C003 — THE GOBLIN SLAYER
— — — — —
After killing more than 250 slimes during two days, Zayne was just ten EXP away from reaching level 5, the threshold for unlocking his first dungeon. But more than that, he was even closer to upgrading his first skill {Fire Magic}.
It was at Lv.9 (99%). A single fireball, and it would hit the maximum level possible for this skill. After which, Zayne could upgrade it to the next grade — Uncommon.
— — — | STATUS | — — —
- NAME: Zayne Morningstar
- RACE: Human (BOSS MONSTER)
- TITLE(S): Reincarnated Villain, Dungeon Master, Limit Breaker
- RANK: F
- LEVEL: 4
——— EXP Required: 500/510
- CLASS: -
——— -
|> STATS
- HP: 110/110
- MP: 200/200
|> ATTRIBUTES
- STR: 20 (+2)
- VIT: 11
- END: 11
- AGI: 20 (+3)
- INT: 20
- WIS: 11
- PER: 11
- LUCK: 14
- ATTRIBUTE POINTS: 0
|> TRAITS
|> SKILLS
INNATE SKILLS
- Dungeon Creation Lv.0 (???)
AQUIRED SKILLS
- Thunder Arts Lv.6 (42%) (Rare)
- Fire Magic Lv.9 (99%) (Common)
AUXILIARY SKILLS
- Inspect (15%) (Uncommon)
|> EQUIPMENT
- Refined Iron Katana (Uncommon)
— — — — — — — — — — —
Even his {Thunder Arts} was more than halfway there. And the default auxiliary skill {Inspect} has already evolved once, from Common to Uncommon.
Just as he was inspecting his status, his heightened perception picked up the faint noises coming from a distance.
'A battle?' Zayne thought as his legs started moving towards the source. A couple of seconds later, a view appeared before him that left him shocked.
'Goblins!?'
A few meters ahead of Zayne's hiding place, two green dwarves were fighting each other for an unknown carcass.
They had a hideous face with a tiny frame, bloated stomach and a tiny cloth around their crotch. Both were wielding stone daggers at each other, fighting for possession of the carcass.
Goblins were one of the weakest starter monsters for beginners. Players loved slaughtering them, but they were a menace to players or NPCs in the lord's position. Despite being weak, goblins were one of the most dangerous monsters for ordinary NPCs.
Goblins worked in teams and raided small villages, feasting on the males and kidnapping the females for breeding.
As a former lord player, Zayne knew how much of a threat they posed to normal civilians.
'I need to find their lair,' Zayne thought with determination. He couldn't allow them to grow near his city. He would do his everything to ensure they were wiped out.
The clearing reeked of blood and rot.
The two goblins snarled over the half-eaten carcass of what appeared to be a wild boar, its ribs jutting like splintered bone-white fingers. One goblin — shorter, with a jagged ear and a twitch in its left eye — lunged first, shrieking. Its stone dagger scraped across the taller goblin's forearm, peeling skin like bark. The taller one didn't flinch. It slammed its skull forward, cracking the other's nose with a wet crunch.
They fell into the mud, flailing, biting, stabbing. The smaller goblin drove its dagger up, burying it into the taller one's shoulder. The taller one shrieked and retaliated, jamming its blade into the side of the other's neck. Blood sprayed — thick, blackish, steaming.
A gurgle. A twitch. Then stillness.
Zayne watched from the underbrush, silent, eyes narrowed. The taller goblin was panting, hunched over the carcass, trying to pull the blade from its fallen kin's throat. It didn't notice the pair of boots just beyond the trees.
After pulling the dagger, the taller goblin started feasting on the dead boar. Meanwhile, Zayne continued to watch without making any moves. He simply used his skill {Inspect}.
{ — — — — —
NAME: Goblin
TYPE: Physical Field Monster
RANK: F
|> DESCRIPTION
Goblins are small, wiry humanoid creatures known for their cunning, cruelty, and pack mentality. Typically standing around three to four feet tall, they have leathery, green or greyish skin, sharp features, and glowing, predatory eyes. Their limbs are long and thin, ending in clawed fingers adept at handling crude weapons or scavenged tools. Goblins often wear mismatched scraps of armour or filthy rags and move with quick, jerky motions, always alert and ready to strike. They thrive in dark, hidden places — caves, ruins, or dense forests — where they hint, scavenge, and squabble among themselves in a constant struggle for dominance.
— — — — — }
The description was what he expected, so Zayne simply waited for the goblin to finish.
A few minutes later, the goblin was full. With a satisfied burp, it started moving without even glancing at its dead kin.
Seeing this, Zayne started following it from a safe distance. The goblin was about to return to its lair, which was exactly what he wanted.
The goblin walked through the forest with jerky movements, and Zayne followed behind it. The goblin had no clue that it was simply inviting disaster to its tribe.
Within ten minutes, the goblin reached a small clearing occupied by a small encampment. Wooden fences surrounded the crudely built tents, with a few goblins lazing around.
Zayne, hidden a few meters away, used {Inspect} to check all the residents of the goblin tribe. He discovered a total of 9 goblins, all at F-rank, including the leader of the tribe. There might also be more goblins resting within the tent.
Taking another look, he felt confident that he could clear it himself. After all, despite being at level 4, his stats were more like a level 8 player. So, he was confident of taking down all these goblins who were at F-rank.
"Let's start with a spark," Zayne muttered with a grin and used his only long-range magic skill.
{Fire Magic — Fireball}
Zayne cast a fireball at the encampment; his target wasn't one of the goblins but rather a tent.
BOOM!
As soon as the fireball hit the tent, it burst into flames, burning its residents to ashes.
< You have slain a Goblin (F). >
< You have received +10 EXP. >
< Congratulations, you have levelled up to 5. You have obtained +2 All Attributes, +10 Attribute Points. >
< Congratulations, your skill Dungeon Master (???) has levelled up to 1. You have unlocked the sub-skills: Dungeon Creation, Dungeon Erase, Dungeon Transfer. >
< You have slain a Goblin (F). >
< You have received +10 EXP. >
< You have slain a Goblin (F). >
< You have received +10 EXP. >
< Congratulations, your skill Fire Magic (Common) has reached the maximum level. Do you wish to upgrade it to Uncommon? >
Zayne selected yes without hesitation.
< Congratulations, your skill Fire Magic (Common) has been upgraded to Fire Magic (Uncommon). You have unlocked the sub-skills: Multiple Fireballs, Fire Arrow. >
"This is going to be quite the fun," Zayne chuckled darkly as he cast his newly unlocked sub-skill.
{Fire Magic — Multiple Fireballs}
Immediately, three fireballs appeared before him, which he fired at the encampment.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
< You have slain a Goblin (F). >
< You have received +10 EXP. >
< You have slain a Goblin (F). >
< You have received +10 EXP. >
< You have slain a Goblin (F). >
< You have received +10 EXP. >
. . .
Casting multiple fireballs repeatedly, the entire encampment was brought to ashes. However, four goblins, including the leader, managed to escape, with all of them running away from the burning hell.
"Alright, time to take matters into my hands." Zayne drew his katana and used his skill.
{Thunder Arts — Lightning Step}
He immediately appeared behind the leader and slashed at its neck. Blood spurted, and the head rolled. The headless body continued running for a few steps before collapsing to the ground.
< You have slain a Goblin Leader (F). >
< You have received +12 EXP. >
Without waiting, he continues using his skill three more times, appearing near the remaining deserters and killing them all with a single strike.
< You have slain a Goblin (F). >
< You have received +10 EXP. >
< You have slain a Goblin (F). >
< You have received +10 EXP. >
< You have slain a Goblin (F). >
< You have received +10 EXP. >
< Impressive! You have destroyed a goblin tribe all by yourself. You have obtained the title: Goblin Slayer (I). >
< Continue slaying more goblins to upgrade your title. >
"Hah! Finally, all done," Zayne muttered with a satisfied smile while sheathing his katana. He took a final glance at the burned encampment before scavenging it for some useful items.
"Hmm, what's this?" Suddenly, a small black box caught his attention. It was covered in ashes, which Zayne quickly wiped off. Beneath the ashes, it was an old wooden box, which surprisingly didn't get burned in the fire.
He quickly opened the wooden box, only to find a rusty key. He quickly used {Inspect}.
{ — — — — —
NAME: ??? Dungeon Key
TYPE: One-time Consumable Item
GRADE: ???
RANK: Adaptive
|> DESCRIPTION
A key to the ??? Dungeon.
— — — — — }
"What the hell!" Zayne cried out in shock. He was not expecting a dungeon key this soon. But even more surprisingly, this key was not just any ordinary dungeon key.
A dungeon key allowed one to access a particular dungeon. It was a one-time access. Either they clear the dungeon or exit prematurely and lose access to that dungeon until they manage to gain another key.
A dungeon key comes with the rank and grade of the dungeon they are connected to. The rank declares the level of monsters, while the grade defines the difficulty and rewards of the dungeon.
But among them were adaptive dungeons which spawned monsters based on the ranks of the challengers.
"I should use it right now, since F-rank monsters would be the weakest and without broken skills or something," Zayne muttered to himself as he planned to use the dungeon key.
He walked to a clearing and held the key in front of him.
Crimson energy swirled before the key, forming into a magical lock. The key flew from his hands and slid into the lock. The key turned on its own, unlocking it. The key and the lock disappeared, followed by the appearance of a large crimson door.
"I messed up, didn't I?" Zayne muttered wryly as it was clear the dungeon wouldn't be something simple. But he couldn't back down now, as he would lose access to the dungeon. As for finding another key, it would be nearly impossible.
"Well, here goes nothing." With a moment of hesitation, Zayne willed himself to walk through the door.