Chapter-7

Theron was doing his practice with the wooden sword. It was not a quest but during these days that he trained the sword, his proficiency had increased from 100 to 932. It was close to getting to level 2. He continued to practice but he could feel that he was almost hitting a bottleneck.

"Your foot positioning is good,"

"But you might want to widen your stance just a bit, especially when executing strikes to maintain better balance and stability. It will give you more control over your movements."

Hearing the voice he recognized it this time and followed the guide the person gave and under it and continued training,

[Swordsmanship has leveled up]

He could hear a slight rustle in the bushes behind and looked back to see a figure under the dark.

The figure stepped into the light to reveal that it was Seraphina.

"Thank you for your guidance"

He was very grateful for her teaching him but what he wanted to know was how she found him. As he was about to ask, it was interrupted by the arrival of another person.

"Sephi, what are you doing"

"We need to go" He didn't have a chance to ask before she dragged her away.

'Isn't that Elysia Stormshade'

 __ __ __

He has been focusing on making himself stronger that he had been neglecting on thinking how to get closer to these heroines. Getting stronger was indeed addictive. It seemed that he had been getting favorability points from Seraphine these days without him doing anything and her affection had also risen.

[Name: Theron Silvercrest

Cultivation: N/A

Body Refining: Copper Attainment-Initial rank

Mana Core Talent: N/A

Martial Bone Talent: Gold]

After his martial bone had awakened, this was what he saw on his status board.

==============

Affection Board:

1. Seraphina Veridale

 Favorability: 0.13%

 Emotion: Curiosity, Respect

2. Elysia Stormshade

 Favorability: 0.06%

 Emotion: Curiosity, Rivalry, Respect

==============

'Hmm'

'Oh, I got an idea'

'But I will need to wait till the exam scores come out a week later'

He had gotten a week of holidays and he would make use of it.

 __ __ __

(The next day)

Theron, dressed in practical yet comfortable attire of jeans and a jacket. He had already told the maid that he would go out and it might take a few days and he told a visit to his grandfather as the reason.

He took a taxi to the outskirts a bit and at a spot inside the forest near the highway, he took out a key from his space ring. It was the rift key. With uncertainty about how to activate it, he held the key in his hand, and it began to shake on its own. The key levitated, creating a door in the air. The key, seemingly with a mind of its own, went inside, and with a "Click", the door opened. 

He went near the door and opened it. He couldn't see the other end as it was so bright. Theron stepped through, finding himself on the other side in a forest that seemed both familiar and different. He looked back to see that the door had started to disappear. He didn't panic as if it was a way in there should be a way out that would be given.

He started to look around to see that there was a cave near the place he appeared. He started to get close to it and then

[Quest: Kill the dungeon guardian]

Theron looked surprised as he saw the message.

"A dungeon"

A dungeon was a place where there are traps and monsters. It was a dangerous place.

"The guardian, I wonder which grade dungeon it is" 

"It might be a hard fight"

He went to explore as he started to map the caving system on a piece of paper. As he was walking, he heard a click and he moved back quickly to see that there was an arrow which moved past the position he was before and struck to the wall. He started to be try to see the difference at the floor and he saw a bit of difference at the position where he stepped before.

He started to move past the place and didn't forget to keep an eye out for these traps. Managing to avoid two more concealed arrow traps, he eventually entered a vast cave system adorned with stalactites hanging from the ceiling and crystals illuminating the surroundings. Seizing the opportunity, he went to grab some of them and put them in his space ring. His space ring allowed 4 cubic meters of space which still had a lot of space.

As he was going to stand up, faint noises echoed from the east. Theron quickly hid behind a rock observing as a figure came into view. The figure came into his vision and it was a green creature which was carrying a club and had a hideous face. The only clothes it had were to cover his private region. It was a

'Goblin'

Theron took out his iron sword from his space ring and hid behind moving around the rock as the goblin started to go and started to silently get behind it and then struck it. A head was severed and blood started to flow out from the corpse.

Theron looked at the severed head and the blood which started to flow from the decapitated body and his face looked ashen as he had taken his first life. Though it was just a creature, it was his first time killing a living being. He wanted to throw up but he held it in and breathed out. It would be the first and would not be the last. The goblin disappeared into ashes after a few more seconds and some copper coins, a few teeth, a club, a bone and a core was left at the spot. He just stood there remembering that this was a setting inside the dungeons of this world.

He collected them and moved forwards. He killed two more goblins and as he moved forward, he saw a goblin which was in an open area. Since he couldn't kill it hidden, he would need to fight it.

Theron swiftly closed the distance between himself and the goblin. The goblin, noticing the approaching threat, gripped its club tightly and charged at him. As they clashed, Theron was able to see the difference in physical abilities as he was able to skillfully dodge all of the goblins attacks as well as being physically stronger than the goblin and he was able to disarm the goblin. The club of the goblin went flying through the air, landing a few feet away.

The goblin tried to see where his club went but the moment it looked back was the moment it lost its life. After it turned to ash, the club turned to ash as well and the club appeared as a drop.

After killing the goblin, Theron continued and saw that there was a group of goblins roasting something on a fire. He couldn't see clearly due to the distance but once he got a bit closer, he could see what they were roasting and almost threw up again. It was a gruesome sight of the goblins roasting human remains. His heart started to calm down. He didn't know why he was able to recover so quickly from these but it was rather of a benefit for him right now.