Hidden
Not long after Aran continued trekking the mountain by himself, the prinsepe finally reached the entrance of the beehive.
"So this is it, huh."
Without further hesitation, Aran entered the cave. And because he was in a hurry, he failed to notice the glowing eyes stalking him since he arrived at the entrance.
Kekeke!
Keeeh!
Aran skimmed through the cave with the fireball in his hand giving light on his path. While on the way, the prinsepe thought about Lyrica saying she got rid of all the Wither Bees inside the beehive. In other words, there should be no trouble getting what he came in the hive for.
'Still, even though I know no enemy is waiting for me at the end of this cave, why do I feel like I'm sending myself to my death?" Aran looked at the fireball hovering atop the palm of his hand. "This must be the reason. The fact that she gave me this as means to protect me is making me feel like I'm actually going to face something that will cause me harm."
Aran tried to erase what Lyrica said in his mind as he recollect himself.
Tip! Tap! Tip!
But as he was nearing the end of the long cave entrance, the prinsepe heard numerous footfalls coming from behind him.
"What?"
Kehah!!
Kwaa!!
A pack of goblins charged at him. He reflexively covered the path between him and the goblins with spinning water. The monsters mindlessly jumped into the pool of water and got themselves torn apart into pieces due to the strong pressure.
As soon as he eliminated the pack, Aran dispelled his water magic.
"Luckily, it was just goblins," Aran told himself as he looked at the ceiling showing cracks created from his water magic. "But fighting in a small space like this won't do me good for long."
He resumed following the path deeper inside the cave. But then, he heard another screeching coming from behind him.
"So there's more of them disgusting dirtbags!"
Instead of pausing to confront the goblins who are charging at him rather aggressively, Aran decided to run straight at the end. While things are developing inside the long cave, Lyrica finally managed to reach the cave after enduring the stinging pain coming from her gut and her wounded arm as she followed the same path Aran took.
"...?"
Almost immediately, she took notice of the seemingly fresh footprints, countless of them, going inside the cave. More than that, it's definitely not from Aran or any human being.
"This is..."
The instant she crouched down to keenly inspect the footprints, a goblin with a watering mouth lunged from a brush!
Kurhaa!!
"Your spiteful stench..."
[Now Playing: Jazz Harmony]
Lyrica's fist swung directly into the goblin's face, disfiguring its jaws and everything else with great strength.
"... It reeks all over the place!"
Lyrica's clear hit killed the Lv. 10 Goblin almost instantly, giving her 1050 EXP.
With Jazz Harmony at 100dB heightening her Senses stat by +50 points, she was able to sense the presence of a few other goblins rushing at her from all directions.
"All right..." Lyrica bumps her fists as she gets into a fighting stance. "... Bring it!"
One of the Goblins who came out of hiding threw a knife.
"...!"
It was a rather weak throw, and so she thought she could just catch it barehanded. But as she got a closer look, she realized that the knife's tip was covered in a mysterious green substance. She lunged to the ground to dodge the knife.
The goblins who shot the knife grunted in shock.
'It threw the knife weakly on purpose to let my guard down and try to catch it.'
Leaving the ground crumbling to pieces in her wake, Lyrica dashed at the Goblin as soon as she got herself back up. But just when she was preparing herself to throw a left...
Kehehehe...!
"This creature...!"
Lyrica saw the Goblin smirking and laughing wickedly at her. At that moment, another Goblin jumped out of hiding on her left, another one from the back, and two others on her right.
'I could kill them all in one burst of my fire magic...'
However, doing so would dispel the fireball she gave Aran not long ago. Seeing the footprints going inside the cave, Lyrica thought the prinsepe is also fighting for his life at the moment.
'This is troublesome, but f*ck it!" Lyrica tightened her fist. 'I already pooled quite a lot of mana in that thing, I'm not gonna just let it go to waste!'
Refusing to retract her attack, the Goblin on the left opened its jaw wide and bit exactly the girl's wounded left wrist. And although its crooked teeth dug deep into her limb, it did not stop Lyrica from punching the smiling Goblin in the face.
Pow!
Kawwa!
Lyrica sent the goblin sliding to the surface.
[You Have Defeated A Goblin - Lv. 10!]
She hammered the other Goblin chomping on her already wounded wrist to a nearby tree, the Goblin's blood and flesh splattered all across the area and the tree shook tremendously by the sheer force of Lyrica's attack.
[You Have Defeated A Goblin - Lv. 10!]
Lyrica proceeded to jump over the other three Goblins who failed to land a hit on her. And right as she landed back to the ground...
Bugoohm!
Lyrica felt it like a beam that struck her head. Yes, it finally activated. While the three remaining Goblins turned around to charge at Lyrica like a pack of hungry hyenas that have gone mad trying to catch their food...
"Elemental magic abilities can be unique to an individual depending on the five bases of magic."
A triumphant smirk flickered across Lyrica's face.
"My magic manifested based on my desire to live without troubles stressing me out."
Their hungry, crooked teeth, razor-like fingernails, and a small club, none of them would hit Lyrica as she flawlessly and gracefully get out of their attack range.
"Magic is an ability that can manifest from almost every individual in Alteria, but it can also be created. Mousai did say that."
And unbeknownst to the stubborn, weak creatures, they are being lured by Lyrica straight to the entrance of the cave.
"Does the world say what's required in creating unique magic abilities? Nay. In other words, anyone can create unique magic abilities."
Still attacking fruitlessly, the foolish Goblins failed to see the faint light coming from the inside of the cave behind Lyrica.
"That said, I was able to make one!"
Dodging their simultaneous attack, Lyrica jumped on a flat surface atop the cave entrance. With her now out of the way, the Goblins finally saw it. But it was all too late.
"Burn and be reduced to ashes, for this is my first Original Music!"
Following the loud grumbling, the cave entrance breathed fire and engulfed the Goblins and everything else around them.
[You Have Defeated A Clan of Goblins!]
Goblins - Lv. 10: 13
Hobgoblins - Lv. 15: 2
Goblin Shaman - Lv. 20: 1
[You Have Received 18,760 EXP!]
[You Have Completed The Hidden Quest!]
A mysterious message popped out of nowhere, yet the smirk Lyrica's beaming right now seemed like she knew about the notice long before it appeared.
Quest: Self-Growth!
Create at least one magic ability!
Magic Abilities Created 1/1
Rewards:
- +50,000 EXP
- +10 Decibels
- Unlocks Original Music Category
[The Required EXP Has Been Met!]
[Level Up!]
Listener: Lyrica Ley Rael
Lv. 28 -> 30
HP: 31%
MP: (25) 76 -> 80
dB Limit: 66 -> 80
[Statistics]
Strength: 40
Durability: 35
Agility: 40
Stamina: 21
Senses: 10
Available Points: 4 -> 10
[Playlist]
Playable Music:
- Jazz Harmony (Lv. Max)
- Heavy Metal (Lv. 2)
- Heavy Metal: Iron Maiden (Lv. 2)
- Heavy Metal: Hallowed Be Thy Name (Unplayable)
- Fierock (Lv. 2)
- Flintrock (Unplayable)
- Hip Hop (Lv. 2)
- Wind Drum (Unplayable)
Background Music:
- Elements of Music (Lv. 2)
-
-
Original Music:
- Unnamed Music
-
-
> Acquired EXP: 19,900
> Required EXP: 33,450