[Swift Dash]
– Rank: [Common]
– Level: 0
– Description: A straightforward dash skill that enhances the user's speed for a brief moment, allowing them to close the distance to enemies or evade attacks. Perfect for beginners seeking quick movement in combat situations.
—-
'So, it's a movement-type skill.' Max sighed. Although he knew this dungeon couldn't possess anything better than basic skills and items, since it was a no-rank dungeon, he was still a little disappointed that even the hidden chamber only contained a movement-type basic skill.
'I guess it's better than nothing.' He opened the scroll and placed his hand on it. The skill scroll glowed with blue light before it vanished in the same hue.
[Congratulations to Max Voidwalker for obtaining the skill — Swift Dash.]
'Let's see how swift its speed is…' Max mused and activated the skill.
Swish!
His form blurred, and he disappeared from his position, reappearing just before the tables at the opposite end of the hall.
"This is good!" Max was satisfied. The speed was enough to catch any enemy off guard and close the distance quickly.
"This skill is great, but to make the best use of it, I need to level up my Basic Sword Arts to at least level 10. Only then will I be invincible in close combat," he muttered to himself, envisioning a scene where he used his Three Dimensional Body, Swift Dash, and Basic Sword Arts to overwhelm any foe in a close combat battle.
'Alright, I should start training.' Max thought, sitting cross-legged on the ground and closing his eyes. He believed this hidden chamber was probably the safest place in the entire dungeon, where no one would disturb him.
He activated the Dimension of Time skill and appeared directly in the time dimension without having to go through the door. 'Sweet, now let's start training the Basic Sword Arts.'
---
Four hours passed, and Max opened his eyes.
A wide, smug smile spread across his face as he stood up and checked his status for the Basic Sword Arts skill.
—-
[Basic Sword Art]
– Rank: [Common]
– Level: 20
– Description: The simplest and most universal sword art taught to beginners. It focuses on mastering the rudimentary techniques of swordsmanship, emphasizing form, balance, and timing.
—-
'This is good! It took a year longer, but I managed to master Basic Sword Arts to level 20.' Max smiled at the result. Although he felt that mastering the Basic Sword Arts was many times easier than mastering the Magic Bullets skill for some reason, he didn't think too much of it.
'It was like I've already trained this skill before…' He couldn't describe the strange feeling he had while training for four years in Basic Sword Arts. He felt as though he was already very familiar with the skill, even though he wasn't.
'It's a good thing, so I shouldn't complain.' Max mused.
After that, he sat down again and began absorbing all the cores he had collected so far. Some time later, a notification popped up in his vision.
[Congratulations to Max Voidwalker for leveling up to level 2 of Novice Rank.]
However, upon seeing the notification, he wasn't happy at all. He had three level 3 goblin cores, one level 4 goblin core, and many level 2 goblin cores, yet his level only increased by one after absorbing all of them.
'Just as the books mentioned, the difficulty of leveling increases as one becomes stronger,' he thought, turning his attention toward the door he came from.
"It's time to kill the boss and leave the dungeon." He muttered and exited the hidden chamber.
---
What greeted Max when he stepped out of the hidden chamber was pure chaos. Goblins were waging war against the students from his academy. All the level 2 goblins were handled by those who had recently upgraded their strength to level 1. As Max observed, he noticed many level 1 students among those fighting, as he had seen before.
'Huh? The students have gathered at both entrances to fight.' Max observed and credited Zixi for coming up with such a plan. Thanks to it, the number of students in the village exceeded that of the goblins combined.
"Blade Waltz!"
Just then, a familiar shout reached Max's ears. He turned toward the voice and saw a kid with light golden hair thrust his sword forward skillfully in a barrage, each strike stronger than the last, aimed at a level 3 goblin.
From Max's point of view, he only saw sword shadows released from William's sword one after another, hitting the level 3 goblin.
The level 3 goblin was pushed back by William's constant barrage of attacks, with deep gashes appearing on its body. But that was all—his attacks failed to deliver a decisive blow to severely injure the goblin.
"Tch, these level 3 goblins are hard to kill." William said in frustration as he stepped back.
"Don't worry, with our cooperation, we can easily kill it." A lady with brown hair stepped forward beside William. Her sharp gray eyes glinted with intelligence, and her graceful yet purposeful movements exuded quiet confidence.
"Bind it." William said, nodding.
Zixi nodded and moved her hands in a strange manner.
"GGGHHH!"
Just then, a spirit or ghost-like figure with a skull and skeleton body emerged from the ground below the level 3 goblin and tightly bound its hands and legs, restricting its movement.
"It's time to finish it." William shot forward again, using a movement skill to appear before the level 3 goblin, now bound by Zixi and her ghost spirit.
"Guard Break!"
He used his strongest skill, thrusting his sword forward. The sword gleamed in pure golden light.
BANG!
The golden sword struck the motionless goblin and pierced through its heart, emerging from its back. Green blood sprayed onto William's face and body, but he didn't flinch and stood calmly.
After a few seconds, the goblin's corpse disappeared, leaving behind a few items on the ground.
"Guys, a little help here!" An urgent shout soon reached William's and Zixi's ears.
"Henry!" They looked at each other and immediately turned toward the shout, seeing Henry, alone, fending off three level 3 goblins with a shield twice his size.
Seeing that, they immediately dashed toward Henry.
However, before they could reach him, three beams of light shot toward Henry, and a moment later, the three goblins Henry had been shielding fell to the ground.
"They're dead?" Henry, a chubby kid with small eyes, stared at the headless corpses of the three level 3 goblins in shock. "They're dead!" He shouted instinctively when he saw that.
"Dead?" Both William and Zixi reached Henry and saw the headless corpses of the goblins before they disappeared in red light, leaving behind many drops.
"Who could kill level 3 goblins so easily?" William's eyes widened in shock, realizing he had only seen three beams of light before the goblins died.
"Could it be…" Zixi looked at William suspiciously.
William gritted his teeth but he knew that only one person could pull off something like that.
"MAX! COME OUT!" William shouted, looking around.
"MAX! COME OUT!"
"MAX! COME OUT!"
He shouted two more times, seeing no response, and was about to shout a fourth time when a figure appeared in front of him.
"I heard you the first time. You don't have to shout like that," Max said, looking at William with a sneer.