[Milestone achieved: Total 100 Goblins killed]
Jun looked emotionlessly at the window that appeared in front of him.
'So these things only occur after the immediate threat's over, huh…'
He looked down to a new set of words accompanied by the usual milestone notification.
[In order to make the Annhilator's search easier for more Milestones, the Milestone tab has been added as an exploratory section. Open?]
'…Open.'
The white screen extended, flickering for a bit.
[Please wait, the Milestone section is being loaded in…]
It took less than ten seconds for the screen to be replaced by the next, a big text displayed at the top— "Milestones".
Jun looked at the section in overall. The first page he was in was named as "Goblin Annhilator". He quickly realised it contained each Milestone about collective amount of killing Goblins.
The Milestones he already acheived— 10 kills, 50 kills and 100 kills in total were displayed inside neat rectangles, with their respective rewards.
But as Jun looked down more, he realised the numbers… became truly insane.
'Total… 500 Goblins killed?! Wait, the next one… 1000 Goblins?!'
Jun gaped as he realised there was scroll bar.
He shakily touched the screen for the first time. It felt cold, like a stone in a cave. Jun felt like if he pushed more he would pass through the screen.
He scrolled down, but instead of gaping in shock, Jun let out a big sigh.
[Total 10 Hobgoblins killed]
[Reward: Significant growth in Power and Mastery. Obtain "Charge (Active)" ability.]
'…Hmm? Abilities are obtained like this?'
Jun realised he hadn't looked at the rewards of the Milestone he had just cleared.
He swiped his finger as he scrolled up, landing at his current milestone— 100 Goblins Killed.
[Reward: Moderate growth to Power. Obtain Foothold (Passive) ability.]
[Warning: You have not claimed the rewards for this milestone]
He realised in his moment of rush he had somehow missed the rest of the text as well as the red small button that displayed "Claim Reward".
"A passive ability… let's see what it truly is."
Jun tapped on the red button, and in the next moment— a small window appeared.
[Rank up!
Power: Negligible
Rank 3 → Rank 4]
Jun felt a sudden tinge of rising power. He hastily gritted his teeth as he prepared for the incoming assault by the transition.
He felt it first in his bones. It felt like… small fractures appeared and immediately healed the bones!
Immense pain filled Jun as he realised this was different than before!
The rising power rushed to every bone in his body— each and every inch of his skeleton was transforming!
'What… ugh… is this?'
The rushing power spread to his muscle next. But the effects were now… much more significant!
Jun felt literally inside his skin his muscles get torn! It felt like the rushing power was ripping and then integrating into them, healing them in the next instant.
Jun dropped to his knees. The pain was now much more unbearable than ever!
He held on to not let out a single scream.
Every muscle ripped, bulging up and then healed in the next instant.
He felt even his arteries and veins rip apart and heal. Strangely, he knew he didn't experience any internal bleeding.
And in the next second… his skin was next.
The change wasn't as dramatic as before. He felt a weird sensation as he felt a seething aura churn and slowly settle inside his skin— contrary to his expectations during the skeleton strengthening his organs have been strengthened as well.
Jun heaved a big sigh as he looked at this body.
He felt around his torso with his hands… and he genuinely felt solid muscles bulge around everywhere.
'Um… I might've wished for a nicer body but this was quite a violent method to get one…'
Jun rose to his feet as he stretched his body.
He looked at his right hand, feeling a seething power that hummed inside.
'…This is quite a strange feeling. It feels like something invisible is moving inside my arms now.'
Jun clenched his fist— a loud sound resounding insid the tunnels and the cavern as Jun's expression turned into one of shock.
This was clearly beyond what a normal rank up gave.
'So… every four rank ups result in a significant growth.'
Jun absorbed this information in his mind, and moved on to look at his next reward— the passive ability.
'Abilities'
In the next second, the window with Milestones disappeared, replaced by a new section— "Abilities".
Jun, during his first venture out into the tunnels had discovered the way to summon the page abo the Abilities accidentally, and it had two divisions; active and passive.
'Passives.'
In the next second, the page switched, now replaced by a section with a single box with the name "Foothold".
'Foothold.'
A smaller window appeared above the screen, with the details of the ability "Foothold".
[Ability Name: Foothold (Passive)
Description: As long as your feet are on the ground, improve the effects of your Power by 1.2x. When there is no contact with the ground, the effects last for 5 seconds before stopping.]
'…Wait, doesn't it seem like the detailing is a bit different? Ahh, I might be thinking over the top…'
Jun then noticed one more sentence in the bottom of the details.
[Ability has not been integrated. In order to use it, integration is need with the body. Integrat?]
It was followed by two buttons— Yes or No.
'Haah… so it wasn't even activated at all? Alright then, Yes.'
All windows then concurrently closed, followed by a small window appearing in the air.
[Integrating ability. Please endure the process for greater power…]
"…What? Why did it say tha— Argh!"
Jun's feet started to feel hot— it started to slowly feel like hot magma was flowing inside them!
"Gah! Damn it, I didn't know it would go like this!"
Jun droped to his back, flaying in the ground with immense burning pain in the tip of both his feet slowly rise. It was like he couldn't even stand for a single second.
It took at most like two minutes. But during that time Jun suffered a lot.
The pain slowly went away as Jun laid on the cold ground, grunting under his breath.
He slowly sat up as more sweat fell down from his head. He looked at the screen, which was at the same position where it had first appeared. But it now displayed a new set of text.
[The ability has been successfully Integrated. This message will disappear in 3…]
[2…]
[1…]
And then the screen flickered out of existence, disappearing as if it never even appeared.
Jun looked away, at his bare feet. But now they radiated a dormant sense of power.
Jun looked at them for a long time, before finally rising to his feet.
He felt nothing at all. Not a single change, nothing.
He sighed.
"Maybe it will come handy during combat. Oh well."
Right now, Jun had to move. There's a chance his current spectacle could've attracted the attention of any patrolling goblin.
Jun looked at the rock grave one last time, before he started to sprint away from the cavern, into the other end leading to another tunnel.
***
'Would it have been any different if I was a bit earlier?'
Jun thought as he ran further and further into the winding tunnel as his steps echoed around.
'But she had no connection with me. The only common thing we had was that we were human.'
Fortunately he had encountered only 2-3 Goblins at every hard turn he faced— a number that was no longer difficult for him to deal with. Not a single hobgoblin was to be seen.
Somehow, he discovered the ability "Foothold" truly was a bit effective. Even if he physically didn't feel it, in battle he could clearly feel an increase in power of his hits when remaining steadfast on the ground.
His face looked solemn.
During this entire duration of his attempt on escaping, such thoughts have been pestering him for quite a few moments.
'What benefit would it have even brought me even if I saved her?'
'No, it truly would've been inefficient and useless to save someone that was held captive in such a monster's den.'
Heroic deed? Such a "label" was just nothing but a facade for Jun.
' …Damn it, this is frustrating me a little.'
He fixated upon escaping this place as his first priority.
During the venture on the colony tunnels, Jun had made a rough mental map of the network of caverns and rooms interconnected to make a vast cavern system. But most of the rooms were small, the only exception in Jun's thought being the storeroom.
It took only a few minutes before Jun had reached the next room.
In there, two goblins of both Low Ranks clattered their sharp teeth, giggling for whatever reasons.
And in an instant, Jun had already slashed away the neck of one of them.
The second goblin didn't even get a moment to scream before its head was separated from its body.
Jun had taken only three seconds in this room before he started to push forward for the next room.
The rooms have started to become smaller and smaller. Jun looked a bit of relief, thinking it may have been the sight of the exit.
Yet… in the next moment, Jun faced a dead end.
The small tunnel opened to a much more larger tunnel— a tunnel that arced around the area Jun had just escape from.
He realised with shock that the entire area of the colony was surrounded by a circular pathway enclosing the entire area of the colony.
And before long after that realisation, Jun faced another crisis.
"Graahk!"
'…Damn it!'
[Hobgoblin. Low Common Elite.]
A slender, human sized green skinned humanoid holding a rusty blade was at the left of Jun, who barely into the large tunnel.
'Focus!'
And right as his pupils inverted in colour, the Hobgoblin lunged at the next instant.
Jun barely rose his blade, the rusty blade clashing with it as the Hobgoblin swung with full force at Jun.
The force of the two swords clashing made both the figures slide backwards, Jun nearly tripping.
Marks of the feet of both Jun and the Hobgoblin could be seen the ground.
Jun's mind heightened, sharpening as he frowned at the Hobgoblin a few meters away from him.
"So… I can finally match with you bastards!"