As gathered twenty green Monster Cores after the Dreadfiends ceased their assault and stored them in his storage before exhaling deeply; he flicked the blood from his des, then cautiously continued down the street, remaining alert for any lingering threats.


    While walking down the creepy street, the buildings were dark, and curtains sat still in the windless town. As checked his status as he reached the town square, where the remains of old stallsy abandoned.


    [Level Up: 80→83]


    [Experience: 1630/2000]


    [Experience Gained: 6000]


    [Mana: 2940→2960]


    [Strength: 546→552]


    [Stamina: 744→750]


    [Core Points: 15000→19000]


    [Core Points Gained: 4000]


    Happy with his gains, As was only seventeen levels away from ranking up again. After that, he nced around the square and spotted many rundown stores with homes behind them, which gave him a bad feeling.


    Something told him to go to the mayor''s mansion in the distance, which he started doing, ''Is the dungeon guiding me there?'' he mused while walking toward the mansion.


    As continued through the town as it grew darker, allowing the Deathfiends to ambush him from the shadows. He sidestepped many attacks while striking back; after putting down a few creatures, he took out an Inferno Bomb and threw it into the center of the creatures.


    A firestorm erupted when it connected with a monster''s chest, devouring many Deathfiends and causing them to howl in agony. As was shocked but decided not to use them against smaller targets anymore, as he could feel the mes on his skin.


    Following that, he ughtered the surviving creatures before collecting the ten cores. It took another twenty minutes to reach the mayor''s mansion, and then he felt an ominous feeling wash over him as howls rang out from the courtyard outside.


    Steeling himself, As walked through the iron gates and saw a ten-foot being standing there holding a greatsword. It looked like a Dreadknight but was more vicious-looking, and its aura was stronger, affecting him.


    ''Another mini-boss? I''ll use Void Sight,'' he thought.


    [Dreadfiend King]


    [Second Sub-Boss]


    [Rank: C - 500 Exp]


    ''Spider Queen and now a Dreadfiend King,'' he mused. ''I''m feeling a patterning along. If I remember correctly, there were Death Goris and Blood Bats in this dungeon.''


    As readied his des, but even then, he looked like a bugpared to the boss before him. The creature''s ck armor gave off an ominous feeling that seeped into his body, but he shook his head as a gong rang across the courtyard.


    He looked at the new enemy and guessed it could wipe out dozens of soldiers with one swing of that deadly weapon resting on its shoulder. The Dreadfiend King dashed forward and swung the tree-sized sword at him.


    When As saw this, he yelped before using Void Sight to avoid the attack; once he reappeared, he cast several Void sts at the foe. The azure blue sts connected with the creature''s chest, causing it to stumble back.


    After that, he lunged forward and shed through the metal armor, trying to bring it down, but it wasn''t good enough as the king swung its sword at him. As crossed his des and cast Void Guard just in time to defend himself, but the force of the strike sent him skidding across the courtyard.


    As copsed to his knees, blood spilling from his mouth as he struggled to catch his breath as the pain radiated throughout his body. But that''s when Regeneration quickly kicked in and started mending the internal injuries.


    He reached into his pouch and pulled a health potion before downing it. Following that, As got to his feet as pain shot through his body, causing him to yelp. He noticed the Dreadfiend King wasn''t moving.''Is it waiting for my next move?'' he thought.


    That''s when an idea came to him. As took out a Gravity and Thunderp Bomb before dashing toward the enemy. When the creature saw this, it swung its sword in several arcs, but he was too quick and dodged several attacks.


    ''It''s stronger than me but I''m faster,'' he thought while closing in on the Dreadfiend King.


    Once As was close, heunched the Gravity Bomb at the boss''s chest. When it connected, something strange happened: the air around the enemy started to warp, bringing him to his knees.


    ''Got you now,'' he internally celebrated as he charged forward and threw the Thunderp Bomb.


    The bomb struck the Dreadfiend King squarely in the face, erupting in a thunderous explosion that sent the towering boss crashing onto its back. Seizing the moment, As charged forward, his heart pounding with adrenaline.


    As he reached the fallen giant, As thrust his de deep into its skull, the steel prating with a sickening crunch. He then unleashed a barrage of Void Bullets, each shot tearing through the creature''s head and causing it to disintegrate into a horrible mixture of blood and bone.


    Covered in the blood and gore, As staggered back, overwhelmed by the brutal scene. He ripped off his helmet, his stomach churning, but it soon settled down as the body vanished into the dungeon, leaving beyond a red core and another key.


    As retrieved the silver item and carefully stowed it away, along with eight gold coins, into his storage. Exhausted, he slumped against a nearby tree, allowing himself a moment of rest as he caught his breath.


    His mind wandered as heconsidered the path ahead.''Two more directions left,''he mused,''whichmeans two more mini-bosses to face.''


    After that, he continued to find the tunnel entrance, going up until he saw the other pathways. As took the opposite one and ended up in a jungle, ''Death Goris, this is going to be annoying.''


    As was standing at the mouth of the entrance when he started hearing the hollering of the monsters in the distance. He noticed the trees moving, so he hid behind a nearby tree and watched several angry-looking monsters rush out of the bushes.


    They mmed into the ground below as As grinned, an idea for an ambush forming in his mind. He pulled out a Gravity Bomb and hurled it at the group. When it exploded, the Death Goris were forcefully mmed to the ground.


    When that happened, he rushed in and started plunging his des into the monster skulls, putting them down in minutes. As took minutes to finish them all, but the roars never ceased as he collected the four red Monster Cores.


    Following that, he was ambushed by more Death Goris, causing him to dodge their massive fists while getting a good look at the monsters. They stood five feet tall, had ck hair, and raging red eyes with solid muscles rippled under their skin.


    Thanks to their size, As managed to dodge most attacks, and the ones he couldn''t, he used Void Guard to block the stroke. His Void Arrows were effective against the muscr monsters who moved quicker than their size allowed.


    As kept up with them thanks to his speed. Nightde bit into their flesh while he cast Void st, which blew one of the goris'' arms clean off as he stabbed another in the eye. While fighting them, the third monster grabbed him by the legs.


    He was dangling in the air but aimed his hand at the Death Gori''s face before casting Void st. As cast Void Wave to knock the surviving three back as he fell before dashing forward and shing deep into the monster''s legs.


    The gori dropped to the ground with a crash before he thrust his de through the creature''s skull and cast Void st, turning its head into a pile of blood and gore that soon vanished back into the dungeon.


    After dispatching the remaining Death Goris, As collected twelve additional green monster cores and absorbed a substantial amount of experience, which brought a satisfied smile to his face. He pressed on through the dense forest, soon confronted by a relentless wave of Death Goris.


    As enjoyed dodging many attacks beforeshing out with his des and magic, which lit up the forest. A few times, the goris managed to hit him. A lucky creature broke his left arm as he blocked a punch.


    When the dinnerte-sized fist connected with his arm, he felt it instantly snap, causing him to scream out in pain as he crashed into a tree with a hard thud and dropped to the ground while yelping.


    He looked down only to see his forearm dangling, which made him feel sick, but he focused back on the fight. Two more Death Goris rushed toward him with rage in their blood-red eyes.


    As jumped up and gripped Nightde just as the first one got in range to swing, and predictably, it did just that. He ducked under the fist and stabbed the creature in the armpit, quickly casting Void Bullet before using Void Step to avoid the second gori attack.


    A fist impacted the spot where As was standing, which sent the first monsters flying back due to the force. He took advantage of the moment and slid Nightde into the gori''s neck as it tried to get back up.


    When he felt his de slice through the flesh of the monster, causing it to vanish back into the dungeon as the second gori wildly swung its massive arms, As boobed and weaved around them whileshing out with his magic.


    Void Arrow managed to impale the gori through the air before it crashed to the ground; after the battle, As spotted seven green cores, which made him happy with the experience he had earned.