"Firebolt"
With all his willpower and strength left, Eone shot out a firebolt at the last blazing torch on the wall.
"Boom!!"
Just as the torch blasted into pieces, the room went completely dark for a second before a tinge of blue light popped out of his wristband.
[Ding!! [All conditions have been fulfilled.]
[Passive Skill Activated]
[Enhanced by Darkness: All base stats are multiplied by 5]
[Quick Status]
[ HP: 14% {Healing} MP: 330/600
Enhanced by Darkness Applied: All stats multiplied by five
STRENGTH: 50
STAMINA: 60
AGILITY : 40 ]
As soon as these words appeared on screen, Eone felt like some energy surged inside him. His eyes became completely black in colour, while his pupils illuminated in cosmic white.
Just a second ago, he was about to collapse from pain; his ears were ringing, and his vision was blurry. But now, as if he could hear the finest details in the air, his vision was even better than in bright daylight.
All the pain in his body started to disappear, thanks to his enhanced physique and Rimuru healing.
-Is this what it feels like to be stronger? - Eone thought while looking at the hobgoblin swinging its club towards his head.
The hobgoblin he couldn't trace a minute ago was now as slow as an ant.
Eone casually lifted his left hand and grabbed the wood club in midair.
"BANG!"
Just as the hobgoblin swung its club towards him, the sound of collision reverberated through the cave as its attack was stopped midair. No matter how much the hobgoblin tried, it couldn't pull back its weapon.
At that moment of struggle, the hobgoblin saw two eyes...two eyes with a cosmic white pupil shining in the dark.
"Tell me..."
"How does it feel?"
"...To fight..."
"Someone...stronger than you?"
Before the hobgoblin could realise what just happened, it felt a painful sensation on its chest.
"Bangg!"
A strong punch felt on the hobgoblin's chest, sending it a few metres sliding on the ground.
"I guess I am still a week older than that undead troll from earlier." Eone concluded while casually walking towards the hobgoblin on the ground.
While Eone was preparing his next move towards the hobgoblin, his crest blinked twice, and the green energy covering his body disappeared.
"It's fine, Rimuru; you already helped me more than enough; in fact, I am quite surprised that your magic didn't drain out up until now," he said, walking towards the hobgoblin on the ground.
"Fire Punch-Secound Form-Dark Style"
[HP: 29% MP:320/600]
As he said those words, his fist illuminated golden in colour, while black flames engulfed it up to his elbow.
"Shreeek"
The hobgoblin screamed in anger before it got up from the ground and jumped towards Eone to deliver a punch.
"Crackkk!" To the amusement of the hobgoblin, Eone dodged the attack by casually moving to his right. As soon as the punch hit the ground, it produced a cracking sound while vibrating the whole cave.
Eone didn't let this opening slide, as he skittered on the floor towards the hobgoblin while punching it on the chin.
"BOOM!!"
As the punch hit the hobgoblin's chin, the golden energy from Eone's fist blasted like a grenade, sending the hobgoblin 2 metres up in the air.
[HP:29% MP:270/600]
"Grraaaahhhh"
Hobgoblin screamed in pain as its whole jaw was blasted into a bloody mess while the black fire constantly kept burning, which disabled its regeneration process.
Just as the hobgoblin hit the ground, it felt another screeching pain down its ears.
"Boom"
Another punch hit the hobgoblin on the left side of its head, completely crushing its ears into a bloody mess while the force from the punch sent it six metres sliding on the ground.
[HP:29% MP:240/600]
"Grraaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"
The hobgoblin screamed through its broken mouth and jumped towards its enemy, trying to land a hit.
"Boom!!,Crackkkk,Boom!!"
The sound of blasts and cracks echoed in the dark cave as none of the hobgoblin attacks hit their target.
Eone, without any effort, was casually dodging the punches and kicks coming towards him while finding an opening for attack.
-What a pain- Eone thought, sensing that he has now been cornered and can't evade any attack.
"Garhhhh" the hobgoblin screamed while punching straight towards its enemy.
"BANGG!"
The hobgoblin's full strength punch was stopped in midair as it felt a tight grip around its fist.
"Firebolt: maximum output"
"BooooOom!!"
Just as Eone grabbed the hobgoblin's punch in midair, he collected all the magic he could in an instant and launched a massive firebolt from the same hand he was holding the hobgoblin's fist.
[HP:29% MP:150/600]
"Aaarrggghhhhhh"
The hobgoblin screamed at the top of its lungs as its hand was blasted to its shoulder and fountains of black blood flew out of it.
Just as the hobgoblin fell to the ground, another fire punch hit its face, sending it to the wall.
But unfortunately for him, the punches didn't stop there and continued to crush his head against the wall.
"Bang! BOOM!!Boom! BOOM! banggg!!"
When the barrage of normal punches stopped, a messed up face of a hobgoblin was revealed through it.
The hobgoblin didn't stand back; its legs were trembling so hard.
Black blood and sweat left its forehead while its head slowly started to regenerate again.
Eone didn't keep an eye on the hobgoblin while searching for something on the ground.
- Lession learned. You can't kill something with punches and kicks alone, like in those fantasy novels and movies- Eone thought as he picked up his kukri from the ground.
Eone then slowly walked over to the hobgoblin, who was huffing and sweating on the ground, as he slowly pressed his weapon against its neck.
"This thing you're feeling right now..."
"It's called 'fear'..."
"Fear of death..."
"Slashhh.."
As he said those words, he made a horizontal slash around the hobgoblin's neck before it evaporated into black smoke.
[Level 3 Progress: 100% ]
[Would you like to level up to level 4?]
No," Eone replied with a straight face, looking at the other notification on his screen.
[Ding! Floor 5 Goblin Crypt has been cleared.]
[The dungeon is satisfied with your performance.]
[Bonus reward: 1000 crypto coins]
[Would you like to challenge the next floor?]
"No, send me to the goblin merchant shop," Eone said, looking at the blue portal in front of him.
[Command confirmed]
[Connecting link to goblin merchant...
Link established successfully]
With a series of notifications, a yellow portal appeared in front of him.
Eone didn't blink an eye on the screen and walked into the portal in front of him.
As soon as he entered the yellow portal, his cosmic white pupils went black again, and he felt a dizzy sensation in his body.
[Enhanced by Darkness : Deactivated]
[All stats are back to normal.]
As soon as the enhancement deactivated, Eone felt like the world around him was revolving, and the ringing sound once again started to penetrate his brain as he fell on his knees.
It took him all his willpower to look at the blurred counter in front of him as a few words escaped his lips.
"Bring me a full recovery potion."
He wasn't even sure what he said, because he couldn't even hear his own voice.
Before his vision went completely black, and he collapsed on the floor.
{Next chapter : Traitor }