Tony hadn’t made use of his skills while fighting the beasts earlier. He had wanted to see the worth of his training with Kratos when the latter had asked him not to activate his skills.

He tried it against Marcus, but it hadn’t worked.

But now, there seem to be more uses for it than he imagined. With his ability to fight off these dungeon residents easily without much application of his skill, lasting even a week could be within reach.

However, if these goblins turn out to be stronger than he expects, he would be left with no choice but to use his skills.

In that case...

He also charged forward.

The distance between Tony and the goblin vanished in an instant.

The leading goblin raised its crude wooden club high into the air, a savage grin stretching across its ugly face as it brought the weapon crashing down.

Tony wasn’t caught off guard and so didn’t slow down. Instead, he leaned slightly to the left.

Whoosh!

The club whistled past where his shoulder had been fractions of seconds ago, and before the goblin could recover from the unsupposed forward pull generated from its attack—

Slash!

A starlight arc flashed across its neck.

Before it could register what had happened, its head dislodged from its neck and flew into the air before both halves of its body disintegrated into shimmering particles.

[You have killed a Cave Goblin.]

[+7%]

[EXP]: 4.9/100

Tony did the math in his head and immediately noted that he would need at least twenty goblins to advance to the next level.

He didn’t fail to notice that the EXP percentage had actually increased. Back when he fought the rabbits, he had made sure to kill them with one slash of his adamantine-meteorite blade.

But now, he decided to see how far two slashes would take him.

Were the goblins naturally going to keep earning him seven percent for each kill? Or does it have to do with the way he kills each of them?

Any of those questions won’t answer themselves, anyway. He would have to experiment more and see for himself.

After that first goblin kill, the remaining goblins shrieked in anger. Unlike the beast rabbits, they did not continue to charge recklessly one after another.

Instead, whether instinctively or planned, they spread out. And soon, some rushed Tony from the front while a few others circled toward his flanks.

Several others remained behind, hurling jagged stones through the air.

"Ouch!" Tony scratched his head in pain.

One of the stones actually hit Tony’s head, and the chime of his system alerted him that he would have to be more careful and not overly underestimate these goblins.

[-5 HP.]

Another stone landed on his head, and another, and another.

[-15 HP.]

Apparently, fighting off these goblins the way he had done with the beast rabbits was going to be a hassle more than he thought.

In that case, using his skills against these ugly creatures was going to be worth the while, right?

[Severance.]

[-25 MP]

The moment he activated the skill, he performed a rotary rotation of his body while slashing his sword, likewise tracing the motion of his body with the blade.

A circular scythe of brown energy shot forward, cleanly slicing through the goblins that had circled his flanks and front and extending further behind to instantly terminate the lives of the shorter ones who had hurled stones at him.

[You have killed a Cave Goblin (x5).]

[+25%]

...

[You have killed a Cave Goblin (x5).]

[+25%]

...

[You have killed a Cave Goblin (x5).]

[+25%]

...

[You have killed a Cave Goblin (x8).]

[+40%]

[EXP]: 85.4/100

In the blink of an eye, the first two dozen of the goblin warriors had been sent to their ancestors.

The supposed coordinated assault of these goblins was shattered and sent into the abyss of the dream world. Did they even think their coordination would mean something before overwhelming skill?

But there was also one thing Tony’s one slash attack had proved just now. It had answered his questions earlier.

He earned EXP points depending on how well, and probably, how long he engaged with his opponent. That being the case, shouldn’t he have earned points from fighting with Marcus?

The only explanation for that phenomenon would be that whoever his opponent happened to be, they needed to die for him to earn these points. At least, that was the conclusion he could come to from what had happened so far.

In that case, if he wanted to level faster within a short period, he might as well double his output against these goblin creatures using the same amount of expended time.

With this conclusion in mind, Tony lunged at the new horde of goblin creatures.

His sword danced alongside his body as he performed a feint, dashing to the side and hitting the goblin that had stood in his way with the hilt of his sword.

Before the creature could get well out of reach, he lashed out with his nearest leg, sending the goblin colliding with another goblin that was rushing forward.

Before the two goblins could make sense of what had just happened, a starlight blade had already sliced through the neck of the one in the front, then went ahead in a circle to slash down diagonally through the body of the one behind.

[You have killed a Cave Goblin (x2).]

[+13%]

[EXP]: 94.5/100

As the bodies collapsed — and just like that of the beast rabbits and the other goblins — disappeared into motes of light, Tony twisted his body just enough for a thrown stone to skim past his cheek.

Without stopping, he drove his elbow into another goblin’s jaw before sweeping his sword horizontally.

With the help of [Divine Edge], his sword was coated in brown divine energy, and so, three bodies disappeared at the same time.

[+17%]

[Congrats! You have leveled up.]

[Level]: 1 → 2

[EXP]: 6.4/200

Tony didn’t let the system’s notification distract him this time. Instead, he focused on what was before him — the chaos that unfolded and the cavern that echoed with endless screams.

Just as he had realized he needed to adjust the time he spent with each opponent, he also understood that there are a few, if not a dozen more, who needed their lives to end with one slash.

In that case, he spun the instant he sensed the movement of one goblin that attempted to ambush him from above, his blade tracing a perfect circle.

The creature was cut cleanly in half before it landed and dissipated.

The system’s notifications now turned out somewhat annoying as it continued to play before Tony as bodies fell.

[You have killed a Cave Goblin.]

[+5%]

...

[You have killed a Cave Goblin.]

[+8%]

...

[You have killed a Cave Goblin.]

[+7%]

The deeper he advanced... the more goblins emerged. It seemed as though a god had especially designed this challenge to be made of sand of goblins.

Occasionally they came in coordinated attacks of five; a few other times they assaulted in groups of ten. Sometimes an entire patrol numbering nearly twenty even lunged at Tony at once.

He didn’t worry about their numbers, but he’d had a worry tugging at the edge of his senses.

If there were this many goblins, how come each and every one of them possessed the same amount of power? Or did he not notice a change in power share among them because of his overwhelming strength and ability?

Tony imagined encountering a goblin that had this overwhelming strength that he would actually need to struggle against it before defeating it. Or was he simply exaggerating the power required of a Normal-tier F-rank dungeon?

[Severance.]

[-25 MP]

A dozen goblins collapsed and disintegrated into motes of light as usual. All this while, Tony hadn’t paid attention to the reason these creatures disappeared after defeat.

Or put simply, he imagined it was normal considering this was the tutorial grounds he was dealing with.

But the moment he decided to pay attention to the screen before him, he soon realized that the rank of the goblins had indeed increased.

It appears to be his overwhelming ability that was shutting down his senses to actually notice.

[You have killed a Goblin Warrior (x6).]

[+60%]

...

[You have killed a Goblin Warrior (x6).]

[+60% EXP]

Taking note of this, joy soared into Tony’s being as he pressed forward, bodies falling wherever his blade crossed paths.

At one point, nearly thirty goblins poured from an adjoining tunnel.

The moment they spotted Tony and what he was doing with their colleagues, they let out savage war cries.

War cries that did nothing to shake Tony as he lowered his center of gravity, his right foot pushing against the rocky ground and—

Boom!

He shot forward like an arrow.

The first goblin died before it realized a body had appeared before it. The second lost both arms before finally losing its head. The third fell with a stab through its chest.

Like this, bodies dissolved into particles so quickly that the remaining goblins began retreating in fear. A movement Tony wasn’t going to tolerate.

One after another, they continued to fall until the final scream faded into silence.

Immediately, a bright, light-brown light suddenly erupted around Tony. Once more, the warmth of its energy flooded every part of his body, bringing notable changes likewise.

[Congratulations! You have leveled up.]

[Level]: 2 → 3

[EXP]: 105/400

Tony flexed his fingers, only now returning to his real senses.

"I have become stronger again," he stated and ventured forward as he analyzed the last moments of his battle.

The deeper he went, the stronger the goblins he had to face.

Their physiques were sturdier, their attacks were quicker, and some even wore crude bone armor while others wielded rusted swords instead of clubs.

Could it mean that there was something even more interesting waiting deeper into this cave?

Although there were changes, the difference had been insignificant to Tony’s power.

He halted and called up the system’s quest tab.

[Minor Quest: Completely Clear an F-Rank Dungeon.

Time Limit: 29 hours

Objective: Level up as much as you can.

Reward: +1,000 FGP.

Failure: 50% of all stats get drained.]

Time had indeed passed, but it wasn’t as fast as Tony expected. As odd as it may sound coming from him, it was really good news knowing he still had plenty of time in his grasp.

In that case...

Tony slowly sheathed his sword at his side and was about to turn back when he caught sight of something. Thanks to the fading lights from the particles of clubs and blades, he realized that he was standing in the center of a spacious chamber.

It had become eerily quiet, as though no other monster was deemed to appear any moment soon.

However, up ahead, directly opposite him, stood three stone passageways. Each entrance disappeared into darkness, revealing nothing of what lay beyond.

Tony studied them quietly, wondering if he should continue forward or, at best, take a break in the meantime.

"Looks like you’ve reached the first junction," a familiar voice said behind him.

Tony turned to find Kratos approaching with the backpack of items carried in his front like he was juggling a baby.

Tony nodded.

Kratos finally reached closer and practically settled on the cold cavern floor, just close enough to a wall where he could rest his back.

Tony had wanted to make a decision, but seeing the latter’s reaction to this situation, another thought crossed his mind.

’It’s about time I looked at what actually changed after leveling up.’

With that thought...

He called up his status window.