Chapter 11 - The right skills to buy

I let out a laugh as I relished on the feeling of taking down such a humongous beast.

I was even happier from learning how to better use your skills as your proficiency rose. [Flames of Torment] shot out a line of flames in front of me when I first casted it, but as I gradually kept on using it, new ways to manipulate it came to light.

From being able to move the line of flames in the direction I wanted to twisting the thick flames like a rope, to now connecting their ends and adding a spin to it, making them even deadlier

This made me look forward to learning and improving higher ranking skills as time passed.

I continued thinking while observing the headless giant before I gathered the things that dropped. Aside from the [Core]s, there was also a rank D skill book, [Ice Shards: Drops sharp shards of ice at a specific location]

This skill book was in fairly high demand and could be sold for a decent amount of money. It didn't fit with the current me and I wouldn't be learning it as my goal now is to focus on obtaining an offensive rank C skill. Along with that, I wanted to buy other skills like [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection], [Arctic Armor], and [Danger Sense] that could be activated, and on my case, become passive skills that only end after I command it

This was my next phase of plans, skills that I could turn on and keep on without them requiring anymore thought from me. If I can collect a multitude of support and defensive skills that provide a variety of effects and layer them on top of each other...just the thought of it kept my blood pumping. The next skill will be a killer rank C skill that will be of use when I dive into [Solael's Castle] in a few days, and the other skills I had in mind will follow after

[Flames of Torment] had a very high proficiency currently with its power most likely nearing rank C skills, but a genuine rank C offensive skill is nothing to laugh at with their large scale of damage

I sat down besides the fallen giant and began absorbing the [Vitality] and [Strength] [Core]s it dropped. I had collected tons from the smaller goblins across the 29 floors, and planned to bring my [Vitality] and [Strength] attributes higher than 100.

As soon as I finished, I reached out towards the green crystal that rose when the goblin king was defeated and was transported outside. My [Camouflage] was already activated, and not a single one of the many hunters cl.u.s.tered in groups or selling items and skills around the encampment of the monolith noticed me

The areas around safe dungeons usually turned into small markets of their own, with hunters trading skills, cores, or items without going through official channels like Awakened Centers. The selling of these things around the dungeons gave much less profit though, so unless a hunter was willing to pay a high price for a specific skill or item they wanted, most people sell their loot to the Awakened Centers.

The government controlling these centers gobbled up everything they could, paying top prices for materials to strengthen their soldiers. The funny thing about it though was how many of these soldiers would be stationed in high end cities where the rich were cl.u.s.tered together. That's just how this world was.

I ignored the hustle and bustle of the environment and neared one of the square doors of the monolith, being transported back into [Goblin King's Abode] for another run. I was planning to dive into dungeons like a madman for the days to come and acc.u.mulate as much as I could before being fully prepared for any situations when diving in to [Solael's Castle] and dealing with that arrogant prick.

---

"Sir, we lost him a few hours ago after he got off a car downtown" Butler

"What? How do you lose someone when we have eyes all over the city?" Cohen asked the burly man that was dressed in a tuxedo over the phone.

"It was our mistake Sir, we'll be sure to find him as soon as possible. If I may, I would like to share my thoughts about this subject though" The butler hung his head low as he talked to his master. This was the man that had saved his life when monsters were about to snuff it out, and he had been indebted to him from then on

He was an official holding a high position in a major firm, but he left everything behind and followed his master willingly over the past months, managing his financials and turning a blind eye to the many tastes his master had. After all, nobody was perfect.

"What is it?"

"There are many inconsistencies about him that we are unsure of, and have not yet grasped exactly how high his level of power is. My apprehension increased today as he was able to escape under the watch of many of our people. Might I suggest that we approach him in a different manner?" He carefully spoke out every word, making sure his words would not be the cause of anger

There was silence on the other end of the phone before Cohen spoke. "Do you doubt me?"

The butler quickly frowned and hung his head even lower before he replied "I would never. I am only speaking from an abundance of caution of this man who has suddenly awakened to a power nearing rank B in just a few days"

A pause followed thereafter, before a reply came with the call being ended a moment later. "I'll keep that in mind."

The butler wiped off the perspiration and looked out of the mansion. He did not succeed, his master had still become angry.

---

My second run of [Goblin King's Abode] was fruitful, as the BOSS had been kind enough to drop the sought after armor [King's Valor]

The 6 meter goblin had horrible burns all over its body, as I took my time with it to get more practice facing something that much bigger than me. This was all in preparation to go against much bigger BOSSes that fully earned the title of TITANS from rank C and above

One of the things I learned was that if you didn't have a strong enough defensive skill, it didn't matter how knowledgeable you were about its moves, as a single punch would be able to stain your body all over the wall

I equipped [King's Valor] and felt a new layer of clothes wrap around me. The armor had a light blue metal sheen to it with a slight protrusion at the chest, covering a majority of my body besides my extremities and head. The greatest thing about this armor was the fact it did not feel awkward to move around in, as if the metallic attribute was malleable. I could move and stretch my body even better than normal with no issues

The third run of the dungeon gave me more than enough cores that my backpack was almost overflowing now, along with the rank D skill [Triple Shot] that was commonly used by ranged Berserkers that used bows

I had taken more than half of the day diving into this dungeon, and it was already night outside. Tightening my overflowing bag on my back, I left [Goblin King's Abode] encampment and went towards the downtown, with my [Camouflage] active as usual.

Once I was in the middle of the city, I turned the skill off and called for a ride that dropped me off the central Awakened Center 20 minutes after. It was rush hour around this time with many people running about downtown. Many drowning their troubles and fear with alcohol and many more going towards the unsavory places deep in the city

I went inside the Awakened Center and had to be taken to a private room because of the volume of things I was trying to sell. A fat looking middle aged man replaced the gorgeous woman that was talking to me and quickly handled the transaction, taking all my remaining cores and skills from [Goblin King's Abode] and offering to deposit $1.6 million into my account

I looked at these numbers as if they were imaginary, and they might as well be as they would be gone a few minutes from now when I purchase the rank C skills. I became a high profile client in the man's eyes as he asked me if there was anything else I needed before completing the transaction, and I told him the names of the skills I wanted

A few minutes later, 3 rank C skill books were situated at the table next to us, and only $100 k was deposited in my bank account.