Eating a Shiny Green Rock

Oliver turned his head up, it was a blonde man, blue eyes, and a dead soul. Kwan was smiling approvingly and poured a crimson-colored fluid into her mouth. The color of the fluid transferred to Misumi's face. Her eyes fluttered open.

Oliver's let out a breath, tense face eased, "Thanks."

"No need, I did not expect that the dungeon would mutate to an F-rank." Kwan apologized, he handed a potion to the silver-haired youth, with a deeply remorseful expression.

Stark standing at the side felt his mouth twitch.

"If a dungeon can mutate then why did you leave?" Tony said unconvinced. This man always seems to have everything under his control. He was not stupid enough to believe that Kwan would make a mistake like this. But if he did not think that the man was trying to kill them. Torture them maybe, but not kill them.

"Dungeon mutations are always random, even I cannot predict them. I only left you all alone because I was confident that you all would be fine." Kwan said.

Tony's brows remained furrowed, "Okay, I understand."

"I will go and clear the remaining F-ranked goblins and you can continue your test," Kwan said, pushing off his knees. In a flash he disappeared, a deep footprint in the soft grass.

"Getting taken out by a goblin. You really are useless." Oliver returned to his normal self, seeing that Misumi was fine.

"Oh shut up, I did not know they had weapons." Misumi retorted, rolling her eyes. Both of their eyes are smiling contrary to their words.

"He lied." Stark couldn't bear it anymore. That man lied straight through his pearly white teeth.

Tony's ears perked up, "What do you mean?"

"Personal dungeons do not mutate randomly, they are skills and can be trained. They evolve the more creatures that die inside it."

"What do you mean?" Oliver's face turned serious. If that was true. He looked in the direction the man left. His fist clenched.

Feeling the converging eyes on him, Stark froze, "Uh...Personal dungeons are unlike other dungeons because they have a dungeon core that absorbs the corpses of the creatures inside it." He swallowed his saliva, feeling the pressure of their increasingly intense stares. "That is why the area is always clear of corpses after 24 hours. From that it grows more stable and denser with mana, allowing the existence of stronger monsters. But for some reason, it cannot evolve if there is a hunter that is of a higher rank than the dungeon." Stark explained, he pinched his throat. He did it. Words came out of his mouth and they made total sense. In front of so many people too. Maybe he should become a public speaker.

"He said that it evolved to an F-rank that means before, it was below F-rank. So normal hunters could not help evolve it since they would be a higher rank." Sky deduced.

"Agh!" Tony roared, punching the ground, "I knew it, that bastard really was a villain!" His eyes were fierce. Sky and Oliver carried similar expressions.

"How do you know this?" Misumi asked, her voice weak.

"My parents told me." Stark lied. He had little memory of his parents, which he still found odd. He was with them till he was 8. How could he forget them?

"Your parents must be really important to know a big secret like that," Gale said.

"Maybe."

"There has to be some way to get out of here," Tony said frustrated.

Sky shook her head, "He can probably kill us in one move, and was able to find us the moment one of us got injured."

Oliver looked at the wristband, "It is probably this."

"I don't think Mr.Kwan is a bad man, he still helps us and we get stronger by fighting," Gale said innocently.

"He is definitely a bad man, even if it is to help us. We are not even old enough to awaken yet. So why would a good person send us into a dungeon?" Tony fiercely rejected that idea, "If not a villain he is definitely emotionally challenged and should not be taking care of us."

Gale looked unconvinced but nodded, "Yeah."

Stark's eyes sharpened looking at Gale, this kid will be a problem in the future. If all of them end up getting brainwashed by Kwan he will have serious trouble escaping. He looked towards the cave and resolve grew in his chest. Standing around here will definitely lead to his eventual death if these monsters keep getting stronger. Unlike them, he does not have any interest in fighting. Right now the dungeon is low ranked and recently mutated, this is the only chance he will get. Stark silently walked off.

"Where are you going?" Oliver asked.

Stark stiffened. "To walk around," he replied thoughtlessly.

"Okay, when will you come back?"

Stark raised his brow. Did it matter to them? After a momentary thought, "2 hours." It should take 2 hours for him to collapse the dungeon. Whether he will be back or not, there was no need to say.

"We will meet here in 2 hours then," Tony said.

Stark approached the cave, swiftly grabbing the cores he found along the way and put them into his mouth. Seeing the deep and widely spread footprints leaving the cave, he deduced that Kwan was probably already finished. Maybe around C or B rank, Stark guessed.

[You have gained, Goblin's Bad Breath: Your breath is worse like a goblin's]

[You have gained, Goblin Stink: You now carry some of a goblin's particular odor]

[You have gained, Short Stature: Goblins are short, you are slightly shorter]

[You have gained, Drooling: Goblins have a hard time controlling their drooling, you have a harder time restraining drool]

Stark's mouth twitched. This is seriously some bad luck. But what else did he expect from a notoriously disgusting monster?

[You have gained, Pointed Goblin Ears: Goblins have pointy ears, your ears are pointed]

Not even the hearing benefits of a goblin, just the pointed ears? Maybe it could make him look better, but not when his teeth are crooked and he stinks like a goblin. He formed his resolve, just keep eating and he will get stronger. Eventually. Maybe. If he does not look at his reflection he will be fine.

Stark reached deep into the cave, the corpses of 20 unusually large goblins were near a smooth orb, radiating a cold green light. His eyes lit up. They were probably E-rank. Maybe he would get something good and there was a dungeon core. He reached into the premade holes in their heads and on the 20th one. Silence. Disappointed, his attention shifted to the crystal, he reached out his hand to touch it. He winced in pain, quickly retracting his hand. So there was some kind of defense mechanism on these cores. It made sense otherwise owners of personal dungeons would be too scared to let anyone they did not trust enter it.

Does the tongue count as digestion? If his biology class taught him anything, digestion starters at the mouth. Stark bravely reached out tongue. He paused a few millimeters away from it, his head trembling slightly. He closed his eyes and quickly poked the crystal with his tongue. Nothing. He exhaled in relief. A pink tongue stretched out and slowly wrapped around the translucent green pearl and swallowed it. The cave went dark. A sharp pain pierced his stomach. Blood forced its way out of his mouth. He coughed violently.

[You have gained, Goblin Deepset Eyes: Your eyes are deeper in your skull

[You have gained, Sharp Goblin Nails: Your nails are sharper like a goblin]

[You have gained, Goblin's Knees: Knees are slightly more flexible]

[You have gained Goblins Wide Eyes: Goblins have wide eyes that can detect motion but are nearsighted.]

[You have gained, Baby Fingertip Regeneration: Human babies are able to regrow fingertips]

[You have gained, Goblin's Flexible Pinky: Pinky Finger is more flexible]

[You have gained, Child's Sensitive Eyes: Human children have extra sensitive eyes, your eyes did not change]

Stark Nelson 12, Class: None

Species: Human?

Strength: 7 Vitality: 6

Mind: 45 Sense: 4

Agility: 9

Mana: 900

Skills:

Divine Digestion (Passive): Can consume anything without adverse effects

Spirit Bond (Passive): Strengthens spiritual connections