Flexing

"It's a pretty hard one. Maybe medium difficulty actually." Mike said while staring at the message in front of him.

"We'll have an advantage at least. Also, there is no Boss Monster in this one."

"True. The monsters here don't act in groups, but they're stronger than in other Dungeons of the same Rank." Mike said while looking at his Stats.

The first [E] Rank Dungeon the two decided to enter was The Lonely Ones' Pit. A Dungeon where monsters acted alone, sometimes even fought each other.

"I'll put my Unused Stat Points into Strength. Anyways, it'll be two-on-one fights. We should be okay. It's a straight path too, so we can't really be taken by surprise." Mike added as he took a step forward.

His Strength Stat was now at 35. It was Mike's highest Stat.

Luke followed him.

[You have entered the Dungeon as a Party.]

[Rewards will be divided based on contribution.]

"You got weapons and armor?" Mike asked as he selected an Item on the digital screen in front of him.

A vest made of leather was now protecting his upper body.

"Yeah." Luke answered as his Water Blessed Sword appeared in his right hand.

Mike stopped walking a couple of steps later.

The tunnel was dark even though it was lit by torches that were on the walls.

"I can sense the first monster. It's about twenty steps ahead." He said.

'He can sense them... That's one of the things a high Mana Stat allows. Oh, we didn't ask...' Luke thought.

"Clear requirements?" He asked.

"Right. Completely forgot, haha." Mike said while chuckling.

[ Dungeon: The Lonely Ones' Pit.

Rank: [E]

Challenger(s): Party of two.

Minimal Clear Requirement: Defeat all the monsters inside the tunnel.

Minimal Individual Reward: 30 Gold Coins+ 300 Experience Points.

]

'The minimal reward is extremely low, but that makes sense since one of us could just sit back and do nothing while the other does all the work. If the contribution and clear rank are high, the sky is the limit when it comes to the rewards though. Of course, this is just an [E] Rank Dungeon but...' Luke thought.

Suddenly, Mike started jumping up and down.

The sound from his feet hitting the ground caught the monster's attention.

As it got closer to the two, it could be seen.

"A Hobgoblin, huh? You've beaten one of those, right? This one is mine." Mike said, visibly confident he could beat the monster.

"You want to-"

Luke was interrupted as Mike ran towards the Hobgoblin without paying him any mind.

The monster responded by doing the same.

Once the distant was closed, the Hobgoblin pulled its arm back ready to throw a heavy punch.

'Dodge.' Luke thought as he looked at Mike's back.

But instead, Mike responded by throwing a punch of his own.

Remembering the time he had done the same, Luke was about to run towards Mike.

But he stopped.

A punch to the stomach connected a second later.

The Hobgoblin coughed up blood as it stepped back.

'His Strength Stat shouldn't be high enough to...'

A purple aura engulfed Mike's left leg which he raised to sweep the Hobgoblin off the ground.

As the monster tried to stand back up, a fist engulfed in a purple aura hit its chin.

'Mana Manipulation... So cool...' Luke thought while staring at the purple energy.

By using the Mana inside his body to envelop a certain body part, Mike could raise his offensive or defensive power.

The fight ended seconds later.

Mike turned back towards Luke and flexed his biceps while chuckling.

Luke walked past him and went deeper inside the tunnel.

'The monsters near the entry should be [E-] Rank Monsters. The furthest ones will be [E+] Rank. Maybe even [D-]. As long as we team up against the latter, this won't be hard.'

After taking a couple of steps, two monsters growling could be heard.

"They're fighting?" Mike whispered.

In front of them were one Hobgoblin and a monster that resembled a wolf.

It resembled a wolf, but it was just a bit smaller than a tiger.

[Black Wolf Alpha: [E-] Rank Monster.]

The left part of the wolf's skull was broken.

The Hobgoblin was bloody. Scratches and traces of sharp fangs were everywhere on its body.

As the two were heavily wounded, they had stopped fighting.

They were growling while staring at each other, trying to intimidate the other.

But neither was budging.

"Lucky..." Luke whispered as he ran towards the monsters.

'What?' Mike was surprised at Luke's speed.

His surprise was about the same as Luke's.

'How am I this fast?'

He was standing at the monsters' side.

The two turned towards him at the same time.

In a controlled and swift motion, Luke swung his sword at the Hobgoblin's neck.

Its head fell tot he ground.

[ You have defeated one Hobgoblin.]

[ You have gained 50 Gold coins and 100 Experience Points.]

[ You have obtained a piece of Hobgoblin Skin.]

The wolf jumped towards Luke's neck.

It was much more agile than the Hobgoblin, therefore, faster.

Luke couldn't dodge.

Instead, he gave it his left forearm.

As the sharp fangs entered his skin, Luke's sword pierced the wolf's stomach.

[ You have defeated one Black Wolf Alpha.]

[ You have gained 40 Gold coins and 80 Experience Points.]

[ You have obtained two Black Wolf Fangs.]

Just when Luke was about to turn back and flex his biceps, Mike grabbed his arm. A worrisome expression on his face.

"Is the wound deep? Drink a Healing Potion. Here, take it. Maybe we should head back-"

Luke pulled his arm back and stepped away.

"Relax, I'm fine." He said while showing the wound.

Seconds later, it started healing.

After less than a minute, only a scar was left.

"What the hell?"