Awakening of Power

Upon waking, beside this poor Daoist was the corpse of the Rage Bear. I did not understand why, but my wounds seemed to heal faster than usual. Since there was no status screen, I could not be entirely sure.

Standing up, my stomach began to rumble, and waves of hunger surged into my mind, making me want to collapse immediately. Looking at the bear's corpse, my body reacted instinctively: *Eat, eat quickly, eat it.* But restraining myself, I began to use my sword to carve meat from the bear.

After separating the meat and skin, I stepped near a small fire still burning from the powerful fire punches of the bear. Gathering small wooden sticks around, I threw them into the fire. As the fire grew, I threw a piece of the Rage Bear's meat into it. The rising aroma made me even hungrier, to the point of dizziness.

Once the meat was cooked, I began to eat the roasted bear meat.

"It tastes like beef—premium beef. Very delicious, though it still lacks some seasoning."

After eating about one-third of the bear, I was full and prepared to continue my journey.

"So cold!"

I noticed that my current clothing only covered a few "places." Fortunately, I was alone; otherwise, I would have dug a hole to hide. The weather was turning cold, and my clothes were in tatters. Continuing like this would only lead to visiting the King of Hell again. Looking at the bear's hide, an idea came to mind.

Bringing the pile of hide near the fire, I heated each piece to remove unwanted elements, then used spider silk to bind them into a large piece to wear.

"So warm!"

The remaining hide and meat I carried with me for "emergencies." The massive bear, about two meters tall, was now reduced to bones, internal organs, and its head.

Continuing on, I encountered a Goblin and rushed forward to decapitate it.

Immediately after I finished off the Goblin, a voice echoed: "Level up!"

I muttered to myself, "Strange. I killed five or six Erlang wolves and a Rage Bear without leveling up, yet defeating a single F-rank Goblin instantly leveled me up."

By reflex, I reached into my pocket; at least, it used to be there.

"Having no status screen is indeed inconvenient."

Continuing on, I encountered another Goblin. This one was quite large, about my height, and fully equipped—even better equipped than me.

It was a Goblin General, level 78, possessing sturdy defense, abundant stamina, and various combat skills such as Swordsmanship, Reinforcement, Command, Dash, Quick Reflexes, Strong Arms, and Rapid Recovery.

"A Goblin General?"

I nodded and took a stance to launch a surprise attack. Leaping up, I slashed at its neck, but it blocked the strike with the greatsword in its hand.

"Guh...guh..."

Following its cry, the Goblin General charged forward, accompanied by about thirty Goblins behind it.

"So many!"

I used my sword to slash through them one by one, but I could not kill the Goblin General, though I managed to injure it. It grew enraged and launched a barrage of powerful attacks at me. Because my sword speed was quite fast, I completely outmatched it in speed, yet I still could not do much to the General.

Unable to slash it, I turned to wipe out the smaller Goblins. After killing them all, several golden lights appeared on the Goblin General's body and then vanished.

Suddenly, it charged at me with even greater speed than before.

"So this is Reinforcement. Quite convenient."

Dodging the Goblin's sword strike, I thrust my blade at its chest, but it managed to evade, the tip of my sword only grazing it slightly. Leaping backward, I regained my stance and charged at it once more. It used its greatsword to block my slash, but I spun around, ducked, and slashed at its leg.

"Just as I thought. It only watches my movements and reacts; it lacks mobility, and its attacks focus entirely on power."

The Goblin shrieked from the wound on its leg. Quickly regaining its footing, it swung its sword at me again.

But as it stepped forward, it collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

"Poison is truly convenient when dealing with such enemies."

I walked slowly toward the Goblin, seeing the immense pain in its eyes as it lay unable to stand.

"You have lost!"

I told it, using my sword to sever its head. Blood sprayed everywhere, filling the air with a pungent metallic stench—a scene that would terrify anyone, yet my face remained expressionless. It was simply the act of killing a monster.

The voice echoed again: "Acquired 'Quick Reflexes', 'Rapid Recovery <Low>', 'Reinforcement <Low>'. Level up!"

"Haaa?" A shout escaped my lips.

"I... I acquired some of the Goblin General's skills from earlier?"

So, thanks to the skill `Absolute Disassembly`, I could acquire new skills and equipment from the monsters I defeated, though I was unsure if my attributes increased as well.

According to the knowledge I possessed, Goblins were merely E-rank monsters. In groups, they became D-rank, while a Goblin General was A-rank—a level far above ordinary Goblins. However, as powerful individuals of their species, they were quite rare, usually acting as guards for the Goblin King, though they occasionally wandered alone. The Goblin King was an S or SS-rank monster, an extremely dangerous creature that very few could fight, and its power was beyond question. It was the strongest of its kind, so if it appeared, humans had to deploy an elite army to repel or destroy it.

"Could there be a King nearby? No, my luck couldn't be that bad."

I stopped to rest and pulled out the remaining Rage Bear meat to eat, then continued searching for a way out of this cavern.

I continued walking for some time, defeating many Goblins, Erlang wolves, and even another Rage Bear, but I did not acquire any more skills. I encountered more and more Goblins, but they fell in just a few slashes. Continuing on, I met another familiar name.

It was a Mage-type Goblin General, level 119. Though physically weak, it possessed highly powerful magic. Its skills included Fire Magic <High>, Water Magic <Low>, Command, Wind Magic <High>, Physical Damage Reduction <Low>, Magic Power Boost <High>, and Rapid MP Recovery <Low>.

"Good grief, does it need to be this strong? And its attributes are all over 1000; how is that low?"

The moment it saw me, it chanted something, and a wind blade shot straight toward me. Caught off guard and unable to dodge, it struck my chest, sending me flying about two meters. Regaining my balance in time, I did not fall. A large scratch appeared on the spider hide covering my chest.

"Fortunately, it struck the armor; otherwise, I would have been cut in two. It is very strong."

Seeing me stand, it continued chanting, and a fireball appeared in its hand before flying toward me.

"Not a second time!"

I shouted, dodging to the side. Surprised, it threw several more fireballs at me. Using Reinforcement, I enhanced my body and dodged those attacks much more easily. Just as I dodged the last fireball, a water jet shot forward, blasting me backward, though I did not fall. Blocking the water jet, a wind blade appeared before my eyes. By reflex, I used my sword to slash the wind blade, dispersing it.

The Goblin looked visibly shocked, then unleashed countless spells at me. I dodged most of them, though some injured me, but fortunately, Rapid Recovery healed the wounds.

After taking the hits, I pointed my sword at it and used Reinforcement to dash forward, closing the distance. It launched a wind blade at me, but it was dispelled by my blade. I slashed at it, but it managed to evade a portion of the strike. Landing, a pillar of fire suddenly erupted beneath my feet, but fortunately, I dodged in time.

I charged again. A massive wind blade appeared before me. Using all my strength, I slashed it, altering its trajectory, then dashed toward the Goblin before its terrified face. Driving my sword into its chest, it collapsed.

I stood up, looking at the corpse of the monster that had given me such a hard time.

"Acquired 'Fire Magic <Low>', 'Fire Magic <High>', 'Wind Magic <High>', 'Rapid MP Recovery <Low>', 'Magic Power Boost <High>'."

Yes, it appeared again. The acquisition of skills and their quantity were completely random due to the `Absolute Disassembly` skill.

Sitting down to rest, I looked behind me and saw dozens of stone pillars sliced clean by the final wind blade the Goblin had unleashed. Looking at it, I shuddered to imagine if that attack had hit me; even the spider armor might not have blocked it completely.

Resting for about an hour while remaining highly alert to my surroundings, I continued searching for a way out. Strangely, along the entire path, I did not see a single monster, until I encountered a small Goblin. I leaped forward and slashed it; it only managed to cry "Kihhh..." before drawing its last breath.

Continuing on, I reached a massive cavern. Inside were dozens of small Goblins, two Goblin Generals—one Mage and one Brawler—and a colossal figure about ten meters tall sitting in the center.

"Indeed, what terrible luck. I have walked straight into the lair of the Goblin King, an SS-rank monster."