Chapter 5
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The rich experience in Jake's disposal made him stay calm. Fortunately, Lee was standing right at the entrance while not moving an inch. He must have sensed the unusual flow of mana when he came in. Thus, waited for Jake.
"Jake… What do we do…"
Panic filled Lee's face as he realized the danger they were in. In the society, Lee never encountered such a situation.
"For now, we need to stay calm. Take a deep breath"
Lee nodded as he exchanged a glance with Jake. Each took a deep breath and released it at the same time as if they rehearsed the action beforehand.
The panic in Lee's face decreased as he exhaled. Jake, too, managed to rearrange his thoughts and began to analyze the situation.
"Since we couldn't go out, let's go deeper. Maybe we will find something. But first… can you lend me the monster cores?"
Lee nodded as he flipped his hand. A number of monster cores, which was the result of their hunt so far, appeared in his hand. They were held together by a tunic container, acting as a bag.
Each of the monster cores was similar in shape and size. Their appearance was similar to a crystallized coal, identic but not the same. In total, the bag contained 53 of such cores.
Jake took the bag from Lee's hand. He placed his hand inside and grabbed a handful of it.
A bright light lit up the dimly lit cave. The cave was, strangely, not pitch dark even without any source of light.
After a short while, the monster core turned into a glossy powder, falling out of Jake's hand and disappeared when it touched the ground. The action was repeated until there were 3 left inside the bag.
[Monster core conversion successful. Rate 1:10]
[+5 AP]
Lee's eyes turned wide as he received the almost empty bag. He witnessed the entire miraculous process.
"What…"
"I'll explain later…"
Jake unhurriedly claimed in his heart to allocate the attribute points into dexterity. The reason for his action is because he noticed that his reaction speed was too sluggish.
A slight lag was present between his actual action and his intention.
The cave returned to its dimmed state after the show.
At that time, Lee took another item from his storage item. It was a small white scroll.
Lee held the scroll in front of him and channeled his mana. The scroll reacted to Lee's mana and lets out another light. Soon, it transformed into a ball of light, floating above Lee's palm.
The ball then moved around according to Lee's will, illuminating their surrounding.
Now that the lighting has been taken care of, it was the time for the duo to start exploring the dungeon.
Lee's complexion started to return during the exploration. It was due to the resident of the dungeon. It was filled with low-level goblins. Confidence to survive started to return to him.
However, he almost vomited when he saw a certain scene. It was when they first encountered the first goblin camp.
Inside the camp was a group of more than 20 goblins. The entrance to the camp was strangely marked with two bonfires, arranged in a parallel manner.
A huge pot was placed at the middle of the camp, surrounded by the goblins. Each goblin, without exception, were drooling while staring at the huge pot. Their large stick, which they used as a weapon, was placed near them. Instead, their hands were holding their meal.
Jake used his mana to cover his eyes, enhancing his eyesight. He found out that the goblins were eating human's limbs. The scene was unpleasant even to him. Soon, he and Lee massacred the entire camp.
Finally, Lee took a good look at the contents of the pot and gagged at the gruesome scene. He could see the severed parts of the human body, floating within the pot.
It was also the moment when Jake finished his mission.
[A mission has been completed]
[Please check the bar to receive your reward]
==
Storage [1]
Able to store non-living substance inside another dimension.
Size: 5x5x5 m
==
Despite receiving the <Storage> skill, Jake didn't use it to not increase Lee's confusion. The matter about his ability to 'consume' monster cores was troublesome enough.
The number of goblins they hunted grew larger, followed by their monster cores stock. Jake took half of the monster cores and converts it into AP. It was necessary to boost their survivability. He didn't take Lee's because of the dungeon's difficulty. It was unexpectedly on the lower side.
However, the number of goblins didn't show any sign of decreasing as they kept on encountering various camps throughout the cave.
Jake's portion alone was enough for him to obtain 15 AP, which he used to increase his magic to 12 and strength to 11.
At the end of the dungeon, Jake was shocked to see light coming at the end of the path. He exchanged a glance with Lee and rushed towards the source of light, hoping to find an exit.
However, they saw an unbelievable scene. It turned out to be the base of the goblin. Its appearance was that of a large camp, incomparable to the camps they have encountered. Multiple pots were placed at their designated position.
Fortunately, Jake didn't make too much noise and succeed in going back towards the path while holding Lee's mouth.
Jake released his grip on Lee after confirming the situation.
"Jake… how are we going to fight that? There's at least 100 of them! And that huge one at the center! That one doesn't look like any typical goblin."
"Yeah, it's probably their leader or some sort."
Truthfully, Jake can guess the identity of the large goblin. It was none other than the target of his mission, the goblin king.
"That goblin must at least be a grade 2 monster. I don't have any courage to fight him head-on. The 100+ goblin by his side added the difficulty!"
A grade 2 monster. The term had a great meaning in today's world. It referred to the estimated strength of a monster.
In easier term, each grade was separated by 10 levels. Each level corresponds to 3 points in one stats without counting the first 10 points. Those who haven't reached the first 10 points were referred to as grade 0.
The reason for Lee's panic was the fact that there is a barrier between each grade. From level 1-9, it followed the highest attribute of a person. For example, if someone has 30 points in strength (10+20) as their highest attribute, it means that his level is 6 (20/3 = 6.67) and will reach level 7 if he could raise his strength by another point.
However, it was different for grades. At the peak of each grade, one needs to raise all of the other stats to at most have a 15 points difference with the highest one. That was the main reason for the great difference in every grade's strength.
Lee lowered his head, despair filled his face. He started to recall the entire event. It was his fault for rushing inside the cave.
"Jake… I'm sorry…"
"What are you talking about? We will live through this. I promise"
Lee lifted his head when he heard the bold declaration. Jake's words seemed to contain a strange power as it lifted a little of Lee's mood.
"Do you have a plan?"
Jake's gaze was as sharp as his sword as he stared into a distance. Its destination was the base of the goblins. An evil grin appeared on his face as his heart started to beat faster.
"Let's kill our way through!"
"Are you crazy?!?"
"Haha, I'm joking. This is the plan. But, I need your monster cores…"
*
The goblin king lets out a burp sound, satisfied with today's meal. It then proceeds to enter a large hut near his position. The other goblins showed a great respect towards this particular goblin. No one dared to make an eye-contact with him, let alone obstructing his path.
However, the big figure stopped on his track. The reason was he felt a sharp impact at the back of his head. Although not enough to threaten its life, it was enough to fully enraged him.
GROWL
The other goblins were scared stiff by the domineering roar, no one dared to move their body. They were only able to move their heads towards a particular direction. It was the direction of where the stone, which was thrown at their king, was thrown.
Lee's face turned pale, his legs started to tremble. Fortunately, he managed to fight of his anxiety and made a run for his life, towards the path he came from. Another roar was heard from behind him. However, he paid it no mind as he continued to run.
The large horde of goblins gave a chase as per ordered by their king. Their horrible face shows constant fear towards their lord.
This was the moment that the king was most vulnerable to surprise attack. It was exactly the moment that Jake has waited for.
Jake's figure appeared out of nowhere, holding the sharp katana in his hand. A blue light covered his sword as he struck at the goblin king's blindspot.
'<Sword Slash>!'
[You have performed the skill, <Sword Slash>]
[Registering skill…]
=Sword Slash=
Perform a slash attack towards an enemy while using <Blade Aura> to surround the sword with mana. The mana acts as a temporary extension while enhancing its sharpness at the same time.
[A mission has been completed]
[Please check the bar to receive your rewards]
The remaining goblin didn't have any chance to react at Jake's slash as they could only watch their king's head falling to the ground. The blood sprayed out of the body as it, too, fell to the ground.
Jake performed another slash with the skill. This time, he waited until the goblin was enraged and approached him of their own accord.
The sword was placed in an 'Iai' position. Jake's gaze turned sharp. He, once again, performed the same skill.
'It's time!'
'<Circle Slash>!'
Jake's body made a 360-degree rotation, following his sword's action. The extended part of the sword made a thin line at the center of the charging goblins as they froze in place. One by one, their body was separated into two.
[You have performed the skill, <Circle Slash>]
[Registering Skill…]
==
Circle Slash [1]
An 'Iai' technique. The user performed a one-slash attack which aimed at every angle at the same height.
==
The short ranged attack was enhanced by <Blade Aura>, resulting in the massacre.
Jake doesn't have time to waste as he received the reward and allocate it into his magic to recover his mana. The SP was also used to increase the level of his <Blade Aura>, decreasing the mana required to perform the technique. Normally, the body will slowly get used to the skill and automatically reduced the cost.
He rushed towards Lee's direction to help him in his battle.
Lee's state was awful. Bruises covered his entire body as he stood still. A good amount of corpse was lying near his feet.
Lee discovered Jake coming towards his direction and felt relieved. It seems that Jake accomplished his task. His body, once again, was filled with energy as he lunged himself towards the dense pack of goblins.
After a short while, the entire camp was massacred by the duo. Lee and Jake's body was covered with bruises. However, they had a wide grin on their face.
"Did you kill the king?"
"Yeah!"
"That's great!"
Lee's eyes turned heavy after the entire incident. He gave in to his exhaustion as he fell unconscious.
Jake approached Lee to confirm his condition. He picked up his body and brought it towards the camp, resting it against a hut.
His next action was naturally, to collect all the monster cores from the goblin. It was a great harvest. He placed the entire 113 monster cores inside his storage for safekeeping before standing beside the goblin king's corpse to take the only grade 2 monster core from the dungeon.
However, he couldn't find the item he was searching for. Instead, his face was filled with shock at the round dark orb he found inside the body. The shape and size reminded him of a certain item in Aestes.
"No way… It can't be it…"
Jake couldn't believe it either. If it was indeed 'that' item, it means that this world is in a great danger. Then, he came to a realization.
"That's right… It made sense now… why didn't I think of such possibilities from the start? The similarities in history and now, this…"
Jake shook his head, trying to convince himself that it isn't true. Fortunately, there's one action which will confirm the situation. He channeled his mana into the dark orb as he closed his eyes, hoping to not see any reaction from the orb in his hand.
The process was completed without any reaction occurring. The breaking sound Jake wanted to avoid also didn't occur.
"*Sigh…* I knew-…"
However, before he finished his sentence, a certain mechanical voice interrupted him. The unexpected news brought by the voice took away the color in his face.
[Congratulations. You have found one of the <Key> required to unlock one of your sealed skill]
[The skill will be unlocked partially due to the insufficient amount of <Key>]
==
Number 2: Demon Lord's Blessing [Incomplete 1/12]
Raised the owner's magic affinity towards all element of magic and bestowed a 90% resistance towards all types of magic damage.
(Current resistance: 5%)
==
[The mysterious power binding the dungeon has been lifted]
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
The rich experience in Jake's disposal made him stay calm. Fortunately, Lee was standing right at the entrance while not moving an inch. He must have sensed the unusual flow of mana when he came in. Thus, waited for Jake.
"Jake… What do we do…"
Panic filled Lee's face as he realized the danger they were in. In the society, Lee never encountered such a situation.
"For now, we need to stay calm. Take a deep breath"
Lee nodded as he exchanged a glance with Jake. Each took a deep breath and released it at the same time as if they rehearsed the action beforehand.
The panic in Lee's face decreased as he exhaled. Jake, too, managed to rearrange his thoughts and began to analyze the situation.
"Since we couldn't go out, let's go deeper. Maybe we will find something. But first… can you lend me the monster cores?"
Lee nodded as he flipped his hand. A number of monster cores, which was the result of their hunt so far, appeared in his hand. They were held together by a tunic container, acting as a bag.
Each of the monster cores was similar in shape and size. Their appearance was similar to a crystallized coal, identic but not the same. In total, the bag contained 53 of such cores.
Jake took the bag from Lee's hand. He placed his hand inside and grabbed a handful of it.
A bright light lit up the dimly lit cave. The cave was, strangely, not pitch dark even without any source of light.
After a short while, the monster core turned into a glossy powder, falling out of Jake's hand and disappeared when it touched the ground. The action was repeated until there were 3 left inside the bag.
[Monster core conversion successful. Rate 1:10]
[+5 AP]
Lee's eyes turned wide as he received the almost empty bag. He witnessed the entire miraculous process.
"What…"
"I'll explain later…"
Jake unhurriedly claimed in his heart to allocate the attribute points into dexterity. The reason for his action is because he noticed that his reaction speed was too sluggish.
A slight lag was present between his actual action and his intention.
The cave returned to its dimmed state after the show.
At that time, Lee took another item from his storage item. It was a small white scroll.
Lee held the scroll in front of him and channeled his mana. The scroll reacted to Lee's mana and lets out another light. Soon, it transformed into a ball of light, floating above Lee's palm.
The ball then moved around according to Lee's will, illuminating their surrounding.
Now that the lighting has been taken care of, it was the time for the duo to start exploring the dungeon.
Lee's complexion started to return during the exploration. It was due to the resident of the dungeon. It was filled with low-level goblins. Confidence to survive started to return to him.
However, he almost vomited when he saw a certain scene. It was when they first encountered the first goblin camp.
Inside the camp was a group of more than 20 goblins. The entrance to the camp was strangely marked with two bonfires, arranged in a parallel manner.
A huge pot was placed at the middle of the camp, surrounded by the goblins. Each goblin, without exception, were drooling while staring at the huge pot. Their large stick, which they used as a weapon, was placed near them. Instead, their hands were holding their meal.
Jake used his mana to cover his eyes, enhancing his eyesight. He found out that the goblins were eating human's limbs. The scene was unpleasant even to him. Soon, he and Lee massacred the entire camp.
Finally, Lee took a good look at the contents of the pot and gagged at the gruesome scene. He could see the severed parts of the human body, floating within the pot.
It was also the moment when Jake finished his mission.
[A mission has been completed]
[Please check the bar to receive your reward]
==
Storage [1]
Able to store non-living substance inside another dimension.
Size: 5x5x5 m
==
Despite receiving the <Storage> skill, Jake didn't use it to not increase Lee's confusion. The matter about his ability to 'consume' monster cores was troublesome enough.
The number of goblins they hunted grew larger, followed by their monster cores stock. Jake took half of the monster cores and converts it into AP. It was necessary to boost their survivability. He didn't take Lee's because of the dungeon's difficulty. It was unexpectedly on the lower side.
However, the number of goblins didn't show any sign of decreasing as they kept on encountering various camps throughout the cave.
Jake's portion alone was enough for him to obtain 15 AP, which he used to increase his magic to 12 and strength to 11.
At the end of the dungeon, Jake was shocked to see light coming at the end of the path. He exchanged a glance with Lee and rushed towards the source of light, hoping to find an exit.
However, they saw an unbelievable scene. It turned out to be the base of the goblin. Its appearance was that of a large camp, incomparable to the camps they have encountered. Multiple pots were placed at their designated position.
Fortunately, Jake didn't make too much noise and succeed in going back towards the path while holding Lee's mouth.
Jake released his grip on Lee after confirming the situation.
"Jake… how are we going to fight that? There's at least 100 of them! And that huge one at the center! That one doesn't look like any typical goblin."
"Yeah, it's probably their leader or some sort."
Truthfully, Jake can guess the identity of the large goblin. It was none other than the target of his mission, the goblin king.
"That goblin must at least be a grade 2 monster. I don't have any courage to fight him head-on. The 100+ goblin by his side added the difficulty!"
A grade 2 monster. The term had a great meaning in today's world. It referred to the estimated strength of a monster.
In easier term, each grade was separated by 10 levels. Each level corresponds to 3 points in one stats without counting the first 10 points. Those who haven't reached the first 10 points were referred to as grade 0.
The reason for Lee's panic was the fact that there is a barrier between each grade. From level 1-9, it followed the highest attribute of a person. For example, if someone has 30 points in strength (10+20) as their highest attribute, it means that his level is 6 (20/3 = 6.67) and will reach level 7 if he could raise his strength by another point.
However, it was different for grades. At the peak of each grade, one needs to raise all of the other stats to at most have a 15 points difference with the highest one. That was the main reason for the great difference in every grade's strength.
Lee lowered his head, despair filled his face. He started to recall the entire event. It was his fault for rushing inside the cave.
"Jake… I'm sorry…"
"What are you talking about? We will live through this. I promise"
Lee lifted his head when he heard the bold declaration. Jake's words seemed to contain a strange power as it lifted a little of Lee's mood.
"Do you have a plan?"
Jake's gaze was as sharp as his sword as he stared into a distance. Its destination was the base of the goblins. An evil grin appeared on his face as his heart started to beat faster.
"Let's kill our way through!"
"Are you crazy?!?"
"Haha, I'm joking. This is the plan. But, I need your monster cores…"
*
The goblin king lets out a burp sound, satisfied with today's meal. It then proceeds to enter a large hut near his position. The other goblins showed a great respect towards this particular goblin. No one dared to make an eye-contact with him, let alone obstructing his path.
However, the big figure stopped on his track. The reason was he felt a sharp impact at the back of his head. Although not enough to threaten its life, it was enough to fully enraged him.
GROWL
The other goblins were scared stiff by the domineering roar, no one dared to move their body. They were only able to move their heads towards a particular direction. It was the direction of where the stone, which was thrown at their king, was thrown.
Lee's face turned pale, his legs started to tremble. Fortunately, he managed to fight of his anxiety and made a run for his life, towards the path he came from. Another roar was heard from behind him. However, he paid it no mind as he continued to run.
The large horde of goblins gave a chase as per ordered by their king. Their horrible face shows constant fear towards their lord.
This was the moment that the king was most vulnerable to surprise attack. It was exactly the moment that Jake has waited for.
Jake's figure appeared out of nowhere, holding the sharp katana in his hand. A blue light covered his sword as he struck at the goblin king's blindspot.
'<Sword Slash>!'
[You have performed the skill, <Sword Slash>]
[Registering skill…]
=Sword Slash=
Perform a slash attack towards an enemy while using <Blade Aura> to surround the sword with mana. The mana acts as a temporary extension while enhancing its sharpness at the same time.
[A mission has been completed]
[Please check the bar to receive your rewards]
The remaining goblin didn't have any chance to react at Jake's slash as they could only watch their king's head falling to the ground. The blood sprayed out of the body as it, too, fell to the ground.
Jake performed another slash with the skill. This time, he waited until the goblin was enraged and approached him of their own accord.
The sword was placed in an 'Iai' position. Jake's gaze turned sharp. He, once again, performed the same skill.
'It's time!'
'<Circle Slash>!'
Jake's body made a 360-degree rotation, following his sword's action. The extended part of the sword made a thin line at the center of the charging goblins as they froze in place. One by one, their body was separated into two.
[You have performed the skill, <Circle Slash>]
[Registering Skill…]
==
Circle Slash [1]
An 'Iai' technique. The user performed a one-slash attack which aimed at every angle at the same height.
==
The short ranged attack was enhanced by <Blade Aura>, resulting in the massacre.
Jake doesn't have time to waste as he received the reward and allocate it into his magic to recover his mana. The SP was also used to increase the level of his <Blade Aura>, decreasing the mana required to perform the technique. Normally, the body will slowly get used to the skill and automatically reduced the cost.
He rushed towards Lee's direction to help him in his battle.
Lee's state was awful. Bruises covered his entire body as he stood still. A good amount of corpse was lying near his feet.
Lee discovered Jake coming towards his direction and felt relieved. It seems that Jake accomplished his task. His body, once again, was filled with energy as he lunged himself towards the dense pack of goblins.
After a short while, the entire camp was massacred by the duo. Lee and Jake's body was covered with bruises. However, they had a wide grin on their face.
"Did you kill the king?"
"Yeah!"
"That's great!"
Lee's eyes turned heavy after the entire incident. He gave in to his exhaustion as he fell unconscious.
Jake approached Lee to confirm his condition. He picked up his body and brought it towards the camp, resting it against a hut.
His next action was naturally, to collect all the monster cores from the goblin. It was a great harvest. He placed the entire 113 monster cores inside his storage for safekeeping before standing beside the goblin king's corpse to take the only grade 2 monster core from the dungeon.
However, he couldn't find the item he was searching for. Instead, his face was filled with shock at the round dark orb he found inside the body. The shape and size reminded him of a certain item in Aestes.
"No way… It can't be it…"
Jake couldn't believe it either. If it was indeed 'that' item, it means that this world is in a great danger. Then, he came to a realization.
"That's right… It made sense now… why didn't I think of such possibilities from the start? The similarities in history and now, this…"
Jake shook his head, trying to convince himself that it isn't true. Fortunately, there's one action which will confirm the situation. He channeled his mana into the dark orb as he closed his eyes, hoping to not see any reaction from the orb in his hand.
The process was completed without any reaction occurring. The breaking sound Jake wanted to avoid also didn't occur.
"*Sigh…* I knew-…"
However, before he finished his sentence, a certain mechanical voice interrupted him. The unexpected news brought by the voice took away the color in his face.
[Congratulations. You have found one of the <Key> required to unlock one of your sealed skill]
[The skill will be unlocked partially due to the insufficient amount of <Key>]
==
Number 2: Demon Lord's Blessing [Incomplete 1/12]
Raised the owner's magic affinity towards all element of magic and bestowed a 90% resistance towards all types of magic damage.
(Current resistance: 5%)
==
[The mysterious power binding the dungeon has been lifted]
The rich experience in Jake's disposal made him stay calm. Fortunately, Lee was standing right at the entrance while not moving an inch. He must have sensed the unusual flow of mana when he came in. Thus, waited for Jake."Jake What do we do"Panic filled Lee's face as he realized the danger they were in. In the society, Lee never encountered such a situation."For now, we need to stay calm. Take a deep breath"Lee nodded as he exchanged a glance with Jake. Each took a deep breath and released it at the same time as if they rehearsed the action beforehand.The panic in Lee's face decreased as he exhaled. Jake, too, managed to rearrange his thoughts and began to analyze the situation."Since we couldn't go out, let's go deeper. Maybe we will find something. But first can you lend me the monster cores?"Lee nodded as he flipped his hand. A number of monster cores, which was the result of their hunt so far, appeared in his hand. They were held together by a tunic container, acting as a bag.Each of the monster cores was similar in shape and size. Their appearance was similar to a crystallized coal, identic but not the same. In total, the bag contained 53 of such cores.Jake took the bag from Lee's hand. He placed his hand inside and grabbed a handful of it.A bright light lit up the dimly lit cave. The cave was, strangely, not pitch dark even without any source of light.After a short while, the monster core turned into a glossy powder, falling out of Jake's hand and disappeared when it touched the ground. The action was repeated until there were 3 left inside the bag.Monster core conversion successful. Rate 1:10+5 APLee's eyes turned wide as he received the almost empty bag. He witnessed the entire miraculous process."What""I'll explain later"Jake unhurriedly claimed in his heart to allocate the attribute points into dexterity. The reason for his action is because he noticed that his reaction speed was too sluggish.A slight lag was present between his actual action and his intention.The cave returned to its dimmed state after the show.At that time, Lee took another item from his storage item. It was a small white scroll.Lee held the scroll in front of him and channeled his mana. The scroll reacted to Lee's mana and lets out another light. Soon, it transformed into a ball of light, floating above Lee's palm.The ball then moved around according to Lee's will, illuminating their surrounding.Now that the lighting has been taken care of, it was the time for the duo to start exploring the dungeon.Lee's complexion started to return during the exploration. It was due to the resident of the dungeon. It was filled with low-level goblins. Confidence to survive started to return to him.However, he almost vomited when he saw a certain scene. It was when they first encountered the first goblin camp.Inside the camp was a group of more than 20 goblins. The entrance to the camp was strangely marked with two bonfires, arranged in a parallel manner.A huge pot was placed at the middle of the camp, surrounded by the goblins. Each goblin, without exception, were drooling while staring at the huge pot. Their large stick, which they used as a weapon, was placed near them. Instead, their hands were holding their meal.Jake used his mana to cover his eyes, enhancing his eyesight. He found out that the goblins were eating human's limbs. The scene was unpleasant even to him. Soon, he and Lee massacred the entire camp.Finally, Lee took a good look at the contents of the pot and gagged at the gruesome scene. He could see the severed parts of the human body, floating within the pot.It was also the moment when Jake finished his mission.A mission has been completedPlease check the bar to receive your reward==Storage 1Able to store non-living substance inside another dimension.Size: 5x5x5 m==Despite receiving the Storage skill, Jake didn't use it to not increase Lee's confusion. The matter about his ability to 'consume' monster cores was troublesome enough.The number of goblins they hunted grew larger, followed by their monster cores stock. Jake took half of the monster cores and converts it into AP. It was necessary to boost their survivability. He didn't take Lee's because of the dungeon's difficulty. It was unexpectedly on the lower side.However, the number of goblins didn't show any sign of decreasing as they kept on encountering various camps throughout the cave.Jake's portion alone was enough for him to obtain 15 AP, which he used to increase his magic to 12 and strength to 11.At the end of the dungeon, Jake was shocked to see light coming at the end of the path. He exchanged a glance with Lee and rushed towards the source of light, hoping to find an exit.However, they saw an unbelievable scene. It turned out to be the base of the goblin. Its appearance was that of a large camp, incomparable to the camps they have encountered. Multiple pots were placed at their designated position.Fortunately, Jake didn't make too much noise and succeed in going back towards the path while holding Lee's mouth.Jake released his grip on Lee after confirming the situation."Jake how are we going to fight that? There's at least 100 of them! And that huge one at the center! That one doesn't look like any typical goblin.""Yeah, it's probably their leader or some sort."Truthfully, Jake can guess the identity of the large goblin. It was none other than the target of his mission, the goblin king."That goblin must at least be a grade 2 monster. I don't have any courage to fight him head-on. The 100+ goblin by his side added the difficulty!"A grade 2 monster. The term had a great meaning in today's world. It referred to the estimated strength of a monster.In easier term, each grade was separated by 10 levels. Each level corresponds to 3 points in one stats without counting the first 10 points. Those who haven't reached the first 10 points were referred to as grade 0.The reason for Lee's panic was the fact that there is a barrier between each grade. From level 1-9, it followed the highest attribute of a person. For example, if someone has 30 points in strength 10+20 as their highest attribute, it means that his level is 6 20/3 = 6.67 and will reach level 7 if he could raise his strength by another point.However, it was different for grades. At the peak of each grade, one needs to raise all of the other stats to at most have a 15 points difference with the highest one. That was the main reason for the great difference in every grade's strength.Lee lowered his head, despair filled his face. He started to recall the entire event. It was his fault for rushing inside the cave."Jake I'm sorry""What are you talking about? We will live through this. I promise"Lee lifted his head when he heard the bold declaration. Jake's words seemed to contain a strange power as it lifted a little of Lee's mood."Do you have a plan?"Jake's gaze was as sharp as his sword as he stared into a distance. Its destination was the base of the goblins. An evil grin appeared on his face as his heart started to beat faster."Let's kill our way through!""Are you crazy?!?""Haha, I'm joking. This is the plan. But, I need your monster cores"*The goblin king lets out a burp sound, satisfied with today's meal. It then proceeds to enter a large hut near his position. The other goblins showed a great respect towards this particular goblin. No one dared to make an eye-contact with him, let alone obstructing his path.However, the big figure stopped on his track. The reason was he felt a sharp impact at the back of his head. Although not enough to threaten its life, it was enough to fully enraged him.GROWLThe other goblins were scared stiff by the domineering roar, no one dared to move their body. They were only able to move their heads towards a particular direction. It was the direction of where the stone, which was thrown at their king, was thrown.Lee's face turned pale, his legs started to tremble. Fortunately, he managed to fight of his anxiety and made a run for his life, towards the path he came from. Another roar was heard from behind him. However, he paid it no mind as he continued to run.The large horde of goblins gave a chase as per ordered by their king. Their horrible face shows constant fear towards their lord.This was the moment that the king was most vulnerable to surprise attack. It was exactly the moment that Jake has waited for.Jake's figure appeared out of nowhere, holding the sharp katana in his hand. A blue light covered his sword as he struck at the goblin king's blindspot.'Sword Slash!'You have performed the skill, Sword SlashRegistering skill=Sword Slash=Perform a slash attack towards an enemy while using Blade Aura to surround the sword with mana. The mana acts as a temporary extension while enhancing its sharpness at the same time.A mission has been completedPlease check the bar to receive your rewardsThe remaining goblin didn't have any chance to react at Jake's slash as they could only watch their king's head falling to the ground. The blood sprayed out of the body as it, too, fell to the ground.Jake performed another slash with the skill. This time, he waited until the goblin was enraged and approached him of their own accord.The sword was placed in an 'Iai' position. Jake's gaze turned sharp. He, once again, performed the same skill.'It's time!''Circle Slash!'Jake's body made a 360-degree rotation, following his sword's action. The extended part of the sword made a thin line at the center of the charging goblins as they froze in place. One by one, their body was separated into two.You have performed the skill, Circle SlashRegistering Skill==Circle Slash 1An 'Iai' technique. The user performed a one-slash attack which aimed at every angle at the same height.==The short ranged attack was enhanced by Blade Aura, resulting in the massacre.Jake doesn't have time to waste as he received the reward and allocate it into his magic to recover his mana. The SP was also used to increase the level of his Blade Aura, decreasing the mana required to perform the technique. Normally, the body will slowly get used to the skill and automatically reduced the cost.He rushed towards Lee's direction to help him in his battle.Lee's state was awful. Bruises covered his entire body as he stood still. A good amount of corpse was lying near his feet.Lee discovered Jake coming towards his direction and felt relieved. It seems that Jake accomplished his task. His body, once again, was filled with energy as he lunged himself towards the dense pack of goblins.After a short while, the entire camp was massacred by the duo. Lee and Jake's body was covered with bruises. However, they had a wide grin on their face."Did you kill the king?""Yeah!""That's great!"Lee's eyes turned heavy after the entire incident. He gave in to his exhaustion as he fell unconscious.Jake approached Lee to confirm his condition. He picked up his body and brought it towards the camp, resting it against a hut.His next action was naturally, to collect all the monster cores from the goblin. It was a great harvest. He placed the entire 113 monster cores inside his storage for safekeeping before standing beside the goblin king's corpse to take the only grade 2 monster core from the dungeon.However, he couldn't find the item he was searching for. Instead, his face was filled with shock at the round dark orb he found inside the body. The shape and size reminded him of a certain item in Aestes."No way It can't be it"Jake couldn't believe it either. If it was indeed 'that' item, it means that this world is in a great danger. Then, he came to a realization."That's right It made sense now why didn't I think of such possibilities from the start? The similarities in history and now, this"Jake shook his head, trying to convince himself that it isn't true. Fortunately, there's one action which will confirm the situation. He channeled his mana into the dark orb as he closed his eyes, hoping to not see any reaction from the orb in his hand.The process was completed without any reaction occurring. The breaking sound Jake wanted to avoid also didn't occur."*Sigh* I knew-"However, before he finished his sentence, a certain mechanical voice interrupted him. The unexpected news brought by the voice took away the color in his face.Congratulations. You have found one of the Key required to unlock one of your sealed skillThe skill will be unlocked partially due to the insufficient amount of Key==Number 2: Demon Lord's Blessing Incomplete 1/12Raised the owner's magic affinity towards all element of magic and bestowed a 90% resistance towards all types of magic damage.Current resistance: 5%==The mysterious power binding the dungeon has been lifted
