"Projection… begin—"
Buzz—
Seeing the goblins charging at him with wooden clubs, Cao Ye smiled and activated Projection Magecraft.
As magic power was consumed and with the success from earlier, a longsword quickly formed in his hand—appearing out of thin air. If anyone else saw it, they would definitely be shocked.
Facing the goblins' attack, Cao Ye already had half a month of combat experience.
He sidestepped, dodging the attack of the first goblin. The club slammed straight into the ground.
Seeing its companion miss, the second goblin immediately rushed forward to continue the assault.
Pfft—
With a single thrust, Cao Ye's sword pierced straight through the goblin's neck.
Blood sprayed out, staining the ground around them.
Boom—
The green monster that had been baring its fangs just moments ago turned into a cloud of black smoke and vanished.
Only a magic stone left on the ground proved the goblin had existed.
"Yaa—!"
The second goblin didn't stop because of its companion's death.
To be precise, they were simply monsters that had just been born in the Dungeon. They were merely from the same faction, nothing more.
The goblin's club slammed into Cao Ye's arm.
Feeling the pain, Cao Ye's expression didn't change.
After taking the hit, he immediately counterattacked, thrusting his sword straight into the goblin's chest, piercing through its body.
Boom—
Just like the previous one, the goblin turned into black mist and disappeared.
"Phew…"
Cao Ye let out a long breath and picked up the magic stones from the ground.
The spot on his arm where the goblin struck had turned slightly red.
But this kind of minor injury didn't matter—it would heal quickly anyway.
Half a month ago, when Cao Ye first entered the Dungeon, things had been far worse.
Back then, he had been beaten half to death by a minotaur-like monster.
If his body hadn't already been altered by "All the Evil of This World," he might have died before even starting his journey.
But in the end, thanks to his constant regeneration, he slowly wore the monster down and killed it.
During these past two weeks, Cao Ye had gradually explored the Dungeon, growing stronger through constant trial and error.
Before transmigrating, he had been nothing more than an ordinary person.
He didn't know how to fight—at most he had been in a few small fights before.
"Hm…"
Holding the magic stone, Cao Ye felt strands of magic power flowing into his body, and he couldn't help but feel pleased.
The sensation was strange.
It brought an inexplicable feeling of satisfaction.
If he didn't know it was magic power, he might have even suspected it was something addictive.
The feeling was incredibly pleasant.
However, the pleasure only lasted a few seconds.
The originally purple magic stone gradually turned transparent like glass.
That meant the magic power inside had been completely drained.
Cao Ye casually tossed the now-useless stones aside.
Today's task was already complete, so he didn't plan to stay in the Dungeon any longer.
With his current strength, hunting monsters to gain magic power still carried a lot of pressure.
Even though he possessed "All the Evil of This World" and had gained Projection Magecraft, he still wasn't truly strong.
Absorbing magic power from magic stones sounded impressive…
But the conversion efficiency was terrible.
Not even one-tenth of the magic power could be absorbed.
In other words:
From 10 units of magic, he might gain 1 unit at most.
On top of that, the monsters on the upper floors produced magic stones with pitifully small amounts of magic.
It was the kind of thing that was too little to matter but too wasteful to throw away.
If Cao Ye had better options, he wouldn't even bother absorbing them.
The returns were simply too low.
"Ah… if only some goddess would take a liking to me and keep me as her sugar baby…"
After finally leaving the dark Dungeon and stepping into the bright sunlight, Cao Ye couldn't help muttering this aloud.
Several people nearby laughed when they heard it.
Apparently, the fantasy of "I don't want to work hard anymore" existed even in another world.
"Oh my… then what do you think about me? Would you be willing to accept my support?"
Just as Cao Ye stretched lazily and was about to find something to eat before selling today's loot, a pleasant voice sounded beside him.
Cao Ye froze.
Instinctively, he turned his head.
And then he saw a beautiful figure.
She was an incredibly beautiful woman, with a seductive smile on her lips.
In terms of appearance, she surpassed every beauty Cao Ye had ever seen.
It was as if the word "beauty" itself had been created just for her.
"Goddess Freya?!"
Freya—the Queen of Beauty, one of the two kings of Orario, and the patron deity of the strongest Familia in the city.
Seeing her, Cao Ye nearly felt like crying.
This was an absolute top-tier powerhouse.
Not to mention the giant warrior standing beside her.
If nothing unexpected had happened, that man was the only Level 7 adventurer in Orario.
The reason Cao Ye recognized them was simple.
He had once seen them from a distance before.
Even just one glance had left a deep impression.
"What's wrong?" Freya asked playfully. "Didn't you just say you wanted a goddess to support you? Or am I not qualified?"
The moment she said that, the man behind her—Ottar—let a cold glint flash in his eyes.
To him, Freya was everything.
She was the most perfect goddess in the world.
Anyone who disrespected, angered, or opposed her was his enemy.
As a pure warrior, Ottar's loyalty to Freya was beyond question.
In fact, every member of the Freya Familia was completely devoted to her.
Regardless of gender, they had all fallen under the spell of Freya's beauty.
"Goddess, you must be joking," Cao Ye said nervously. "How could someone like me possibly deserve your attention?"
Inside, Cao Ye was screaming.
Why is someone like you wandering around the streets?!
Even if you were strolling casually, I was just joking earlier!
Please don't take it seriously!
"Look at me."
Freya smiled charmingly.
In an instant, many people around them were captivated by her smile.
This was the Goddess of Beauty.
Even though her divine power was sealed in the mortal world, her beauty alone could still enslave hearts.
Cao Ye's eyes also became slightly dazed.
Deep in his gaze flashed a hint of infatuation.
But only for a moment.
The fascination disappeared instantly.
The malice known as All the Evil of This World began to stir within Cao Ye.
Seeing this, Freya smiled even wider.
She loved brilliant, shining souls.
But something like this—
Such pure evil—
was something she had never seen before.
Even though it was evil…
why was it so pure?
That curiosity fascinated her immensely.