderer might be unnerving, on the battlefield, a pillager is the most reliable ally.

A pillager gains the following traits:

*Robbery and Murder*

They don’t feel bad about killing neutral characters.

They don’t feel bad about stealing equipment from neutral characters.

If they ambush an enemy, the effectiveness of their attack skills increases.

*Individualist*

They don’t feel bad when a comrade dies or gets hurt.

They cannot acquire certain party-related traits.

*Criminal*

They don’t feel bad about committing crimes.

They don’t feel bad about wearing filthy gear.

They don’t feel bad about eating poor-quality food.

Sometimes, negative events occur.

The decisive reason I decided to follow on this mission was because of Daro.

The party leader is a pillager.

Melee, ranged, tanking—

A versatile class that can use swords, shields, and bows all by themselves.

As you can see, the pillager is stacked with mood-related traits, so even if they do everything alone, they can carry through sheer equipment, skills, and level of power.

Now that I think about it, a total psychopath, but in *Overseer* playthroughs, it’s an S-tier class.

Sometimes, even if all the party members die, they can finish the mission alone, fighting the final objective head-on without suffering a morale debuff.

That’s why I feel more relaxed.

I can just sit back and enjoy the ride.

“Kee-rik!”

In the remote hills,

The slope isn’t steep, but the trees are dense, giving off the vibe of a European forest.

The goblin scouting party, about 20 members strong, was enjoying a snack break, sucking on dried-up meat scraps.

They were lying around comfortably, without even holding their weapons.

Daro appeared there and swung his sword at one of the goblins sitting near the bushes, eating meat.

Daro’s sword accurately slashed the goblin’s neck.