The forest inside the dungeon was not much different from most forests on earth. Besides the trees, some of the animals they used to see on television roamed freely. Rabbits, wild boars, birds, and insects such as beetles seemed to live quietly in this forest.
In the middle of their hunt, suddenly, one of the party members, a large man with an iron spear on his back, Eddie, hissed while putting his index finger to his lips.
Instantly, the entire party stopped, including Keith
"Everyone, silent."
Keith and the other party members were surprised, instantly they became anxious.
"What's wrong?" asked the party leader.
"We're being watched. There's a monster about to ambush us." Klaus gave the answer before the others could get an idea into their heads. They turned to Klaus with serious looks.
Joanna bit her lip, hissing slightly. "You're not joking, right?"
"No, he isn't," Eddie confirmed. "I think we've been followed since the rift."
They began to take a deep breath, clutched their weapons tightly, ready to fight against the monsters. Only Joanna looked tense. The girl gulped without the others knowing.
Keith then gestured to Tom, a white man with a reddish color on his cheeks, with a finger circling in the air, ordering that man to stay close with him.
They began to turn their backs to each other, their eyes looking towards the bushes and trees that surrounded them.
Keith slowly picked up a stone, then threw it into the bushes.
Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
"Raaaaaaww!"
Jumping from the bushes, a horde of creatures with green skin, pointed ears, and bloodshot eyes confronted them. A pair of sharp fangs protruded from their mouths as the monsters groaned.
Words quickly escaped Keith.
"Goblins, they are weak monsters, don't be afraid of their numbers. As long as we maintain our position, we will defeat them."
The goblins were small and quick, darting and attacking with sharp blades and crude spears.
Keith took charge of the group, he raised his shield and charged forward. Tom followed closely behind, his sword at the ready. Eddie jabbed his spear at any goblins who came too close, while Evan moved with a fluid grace, his sword slicing through the air.
Karen, the damage dealer, stood back from the fray, gathering energy in her hands. She released a powerful bolt of lightning, striking a group of goblins and sending them sprawling.
However, it was not enough, there were many of them.
Those small monsters attacked from various directions, encircling from each side, and some goblins tried to sneak the ranks.
As the party leader, Keith had the duty to take care of his men. That man had a talent called [Taunt], which attracted most of the goblins to charge at him. Thanks to the heavy armor Keith wore, he took no significant damage.
The other three fighters, Evan, Tom, and Eddie; they had talents that could increase their physical powers, [Strength Up], so they were able to cut through the goblins' bodies with ease.
Everyone fought tenaciously. Joanna, however, was different.
It was her first time in a real battle, she looked confused and trembling. She just froze in the middle of the chaos, occasionally she screamed because a goblin managed to sneak up and drew close to her. Fortunately, Klaus was always by her side.
"Stay focused. Don't panic. They're weak creatures like Keith said. Use your power to help the others," Klaus said in the middle of the fight.
Hearing her brother's gentle words, the girl squeezed his hand, gathering all the courage left in her chest.
Joanna moved through the chaos, her hands glowing with a soft green light. She touched the wounded party members, healing their wounds and restoring their strength.
While helping the others, she watched her brother fight against the monsters.
Klaus seemed relaxed in the face of the goblin siege, as if he was used to swinging a sword. He moved slowly, deliberately, his short sword held loosely in one hand.
As the goblins closed in around him, Klaus suddenly sprang into action. He spun around, his sword flashing in the sunlight, and a group of goblins fell before him. He moved with a deadly grace, his sword striking true with every blow.
"Where did he learn to fight like that?" Joanna muttered to herself.
She had always seen Klaus as a calm and gentle brother. It never crossed her mind that Klaus killed the goblins without any hesitation at all.
The battle raged on for a couple minutes. The awakeners were outnumbered, but they fought with everything they had. Finally, the goblins began to retreat, their numbers dwindling.
"Enough, don't go after them!"
Tom and Eddie stopped chasing the remaining goblins as Keith called out loudly.
The battle was over. Joanna instantly knelt down because her legs felt weak, and Evan was wiping the sweat from his forehead, and Karen was panting from draining too much mana.
Although goblins were weak monsters, their sheer numbers and agile movements were enough to exhaust them.
Only Klaus looked calm, not a drop of sweat on his face.
"This is really a surprise. I'm an E-Class, but an F-Class fights much better than me. It's even more embarrassing that you're a rookie."
Keith drew close to Klaus with a big smile, hugging him, as if they were already friends.
"Tell me, buddy. you're not a rookie, right?" The bald-headed man whispered.
Klaus smiled, laughing slightly. "Haha, yeah, I'm actually a veteran. I joined the kung fu club in high school for this battle."
Both of them were laughing.
The party leader patted him on the shoulder. "Well, whatever, as long as you fight well. Honestly, I'm not sure I could protect you guys from the start, but you and your sister were better than any other rookie awakeners."
Klaus then turned his attention to his sister. Joanna was treating Evan's arm wound, although her hands were shaking, she seemed calmer than before.
"At least she adapted well," Klaus murmured.
They picked up crystals from the bodies of the dead goblins. It was the size of a thumb, glowed bright blue, and exuded a mystical aura.
This was what they were fighting for, monster core.
After they finished looting, Karen had the entire party gather, and gave each of them a bottle of dark blue liquid.
They downed it without hesitation, only Klaus and Joanna had yet to drink it.
"What's this?" asked Joanna curtly.
"It's an ether, useful for restoring lost mana from the body, but this is a synthetic version."
Joanna frowned. "Synthetic version?"
Karen smiled at the girl, then began to explain.
New weapons and medicines were developed to equip the awakeners to face the ferocious monsters in the dungeon.
Back then, the awakeners relied on conventional weapons and common medicines. However, after they entered the dungeon, they discovered many new items that were far more powerful than anything on Earth.
They discovered sap that could close wounds instantly, animal meat that could make anyone who consumed it full for a day, plants that could antidote various poisons, and most phenomenally, mysterious objects that had magical functions, "arcana".
Thanks to these items, researchers were creating innovations that were useful for humanity. Even the cure for cancer had been discovered and was easily found in supermarkets.
Of course, not everything they could develop, for example they couldn't optimize dungeon materials into firearms. As a result, only the awakeners could fight against them. They also couldn't produce or replicate arcana.
"Well, I learned a lot of things today, thanks to you."
Karen smiled after hearing Joanna's words. "I'm glad I could help. We're in the same party after all."
After recovering their mana and resting for a while, they continued their hunt. Taking out a group of goblins instilled confidence in them, they began to actively raid the goblin camps on the outskirts of the river.
For nearly an hour they hunted goblins, they got dozens of monster cores.
Their hunt came to a halt when they found a cave in the middle of the forest. From inside the cave, there was a mysterious aura, as if whoever entered there never returned.