Chapter 184 - Vol. 3 - Chapter 49

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「Lv.108 Goblin

Monster Type, Dark Type

Health: 14,650/14,650 (100%) 」

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「Lv.118 Goblin Champion (Elite)

Monster Type, Dark Type

Health: 35,650/35,650 (100%) 」

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「Lv.125 Goblin Enslavers (Elite)

Monster Type, Dark Type

Health: 25,650/25,650 (100%) 」

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The party being already familiarized with the way of fighting against the goblins, it didn't take long for a Slaughter Festival to be staged in this underground chamber, especially with the goblins who were like glass cannons, boasting a decent attack power, but weak defenses.

Only the Goblin Champion who gave the impression of being a Tank in the entire assembly of goblins managed to stay alive for longer, only to suffer the psychological pain of seeing their comrades being squashed, and turned into blood paste.

This dimly lighted chamber started being painted with the blood and brain matter of the goblins, which made Egeira's blood run hotter seeing how the hateful goblins that destroyed his home, those who killed his friends, family, and elders were now only bugs against those powerful humans.

Not staying idle while Mathias and his people were fighting the goblins, Egeira rushed toward the enslaved gnomes who stopped from their forced labor, dropping on the ground their mining tools, watching at the unfolding chaos which was in their favour.

"You … Egeira, you managed to stay alive even after blowing up the tunnels." asked a gnome looking to be in his mid-age, with a dirty body and black hair covering him, sprouting from all directions of his body.

"Hackett, I managed to hide in the Upper-Level Workshop with some of the unfortunate who couldn't rush back to Koroshesh's Heart. We managed to survive for one month, and now we have a Human Lord who wants to exterminate the goblins and rescue us."

All of the gnomes focused on the young gnome who took some sharp tools which he used to release the chains tying the gnome slaves, even though it wasn't the key. Egeira was building a primitive key on the run, and as he began working on releasing the gnomes, the sound of the goblins being killed echoed in the entire chamber.

The gnomes were taken aback, when watching the tall human, who from their perspective was a giant, standing at 1,85 meters fighting head to head with the Goblin Enslavers and Goblin Champions, without backing off, constantly giving off orders to the people fighting along with himself.

"So strong."

"Right? I have the feeling Lord Octavian, the Human Lord, is someone important from the surface world." commented Egeira, after listening to the awed remarks of his people who slowly got released from the chains.

Yet, it wasn't smooth sailing for him, because the Goblin Enslaver noticed Egeira trying to release the captured gnomes, and gave off the alarm to kill him.

"Young Egeira, watch out." warned the older gnome, who watched 4 Goblins rush toward him with daggers in hand.

"Don't worry, old Hackett. I am no longer the same boy, constantly following the coattails of Elder Goodspark. This war against the Goblins made me strong."

Saying that, with a click from the lock which secured the chains on the older gnome, the blonde short person took from the ground a black metal pipe, and with surprising agility he charged at the goblins and attacked first swinging the pipe toward the heads of the green monsters.

--2430 (Crit Hit)

Mathias, who heard the commotion going on over the gnome's side, prepared three Arcane Missiles that could come in support for Egeira, but when he noticed the damage done by this gnome only from a swing attack, he started humming impressed.

'Being level 160 sure brings you a lot of advantages against low-level mobs.'

Nonetheless, his prepared Arcane Missiles were released straight for the goblins that were sent flying by Egeira who stood his ground.

-- 2185

-- 2185

-- 4371 (Crit Hit)

"Ahh, Lord! Don't get distracted over my troubles." said Egeira who didn't expect that even in the rush of the battle Mathias was observant of him who wasn't participating in the battle.

"Focus on getting your people from the chains, and leave the fight to us."

Hearing Mathias who was shining with an imposing dark-purple light, saw him move with an intense speed appearing before a Goblin Champion attacking with a series of spear techniques.

Everyone in the party was doing heavy damage to the monsters, even the Priest, Eric, who was casting the basic magic spells that he learned from Rebecca's Church started contributing to the fight. While on another part of the chamber, Sera could see the improvements she was gaining from this intense fight, hunting down the normal Goblins without even breaking a sweat, now that she was level 94, the level difference between herself and the goblins was balancing out.

She felt great satisfaction whenever she would slash the throat of some goblin and do an instant kill. She was growing stronger by the minute and her swordsmanship was morphing itself to fit the needs of the combat against the Goblins.

'This is far better than when I first started this dungeon. Now I can even close my eyes, and dodge the attacks of the goblins.'

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The Knights weren't going easy at all, unleashing their pent-up anger against the goblins, not showing any mercy on those green vermin as they killed them like infesting bugs, without any sense of remorse.

The slaughter continued, until from nowhere, a smaller goblin screamed from the top of his lungs, stopping the charging goblins from killing themselves.

Mathias couldn't understand a single word the goblin was saying, but still took advantage of the goblin he was facing in order to blow his heart using Arcane Blast.

*RGWWWWTH!*

With another scream from the same goblin, all the monsters in the chamber went on the retreat, and when this happened, Mathias started using his Levitating Spell on Ragnius, even tying a chain made from Arcane Energy to send himself flying in the center of the retreating goblins.

"Where are you running, you verms? Do you have enough intelligence to do a retreat? That's not what I want."

"What I want …

Is to kill all of you."

'Ghost Spear - Mars'

Swinging the spear into a wide radius, slashing all the monsters in his way, and what surprised Egeira who watched this show of strength was how most of the goblins who got attacked by the spear technique, were pulled closer to Mathias, entering into his melee range.

*SHRIEK*

"Sera, Trian, Ellyron, some of the bugs managed to get away from my pulling technique. Take care of them."

The goblins entered into a confused state initially but noticing that they arrived in front of the biggest enemy that sent a chill down their spines, they started charging to stab him with their knives, daggers, shattered swords and various sharp weapons, in an attempt to end this fight with a win for the Goblins.

"Ohh, really? How bold." chuckled Mathias in a sinister way, with his crimson eyes giving off rays of dark light, while his body was brimming with dark-purple light, as if in preparation for something big.

"This is an improved version of one spell dear to me. I hope you enjoy it, you vermin."

Saying that, the pressure around the room increased so much that rocks started shaking around, and before the goblins managed to get past the Arcane Barrier, a calm yet cold voice resounded in the entire chamber.

"Arcane Explosion."

[Critical!]

--10205!

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[You have killed a Goblin of the Gravelmark Mountain]

[You have killed a Goblin of the Gravelmark Mountain]

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Notifications started stirring up again after Mathias casted successfully an Arcane Explosion which drained him of 2500 MP he spent to empower it, taking the damage to the next level, killing and blasting in all sort of direction the goblins, regardless of their size around the Mining Chamber.

"Ahh, the green monsters!" screamed a gnome who saw some of the goblin champions being sent flying in their direction, which caused Mathias to sigh, thinking to himself.

'Fighting solo is always the best feeling. I don't have to worry about the lives of others, instead I can focus all my energy on the fight.'

"No worries people. You got me here." called out Egeira who once again swung his dark pipe at the goblins flying in their direction, acting like a professional baseball player.

-- 1289

-- 1090

-- 1450

Egeira was swinging toward all the goblins that were sent flying in the gnome's direction.

In doing so, he excused Mathias from doing some extra work of looking after the enslaved gnomes, now having one single job, of killing the remaining goblins who still were on the run.

"Running around after those goblins isn't so fun. I would rather go bear hunting." called out Trian, who found it annoying chasing after the fleeing goblins.

"Not everything is perfect, sir Trian." mentioned Ellyron who pierced a Goblin Enslaver with his sword pinning the monster down, before cleaving its head, and continuing his chase.

"Old friend, let's not complain. Lord Octavian did most of the hard job by utilizing his magic. Now, act like a proper hunt dog just like myself." remarked one of the middle-aged Knights, Alec who found his Two-handed Mace, squashing a particular goblin as if being a cockroach.

"My friends, any advice on how to get to those roaches faster?" asked the middle-aged warrior, Bernard, who did something reckless by throwing his shield toward a running goblin, tripping the monster before stabbing it on his brain.

"What advice to give you, adventurer friend? Just keep focus and don't allow the goblins to escape this chamber less we want them to alert their Chieftain.

"Shit, we can't have that. Fighting the boss already? No, got to move fast. Eric, try harder you lazy bum."

"Fuck off, I am a priest, not a warrior or thief." commented the Priest who charged up a magic spell belonging to the Rebecca Chuch which sent a flash of white light later on burning down three goblins who were close to one another.

"Not bad, you managed to kill three in one spell."

"They are low on HP after being squashed by Octavian."

"Haha, that's true. To think mages would be so damn strong."

The goblins had a small chance to escape from Mathias's watch, being picked apart one by one with his masterful Spearmanship and breathtaking Arcane Magic which broke common sense. Even the other members of the party weren't slouching contributing to the final part of the hunt, and once the fight ended, a moment of respite was allowed.

"Hah, I am low on Stamina. I got to recover a bit." commented Bernard, breathing heavily and pulling on his chain armor to create some space for his skin to breathe.

"Who told you to act like some stupid kid running around like a degenerate? But, I guess, we'll have some moment of recovery now, since I am at 40 STA points. Anyway, congratulations, you've hit level 92."

"Hehe, I bet I am the highest-ranked Tank at this point. Besides, what's to congratulate me, you've hit level 95 already."

Sera was in a great mood and began telling Bernard and Eric about her growth, which had the two older guys to continue boosting the girl's self-esteem, getting her morale higher, regardless of their lower leveling speed, because the goblins they started facing got closer in level with them.

Such that the EXP boost correlated to the contribution in the fight, and unlike the Knights who were part of the fight from start to finish, himself a Tank couldn't help much when it came to DPS.

"Good job, Serry, you have already become a star. Getting closer and closer to TOP 3 in the ranking that I bet if you release the settings of receiving whispers from strangers, you'll be flooded with various messages from people trying to invite you to their organizations and guilds, to jealous people.

"Yea, I know, I did start getting those dumb comments when I got in TOP 20. So … I closed that setting."

[RANKING LEDGER]

1 Kraugel - Lv. 99

2 Red - Lv. 97

3. Chris - Lv. 96

4. Zibal - Lv. 96

5. Sera - LV. 94

6. Vivian - Lv. 94

7. Malakai - Lv. 94

8. Hurent - Lv. 94

9. Bodre - Lv. 94

10. Paula - Lv. 94

11. Mihara - Lv. 94

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While Sera and her two companions were discussing the new experience of reaching the top of the Pyramid, Mathias turned his head toward the Fire Beetles who arrived in the center of the chamber, shrieking loudly, as if angry for being disturbed from their slumber.

「Lv.140 Fire Beetle - Elite

Insectoid Type, Earth Type / Fire Type

Health: 135,650/135,650 (100%) 」

When noticing how much health those fire beetles had, Mathias could only take a large breath of air, and immediately activate Raven's Movement boosting his movement speed and dodging the attack of the Fire Beetles who spewed at him a jet of burning liquid.

Looking down at the rock where he rested his breath a little, it started burning and melting.

"Impressive."

Watching those 3 Fire Beetles which gave the impression based on their level and how much HP that they were the chamber bosses his party required to clear to advance to the next stage of the Raid.

"Lord Octavian … how should we approach those large insects?" asked Trian who got into fight mode, when noticing the hostile insects who immediately got aggro on Mathias.

"Mhm, for now start taking the boys and begin circling around. Do some checks on the agility of the Fire Beetles. I, on the other hand, will do some analysis of their weakness."

"Understood."

"What about us, Octavian?" asked Sera who broke away from the initial relief of clearing the chamber, now facing other monsters who looked far stronger than the goblins.

"Help the Knights."

It was a quick response, and as the fight ensued against the Fire Beetles who had their chest shining moments later releasing another stream of burning liquid that melted the rocks it touched. Various attack patterns of the insects were studied by the crimson-haired man who would at times unleash a strong combo of attacks starting with a and ending with attack.

'Aren't those insectoids akin to the Kikimora's we faced, old Hay? Their attack pattern is similar, with except for their ability of Fire Trait.'

{A good observation.}

Reaching a final decision with regard to how he should approach the Fire Beetles, he exploded in power, beginning to channel his mana, empowering his Arcane Missiles who originally costed only 350, turning it's cost into 500 MP based on how much he would wish to spend.

Two dark-purple projectiles were released from Mathias's hands flying with ferocity, past some of the young knights who were encircling the monsters attacking on various openings they would see, and while they felt the strong mana attached to the projectiles it took seconds for the monster to shriek in pain.

-- 4282

--9632 (Crit Hit)

「 Innate Passive: Chaos Blessed has been triggered. Random Chaos Spell - 'Chaos Winds' has been unleashed」

-- 4805

From behind Mathias as he was advancing swiftly toward the Fire Beetles a dark portal opened for a brief second where a malicious dark-purple Energy Wind was sent flying toward the Insectoid targeted by Mathias, creating an additional wound on its body.

[Debuff: Chaos Break has been triggered after the spell has hit the target successfully]

[Target will have its magic resistance weakened by 55%. Magic Spells have a chance of 25% to Crit with a duration of 30 seconds]

Green blood of the insectoid splashed on the ground with the abdomen area of the Fire Beetle pulsing with a dark-purple light, which made Mathias say to Eric.

"Unleash your magic spells on the insectoid I have targeted. You'll get some good hits on it."

"Shouldn't I conserve my mana?"

"Meh, I told you in case you wanted to have some fun watching big numbers." said Mathias, shifting weapons and getting how on the whose crystal on the tip of the staff shinned with some black light, giving off the impression the crimson-haired man was turning into a Black Magician.

Hearing Mathias's ironic remark, the priest couldn't help but get curious, and as he began chanting the spells he was utilizing, something most players utilizing magic spells were subjected towards, unlike a loose cannon like Mathias who could think of something and the next second just do it.

"You better not troll me. I am too old for those pranks."

"Shining Force"

A ray of burning light was released from Eric's wooden staff instantly enveloping the suffering Fire Beetle.

-- 3642

"Fuck! No way, I did so much against a level 140 Elite mob."

Mathias whose hands shone in dark-purple light readying for another spell, replied with the same ironic undertone.

"If I wanted to troll you, I could have done it at the start of the journey and get you killed. Easy. For now, start rolling in attacks since the Debuff only lasts 20 seconds."

'Arcane Blast'

-- 5978

'Tsk, this wasn't critical. Even if I have almost a 50% chance of a critical hit …'

With only 10 seconds left of the debuff, Mathias started channeling his mana for another good spell that could maximize the effects of the debuff.

'Arcane Barrage'

-- 3501

-- 3501

[Critical!]

-- 7002

'Arcane Missile'

[Critical!]

-- 12352

"Smite!"

-- 7687 (Crit Hit)

"Damn, that's the highest my spells ever hit in a fight." commented Eric who had a wide grin on his face, while Mathias who channeled another missile, clicked his tongue noticing how the window of attack finished.

-- 4581

"Mind showing me your staff? Your spells hit double the amount I can do, if not triple."

"Secret."

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[Staff of Dark Mending]

Rating: Epic

Durability: 299/299 / Magic Attack Power: 295

* Intelligence will be decreased by 50 points while granting a bonus 15% of spell power.

* Magic casting speed will increase by 10%.

* Every time a spell is cast, there is 5% chance of releasing the passive "Flame of Darkness"

*When casting a spell there is a 1% chance of the passive spell "Bone Shield" to be activated.

* Magic critical chance is increased by 5%.

* Magic critical damage is increased by 30%.

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☆ [Bone Shield] – Absorbs 6500 damage while lasting until the shield is canceled by the user or broken. (Adjusted to the users level until level 200)

☆ [Flames of Darkness] – Passive: For the duration of 15 seconds you will burn the target the spell you casted targeted for a fixed hit of 650 DMG. (Adjusted to the user's level until level 200)

User restriction: One of the conditions should be satisfied: Level 200 / More than 750 INT points.

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It was an Epic weapon that boosted his Magic Power, yet in a twist, it also could screw him by taking away from him 50 INT points when using it. Continuing with channeling some Arcane Spells, they hit without a critical hit, but an effect of the Dark Mending Staff was triggered, which made the Crystal on the top of the magic weapon to release a jet of dark flames which touched all of the three Fire Beetles.

*SHRIEK*

"Move away from the beetles, That is a hostile fire that will burn you if you get in contact."

An order targeting both the players and the Knights since he experimented a little bit with the Flames of Darkness passive inside the Dark Mending staff, and he reached a conclusive observation.

The Flames of Darkness was a magic spell - passive which could be ranked to a Unique rated ability if not a Legendary Spell based on how destructive it could be in a grand scale fight.

One could win wars if relying on such ability and strategy.

When the 15 seconds passed, he switched the Dark Mending Staff to Ragnius, getting in melee range and fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Knights, along the way telling them the weaknesses of the insectoid monsters, which included the Fire Beetle.

"Have I made it clear? Those are the spots those insects struggle against."

"Yes, lord!" replied Trian accompanied by the rest of the Knights who understood where they should hit, targeting all the weak spots the insect boasted.

After a fight that was reminiscent to the Kikimora's fight, except maybe for the High-Risk of getting themselves burned by the saliva/liquid excreted by the insect which had the potential of burning someone to death.

And it even happened to someone in the party, with the unfortunate person being Bernard who was too slow to dodge one of the obvious attacks.

He was losing his Health at a high rate, 350 HP per second, while the debuff had a duration of 25 seconds. Bernard could only thank Eric that he was kept alive in this fight, and the two started bickering about it, with Eric telling Bernard how he shouldn't be a sitting duck.

Nevertheless, the fight against the Fire Beetles ended without any death, and whatsmore, the spectacle him and his group put on display for Egeira and the released gnomes, could be worth all their remaining money.

[You have killed a Fire Beetle of the Gravelmark Mountain Cave gaining the following rewards]

[You've gained 650.000 EXP]

[2 gold coins have been acquired]

[Fire Beetle Armor has been acquired]

[Vial containing Fire Beetle Acid]

[Fire Beetle Gland has been acquired]

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[You have leveled up to 86!]

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'Not bad, this Fire Beetle actually dropped a piece of equipment. Let's see'

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[Fire Beetle Armor]

Rating: Epic

Durability: 350/350 Defense: 465 Movement Speed: -10%

* Stamina Increased by 50 points

* Strength Increased by 15 points

* Fire Resistance increased by 15%

An armor reinforced by the exoskeleton of the Fire Beetle, which grants the equipment piece resistance to its own element, the Fire.

User Restrictions: User restriction: One of the conditions should be satisfied: Level 150 / More than 650 STA points

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'Tch, not for me. I guess I'll give it to this Tanker since he isn't that bad. It will help me against the Boss of this Raid anyway.'