The rising sun cast a rosy hue over the skies around the capital. The farm fields were covered in an early morning mist as Kibo stood within. A familiar scene laid in front of him as he gazed towards the portal. The same portal which led to him getting injured.

 

“Never again... this time I will secure an indisputable victory.” He recalled what the others had said to him. He couldn’t feel any more pathetic as the grip on his dagger loosened but just before it could slip out of his hand he gripped it incredibly tight. “You better be there Goblin Lord, your dead body will be my start!” Kibo confidently walked into the portal.

 

╔══════════════ “°❈° “ ══════════════╗

You have Entered the Dungeon of the Goblin lord

╚══════════════ “°❈° “ ══════════════╝

 

He became surprised by the unfamiliar message revealing the Goblin lord and smiled. “Oh, ho, you finally showed yourself.”

 

Kibo looked down the long tunnel and noticed the walls were decorated with torches. It instantly lit up his path as shadows lingered in between. ‘It’s different this time, of course, the Goblin Lord is here.’ He thought.

 

He stealthily walked down the long tunnel as shadows were cast onto the walls by the torches which were perfectly aligned from one another. He realised he would be screwed if he came across any goblins within the tunnels because he couldn’t summon Zana, so he had to make his way to their camp quickly. 

 

Even though he had Zana it was his first dungeon he took on alone and anything could go wrong so he distracted himself with random thoughts to calm his nerves. ‘I have a skill where I can leap and a passive skill which lets me dodge 1/10 attacks in theory since there’s a 10% chance of it being activated when I’m attacked.’

 

Kibo arrived at a junction and noticed two out of the three tunnels were not lit up by torches. It felt like the Goblin Lord was personally inviting him to his domain. His heartbeat elevated as he clenched on his dagger even harder as the fear he had once felt became suppressed. The adrenaline rushed through his body and running not possible the only thing on his mind was an absolute victory.

 

“If that’s how you want to play it, so be it.”

 

Kibo built up his courage and continued walking down the lit-up path until he saw an opening to a large cavern. He slowly snuck up to the entrance as he leaned against the wall and looked inside. He could notice nearly a hundred goblins inside but not the goblin lord. He scanned the cavern until his eyes came across a wooden gate blocking a tunnel on the opposite side, ‘could that be the goblin lord’s room?’ He wondered.

 

Kibo quickly analysed all the big groups of goblins, and some were polishing their swords, the others were practising firing arrows at wooden and straw dummies. While the remaining were socialising. Not wanting to waste any further time, he faced his fear. He stepped into the cavern, knowing without Zana. He would have certainly died.

 

“Goblin Lord, show yourself!” he shouted as it echoed within the cavern. 

 

Behind the door, the Lord’s ears perked up from the sound. Within the cavern, every Goblin looked towards Kibo as they began to grab their weapons. The goblins remained cautious as they were not aware if more were hiding within the tunnels. After a few moments, they quickly realised he was alone and started to grin. A few goblins who carried swords raced towards him.

 

He stared at the goblins racing towards him and just as they came within range he calmly said: 

 

“Awaken.”

 

Black and blue smoke immediately filled a portion of the cavern. Screams were heard. Blood splattered against the walls and onto the other goblins. The ones who stood outside the smoke didn’t know what was happening as they listened to their siblings scream within the smoke. 

 

As the smoke settled, the remaining goblins saw at least a quarter of their own mutilated bodies scattered across the ground. The overwhelming presence of the midnight black beast which colour had given it a natural camouflage in the dark cavern with her glowing blue eyes and their dead siblings froze them into place from immense fear. The knees of some of the weaker goblins buckled as they collapsed onto the ground. Others charged toward Zana as they tried to hit her with their swords and spears. 

 

Cling. Clang. 

 

They were all mercilessly torn apart at lightning speed by her sharp claws.

 

╔═════════ “°❈° “ ═════════╗

50% of the Dungeon has been Cleared.

Do you wish to exit now?

Y/N

╚═════════ “°❈° “ ═════════╝

 

Kibo was surprised by the message because he had never received it before and smiled since he knew he was halfway done. He proceeded to reject the offer. In that time, a few goblins managed to get close to Kibo and just before they could swing their blades towards him, he shouted, “Leap!” He unconsciously focused his strength in his legs a little bit and leapt away as he landed on the other side of the group. He remained careful this time to control the distance to prevent him from injuring himself, but this only bought him a few extra seconds. 

 

All the while, Zana was seen skipping around within the cavern, striking down all the helpless goblins with her swift claws. Kibo leapt four more times as he tried to stay close to Zana. This led to the ones chasing him also being torn apart as they were caught in Zana’s line of sight. 

 

A door slams open, and the Goblin Lord walked out. He was twice the size of Kibo and had a huge stomach. He wore brown shorts along with a crown which did not fit his head. Different ornaments surrounded his neck and wrists as he held onto a large wooden club. 

 

“Who dares disturb my time with my playthings?” he questioned angrily. 

 

The Goblin Lord’s eyes widened as he saw the mutilated corpses of his children litter the floor, blood pooled in dozens of areas as he noticed a giant dark beast in front of him and a human hidden in a cloak.

 

“Human, how dare you kill my children! You will pay with your life!” He cursed.

 

He started to charge towards the beast as he considered it the most significant threat; he swung his large club towards the creature. It flew through the head as it turned to smoke.

 

“Hahahaha, how wea-.”

 

The head which had formed into smoke returned to its original form, and the Goblin Lord became surprised as he moved back again.

 

“Boyy, is that a summon of yours?” He questioned.

 

“So what if it is?” he answered with fierce looks in his eyes.

 

“I will defeat your summon just to show you how weak you are!” he said in a condescending tone. 

 

The Goblin Lord once again charged towards the beast, and this time she charged back as well. Zana raised her front paws as she aimed to strike the goblin body. The Goblin raised his left hand and blocked the paw as he swung the club straight into Zana’s side which knocked her to the side.

 

The Goblin Lord seeing the attack land gained some of his lost courage back as he was afraid all his attacks would miss. 

 

“Hahaha, how weak!”

 

Kibo panicked a little. This was the first time he saw Zana get knocked back since he came to this world. However unknown to the Goblin Lord, this only infuriated Zana more. She got back up and raced towards the goblin lord. She mercilessly clawed down the Goblin Lord who had hastily raised his arm to defend himself.

 

“Aaagh!”

 

The Goblin lord moaned in pain as deep claw marks covered his arm. He started to bleed heavily and remained more cautious.

 

“You got lucky boy if you’re a man you will fight me one to one without your summon!”

 

Kibo thought about it and got an idea. ‘My summon can kill it, but what do I gain out of it? I still lack experience. If I don’t step out of my comfort zone and keep hiding behind my summons, I will never learn. It’s now or never!’

 

They both slowly walked clockwise near the edges of the cavern walls opposite to one another. They maintained eye lock as Kibo had held his dagger in a reversed grip but brought it back down to his side.

 

“Sure, let’s have a one vs one.” Kibo decided, and he returned his beast, which turned to smoke and disappeared into him.

 

The Lord chuckled at the stupidity of the boy without a summon. He charged towards Kibo as he crashed down his club into the position he was standing. As the dust settled he noticed nothing was there.

 

“Huh?” The Goblin Lord frantically looked left and right to where his club landed and didn’t notice his body anywhere. Confused he shouted “WH-”

 

“Hey, I’m over here,” Kibo smirked as he waved to the Lord across the cavern where he previously stood. 

 

The Goblin Lord looked behind and noticed Kibo was standing in his previous spot and it confused him.

 

“Stop playing tricks and fight me properly!” He demanded and charged towards him again as his footsteps could be heard loud and clear, he swung his club towards Kibo, but it hit nothing but air.

 

 WOOSH

 

“Having fun?” Kibo joked as he used his skill Leap to jump to the opposite side of the cavern returning back to where he initially stood.

 

“Aahhhhh!” He screamed in rage as he crashed his club into the ground multiple times in anger. He knew the boy was weak yet he kept escaping his grasp in the last second which infuriated him. “Stop running and fight me if you’re a man!” He dared.

 

Noticing this opportunity, Kibo replied, “Jeez, you’re in a hurry, fine, let’s end this.”

 

Kibo tried to calm his rapidly beating heart, but it was futile, adrenaline surged through him, as he couldn’t stop smiling. They both charged towards one another and just as Kibo arrived towards the Goblin Lord, he chanted “Awaken!” while simultaneously activating his leap skill. He had sent himself careening towards the ceiling of the cavern barely missing the club’s swing by inches. He panicked but quickly closed his eyes as he calmed his mind. He swiftly realigned himself as his foot pressed against the ceiling, and he jumped off against it to freefall back down.

 

The Goblin Lord looked up and stared towards Kibo who was flying directly towards him with his dagger pointing forward. Kibo smirked and before he even had a chance to react to his expression, an onslaught of sharp attacks hit the Goblin Lord’s head and back by Zana who had appeared behind him quietly. Before Kibo hit the ground, she had quickly leapt up and caught him gently and placed him back down on to the ground. 

 

Kibo saw the Goblin Lord on the floor as his back was covered in deep claw marks, one arm was missing while the other was heavily injured. The back of his skull also had blood pouring out of it.

 

The Lord struggled to get back up onto his feet and collapsed back onto his knees as he used his club for support.

 

“Y-you liar, you said you would fight me 1 to 1, and yet you call out your summon. Why?” he questioned.

 

“Will you let someone who is about to become your slave order you around?

 

The Lord’s eyes widened, “I-Impossible.” The Goblin Lord was no stranger to dying to powerful opponents. He had been doomed to this fate for hundreds if not thousands of years. His body dies but his soul enters a new replicated body. An endless repeat of humans attacking his home. Never granting him mercy. The people he hated the most were the weaker ones. 

 

They came in doves and the majority of the time killed him to clear the dungeon. At the start, it infuriated him how such weak people kept getting the upper hand in their battles. He was once revered as a Lord. Countless goblin armies were under his command as he amassed a large amount of influence and wealth in his lands. But one day his life changed for the worse as he got locked in this endless cycles of dungeon raids.  He thought he could learn their skills and grow from copying their tactics however something always stopped him. Every time he was given a new body the new skills or tactics he thought he had learnt did not translate over to his new body. It was as if something was always restricting him. Over the centuries he gave up hope. It was his ill fate and he just lived his life enjoying the few moments of pleasure he received at the start before being slain. In the rare chance, he emerges victorious he had a little extra time to indulge in his inner desires.

 

But this person he saw in front of him is no ordinary person. In his dying moments, he glimpsed the endless darkness which surrounded him. Could he be his freedom?

 

Kibo walked over to him and smirked, “Serve me well.”

 

He lunged his dagger towards the lord chest, which was already covered in deep wounds and pierced his heart.

 

In his dying breath, he faintly muttered “save me” unable to be picked up by anybody. His body collapsed onto the ground as his club rattled by his side before it came to a stop. 

 

╔═══════ “°❈° “ ═══════╗

Dungeon Cleared Successfully

╚═══════ “°❈° “ ═══════╝

You have received 28 low tier energy stones

You have received 1 mid-tier energy stone

 

Kibo, for the first time, received these messages in his vision. But he ignored them as he looked towards the corpse of the Goblin Lord. The eerily familiar words floated above the dead body, he looked around the cavern and one by one, he noticed those same messages appear above all the goblins which had their limbs still attached to their bodies.

 

Awaken

 

Kibo waved his hand through the word which floated in front of him. His hand passed through it as the letters turned to smoke and reformed back into the word Awaken just like when he was five years old.

 

He couldn’t stop smiling, after 12 years with this ability; he never awakened anybody. Zana, who was once called Sophie, which was his pet cat during his early childhood. His ability manifested when his cat died of old age, and he noticed the words Awaken above her body. Not knowing any better he spoke those words and from that day onwards his life turned for the worse.

 

But today was different. Today he was a completely different person from his past self. He tightened his fist to reconfirm his beliefs.

 

The corners of his mouth curled up and he shouted at the top of his lungs “Awaken!”

 

The Goblin lord and over a dozen goblins bodies turned to mist, and it started to swirl into a spiral. Black smoke appeared from the ground as it mixed with the mist. After a few moments had passed, their bodies took the form of their previous selves; however, their appearances were shrouded in a cloak of smoke, just like Zana.

 

The Goblin Lord [Rank: 2] has awakened as your Summon.

A Goblin [Rank: 1] has awakened as your Summon.

A Goblin [Rank: 1] has awakened as your Summon.

A Goblin [Rank: 1] has awakened as your Summon.

A Goblin [Rank: 1] has awakened as your Summon.

A Goblin [Rank: 1] has awakened as your Summon.

A Goblin [Rank: 1] has awakened as your Summon.

A Goblin [Rank: 1] has awakened as your Summon.

A Goblin [Rank: 1] has awakened as your Summon.

A Goblin [Rank: 1] has awakened as your Summon.

A Goblin [Rank: 1] has awakened as your Summon.

A Goblin [Rank: 1] has awakened as your Summon.

A Goblin [Rank: 1] has awakened as your Summon.

 

You have awakened more than 10 summons:

Unlocking Seal

...

...

...

 

 

“Oho, so many new things. I have received energy stones and numerous summons. Finally! This is just the beginning, I’m going to make all the strongest beings my summons one day!’ Kibo imagined with an excited expression.

 

He gazed across the cavern and noticed his summons kneeling towards him. It sent a chill up his spine, knowing he commanded them. He couldn’t help but imagine an entire army kneeling to him one day. He quickly shook his head and calmed down. He returned all his summons to where they came from. He browsed through the messages and realised he had unlocked a seal and wondered, ‘What is this seal? It seems to have unlocked after I gained more than ten summons, and I see some sort of box with my information. My class is hidden behind question marks, and I might have to unlock more seals to see it properly. I also have a title which is hidden I wonder if it responsible for my mysterious powe-.’

 

Kibo’s eyes came across his mana capacity and became shocked, “Holy shit! 1,000,000 mana capacity! How is that possible?”. Kibo shivered at the thought of him having 1,000,000 mana. He suddenly remembered Zana’s stats. ‘She has constitution 100, and intelligence 100 does that have something to do with my mana and the hidden skills I have?’ 

 

Numerous thoughts crossed his mind, and he started to get a headache, he quickly dismissed all his thoughts and took in slow deep breaths. Alright, I got my summons. I got some extra benefits. It’s time to move on to the next Dungeon.

 

Kibo picked up the energy stones which glowed from the dead bodies and placed them in his bag and left the Dungeon.