After a moment of hesitation, he added anxiously, "I can't inspect the stat points of D-rank skeletons!"
"What! You can't inspect their stats?" the third D-rank player exclaimed in disbelief.
Mob 2 quickly analyzed the situation. "They only have three, but we have five D-rank players to counter them."
"Yeah, Mob 2…"
"Enough chatter!" Diablo interrupted them, his grin widening. "Let's hunt."
"Let's hunt!" the D-rank players echoed.
Sam, observing from the shadows, sneered at their futile attempts.
The vast difference in stats between the D-rank skeletons and the players quickly became evident.
As Sam had predicted, the players were swiftly incapacitated within five minutes. They lay on the ground, utterly defeated.
For Sam, this was routine, but for the surviving players, it was a shocking and terrifying experience.
It took them a moment to comprehend that they had been defeated by skeletons.
Their caster remained oblivious to the truth.
The survivors, except for Su Yanran, were consumed by fear.
She, however, felt an intuitive connection to these skeletons and their caster.
Following the battle, Sam ordered Diablo, "Take these players to a safe location and instruct the remaining skeletons to eliminate all the monsters."
"Yes, master," Diablo replied, moving the players to a secure area while the other skeletons set off to hunt monsters.
Sam and Diablo arrived at the safe location, where the defeated players lay.
"Netherworld Soul Devouring," Sam murmured, summoning blue flames that enveloped their bodies.
Though already incapacitated, the players' bodies writhed in pain as unearthly screams filled the dungeon. In a flash, memories flooded Sam's mind.
"What a sinister plan. They were going to sacrifice all the players in the goblin dungeon, artificially upgrade it, and claim the E-grade dungeon core," Sam thought, his lip curling in disgust.
….
Info dump
He recalled the rules related to dungeon cores:
1. At least one player rank must be higher than the dungeon's grade.
2. A substantial sacrifice of players and items is required for the upgrade.
3. The core's location is revealed only during the upgrade process.
Info dump
...
"How did they discover this, a secret even the 'Federation' normal authority doesn't know? Only the high authority of the Federation can know. Are they involved?" Sam mused, realizing he could sell the dungeon core to Neo.
"Diablo, let's go," Sam said, leading the way to the dungeon core's location.
Outside the dungeon
Su Sen received a report from a middle-aged man concerning his daughter. Enraged, he mobilized the family's power and the 'Federation branch.'
"What's happening here?" he demanded furiously from the 'Federation dungeon manager.'
"Sir, we don't know how it happened," the manager replied cautiously.
"I didn't ask about that! I want to know the situation in the goblin dungeon," Su Sen bellowed, his anger palpable.
The manager trembled as he replied hastily, "Sir, a cult group is attempting to forcefully upgrade the dungeon."
[Author: I will not describe novice fights as it may bore the readers. If you still desire every fight to be detailed, please comment.]
....
Sam perspective...
Sam arrived at the precise location where a cavernous opening in the monolith wall caught his attention.
He knew this marked the culmination of his quest, where he could lay claim to the dungeon's core by tapping into the memories of the cult's people for its whereabouts.
Stepping into the cave, a surge of energy whisked past him and Diablo as they ventured deeper.
Inside, they discovered an intricately designed pattern surrounding a black stone emanating a potent, enigmatic energy.
A prompt materialized abruptly.
[Neo]
[Host, you can't physically touch this core, but you can store it in the inventory]
"Oh!" I exclaimed, recalling the material scorched by my flames.
"Could that material be utilized to store the core?" I inquired, puzzled by the possibilities.
[Indeed, that material possesses unique properties suitable for this purpose.]
"Damn! I lost my investment," I thought, regaining my composure and muttering, "Inventory."
[Auto pick auxiliary function activated]
[E grade dungeon's core stored in the inventory]
Without delay, the dungeon began to disintegrate, prompting me to urgently request, "Neo, transport me to the room."
….
Outside of the Dungeon
Su Yanran's father, anxiously awaiting his daughter's safe return, heard a sudden sound that filled him with apprehension.
"Sir, the dungeon is disintegrating," the manager replied, his anxiety palpable, fearing the worst.
Su Sen stood up abruptly, bracing himself for the worst possible outcome, vowing, "If anything happens to my daughter, I will obliterate every cult in this world."
…
10 minutes earlier
As soon as the skeletons exterminated the cult's members and dispersed to eliminate the monsters throughout the dungeon, only Wang Feng's party, Su Yanran, and some E rank players survived.
Su Yanran rushed to an unconscious E rank player, seeking help from Wang Feng's party.
"Healer, help him," Wang Feng and the others implored simultaneously.
"Alright," the healer responded, commencing a healing spell.
The injured E rank player gradually recovered from his light and severe injuries, a look of relief washing over his face as he relaxed.
"I can do no more," the healer lamented helplessly.
Approaching the healer, Su Yanran expressed her gratitude, insisting, "Thanks, if you ever need anything, please contact me."