As soon as Ryan stepped into the palace, he was hit with the stench of rotting flesh, and the sight of human remains everywhere, it was so disgusting that he felt his stomach churn.
"What is this?" Ryan asked himself as he stared at the pile of bodies all around him, and from the looks of things, they were the bodies of the awakened who had dared to venture in there before.
"I have been expecting you." A low and guttural voice said, drawing Ryan's attention instantly, he focused his gaze, peering through the shadows but all he could see was the outline of a person's body.
"Who are you?" Ryan asked, he was quite surprised to hear a voice in this dungeon, and not just any voice, one that spoke his very dialect.
"I am the goblin king." A pot bellied figure said, revealing itself from the shadows, it stood at a height of 4'9, had bright green skin along with scanty hair, one look into it's eyes and one could tell that it had been through a lot.
'Since when do goblins know how to speak?' Ryan asked himself in confusion, he had never heard of such a thing before, and he had extensively done his reading on beasts.
Goblins were never considered smart creatures, they were usually seen as brawlers or creatures who relied mostly on their physical prowess, no one thought of them as creatures that could speak.
"How are you speaking?" Ryan asked the goblin king with a confused look on his face, this was a first of many, and it just showed how many secrets were actually hidden in the Paradox Dungeon, and why no one has ever cleared it before.
"You humans, always so arrogant, if you take your head out of the clouds for a second, you would realize that other creatures also matter." The goblin king said, his voice carrying the hatred he harbored for humans.
Ryan was trying to be careful, he didn't want to just outrightly attack the goblin king, the goblin king seemed like someone that would pose a serious threat to him, and he wanted to get a scope of his abilities first, which lead to him using his inspect skill.
[Species: Beast]
[Age: 10 years.]
[Type: Goblin King.]
[Status: Hostile.]
[Ability: Energy projection.]
[Grade: B Ranked.]
[HP: 10,000/100.]
Ryan stared at his system screen with confusion in his eyes, from what he could see, not only did the goblin king have an ability, it was also a B ranked beast? None of it made sense.
Goblins naturally didn't have abilities, and what would a B ranked beast be doing in an F ranked Dubgeon? It was a confusing thing to witness, but Ryan regained his composure, a B ranked beast would be hard to deal with
"I don't actually care how you can speak, all I know is that your reign of terror ends today." Ryan said, and he stretched out his hands, firing out a golden thunderbolt that rippled through the air, carrying a dangerous intensity.
A green force field suddenly appeared out of nowhere, blocking the thunderbolt out completely, shocking Ryan.
'As expected, my thunderbolt is nothing to him.' Ryan said to himself the more the battle unfolded, the more secrets he discovered that the goblin king possessed.
The goblin king swiped his hands, pulling out an old wooden staff with a crystal embedded in it from thin air.
The goblin king thrust the staff forward, sending forth a pulsating green beam of energy towards Ryan, who had already dodged the attack.
Ryan used his Hermes Feet, closing the gap between he and the goblin king, from what he had seen, the goblin king was proficient when it came to long range attacks, so he wanted to try and close the distance.
Ryan appeared before the goblin king, ready to unleash his strength on it, a golden glow surrounded his arms, giving it the strength of Hercules, an effect of his Hercules Fist skill.
However, before Ryan's fist could crash into the goblin king, it had been met by an attack of it's own, the goblin king and Ryan had locked fists, with a green glow surrounding his hands.
'It seems like he can also use that energy to boost his physical abilities.' Ryan thought, but he didn't dare to waste time, he snakes his left hand through the air, aiming for another punch, but the same phenomenon had occured.
In a swift motion, the goblin king shifted his weight, allowing Ryan to fall forward, creating an opening for a gut wrenching punch which sent Ryan flying.
Ryan's body crashed into the palace walls, forcing him to grunt from the immense pain going through his body, but Ryan's resolve was yet to be broken.
[-20 HP.]
'There has to be something I can do.' Ryan thought, now that he had seen what the Goblin King could do, he knew he was at a disadvantage irrespective of his distance, but that still wasn't enough to waver his determination.
'There must be a weak point or something.' Ryan was still lost in thoughts when he noticed three energy balls headed his way, forcing him to dodge once more.
The Goblin King closed the distance between he and Ryan in the blink of an eye, and the next second, a heavy punch landed on Ryan's stomach sending him flying once more.
The Goblin King was throwing him around like a ragdoll, and it seemed like there was no end in sight, especially now that he knew the Goblin King could beat him wether he was close or far.
[Zeus Thunderbolt activated.]
Two thunderbolts flew out of both Ryan's hands, and headed directly towards the goblin king, exploding on contact with the King's force field, sending bright sparks everywhere. But, it was a part of Ryan's genius plan.
The bright light from the thunderbolt quickly faded, only to reveal Ryan inches away from the goblin king, with his fist coated in golden energy.
[WARNING: The Dungeon is Leveling up.]
A system screen appeared before Ryan's face, while he was still in the air, further adding to his problems.