The duo continued their trek towards the center of the village, leaving behind the corpses of the goblins they'd dispatched, naturally after extracting their mana cores. Then, they spotted their target: a goblin wearing a hooded cloak that obscured its face, surrounded by four goblins different from the rest they'd faced. These were armored, each wielding a different weapon—a sword, a spear, an axe, and a dagger.
The goblin mage sensed the duo's presence and ordered its followers to attack them. Damian and Arthur surged forward to confront the goblins. Damian faced the sword goblin and the dagger goblin, while Arthur handled the rest. Damian drew his katana and charged towards the sword goblin, cutting towards its throat. However, the sword goblin parried the katana with its sword. Damian then sensed a presence behind him, which was the dagger goblin. Damian leaped sideways, dodging the dagger, but saw the sword goblin's blade heading his way. He activated Merchant's Eye and saw the weaknesses and openings in both goblins. Damian dodged the sword, then cut the side of the sword goblin. "Grrr!" The goblin groaned in pain. Damian was about to deliver a killing blow, but how could he forget the lurking dagger goblin? He glanced to his left and saw the goblin thrusting its dagger towards him. Damian dodged, then made a quick cut that severed the goblin's arm. Damian then thrust his katana, piercing the dagger goblin's head. But suddenly, his instincts screamed, and he immediately jumped backward, seeing a fireball strike the spot where he had just been. Damian's gaze shifted to the source of the attack, which was the goblin mage. Then he looked at Arthur, seeing him handling the other two goblins well. Damian then activated his bloodline, and the colorless flame appeared in his hand. He threw it towards the fire left by the fireball.
[Fire Flame under creation 1%]
.
.
.
[Fire Flame successfully created]
Unlike the Vitality Flame, the Fire Flame didn't take long to create, perhaps because the fire source came from a skill. Damian pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind, then created a ball of Fire Flame and threw it towards the sword goblin. "GRRRRRRRR!" The goblin's cry was loud this time, perhaps because its face was burning. Damian nodded, then repeated the same process, but this time the Fire Flame ball burned the dagger goblin's face. After the two goblins died, Damian headed towards the goblin mage and, with a swift cutting motion, severed its head, ending its life.
"WOOSH!"
Immediately after the Chief's death, a return portal appeared before all the students in the dungeon. Damian shifted his gaze from the portal to Arthur. When he saw Arthur about to kill the spear goblin, he shouted, "Wait, Arthur! Don't kill it!" Arthur's spear stopped mere inches from the goblin's heart, and he looked at Damian, questioning why he stopped him. Damian approached the spear goblin, then with a quick flick of his katana, decapitated it. Afterward, Damian smiled, thinking of something.
"Ahem, well, if you don't have a reason for killing the goblin instead of me, please tell me," Arthur said. "Don't worry, it's something you'll like. Now we need to extract the mana cores from the goblins, and I expect the goblin mage to have a skill core, so take it." Arthur's eyes widened. "Really? Skill cores aren't for poor people like us, and you're just giving it up? Oh right, I forgot you have that bloodline!" The duo then extracted the mana cores and the Fireball skill core.
The duo sat down and then absorbed the mana cores they had been storing until now. The duo broke through Level 5, followed by Level 6 of the Novice Rank. Then Arthur learned the Fireball skill. While Arthur was learning the Fireball skill, Damian looked at the Primeval Shop, a smile on his face.
[Primeval Shop]
[Basic Sword Arts: 10 Coins]
[Basic Dagger Arts: 10 Coins]
[Basic Spear Arts: 10 Coins]
[Fireball: 25 Coins]
[Coins: 56]
Damian purchased the three skills he obtained from the sword, spear, and dagger goblins he killed. He didn't need the Fireball skill, even if he had enough coins to buy it. Then a message appeared before him:
[You have purchased Basic Sword Arts. Do you wish to merge with them?]
Yes
[You have purchased Basic Dagger Arts. Do you wish to merge with them?]
Yes
[You have purchased Basic Spear Arts. Do you wish to merge with them?]
No
Then a wave of information rushed into Damian's mind, containing the details of the two skills he had purchased.
After five minutes, Damian opened his eyes, an excited smile on his face, but his train of thought was interrupted by Arthur's voice. "Ahem."
"Oh right, let me show you what I was talking about." Damian then turned to Arthur, who was still sitting. Damian placed his index finger on Arthur's forehead, and a wave of information rushed into Arthur's mind.
"Awesome! A spear skill! How long would it have taken me to get one? Thanks, man!" "You're welcome. Now we should head back. The kids at the orphanage must be worried about us by now." "Right, Mom promised to make my favorite dish today."
At the orphanage, there was a woman named Sophia who raised all the children as if they were her own, so much so that most of the children called her "Mom," and that included Damian and Arthur.
Damian nodded, then the duo stood up and exited the dungeon. The moment they stepped out, they felt many eyes on them. Most of the students had already left the dungeon, except for the duo, due to their absorption of mana cores and acquired skills. Even Director Julius was surprised by the duo's level, as they were at Level 6 of the Novice Rank. He then filed the matter of the two away in his mind, as it was his duty as school director to give a motivational speech to his students.
"My dear students, congratulations on graduating from a life of weakness to a life of power! A week from now, guilds and sects will come to give you offers. Think carefully about whom you wish to join. Don't be arrogant because you've gained a little power. Always be careful. That's all I have. You may leave."
After Director Julius's speech, the students bid each other farewell, except for Damian and Arthur, as they hadn't formed any relationships at this school or simply didn't care to. The duo left the school grounds after passing through the crowd of students.
"Ahh, man, finally, the legend of Arthur will begin!" "Legend? Where is it?" "Get out of my face! Can't you see a legend right in front of you?"
And so, the duo's daily bickering continued on their way to the orphanage.
However, the duo was unaware of the disaster they were about to face there.