Underground

After saying those words, Lucius felt a sense of urgency. He knew he didn't have much time to waste, so he quietly headed in another direction, determined to gain more experience before reuniting with the group.

Under the cover of the night, he searched for potential targets, and soon enough, he spotted three goblins carrying broken weapons.

The first two goblins were at level 2, holding a pile of broken axes and tools, while the third goblin, the one carrying the weapons, seemed to hold a higher position at level 3. Lucius decided to carefully observe their movements and plan his approach to take them out silently.

Feeling suspicious he followed them from behind and avoided the enemies, here the place was slightly less populated which made him wonder.

Continuing on towards an empty area with fewer huts, he saw a broken stone building that looked like it would fall apart but stood its ground.

The sound of banging steel could be heard inside the house as the goblins walked in and passed the 2 guards with one of them stopping to communicate something with them before entering.

A black smoke was being released in the stone house and it smelled of something burning coal.

Looking at the guards near the door he saw them both at level [Goblin LvL3], and decided to inspect the area before rushing.

Hiding in the shadows, two of the smaller goblins left with empty hands and went somewhere. His gaze didn't stay on them as he was inspecting the goblin in from of him. Of them didn't come out yet and didn't seem it would anytime soon.

He decided to take out the two guards first. Crawling on the ground while the two of them were busy talking to each other, he activated the skill, swiftly stabbing one in the heart. With the power behind Lucius' strike, the sword continued onwards, piercing the other guard too.

Unfortunately, this time the second guard didn't die instantly. He looked at the goblin in front of him, his body connecting with it, impaled by a skewer-like blade. The goblin shrieked in pain, crying for help and warning others nearby.

Panicking, Lucius moved the sword with force, cutting the first goblin in half, sending its guts flying, and ending the life of the one behind it at the same time. He gained +60 EXP and +6 Gold from the successful ambush.

Scared that he would be surrounded due to the noise, Lucius pressed himself against the wall, making sure not to make any sound as he looked around in every direction.

After a minute of tense waiting, he sighed with relief and cleaned the blade with a cloth. Turning his attention to the entrance of the house, he confirmed that it was empty.

Then, as he inspected the walls and the ground, his eyes caught something unusual—a wooden door-like entrance on the floor. He approached it carefully and realized it was a hidden stairwell leading down. The sound of steel banging continued to echo from below as he neared the entrance.

Sneakily opening the door, it made a creaky sound. Inside the staircase, it was pitch black, with no visibility at all. Deciding whether to check it out or not, he used his sword skill to create a faint light, illuminating the surroundings just a tiny bit.

Seeing the stairs, he cautiously started walking down, intermittently closing and opening the skill to avoid attracting attention. The sound of banging grew stronger, accompanied by the sound of water streaming. He closed the skill once again, walking towards the source of the sound with small, careful steps to avoid any missteps.

As he neared the sound, he could see a faint light in the distance. Approaching it, he found a room where the temperature dramatically increased. It felt as if the room was at least 40 degrees, and Lucius could feel his body starting to sweat.

Inside the room was a Level 2 goblin, sweating profusely and having trouble moving some ash with a shovel into a bucket. Seeing that it was alone, Lucius swiftly attacked it while it was busy shovelling the ash, causing it to die and fall face-first into the ash. He gained +20 Exp and +2 Gold from the successful ambush.

A small cloud of ash and dust was kicked up in the air from the goblin's fall, and Lucius quickly covered his mouth and face, coughing slightly.

The sound of banging further inside the room had stopped and started again, this time deeper inside. Lucius moved forward, passing through a door that had traces of ash on the ground.

Deeper inside, he spotted a larger [Lvl5 Goblin] wearing some kind of goggles and hitting a blade, causing sparks to fly with each strike.

The goblin was busy crafting a blade in a massive fire pit, sweating profusely with its face blackened from the smoke. Next to it was the goblin he had seen earlier, the one carrying the weapons, providing help and dropping water whenever the crafting goblin signalled.

The room was filled with various crafting instruments, but Lucius was drawn to a big stone statue of a figure with four hands, each holding a hammer, a sword, a spear, and a shield. The statue appeared to be in good condition, with only a few cracks here and there. Ancient runes adorned the statue, and it wore a heavy suit of armour. Lucius wondered if it represented some kind of god, but in this magical place filled with goblins, he decided not to dwell on it further.

Focusing on the goblin blacksmith, he knew it presented an easy opportunity for experience and gold. Making up his mind, he gave one last glance at the statue, half-jokingly hoping no god would awaken in this place. With that, he activated his skill and lunged at the goblin while it was distracted, asking its helper for water.

The blade found no resistance as it cut through the level 3 goblin-like tofu. Lucius swiftly swung the sword towards the blacksmith, who was extremely surprised by the sudden attack. The goblin managed to move just in time, but the blade still cut deep into its shoulder.

Lucius followed up with a powerful kick to the goblin's torso, causing it to stumble and fall into the fire pit. The sword slid off its body, and the goblin burned and screamed in pain. +90 Exp +9 Gold.

Bending down, he picked up the goblin hammer and inspected it. It seemed to be of good quality, and he considered keeping it for himself. However, when he looked at the goblin's body, he saw that it had already been burned to a crisp in the fire pit.

Raiding the room for any useful items, he found some metal ingots and decided to take them with him. As he explored further, he came across a blacksmith's desk, and on it, he found a book titled "Steelwork Forge."

The system prompted that it was a skill he could learn. Without hesitation, he decided to learn it as he had a plan, and he knew he had acquired it with his own hard-earned effort and ambush.

Upon inspecting the system panel, Lucius saw the following information:

[Name: Lucius Maxwell]

[Age 36/200]

[Level 5 Exp 60/500]

[HP 100/150]

[MP 100/100]

[Free Attributes 4]

[Strength 16]

[Health 15]

[Agility 13]

[Intelligence 10]

[Mana 10]

Skills 'Empowered Luster' 'Steelwork Forge'

Gold 106

Lucius quickly checked his status page and found that he had reached Level 5, relieved that he was no longer affected by the skill drawback. Seeing it was time to return to the group, he ran up the stairs, taking one last glance at the statue before leaving the room.

Behind the statue, he noticed a massive picture of a city, similar to the one they were in, but this one had a square shape with two exits. He kept the image in his mind, curious about its significance, before climbing the stairs and leaving the crafting area.

Entering the closest hut, he discovered a dead goblin with a sword wound in its brain. Looking at the strike, he thought of Lily, knowing she must have already started making her way back.