CHAPTER 65: THE GOBLIN RAID [PART 1]

The cave’s interior bore no resemblance to the well-structured Dungeon of the White Wolves. It was the skeleton of a mountain—as bare as a cave could be.

There were no murky waters, only hard, stony ground. The walls were uneven and jagged; barely getting slammed against them could kill someone.

And the pathway couldn’t exactly be called narrow. It was wide enough for ten people to walk side by side.

Lucien slowed to a walk when he reached a certain point in the cave. The entire place was shrouded in darkness, with no light to see through.

Of course, Lucien had no need for lights. His fireball was more than enough.

And it wasn’t even so bright, so Lucien didn’t need to worry about alerting any creature that might be nearby. Adrian was behind him as well.

They walked in silence for a few more minutes before Lucien stopped. Adrian, who was walking behind him, also came to a halt.

He leaned to the side and whispered.

"Master Cien. Is all well?"

Lucien didn’t respond. Instead, he clenched his fist and the little fireball vanished into thin air.

"I think we have company... but they’re not too strong. Each one of them is level 30. And there are two of them."

Adrian’s eyes widened.

"TH—that’s bad news!"

He almost shouted but managed to stifle his voice.

Lucien looked sideways with a narrowed expression.

"If you get us killed, I’m haunting you first."

Adrian covered his mouth.

"I’m so sorry, but Goblins aren’t supposed to be as high as level 30. Goblins are generally at the bottom of the food chain, which causes them to be very weak. A level 30 Goblin could be as strong as a Hobgoblin then. And Hobgoblins are evolved versions of Goblins. Imagine a level 30 Goblin evolving to a Hobgoblin."

Lucien’s eyes grew colder.

"If a level 30 Goblin is on the outskirts, I’m rather intrigued by what would be inside."

Adrian’s eyes widened as he shook his head.

"Master Cien... please, I really think we should withdraw this instant and stick to the original plan. This is incredibly dangerous."

Lucien turned to him for a moment and gripped his shoulder.

"You said it, bro. It is incredible. That’s what I’m saying too—this is going to be a very incredible experience for us!"

Adrian shook his head.

"No, Master Cien, I think you have it the wrong way. What I mean to say is..."

Lucien shrugged him off with his hand and turned away.

"You can leave if you’re scared."

The next moment, he vanished before Adrian’s eyes.

Adrian’s shoulders slumped.

"Ah gods, I can’t deal with these strong players and popular players."

"And you absolutely do not need to."

He jolted aside at the sound of the voice. But the next moment, Lucien had moved away from his side.

Something parted the air, and two level 30 Goblins fell like it was nothing. Then he saw Lucien slowly materialize above their corpses.

There was a strange white aura around him that made Adrian frown.

"It can’t be..."

The next instant, Lucien shot forward like his feet were springs.

His figure cut through the cave like a dart of white fire, trailing faint embers as he zipped ahead. The moment his boots struck the ground again, he was already mid-turn, sliding low beneath a protruding boulder and launching a flame-imbued kick that cracked the jagged wall behind it. The force reverberated through the stone, and another goblin—previously lurking in wait—toppled from above with a startled shriek.

Before it even hit the ground, Lucien was already there. A flash of wind flew through the darkness, and a clean line appeared on the Goblin’s chest, and the torso slid off to the ground in a spray of gore. The creature didn’t even get the opportunity to scream.

Adrian ran to catch up, panting.

"That aura—Master Cien! That wasn’t from your class skillset, was it?"

Lucien didn’t answer immediately. His back was turned, shoulders lifted ever so slightly as if suppressing something. The faint white aura around him had begun to dim, curling into his skin like ink drawn back into a pen. When he finally looked back, his irises shimmered with a soft internal glow.

He spoke quietly, then looked down at his palm, still faintly glowing.

"No, it wasn’t. I’ve been trying to master mana recently—it has proven difficult."

Adrian raised his brows, genuinely shocked.

"But..."

Before he could continue, a loud scream flew through the cavern expanse and Lucien bolted into motion again.

"Wait, Master Cien..."

He was gone before Adrian had even begun speaking.

Lucien collided with the goblin coming his way, their metals clashing with sparks as the goblin blocked with a defiant gaze.

Lucien smiled behind the mask, his eyes looking intrigued.

"Oh?"

As if the goblin also felt the compliment, it looked at him and grinned like a madman.

"Oh..."

The two ’oh’s were vastly different. Lucien simply withdrew his hand and moved a leg, causing the goblin to stagger forward, then the pommel of his sword slammed its head. The creature crashed down and he stomped on it instantly, causing a burst of flames beneath his feet.

More Goblins were already coming their way, most of which were green-skinned. But Lucien could notice some red-skinned ones.

And one more thing he could notice about them was that they were heavily armed. Their armors were savage and primitive, but intelligent in a sense.

They took woods and clothes from humans and used them to craft makeshift armors for themselves. They wielded metallic weapons, bows and arrows.

And all of them were racing towards him.

Lucien smiled.

"Evolution Online never ceases to surprise me."

He made the katana disappear and summoned the twin short swords instead. Fire ignited on their blades, making him look like some enigmatic being that wielded swords of flames.

As he stood carelessly, many of the Goblins that were in the frontline were falling down, their heads cleanly sliced off, or their legs, but the others were leaping over without looking back.

Adrian opened his hands and extended them forward.

"Rise, old growth, from slumber and dust. Let vine and claw defend what’s just. Vine Arrows!"

From behind Lucien, something flew with speed, felling the goblins as they raced towards him.

Lucien looked with surprise and turned back.

"Don’t worry about your back, Master Cien. I shall defend it."

A corner of Lucien’s lips curled up.

"Uh-oh? So he is useful after all?"

Lucien turned to his front, with a satisfied light burning in his eyes. Then he shot forward and engaged.