The First Hunt

Should I assign those Unused Stat Points now?'

Luke looked at his Stats.

'Strength is important. I was lacking in it against that dragon, but I couldn't dodge properly either due to my low Agility. Mana is pretty good too since it'll give me the ability to develop Magic Skills at one point...'

Luke raised his head towards the sky.

'Larry said I should focus on my strengths, huh?'

He ended up assigning 5 points to Vigor, 3 to Endurance, 4 to Agility and the rest to Strength.

[ Stats: Vigor: 37

Endurance: 27

Strength: 23

Agility: 28

Mana: 7

Unused Stat Points: 0.

]

'As long as I don't get killed in one shot, I'll be able to continue fighting...'

Something clicked inside Luke's head.

"As long as I don't die... I'll always get back up..." He whispered to himself.

The next instant, a wooden arrow grazed his thigh.

The pain did not faze him, but it woke him up.

In front of him, two yellow eyes were staring at him.

A Goblin was hiding in the middle of a bush.

As soon as their gazes met, the little monster tried to run away.

A second later, Luke grabbed the monster's skull with his right hand and slammed it on the ground.

[ You have defeated one Goblin.]

[ You have gained 1 Gold coin and 5 Experience Points.]

[ You have obtained one Piece Of Cloth.]

Luke raised both his arms up.

'Already? I guess I'm stronger than I thought I was...' He thought while pulling the arrow out of his thigh.

Luke walked deeper into the forest.

...

Goblins were one of the weakest monsters in the world. Their strength was comparable to that of a 10-year-old human.

Their Stat Average is 5.

Goblins always were the first prey of new Hunters.

Still, those little monsters kill more new Hunters every year than any other monster.

And there was one reason for that.

That reason stood in front of Luke.

A group of Goblins was staring at him.

Two of them at the back had arrows and wooden bows while three at the front had rusty knives.

'Goblins are one of the few Monster Species to prioritize the group over the individual... Right?' Luke thought while looking at the archers.

The three armed Goblins ran towards him while swinging their knives.

At the same time, two arrows were fired at him.

Luke easily dodged the arrows by moving his body sideways.

He lifted both his clenched fists in front of his face.

'Slowly... and calmly...' Luke thought as he took a step forward.

The closest Goblin jumped up towards him.

Luke lowered his right arm and raised his left leg to kick the monster with all his strength.

The Goblin let go of its weapon as it was launched away.

The other two Goblins jumped towards him at the same time.

Luke grabbed them by their arms and slammed them on the ground twice.

[ You have defeated one Goblin.]

[ You have gained 1 Gold coin and 5 Experience Points.]

[ You have obtained one Piece Of Cloth.]

[ You have defeated one Goblin.]

[ You have gained 1 Gold coin and 5 Experience Points.]

[ You have obtained one Rusty Knife.]

Two arrows landed on his right shoulder.

Luke sprinted towards the archers and dealt with them easily.

[ You have defeated one Goblin.]

[ You have gained 1 Gold coin and 5 Experience Points.]

[ You have defeated one Goblin.]

[ You have gained 1 Gold coin and 5 Experience Points.]

'These injuries might have been annoying if I didn't have my Unique Skill...' Luke thought while pulling the arrows off his shoulder.

The wounds started healing rapidly.

"What are the requirements for clearing this Dungeon?" Luke asked while finishing the unmoving Goblin he had kicked aside.

It was a question he was supposed to ask the System right upon entering the Dungeon.

[ Dungeon: Forest Of Goblins.

Rank: [F]

Minimal Clear Requirement: Defeat 15 Goblins.

Minimal Reward: 50 Gold Coins+ 150 Experience Points.

]

A smile appeared on Luke's face as he stretched his healed shoulder.

'250 Dollars minimum, huh?'

Luke ran forward, looking for more monsters to defeat.

...

Three hours later, Luke had defeated more than 60 Goblins.

'The more Goblins I defeat, the better the rewards will be! I just need to be cautious...'

In front of him stood a lone Goblin armed with a broken spear and a wooden shield.

The little monster courageously extended its weapon towards Luke.

The latter turned his body sideways and gave a devastating punch that went through the wooden shield and landed on the Goblin's face.

Luke finished the monster a second later.

[ You have defeated one Goblin.]

[ You have gained 1 Gold coin and 5 Experience Points.]

[ You have obtained one Wooden Shield.]

'Aaand that's 70 Goblins. Four times the Minimal Clear Requirement is usually good enough to get an [A] Rank Clear.'

Just as Luke was about to head back to the entrance, a loud and ferocious growl came from behind him.

Luke's whole body shook as he turned towards the monster.

It was taller than he was, but also much more muscular.

It had green skin, just like the Goblins.

The difference was that this monster's skin was of a much deeper green.

Its skin also looked tougher, resembling scales at certain locations.

"That's a..." Luke muttered.

It was an evolved form of those small weak Goblins.

[ Hobgoblin. [E-] Rank Monster.]

A smile appeared on Luke's face.

'Maybe I'll get more than an [A] Rank Clear...'

The Hobgoblin clenched its right fist and threw a punch in Luke's direction.

The latter answered by doing the same.

Using all his strength, Luke punched with his left fist.

As the two fists collided, Luke's fingers were broken.

[You have lost 80 Health Points.]

The shock was so strong that his left shoulder joint was dislocated.

'What the...'

His thoughts were interrupted as another hit landed on his stomach.

[You have lost 120 Health Points.]

Luke was launched away.

He rolled on the ground before getting back up.

While Luke was injured and coughed up blood, his smile was still there.

'Fighting a Hobgoblin with bare hands... Who did I think I was?'

Luke chuckled weakly.

'This guy is pretty strong... But he's weaker... His punches are weaker... Way weaker than Larry's!'

The Hobgoblin sprinted towards Luke, ready to finish its prey with another hit.

It pulled its arm back, ready to throw another punch, when a weapon appeared in Luke's right hand.

His Water Blessed Sword penetrated the Hobgoblin's chest.

The monster jumped back and massive amounts of green blood poured out of the wound.

Still, the Hobgoblin did not give its back to the enemy as that would mean taking on the role of the prey.

It decided to try attacking again.

This time, Luke reacted much faster.

The monster's green arm was severed.

A few seconds later, the Hobgoblin fell to the ground.

[ You have defeated one Hobgoblin.]

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

"Alright. Let's leave." The young Hunter said outloud.