My Goddess is a Tsundere

"Hey, Bane!" Winter shouted as Bane walked into the guild hall. Since becoming an adventurer three days ago, he'd tried his hardest to avoid the early crowds. Currently, it was just after the morning rush, and the guild hall was quieter than usual.

"Hey, Winter," Bane said, approaching the counter.

"Going back again today?"

"Yep, but I have a question before I do," Bane replied.

Winter tilted her head. "Yes?"

"Do you know if Luna entered the dungeon today?" He hoped she might have seen her—that would be vital information for Bane.

"Hmm…" she mumbled, pursing her lips. "Now that you mention it, I don't think so. But I could've just missed her," she said, returning to her usual warm, smiling presence.

"Okay, thank you, Winter," Bane said. The two exchanged goodbyes, and Bane made his way to the dungeon entrance. He stood before the stairs, letting a few people walk down, and scanned the area. With no one around, he stepped into the stairwell.

Alone in the dimly lit stairs, Bane used Fast Travel. Fast travel, second-floor entrance. His vision blanked, and an instant later, he was back where he was yesterday, just past the red slime boss room. If he wanted, he could have fought the boss, but he just wanted to go to the next level.

This ability was extremely convenient for Bane. Other adventurers would have to fight floor bosses to pass each level every time they encountered one. With this, Bane could focus on leveling up his attributes without worrying about bosses.

Bane turned from the boss's room and walked down the stairs to the second floor of the dungeon.

A new text box appeared before Bane on his descent.

[New Quest!]

Floor 2 Completion:

Slay all enemy types on the first floor of the dungeon:

Goblin Soldier – Incomplete

Goblin Archer – Incomplete

Floor Boss – Incomplete

Rewards: 5000 Shill, two Skill Points

Bane read the quest and the reward description, noting something new. 'It doesn't tell me what the floor boss is.' Last time, Bane had heard rumors in the slums about the first-floor boss, but on the second floor, he had no clue.

'Maybe it takes my knowledge and applies it?' While he knew nothing of the boss, he knew that floor two was the goblins' floor. Bane put that aside. When he arrived on floor three, it would confirm everything. Past floor two, it was all unknown to Bane.

He closed out of the quest and made it to the bottom of the steps, where he was met with an extremely similar setting. Uneven stone walls with a few pathways carved out to explore—it was like déjà vu.

Bane looked around the room and started to remember something. 'Wait, I thought this floor wasn't lit?' Bane thought, looking for lanterns or torches on the wall, but saw no such thing. It was as if the sun was on this floor of the dungeon.

Pondering this for a second, a text box appeared.

[Skill Unlocked]

[Night Vision]

'A little late, don't you think?' Bane sighed and opened the skill's description.

Night Vision:

Gives the user the ability to see in the dark. Can be turned on and off. Cannot be leveled up.

Status: ON

Bane nodded, closing out of the description. 'Pretty self-explanatory.'

Bane chose the leftmost tunnel and started down it.

Crunch.

"…" Bane stopped moving after hearing what sounded like the crunch of a boot on the ground. With his skill, Danger Sense, always active, he knew the sound was coming from ahead of him. Quietly unsheathing his sword, he continued walking slowly toward the source of the sound.

The shuffling of feet grew louder until the source was identified. An ugly, green goblin, about half Bane's height, was walking around. Dressed in a beige loincloth, the goblin turned after hearing Bane, its eyes glowing a bright red.

Threat Analysis:

Goblin Soldier: A common enemy on the second floor of the dungeon. Has the ability to see in the dark, evident from its glowing red eyes. All goblins are incredibly unintelligent—this is their only glaring weakness.

Bane subconsciously activated Threat Analysis and quickly read the box that appeared. He closed the box and put some distance between them. The goblin's eyes were nightmarish, bulging out of its misshapen head. He imagined adventurers who carried torches, only able to see the glowing red eyes in the void beyond them. Terrifying!

The goblin clutched the small curved sword it carried and let out a cry, charging at Bane.

"Cree!" The goblin's scream echoed and pierced Bane's ears, causing him to wince. When the goblin was just out of striking distance, it jumped with all its force and swung its blade down with both hands, aiming right where Bane stood.

'Such an open attack?' Bane thought, simply rolling out of the way. The goblin swung its sword with all its might at the now-empty space. The sword met the ground, sending a wave of sparks in multiple directions. The goblin withdrew its sword and turned to where Bane now stood.

Slash! With one swift strike, the goblin's head came clean off. Deep purple, almost black blood spewed out of the goblin's neck as its head rolled on the floor. The goblin's body slowly turned to ash, leaving an Energy Crystal on the floor.

'Man, goblins are dumb,' Bane thought, bending down to grab the crystal.

Twing!

Bane jumped back from the crystal, looking around, just as an arrow landed where he had been. 'A goblin archer,' Bane thought, scanning the area for a pair of glowing red eyes. However, there were none.

Bane swallowed. Even with Danger Sense, the enemy's presence was unknown. Turning in circles, Bane's eye caught a glimpse of green, and he charged toward it.

When Bane closed in, he noticed the goblin archer's eyes. It wore glasses with black lenses. 'Incredible,' Bane couldn't help but admit the goblin's brilliance. Archers wanted to utilize their night vision, but that would give away their position. So, they chose to develop a way to hide them.

However, this praise did not help the case for the lone goblin archer. When Bane got close enough, one stab forward to the goblin's upper chest was enough to reduce it to ash, leaving another Energy Crystal on the floor.

Bane sheathed his sword, scooped up the crystal, and returned to grab the other one.

The system must have delayed the notifications because when Bane was at ease, multiple boxes appeared:

Goblin Soldier Defeated

1 XS-Energy Crystal

+40 XP

Goblin Archer Defeated

1 XS-Energy Crystal

+35 XP

'These are worth more,' Bane thought, noting the XP values he received from each of the enemies. Closing out of these, another box appeared:

[Title Gained!]

[Goblin Dispatcher LV 1]

Bane smiled. 'A new title!'

He opened the description of the title, assuming what it meant:

Title - Goblin Dispatcher:

Gives additional damage toward goblins.

Level up: 2/100

The two titles Bane had acquired so far worked very similarly to each other. He closed out of all the boxes and continued walking through the stone chasm.

After walking for a moment, Bane came upon a familiar sound—more goblins. Not just one; from the sound of it, there could have been as many as ten.

Bane quietly rounded the corner and came upon just under a dozen pairs of red eyes, all laser-focused on him.

'Oh no.'

[Bane of the Slums]: LV 6 (305/740)

[Title]: Slimey Slayer LV 1 (72/100), Goblin Dispatcher LV 1 (2/100)

[Strength]: LV 3

[Dexterity]: LV 2

[Mind]: LV 1

[Agility]: LV 3

[Fortitude]: LV 1

[Magic]: LV 1

[Skills]: Appraisal LV 1, Threat Analysis LV 1, Danger Sense LV 1, Passive Healing LV 1, Magnetize LV 1, Night Vision

"Would you like cleaning products? That will be an extra fifty," the girl at Limpar asked Eir.

"Sure," Eir said, handing the woman at the desk another fifty Shill coin. She handed Eir the soap and sent her on her way.

'I wonder how Bane is doing?' she thought, assuming he was having a great time—which was partially true. But her naivety about the dungeon was almost laughable.

She arrived at the room to store her things and undressed before the mirror. The lantern light provided dramatic lighting as she examined herself in the mirror, feeling around her curves. She was definitely a goddess.

Snapping out of her self-absorbed state, she entered the steam of the communal baths and cleaned herself off before taking a long soak in the bath. It was here that Eir's mind was clear, and she was able to think about what had happened with Bane last night.

'Why was he crying?' It was a question she wanted to ask. Seeing the tears he shed last night, she knew he'd been through a lot. She just wanted to ask him and talk about it, but she couldn't.

'I feel so distant from him. Even if we are just goddess and subordinate, we should be able to talk and not be awkward.' Eir's mind raced, trying to find a solution. Not finding a satisfying answer, she fell back on her plan.

'I will build trust and show that I am reliable and caring.' However, words were easier than actions. Eir could say this, but acting it out was another issue entirely. Eir continued her soak for a long while, getting out after she was all wrinkled.

'Time to go do Bane's favor,' she thought, smiling. Glad to be a help to Bane.