"Finally, I was getting tired of the Goblins. Just to confirm, those are Hobgoblins, right?" I inquired, as the Monsters came into sight.
"Yup, definitely," Lector nodded in response.
They were much bigger than Goblins, each around six to seven feet tall. They had heavy, muscular bodies, with large fangs protruding out of their lower jaws.
Other than that, they just looked like bigger versions of Goblins.
One of them let out a deep, bellowing roar as I shot forward, picking up a large rock and hurling it at me.
"
I expanded the shadowy jaws in front of myself, consuming the rocks as it closed in on me, before firing out a Pulse Bullet at the Hobgoblins, a sharp grunt of pain ringing out as I hit the right side of its chest, its pec spasming upon impact.
Yeah, figured it wouldn't be as effective as it was against the Goblins...still, it's certainly not ineffective, the Monster is clearly in a fair bit of pain.
One of the other Hobgoblins charged at me with a snarl, driving its fist down towards my head. I swiftly got low and leapt forward, slashing at its side with Desecrator, before I sprang straight at the one I'd hit with a Pulse Bullet and jammed my blade into its head, piercing through the spot between its eyes.
I pulled my blade back out with a sharp twist, my gaze darting across as the third Hobgoblin picked up a rock.
I raised my blade before flinging it at the Monster with a sharp flick of my wrist, the blade spinning through the air rapidly before striking the Hobgoblin's neck, a choked gasp ringing out as the blade got lodged in its throat.
As it collapsed onto its knees, I glanced back as the one that had charged at me came rushing in furiously, before raising my hand in Desecrator's direction and chanting...
"
The blade slid out of the Hobgoblin's throat and came flying back towards me rapidly, a powerful force drawing it back to my hand.
I caught the handle as it got within my reach, before ducking as the Monster swung the back of its fist across at my head, a gust of wind erupting above me from the force of its swing, before I fired out a Pulse Bullet at its solar plexus.
It seized up sharply as my bullet hit the middle of its torso from near-point-blank range, before I sliced its throat open with a swift whip of my arm, my blade slashing through its neck deeply.
I fired another Pulse Bullet at its head to incapacitate it further, before using Drain on it, followed by Devour as I finished siphoning its Mana.
Okay, these things are definitely a lot stronger than Goblins are, but they're so damn slow. They've got plenty of brute strength, but they're basically just lumbering hunks of meat and easy targets.
"It really is true, you can get more powerful. You were definitely moving faster on this floor," Remarked Elicia, as the others came walking over.
"Yeah, I didn't really see any difference on the previous floors, so I figured it was a more steady, gradual increase. But it seemed like a pretty drastic difference on this floor compared to the previous ones," Added Will, rubbing his hands together as he shivered slightly.
"Well, after I consume Monsters, I don't have to assimilate whatever power boost I gain right away. During our break on the previous floor, I assimilated all the power I'd farmed over the subsequent floors in one go," I explained, as I finished using Devour and Drain on the Hobgoblins.
"That explains a lot, you did the same thing after the first group of Lycanthropes we encountered during your final exam, didn't you?" Realized Ferna.
"Mhm, yup, I sure did."
At this rate, another two, maybe three, raids and I'll have crossed the threshold into Ace Rank level.
I know, but that's fine. Believe me, I'm well-aware of that fact, and I've prepared myself for it.
Are you mocking me?
You sure can be pretty sassy at times, huh?
"You good to keep fighting by yourself? We've got about twenty floors of Hobgoblins ahead of us, and then the Dungeon Boss. You handled yourself well on this floor, and you don't look particularly tired either, but the fatigue is bound to pile up at some point," Pointed out Lector, as we continued through the floor.
"Unlike what you previously claimed, you can't actually restore your stamina, so it's probably going to get pretty tough before long," Added Ferna thoughtfully.
Uh...actually, I can restore my stamina now, I've been doing it this whole time through Desecrator. Every time I cut a Monster with it, it transfers a bit of their HP and MP to me.
And that's not simply restricted to healing any wounds I sustain and restoring my Mana pool...the effect is a bit different if I cut a target while my HP and MP are full.
If my HP is full, meaning I'm uninjured and there's nothing to heal, the blade restores my stamina instead. And if my MP is full...then nothing happens, it simply disperses the excess Mana into the air.
I've taken zero damage in this raid so far, so I've been constantly topping up my stamina every time I slashed and struck the Goblins and Hobgoblins with my blade.
I haven't told anyone about this blade besides Ariella, and I'd prefer to keep it to myself. In which case...
"Yeah, that's a good point. But I'm fine for right now, so I think I'll keep pushing on a bit further. Don't worry, I don't plan on taking more risk than I can handle, so if I do get too tired to keep fighting alone, I'll count on you guys," I replied with a smile.