Prince had finally reached his river. He quickly submerged himself in it.
This time, Prince had enough discipline not to fall asleep.
Then, he exited his river after he had been healed and walked to the goblin village.
Really, Prince was excited to leave and interact with others. Not only that, but while he had comprehended the Dao of Martial Arts... He didn't know where else to go from there.
The outside world surely had some insights.
Then Prince realized how dirty he actually was. Caked and crusty blood covered him, along with filth and dirt. His hair had grown wild.
He looked like a savage.
At this point, Prince no longer really cared about his appearance. Washing in the river had cleaned him up a bit, and that was good enough.
Prince went toward the goblin village. He soon reached there.
There were a few goblins there, but it was quite empty.
Some goblins, who couldn't feel the light aura he emitted, were stupid enough to try to attack him.
Goblin - Level 9
A hobgoblin ran toward Prince, throwing a punch.
Without even turning, Prince raised his hand and blocked the punch, completely halting the goblin's momentum.
Prince quickly clenched the goblin's wrist, pulling it toward him while simultaneously delivering a weak Thunderous Palm to the goblin's chest.
The goblin managed to survive, which was a surprise to Prince, even though he had held back. Just before the goblin was about to fly away, Prince snatched it and threw it behind him.
"Not enough?" Prince snorted. He grabbed the goblin again (before it could fully fly away behind him), this time throwing it toward his side, the goblin suspended mid-air, upside down.
Prince raised his knee, lining up a shot.
To every goblin present, Prince radiated the aura of a pure beast. A beast that would inevitably kill them, whether they wanted it or not.
Prince's foot exploded outward, precise, hitting the chest of the hobgoblin. His single big toe connected with the green skin, sending the monster flying for a few meters, dead.
Prince's strike had blown a hole through the goblin's chest, nearly splitting it in half.
Goblins were weak.
The other goblins scattered away, terrified.
Prince kept walking.
The experience from killing that hobgoblin was a drop in the bucket now. It was barely worth it to kill goblins.
And more so...
They didn't ignite Prince's spark. His joy was gained through fighting with his life on the line. These goblins were too weak for that.
Prince eventually reached the Goblin King's throne, where the Essence Tree lay in wait.
A goblin was sitting on the throne, though it was nowhere near as impressive as the Goblin King.
Goblin - Level 10
The goblin glared at Prince as he approached. Prince could care less.
He walked right past it.
The goblin didn't do anything after catching the scent of blood.
Prince plucked a fruit from the Essence tree and bit into it.
It tasted pretty good. Warm energy flooded him, heading toward his Essence pool. It rejuvenated it, but did more than that.
Binding Prince's soul were 4 chains.
On each link of every chain, there were four seals.
The Essence Fruit had already got to work on a seal. Prince estimated that it would take one hour to destroy one seal, which meant four hours for each link.
And there were 20 links each chain.
Hmm. Did the System not expect me to find a solution so easily? It's time-consuming, but once these chains are gone...
Prince felt excitement.
I'm free.
Prince ate a few more Essence Fruits, paying attention to how they worked on his seals. Eventually, Prince was confident he could replicate the process with his own Dao, though it was extremely precise.
Prince stretched and then stood.
"Guess I should stop procrastinating." He turned to the goblin.
The goblin just blinked. "Eh..."
Prince darted toward it, punching its head off.
"Don't worry," Prince said. "I'll be back soon."
...
Prince went to the cave to retrieve his stuff.
As he picked up his phone and car keys, it felt so... Alien. For over a week he'd been fighting for his life, advancing from prey to predator.
Now he wasn't the same person he had been before.
Could a regular bullet even damage him anymore?
Prince slipped his phone into his pocket, which felt so fragile.
Then he took his car keys and walked through the same trail he had been on.
He exited the park, which looked abandoned. Prince wondered if he would find people here.
They might have not been stranded in the dungeon, like him, but they had to be around here.
Or maybe they were all dead.
Prince unlocked his car, which still ran smoothly. Seemed like nothing had done anything to it.
He started the engine, put it into drive, and then started his ride back to the city.
At his current speed, Prince could run at a little over 100mph.
But driving a car was one of the most normal things he had done in a while, so he decided not to run.
Prince released a content sigh.
"There it is," Prince said, as some city buildings pulled into sight. "Atlanta."
...
Zora couldn't believe she was running.
I mean, she never ran away from anyone. When the System came, she had immediately accelerated in power- heck, she even had her own Dao.
But it seemed like Marcus and his goons didn't like anyone that could pose a threat to them. So she had to make her masterful escape before they tried anything that would lead to an all-out fight. It was a big brain move on her part.
Marcus' superiority complex after he conquered the dungeon had led him to creating a Faction in which he ruled as a tyrant.
And he used guns to keep people at bay. Guns! In the new world! If they woke up and started accepting their new reality, Marcus could be easily defeated. He was barely past level 15.
But no, it fell down to her.
Why her and not Zane? He was stronger, anyway.
Though... Zane was so concerned with getting stronger that he actually might not prove a threat.
Zora was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice when she bumped into some dude's chest.
She backed up, raising her head. "Sorry-"
Zora paused.
The man's face was handsome- sharp features, stormy green eyes, dark hair. Maybe a little dirty. But that wasn't why she stopped.
From the bestial aura the man emitted, Zora got the feeling that fighting him would be a very, very bad idea.
"Huh?" He said, rather confused.