Soon, the hobgoblin warriors slaughtered every giant lizard.
The blood dyed the puddles on the ground red, and the crimson water flowed toward the lower ground.
Several hobgoblin warriors carried the giant lizard corpses back to the cave they had just come from, while the rest stayed behind to prevent other beasts from stealing their prey.
Although giant lizards were the primary beasts in the dungeon, they were not the only ones. It was just that compared to the giant lizards' vast numbers, the other animals seemed exceptionally scarce.
Before long, the hobgoblins who had remained in the cave arrived at the hunting site under the guidance of those who had returned. It took everyone two trips to carry all the giant lizards back.
They intended to remain stationed in that cave for a while longer.
Several hours later, in a tribe near the underground Lava River, several female goblins discovered a stream dyed blood-red.
After they reported the matter to the tribe's leader, the nearly naked hobgoblin, who wore only a beast-hide apron, immediately summoned the tribe's members.
"Fighting has broken out nearby! Hunting party! Follow me!"
When they heard the word "fighting," the many hobgoblins and dire goblins who came running over all revealed a somewhat feverish excitement.
A hobgoblin took a flag from the tribe's largest building. Embroidered on it with special thread were two crossed axes and a mass of blood-red flames.
This was a symbol of Fury, one of the Dark Six Gods.
Fury ruled passion and vengeance, anger and despair. She avenged those who had suffered injustice, but her retribution often brought pain.
Many professionals who took up the Barbarian class on their own were drawn to Fury's power. Those who believed in her possessed an extraordinary thirst for battle, even longing to die in combat.
Led by the flag, this group of goblins, most of whom had taken up the Barbarian class, walked into the curtain of rain.
These were precisely the people the dire goblins had hoped to encounter, but judging from the current situation, this meeting might not end well.
"Clang!"
On the second floor of the Dream World, Carl wore a suit of armor and engaged in unarmed combat training with an illusion of Hopp.
It had not actually been long since she had last slept, but in order to obtain the Combat Apprentice feat as soon as possible, Carl had forced herself to take an afternoon nap.
Besides gaining spirit through battle, professionals could also increase their spirit by training the abilities of a class they already possessed.
For example, mages studied spells and copied scrolls; Artificers made magic items, Alchemical Potions, or constructs; Warriors and Barbarians trained their combat techniques, and so on...
When Carl was still in school, she had gained experience by making magic items.
However, making magic items usually consumed spirit to infuse into the items, so her spirit accumulated rather slowly. It had merely allowed her to build up a large sum of money to repay her student loans.
Because of the dungeon's environmental limitations, Carl could not currently accumulate spirit through her primary Artificer work, which was why she had tried taking up the Warrior class as a secondary profession.
As long as she obtained the Combat Apprentice feat, she could increase her spirit through combat training.
Although this method provided little spirit, it had the advantage of being sustainable.
Moreover, if the results of training within the Dream World also gave Carl feedback in the form of spirit, then her rate of growth could become even faster.
"Clang!"
Using the armor on her arm to block Hopp's hand axe, Carl twisted her body and delivered a side kick, sending Hopp's illusion flying.
There were six tactical styles for Warriors: Archery, Defense, Dueling, Great Weapon, Protection, and Two-Weapon Fighting.
Because Carl's Artificer subclass was Armorer, she had chosen Defense tactics for her training.
Defense tactics primarily trained practitioners in the combat techniques of using their own armor in close-quarters fighting. Compared with the other four styles besides Protection, their offensive power was extremely limited.
But if Carl made Arcane Power Armor in the future, this tactical style would greatly enhance her combat abilities.
"Phew... After all this time, I can finally fight back."
Watching Hopp's illusion climb to its feet, Carl let out a long breath and canceled the illusion.
Just as she kicked Hopp's illusion away, she sensed her spirit gathering and transforming.
She opened the attribute panel. The familiar data gradually scrolled downward before Carl's eyes. Finally, when her gaze reached the feat section, the Combat Apprentice feat lay there quietly.
Carl excitedly punched toward the empty space ahead. A powerful sense of exhilaration surged through her.
All her training had finally paid off!
One reason an attribute panel could exist independently as a cheat ability was probably its timely positive-feedback mechanism.
Many people refused to work hard precisely because they could not see the results.
Although Carl's attribute panel had been created with the help of the Dream World and psionic power, it had also made her drive far stronger than before.
At least before she gained this ability, she had never trained as diligently as she did now.
After adjusting her mood, Carl simulated two Hopp illusions at once.
A simple one-on-one battle could no longer satisfy her ambition to grow stronger! She wanted to fight two at once!
In the real world, Carl had just awakened from the Dream World. The moment she opened her eyes, she looked at Hopp with some resentment.
Noticing Carl's gaze, Hopp instinctively crossed both hands over her chest and asked with a frown, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Rubbing her neck, Carl said in a complicated tone, "It's nothing. I just dreamed that you beat me up."
Being beheaded by Hopp's axe in the Dream World had left her body faintly aching as if from phantom pain.
Fighting two Hopps at once had indeed been somewhat difficult for Carl.
Before this, she had at most been cut.
Carl rose from the ground and went over to the wooden basin, lifting out the giant lizard hide to inspect it.
The acid Carl had used during the earlier battle had already corroded many of the giant lizard's fine scales. After the hide had been soaked in a wood-ash solution, nearly all the scales had fallen off.
She pinched it with her fingers. The soft texture made Carl nod in satisfaction.
After all, it was meant to be used as material for underwear and household clothing. If it was too stiff, it would be very uncomfortable to wear.
After taking the hide out, Carl hung it on the rack she had previously used to dry clothes and waited for it to dry naturally in the shade.
Turning around, Carl looked at Hopp on the reclining chair and asked, "Does the stone slab still have any heat? Does it still hurt?"
"Much better. I don't think it'll take me long to recover completely."
Hopp rubbed her lower abdomen, stood up from the reclining chair, and struck a pose to show off her muscles to Carl.
A cool current carrying chilly moisture blew into the room from outside. Carl, who was standing right at the doorway, shuddered all over.
"It looks like the prolonged rain has lowered the temperature in the dungeon quite a bit. Tsk, I can hardly imagine what impact the three great elemental planes of fire, air, and earth would have on this place."
Carl glanced at the empty doorway, lowered her head, and wondered whether she should make a door panel to block the wind first.
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