8 Enter the Dungeon- To Hunt a Redcap

Looking at the bloodthirsty expression on the Elite goblin monster as It chased after him, Adam knew it'd rip him apart piece by piece. And looking at his HP...

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[HP: 200/740]

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That might just be possible.

'How the hell am I supposed to beat this thing?'

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Looking at it's status, Adam Observed the name.

[Redcap]

An elite version of the goblin, these monsters are wild and mad about battle. Seeking to fight to the death any opponent they deem worthy; these goblins are known to dip their caps in the the blood of their enemies, giving these caps it's characteristic coloration and their bloodthirsty reputation.

As elite monster, they have greater physical than their normal variants. They also gain the race skill [Berserk Strength].

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Reading this message, Adam also checked out the Skill.

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[Berserk Strength]

A skill that can only be gained at the sacrifice of one's Intelligence. It is only used by the most crazed and stupid of species, raising their STR and offsetting their lack of ability to think for themselves.

Grants +10 STR

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' That's quite the monster. I don't understand though, It's stats are way over 20, but there's no Perks.'

[ Perks are gifted by *** ****** to awakened only. Monsters cannot obtain Perks, but can have racial skills.]

Seeing this information, Adam had no more time to check out the rest of the skills, seeing as the Redcap was speeding towards him, murder in it's eyes. Knowing he'd die if he faced this monster, he turned and ran, yet again, strategic retreat his ever ready excuse.

Utilizing [Sprint] and his ( fortunately) slightly higher AGI, Adam raced off, pulling further and further away from death.Fortunately, the Redcap seemed to be more STR and VIT focused, with AGI and DEX being secondary.With no Perks to add bonuses to its attributes, Adam was saved by the +10 bonus to his AGI from the PowerBuff perk; and with the [Sprint] boosting his AGI to 24, he was able to escape. Utilizing the trees and bushes as cover, he slowly but surely lost his pursuers one by one, the Redcap being the most persistent and hardest to lose. With a bit of stealth however, he was able to finally get to safety.

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Finding a big tree with large branches, he climbed up high, using the leaves to hide himself.

Resting and recovering after such a close call, He knew he can't allow a situation like that to happen again. Revising his Hit and Run tactic, he decided he had to cut out the picking up the loot aspect, and using all his skills to deal with the monsters as quickly as possible. This would really help save time, and give him some breathing room to recover from the fight and escape as quickly as possible.

' I think I'll also try my best to get some fighting experience from the rare goblins. If I can't learn how to fight properly,forget the boss, just that elite goblin is gonna wreck me.Time seems to pass here, so If I wait for nightfall, I can ambush a few of them too. Make it easier on me. I sure hope the Gamer's Mind can help.'

'This is gonna be brutal.'

[INT +1]

[WIS +1]

'And it seems the system agrees with me.'

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Sitting down to rest and wait for nightfall, Adam silently trained his skills, activating then turning them off again. After such a long and exhausting day, this was the only semblance of peace and relaxation.

'It's gonna be a long night.' With the setting sun casting shadows over the entire forest, a lone teenager in a extremely hostile environment, sat and thought to himself. Closing his eyes, he relaxed and waited for the sounds of the system informing him of the increase of his skills levels.

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Rays of sunlight shone through the canopy of trees, illuminating the brown earth littered with green and brown leaves, an earthy scent in the air. A peaceful scene, belying the chaos which had occurred the night before. A prone form was gradually revealed in the light of the rising sun. Lying high up in the trees, he seemed to be asleep. Gradually opening his eyes, he said..

" Guess I don't get the bonus if I don't sleep for a few hours huh? And not to mention I'm not even in a bed."

Groaning as he sat up, he rubbed his black curly hair, muttering" That was the wildest night of my life." Filled with loads of running, running and more running, It certainly was.

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After the sun had fully set, Adam had watched the day get darker and darker. As the forest became more and more silent, he stopped training his skills, recovered his SP, then set out.

The night was filled with ambush after ambush, assassinating normal and rare archer goblins, fighting rare fighter goblins to get fighting experience, then running away and hiding when more groups inevitably showed up. Repeating this over and over, the night slowly passed. After all this work, the rewards started to pay off. Constant fighting had improved his STR and DEX, getting injured and healing multiple times had improved his VIT, and constant running had improved his AGI. All in all..

[ STR +2]

[ AGI +5]

[ VIT +3]

[DEX +3]

Mentally exhausted,he finally went back to rest when he saw the sun rising.

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Sitting up, he checked where his status for improvements.

'Status Page'

[Status]

Name : Adam "Kweku" Greene

Age : 18

Lv : 8 ( 450/800 )

Condition : Normal

Title : None

HP : 785/785

SP: 490/490

MP : 460/460

STR : 24+35(59) AGI : 17+10(27)

VIT : 24+25(49) DEX : 18

INT : 21+25(46) WIS : 21+35(56)

CHA: 9+10(19) LUK : 10

STATUS POINTS : 15

SKILLS

[Sprint](Active)[ Lv. 8 Exp. 65/180]

A skill usually utilized by athletes and thieves.

Increases sprinting speed and decreases SP cost per second while sprinting.

Sprinting increased by 16%(+2% per level)

Cost: 10 SP/sec

[Aura Strike](Active)[Lv. 7 Exp. 75/150]

The most basic attack used by an awakened, it is also useful for setting a foundation for aura use and control, before they learn to achieve releasing aura outside the body.Then this skill is inevitably forgotten and left un-mastered. The user reinforces an object or part of their body with aura, then unleashes a powerful strike on their opponent.

Increases attack of reinforced object by 57%( +1% per level)

Cost: 24 SP per use ( -1 SP per 5 levels)

[Sneak](Active) [Lv. 10 Exp. 90/250]

A basic skill usually used by thieves, this skill allows the user to decrease their presence and approach targets without their knowledge.

Decreases presence of the user by 14%( +0.4% per level)

Reduces all noise by 50% ( fixed)

Cost: 15 SP/sec

[ Strongarm ](Active)[Lv. 8 25/180]

Reinforces the users next attack with increased force, allowing it to do more damage. This skill is normally used by warriors when during a charge towards the enemy.

Increases next attack by 29%(+0.5% per level)

Cost: 9.6 SP per use (-0.05 SP per level)

Can only be used on arms. Does not work with magic spells

[ Physical Attack Resistance]( Passive ) [Lv. 5 Exp. 30/100]

A fundamental skill needed in the arsenal of any true warrior, this skill has been known to save the lives of many. It is usually extensively trained and and used by warriors that fight with their bodies, cultivating the skill by forging their bodies in harsh battle.

Passively resists any physical attack or skill released with SP by 12.5%( +0.5% per level).

'That's quite the improvement. But somehow, I feel like I made a lot more improvement in fighting experience, which is awesome. Now I'm able to fight and beat the fighter goblins in just a few exchanges.Now I really feel like I've grown. I seriously need to find someone to teach me to fight well. Although I did get this new skill.'

Looking back at his status page, he looked at the new skill he'd gained.

....

[Unarmed Fighting Technique]( Passive ) [Lv. 3 25/40]

The basic form of martial arts, this is the foundation upon which specialized techniques are built. Includes all forms of techniques which do not use any weapons except the fists and feet.

Increases unarmed Attacks by 28%( +1% per level)

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After wrecking goblins for a while without being able to pick up loot, eventually Adam had run out of clubs to use. With no other weapons to turn to, he then fell back on his most trustworthy weapons, his fists. After that,using the opportunity of fighting experts in unarmed combat, he quickly learned and gained experience for this technique.Thereafter, he made the decision to pursue this technique as his main mode of attack, seeing as it's basically impossible to cripple or incapacitate his limbs.

Done checking his current state, Adam now planned his next step. After passing level 5, he'd been getting less and less exp from the monsters he killed. Apparently the bonus exp. he got for killing higher level opponents also worked the opposite way, deducting more and more exp as he became higher leveled. Right now It would be a waste of time to keep doing this, seeing as he wanted to leave the dungeon as soon as possible. Deciding to take a risk, he made a plan to take out the Redcap goblin. Getting down from the tree, he set out on a dangerous hunt.

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Finding a group which consisted of 7 goblins now, 2 normal goblins, 2 archers and 3 fighters. It seems they had increased their numbers even more in a bid either defeat or delay him for the other groups to catch up. Unfortunately for them, their chances to do so had passed, as Adam was now a lot stronger and more experienced than before. Treating this battle as simply a way of baiting out his real objective, he attacked the group. Taking out the archers quickly with his superior speed, he then casually moved on to the normal ones, dealing with them in a single hit each. Treating the fighter goblins as a warm up, he calmly executed them both after a short fight, all without using a single skill. Done with the preliminary battle, he sat down to wait.

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A few minutes after the battle, the sounds which Adam had become so accustomed to hearing started to sound off in the dense forest. Approaching footsteps growing louder by the second, announcing the presence of the hunters that were frantically rushing to capture him.Getting to his feet, Adam waited for just the right time. The instant he saw the Redcap burst through the vegetation, eagerly looking at him as it raced towards him, Adam took off into the woods, not utilizing any skills or using his full speed. Seeing his retreat, the Redcap roared in anger and gave chase,slowly catching up but unknowingly leaving all it's comrades behind.

After leading the Redcap on through the woods for a while, Adam stopped at a clearing in the forest. Turning to face the monster, he readied himself for a hard battle. Deciding to test himself on his progress, he resolved to fight solely by utilizing his stats, and no skills, at least for the time being. Once he was certain he couldn't beat it without skills he would use them. But if he could, it would prove to be highly useful for gaining experience. Putting up his guard, he waited for the monster to make the first move.

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The Redcap, seeing Adam no longer running, became instantly enraptured. Charging towards him, it was finally able to give it's first attack. Getting within arms reach, it swiped a dangerous sharp claw swipe at his chest. Spotting this attack in time, Adam sidestepped to the opposite side of the attacks direction, twisting his body to dodge at just the right time. Or at least that's what he meant to do. Instead what he got was deep claw marks in his chest, evidence of his stupidity in attempting such an advanced technique. In an instant this injury was healed however, leaving only a torn T- shirt to show that the attack actually happened.

'Sh*t,well that didn't work. I gotta dodge with a much wider margin it seems. Next time I'll counter.'

Thinking this, he prepared to dodge another swipe, only to witness the monster jumping forward and throwing a punch of unbelievable speed. Unable to dodge again he could only cross his arms and brace himself , then felt a huge impact on his arms, breaking them and sending him flying. Hitting a tree, his momentum was stopped, and he fell down, coughing up some blood.Feeling dazed, he was able to come to his senses long enough to see another hit coming toward him, and rolled ungraciously out of the way, barely avoiding the hit in the process.

' This monster is simply relentless. It hits hard and fast, and it won't stop attack till you're dead.'Getting back on his feet and retreating from the elite goblin to a few feet away, Adam thought to himself.

'That fast attack was probably it's [Charge] and [Power Bash] used together. *Sigh*, I didn't think I would get combos used against me like this. This is gonna be one hard fight.'

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And one hard fight it was, mostly involving Adam rolling away to avoid the monsters combo attack, slowly but surely adapting to it's techniques, and honing his own in the process. Learning how to move faster and control his body better, Adam slowly started to access the true potential of his stats. Using the Redcap as a teacher, albeit probably an unwilling one, He finally started to be able to move at his true capabilities. Little by little he started to catch up, and then eventually surpass the speed of the monster. Adapted now, Adam, with his superior speed, started to counter attack. He started out by returning attacks with light jabs in the flank and back to get accustomed, then next he started throwing hooks powered with [Strongarm], of which the goblin was initially being hit by as it wasn't expected to be countered . Finally fully comfortable with countering ,Adam started to go on the full offensive, however, this goblin wasn't an elite monster for nothing.Getting used to Adam's tempo, it also started to anticipate and react to his attacks. This exchange would've continued for a while, with the honorable warrior and monster putting their life on the line to fight to the death, with the more skilled turning out victorious. If it was an honorable warrior that is.

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Focusing solely on the fight and this amazing warrior in front of it, the Redcap didn't notice the foot that was swung at the side of it's knee until it was too late. Feeling a crack from it's knee joint and a sudden weakness in one of it's legs, the pain came a moment later, paralyzing it in it's sheer intensity. Supporting itself on it's good leg, the goblin was unable to move fast enough to move fast enough to dodge the fist which connected with it's abdomen, almost piercing through it. Collapsing forward from the blow, it felt it's head being grabbed and pulled forward. Looking down, it saw a knee coming towards it's face at a high speed, before feeling a huge impact, and then everything went black.

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Feeling pleased that his combo move of disable, weaken and stun combo had worked, Adam then carried on to finish off the Redcap, and finally put an end to the "epic battle", with him being victorious. And then...

[ Exp. +200]

[Bonus 10% Exp= 20 Exp.]

'Awesome.'

Checking his Status page, it seemed he would need only 95 more Exp. to level up.

Engrossed in inspecting his gains, Adam didn't notice another presence until,

"Fiiyaa Ball"

Hearing a sound being made behind him, he turned around just in time to see a ball of fire headed straight for him. Self preservation instincts kicking in, He instantly dived to the ground, feeling a wave of heat pass over his head. Looking up again, he saw a figure standing right at the edge of the clearing he had fought the elite goblin. Glancing at the status screen above, what Adam saw was

[ Goblin Mage]

Lv. 10

Boss

"Oh f**k."