While Prince reminisced in the dungeon, the world was undergoing a change.
Around the world, others were finding themselves in a similar situation to Prince, finding themselves within the midst of their new reality.
Immediately, the old world had been burned down, with new fledgling nations beginning to rise.
But outside of these exceptions, no one dared venture outside into monster infested territories. The bravest had perhaps killed a goblin or two by themselves.
The respective militaries of the world had their nuclear weapons stripped away, leaving them with nothing but guns. Their ships, their jets, had all vanished into thin air.
Over the span of a night, the world had turned to chaos. Half of the population of Earth had simply been wiped off the face of the planet, dead. And the number was rising.
Within the F-Grade dungeon Malevolent Mountain, however, a man was stalking a group of goblins, hiding behind goblins.
Prince gazed at the third group of five he had come across. At this point, he had been actively seeking them out. He had also gained another level from the last one he had killed, and had quickly allocated all his points into dexterity while saving one for endurance.
Prince scanned the group of goblins.
Goblin - Level 4
Goblin - Level 2
Goblin - Level 3
Goblin - Level 3
Goblin - Level 5
This one was a higher-leveled group, and was again led by a level five goblin with a level four as second-in-command.
This level four seemed to be in contest for the leader position with the level five, though the level five goblin always managed to keep him in check.
Prince pulled up his status screen to make sure he could pull this off again- and also to look at the numbers.
Attribute Screen - Prince Collins
Species: Human
Faction: N/A
Class: N/A
Titles: N/A
Grade: F
Level: 5
Strength: 14
Endurance: 11
Dexterity: 13
Vitality: 11
Mental: 11
Wisdom: 9
Free Points: 0
He was level five now, and Prince assumed he was approaching the peak for what a human could do in all aspects.
Prince could punch with the force of a heavyweight boxer and move with the speed of a professional sprinter for long periods of time. He could react with abnormal speed and had enhanced senses, while his mind could move a mile a minute.
His body was also improving slightly as well. He felt less rounded- why, he wasn't sure. It wasn't as if what he was doing was physically intensive to the point he would lose weight in such a short period of time.
He assumed it had something to do with stats, though he wasn't sure.
A grunt from a goblin ahead of him shook Prince out of his thoughts. It seemed as if the level five was scolding the level four.
Prince clenched his hands into fists, backing away to get a running start.
Prince propelled himself at maximum speed, the wind whooshing past his face. He leapt upward, jumping over the bush and landing without losing any speed.
To the goblin's credit, the level five managed to react the quickest, turning around to him and raising its arms to defend.
Prince adjusted the angle of his fist, instead slipping it under the goblin's arm to avoid wasting any time trying to break through its guard.
His fist landed with a sickening upper cut, completely surprising the level five as its jaw fractured.
Come to think of it, these goblins are surprisingly fragile. He thought, as the level four and a level three simultaneously lunged at him from either side.
He targeted the level three first, his fist landing on it and killing it immediately. This, however, gave the level four enough time to land a claw swipe along his back that managed to cut through his hoodie.
Prince grinned, adrenaline pumping through him as he whirled to face the level four.
In the corner of his eye, he saw the other three goblins charging at him while the level five recovered from his punch.
Prince landed a crisp 8 punches in a second, killing the level four immediately. It was just in time as well, as the other goblins were before him.
With his longer reach, he had already dispatched the level two and level three simultaneously with two quick punches.
This is getting easy, He thought, as the level five angrily charged at him.
Prince stopped grinning and quickly landed a hook, leaving the goblin to spin around itself before dropping onto the ground.
Level-up! You are now level 6.
All of that, and he got only one level. It seemed as if leveling got harder as you went on, requiring higher leveled beings to keep your momentum.
He couldn't go around killing goblins forever.
Prince brought up the dungeon screen once more.
F-Grade Dungeon: Malevolent Mountain. There are three monster groups that must be eliminated. This dungeon is in a conquer or perish mode. There is no leaving.
Objectives:
Slay the Goblin King (0/1)
Slay the Infernal Ape (0/1)
Slay the Whistling Wolf (0/1)
Strange, I haven't seen a wolf or a monkey yet. Prince thought. And how big is the level difference between the monster groups? Well, I've only been ambushing expedition groups for now... Surely the goblins will notice?
Prince decided he would search for another expedition group, but this time, follow them back to wherever they came from.
With this affirmed, Prince slunk back into the bushes once more.
...
Prince trailed behind a group of goblins, carefully following them. He made sure not to step on any twigs, and kept his breathing faint. Still, he wasn't sure it was needed.
Goblins weren't the brightest of the bunch. They didn't have special senses either.
For this group, Prince had followed them all around the forest as they searched for food. They had actually managed to find a few rabbits and considered it a victory. They had spent fifteen minutes dancing over the dead bodies.
Prince felt the urge to kill them, but decided just to stick with them. And so, while trailing behind them like a stalker, he had followed them to wherever they took their spoils.
The goblins left the canopy, entering a glade. Prince wasn't idiotic enough to follow right after them, and instead, stared after them through the bushes.
The goblins seemingly lived in a rudimentary village, with horribly constructed houses filling the clearing. Numerous goblins wandered around the settlement, while others sat near a fire, giggling.
What drew Prince, however, were the other types of goblins.
They were a head taller than the regular goblins and were a darker shade of green. They had proper beast skins that covered them and even rusty blades. Where they went, they commanded respect from the other goblins, and their eyes always wandered.
Prince scanned one.
Goblin - Level 8
Goblins are the standard monster in any Integration. They are usually used as fodder for a nation to train up its young ones. Goblins are extremely evil and hold no emotions other than amusement and extreme lust.
This specific variant is an evolved version, a hobgoblin. While not a major change, hobgoblins are superior to goblins in every way. They have more intelligence and better physicality.
The description was mostly the same, but there was an added paragraph. They were just a straight-up upgrade. Perhaps that was why the name for them in the System was still 'Goblin' instead of 'Hobgoblin'.
Prince scanned the entire village, hoping to get a glimpse of the Goblin King. Unfortunately, it wasn't out in the open. Prince assumed it was inside the biggest house, but he wasn't strong enough yet.
Prince got a glimpse of two hobgoblins leaving the village, heading into the forest. A smirk appeared on Prince's face as he pulled up he status screen.
He quickly allocated his points; two to endurance and one to strength.
You'll have to do, Prince thought as he slinked after the hobgoblins.