Eat My Steel Elbow!

Thanks to the Artificers, the armor available to ordinary warriors has become more affordable and of better quality.

That's why wands didn't become some sort of invincible killing machines. After all, ordinary spellcasters can only "attune" to a maximum of three wands.

"One, two, three... six in total?"

Hiding behind the railing of the watchtower, Karl peeked out from time to time, counting the grotesque aberrations ambushing him.

"It's impossible to eliminate them all at once, so I'll have to deal with a few first!"

Having made up his mind, Karl began to chant.

At the same time, he leaped directly from the watchtower and charged towards the wall, behind which three enemies were gathered.

As he ran, his hands made slightly chuunibyou-esque gestures.

Thunderwave

As he neared the three enemies, the spell's casting was finally complete. An invisible shockwave spread out from Karl's Power Armor, creating a spherical space with a radius of 15 feet.

Two of the three enemies spat blood and were sent flying backward. The remaining one didn't fly, but he looked like he was on his last legs.

Without a hint of mercy, Karl raised his left arm and fired another shot directly at its head.

The enemy, paralyzed by the sonic vibrations, couldn't dodge and was hit in a vital spot.

"Whoosh!"

Just then, aberrations hidden in other locations launched their attack.

The ultrasonic attack from Thunderwave was dispersed due to the buildings, so they weren't significantly affected.

Dodging sideways, Karl evaded the attack and pursued the attacker's trajectory.

"Rumble..."

Suddenly, a ground-shaking commotion came from another direction.

In the tribe, built from wood and tents, Hopp, who was nearly three meters tall, swung two massive axes wildly.

Tents and aberrations were crushed directly. With just a turn, Hopp cleared all enemies around him.

'Once I learn the Giant Growth spell, I'll play like this too!'

While imagining this, Karl used Mage Hand to knock a thrown short sword aside.

These guys had a very limited supply of crossbow bolts, and they were probably running on empty now.

'Judging by the appearance of these crossbow bolts, these guys probably haven't replaced them in over a decade. The fact that they've lasted this long is entirely due to the better materials used in their original crafting. How could the technology of these goblin tribes have degenerated so severely?'

Grabbing a nearby door panel, Karl blocked a weapon flying from another direction.

He didn't know that goblin artisan skills were typically passed down by ordinary goblins.

However, in this dungeon, ordinary goblins had almost no status in front of Dire Goblins and Hobgoblins, and were often beaten to death.

Their craftsmanship thus gradually became extinct, until it devolved into its current sorry state.

After all, in the underground world, personal strength was the primary determinant of influence. Ordinary goblins' bodies were simply no match for Hobgoblins and Dire Goblins.

"Bang!"

As Karl moved rapidly, a thick wooden board suddenly descended from mid-air.

Those aberrations even understood how to use nearby objects to create obstacles!

Without any pause, Karl delivered a direct elbow strike. Using the Power Armor's elbow, he shattered the wooden board with a focused blow.

The aberration hiding behind the wooden board clearly hadn't expected this ironclad figure to possess such strength. Caught off guard, it directly experienced the power of the steel elbow strike.

Its already contorted features looked like a tipped-over spice rack after this blow, displaying every imaginable expression.

Its eyebrows and eyes looked as if it were merely playing a game.

However, this was not the end. The moment this aberration was about to be sent flying, Karl activated the lightning launcher on his chest and delivered another powerful blow.

The electric current flashed and disappeared, and the aberration's body fell to the ground like a torn sack. It convulsed twice before becoming still.

In the distance, two huge flying axes soared through the air, smashing into two tents not far from Karl.

Blood splattered, and the last two aberrations died under Hopp's axe throws.

At the same time, Hopp's berserk state ended, and he returned to his normal size.

"I never expected these guys to be so difficult to deal with. I thought I wouldn't even need to use berserk."

Strapping his two hand axes back to his waist, Hopp walked over from a distance, looking quite relaxed.

Ordinary grotesque aberrations had a challenge rating of only one-half, and even those with classes were estimated to be around level 1.

"Good, now that these guys are dealt with, we have no worries for the time being. Follow me, I can already clearly sense the source of that malice."

With the feedback from the Scouting Dragon Mark, there were no more enemies around.

But the malice Karl had sensed earlier was becoming more intense.

Following the sensation, Karl and Hopp soon found the goblin tribe's armory.

Looking at the weapons and armor displayed on the walls, Karl's brow furrowed even tighter.

"They're all made of fine iron, and some even have mithril mixed in. Although the magic runes are completely destroyed, they're all excellent raw materials."

The armor and weapons were standard issue, sized for Dire Goblins and Hobgoblins. Judging by the size of this tribe and the specifications of the tents, there should have been quite a few Dire Goblins and Hobgoblins here.

Yet, the main fighting force of this goblin tribe had vanished without a trace, leaving only these aberrations...

This bizarre situation made Karl think deeply.

"This way."

Reaching the deepest part of the warehouse, Karl quickly found the open tunnel.

Calling to Hopp, the two entered the tunnel together.

"Wooah—"

As soon as they entered the tunnel, the first thing that met their eyes was Dragonshards, Dragonshards everywhere.

At the entrance and the first half of the tunnel, the walls on both sides were almost entirely embedded with Khyber Dragonshards.

Further into the tunnel, a rolling black mist obstructed Karl and Hopp's vision, making it impossible for them to see clearly.

Looking at the tunnel before him, Karl was too astonished to speak.

Places where Khyber Dragonshards are formed are often frequented by demons. Although this is unconfirmed, based on past data, the possibility is high.

"This place is a bit creepy!"

Despite saying that, Karl was already nimbly prying off the outermost Khyber Dragonshards and putting them into his Bag of Holding.

Hopp, standing beside him, quickly joined in to help. They only stopped after their Bag of Holding was more than half full.

"Hopp, you don't need to follow me for the rest of the journey. I have psionics, so I can guarantee my sanity no matter what situation I encounter. From here on, I'll explore alone!"

Looking at the tunnel ahead, Karl stopped Hopp, who had intended to follow.

The closer he got to the depths of the tunnel, the hotter his Scouting Dragon Mark became.

For safety's sake, Karl decided to go alone.