I broke into a run and plunged back into the cave.
The transition from daylight to shadow should have left me blind. Instead, my enhanced Sense kicked in. The darkness wasn't gone, but it was manageable. I could make out the rough stone walls, track my footing, process the slope of the passage as I descended.
The distance counter in my vision ticked upward. 0.1km. 0.2km.
My breathing stayed even. The run that would've left me winded before felt easy now. I could keep this pace for hours.
The passage opened back into the massive chamber where I'd killed the shaman. Pillars stretched into darkness above. Debris littered the floor. And somewhere in the shadows, more goblins were waiting.
I slowed to a jog, scanning the room. My enhanced Sense picked up movement near a fallen column. Two heat signatures. Small. Probably scouts.
"Arcan. Can I keep running and fight at the same time, or does the quest require continuous movement?"
『The quest tracks total distance covered, not consecutive time spent running. Brief combat encounters will not invalidate progress.』
"Perfect."
I angled toward the heat signatures, picking up speed. The bone shiv felt good in my grip. My muscles were warm, loose, ready.
The goblins heard me coming. They emerged from behind the pillar with shrieks, crude weapons raised. One had a club. The other wielded what looked like a sharpened femur.
I didn't slow down.
The first goblin swung its club in a wide arc. I ducked under the blow without breaking stride, drove my shiv into its throat, and kept moving. The second goblin lunged at me with its bone spear. I sidestepped, grabbed its wrist, yanked it off balance, and slammed my knee into its face. Bone crunched. The creature dropped.
I finished it with a quick stab and resumed my run.
Blue text flashed.
► Hostile Entities Neutralized. [2x Goblin Scout]
► Experience Points Acquired [+20 EXP]
Distance: 0.8km / 10.0km.
Two kills in under ten seconds. I'd barely lost momentum. The rush of combat mixed with the runner's high into something addictive.
I wanted more.
The chamber branched into three passages. Arcan's map highlighted the left path, indicating it looped back around to create a circuit. I took it without slowing, my footfalls echoing off ancient stone.
More movement ahead. Three signatures this time. Larger than scouts.
I grinned and accelerated.
The passage narrowed as I ran deeper. The walls closed in. My enhanced vision picked out carvings in the stone. Faces worn down by time. Letters in a language I didn't recognize. The air grew colder.
『Warning. Multiple hostiles detected ahead. Four entities. Mixed types.』
"Good."
I burst into a smaller chamber. The ceiling was lower here. Maybe twelve feet. The space was circular with a raised platform in the center. Four goblins turned to face me.
Three scouts. One warrior.
The warrior was bigger than the shaman I'd killed. Taller. More muscle. It wore crude armor made from what looked like salvaged metal scraps. In its hands, a sword. Actual steel, not bone. Rusted and chipped, but real.
The scouts charged immediately. I met them head-on.
The first one died before it knew what happened. My shiv punched through its eye socket and out the back of its skull. I yanked it free as the second scout swung a club at my ribs. I caught the club with my free hand. Twisted. Ripped it from the goblin's grip. Smashed it across the creature's face. Green blood sprayed.
The third scout tried to flank me. I spun, threw the club. It caught the goblin in the chest and sent it tumbling backward off the raised platform.
The warrior roared. It charged with surprising speed. The rusted sword came down in an overhead chop that would've split my skull.
I moved left. The blade hit stone where I'd been standing and threw sparks. I was inside the warrior's guard now. Too close for the sword to be effective.
I drove my shiv into its armpit. The crude blade scraped against metal, found flesh, and sank deep. Hot blood gushed over my hand. The warrior dropped its sword and grabbed my throat with its free hand.
The grip was strong. Way stronger than the scouts. My vision started to tunnel as it squeezed.
I pulled the shiv free and stabbed again. Higher this time. The blade found the warrior's throat. Punched through. Blood fountained.
The grip on my throat loosened. The warrior stumbled back. Its eyes were wide. Confused. Like it couldn't understand why it was dying.
I kicked it in the chest. It went down.
The third scout I'd knocked off the platform was climbing back up. I walked over and stomped on its head as it crested the edge. Once. Twice. The skull gave way.
Blue text exploded across my vision.
► Hostile Entities Neutralized. [3x Goblin Scout, 1x Goblin Warrior]
► Experience Points Acquired [+55 EXP]
► Your understanding of raw force has deepened.
► Your understanding of vital strikes has deepened.
Distance: 1.9km / 10.0km.
I picked up the rusted sword the warrior had dropped. It was heavy. Poorly balanced. But it was steel. I gave it a few test swings. The weight felt good. More substantial than the bone shiv.
I stored it in inventory along with the best of the bone weapons the scouts had carried. Never knew when extra tools would come in handy.
『Your combat efficiency has improved significantly with the stat investment. Current projection shows completion of daily quest within acceptable timeframe if current pace is maintained.』
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." I started jogging again, following the glowing trail on my map. "How much deeper does this place go?"
『Unknown. My scans can only penetrate approximately fifty meters ahead due to the density of stone and residual essentia interference. However, I'm detecting increasingly powerful signatures as you descend. The ruin appears to have multiple levels.』
"Multiple levels means multiple monsters. Multiple monsters means multiple experience points."
『It also means increased danger.』
"That's what makes it fun."
I picked up speed, my enhanced body eating up distance with ease. The dungeon stretched out before me. Dark and dangerous and full of things that wanted to kill me.
Perfect grinding conditions.
This was going to be a good day.