[Hex Shield]!
The seven skeletons landed on the shield instead of their opponent, some slamming into it in surprise.
Lukas leapt back with a chuckle, before dismissing the shield.
The skeletons were taken by surprise once more, most of them unprepared for the new surface they were standing on to simply disappear.
Before they could get their bearings, Lukas was suddenly among them, smashing skulls.
He tossed his sword into the air, grabbed two skulls and smashed them into each other, destroying them. He kicked the closest skeleton away, snatched his sword out of the air, and began using it like a hammer, smashing the flat surface into the skulls of the other skeletons.
A few seconds later, he stood alone with shards of bone in every direction.
[You have killed an E-rank Undead Goblin(x7)]
'That was actually a nice strategy.' He stared at the scattered bones. 'It's just unfortunate that you met me.'
He continued on his way, and no matter how clever the skeletons set up their ambush, he easily destroyed them.
Each hallway led to a hall, which served as a checkpoint where Awakeners could rest, but Lukas didn't bother resting. All this was child's play to him. He hadn't even broken a sweat yet.
Fighting the undead skeletons started out fun but quickly grew boring. He began finding ways to make it more interesting, including decapitating skeletons, watching them reform, then decapitating them immediately after, wanting to see how long it'll take them to give up.
Unfortunately, he wasn't patient enough to actually find out, because the skeletons never gave up. Immediately they finished reforming, they kept attacking him, so he simply crushed their skulls and moved on.
He reached a new passageway, and ahead of him was another pack of seven skeletons. This time, he cast [Hex Shield], sealing up the hallway.
The skeletons still rushed forward, even after losing sight of him behind the shield and began attacking the shield.
Unlike the D-rank Silver Ape, they took a few seconds to actually shatter the shield, even as they kept slamming into it with their weapons.
Lukas stood there for a second, wondering if he should find out precisely how many hits it would take a pack of seven skeletons to bring down his shield before dismissing the idea.
He had other things to do, and this would simply be an act of wasting time.
He demolished the entire pack, before continuing forward. He slaughtered through the undead before arriving at a new hall.
This one was larger than all the others and in the middle of the hall was an elevated platform and what looked like a casket.
The casket was intricately carved, and surrounding it were seven skeletons. These skeletons looked bigger than all the ones he'd previously faced, but what set them apart was the stone armor that covered their heads and torso.
The green orbs of light that served as their eyes shone through their helmets, glaring at Lukas. They stepped forward in formation, each one holding a short stone sword.
Lukas tilted his head as he studied them.
"Cute."
He dashed forward, his first swing shattering three helmets at once, including the skulls underneath them.
[You have killed an E-rank Undead Goblin(x3)]
He could feel a palpable sense of surprise from the remaining four skeletons as three of their comrades died just like that, but before they could even process it, his sword descended, splitting one of them into two.
The remaining three scattered, and he opted to chase the closest two. He kicked one's head off its neck, and shattered the skull of the other one.
Then he turned and hurled his sword, which streaked through the air, before piercing the skull of the third skeleton, killing it. Before the first skeleton could reattach its head, he stomped on it, shattering the bone.
[You have killed an E-rank Undead Goblin(x4)]
He walked to the third skeleton and retrieved his sword, just as the stone covering the casket moved, a sound of stone grinding on stone filling the air. The sound stopped, and a second later, the goblin King stepped out.
This was the boss of the dungeon.
Just as he'd seen in the mural, the skeleton king was a bit taller than the rest of the goblins but still kid sized. In its hand was an actual short steel sword, the steel weapon he'd seen in this dungeon.
The temperature in the room dropped as the skeleton glared down at him, its eye socket burning with the same green light.
Lukas extended his hand, before curling two fingers in the universal sign for 'come'.
The skeleton leapt from the elevated platform, and Lukas leapt up to meet it. Before he entered the reach of the skeleton, his sword flashed through the air, and there was a loud crack as its skull shattered.
He landed on the platform, while the skeleton landed on the floor behind him, its bones bouncing and scattering as the light dissipated from its skull.
Lukas turned, stabbed his sword into the stone in front of him, and sat on the casket.
Then the notifications began pouring in.
[You have killed an E-rank Undead Goblin King]
[Congratulations, you have cleared the quest!]
[Reward: +50 Gacha Points.]
[E-rank Dungeon, Goblin Tomb, successfully cleared!]
[Calculating contributions...]
[Rankings:]
[1. Lukas (MVP)]
[Distributing rewards...]
[Congratulations, you have received: +50 Constitution, 2000 gold coins, fifty steel ingots, and one sack of flour.]
Lukas grinned as his reward materialized in a neat stack in front of him. If he'd been with other people, he'd have had to share the rewards, but here he was, having them all to himself.
This was the main reason why Awakeners cleared dungeons instead of simply going outside the city to hunt.
Not only do they receive money, they also receive stats and resources. The dungeons were responsible for supplying cities with grains, meat, and resources like iron and coal.
They were drivers of the economies just as much as they were dangerous portals to an endless source of monsters.
He unhooked the rope he'd brought for this purpose from his belt, tying the sacks of steel ingots and flour together. Then he unhooked his money pouch, pouring the two thousand gold coins inside.
The moment he'd secured his rewards, a flash of light enveloped him, and he found himself standing outside the dungeon, the spatial gate glowing in front of him.
"Only a fool will see such an easy source of wealth and leave it after a single try." He chuckled, and before anyone could notice him, entered the dungeon once more.