Chapter 3: The Hidden Armory
I pushed my entire body weight against the heavy stone door since it looked like it hadn't been opened in centuries.
The thick rock ground loudly against the dirt floor and kicked up a massive cloud of grey dust that made me cough.
I stepped inside the new room and instantly gripped the goblin's rusted sword with both hands just in case another monster was waiting for me.
It wasn't just a simple cavern like the altar room because this place actually had smooth walls and weapon racks lining the edges.
It looked exactly like an old underground training hall, but all the weapons on the racks were completely shattered or rusted away to nothing.
Torches suddenly flared to life along the walls the moment I stepped fully into the room, bathing the entire hall in a dim orange light.
I blinked a few times to adjust to the sudden brightness since I had been fighting in pitch darkness for the last hour.
There was a raised stone platform at the very back of the hall with a single wooden chest resting right in the center.
In every single webnovel I ever read, a chest sitting alone on a pedestal meant there was definitely a trap or a boss monster nearby.
I didn't rush forward like an idiot because I knew my newly acquired E-Rank stats still wouldn't save me from a serious ambush.
I took a slow step toward the platform and kept my eyes glued to the dark corners of the large room.
Three dark shapes suddenly dropped down from the high ceiling and landed heavily on the stone floor right in front of the chest.
They were shadow goblins just like the one I killed outside, but these three were actually wearing scraps of leather armor.
The goblin in the middle carried a jagged iron spear while the other two held short wooden clubs wrapped in rusted barbed wire.
Three E-Rank monsters were a massive problem since I was barely surviving against one just a few minutes ago.
I didn't panic because I wasn't just relying on my basic unawakened stats anymore.
I had the Ancient Fiend bloodline giving me extra vitality and I just stole the Shadow Step skill from their dead friend outside.
The spear-wielding goblin shrieked loudly and charged straight at me while thrusting its weapon directly at my chest.
I didn't try to block the heavy attack since my rusted sword would probably just snap in half from the heavy impact.
"Shadow Step," I muttered quietly under my breath.
The shadows covering the floor suddenly pulled at my boots and yanked my entire body sideways in a blur of dark energy.
I reappeared three feet to the left right as the goblin's spear stabbed violently into the empty air where I just stood.
The sudden movement completely drained a chunk of my stamina because I didn't actually have a mana pool to fuel the magic yet.
The goblin stumbled forward off balance from missing its target, giving me the perfect opening to strike back.
I swung my rusted sword as hard as I could and chopped straight through the thick green skin on the back of its neck.
Dark blood sprayed across the stone floor as the first goblin collapsed completely dead before the other two even reached me.
The remaining monsters roared in absolute fury and swung their barbed wire clubs right at my head from both sides.
I ducked aggressively under the left club and kicked the second goblin hard in the stomach to push it away.
My boots connected heavily with its gut and sent the monster tumbling backward since my strength stat was much higher now.
The goblin on the left recovered quickly and smashed its heavy club down toward my shoulder.
I raised my rusted sword to block the hit, but the old iron couldn't handle the heavy impact and shattered into three useless pieces.
The club smashed heavily into my left shoulder and knocked me straight down to the stone floor.
Pain shot down my arm, but the Fiend bloodline immediately started numbing the damage so I could keep fighting.
I rolled away quickly as the goblin smashed its club into the floor right where my head had been resting.
I didn't have a weapon anymore, so I just grabbed a handful of loose dirt from the ground and threw it straight into the monster's yellow eyes.
The goblin shrieked and dropped its club to rub its eyes, leaving its entire chest completely exposed.
I scrambled to my feet and lunged forward while pulling the chipped hunting knife from my belt.
I drove the dull blade right up under the goblin's jaw and pushed upward with every single ounce of strength I had left.
The knife pierced deep into its brain, killing the second monster instantly as it dropped heavily onto the dirt.
I ripped the blade out and turned around just in time to see the third goblin rushing at me with its barbed club raised high.
I didn't have enough stamina to use Shadow Step again since my chest was heaving and my lungs were burning for air.
I stood my ground and waited for the exact moment the goblin swung its weapon down at my face.
I stepped slightly to the right and let the heavy club smash into the ground right next to my boots.
Before the monster could lift its weapon again, I grabbed its thick green wrist with my left hand and squeezed as hard as I could.
My fingers crushed the goblin's wrist bone easily since my stats were basically double what a normal human possessed.
The monster dropped its club and screamed in pain, letting me drive my hunting knife straight into its dark green heart.
I twisted the blade viciously until the goblin stopped moving entirely and slumped forward against my shoulder.
I pushed the heavy corpse off me and collapsed onto my knees while trying to catch my breath in the quiet room.
Fighting three E-Rank monsters at the same time was incredibly reckless, but I survived because this body was adapting ridiculously fast.
I dragged myself over to the three dead goblins and placed my hands on their bleeding chests to claim my reward.
"Devour," I gasped between heavy breaths.
The familiar black mist erupted from my skin and completely covered the three goblin corpses in a dark cloud.
Their bodies shriveled up and dissolved rapidly until nothing was left behind except three glowing white beast cores.
The blue system screen popped up immediately to show me the massive gains from my incredibly risky fight.
[Targets Devoured: 3x E-Rank Shadow Goblins]
[Extracting Bloodlines...]
[Minor Shadow Affinity detected. Merging with Ancient Fiend Bloodline.]
[+4 Strength]
[+5 Agility]
[+3 Vitality]
[Skill Upgraded: Shadow Step (E-Rank)]
[Host Mana Pool unlocked due to repeated magical skill usage.]
[+10 Mana]
I let out a loud laugh that echoed through the empty hall because unlocking a mana pool meant I wasn't just a physical brawler anymore.
Awakeners usually needed months of meditation at the academy to form a proper mana pool, but I just forced it open by eating a few low-level goblins.
My entire body felt incredibly light and powerful as the new stats fully integrated into my muscles and bones.
I stood up and completely ignored the dull pain in my left shoulder since my increased vitality was already healing the deep bruise.
I picked up the three beast cores from the floor and shoved them into my jacket pocket so I could show them to Instructor Baek later.
With the monsters completely cleared out, I finally walked up the stone steps toward the raised platform at the back of the room.
The wooden chest looked completely normal, but it didn't have any locks or traps covering the lid.
I pushed the heavy lid open slowly and looked inside to see a single black ring resting perfectly on a piece of red velvet.
The ring was made of some weird dark metal and had a small red gemstone embedded right in the center.
I picked it up carefully and waited for the system to tell me exactly what kind of overpowered item I just stumbled across.
[Item Acquired: Ring of the Glutton]
[Rank: Growth-Type (Currently E-Rank)]
[Effect: Passively stores excess life force from devoured enemies. Can be used to instantly heal fatal wounds or replenish mana.]
I stared at the blue screen in pure disbelief because a growth-type item was considered a national treasure in the original novel.
Tae-Hyung only found his first growth-type weapon halfway through the second year of the academy, but I just got one on my very first day.
I slipped the cool metal ring onto my right index finger and smiled confidently as the gemstone glowed faintly in the dark.
I definitely had enough cores to pass the Mid-Cycle Hunt now, and the sun was probably getting close to setting on the surface.
I turned around and started walking back toward the sinkhole because it was finally time to show the academy that Jin wasn't just a worthless extra anymore.