64 Goblin’s Cave
*Huff-Huff—Huff—Huff*
*Step-step-step-step*
The twin moons still lingered in the sky, casting a pale light over the academy fields. A thick, white fog blanketed the grass, and within it, a lone figure could be seen sprinting— barely.
Leon was gasping for air, every hundred meters burning through his stamina like wildfire.
“Fucking hell… this body’s way too damn weak,” Leon muttered, staggering to a stop. “My chest feels like it’s gonna cave in… and don’t even get me started on my legs…”
Without wasting another second, he activated the one skill he could rely on.
<Adaptive Body>
[Scanning Conditions…]
[Condition Scanning Successful.]
[Body is suffering from oxygen loss, Slow heart rate and Leg Muscles are breaking frequently.]
[• Adapting lungs to refine oxygen 10% faster.] [• Increasing Heart rate by 18%] [• Consuming calories to form new leg muscles.]
[Warning: As soon as Host’s Body condition returns back to normal, Skill will be turned off and this may cause some internal injuries.] 4
Leon felt it immediately. The burning in his chest cooled. His heartbeat kicked into high gear like a war drum. He even felt some of his belly fat burn away-immediately. The ache in his legs began to dull as fresh muscles rebuilt themselves in real time.
..Goddamn. This skill is good,” Leon muttered with a twisted grin as he started running again without thinking much.
He ran along the edge of the Vinceral Forest, the cold fog brushing against his skin, when he suddenly heard some voices up ahead.
“Alright! Are you guys ready?!”
“Yes, sir!”
Leon’s instincts kicked in. He slowed down, crouching low and silently slipping into the underbrush. His eyes locked onto the group ahead.
‘Who the hell is out here at this hour ?’ he thought, narrowing his eyes.
Through the mist, a small adventuring party stood at the forest’s edge.
In front was a tall, muscular guy holding a massive shield and a heavy mace-clearly the tank. Next to him stood a robed man, his cloak decorated with shimmering golden stars. A mage, no doubt.
Behind them stood a petite girl with black hair, Medium sized boobs and good ass. She wore a white robe and clutched a healer’s wand. And at the back was a blonde archer, flat-chested but with a firm, athletic ass, a quiver full of arrows strapped to her back.
“Are you ready to find that motherfucking monster that’s gonna make us rich?!” the tank shouted, riling up the group.
“Yes, sir!” the others echoed in unison.
‘Monster? What kind of monster are they looking for?’ Leon thought, staying low.
“Well then-follow me! Today, we either kill that goddamn Umbraclaw or-“
“Or what?” the mage asked with a smile.
“Or we try again tomorrow,” the tank grinned.
“Hahahaha…”
“Hahahah…”
“Hehehe…
All of them started laughing and Leon’s brow furrowed.
What the hell’s an Umbraclaw?’ He thought with a confused expression.
Still crouched in the shadows, he started tailing them, his curiosity outweighing caution. He moved from tree to tree, careful to stay out of their sight and maintained a safe distance.
The party worked together like a well-oiled machine. The tank drew aggro, roaring taunts that forced monsters to focus on him. The healer backed him up without delay. Meanwhile, the mage and the archer were raining hell from the backline-clean, precise, efficient.
‘Huh. Not bad… no useless showboating, no ego. Just tight teamwork. That’s rare… But, fighting these stupid one-horned rabbit is easy, Why would they bring four people to hunt them?’ Leon thought as he continued to follow them until…
*Squish*
“..Shit.” Leon froze.
He looked down.
His foot had sunk into a shallow swamp patch, cold and wet mud sloshing all over his shoe.
“Fucking Hell..” he hissed, yanking his leg free. His shoe was soaked through.
Grumbling, he bent down to take it off-but then his eyes caught something.
A footprint.
‘Huh?’
He glanced around and saw more footprints. A trail. They were heading north, deeper into the forest.
Leon straightened up and looked back in the direction of the party-but they were gone, swallowed up by the fog and trees.
A faint glow appeared on the horizon.
The fog began to thin.
‘Sunrise, huh…’ Leon thought, squinting at the tracks once more.
Without a hint of hesitation, Leon began following the trail of footprints, his instincts pulling him deeper into the northern stretch of the Vinceral Forest.
Ten minutes passed.
The further he walked, the quieter it became.
Unnaturally quiet.
No birds. No bugs. No breeze. Just utter silence.
Thick fog coiled around the trees like a living thing, swirling and twisting with each of his steps. The deeper he went, the heavier the air became-like the forest itself was holding its breath.
Leon slowed his pace, his eyes sharp and heart steady.
‘This is getting scary and exciting at the same time. Is this some kind of hidden area in the forest?’ Leon thought as a smile appeared over his face.
“Inventory… Withdraw, he muttered.
*Ting*
A faint shimmer of light appeared before him, revealing the semi-transparent window of his inventory. He tapped a slot and materialized a long, sharp knife-the same one he had snagged from Merida’s shop yesterday.
“Good thing I took this,” he said, gripping the handle tightly.
The fog began to peel away-unnaturally fast. Almost as if it sensed something was about to begin.
As visibility returned, Leon scanned the area immediately, his eyes moving at an incredible speed.
Then—he saw it.
A stone staircase, half-buried in moss and vines, leading straight into the earth.
And in front of it…was lying a golden pendant.
It gleamed brilliantly under the first rays of the morning sun, practically begging to be picked up.
Leon narrowed his eyes.
“Tch. Only some dumb fuck would fall for that, Leon spoke with no hesitation and no curiosity because he knew it was a Trap.
He activated his skill.
<Inspect>
一
[Name: Goblin’s Cave]
[Type: Dungeon]
［Rank:F
[Status: Uncleared]
[Description: A small, low-rank dungeon inhabited by a tribe of cunning goblins. Filled with Traps and ambushes. Most adventurers underestimate it.]
‘A dungeon huh ?” Leon thought as he used the skill on the pendant this time.
< Inspect >
[Name: Gold Pendant]
[Rank: EJ
[Type: Jwellery]
[Crafter: unknown]
[Description: A very shiny pendant that can attract any lady’s attention. It can be sold for quite some money.]
‘A Gold Pendant lying right on the entrance of a goblin dungeon… Is it a breeding trap for Female adventurers ?’ Leon thought as he looked around and found a long wooden stick lying near a big tree.
He slowly walked upto the pendant in a zig-zag pattern to avoid any floor traps and slowly picked it up with the stick.
“Huh… Nothing happened?” Leon thought with a confused expression as he grabbed the pendant in his hand and gave it a closer look.
*Slip*
Suddenly, The floor underneath him Shaked a little… Throwing him off-balance.
“Fucking-” Before Leon could’ve completed his sentence, He fell down the stairs.
*Thud-Thud-Thud-Thud-Thud*