Chapter 8: The Goblin Waykeeper

After summoning the shadow wraiths, he looked down at the essence buff resting in his palm and crushed it.

A Variant Essence.

He had been carrying it ever since the Earth Vein Ape dropped it.

The stone heart shattered into countless particles of light that flowed into his body.

[Variant Essence absorbed.]

[Stone Heart]

[Constitution +60]

[Duration: 5 Minutes]

[Variant Effect Activated]

[Stone Skin]

[Your body is covered in a layer of stone, greatly increasing your defensive capabilities for the duration.]

[One Mind, One Legion activated.]

[Constitution +60 shared with all Shadow Wraith Soldiers.]

[Stone Skin has adapted to the physiology of the Shadow Wraith Legion.]

Not only did the variant constitution orb give double the buff an essence buff of the same level would give."

Once the effects were shared, the goblins moved.

"Graaah!"

More than sixty goblins rushed toward Ethan from every direction with their crude clubs and rusted blades raised high.

Ethan immediately gave the order to kill.

"...Kill them."

The Shadow Wraiths emerged into the shadows of the goblins’ own feet, others appeared from the shadows cast by the surrounding trees.

The goblins didn’t even notice them before they were beheaded.

And some had their throat torn open before they could even scream.

Several tried to flee but the shadows beneath their feet suddenly came alive.

[Shadow Bind]

Black tendrils wrapped around their legs, rooting them where they stood.

[Shadow Strike]

Blood splashed across the forest floor.

The battle ended almost as quickly as it had begun and the last goblin was killed.

One notification after another appeared before Ethan.

[You have killed Goblin (Level 2).]

[Experience +20]

[You have killed Goblin (Level 3).]

[Experience +30]

...

Essence Buffs slowly floated out from several corpses.

Ethan swept his gaze across the battlefield.

"Collect them."

Without needing further instructions, the Shadow Wraiths picked up the floating Essence Buffs, and Ethan continued deeper into the dungeon with his legion.

He carried them in one hand while calmly walking deeper into the dungeon.

...

During this process, groups of goblins continued appearing along the way. Some even reached Level 4, requiring nearly three Shadow Wraiths to kill.

Whenever a goblin discovered him, Shadow Wraiths would silently emerge from the surrounding darkness.

Even those that didn’t notice him were killed.

[Experience +30]

[Experience +30]

[Experience +40]

...

Time passed quietly and by the time nearly an hour had gone by...

More than three hundred goblins had fallen.

Ethan’s level had reached Level 3 (20%).

He still had a long way to go before reaching Level 4.

Just then, one of the Shadow Wraiths scouting furthest ahead suddenly came to a stop.

Its vision flowed directly into Ethan’s mind.

A narrow passage, with a gigantic figure nearly four meters tall blocking its entrance.

Unlike the ordinary green-skinned goblins, its skin was dark gray and its body was covered in crude bone armor.

An enormous stone axe rested across its right shoulder as it stood motionless before the passage.

The moment Ethan stepped into its line of sight...

Its crimson eyes slowly opened.

They locked onto Ethan without wavering.

The surrounding forest fell silent.

Even the goblins lurking in the distance instinctively lowered their heads.

The Waykeeper slowly lowered the stone axe from its shoulder before planting it heavily into the ground.

Boom!

A deep voice echoed throughout the forest.

"Defeat me."

"And the path shall open."

Ethan nodded.

"I know."

This wasn’t the first time he had encountered the Goblin Waykeeper.

In his previous life, he, Lucian, and Elena had all fought this very trial.

Although they had eventually won...

It had not been an easy battle.

This thing...

Was far stronger than ordinary Level 3 monsters.

Without another word, Ethan raised a hand.

The Shadow Wraiths hidden throughout the forest immediately emerged from the darkness.

Each carried several Essence Orbs in their hands.

They silently placed them before Ethan.

Ethan picked up the first orb.

Strength.

Crack.

The orb shattered into countless particles of light.

[Strength +30]

Without pausing, he crushed the second, constitution.

[Constitution +30]

Then the third: agility.

[Agility +30]

Warm currents surged through his body one after another.

[One Mind, One Legion activated.]

[Strength +30 shared with all Shadow Wraith Soldiers.]

[Constitution +30 shared with all Shadow Wraith Soldiers.]

[Agility +30 shared with all Shadow Wraith Soldiers.]

The aura of every Shadow Wraith instantly rose.

Ethan slowly exhaled.

"...Now."

He looked directly at the Waykeeper.

"We’re ready."

Ethan raised a hand.

"Shadow Bind."

The moment the command was given, dozens of shadows shot toward the Goblin Waykeeper from every direction.

They wrapped around its legs, waist, arms, and shoulders.

The giant didn’t panic. It simply gripped the stone axe with both hands and swung.

The enormous axe tore through the air, cutting through several Shadow Binds.

The Waykeeper’s axe rose and fell relentlessly, cutting through one Shadow Bind after another.

But for every restraint it destroyed, another immediately wrapped around it.

The giant remained trapped, yet the Shadow Wraiths couldn’t fully immobilize it either.

The battle settled into a deadlock.

Bind.

Cut.

Bind again.

Cut again.

Neither side gave in.

...

[Essence buff (strength) has expired.]

[Essence buff (agility) has expired.]

[Essence buff (constitution) has expired.]

The Shadow Wraiths immediately became weaker and the Waykeeper noticed immediately, and its next swing cut through far more Shadow Binds than before.

Its crimson eyes suddenly locked onto Ethan.

Instead of wasting time on the Shadow Wraiths, the Waykeeper took advantage of the opening and charged straight toward him.

Ethan had already expected this.

He crushed another handful of Essence Orbs without hesitation.

Crack.

[Strength +30]

Crack.

[Constitution +30]

Crack.

[Agility +30]

[One Mind, One Legion activated.]

The same buffs spread through every Shadow Wraith.

The shadows immediately surged forward again.

Layer after layer wrapped around the Waykeeper’s body, slowing its charge until it finally came to a halt only a short distance from Ethan.

The Waykeeper let out a furious roar and swung its axe again.

Several Shadow Wraiths were caught in the attack.

Their bodies turned into black mist before disappearing.

Nine of them had fallen.

Ethan frowned.

At this rate, his legion would suffer more casualties than necessary.

His gaze shifted from the Waykeeper to the massive stone axe in its hands.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"So that’s your real weapon..."

He raised his hand.

"Forget its body."

"Bind the axe."

The Shadow Wraiths immediately changed targets.

Instead of binding the Waykeeper’s body, every shadow shot toward the enormous stone axe.

Layer after layer of Shadow Bind wrapped tightly around the weapon.

The Waykeeper immediately noticed the change.

It tightened its grip and swung the axe with all its strength.

Several restraints were cut apart.

"But more shadows immediately replaced them, slowing the axe with every swing.

For the first time since the battle began, the Shadow Wraiths found an opening.

"Attack."

The moment the axe was successfully bound, the Shadow Wraiths unleashed Shadow Strike.

Dark blades slashed across the Waykeeper’s body one after another.

Fresh wounds quickly covered its chest and arms.

The Waykeeper roared in fury.

It struggled to pull the axe free, but the shadows clinging to it only grew thicker.

As more Shadow Strikes landed, the Waykeeper suddenly stopped struggling and charged at Ethan.

Its enormous body shot forward like a cannonball.

Without the weight of the axe, its speed increased dramatically.

But Ethan had already expected it.

"Take the axe away."

A few Shadow Wraiths immediately grabbed the bound weapon and dragged it deeper into the shadows.

The remaining Shadow Wraiths surged toward the Waykeeper.

Without its axe, the Shadow Binds were no longer cut apart.

Layer after layer of Shadow Bind wrapped around the Waykeeper.

Its charge came to an abrupt halt.

"Finish it."

Shadow Strike.

Dozens of dark blades slashed across its body at the same time.

The Waykeeper let out one final unwilling roar before its massive body crashed heavily onto the ground.

Ethan slowly let out a breath.

"...It’s finally over."

His gaze swept across the battlefield. The surviving Shadow Wraiths silently stood where they were. And twenty places where Shadow Wraiths should have stood were empty

Out of the fifty Shadow Wraiths he had summoned, only thirty remained.

Ethan remained silent for a moment.

This was the first time his legion had suffered casualties.

And this was only the Waykeeper.

His gaze slowly shifted toward the massive stone gate behind the corpse.

Beyond it still waited the true ruler of this dungeon.

The Goblin King.

"If the Waykeeper alone cost me twenty Shadow Wraiths..."

"...the next battle won’t be so simple."

Ethan shook his head and stepped toward the Waykeeper’s corpse.

Before he reached it, the massive body dissolved into countless particles of light.

Only a single Essence Orb remained.

At its center was the image of a muscular iron arm flexing its biceps.

Ethan picked it up and a hint of anticipation flashed across his eyes.

"A Strength Variant..."