Not much time had passed since Aron slew the goblin and consumed its core. The surge of energy and the feeling of growing stronger left Aron craving for more.

Currently, he stood at the end of a path, gazing at what appeared to be the aftermath of a celebration. The inside is a huge cave where a dozen holes in the walls can be seen.

These holes are used by goblins as resting places. Aron spotted many goblins sleeping in these holes; in fact, he can see about thirty or more goblins in total. Most of them were either sleeping in the holes or in the center of the cave, surrounding a giant fireplace.

The smell of burnt meat, open barrels, scattered wooden cups, and the presence of cuts and bruises on many goblins indicated that they had been engaged in some sort of celebration. They ate, drank, and fought among themselves until they passed out.

Raum commented on the scene. "See those barrels? They looted them from my caravan. It contains a really strong beer. These stupid goblins drank themselves into a stupor. Alcohol has a negative effect on them, but they can't help themselves to good beer."

Aron realized 'So that's why that goblin was in that weak condition, and if they are all in the same condition then…Heheh~' Aron smiled wickedly as he observed the drunken goblins.

"I don't like this smile" Raum expressed his concern

Aron chuckled at Raum's comment and replied, "If they are too drunk to fight, then this is my chance to pick them off one by one."

Raum quickly asked, "You don't mean...?"

"Yes, I'm going to murder every goblin in this damn cave." Aron confirmed.

Raum turned his head to gaze at the goblins, remembering the suffering they had caused him. This time, it was Raum who smiled wickedly, appreciating Aron's idea.

"Perfect"

Aron nodded silently. He and Raum started sneaking behind the sleeping goblins, heading towards the closest hole in the wall.

Aron found a goblin sleeping on the ground inside the hole, facing upward. He approached cautiously, drawing his knife.

Aron needed to kill the goblin with one swift strike without making a sound. With a swift movement, he used one hand to cover the goblin's mouth, preventing it from screaming and alerting the entire place. He swiftly slit the goblin's throat, making a clean cut. The goblin found itself bleeding to death within seconds. Aron maintained his grip on the goblin, covering its mouth to restrain any movement. It took a few seconds for the goblin to go back to sleep, but this time it was an eternal sleep.

[You have killed: Goblin]

[+20 XP]

'One down!' Aron smiled 'But, That was easy?'

He chose to leave extracting the core for later, until he cleared the cave and secured it. After that, he could take as much time as he needed. Extracting the core was a simple process, but for a large number of monsters, it would take hours, if not a whole day.

Aron was fortunate enough to slay two more goblins in the same manner, earning enough XP to level up. As soon as he leveled up, he felt all the wounds on his body heal, and his exhaustion disappeared. He quickly checked the system messages to confirm this.

[Level up]

[+2 Attribute Points]

'Attribute points?... Hmmm... System, how can I use them?' Aron inquired.

[Master, attribute points are a great way to boost your status and become stronger. You can allocate them to strength, stamina, or agility. I recommend putting one point in Strength and one in Stamina for now.]

Aron smiled upon hearing this. Getting stronger in any way was always welcomed by him. Without hesitation, he followed the system's recommendation and assigned one point to strength and one to stamina.

The dark-red mana within his chest spread throughout his entire body, strengthening his muscles and making his bones harder to break. Aron even noticed that he could run all day without getting tired.

'If this is the effect of just two points, then how about ten or twenty?' Aron clenched his fist and smiled. 'I need to level up more and fast. This feeling is addictive.'

He checked his status.

…

[Status]

Name: ????

Race: Dragon

Level: 02

Experience: 0/200

Class: ????

Health: 110/110

Mana: 55/55

Strength: 11

Stamina: 6

Agility: 5

[Dragon Core: 1/1000]

[Skills]: [Wrath] [Mana manipulation Lv1]

…

'All good... Wait, a 'Dragon Core'? What is that?'

Aron scratched the back of his head, trying to make sense of or explain the meaning of a "Dragon Core." Was it similar to a monster's core? If so, did that mean Aron was a monster? But he's a dragon. Then why did he look like a human?

Lost in his thoughts, Aron failed to notice the figure lurking behind him.

Without his knowledge, a green goblin twice the size of any goblin he had encountered before stood behind him.

The goblin was slightly shorter than Aron and wielded a mace, which he used to deliver a powerful blow to Aron.

Caught off guard, Aron instinctively crossed his arms to absorb the impact but found it insufficient. The impact threw him out of the hole, right into the middle of the cave, where he landed on top of a sleeping goblin.

[-10 HP]

"Ughhh! Damn!"

Despite the pain in his arms, Aron seized the opportunity and stabbed the goblin beneath him in the left eye, instantly killing it.

[You have killed: Goblin]

[+20 XP]

The noise from the impact, as well as the screams of the already-dead goblin, alerted the nearby goblins.

Still affected by the beer, they couldn't quite pinpoint what was going on. However, the goblins in the middle of the cave, those with wounds and bruises, quickly snapped out of their sleep and began gathering around Aron.

Surrounded from all directions, Aron cursed his luck.

"Damn, this is the opposite of being stealthy."

[...*Pfff!...I told you! ..Dumbass… Now prepare to die! ...Hhh*..]

As if being in a precarious situation wasn't enough, now even the system seemed to expect him to die. Or did it want him to die? Aron couldn't tell the difference. Raum flew past the goblins and made his way to Aron.

"Aron, are you alright? We are surrounded. What are we going to do?"

Aron quickly scanned the area for any alternative escape routes or openings in the circle of monsters. Seeing that he was trapped with no way out, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He accepted that fighting was the only way to survive.

The goblins started charging toward Aron, shouting and screaming, eager to get a piece of him. However, before they could close the gap, a loud roar echoed throughout the entire cave.

The goblins abruptly halted their charge, turning their attention to where Aron had been thrown moments ago.

Silence enveloped the cave. From the dust and rubble emerged a large human-size goblin. His pale green skin set him apart from the other goblins, and his muscular physique, yellow eyes, and a scar running from his forehead to his lips added to his intimidating presence.

The pale green goblin wielded a mace and raised it high in the air as he approached Aron. He locked eyes with Aron, uttered something in his own tongue, and slapped his chest three times before pointing his mace at Aron.

Aron watched as all the other goblins retreated to a safe distance. Some goblins, the ones with cuts and bruises who had been lying on the ground, started clapping their chests in the same manner as the big goblin. As for the rest, they licked their lips and fixed their gazes on Aron, as if preparing to pounce on him at any moment.

No one but Aron, Raum, and the big goblin remained in the middle of the cave. Aron began to piece together what was happening, and a system message confirmed his suspicions.

…

[New quest granted]

[A powerful opponent is challenging you to a duel to the death. A warrior never runs from a duel. Win the duel and satisfy your hunger for battle.]

[Rewards: Instant level up + New skill]

…

Aron's mind went blank for a second. He no longer cared about his life or the fact that he was surrounded by monsters ready to attack.

Instead, a new but familiar feeling surged within him—the thrill of conflict.

Aron raised his head and looked at the cave's ceiling. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then lowered his head, still keeping his eyes closed. He faced the big goblin and grinned menacingly, revealing his flaming crimson eyes.

Aron slammed his chest three times with his fist, imitating the big goblin's gesture. Then he opened his arms as if preparing to embrace his loved ones. Aron spoke to the big goblin, not caring if he understood him or not.

"You have a warrior's heart, but your hunger is weaker than mine. Tonight, I'll feast on your heart."