SWNOVELXO Chapter 5: Goblin Village
Max saw a horde of goblins with stone knives surrounding him, slowly closing in. "Damn, where did these goblins come from?"
He immediately stood up and activated the skill Three Dimensional Body. It was then he noticed that the number of goblins surrounding him totaled ten. He also realized that the other six students who came with him were nowhere to be found.
"They must have set me up!" Max deduced how he had ended up in this situation, but instead of frowning, a smile graced his face as he looked at the goblins closing in.
"If this isn't the best time to test the level 10 Magic Bullets, then when?" He smiled, holding both his hands out towards the goblins, aiming at them.
Thanks to Three Dimensional Body, he didn't need to worry about his aim. With his omniscient perspective, targeting enemies had become second nature to him.
"Die!" Max laughed, firing ten bullets from his ten fingers simultaneously. The ten bullets, like beams of blue light, shot towards the goblins, penetrating their bodies and tearing chunks of flesh apart.
The goblins didn't even have time to realize what hit them before their bodies fell, one by one. Moments later, their corpses disappeared, leaving behind a horde of items.
Max was surprised to see that the bullets tore through the goblins' flesh so effortlessly. He hadn't expected the strength of the bullets to increase to this level.
'It seems level 10 for a skill is quite strong,' Max noted, finding this very strange. The academy books mentioned that a skill could be mastered to the highest level of 100, but they also stated it was impossible to achieve that level. However, they didn't explain why.
This lack of clarity left Max unsatisfied with only reaching level 10, even after three years of constant practice.
'Hehe, good. Now, let's see what they've dropped.' Max smiled in satisfaction and began collecting the items left behind by the goblins.
Most of the goblins dropped rusty daggers along with their usual goblin hide scraps, stale rations, and cores. He quickly stored everything in his storage space and continued forward, absorbing the cores along the way.
The narrow hall he had entered was one of the entry passageways to this no-rank dungeon. Such halls were scattered throughout the dungeon, and the monsters here weren't particularly strong—only level 1 of Novice rank. Max knew, however, that the real difficulty lay ahead, beyond the hall.
Max dashed through the narrow corridor, which increasingly resembled a cave the farther he ran. Strangely, he didn't encounter any goblins and reached the end of the hall after a few minutes of non-stop running.
There, he saw what appeared to be a village in the distance below him. Thatch huts, wooden pillars, large green leaves for shade, and other rudimentary materials formed the village, which was inhabited by none other than goblins.
From his vantage point, Max could see at least fifty goblins roaming the village. Some were battling other students, while others were blissfully unaware of the calamity descending upon them.
'This is good.' Max smiled and slid down to the ground, heading toward the village.
Upon arriving, he was immediately greeted by a sight that made him laugh. The six students who had set him up were fencing off a large number of goblins and struggling to defend themselves.
He also noticed other groups of students fighting goblins, equally overwhelmed. The goblins at the village's entrance were level 2 of Novice rank and wielded rusty swords, while most of the students hadn't even reached level 1.
'It's a good place to level up to level 2,' Max thought, smiling as he dashed toward the goblins in the distance. He ignored the six students who had come with him and headed straight to the center of the action.
There, he saw large number of students barely holding their ground against the goblins, completely suppressed by the monsters.
Upon arriving, he didn't attack immediately and stood watching for a moment.
"Max? Max is here!" one of the struggling students exclaimed.
"Max, help us!" another shouted.
"Yeah, Max, please help us. We're outnumbered, and their strength is higher than ours."
"Max, we beg you! Please help us."
"Only you can help us, Max. Please do something."
Max smiled at their pleading faces and responded, "I'll help, but only if all the drops from the goblins I kill belong to me. Otherwise, pretend I'm not here."
The students' faces darkened at his demand, but they knew they had no choice. They exchanged glances and reluctantly agreed.
"Alright, you can take the drops from the monsters you kill," one of them said.
"Good." Max grinned and dashed toward the goblins.
Reaching the frontline, he unleashed ten Magic Bullets, killing ten goblins instantly. Some had their heads exploded, while others were left with gaping holes in their bodies. Moments later, the goblins' corpses vanished in red light, leaving behind their drops.
The students stared in shock at how effortlessly Max dispatched the goblins. The glaring difference in strength between them and Max was undeniable, leaving them feeling ashamed.
But it wasn't new to them. For five years at the academy, they had been overshadowed by the genius Max Morgan. Now, even in the dungeon, the story remained the same.
"What are you staring at? More goblins are coming!" Max shouted.
The students turned to see at least fifteen more goblins approaching. Including the ones they were already struggling against, the number quickly rose to thirty.
"Damn, so many goblins! Look at their strength—they're all level 2 of Novice rank."
"Level 2? Look closer. Among the fifteen, three are level 3. We're doomed."
"If we're already facing level 3 monsters, the dungeon boss must be at least level 5. We're dead no matter what."
The students panicked, knowing the challenge of facing level 3 monsters. They could barely handle level 2, let alone anything stronger.
But one person among them had only a smile on his face—Max.
He dashed toward the incoming goblins, firing ten Magic Bullets at the ones engaging the students. "Don't forget my condition," he called out as he passed them.
His bullets quickly dispatched the level 2 goblins, leaving the students with only five or so to fight.
However, Max spared the goblins further back, leaving them for the students to deal with. He wasn't entirely heartless to take away all the cores and drops from the goblins.