Once I stepped out of the hallway, it was almost like a switch went off in the minds of every single Goblin before me. They all turned and looked in my direction and almost instantly after they began screaming. Just to test out the feeling I had earlier, I took a couple steps back into the hallway, but they still kept focus on me, and shortly after they all started running at me.

Before the first ones could reach me, I stepped back out into the cave to meet them headfirst so I could be in control of the situation. I swung my spear 5 times in quick succession and 5 Goblins quickly found themselves without heads.

That was where the easiness of the fight ended.

Although I was aware of the total amount of Goblins, and the fact it wouldn’t be like fighting in a forest with obstacles to stop the Goblins and space for me to run, it seems reality can be a bit harsher.

I almost instinctively tried running to the left when a bunch of the Goblins came rushing in from the right, only to be met with more Goblins, usually there would be a tree or something to run around but not here.

It wasn’t like I was suddenly about to get overrun or anything, but I really had to take care not to overextend and I genuinely had to focus to be completely aware of what was around me.

Well, that was until I suddenly remembered just how much stronger I am than these Goblins.

Well, it wasn’t technically sudden, at one point three Goblins decided to all leap at me at the same time while I was engaged with another set of them with my spear. I almost instinctively took my hand off the spear and swung with almost my full strength doing my best to block them.

I did more than block them. My clenched fist passed through their skulls almost like butter. Well butter might be a bit of a stretch. It was more like moving through very loose mud as bits of their skull and brain matter flew all over the place.

The slight surprise I felt at the situation almost caused a Goblin to stab me, but it too, quickly had it’s skull crushed.

I was definitely already using a lot of strength in my swings, thrusts, and essentially all my movements, but it seems there might’ve been some sort of mental block preventing me from using my full strength? Or maybe I just wasn’t used to my body? Whatever it was, it ended right there.

I could already easily kill Goblins before I even cultivated, but once I finally began to use everything I had, the difference from moments before was like night and day.

Instead of trying to pierce multiple Goblins one at a time in quick succession. I was now skewering a few at a time. One wide swing was enough decapitating any Goblin caught within its path, and the ones who didn’t get caught were thrown back from the force with such power that a few of them died from that alone.

Needless to say. Only a few short moments letter and the cave were littered with Goblins. Most of which were no longer whole.

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Though that also made me realize something. None of the bodies disappeared.

Well at least not initially.

I stood there for a few moments a little unsure of what to do, when all the bodies slowly began vanishing at the exact same time. They weren’t sinking in the floor as usual, just vanishing in thin air.

It was very weird.

The weirdness didn’t stop there though. After all of them vanished, the orbs I hoped to receive were not there.

I was a little disappointed cause I needed the money, but the disappointment didn’t last very long as a small chest manifested itself in the middle of the cave.

Well, that’s very game-like.

I walked up to the chest, it was made out of brown wood, similar to that of the trees outside, and it brown-ish looking metal to serve as the hinges that allowed it to open and close. Standard stuff for a chest.

I opened it.

It had a few rocks..? No not a rock.

I picked one up and it was very lumpy and crude but also very very hard. It was kind of a mix of colors in one piece, black, grey and brown maybe? It was all mushed together. Either way I’m guessing it’s some type of metal? Is this what the blacksmith was talking about perhaps?

Interesting.

I’m sure this is good and all, but I really do need money so hope I can get some orbs at some point in this Dungeon.

I know the Dungeon wasn’t done yet, or at least I think it’s not done yet as the second I put all 5 pieces of the…metal? Well, whatever it was after I put it in my backpack that now gained a little bit of weight, the chest disappeared, and a pathway opened up on the opposite side of the cave than the one I entered in.

Moving on, I entered the pathway, and it went downwards. No steps or stairs just the ground sloping downwards. Thankfully the slope wasn’t so bad that I had to worry about sliding.

Eventually, I got to the end of the pathway.

It was another cave.

A cave filled with Goblins.

Though this cave was a bit bigger, and the number of Goblins seemed to have doubled.

Needless to say, it didn’t take me very long to clear this cave of every single Goblin present.

After the fiasco in the previous cave of me finally using all my strength, I wasn’t making that mistake again. If I was still in the 1st Cycle of Body Tempering, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing now, but unfortunately for these Goblins, I was a bit stronger than that.

Well maybe a lot stronger. I’m really starting to understand more and more the type of gap that exists between each stage of Body Tempering.

Moving on, after the same thing happened with the Goblins disappearing and what not, another chest appeared. It was the same size as the first one, but it had a few more clumps of mystery metal.

With a backpack a bit heavier, and a new path opened up in front of me, I made my way down into the next cave. It followed the same trend as the previous cave. A bit bigger, and almost doubled the amount of Goblins.

Around 200 Goblins is a bit much even for me. Instead of a short bit of fighting, it took me almost 30 minutes I think to clean up the entire cave.

The chest also followed the same trend, same size, but a bit more pieces of mystery metal. My backpack is getting a little heavy now. Not heavy to walk around with per se, but it will start to cause a problem with my fighting.

After walking down another path, the trend continued. I now had 400 Goblins to fight.

Hm.

The second I got into the cave, I lowered my backpack to the ground, and maybe 45 minutes to an hour later, I was once again putting pieces of metal into my bag.

I really hope this ends soon; I don’t know how many pieces of metal my bag can handle before the bottom rips out.

Upon walking down the pathway to the next cave, the trend finally changed. This cave was about the same size as the first one, and there was also around 50 Goblins in it. Though that’s where the similarities ended. One of the big ones was standing in there.

Ah…this will be easier than fighting the 400 Goblins from earlier.