"Open the dungeon," Tsukikawa Shu said.
[Opening dungeon...] [Your current trial dungeon is: Goblin's Lair]
Then, a vortex swallowed the three people standing before the stone gate.
When they opened their eyes, they were already in a wasteland. Dozens of green-skinned humanoid monsters stood in the distance, clutching clubs.
Even the lowest-level goblins were level 20. There were even Goblin Elites clad in leather armor, at level 25.
The moment they saw players enter, the goblins swarmed toward them like sharks that had smelled blood.
Without crowd control, no matter how strong an individual was, it would be difficult to withstand the siege of so many goblins.
"Hitori!"
At Tsukikawa Shu's shout, Goto Hitori had already prepared her skill.
Goto Hitori sat down on the spot, and a guitar appeared in her hands out of thin air.
As her pick plucked the strings, intense negative emotions transformed into purple-black mist and spread in all directions. Every goblin that entered its range stiffened, temporarily losing the urge to attack.
At that moment, Tsukikawa Shu and Hiratsuka Shizuka also sprang into action.
Hiratsuka Shizuka used a pair of knuckle-dusters. Though they were only Exquisite Grade, they suited her best.
Her high ponytail fluttered in the wind as her knuckle-dusters smashed heavily into a goblin's skull, leaving a dent in it.
Tsukikawa Shu also swung his Muramasa, harvesting goblin heads one after another.
"Skill—Heaven-Soaring Dragon Flash!"
Compared to Hiratsuka Shizuka, Tsukikawa Shu's combat power was far greater.
Not only did he have blue-grade equipment, but Tsukikawa Shu had also acquired quite a few skills.
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Cold flashes gleamed as the katana danced.
Tsukikawa Shu slashed out streams of biting Sword Qi, striking the goblins with precision and cleaving them, clubs and all, straight in half.
Three people against a horde of goblins was just the right level of difficulty.
Twenty minutes later, every goblin in the dungeon had been eliminated.
[All enemies have been eliminated. Distributing rewards...] [Number of goblins your team exterminated: 30] [Your team has obtained Hunting Saber (Exquisite) *2, Goblin Shattered Mask *10, Special Dagger (Rare) *1, Random Exquisite Skill Card *1, Beginner Experience Card *10...]
Rumble—
Suddenly, the ground before them began to shake. Then, a clay goblin statue emerged from beneath the earth in the clearing.
The clay figure cracked, then shattered. All the items listed in the system notification were inside, scattering across the ground and reflecting the sunlight with a sparkling gleam.
With the double reward bonus, there were quite a lot of items scattered across the ground.
"If we put these things in the chat channel... they'd probably make plenty of people jealous."
Hiratsuka Shizuka was astonished as well.
The items they could obtain now far surpassed what others could get.
Looking through the long list of system notifications, Tsukikawa Shu checked the items.
There were plenty of items, but most of them were useless to Tsukikawa Shu right now. Weapons in particular were of no use to the three of them unless they were at least Rare Grade.
"The highest grade is only Rare. Nothing good," Tsukikawa Shu said.
If he said that in the chatroom, it would probably immediately provoke a wave of envy, jealousy, and resentment.
Players were still struggling just to survive, mostly running maps with normal gear, yet he had obtained rare equipment and was still dissatisfied?!
After fighting through it once, Tsukikawa Shu roughly understood this dungeon's situation.
Although it could be cleared twenty times a day, nobody could realistically run it all twenty times. He himself needed twenty minutes of combat, and others would not need any less.
As time passed, their stamina consumption would only increase. After a few runs, they would be exhausted.
And if someone still thought of entering a dungeon while their stamina was depleted, they would be walking toward death. With insufficient stamina, the chance of dying would increase dramatically.
"How are you two doing? Can you keep running it?" Tsukikawa Shu asked.
"I'm fine," Hiratsuka Shizuka said. "Twenty minutes each time. I can probably do another seven or eight runs without a problem."
"I... I can't really..."
Goto Hitori weakly raised her hand. "I feel like if we run it too many times, I won't have enough negative emotions..."
"I might... start becoming cheerful..."
Goto Hitori's skill amplified and released her negative emotions, inflicting severe psychological trauma on all living creatures.
But negative emotions were ultimately limited. Just like how many people cried their hearts out after something upsetting happened, then went right back to laughing and joking afterward, tossing those sad memories beyond the clouds.
"...Looking at it another way, that's actually a good thing," Hiratsuka Shizuka said.
If possible... I actually want to switch skills...
Goto Hitori was utterly helpless.
Tsukikawa Shu could run the dungeon twenty times by himself without issue, but he still had to consider Goto Hitori and Hiratsuka Shizuka's conditions.
Hiratsuka Shizuka had plenty of stamina, but Goto Hitori was still the sort of class that consumed a lot of mana. She could not enter dungeons too many times.
However, another system notification popped up before Tsukikawa Shu at that moment.
[You successfully led your team through the dungeon without taking damage. Speed-Up conditions have been unlocked. You may use a Speed-Up Card for rapid clearing. Use it?]
"Use it."
Tsukikawa Shu made his choice.
[Dungeon clearing automatically...] [Clear successful. Distributing rewards for ten completed runs.]
Another string of item notifications appeared.
The familiar rumbling sounded again as ten goblin statues burst through the soil from underground. They cracked open one by one, erupting with dazzling light.
This time, golden light flickered from one of the cracks!
With an explosive sound, a golden card the size of a playing card flew out. It stood out conspicuously among the numerous dropped items.
Tsukikawa Shu reached out and caught the card steadily, and the system sent another notification.
[You have obtained a "Legendary" Grade skill.] [System comment: As everyone knows, in anime, as long as the probability is not zero, the chance of success is 100%.]
Tsukikawa Shu was genuinely stunned.
Although he could obtain double rewards, the chances of getting Epic Grade and Legendary Grade items in this dungeon were both only 0.1%. Getting an Epic Grade item from ten pulls was already unbelievably lucky.
"A Legendary Grade skill... doesn't that mean you can completely challenge enemies above your level?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka froze too.
At the Inner World's sluggish rate of development, who knew how many years it would take for a Legendary Grade skill to appear? Yet Tsukikawa Shu had gotten one right at the start.
Tsukikawa Shu also checked the skill's description.
[Legendary Skill—Heaven-Suppressing Sword Art] [This skill consists of four sword techniques: Mountain Splitting, Sea Overturning, Earth Subduing, Heaven Suppression.] [The power of each technique is multiplied compared to the previous one.]
"It really is a very good skill." Tsukikawa Shu was satisfied.
It was still early, and the three of them had plenty of stamina left. They could continue running the dungeon.
"System, open the dungeon again."
This time, Tsukikawa Shu also tested the power of his newly acquired skill.
After the map reset, there were still thirty club-wielding goblins and one elite goblin clad in leather armor, all charging at the three of them while howling.
Tsukikawa Shu lowered his body slightly, gripped the hilt of his katana, and assumed an iaijutsu stance.
"First sword—Mountain Splitting!"
When the goblins entered his attack range, a faint golden glow gathered around Tsukikawa Shu's katana before it suddenly left its sheath.
Accompanied by a resonant hum of sword song, a golden Sword Qi tore across the ground toward the goblin horde. In an instant, sand and stones flew while fierce winds rose, sweeping through everything with an overwhelming force.
Hiratsuka Shizuka and Goto Hitori, standing behind him, had to shield their faces with their hands to avoid being hurt by the branches and leaves swept up by the gale.
The golden Sword Qi swallowed the entire goblin horde. In an instant, every goblin—whether normal monster or elite monster—was torn apart!
All the goblins dissolved into tiny particles and scattered with the wind.
Effortlessly, a single sword technique had wiped out an entire goblin horde!
Then, the familiar clay goblin statue emerged from underground once more.
[You have successfully cleared the dungeon. Distributing rewards...]
"Not bad, not bad." Tsukikawa Shu was overjoyed.
Goto Hitori and Hiratsuka Shizuka were no longer needed for the following dungeon runs. Tsukikawa Shu completed all twenty runs by himself and even earned a Glory Medal.
[You killed 100 goblins within one day and obtained the title: Goblin Slayer.]
Tsukikawa Shu did not care about the medal. His attention was on their levels.
After a day of fighting, all three of them leveled up quickly.
All three had gained four levels in a row. Tsukikawa Shu was level 25, Hiratsuka Shizuka was level 22, and Goto Hitori was level 23.
To ensure the team's combat strength would not be too uneven during future group battles, Tsukikawa Shu did not hold back. He directly used Experience Cards to raise Hiratsuka Shizuka and Goto Hitori to level 25 as well.
The three left the dungeon and began tallying the rewards they had obtained that day.
Aside from getting a Legendary Grade skill, they had also obtained some other good things.
They had acquired two Custom Weapon Cards, just enough to replace Goto Hitori's and Hiratsuka Shizuka's weapons.
[You used a Custom Weapon Card (Precious). Goto Hitori obtained her exclusive weapon: Blue Lonely Planet.] [You used a Custom Weapon Card (Precious). Hiratsuka Shizuka obtained her exclusive weapon: Blazing Knuckles.]
Blue Lonely Planet was an ice-blue electric guitar that could enhance skill effects.
Goto Hitori originally could not control monsters of the same level for more than five seconds, but after the weapon enhancement, the effect could last seven or eight seconds, giving her more time to deal damage.
Hiratsuka Shizuka's weapon was simpler. It could enhance attack power and attack speed, and it also came with a weapon skill.
[Blazing Knuckles Skill: Flame Burst] [After use, every attack will inflict explosion and burning effects.]
Aside from the materials the three of them needed, Tsukikawa Shu still had quite a few good items left.
Before you continue