The Heart System Chapter 737

Keeping the torch raised, I continued down the corridor. The warm light barely reached the walls ahead, but it was enough to reveal another goblin standing in the middle of the passage, already staring straight at me.

"Shit."

I immediately thrust my hand forward, activating fireball.

The flaming projectile shot toward the goblin, but the little bastard jumped to the side and avoided it completely before charging at me with surprising speed.

"Oh, come on!"

Before I could react, it swung its club. Since it was so short, the blow landed square against my shin instead of my stomach.

"Ow! Fuck!"

The pain made me stumble backward. I instinctively swung the torch at it, but the attack missed completely. The goblin rushed in again and smacked me across the side with its club, knocking me onto the cold stone floor.

"Ugh..."

Pain shot through my back as I hit the ground.

The goblin lifted its club over its head, ready to smash it down on my damn skull.

"Oh, hell no."

I rolled to the side just before the club slammed into the floor where my head had been. Without wasting the opportunity, I kicked its leg as hard as I could.

The goblin lost its balance and crashed onto the stone beside me.

I immediately pushed myself up, dropped to one knee beside it, grabbed its entire face with my hand, and activated Fireball.

Flames erupted from my palm.

The goblin let out a horrible scream before its entire body dissolved into gray dust.

I sat there for a second, breathing heavily.

"Oh, fuck..."

My heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest.

After catching my breath, I leaned against the wall and slowly slid into a sitting position. "Look at that... another ten Dungeon Coins. I wonder what I can even buy with these."

Letting out one more deep breath, I opened the map.

There was still one unexplored room to my right.

"May as well."

I got back to my feet and followed the corridor until I reached the door. After pushing it open, I peeked inside.

"Empty?"

There wasn’t a single monster. The only thing inside was a wooden chest sitting against the far wall.

I cautiously approached it, half-expecting something to jump out at me, but nothing happened. "Don’t be a mimic..."

I slowly lifted the lid. The chest was completely empty.

"Huh?"

A system notification appeared above it.

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Chest Reward

20 Dungeon Coins

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"Oh. Nice."

So the chest wasn’t actually empty.

The reward just went straight into my inventory.

I closed the lid, left the room, and continued toward the large door at the end of the corridor. It opened without any resistance, and I stepped through.

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Dungeon Cleared (35 EXP)

3-5

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I glanced around.

This corridor was much wider than the previous ones, and the map showed several branching paths disappearing into the darkness.

"Nah."

I shook my head.

"That’s enough for today."

Whatever waited farther inside could wait until tomorrow. I was already exhausted, my leg still hurt from the goblin’s club, and pushing my luck on the first day sounded like a terrible idea. I turned around, planning to head back the way I’d come.

Just as I turned around, another system window appeared in front of me.

══════════════════

Return to the Real World?

──────────────────

Confirm

Decline

══════════════════

"So I can leave whenever I want."

Without thinking twice, I pressed Confirm.

The Dungeon disappeared.

Darkness swallowed everything for a brief moment, and when I opened my eyes again, I was back in my living room. I was sitting exactly where I’d been before, my feet still resting on the coffee table as if I’d never moved.

"Huh."

I reached for my phone and checked the time.

Two in the morning. The exact same time.

"No way."

Not even a minute had passed. It was as if time in the real world had completely stopped while I’d been inside the Dungeon.

"Damn... my leg still hurts."

I rubbed the spot where the goblin had smacked me with its club before slowly standing up. Testing my weight, I stomped my foot against the floor a couple of times.

"Eh. I can still walk."

I stretched my back before wandering into the kitchen with a tired sigh. If there was ever a time for a cigarette, it was now.

I opened one drawer. Nothing.

Another drawer. Nothing again.

Then the cabinets. Still nothing.

"Damn."

Those girls had actually hidden them well.

Giving up, I opened the refrigerator instead and grabbed a carton of orange juice. I poured myself a glass, took a long drink, and returned the carton to the fridge.

Just as I closed the refrigerator door, I heard one of the bedroom doors open.

Looking toward the hallway, I saw Tessa shuffling into the kitchen while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

She spotted me immediately and smiled to herself.

"Trying to find your secret stash, cowboy?"

I laughed.

"Yeah. I tried."

"No luck?"

"Nope. So I settled for orange juice instead."

"Good choice."

She walked over to the refrigerator, grabbed the same carton, and looked around for a glass.

Without saying anything, I opened one of the cupboards, took out a clean glass, and handed it to her.

"Thanks."

She filled it with orange juice before putting the carton back into the fridge.

Neither of us felt much like standing around, so we carried our drinks into the living room.

Tessa settled onto the single couch, curling one leg beneath herself, while I dropped onto the double couch across from her, taking another sip of my juice.

"Heard what happened today from Jasmine," Tessa said, leaning back with a quiet sigh. "What a mess, huh?"

I let out a dry laugh.

"Yeah. You have no idea."

"Oh, by the way." She took another sip of her orange juice. "You’re back to work, huh?"

"Yeah. I am." I nodded. "I’ll start tomorrow. Well... technically, today."

"Good. Nala definitely missed you."

"Oh? And you didn’t?"

She snorted. "I see your stupid face all the time, man. I’m perfectly fine with not seeing it at work."

"You hurt me."

"Bite my ass."

"Don’t threaten me with a good time."

Tessa laughed, nearly spilling her drink before taking another sip.