Chapter 66 Champions of the Cave

—-

Although the narrow passageway was only 20 kilometers long, a distance Kieran could cover within twenty minutes of light running, the Goblin Demolishers appeared every 200 meters, thereby limiting how fast Kieran could advance.

After all, it wasn’t like he could go around the goblins. The space was too narrow for him to perform any practical evasive maneuvers. Besides, each of these Goblin Demolishers rewarded decent Experience. It was a helpful farming tool seeing as their low Health made them an excellent Experience source for Kieran.

Each Goblin Demolish rewarded upwards of 7,500 Experience points. By the end of the narrow passage, Kieran amassed an easy 750,000 Experience points to be added to the inaccessible pool.

Adding in the Experience he gathered beforehand, this one grinding session increased the volume of the pool by just over 30%. Sadly, from what Kieran remembered, this path led to the end area of the Goblin Cave. It was lamentable, but his treasure trove of Experience would soon come to an unfortunate end.

On the other hand, Kieran was delighted because these Goblin Demolishers helped him overcome two significant matters holding him back. The first was related to Savage Break. Since the enemies were only Special Elites and five levels higher, a threshold of great significance regarding Skills and Experience Points in general, Savage Break rapidly accrued mastery points.

Not too long before Kieran finished off the last few Goblin Demolishers, a notification appeared before him.

〈System: Savage Break has increased to Lv.6!〉

「Savage Break (Lv.6)

Skill Rank: D Rank Active

[Mastery (02.90%)]

Skill Description: Harnesses the destructive power of Warrior’s Aura and delivers a powerful strike that deals 318% of the user’s Attack Power. The destructive power produces an effect known as ?Defense Break?. For the next 5 seconds, the targeted enemy’s Defense will be reduced by 25%.

Consumption: 3 Mana Points

Prerequisites: Warrior Class, ?Warrior’s Aura?

Cooldown: 29.1 seconds 」

Overall, the skill’s viability increased by 10% when factoring in the cooldown reduction.

However, the following notification was more meaningful to Kieran. In the end, it was the sole reason for his presence here.

〈System: You have collected 200 Special Elite Blood Essence!〉

‘At least I was fortunate enough that this is an area where one can only advance after clearing every room. Bypassing an enemy is virtually impossible, so it was indisputably the best place to farm Experience to avoid hemorrhaging it later on,’ Kieran thought before emerging from the narrow passageway’s exit.

As he exited the passage, he officially entered the 40th hour as well as the final area of the Goblin Cave.

〈System: You have entered the ?Underground Goblin Stadium?!〉

What greeted his sight was an expansive yet also partially subterranean clearing. Large rock protrusions littered the area in layered ring shapes. The space between some rocks was extremely narrow, while others were spacious.

While soaking in the environment, Kieran also detected what seemed to be a platform in the middle surrounded by crude spears with incredibly sharp tips. Above, there was a kind of bone chandelier made of sharpened bone that Kieran couldn’t ignore.

Kieran could tell at a glance that, although there were six gateways present on the circular wall, none of them provided access to any additional rooms. Setting aside those six doors, Kieran focused on the seventh and largest door far away. There was a skull indicator atop the door signifying the presence of a boss inside.

Judging by how dense the black mist surrounding the door was, Kieran presumed it should at least be a Rare Boss. Otherwise, it would have been useless to come here. But, before he could worry about the matters of the boss. Three of the six medium-sized doors opened outward with both rumbling and creaking sounds.

From within those three doors emerged goblins with an aura that made even Kieran stand on edge. The first to emerge was a goblin dressed in ritualistic clothing. A brownish hood with strange markings covered their face. Still, it didn’t hide the amethyst eyes that glimmered beneath the hood’s darkness.

A wooden staff with bends in odd places sat in their hand with an opaque orb situated underneath the topmost rigid coil. Though it appeared to be dormant, Kieran could see subtle Mana fluctuations undulating from the sphere.

Located directly across from this goblin was a large goblin whose size resembled an ogre, albeit slightly smaller and not as muscular. They were dressed in sturdy silver armor coupled with a massive tower shield that made Kieran scratch his head with a complicated expression.

Even a Knight didn’t give off the presence of sturdiness that this goblin did.

Lastly, similar to Kieran, the final large goblin wielded an enormous greatsword. The only difference was that the goblin’s sword lacked quality when judged against the Scarlet Steel Greatsword. Surprisingly, its stature was identical to the goblin wielding the tower shield save for the lack of thick armor.

Still, its fearsome expression and toned yet grotesque features gave the impression of ample power.

「Lv.26 Jol, Goblin Shaman (Champion)

Goblin Type, Magician Type

Health: 40,000/40,000 (100%)

Special Trait: ?Summon? ?Ritual?」

「Lv.25 Ezgal, Goblin Defender (Champion)

Goblin Type

Health: 90,000/90,000 (100%)

Special Trait: ?Steadfast? ?Sturdy?」

「Lv.25 Kwozma, Goblin Warrior (Champion)

Goblin Type

Health: 70,000/70,000 (100%)

Special Trait: ?Assault? ?Barrage?」

…

Three Champions with a collective of 200,000 Health, that’s what stood before Kieran’s eyes. These three enemies alone provided an obstacle on par with the Colossal Scarlet Wolf. What’s more, Kieran could sense sentience in all of their eyes.

Given the fact they were Champion monsters, Kieran expected as much. After all, becoming a Champion monster required specific criteria, and it was often the named monsters who met them. Named Monsters were not only sentient, but they also higher possessed something that made them unique.

Of course, not all Champions were Named Monsters, and not all Named Monsters could become Champions. For example, Hrulhar was a Named Monster but was only a Special Elite. Hrulhar’s sentience was mild and heavily restricted by the dungeon environment and Beginner Zone Handicap compared to its monster peers.

Nevertheless, Kieran brandished his Scarlet Steel Greatsword before taking a step forward. When he did this, the Goblin Defender, Ezgal, reacted strangely. He glowered at Kieran before performing an explosive jump.

Bang!

“You shall not pass!” Ezgal bellowed while slamming his massive shield into the ground. With a single leap, he positioned himself so that Kwozma was almost on the same axis as him while Jol was far behind, protected by what seemed to be a ritual barrier.

‘Oh… that jump strength is even more frightening than I remember. Was it somehow weakened by the time I joined the game in the past?’ Kieran wondered. When we attempted this place in the past, Ezgal only jumped toward the challenger party to push them back and guard against their attacks.

Now, however, it felt as if Ezgal was protecting Jol instead of prioritizing the opposing party. This change puzzled Kieran quite a bit, but it wasn’t enough to throw him off entirely. At the same time, Jol tapped their staff against the ground three times while performing a bizarre throat chant that made even the walls vibrate.

The three doors that were still closed swung open with a powerful gust as a stream of minions flooded the stadium from their respective pathways. At least three hundred of them pooled in, and they were all miraculously Lv.24 Elites. It appeared Jol couldn’t summon additional Special Elites as not even one was seen within the sea of minions.

Despite the large influx of enemies, Kieran remained unperturbed while slowly advancing. Soon, that slow advance turned into a full-blown charge as he sped forth and jumped over the dividing moat and sharp spears. Instead of pointing outward, the spear points inward towards the stadium’s center.

Once Kieran made the jump, he lingered on the outer edge of the stadium’s circle platform. These monsters, unlike normal ones, had an auto-aggro system active because of the stadium’s special setting. Kieran didn’t need to enter their attack range to trigger their aggro; his presence alone substantiated the aggro action.

Screeee! Whoosh!

Many Goblin Minions charged simultaneously while Kieran inhaled and exhaled while performing light jumps. Every time he did so, his eyes fluttered and matched his breathing. Upon trying to attune his breathing to his movements, a notification appeared.

〈Alert: Insufficient Constitution and Mana Affinity. Your current Sense Enhancement is limited to two.〉

‘Two?’ Kieran noted. While it was somewhat lacking for what Kieran intended to accomplish, it would have to suffice. In addition to augmenting his sight, Kieran enhanced his sense of touch beyond the standard parameter attached to beginner characters.

This superimposed usage allowed Kieran to experience the battle on a grander scale. When pinned against so many enemies, Kieran needed heightened situational awareness to gather information quicker.

The change in the air pattern, the subtle actions that occurred before a goblin’s movement, and errors in motion gradually became apparent to Kieran. However, in exchange for this heightened awareness, his Mana consumption skyrocketed, so much that Kieran kept the hotkey system focused on his Beginner Mana Potions.

Tang! Tang! Tang!

Kieran parried many clubs from the Goblin Minions before suddenly shifting his feet while using a vice-like grip to pick up the closest goblin.

Pcht! Splch!

Blood gushed as Kieran slammed the goblin on the sharpened spear and sidestepped quickly. More angered shrieks resounded for the goblin’s fallen comrade as they glared at Kieran with their maddened beady eyes.

Numerous goblins jumped at Kieran, but he swung his blade while kicking his back foot. The attack sent two more goblins flying back, only to have their back impaled by the spears until they protruded from their chest. Because of the spear’s angle and thickness, they could only helplessly claw their chest while sliding further down the pike while the light in their eyes extinguished.

Within seconds, Kieran dealt with three of these goblins without wasting a single skill!