CHAPTER 45: GOBLIN GENERAL

The mage was shaken. He tried to back down, run away, and escape Riven. But Zane was too fast; he caught up in a second, his dagger lunging deep into the shoulder of the mage. Pain shot over his entire body. The mage staggered backward and hit the wall.

Zane walked up to him and pulled the dagger out of his shoulder. "You see, I don’t understand it at all," he said, then raised the dagger up, allowing blood to drip onto his tongue.

[You have gained 3 stat points]

"Why would you attack someone you have nothing to do with? Did you feel because you are chosen and you have some bloodline you can do whatever you want?" he asked, looking the mage in the eye.

The mage didn’t want to respond out of fear, so Zane grabbed the man by the neck. He looked him in the eye. "What was the motivation for attacking two random people?"

The mage couldn’t respond because his throat was being shattered by Zane’s immense grip strength.

Zane let him go. He dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

Shing.

Zane reacted to the sword behind him easily. He dodged it and grabbed the lady’s arm. "You are persistent," he said. He had kicked her away, but it seemed she still had a lot of fight in her.

"I’ll make you pay for harming my party," she said.

"Give it a rest," Zane replied. He pulled her forward and headbutted her so hard she blacked out for a second. She snapped back awake as she fell backward.

Zane then looked up at the healer. She trembled when their eyes met. He smiled at her. "I would take you down too, but that’s pointless," Zane said and walked away.

Grey followed behind, and they went deeper into the dungeon.

"Master, why did you leave them alive and not touch that healer?" Grey asked.

"Because I want her to heal them, and I didn’t want to kill them. In the future, factions like this will be the powers that rule the realm.

Having one that knows about me and fears me will be something I can use in the future," Zane said.

"I’m not sure I understand the logic, Master, but I believe in your judgment," Grey said.

"Yeah yeah, enough of that. Let’s hunt some goblins. I want to level up," Zane said.

They moved through the first floor at a crazy pace, checking every floor and every corner, killing goblins all around until Zane leveled up and was one step from leveling up again.

They had gathered so many low-rank goblin crystals in that time, and Grey had also leveled up to level three.

Riven’s stats looked like:

[Stats Screen]

Name: [######]

Race: Vampire

Bloodline: Cursed Bloodline of the Vampire Progenitor

Mana: 11,000

HP: Immortal

Bloodline Level: 8

Exp: 760/800

Strength: 85

Speed: 90

Agility: 90

Defense: 80

Intelligence: 110

Charm: 157

Stat Points: 140

The changes weren’t much, but they were there.

Zane and Grey could go to the second floor at this point, but Zane wasn’t settling for that. Every floor had a floor boss, and the room spawned differently from time to time.

But as long as they looked for the room, they would finally find it. So they started searching for it.

The deeper they went into the first floor, the more the moss thickened and the air grew colder. There was no light except from the crystal lamps and the faint glow from some monster crystals still scattered about from previous parties that hadn’t bothered picking them up. Zane scooped a few into his inventory along the way. Trash to others, but money to him.

Another group of goblins showed up—not just five this time, but eight, crawling from a crack in the wall like roaches, eyes gleaming, sharp teeth gnashing, and rusted weapons raised. One of them threw a stone that narrowly missed Zane’s head.

"Tch. These guys just don’t get tired," Zane muttered.

Grey cracked his knuckles. "Should we split them again, Master?"

"No. I’ll take the front four, you take the back four. Let’s make it quick."

Zane lunged forward first, blade spinning in his grip. He kicked the first goblin in the chin, sending it flying upward, then leapt to meet it mid-air. The dagger spun once before stabbing clean into its heart.

[You have killed a goblin. 10 EXP] x2

He turned around and stabbed a second goblin through the eye socket. It shrieked and exploded into particles, leaving behind another green crystal. The third one rushed with a dagger, but Zane used his charm.

"Trip and die."

The goblin’s eyes glazed for a split second. It stumbled forward, falling face-first into the ground. Zane stepped forward and stabbed the back of its neck with a clean thrust.

The fourth tried to retreat, but Grey’s goblins were already being handled with the same savage grace. He was fast—too fast for goblins. Every punch of his shattered bone. His gauntlet drank their blood, and the more it tasted, the stronger Grey got.

Within minutes, all goblins were dead.

[You have killed 16 goblins. 320 EXP earned.]

[EXP: 1080/800]

[You have leveled up! Stat Points +4]

[Level: 8 → 9]

[EXP: 280/900]

Zane felt the surge of energy hit him like a shot of adrenaline. His body felt lighter. Stronger. Faster.

"Good," he muttered. "I’m nearly at level ten now, that’s pretty good."

Grey tossed him a small crystal. "This dropped from one of them. Slightly bigger than the rest."

"Keep it," Zane said. "Maybe they’ll pay more for that."

They kept moving, carving their way through corridors of stone and shadows, the dungeon stretching like a twisting maze. Each path split into more paths. They kept one rule: always go left. It worked in games. Maybe it would work here too.

More goblins came. Six here. Ten there. They moved in hordes now, their guttural howls echoing through the halls. Zane fought with precision and instinct. Grey was more raw, using every bit of his vampiric strength to shatter skulls and crush bones. The Drain Claw grew warmer with each kill.

[You have killed 32 goblins. 720 EXP gained.]

[EXP: 1000/900]

[You have leveled up! Stat Points +4]

[Level: 9 → 10]

[EXP: 100/1000]

[Special level up box in inventory]

Zane grinned.

"Level ten, finally."

He knew about the special box that was given at level ten, and the contents were always something great.

"Master, is it alright to keep farming like this? Shouldn’t we rest?" Grey asked, slightly winded but recovering fast thanks to his vampire healing.

"We rest after we find the boss room," Zane replied, eyes scanning the hallways. "I want that floor clear bonus."

Eventually, after what felt like hours of bloodshed and walking, they turned a corner and stopped.

At the end of a corridor, there it was.

A massive door unlike any other in the dungeon black steel with glowing red runes, three times the size of a man, embedded into the stone. The air here was heavier. Denser. The crystals around this area were broken and scattered, and the walls bore claw marks and burns.

Zane whistled low. "Looks like we found it."

[Dungeon Boss Room Detected]

[Warning: Difficulty Spiked. Proceed With Caution.]

Grey cracked his neck. "This feels different."

Zane placed a hand on the door. It was cold to the touch. "Because it is."

With a push, the door creaked open, releasing a slow gust of fetid air. Inside was darkness. But as they stepped in, torches lit up one by one along the walls, revealing a wide chamber, roughly the size of a small coliseum.

At the far end stood the boss.

A Goblin General.

He was over six feet tall, bulging with twisted muscles and scars. His armor was a mismatched set of iron and bone, his eyes glowing red with primal fury. A massive cleaver hung at his back, almost as tall as he was, and in one hand he gripped a crooked black dagger, humming with dark energy.

He stood still, silent, watching them.

Zane grinned.

"A goblin general. I didn’t expect that."

The Goblin General opened his mouth and let out a low, rumbling growl that shook the room. Behind him were scattered bones, shattered weapons, and a few tattered cloaks, proof that others had tried and failed.

[You have entered a Boss Room.]

[Goblin General – Level 15 – : Blade wielder]

[Warning: Enemy has Unique Loot Drop]

[Rewards: Dungeon Clear Bonus + Rare Weapon Drop Enabled]

Zane licked his lips. "This is going to be fun."

Grey tensed beside him. "Orders, Master?"

"We split like before. I’ll distract. You wait for an opening and go for damage. Aim for the joints or under the ribs, he’s got thick armor. Use the claw as much as possible. That’s not just a dagger. It’s cursed."

Grey nodded, eyes locked on the giant goblin.

The Goblin General finally moved, cracking his neck. He tossed the dagger in his hand once, caught it, and pointed it forward. Then he roared—a deafening war cry that made the very walls shake, and charged.

Zane lunged forward to meet him.