Though goblins were among the weakest monsters, with even less potential than slimes (yes, slimes!), and provided less experience compared to some monsters of the same level, their sheer numbers made up for it.
In just six hours, Michael ran through the majority of the crack space, clearing all the goblins he encountered with Lucky and Prince.
The gains were significant.
For one, he gained four levels, bringing him to level 9. Additionally, he stored numerous monster corpses in the Land of Origin, where his other body and new undead were stationed.
Selling them should bring him good profit.
Another noteworthy achievement was his first taste of close combat.
With his bullets finally depleted, Michael used the iron-refined spear he had bought from the Super Association’s online store.
The result?
Close combat isn’t so scary after all, Michael thought, growing more confident.
However, despite hours of fighting with the spear, the skill {Spearmanship} never appeared.
Onbone of his aimless stroll through the forum, Michael learned that weapons could have their own skills to guide mastery levels.
It made sense since weapon related classes also had class skill.
For example, a swordsman’s {Swordsmanship} skill would start at {Intermediate Mastery}, which could instantly turn a novice into a veteran.
Even after failing to gain a spear-related skill, Michael wasn’t discouraged. While he didn’t plan to change his combat style, having the skill would boost his personal strength.
He resolved to dedicate more time to spear training when possible.
If weapon-related skills existed, it was likely that veteran Awakeners from decades ago—regardless of their class—had mastered weapon skills, giving them an undeniable edge.
Perhaps even a tailor could secretly be a sword expert.
‘The world inside the crack is really big,’ Michael thought as he made his way toward the crack’s exit, which had opened after he killed all the goblins in this Corrupted-type crack.
He estimated the crack’s size to be comparable to a very large town.
Fortunately, one only needed to kill a third of the monsters within a Corrupted crack for the exit to appear.
However, if it wasn’t entered within ten minutes, it would disappear and reappear only after another third of the monsters were killed, repeating until all the creatures were eliminated.
Only then will the exit not disappear.
Michael, however, had been merciless, killing all the goblins instead.
Michael was drenched in green blood—not his own, but that of the countless goblins he had slain.
His green eyes gleamed with a murderous intent, tainted by the eerie necromantic energy that had corrupted his once-clean aura. This was a consequence of repeatedly casting necromancy spells in the real world using his original body.
He had killed hundreds of goblins, accumulating more than 4,000 EXP in six hours.
Leveling up had been demanding: Level 6 required 800 EXP, Level 7 needed 1,000, Level 8 required 1,200, and Level 9 demanded 1,500.
A place like the Goblin World, teeming with monsters, was perfect for such rapid progression. The intoxicating pace of improvement filled Michael with a hunger for more. Yet, he understood that this fast leveling was only possible in the early stages; as he progressed, the grind would become exponentially harder.
Even now, as an unranked Awakener, it had taken killing hundreds of goblins to achieve just four levels.
At least Michael had managed to level up. Lucky and Prince’s experience progress wasn’t even halfway to their next level.
This was largely because Michael had secured most of the kills, while Lucky and Prince mainly used their skills to trap the goblins.
However, even if one of them had hunted all the monsters in the crack alone, the experience would have barely been enough for a single level-up.
Hundreds of lives were needed just to level up once, and reaching Rank 2 at Level 26 was still over ten levels away.
If he continued hunting only goblins, how many lives would he need to take to reach that milestone?
“Seems like I’ll need to visit that Level 2 crack and apply for more crack entries,” Michael planned.
His mindset was shifting.
After fighting and killing goblins, watching their blood spill, Michael had shed some of his caution and was now more willing to take risks for greater rewards.
Level 2 cracks could contain at most a peak Rank 2 creature, which either Lucky or Prince should handle alone or together without much trouble. At the very least, with their combined abilities, escaping from danger wouldn’t be a problem.
Leveling up had also made Michael stronger. If he allocated his attribute points to his physical stats, he might be able to handle most Rank 2 creatures or escape if necessary. However, now that he was a true necromancer, he wouldn’t waste his potential on such a basic approach.
A smarter way to grow stronger was to increase his Intelligence, contract more undead, and gain more Evolution Points. These would allow him to evolve his undead to the rare rank, advancing them to Rank 1 and granting feedback that would boost his own stats. Stay updated via empire
However, all of this would have to wait until after he left the crack.
Michael glanced at his blood-soaked body, and hoped the pharmacy would have a place for him to clean up. He hadn’t really considered the practical issues of entering a crack. There was going to be fighting, but he hadn’t even packed a spare set of clothes.
There was also something that confused him.
Michael had killed over 300 goblins, and one third of that would be a little more than 100. Other people would typically kill around 100 goblins to make the exit appear, but how did they transport the bodies?
Outside the crack was a pharmacy, and beyond that was the world of ordinary people. Supernaturals were still warned not to reveal anything to the public, so how did others transport their kills?
For some reason, a part of Michael felt that his identity as an Awakener made his approach to these situations different from the common sense of other Supernaturals due to his unique abilities.
In simpler terms, he was a little dense.
But this was due to his lacking knowledge.
One couldn’t forget that Michael was still just an ordinary human whose life had changed drastically in barely three days. Compared to how most people would react to such a change, he was adapting well.
Perhaps it was due to his original body’s temperament or his past life mental strength, but he was only in his early twenties on earth. It could very well be a combination of both.
As several thoughts and plans raced through Michael’s mind, he stepped into the crack.