Silence filled the entire cave.
Lucian's heavy breathing echoed through the cavern walls—slow and uneven.
Six goblin corpses lay scattered around him, along with the larger, bulkier body of the Hobgoblin.
Its head was battered beyond recognition, with its chest still pierced by the crowbar.
Lucian stared at it for a long moment.
Then his fingers loosened.
The heavy bone club slipped from his grasp and clattered against the stone floor with a thud.
He stood there for a few seconds.
Then, finally, his knees gave in, and he lowered himself onto the cold stone floor.
"I am tired," He muttered, his hoarse voice echoing faintly through the dungeon.
He had been here for hours, on guard at all times, killing, hiding, and it was taking a lot of toll on him.
He was exhausted, utterly exhausted.
[Ding!~]
A blue screen panel flickered before him.
[You have completed the Quest: Trial of the First Dungeon.]
[You have completed the objective.]
[You have acquired 20 Attribute Points.]
Lucian blinked, then smiled in satisfaction at his accomplishment.
He leaned his back against the cold stone wall and let out a long breath.
'I did it.'
After resting for a few minutes, he pushed himself up and walked towards the hobgoblin's corpse.
His legs felt slightly heavier.
Each of his steps echoed faintly.
As he approached, he placed a hand on its massive chest, preparing to devour it completely.
But then—
Something struck him.
Something he had forgotten all this while.
His hand froze mid-air.
Lucian's eyes suddenly widened at the sudden realisation.
"...Wait."
His gaze flickered around the chamber, to the goblin corpses, then to the Hobgoblin.
He slapped his forehead.
"I haven't taken their cores out."
Yes, he had forgotten to fetch the monster cores of the goblins.
He had forgotten something so important.
"How did I forget that? I have killed more than fifty goblins, and I only remembered this now… ugh." He groaned in frustration.
Monster cores were valuable. They contained condensed mana and were commonly used to strengthen oneself or advance in rank.
"What happens if I remove their cores first?" Lucian asked.
"Do I still get the Attribute Points after devouring them? Or do stat points come from the cores?"
[You will receive Attribute Points even after removing the cores…]
"But?"
He could hear it in her tone; there was something more to it.
[You cannot increase your rank with the cores.]
Lucian narrowed his eyes.
"I cannot? Is there something needed to increase your rank?"
His fingers curled slightly. He was afraid that he might not be able to increase his rank.
[You must reach the maximum stat cap of your current rank in all attributes.] Akasha answered.
[Only then can you advance and increase your rank.]
Lucian blinked.
"Huh?"
He tilted his head slightly, thinking.
"Does this apply to everyone?"
Silence lingered briefly.
After a moment of thought, he shook his head.
"No… I guess it doesn't. Not everyone can even see or raise their stats as I can."
Most people didn't even have access to attribute windows—let alone the ability to manipulate them.
[Correct.]
"So…"
His gaze hardened slightly.
"This rule only applies to me?"
[Yes.]
"Why?"
There was a brief pause.
Like she was considering whether to answer him or not.
Then—
[Because $$@&$@$—]
Her voice distorted violently.
Lucian squeezed his eyes as a sharp pain shot through his temples.
"Agh…!"
He grabbed his head instinctively.
A stabbing sensation pierced through his skull, like a needle had been pushed through his brain.
"W-what happened? Akasha?!"
His vision blurred for a moment. The cave seemed to tilt.
The pain lingered for several seconds before gradually fading.
There was silence for a while.
Just as panic began to creep in, her voice returned, directly inside his mind.
[Looks like I can't tell you.] she said softly
Lucian exhaled in relief, happy that nothing had happened to her.
He had grown attached to her after these years.
Even though he couldn't exactly see her, just her voice was enough to soothe him, though she was annoying sometimes.
But she was the only one who knew about his regression.
She was the only one to whom he could talk without needing to hide anything, without trying to act calm or cool.
Even in this cave, it was difficult to stay lonely for hours.
He would've gone mad by now if not for her.
So… he had been worried for a moment that something might've happened to her, something bad.
"What happened just now?"
He had heard her say something, but her voice was suddenly swallowed by distortion.
[Information restriction.]
That was all she said.
Lucian slowly lowered his hands.
He nodded faintly.
"I see."
He understood, at least partially. Most likely, he didn't have enough authority to know about that information.
'So I don't even have permission to know everything about myself.' He thought bitterly.
He curled his fingers, but didn't ask any further.
He changed the subject.
"So… now I need to reach all of my stats to 20 before I can advance from F-rank. Is that what you are saying?"
[Precisely.]
His eye twitched.
What a hassle.
Reaching maximum stat cap in every attribute meant he had to raise his Charm, his Mana, and even his Will.
He couldn't do it one at a time.
He let out a slow breath.
"Just show me my stats."
[Attributes]
Strength – 30
Agility – 30
Constitution – 20
Intelligence – 20
Will – 18
Perception – 21
Charm – 18
Stamina – 28
Mana – 15
Attribute Points (AP) – 20
— — —
Lucian stared at the screen before him.
"Mana, Will, and Charm…"
Those were the ones lagging behind.
His strength and agility were the highest, surpassing F rank limits.
Shaking those thoughts aside, he turned his attention back to the hobgoblin.
"Where is its core located?"
[Inside the chest. Near the heart. That is the most common location you can find the core.]
He crouched down, pulled the crowbar free from the creature's chest, then took out one of his bone knives.
With a swift motion, he pressed it against the hobgoblin's chest and sliced downward.
The flesh parted with some resistance.
Warm, dark green blood oozed out.
Lucian's nose wrinkled slightly.
He swallowed the urge to puke and plunged his hand inside.
"Ugh… This is disgusting."
The sensation made his skin crawl, his stomach churned, but he didn't stop.
He forced his hand deeper, searching.
After a few seconds, he removed his hand.
Resting in his hand was a grey stone, its size slightly smaller than a golf ball, irregular in shape, and slick with dark green blood.
"What will happen if I absorb it?"
He asked, though he already knew he wouldn't do that.
These were for Lia and his mom, after they awakened.
They would need resources, and it was better to store these for them, rather than using the monster cores for himself, since he couldn't increase his rank with them.
[You will absorb its mana. Your mana pool may increase slightly, but the benefit will be minimal.]
Lucian nodded.
"It is useless to me then."
[Somewhat, though you can use them to restore your depleted mana.]
He hummed faintly.
While they spoke, he moved around the cave, extracting the cores from the goblins as well.
Their cores were smaller and darker in colour, almost pebble-sized.
He gathered them carefully and placed them inside his bag.
Then—
He devoured the corpses one by one.
[You have devoured a goblin.]
[You have obtained 1 Attribute Point.]
[You have devoured a goblin.]
[You have obtained 1 Attribute Point.]
…
…
…
[You have devoured a goblin.]
[You have obtained 1 Attribute Point.]
After devouring all six goblins, Lucian stood again before the hobgoblin's massive corpse.
"Hopefully, you give me something worthwhile."
He placed his hand on its chest.
Slowly—
His palm—and the tips of his fingers—turned ink-black. His eyes followed, shifting into a void-like darkness.
The massive body collapsed inward, dissolving as it was absorbed through his hand.
[You have devoured a Hobgoblin.]
[You have obtained 2 Attribute Points.]
[You have obtained the skill: Suppression Intent.]
Looking at the screen panel before him, Lucian smiled in satisfaction.
"A new skill, finally. This must be the skill it used."
Then his gaze shifted
"2 Attribute Points... maybe because of its rank."
It seemed E-rank monsters gave 2 Attribute Points.
Setting that aside, he activated the newfound skill.
Instantly—
An invisible pressure exploded outward from him.
Lucian blinked.
He didn't understand what happened, since he didn't feel anything.
For a moment, he thought the skill had failed—until hhe felt it.
His mana—it had begun draining rapidly, like water leaking from a cracked container.
His vision wavered faintly.
He immediately deactivated it.
The pressure vanished, and his mana stabilised.
[You will feel dizzy if your mana decreases too much.] Akasha warned him.
"Thank you for the warning."
He looked around the cave one last time.
There was nothing else inside the cave other than broken bones, not even corpses.
He stuffed around ten intact bone daggers into his bag.
Weapons were weapons, even if they were temporary.
Then—
He dashed outside.
After thirty minutes of running at full speed, he reached the cave entrance.
The portal hovered before him.
He stared at it for a moment.
"Let's go home… I am starving."
He stepped through.
The world shifted, and he emerged inside the sewer tunnel.
The rotten smell hit him instantly.
He turned around and looked at the portal. It shimmered faintly behind him.
'What happens to the dungeon now?'
He was curious.
What would happen after he killed the dungeon boss?
[Once the dungeon boss is slain, the portal will disappear within 24 hours.]
He hummed in response, then climbed the metal ladder slowly and stepped onto the road.
The sun hadn't fully risen yet. Dawn's light barely touched the sky.
He checked the time.
5:38 AM.
Lucian walked toward his car
Thankfully, there wasn't anyone present in the vicinity.
'I want to take a bath as soon as I can.'
He got in and drove off.
There was also the issue of explaining everything to his family about it—his condition, his current appearance.
And with monsters bound to appear sooner or later…
He needed to get home fast.
Because whatever was coming—
He couldn't let that harm them.