"Max!" William shouted, pointing at him the moment Max showed his face. "Where were you the whole time we were fighting these goblins?"
Max smiled and chuckled. "I was busy with something else," he said, glancing at William, Zixi, and Henry.
"It seems you guys hunted a lot of level 3 goblins to level up so fast." He spoke, feeling a little odd. He had needed three level 3 goblin cores and countless level 2 goblin cores, and even then, he had to absorb a single level 4 goblin core just to reach level 2.
"What are you talking about?" William frowned, looking at Max strangely. "We only used level 2 goblin cores to level from 1 to 2."
Max's eyes widened. "You didn't need level 3 goblin cores?" he asked in shock. He needed three of them, and even that wasn't enough.
"It's true," Zixi said, this time. "Apart from the three of us, there are others who also leveled up to 2 just with level 2 goblin cores after we cleared the goblins at the entrance of the village."
Max nodded, frowning. He didn't understand why only he needed so many cores, and even some high-level ones, to level up to level 2 while others were good with only level 2 cores..
"Forget about that." William smiled confidently. "Max, I challenge you to a duel."
Zixi and Henry exchanged a look and sighed when they heard William.
Max's shoulders drooped at the challenge. "How many times have you challenged me?"
William's lips trembled, but he gritted his teeth and replied, "Including this, it's 344 times."
"And how many times have you won?" Max sneered.
William clenched his fists. "None, but this time I'll definitely win. I'm sure of it."
"You've said that so many times it's become a cliché to me." Max waved his hands dismissively. "You're persistent, I'll give you that. But I'll allow you to challenge me one last time after we clear all the goblins here."
"Don't forget your promise." William said solemnly.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll remember it," Max said with a dismissive wave, his tone casual as he began to walk towards the group of students engaged in battle with the level 2 goblins. He paused for a moment, a smirk playing on his lips. "But first, let me put an end to this chaos."
He activated Swift Dash and appeared before the crowd. He didn't attack immediately. He watched the battle for a moment before looking around. His eyes landed on a unique structure in the middle of the village.
It was 10 feet long, guarded by four level 3 goblin shamans who, despite the battle raging in the village, had stayed on guard, not participating in the fight.
'This should be good,' he thought and dashed toward the building before appearing in front of it.
"Die!"
He shot forward, releasing four bullets, each with the power of three magic bullets, at the four level 3 goblins who came charging toward him with gleaming swords as he approached the structure.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The four bullets struck the goblins, causing their heads to explode.
'Good.' Max smiled, climbing to the top of the structure. From there, he surveyed the battlefield and observed the students struggling against the goblins.
'It's time to clean this up,' he mused with a smile and activated his Three Dimensional Body skill, firing magic bullets nonstop. Now that he had leveled up to level 2, his mana reserves were high enough to shoot 100 magic bullets continuously, and he intended to do just that.
"What's he doing? Is he planning to kill the goblins from up there?" Henry muttered, watching Max fire magic bullets.
William frowned at the sight. "Does he have such confidence in his aim that his bullets will only hit the goblins?"
"I guess we'll find out in a few seconds," Zixi said solemnly, watching Max. After a few moments, their expressions turned to shock.
They watched in awe as magic bullets erupted from Max, streaking through the air with relentless precision. One after another, the glowing projectiles flew, cutting through the goblins with unerring accuracy, killing them before they could react.
"How could this be?" William clenched his fists, watching the scene unfold. He couldn't believe how the distance between them had only grown after they entered the dungeon. He had thought he might break his losing streak here, but it was clear now he was wrong.
"Damn, I've been chasing after a monster all this time." He sighed and silently accepted his defeat.
The sky above the battlefield soon seemed to come alive, filled with brilliant blue light. It was as if a storm of blue light descended, each radiant strike finding its mark with flawless precision, cutting down goblins one after another.
In just a minute, the battlefield was silent, littered with the corpses of goblins. Then, without warning, a blinding red light surged across the battlefield, pulsing with an intensity that seemed to shake the very air. The glow radiated a strange, otherworldly energy, casting long, ominous shadows over the fallen goblins.
However, just as suddenly as it appeared, the red light flickered and faded, leaving behind an unsettling calm.
"It's done." Max smiled, seeing that he had killed all the goblins with just one skill. Satisfied, he jumped down and collected the drops from the four level 3 goblins he had killed earlier.
"Damn, Max, you're getting stronger than I ever imagined, even in my dreams," William said as he approached with Zixi and Henry.
Max only smiled and asked, "So, are there more level 3 goblins here?" He wanted to reach level 3 before heading to the boss room, and for some reason, he felt that only level 3 goblin cores could help him level up now.
"We don't know," Zixi replied, glancing at the battlefield. "When we came here, there were a total of 10 level 3 goblins, but that doesn't include the ones you've already killed."
"That few?" Max frowned. "The boss should be a level 5 monster, right? So there should be many more level 3 goblins out there in the dungeon."
"You're right." William's shoulders drooped. "We're unlucky to have encountered a level 5 dungeon this time. It'll be very difficult to kill a level 4 boss, let alone a level 5 one."
'A level 5 boss is indeed a huge problem, but not for me,' Max thought, though he kept this to himself. He looked at the battlefield, wondering if absorbing all the level 2 cores would be enough to reach level 3.
"By the way, have you seen Nevin?" Max asked the three of them.
"Him?" William, Zixi, and Henry exchanged glances and shook their heads. "We've seen almost everyone from our academy in the dungeon, except Nevin."