Ryan's plan worked even more than expected. Although he couldn't cause much damage, punching the monsters' chins made them turn into sandbags. They didn't have experience in enduring damage, so it was only obvious that something like that would happen.
Congratulations! The skill Herculean Strength has leveled up.
Herculean Strength Lv 1 ➞ Lv 2
Effect: Increases your strength by one point per level temporarily.
Cost: 01 stamina per second
You obtained 01 status point.
Congratulations! The skill Martial Arts has leveled up.
Martial Arts Lv 1 ➞ Lv 2
Effect: Increases damage when attacking by using kicks and punches by one percent per level.
You obtained 01 status point.
Ryan had to do that more than a few times to level up the skills… Still, giving that it wasn't his area of expertise, he felt thankful for the level-ups. However, he would have to take a break because he finally found the end of the dungeon. As expected, the last part of the dungeon was very similar to the area where Ryan fought the boss slime. The ceiling was twenty meters above the ground, and even though the space was round, it was exactly one hundred meters long in all directions. Ryan also found a treasure box, a purple crystal, and a big goblin in front of it.
"Is that a hobgoblin?" Ryan frowned.
Ryan knew that goblins could evolve into other species that weren't green, but he didn't expect to see red blood-like goblin from up close. All the goblins Ryan found so far were bald and didn't have any armor, but that one was wearing a chainmail and even had a round iron shield. He also had long black hair. As if that wasn't enough to make the creature look terrifying, the monster was sitting cross-legged as if it was waiting for something. A long single-edged silver sword was resting on his legs, and that one looked leagues above any weapon Ryan had seen so far.
"This will be hard. Not even iron bolts will pierce his skin with ease," Ryan bit his lips. "If I focus too much on attacking his head, he will always protect it with his shield."
Maybe a full-powered Power Shot would do the trick if Ryan uses an iron crossbow, but then again, that would leave him vulnerable. The hobgoblin looked physically fit, so Ryan could easily see him running at a speed that would give Ryan a lot of trouble. A single mistake would cost Ryan his neck, and in the worst-case scenario, he would get split in half from head to toe. For the good or the worst, Ryan had a vivid imagination.
"Well… I have to buy the crossbow anyway, and I will only have enough coins a few hours before sunrise," Ryan said while he was retreating. "I might as well try this tomorrow at night. It will be a pain to spend another day here, but it is not like I have any other choice. That asshole said that the idea of power blinded me. That isn't true."
Ryan didn't know why the boss didn't leave the area around the purple crystal when they did not even try to protect those objects properly. They were powerful enough to kill hundreds of humans in just a few minutes, so that fact only made things even more confusing. Still, it wasn't like finding an explanation for that would solve the whole Earth's problem, so Ryan didn't have to think too much about it. He only had to focus on defeating the next boss and then obtaining his next class.
Since Ryan had some time between the battles, he also repeated some processes. He did level up Herculean Strength and Martial Arts. However, this time he trained other skills using the weapons the goblins left behind.
Congratulations! The skill Swordsmanship has leveled up.
Swordsmanship Lv 1 ➞ Lv 2
Effect: Increases damage when using swords by one percent per level.
You obtained 01 status point.
Congratulations! The skill Knife Mastery has leveled up.
Knife Mastery Lv 1 ➞ Lv 2
Effect: Increases damage when using knives by one percent per level.
You obtained 01 status point.
Congratulations! The skill Spearmanship has leveled up.
Spearmanship Lv 1 ➞ Lv 2
Effect: Increases damage when using spears and lances by one percent per level.
You obtained 01 status point.
Ryan spent the night hunting goblins while hoping that they would drop some decent item that would help him. He even increased his luck a little more in order for that to happen, but his luck wasn't that good. To make matters worse, he didn't level up the skills that would help him in that situation… he tried, but since the goblins were too weak for his weapons, it didn't work.
"I guess this is it…" Ryan said when the sun was rising. "I will have to rely on the iron crossbow and perhaps on some mana potions to kill that hobgoblin."
Although Ryan had enough coins to buy the crossbow, he decided not to do that yet. He might have a better idea during the day, and he would need those coins if that happens. Regardless, John, Daniel, and Mia were waiting for him at the dungeon entrance, but he only nodded before leaving the place without saying a single word.
So many things happened so fast that Ryan had forgotten about the motorcycle, so he headed toward the location where he had hidden it hoping that it would still be there. Fortunately, it was… it looked like monsters were only good at tracking people and not vehicles.
"Well, if they were good at that… it would be way too weird," Ryan shrugged, and then he began to move the motorcycle toward the dungeon.
However, Ryan suddenly stopped when he had an idea… he found a way to make the battle against the hobgoblin a little easier…