(Note: Reread the previous chapter. I hadn't edited it properly before)
After nearly forty minutes, Lucian had killed many goblins, earning 27 Attribute Points after devouring each one of them.
[STATUS]
Name – Lucian Foster
Race – Human
Rank – F
Titles – Loved by ######
Bloodline – Devourer's Bloodline
Affinity – None
Talent – B
[Attributes]
Strength – 22➝30
Agility – 24➝30
Constitution – 20
Intelligence – 20
Will – 18
Perception – 20➝21
Charm – 13➝18
Stamina – 25➝28
Mana – 12➝15
Attribute Points (AP) – 0
— — —
He invested most of his Attribute Points in strength, agility, and stamina. They were the most important to him right now. He didn't even think about the other stats during this situation.
This wasn't a game, and he didn't have the time or the energy to think about balancing his stats.
His eyes flickered toward Perception and Charm.
They had risen on their own.
Perception, he understood. He had been listening closely to the footsteps, seeing carefully through the goblin's attacks—so it wasn't too weird for it to increase.
But charm?
That had been growing for a while, and he didn't know why.
Leaving that aside…
He stepped over the spot where the goblin's corpse had been devoured and picked another bone dagger, sliding it into his bag.
The crude weapons were light, brittle, but sharp enough to kill them—and he had only a crowbar as his weapon, so he had to use whatever he could find.
Lucian looked around the cave chamber again.
He had thrown the stones earlier on the ground to create a noise, to lure the goblins from their habitats.
And after hearing the screeching while they died, more goblins rushed in to save their teammates—or maybe to just get a piece of him.
He repeated the same process over and over… until no more goblins came.
He wasn't sure if all of them were dead, aside from the dungeon boss, who didn't appear even after he made so much noise.
That made him sigh in relief, but only briefly, since it would still be quite a task to kill the dungeon monster.
As Akasha had informed earlier, the dungeon boss was an E-rank monster. Meanwhile, he was just an F-rank.
How could a pitiful man like him even think about killing such a monster?
Right?
Lucian rolled his shoulders slowly.
His muscles felt… fine.
Sore, but still good to take on a fight.
His higher stamina was visible now. The fatigue that had weighed on him earlier no longer pressed as heavily as it had before.
Still.
His gaze hardened.
"I don't even have any good weapons."
All he had was a crowbar and some bone daggers he had gotten from the goblins and stored in his bag.
"Alright, let's do this." He whispered, muttering to himself.
…
The deeper he went, the quieter it became.
The air grew thicker. The tunnel opened.
And the cavern widened into a massive chamber.
At the far end—
A throne—if it could even be called one.
It was a disgusting, crude stone throne carved from jagged rock.
And on it…
A massive figure sat slumped, snoring loudly.
Sleeping.
The sound from its mouth rumbled through the quiet chamber.
Lucian slowly shifted his gaze.
Five… no—
Six goblins lingered nearby.
'I missed some.' He thought.
The noise he had made from the outside didn't seem to have alerted them.
His breathing slowed as he tried to keep it calm and quiet.
The plan was simple.
Kill the goblins quietly, assassinate them, then take down the larger one.
Simple and effective.
As simple as his life had always been.
He carefully took another step, trying not to make a sound to wake the dungeon boss before him, but…
Crack.
Lucian froze.
His foot crushed a brittle, broken bone on the cave floor, its sound echoing inside the cave.
'Fuck my luck.'
Six heads snapped towards him.
Then—
"SKREEEEE!"
All the goblins charged towards him.
At the same time—
The massive figure on the throne stirred.
Its eyes opened.
"GRRRLLL"
A loud grumbling echoed from its throat.
The goblins dashed faster, as if they had been personally commanded to kill Lucian.
Lucian snapped out of his daze.
He instantly reacted and hurled his dagger straight at the monster before him.
The blade spun through the air—
And struck the Dungeon Boss square in the chest.
It pierced, but the attack was shallow.
Barely more than a flesh wound.
It wasn't because Lucian was weak… no, far from it.
The bone dagger was just a dagger carved roughly, with no real sharpness.
And it wasn't like Lucian was someone trained in throwing daggers for instant kills. And he was somewhat nervous, too.
Lucian's eyes narrowed.
'Analyse it.'
A faint mental pulse passed through him.
[Analysing…]
[Analysis complete.]
[Status Window]
Race: Hobgoblin
Rank: E
Bloodline: Bonehoarder Bloodline
— — —
It was a Hobgoblin, the evolved version of a goblin, and the dungeon boss of this cave.
'E rank.'
Higher than him. One full rank above.
Lucian inhaled slowly.
He should've felt fear.
But he didn't. He didn't panic.
He felt confident that he was stronger than the Hobgoblin… probably.
But the Hobgoblin wasn't his only concern. There were other goblins. Goblins that were charging at him.
They were getting closer.
'Let's kill them first.'
Lucian dashed forward, almost startling the goblins by his speed.
The nearest goblin raised its weapon, which seemed to be just a useless bone it might have picked up from the floor.
But it was slow.
Before it could even defend itself—
He stabbed the bone knife straight through its skull.
He twisted and pulled it out. Green blood splattered, ruining his face and his already dirty clothes.
Another lunged.
Lucian spun, clenched his fist, and punched the next one.
Hard.
He didn't hold back.
He expected it to be stunned, to recoil and then dash at him again, but that didn't happen.
There was a sickening crack—
And the goblin flew.
Actually flew.
Its small body lifted off the ground and slammed into the cave floor, tumbling violently before going limp.
Lucian froze.
His eyes widened.
He hadn't expected that. He stared at his fist, which was still in the punching motion.
'My strength really increased.'
It wasn't just the number now. It was real.
He had really surpassed his human limits.
While he was distracted, a jagged bone club whistled through the air.
His instincts kicked in, and he instinctively raised his arms, blocking the club from hitting his head.
Boom.
The impact of it slammed into his forearms and sent him flying.
He hit the ground hard, rolling before barely regaining balance.
'Fuck! What the heck am I doing?!' He cursed inwardly.
He was so focused on his increased strength that he had lost his focus on the main enemy, the Hobgoblin.
The hit didn't make as much impact as he had thought.
He thought that his bones would have been broken by that hit, but thankfully, they didn't.
Maybe because of the high constitution stat.
Still, it hurt.
It hurt a lot.
Lucian bit his lips, trying to stop the scream coming from his mouth.
The Hobgoblin smirked with a wide, disgusting grin, mocking him, with the club resting on its shoulder.
It didn't even rush at him, like it didn't matter much, like the result of their fight was already visible to it.
"Motherfucker… You fucking bastard."
Lucian pushed himself up.
Ignoring the pain, he tightened his grip on the crowbar.
He didn't throw it at the Hobgoblin, since it seemed to have a harder skin, and the crowbar might not damage it much.
Rather, he sprinted.
Directly towards it.
Straight past the remaining goblins.
The Hobgoblin stood nearly seven feet tall, its body massive and dense, with dark veins popping through its muscles, its skin a deep, sickly green.
It raised its club and brought it down.
'It is slower than I thought.'
The Hobgoblin was slower than him, but had higher strength and higher defence.
Lucian sidestepped.
The club smashed into the floor, creating cracks through the stone.
Before it could recover—
Lucian swung the crowbar into the side of its waist.
He instantly felt the resistance of its thick muscle, but it still penetrated in.
The Hobgoblin growled in pain and swung horizontally.
Lucian stepped back barely in time.
The club brushed past his chest.
Close.
Too close.
He planted his feet onto the ground and tightly clenched his fists.
"Let's see how strong I really am right now."
He stepped in.
And punched the monster square in the chest, hard, putting everything into it.
All of the momentum, all of his anger, directly into the hit.
The Hobgoblin hurdled backwards, grinding its teeth in pain.
Lucian smiled faintly, satisfied.
"Good."
Then—
Something changed.
A massive pressure fell on him.
His expression changed.
The air felt thicker. His heart skipped.
His limbs felt slightly slower, and his breathing heightened.
His smile faded.
'W-What is happening?'
It wasn't physical. It was mental.
A crushing presence pressing against his mind.
Lucian clenched his teeth and forced himself to move forward.
He didn't like this feeling. Not even a bit.
What was it?
Fear?
His body wanted to hesitate.
To falter.
To doubt.
Lucian clenched his teeth so hard his jaw trembled.
His eyes darkened.
"No."
He took one step forward.
The pressure intensified.
His vision blurred slightly, and his pulse pounded in his ears.
"No… I am never getting afraid."
His nails dug into his palms.
Another step.
His heart hammered.
"Not by you"
Another.
"Not by anyone else."
The pressure cracked before finally shattering.
[Ding!~]
[You have awakened the skill: Minor Fear Resistance.]
[You have awakened the skill: Thought Shield.]
A calm, silent notification echoed in his head.
Akasha didn't show any message visually, so as not to distract him.
Lucian inhaled deeply.
The weight vanished completely.
The Hobgoblin roared and charged.
Lucian bent down, grabbed a fallen bone knife, and rushed forward.
When he reached close to the Hobgoblin, it swung its club again.
This time, rather than dodging—
Lucian jumped.
The club passed beneath him.
Mid-air, he twisted the dagger and drove the blade straight into its left eye.
The Hobgoblin screamed and thrashed wildly.
With one of its eyes, it swung at him again.
Lucian landed and rolled, dodging its attack.
The creature clutched its face.
It swung again in a wild, uncontrolled manner.
Lucian ducked and stepped in.
He jumped again—
And plunged the dagger into its other eye.
The Hobgoblin screamed again, dropping the club.
Both of its massive hands covered its ruined face.
It staggered, blinded.
Lucian picked up the club; it was heavy, but manageable.
His grip tightened.
"Let's see."
He stepped forward.
Raising the club high—
He swung it down, smashing it onto the Hobgoblin's head.
THUD.
Again.
THUD.
And again.
Every strike echoed through the chamber.
Blood splattered. Its skull cracked.
After the fifth strike—
The massive body went limp.
Lucian watched it for a moment, breathing heavily.
Sweat dripped down his neck.
It was dead.
But to confirm it, he grabbed the crowbar and thrust it into its heart.
"Now you are dead." He stated coldly.
Then his gaze drifted to the remaining two goblins.
They were trembling, and they hadn't moved away from their places.
"Are they scared?" Lucian frowned slightly, confused.
The goblins were moving away from him.
They hadn't done that when he killed the other goblins before them, but now, when their leader was dead, they were afraid of the one who killed it.
"Of whom?"
He tilted his head.
A cold, wide smile spread across his face.
"Me?"
The goblins turned around and ran.
But how could Lucian let that happen?
He dashed towards them and swung the hobgoblin's club— smashing each of their heads, killing them instantly.
They dropped to the ground.
Dead.
Silence filled the cave once again, with only Lucian's heavy breathing to be heard inside the now-empty dungeon.