I wipe the sweat on my forehead and open up my stats.

|Name: Jacob Shiff|

|Race: Human|

|Level: 12|

|HP: 650/780|

|MP: 930/1160|

|STR: 70|

|VIT: 78|

|DEX: 69|

|INT: 94|

|WIS: 116|

|SP: 110|

I smile a little when I see my stats grow once more. Currently, I'm hunting in the middle of the forest northwest of Sol-Falena. After hearing the rumor from the soldier in the barrack there is a monster movement in this area, I decided to check it out, and true enough, there are many monsters around this area.

The monster in this area is a kobold. Kobold is a reptilian humanoid creature. They usually carry some sort of weapon depending on their scale color. The ones with red scales usually use short-range weapons like swords, axes, and spears. The blue kobold will carry a long-range weapon like a bow and crossbow.

Most of the time, I only encounter these two types of kobolds, but there is one type of kobold I encounter from time to time. It was a purple kobold.

What is so special about these kobolds? They are magicians. They can cast lighting spells and poison attacks from their staff. What makes matters worse is that they are usually accompanied by more than a dozen other kobolds.

I usually encounter a group of four or five kobolds, but when the purple kobold is in charge, I need to fight thirteen kobolds.

They are weak, but they are annoying and can be deadly if I am careless. They have the number, and they know it. They will always attack together, and I need to watch out for their attack. Lucky for me, their stats are not that great.

As long as I continue dodging and blocking their attack, I'm good.

"Hmmm? A hole?"

I look at the massive hole on the ground near the massive tree.

"What the hell is this?"

I lay on the ground and put my head near the hole, trying to look at what was inside the hole. However, as my face gets close, I notice something pop up. I jumped away from the hole and noticed it was the system.

"What?"

|Congratulations! You found your first dungeon!|

|Dungeon is something I created to help you! There are several of them scattered around the world. While you are inside the dungeon, your stats will grow two times faster! Sadly, all dungeons have a time limit! The more difficult it was, the longer it would last. The countdown will start when you enter the dungeon.|

|Kobold's Nest - (Level 5 - Level 15)|

|Time Limit: 3 days|

Dungeon, huh? Three days? Also...

|Clear your first dungeon!|

|You have encountered your first dungeon! Clear it!|

{Reward: A new sword and One Random Skill}

{Failure: Your stats will be cut in half, and you need to fill the requirement before you can remove this debuff}

| You cannot reject this quest |

A new quest, and there is a failure condition. The consequence of failing this quest is not good. Half my stats? With the elimination fight getting closer and closer, I cannot let it happen. Before I could get inside the dungeon, another pop-up appeared in front of me.

|Kobold Dungeon!|

|Kobold is a reptilian creature that works together to hunt its target. They are masters of traps and ambushes. Beware of the unseen, for it was the kobold's greatest strength.|

{Reward}

{Clear the dungeon: One Random Skill}

{Clear the dungeon in 48 hours: +20 to all stats}

{Clear the dungeon in 24 hours: Star Rune}

{Failure}

{The dungeon will disappear, and you need to search for another dungeon}

|Accept? Y/N|

Now, that is a juicy reward. I press the accept button and see it was added to my quest section. I look at it for a few seconds and check if there is a deadline for this quest. There is none. I will get into this dungeon tomorrow morning.

For now, I need to prepare.

~A moment later~

"What? You want to upgrade this weapon again?"

The blacksmith looked at me with a weird expression.

"Yea. Can you do that?"

"Aye, we can. However, it will cost you even more money than getting a new, better weapon."

"Really?"

"Aye. Hell, I can even upgrade it for you for a few hundred pounds."

"What kind of upgrade?"

"The regular one. Sharpening and coating the edge of the sword with a stronger metal so you can cut things faster."

"And why you cannot do that with my sword?"

"The metal sword used is regular steel. If I use a stronger coating, it will eat the steel and destroy your sword. It will only last three days at maximum."

"I see. I guess I will buy another weapon."

"Great! Do you want to sell that sword?"

"Nah. I think I will keep this sword."

"Suit yourself. Anyway, come on. I have a sword that is suitable for you."

I follow the blacksmith to the backroom and see many kinds of weapons inside. I can see swords, spears, polearms, and even a war hammer.

"Ah, here you go."

I see a longsword of the same length as my previous sword. I pick the sword and swing it around. A little bit heavier but not bad. The blade itself is a little bit thinner but well balanced. This is a good sword.

"How much?"

"One thousand and five hundred. One thousand for the sword and five hundred for the upgrade."

"Hmmm. One thousand and three hundred."

"Nahhh, can't do it. The lowest I can give you is one point four thousand. Take it or leave it."

"Very well."

"Great! Pour the money into that basket. I will be back in a second. I will give this sword to the others for the upgrade."

I nod my head and start to pour the money needed into the basket. A minute later, the blacksmith gets back and sees the basket already filled up. He nodded his head and wrote some paper before giving it to me.

I take the paper and walk away from the shop. Now, what's next? Oh yeah, armor shop. I need to buy some armor. I cannot continue to use my regular clothes for hunting.

After a few minutes of walking along the street of Sol-Falena, I got inside the armor shop.

"Welcome! What can I do for you?"

I smile at the young man behind the counter and say.

"Hello, I need some armor. I want to hunt some monster."

"Of course! Please follow me."

I nod my head and follow him to the back room, where he checks my size. After a minute of measuring me, he smiles and says.

"And we are done. What kind of armor do you want? Leather or full metal armor?"

"I want leather armor. I'm a speed fighter. I need to dodge the attack rather than take damage."

"Perfect! You are in luck. Someone decides to cancel their order at the last minute, and now we have armor with your body size lying around."

"And why did you not sell it immediately?"

I can see his smile strained before saying.

"And we come to the price of the armor. This set of armor is made from the hide of Thunder Salamander, you know? This armor is very durable and hard to pierce, but it also gives you a massive resistance to lightning."

"Is that the only thing that makes this armor expensive?"

"Sadly, no. The material to make this armor is hard to come by. You not only need to hunt a lightning salamander but also harvest all of its skin in a matter of one minutes before the monster disappears just like any other monster."

Wait. A minute? Every monster I encounter immediately disappears the second I kill them. Does my system help me get the loot? I guess that is the case as I get many kinds of material inside my inventory.

"I see. How much?"

I can see him wince a little before saying.

"Thirty thousand potch, sir."

"Huh. I guess I can understand why not many people want to buy it."

"Aye. Do you want me to make different armor? There is no armor in your current size. I need to make them myself. Don't worry, leather armor only takes a few days, a week at max."

"Ah, don't worry. I will take the armor. How many pieces does it have?"

"Really?! It has standard pieces for leather armor sets. Chest armor, arms guard, gloves, leggings, and boots."

"Great. I will take it."

"Thank you! Please pour the money into the basket while I get the armor."

I pour the money into the basket and see him get back with a set of armor. When I can see him smile when he sees the money inside the basket. After putting it aside, he says.

"Let me help you put on the armor."

I nod my head and let him put the armor on for me. After a couple of minutes, I noticed a system appear in front of me.

|You get a temporary skill from your equipment!|

|Lightning Resistance! (Equipment Buff)| |Passive| |Level: Max|

{Effect: Reduce the damage from lightning by 75%}

Nice.

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