Three meters above the ground, a pair of bloodshot, vicious eyes floated, deeply embedded on either side of a bluish bulbous nose. Sharp tusks, like blades, jutted from its narrow mouth, forming a grotesque face brimming with savagery.
In its right hand, it wielded a massive wooden club.
A single word flashed through Shadra's mind.
Ogre.
In this world, ogres ranked third on the Adventurer’s Guild's "Beginner’s Nightmare" list. Their muscle mass, intelligence, and physical capabilities far surpassed those of E+-rank Goblin Giants. Even more terrifying was—
Their night vision rivaled that of feline predators.
But… wasn’t it said that ogres primarily fed on goblins?
Despite his confusion, Shadra had no time to ponder further as the sound of wind cutting through the air reached him again.
The first missed strike seemed to have infuriated the ogre. This time, the force behind the wind was noticeably stronger.
Not only that, the beast stomped its massive feet, sending thunderous shockwaves through the ground as it closed the distance between them.
In the already pitch-black cave, the cacophony muddled Shadra's senses, making it even harder to predict the ogre’s attack trajectory.
A momentary lapse in focus allowed the gust of wind to graze him.
Though Shadra managed to block the strike with his greatsword in time, the overwhelming force couldn’t be fully neutralized. The sword was sent flying, and Shadra was flung like a baseball, slamming into the cold stone wall. His body embedded five centimeters into the surface, almost causing him to lose consciousness.
Blood surged from his abdomen to his throat, but before he could spit it out, the next attack was already upon him.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Shadra dropped to the ground, pressing himself flat against the floor to use his small frame to slip through the gaps. The moment the wooden club passed over his head, Shadra clutched his abdomen and quickly got back on his feet, moving through the cave to prepare for his next encounter.
In a situation like this, where the enemy lurked in the shadows while he was exposed, waiting passively was a death sentence.
"Raaaahhh!"
Missing twice in a row, the ogre stomped the ground in frustration, like a child throwing a tantrum over candy.
It dragged its massive club and rushed forward with even greater speed.
Shadra tightly gripped a piece of broken stone, rubbing it against his hands to create sparks and locate the enemy's position. At the same time, he dodged the relentless assaults, narrowly escaping each blow.
By luck—or perhaps thanks to the ogre's peculiar restraint—only one of the dozens of goblins in the cave had been accidentally crushed underfoot.
The unfortunate goblin had stumbled directly into the ogre's path.
This quirk disrupted Shadra’s plan to wait for the ogre to kill all the goblins before engaging it under a flash of light. That strategy would now invite a direct mob assault.
For most people, fleeing would seem the wisest choice in this situation.
But Shadra had a peculiar habit. The more dire the circumstances, the more exhilarated he became, his reflexes sharpening to an extreme.
Though it seemed like he was constantly on the defensive, desperately running for his life in the cave, in truth, he was gradually adapting to the ogre’s attacks while retrieving his greatsword and using a healing potion to ease his injuries.
More importantly, he had memorized the layout of the cave and the movements of the creatures within.
Seizing the right moment, Shadra swapped his greatsword for a dagger and swiftly dealt with the panicked, squawking goblins running around like headless chickens.
At the same time, he kept a close eye on the ogre’s actions.
Stolen novel; please report.
If an opportunity arose, he would aim for its most threatening asset—its eyes.
Though goblins were foolish, ogres clearly weren’t.
The moment Shadra raised his weapon in a throwing stance, the ogre would immediately lift its thick, trunk-like arms to shield its face. Each attempt ended in failure, wasting several of his daggers.
Shadra then attempted to get close, switching back to his greatsword to target the ogre’s legs, hoping to cripple its mobility.
However, due to his own attribute limitations, his attacks were like feathers landing on water, barely causing a ripple.
Worse still, such daring moves left him vulnerable to devastating counterattacks if he made even the slightest mistake.
With his stamina visibly dwindling, there seemed to be only one option left.
The Dice of Fate.
Despite his reluctance to rely on external aid so early, Shadra wasn’t foolish enough to ignore a potential advantage.
The Dice of Fate skill consumed 20 copper coins to randomly transform an ability into one of six tiers.
The transformed skill could be used three times a day before reverting to its original state. The cooldown was an hour, and the cost of refreshing the dice increased tenfold each time.
No choice.
Shadra clicked on the skill icon without hesitation.
The moment his finger released, the skill icon on his attribute panel began spinning rapidly.
After a few seconds, it stopped on the image of a white armor skill.
Tier 2 Skill: Weight Immunity.
As the name suggested, it nullified armor weight while retaining its defensive benefits, significantly boosting movement speed.
Though not the fire magic or enchantment skill he had hoped for, it was still a lifeline in his current predicament.
Shadra activated the skill, and blue light emanated from his chest. Within moments, he felt as light as a feather, as if gravity had vanished.
“Urgh?”
The ogre, sensing the subtle shift in Shadra’s aura, hesitated momentarily. But soon, it roared wildly, its eyes turning blood red.
Anyone familiar with ogres knew that this red-eyed phenomenon signified the transition from a rational beast to a berserk killing machine.
Now, it wasn’t fighting for fun—it was fighting for survival.
“Raaaahhh!”
The ogre’s deafening roar shook the cave as it charged at Shadra with incredible speed, wielding its club as though it weighed nothing.
On the other side.
Shadra’s immunity to encumbrance significantly enhanced his agility, allowing him to maneuver through the dark cavern like a nimble black wolf. Swift and precise, he weaved through the shadows.
Combined with the experience he had accumulated in a short time, even the berserk ogre became manageable for him.
After dispatching the last goblin, Shadra quickly retrieved a glowing spherical object from his magical pouch and hurled it decisively at the ground, directly between himself and the ogre.
It was widely known that ogres had two universally acknowledged weaknesses: extreme sensitivity to fire and an aversion to intense light.
For this reason, they preferred to dwell in cold, damp caves.
The moment the sphere struck the ground, a blinding white light erupted, instantly banishing the darkness within the cavern.
The ogre shrieked in pain, clutching its eyes with its left hand as it let out an ear-piercing wail of agony.
Shadra seized this likely one-time opportunity. He drained the remainder of his mana to activate a Tier 1 Self-Enhance spell, channeling all the enhancement points into his greatsword.
Gripping the glowing blade with both hands, he charged forward at high speed. When he was only two or three meters away from the ogre, he leaped with all his strength, swinging the now-radiant sword downward at the creature’s right knee.
With a sickening crunch accompanied by the ogre’s anguished howl, the blade shattered bone and ligament, bringing the hulking beast crashing to the ground in a heart-wrenching roar.
For creatures of this size, losing their legs meant losing their threat.
What followed was a grueling battle of attrition. Shadra nearly exhausted every recovery item in his backpack before he finally managed to put down the colossal beast in a state of utter exhaustion.
[System Notification: Successfully killed Ogre. Gained 5000 EXP + Cross-Level Kill Bonus: +1000 EXP.]
The cheerful voice of the system rang in his mind.
However, Shadra felt no triumph in this victory.
"This priest’s stamina is worse than a newborn baby’s!"
"When I get back, I’m going to feast like a king and replenish everything I’ve lost!"
Grumbling in frustration, Shadra collapsed to the ground. Despite the foul stench permeating the air, he paid it no mind, panting heavily to catch his breath.
The cost of defeating the ogre in a cross-level battle was steep.
His iron armor was a patchwork of dents and missing chunks, hanging off him in tatters. His greatsword, dulled from overuse, was practically a blunt instrument.
His body bore countless scars and wounds. Deep gashes marred his right shin in three places, his fingers were numb from overexertion, and his back and abdomen were covered in varying degrees of injuries.
Every movement, whether turning his torso or simply lifting an arm, risked tearing open wounds and causing blood to spill anew.
Even so, it was all worth it.
The 7200 EXP he gained in total allowed his level to soar as if he had opened a beginner’s gift pack, jumping from LV14 directly to LV16.
While it was only two levels gained, the experience required would have taken slaughtering thousands of goblins to achieve.
After reaching the job advancement stage at level 15, every level-up not only granted full attribute points but also skill upgrades.
Shadra allocated all his attribute points into Strength, while keeping the skill points in reserve, understanding their strategic importance.
In addition to the experience, the ogre also dropped two items.
The first was an E-grade piece of armor called [Troll’s Battle Armor]:[Stats: +3 Vitality, +3 Strength, +1 Agility. Half the weight of the current chest armor. +20 Fire Resistance.]
The second was an E-grade accessory called [Ogre Fang]:[Stats: +5 All Attributes. +5% Critical Hit Rate. 5% chance to trigger Troll Power on attack: +20 Strength for three seconds. Cooldown: 30 minutes.]
After equipping the items, Shadra’s overall attributes finally reached the standard level of a typical E-grade (bloodline) adventurer of his rank.
It’s worth noting that the stat bonuses from equipment and level-ups were calculated independently, though the gains from level-ups were always the most significant.
Although leveling up restored some of his attributes, Shadra was still far from being able to move freely.
He decided to set up camp on the spot, gathering nearby resources to replenish his strength.
Rumor had it that ogre meat was not only exceptionally flavorful in this world but also had miraculous effects, aiding in stamina recovery and wound healing.
As Shadra busied himself with building a fire and preparing for a meal, the other side of the cavern was far from tranquil.