Dungeon and Leveling up (1)
Ink woke up early the next morning.
Opening the window, The air was cool and crisp
He dressed quickly, strapped on his belt, and left his apartment, making his way toward Hugnelts Middle School.
Today, the Novice Mission would begin.
There's still an hour left.
And the dungeon portal was located right at the school grounds.
When he arrived, he saw a large crowd of students gathered near the portal.
It was an oval-shaped gate of swirling blue energy, large enough for multiple people to pass through at once.
As expected, almost everyone was in groups.
The maximum number of members for a Normal-Difficulty Dungeon was five, and most students had formed their teams in advance.
Anya's team had the best awakened.
However, one person stood out.
Rose Bligh.
She was standing alone, her bow strapped to her back, looking completely unbothered by the chaos around her.
Ink raised an eyebrow.
"She's going solo?"
He hadn't expected that.
Most students didn't want to risk entering alone, they wanted teammates for safety.
Ink shrugged. Not his problem**.**
He stepped forward.
Immediately, a few groups called out to him**.**
"Hey, Ink! Want to team up?"
"We could use a strong melee fighter!"
Ink shook his head.
"I appreciate it, but I'll be going solo."
There was a brief silence.
"Solo? Are you serious?"
"That's dangerous…"
"That might be the confidence of a hidden profession…"
At that moment, Principal Edwards stepped forward, his voice commanding attention.
The crowd fell silent as he addressed the students.
"This will be your first true combat experience. Do not take it lightly."
"…."
"There it goes…", Ink covered his ears.
After what felt like forever, the moment finally arrived.
"Enter!"
With those words, the students began stepping into the portal, disappearing one after another.
Ink watched as Rose was among the first to go.
"She really is going solo."
He smirked and took a step forward.
His vision blurred as he passed through the portal.
When his sight cleared, Ink found himself inside the dungeon**.**
The atmosphere was completely different from the outside world.
The air was damp, carrying the stench of rot and filth.
The dungeon itself was a cavern system, the walls rough and uneven, covered in moss that glowed faintly with a dim green light.
The ground was muddy, littered with bones, broken weapons, and crude wooden spears.
Far ahead, he could hear low growls and chattering voices.
Ink narrowed his eyes.
Goblins.
This was a Goblin Den Dungeon.
The perfect place for newly awakened students to hunt and gain experience.
Goblins were weak monsters, standing at about three to four feet tall.
They had greenish-gray skin, sharp ears, and ugly, twisted faces.
Despite being weak individually, they were dangerous in groups.
They used crude weapons—daggers, wooden clubs, and rusty swords.
Ink's eyes scanned the dimly lit cavern, his grip tightening around his sword.
The first goblins came into view.
He Scanned their stats:
[Goblin: Level 1]
[Vitality: 5]
[Strength: 5]
[Agility: 5]
Same level and stats for all of them, a bit too low.
The goblins hadn't noticed him yet, they were gathered around a pile of scraps.
A perfect chance to strike first.
Ink lowered his stance and dashed forward, his movements silent yet fast.
One of the goblins turned its head, its yellow eyes widening in alarm.
Too late.
Ink's sword cut through the air, and,
[Dusk Crescent Slash.]
A crescent-shaped wave of dark green energy burst from his blade, tearing forward.
The first goblin had no time to react
SLASH!
It was bisected instantly, its body collapsing to the ground with a dull thud.
[Kill Level 1 Goblin. Experience +20]
Ink's eyes flickered as the system message appeared before him.
"20 EXP per kill, huh? Not bad."
The other goblins snapped their heads toward him, their small eyes burning with rage and fear.
"Kreeeek!" One screeched, raising a rusty dagger.
Three others followed suit, grabbing their clubs and crude weapons before charging at him.
Ink didn't hesitate.
He stepped forward.
His blade whirled, parrying the first goblin's attack, sending the creature stumbling back.
The second goblin swung its wooden club, but—
Ink ducked.
With a sharp counterattack—
"HAAA!"
He slammed his sword down, splitting the goblin's head clean in half.
[Kill Level 1 Goblin. Experience +20]
[Kill Level 1 Goblin. Experience +20]
The remaining two hesitated, fear creeping into their expressions.
But Ink wasn't about to let them escape.
[Death Coil.]
A twisting coil of necrotic energy erupted from his hand, shooting forward like a spear of dark light.
The magic pierced through the first goblin's chest—before twisting and hitting the second one behind it.
BAM!
Both collapsed, their bodies crumbling into lifeless heaps.
[Kill Level 1 Goblin. Experience +20]
[Kill Level 1 Goblin. Experience +20]
Ink exhaled, lowering his sword.
The first battle was over in seconds.
But his body felt no exhaustion.
"Revenant's Stamina is really something… I barely used any energy."
And he didn't feel any loss of the necrotic energy.
Ink glanced at his EXP bar.
After four kills, he had gained 80 experience points.
[Level:] 1 (90%)
Almost there.
He wiped the green blood off his blade and pressed deeper into the goblin-infested cavern.
Ahead, the cave branched into multiple paths, some leading deeper into darkness, others glowing faintly with torchlight.