(33) Level 20

'Til said that he estimated around three hundred Goblins, there's no way I would miss out on this chance. It may even be possible to upgrade the Dungeon twice! Also, all of the Goblins are Level 10 or higher, so there's almost a 33% chance of Skill Cards dropping.'

Bruce had already jogged off to gather the rest of the men in the camp. Geth turned to Alex, "So what am I calling you now?"

"Filthy is fine." He replied. "I probably would have gone with something else if I'd have known"

"Yeah, most people feel the same. So, what's the situation here, how are everyone's levels?" Geth asked.

"It honestly doesn't look good, most here are Level 8 or 9 outside of a few. The men you met on the way in are all Level 12 or 13, Bruce and I are 15."

"Well you two should be fine, most of the men will likely die." Geth just shrugged.

He'd already Leveled up multiple times on his way there and was just shy of 20. He might use a few cores to gain the last couple hundred experience he needed. It would be nice to gain a Talent before such a large battle.

There was a chance he could take on the army almost on his own, he knew the swordsmen and Assassins could barely scratch him, especially if he kept up Restoration. He was a bit concerned about the mages though, he'd not gotten the chance to test his magic resistance yet.

There was one other thing that bothered him, they were waiting for something. 'If there's some kind of boss creature leading them, I'll definitely need to test the waters before charging in.'

Filthy then asked him, "What about you, how do you think you'll fair?" He glanced at the staff as he said this, along with a quick look at the rest of his equipment. It was obvious that he was impressed.

"Oh, I'll manage" He smiled a bit, not sure whether it would be a good or bad thing to tell him that he was the highest Level in the world at the moment.

"Once this is over, I need to take you and a couple of others to a few locations. We need to grind up and get everyone Skills and proper equipment."

They made it to where the guys had been hiding under tree leaves. The men were all extremely tense, waiting for the creatures in the forest to make a move.

The guys seemed relieved when the two of them showed up, it was apparent that Filthy had a high status among them. A few minutes later, the rest of the men showed up, with Bruce in the lead.

Only 30 of the 50 or so men had actually come. Some had started gathering the women and children, while some had turned tail and ran. Geth spat at the ground, 'What cowardice.'

He didn't want those types of people around, it was one of the reasons he was being so picky. As he started to get lost in his thoughts, a loud squeal sounded from the woodline. It sounded rough, almost as if someone was screaming after swallowing nails.

Most of the men started shuffling back and forth on their feet, their nerves starting to kick in. Shortly after the squealing stopped, a loud thumping noise could be heard, followed by the ground shaking lightly.

The thumping became heavier and the vibrating more profound. In moments, six massive Goblins lumbered out of the woods. They were all carrying large clubs and were standing almost 9 feet tall!

Another ten of the men turned and fled instantly, leaving only the five from the front line, Filthy, Bruce, and fifteen of the guys who hadn't reached Level 10. Geth glanced at them they were scared but staying, he would make sure that they received some reward after this.

Quietly and imperceptibly, he crushed a few cores between his fingers. A prompt suddenly shone on Albus' pages. "Well, this is what I was waiting for." Geth smiled as his blood began to boil.

Geth read the words that were brought up before him.

***

Option 1: Thick Skin- User has an aptitude for taking damage with a grain of salt. Grants 1% extra physical resistance.

Option 2: Mana Skin- User has an aptitude for ignoring magical effects. Grants 1% extra magic resistance.

***

'Well, I've been putting it off since the beginning, I'll go ahead and take Thick Skin.' He thought to Albus. As he did, a single page grew in the Talent section.

His skin took on a small change, feeling a bit rougher, but it was hard to notice. It was kind of like his skin had suddenly become calloused, but it swiftly healed over.

After receiving the SP for reaching a major Level, he now had 3. With the upcoming battle, he upgraded his Corruption Aura to both increase its range and damage per tick.

Then he threw all of his Attribute Points that he hadn't added between Defense and Wisdom. Of course, he wouldn't do any different.

He was now sitting at a total of 60 Defense and 53 Wisdom. This was including equipment bonuses. His HP had soared to 900 and his MP reservoir was strong with 490.

This time he would actually be able to go all out and properly test the extent of his defensive Attributes. Looking at the numbers and Levels of the enemies, he could probably even reach the next major Level.

'The enemies should be acting soon.' He thought as he observed from afar. There was still a 30-yard gap between them, which would soon turn into a bloodied arena.

Something odd that he noticed was that they kept glancing around. Even the big guys seemed a bit on edge, he couldn't quite tell their Level from this distance but they had to be 20 or higher.

'What could possibly make them worry in an area that's filled with beginner mobs?' He glanced around cautiously as well. Scoping out the Mana with Inspection didn't reveal anything unnatural.