Dungeon (2)

The second floor of the dungeon looked similar to the first one; it was a big, crooked cave with walls full of glowing ores. Arias wandered around and examined the second floor of the dungeon fearlessly. It didn’t take long until he found the first beast.

“Hah...second floor and I still get a bestial rabbit? Don’t tell me they are the only beasts in this dungeon.”

Arias sighed in disappointment. He found the second floor a bit of a letdown. Shadow Demon Sword slashed the neck of the ill-fated bestial rabbit with preciseness, sending the beast to its death.

Arias cut open the beast and took out the core from its body before continuing forward. Beastcores were actually not the only valuable part of beasts. In fact, other parts also had some value, and meat from certain kinds of beasts could be eaten too. The higher the beast’s level, the higher the price of its core and body parts would be. However, the body of a low-level beast was not worth a lot, which was why Arias did not pay much attention to the bestial rabbits’ bodies. He only kept a few of them to cook while he was still in the dungeon.

“Is it just going to be low-level beasts on this floor? Then my magic power alone should be enough.”

After killing four more bestial rabbits, Arias started to think that it was too easy dealing with them using his Shadow Demon Sword, so much that it was making him bored.

Real training was pushing yourself past your own limits to reach the next level of strength. With Arias’ current level of power, he could beat a high-level acolyte easily. Even fighting against a low-level adept would not be that difficult. The power of the lightning inside his core of magic made Arias several times stronger than other mages on the same level. But nothing is gained without a loss. Aria's strength was achieved in exchange for the amount of nurturing resources that he spent, which was several times more than that of people of the same level. And this dungeon seemed like a good solution to Arias’ problem with resources.

Flashes of light scattered every so often along the path that Arias walked past, together with the pained cries of beasts as they were slaughtered by furious lightning. The sound of the lightning’s roar that reverberated inside the dungeon could be heard every so often, and dozens of low-level beasts’ bodies that had been left scorched by lightning’s attack could be found inside the dungeon.

Arias chose to fight with his magic power without relying on the Shadow Demon Sword, and it wasted quite a lot of his magic power. Though there were only low-level beasts to be found along the way, Arias did not lower his guard nor did he fight recklessly. The dungeon was a place full of beasts; it might even be more accurate to call it the land of beasts. In this land, a human like Arias would be counted as an intruder.

SQUEAK!

A bestial rabbit cried after being attacked by the lightning from Arias’ hand until its body was left scorched. Black smoke rose from the body before it dropped to the ground, lifeless.

“56 low-level beastcores, not bad. But using magic power to fight without relying on a weapon is so tiresome.”

Arias took his fifty-sixth beastcore out of the bestial rabbit’s body before wiping the sweat that had formed on his face as a result of his exhaustion from fighting. It had been more than a day that he had spent time fighting on the second floor. Though they were low-level beasts just like those on the first floor, Arias could sense that the beasts on the second floor were a little more aggressive and a tad stronger.

“So, there’s a gatekeeper on the second floor. Hope this will give me a bit of fun.”

In front of Arias were two doors just like what he found on the first floor. One was the way to the outside world, the other was the way to the dungeon’s third floor. But it seemed like there was a monster waiting to welcome those who wished to go through the doors on the second floor.

This creature seemed to be entirely different from other beasts on this floor of the dungeon. Its nose was sharp, long, and looked hideous. Its long ears stuck upward, and its skin was moss green. The creature stood with two legs exactly like how a human would, but its dwarfish body made it look more like a gnome. Its height was about two and a half feet. Its body was also hideous, scrawny but with a large, bulging stomach. One of its hands was holding a worn-out sword that looked not unlike an abandoned piece of weapon. The other hand was holding a bestial rabbit’s body which the creature was munching on like it was a delicious feast.

“Isn’t that a goblin? Why is it here all alone?”

As soon as Arias reached the distance that allowed him to see the strange creature clearly enough, his brows came together as his eyes narrowed, and stared at the creature, feeling uncertain. He looked around warily, not knowing if there were any other goblins hiding. But it seemed like the only thing that greeted him, aside from this creature that stood munching on a bestial rabbit, was emptiness.

Goblin was another kind of beast. They could be considered as a species that was a little different from other kinds of beasts. Goblins naturally lived together as a group rather than in isolation such as this one. It made Arias curious as to why this one was away from its group and all alone like this.

It looked like he did not have much time to ponder. As soon as it saw an intruder approaching, the goblin glared at Arias with bloodthirsty eyes, its disgusting tongue licking the lips that still had some of the bestial rabbit’s blood on them. When the goblin opened its mouth, Arias could clearly see the black fangs lining inside like a saw blade. The beast tossed the bestial rabbit’s body away without any care, seeming to have found its new target.

KEKEKE!

The beast’s laughter gave Arias goosebumps. But still, a mid-level beast was nothing scary for him. It charged at him with bloodlust.

The rusty brown sword made a wide swing aiming at Arias’ body but was only met with emptiness. Perplexed, the goblin turned right and left. Though it could use weapons and walk on two legs like a human, the beast still lacked intelligence. It foolishly swayed its sword at the spot where Arias used to be.

THUD!

A foot hit right at the beast’s torso, sending its body flying far away. The rusty sword that it was holding went flying in another direction. Its body violently crashed into a rock on the floor. The force of the kick and the impact when its body hit the rock left the beast winded.

As soon as it got up, the goblin growled with a voice so loud it echoed all over the area. It did not even care to pick up the sword but chose to immediately dart toward Arias for another attack.

The goblin bared its fang with a growl and charged toward Arias in anger. There was no other beast stronger than it on the second floor of this dungeon, and so it had lived here like a king. This was why being attacked like this made it so furious.

But it seemed like its attack could not do any harm to Arias. Suddenly, the goblin felt like there was a vice holding the back of its neck. Numbness was starting to spread all over its body before all its sensations faded away. It did not even have a chance to glance at the face of the God of Death, who had just taken its life away. The only thing it could do was cry out for a split second before it took its last breath.

Arias dropped the beast's body before proceeding to take out its beastcore. He walked over to examine the sword that had fallen down not too far away from the goblin before shaking his head in disappointment.

“Just a rusty sword. Not a surprise considering that it was a goblin’s.”

Arias tossed the sword back where it was without care. This sword was not even a magical weapon and was worth less than a normal weapon too. Taking it would be just a waste of his dimensional ring's space.

“Let’s see what kind of beasts on the next floor are. Hope it’s not the same old bestial rabbits this time.”

Arias opened the door and stepped into the next floor of the dungeon without any hesitation. There was only excitement and the thirst for battle in his heart.

SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

It was the same old sound he had become familiar with. Arias looked at the fluffy creature that had gathered together in front of him with mild disappointment. He was starting to get tired of fighting bestial rabbits. In fact, it was more like him killing them one-sidedly.

But once he looked carefully, he found that their eyes were not on him at all. Their bodies were like animals shaking in fear.

Arias heard the sound of footsteps like some kind of creature was walking in his direction. Not long after that, he started to see the shadow of the said creatures as they were gathering in front of him. These were the source of the bestial rabbits’ fear.

KEKEKE...KEKEKE!

Arias felt a bit strange hearing their laughter; it sounded so revolting. A moment later, three goblins appeared in front of him. They looked rather similar to the one Arias had just killed on the second floor, but the weapon that one of them was holding made a small difference. Actually, it was just a hardwood club with some dried blood left on it.

“Now, this is more like it.”

Arias let out a soft laugh. The smile Arias had on his face right now made the three goblins a bit taken aback. It was like the smile of a killer who was enjoying a slaughter rather than the smile of a sixteen-year-old boy. And soon after, the three goblins learned firsthand the meaning of that smile.