Chapter 62: Raiding A Dungeon

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CLASH!

We landed at the Goblins' settlement together at once, generating an explosive shockwave of pure mana. The Goblins were unable to predict our arrival, and a few dozen died on the spot after being thrown away by the impact.

"Gryaaakh?!"

However, goblins were fairly smart and immediately reacted in the best possible way when being invaded by powerful hunters. They all started running away for their lives.

"That's not happening." Kevin leaped forward, swinging his golden spear vertically and horizontally, as two slashes of divine golden light slashed the escaping goblins into pieces.

Their screams started spreading further and further into their settlement, creating a domino effect; the more they panicked, the more they screamed and tried to run away.

"{Freezing Domain}"

Baihe slammed the floor with her foot and generated a powerful shockwave of Ice Attribute Mana and Ki, which froze the ground, and over twenty goblins had their legs stuck to the ground, some even being frozen completely, only leaving ice statues behind.

Baihe leaped into action, running around in a zigzag manner as she beheaded Goblins with her sharp frozen spear or simply shattered their frozen bodies into pieces, finishing the job rather quickly and swiftly.

"Hehehe, don't run away, will you~?"

Meanwhile, Annabelle utilized her large swarm of spiders to stop the goblins from running, swarming their entire bodies with them and then surrounding the entire settlement with them. Using their spiderweb, she was able to stop their escape, as any goblin that tried to jump over the walls ended up getting stuck on them.

Then, she leisurely started crushing the trapped goblins with her spider legs, using their sharp tips like powerful blades. Annabelle's powers were just as terrifying as in the novel. I definitely have to make her get to my side.

And that's why first impressions are very important!

While Violet and Snow were rampaging around the settlement, destroying houses and crushing goblins, I rushed forward, attacking a fairly large group concentrated in the center of the area. They were desperately protecting an old-looking goblin, their chief, most likely.

The goblins bravely stepped forward, attacking. They were all goblin warriors mixed with powerful and tall hobgoblins; most of their weapons and armor were imbued with purple crystals; they were most likely not mobs. I can tell that only the strongest receive these crystals; perhaps weaker monsters cannot take their power properly.

Although they were rather powerful on their own accord and could even compare with C+++ Rank Monsters by using all of those Demonite Crystal accessories, armor, and weapons, at the end of the day, they weren't a threat to me anymore.

As I rushed forward, I unleashed a series of powerful slashing attacks using my two daggers. With the power of flames and frost coming from both of them at the same time, the goblins had their bodies burned and frozen at the same time.

Their bodies were cut down into pieces easier than I imagined, though it seems my strength has reached a level I can't properly control as well as before. However, before I could reach their chief, three larger hobgoblins stepped forward and stopped my path. They were twice as big as the normal Hobgoblins and held giant axes imbued with Demonite, their auras overflowing with a dark power. Three giant axes reached my body in an instant, with enough strength to slash through my entire body with ease. However, the only thing they ended up hitting was the ground.

"You're too slow with all that armor, buddy."

"GRAKH?!"

I appeared behind the one at the left, immediately administering a kick into its backside and throwing it down onto the floor. The mere impact shattered the floor below before a beam of light pierced the goblin's head, blowing it into pieces.

The other Hobgoblin Warriors furiously attacked me after seeing their partner be killed so easily. Sadly for them, their fate wasn't so different.

Both axes attempted to slash through my body, but this time I intercepted one and swiftly parried the attack by concentrating Mana and Ki into my arms, temporarily enhancing my muscular strength to a completely new level.

CLANK!

And the next attack was swiftly evaded as I rushed above the hobgoblin to my right. I climbed his huge body in a matter of seconds and pierced his neck with both daggers, imbuing flames and frost inside the wounds. As his head exploded into flames and frozen brain pieces, the third Hobgoblin Warrior panicked, his darkness aura surging furiously as his eyes glowed with bright red light. He swung his gigantic axe several times against me, unleashing shockwaves all across the empty air. I easily evaded all hits while leaping around, and my body felt as light as a feather.

"I'll end this quickly."

I leaped over the hobgoblin's battle axe, confusing him as I pointed my fingers at his eyes. Two small sunbeams surged from within, blasting the monster's eyes and its brains.

With that done, I landed on the floor, seeing the goblin chief running away from us. I thought he was at least a bit strong himself, but it seemed he preferred survival over fighting. Not that I can blame him; all living beings desire to live. But sadly for him, I cannot let him have that privilege.

[The power of the [Sylph's Tear (B Rank)] Ring has taken effect! The Wind Spirits have manifested, enhancing your DEX and AGI by +100% for 5 Minutes.]

As I felt powerful winds surge around my body, I leaped forward, reaching the Goblin Chief in less than a second and landing over his body like a falling meteor. The Old Goblin coughed blood as I crushed him into the floor, my two daggers quickly reaching his neck and slashing his head before he could conjure any magic. I wasn't in the mood for that today. As his head flew into the air and then fell onto the floor, rolling lifelessly, I looked into the distance at the tent where the Goblin Chief was living and saw a power surging from within it.

"{Rise}"

[The Effects of the [Ruler of the Dead (S)] Skill have taken effect!]

[The Corpses of the Dead had taken your Mana and Ki as sufficient sacrifices for their temporary servitude!]

Suddenly, the corpses of all the goblins I killed started moving. Some of their body parts were repaired, gaining skeleton-like parts. They started overflowing with phantasmal auras.

[The Souls of the Dead have answered your call!]

[You have raised several Undead at once!]

[Among them, the [Goblin Chief Shaman Zombie (C+ Rank)] and the [Hobgoblin Warrior Zombie (C Rank)] x3 are the strongest!]

"Chief, come here," I called the chief, who slowly walked to my side, holding his head with his free hand. I touched that head of his with my hand, and then one of my eyes turned deep black. "{Eye of Anubis}"

[You have activated the [Eye of Anubis (A)] Skill Effect!]

[You're peering through the memories of the dead!]

Suddenly, for a brief moment that didn't even last more than five seconds, I saw parts of his memory. Through the memories, I learned this settlement was a place where the Goblins were told to mine the Demonite growing underground, which had already formed an immense underground mine.

They were the smallest of the three settlements, but that didn't mean they were any weaker. Although these guys were easy for me, most other newbie hunters wouldn't be able to beat C-Rank monsters, and they would have gotten crushed to death.

And, deep within these mines, I saw something else.

Something dark and eldritch

It opened a single red eye, glaring back at me.

"Ungh?!" I gasped in surprise as the visions ended.

Something dangerous is dwelling underground. If we don't take that thing out now, it'll become a problem in the future, and I would rather deal with it right away.

[You and your Party have defeated [Goblin Warrior (E++ Rank)] x64, [Hobgoblin Warrior (C Rank)] x3, and [Goblin Shaman Chief (C+ Rank)]!]

[You earned 42500 EXP!]

[Level Up!]

[Your Level has increased from Level 35 to Level 36!]

[All of your Stats have increased.]

[You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]

[The Cosmic Throne {Warrior That Seeks Calamity} is once again amazed and pleased with your mercilessness and battle prowess!]

[He has sponsored the Innate Skill: [Dagger Arts (C): Lv1]!]

[The Cosmic Throne {Lady that Soothes the Souls of the Death} smiles happily at your progress.]

[She has sponsored the title: [Huntress]!]

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[Dagger Arts (C): Lv1]

[Skill EXP]: [0/250]

The ability to wield dagger- and knife-type weapons proficiently extends to all types of weapons within this category and even longer weapons, such as swords, although with a reduced input in power. The higher the level of skill, the more arts become available.

Level Bonus (1): Enhances dagger- and knife-type weapon Damage by +10%. When wielding dagger- or knife-type weapons, Physical Attacks using these weapons can ignore -5% of the foe's Physical Defenses.

Available Arts:

Level 1: [Shadow Slash] [Swift Stab]

Level 2: ???

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[Huntress]

A Title that is awarded to a fierce female who has slain hundreds of monsters by herself and continues hunting mercilessly. Only those recognized by Constellations can acquire Titles, this means you've hunted so many monsters even the Constellations recognize you as a "Huntress".

Effects: +50 STR, AGI, DEX. Deals +20% Damage to Monsters when using hunting weapons (Daggers, Knives, Bows), and ignores -10% of their total defenses.

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A new skill and... a new title? Great, and it is exactly what I needed too.

"Hey Anna, we're done over here," Kevin said.

"Me too." Baihe walked to my side.

"Yeah! All done, hehehe~" Annabelle started giggling as she saw her spiders devour a goblin corpse.

"Well then, we've got another little thing to do over there, though; follow me," I said.

We moved to the Goblin Shaman Chief and immediately found what I was looking for: stairs leading underground to the "mining area," where they were growing Demonite and mining it to craft weapons and armor with it.

"Ugh, that place stinks." Said Kevin.

"Yeah, it has an almost sulfuric smell." Baihe sighed.

"It smells nice!" Annabelle said.

"Hmm, well, it isn't a place where we can easily walk into," I said. "But this should do for now. {Light Veil}" I conjured veils of light using Sunshine over my friends, which would protect them from dangerous toxins in the air, such as the miasma the Demonite emanates.

"Let's go." I stepped forward, walking downstairs.

[You've accessed the [Demonite Mine Dungeon]!]

[The [Ruler of the Dungeon] has detected your presence…]

[They have sent servants to swiftly take you down.]

"W-Wait, this is a dungeon?!" Kevin panicked.

"Interesting.." Baihe was amazed.

"It must be because of the Miasma in the environment distorting space... A pseudo-dungeon was formed, although it is much smaller than normal ones." I said. "And, ah, we already have company."

Aberrant goblins with purple skin and Demonite growing over their bodies surged, roaring and groaning like zombies. Some of them had mutated bodies with larger and more muscular arms and legs, and there were dozens.

[You've been detected by the [Demonite Mutated Goblins (C+++ Rank)]!]

[They're hungry for blood and flesh! The Demonite in their bodies have made them go insane and will attack anything on sight.]

[However, the Demonite has also enhanced their stats by a further +25%!]

"These guys are a bit tougher, so be careful!" I said. "Don't let their crystals hurt you, or you'll get one nasty wound!" I imbued Mana into my daggers and then unleashed a barrage of flames and frost against the horde, immediately stopping their relentless charge.

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