Raid: The Blacksmith-Chapter 67: Be It An Ant Or A Dragon: Part One
[Report. Now entering the Great Peak...]
......
[Report. Subject has entered the Wild Goats’ Domain: The Great Peak Territory. Subject will now receive an Immediate Quest...]
[Immediate Quest contents.]
Immediate Quest: Subject must exterminate all the Wild Goats in the vicinity within the given time duration.
Duration: 3hours
Upon Success: Subject will be able to enter the Great Peak Base.
Upon Failure: Subject will die.
Rewards will be calculated after the Quest is completed based on the Subject’s efficiency.
......
[Report. Immediate Quest: Wild Goats Massacre has been completed. Now calculating rewards...]
......
[Final rewards are being allocated. Subject has received 9587 C-Rank monster cores.]
......
[Report. Now entering the Great Peak Den...]
......
[Report. Subject has entered the Wild Goats’ Domain Great Peak Den: The Wild Goat Lord’s Lair. Subject will now receive an Immediate Quest...]
[Immediate Quest contents.]
Immediate Quest: Subject must clear the C-Rank Dungeon. For that to happen, subject must exterminate the Dungeon Boss, The Wild Goat Lord, all ten Wild Goat Fronters, all five thousand of the Wild Goat Backers and all ten-thousand of the normal Wild Goats in the Den within the given time duration.
Duration: 7hours
Upon Success: The C-Rank Dungeon will be cleared.
Upon Failure: Subject will die.
Rewards will be calculated after the Quest is completed based on the Subject’s efficiency.
......
I’ve steamrolled through this whole Dungeon faster than I’ve ever ran through any other Dungeon before.
"Faster than even when I had Peyton helping me on that Goblin Dungeon a few days back."
I’ve had messages popping up one after another.
"But what has caught my attention specifically are the messages about the improvements in my ’Warrior Info’. My stats haven’t really improved much from before I entered considering how many monsters I’ve killed. Seems the stronger I get, the easier this gets, and the easier this gets, the less I gain..."
[Report. Immediate Quest: Take Over the Den has been completed. Now calculating rewards...]
"But that’s okay."
[Subject has gained two new Skills usurped from the Dungeon Boss, The Wild Goat Lord since both have been found to be compatible with the Subject. Now processing list of Skills gained from Dungeon Boss...]
"I still get dope Skills from Dungeon Bosses..."
List of Skills gained from Dungeon Boss
• Unrestrained Maneuverer A-Rank
• Piercing Horns B-Rank
"Hm... Piercing Horns. The Wild Goat Lord kept using it like a game character that spams one move over and over again."
Basically it’s a Skill that allowed the bastard, who already possessed incredibly sharp horns, to manifest energy projected horns that were much bigger, longer and sharper than his natural ones.
"Pissed me the hell off, couldn’t get close to him for a while because I kept tryna attack him from his blind spots."
Then there’s the Unrestrained Maneuverer Skill, the name pretty much speaks for itself, this Skill allowed him to move about freely with no restraints, allowing him to jump, flip and side step from any direction to any direction without the need for some sort of surface to step off of.
"He dodged so many of my attacks while he was in mid-air whereas I was foolish enough to convince myself that I had had him. So glad that’s over. If I’m being honest though, I like the Unrestrained Maneuverer Skill sine I’m sure it’ll work well with my flight Spell, as for the Piercing Horns however, I could really do without it..."
"In fact, I actually really don’t want it. The idea of me having horns really freaks me out. Wonder if there’s a way to reject a Skill from a Dungeon Boss..."
[Report. Whether or not a Skill gained from a Dungeon Boss is processed is completely based on the Warrior’s decision. If a Warrior wishes, they may reject a Skill obtained from a Dungeon Boss in exchange for one percent of the Minimum of the Mana Capacity Stat of the Rank of the Skill.]
"Really? So then since the Minimum of the Mana Capacity Stat of B-Rank is twenty-five million, then that means, in exchange for rejecting this Skill, my Mana Capacity will increase by two-hundred and fifty thousand...? That’s awesome."
Two-hundred and fifty-thousand may not necessarily seem like much to some but considering the fact that I didn’t expect to get anything out of potentially rejecting this Skill in the first place and also what with my progress slowly having dwindled ever since entering this Dungeon, it’s actually a great gain.
"Alright! I’ll reject the Skill Piercing Horns." I declare.
[Report. Subject has rejected the Skill Piercing Horns from the Dungeon Boss known as The Wild Goat Lord. In return, Subject’s Mana Capacity will increase by precisely 250 000.]
"Perfect."
With that, I leave the Dungeon.
"Well...guess this is it then. My first fight with an A-Rank Monster. The next Dungeon I explore will end with one such event. A part of me is actually terrified, but another part...well...another part of me is excited beyond measure..."
Without a doubt, whether or not I succeed, this upcoming battle will mark a pivotal moment in my life as a Warrior.
*******
05:26.
Nearly three hours before Raid begins his self appointed Dungeon Steamrolling Mission. The Manager of the Niger Branch Warriors Association stands observing the deformed terrain that lay in front of him, resembling what used to be a small, clean, good conditioned soccer field.
"This is insane." Utters the woman standing next to him. Peyton. "He was no where near this skilled when we left him at the Association." She adds.
"You see it too. Of course. How couldn’t you with those eyes of yours? The scale of damage isn’t that vast but that’s actually why this is so terrifying. Sonoran wouldn’t go out of his way to make sure to limit the damages to the surrounding environment to a minimum, considering he can easily rely on the Helios Guild to cover everything up once he succeeds in his mission. Of course, with that in mind, it’s no secret why Raid would see the need to do that himself. But the fact that he was able to fight an A-Rank of such a high level, not on equal terms but to the extent of killing them while simultaneously limiting the damages to this degree is unthinkable. I’d have to see it to believe it... yet... here we are." Says Chadwick. Observing the aftermath of a battle that occured not too long ago.
"Raid. It’s only been three days since he became a Warrior. Just what the hell is he? What in God’s name has my brother basically raised?"
"Do you think he could potentially be a threat?" Asks Peyton. It’s a valid question, and an even more valid possibility to consider. Harsh, maybe, but still very much valid. No Warrior in history has ever been recorded to have this unfathomable level of growth. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"I don’t know." Chadwick answers. "He seems... well mannered... for the most part. And almost semi-oblivious to the danger his potential possesses. He could be a threat... Similarly, he could very well be the leg up we were desperately hoping for in our fight against you-know-who, that and even probably the Dungeons as well. It’s a gamble, but I think, rather than to try to contain him and cage him, we should probably help him. Aid him in his growth. It may pay off in the future, or it may come back to bite us in the ass, but I find it’s better to focus on the problems we have to deal with in the present instead of stressing over something that may or may not occur in the distant future. Still, the thought of taking another one in like this, just because he shows promise is-"
"That wasn’t your fault." Peyton cuts Chadwick off, having felt the growing sadness in his tone, and noticed his expression. A thin smile that carries a great level of responsibility... and regret.
"Haah..." Chadwick sighs and chuckles weakly. "Thanks for that. Even though I still can’t bring myself to agree with you, I want you to know that I appreciate you saying that nonetheless." He adds with a much warmer, much more genuine smile. Peyton’s cheeks flush in response as she quickly looks away.
"A-anytime." She says in a stutter.
Chadwick, noticing her embarrassed, chuckles softly and continues. "Then it’s settled. We’ll help him as best we can. Whether it leads to great gain or great loss in the future. We’ll leave it to that. The future. We just need to make sure we’re ready to cross that bridge once we get to it."
"Agreed." Says Peyton in response.
"Oh really? Not simply because you like him?" Chadwick snickers as he asks rhetorically.
"Wh-wha... that’s not!... What even gave you that idea!?" Peyton, visibly caught off guard by Chadwick’s sudden comment, hurriedly exclaims in an effort to defend herself, albeit poorly. Her cheeks turn red as if the result of a terrible make-up artist going to town with her face, as she instinctively ducks her head slightly downward.
Chadwick can’t help but find her response somewhat adorable. Like an embarrassed daughter who didn’t want her father to know that there’s a guy she likes.
"Did you really think it wasn’t obvious? Pretty much everyone except Raid himself can see it. So I guess his strength isn’t the only think he’s somewhat oblivious to. Seems he’s a numbskull in the love department as well. But now that we’ve touched on the subject, don’t you think you might be a little too old for him?" He smirks condescendingly.
"Would you please stop talking! I don’t feel that way about him at all! A-and even if I did, which I absolutely don’t! So what if I’m a tad bit older-"
"I’d say a ’tad bit’ is a tad bit of a stretch-"
"I’m sure he wouldn’t mind!-Ah!" She stops herself, realizing the implications of what she just said, although it’s a little too late. "No wait, that’s not what I meant!"
"Too late."
See?
"You’re lucky Melissa isn’t here. She’d never let you live this down." Peyton’s cheeks get redder as she hears Chadwick say that. She then sees fit to simply stay quite, fearing any more words out of her mouth would only serve to sink her deeper in the grave she has already basically buried herself in.
"You’re so awkward it’s adorable." Chadwick says with a lazy laugh. "But enough games. We should fix this mess your boyfriend made for us before the park opens."
"Haah. Okay-hey! He’s not my boyfriend!"
"Heheh."
