When Orion peered inside, he saw a massive chamber packed with monsters.
They were tearing into the flesh of other monsters.
Half-eaten monster corpses littered the floor, some clearly belonging to their own kind. These creatures didn't discriminate when it came to food.
They were goblins. Thirty of them.
But not the small, weak ones he had fought before.
These goblins were larger, more robust, their bodies thick with muscle. A heavy, oppressive aura filled the chamber—their combined aura was more frightening than the Ravager's, enough to send a chill down his spine.
"Appraisal," Orion muttered under his breath.
[Goblin Brute — Rank D]
Highly aggressive. Wields heavy weapons.
[Goblin Shaman — Rank D +]
possesses magical powers
Orion swallowed.
He had no intention of starting this fight yet. He was exhausted.
Slowly, carefully, he turned around and retreated from this chamber to the previous one.
On his way back, he noticed more of those magic crystals scattered near the goblin corpses he had killed earlier. Kneeling down, he examined them closely.
He realized something important.
The crystals didn't appear immediately after a monster died—they formed after some time, seemingly at random.
Using torn goblin rags as a makeshift bag, Orion began collecting as many as he could.
This was his only reliable way to grow stronger right now—and he hadn't even touched the crystals inside the chamber with all the bones yet.
He also noticed something else.
Not every goblin dropped a crystal.
That's a bummer
Even so, judging by the number of corpses, he reckoned he'd still end up with plenty. At the very least…
Maybe around a hundred. Which was very decent.
With that in mind, he hurried back toward the skeleton chamber.
The moment he stepped inside, his eyes widened.
"Holy shit… are you kidding me?"
Magic crystals were everywhere.
They lay scattered beside goblin corpses—dozens upon dozens, glinting faintly in the dim light.
Orion's eyes sparkled.
Orion dropped his bag and immediately got to work, gathering every last one.
When he was finished, he sat down and counted them carefully.
"...One hundred and fifty-six."
His breath caught.
"Come to think of it… I've never actually used Appraisal on these."
He looked at the pile and muttered, "Appraisal."
[Magic Stone — F Rank]
Drops when a monster dies.
Only appears if the monster's magic capacity is high enough.
So it's called magic stones, not crystal
Orion scratched his head.
"Well, didn't I sound like an idiot? Thank God, no one was here to hear that."
His eyes returned to the appraisal text.
"So that's why not every monster drops one… Even if they're the same rank, their magic differs."
That was valuable information.
"Alright," he muttered. "Let's get to work."
He picked up a magic stone and swallowed it.
Nothing much happened.
He ate another.
Then another.
Still barely any change.
After consuming around fifteen magic stones, he finally felt it—a faint surge of power spreading through his body.
"I guess that makes sense," he muttered. "F-rank monsters won't boost me much… especially compared to that C-rank Ravager."
He kept going.
After consuming over a hundred stones, his body finally refused to take in anymore.
But the result was undeniable.
Power surged through him, violent and restless, as if it wanted to burst out of his skin.
"Damn… I really want to check my stats."
He sighed.
How long has it been since the system went into upgrade mode? Eight hours… maybe more?
With nothing else to do, Orion decided to test his strength.
Activating Scale Manifestation, he punched a nearby wall with all his might.
BOOM!
The stone cracked violently, chunks flying across the chamber.
"Oh yeah~," Orion grinned. "Definitely stronger."
Feeling satisfied, he continued training—destroying nearly a third of the chamber in the process.
Eventually, he stopped.
He needed a good rest. From the moment he woke up in this world, he had been fighting for his life nonstop. He had come face-to-face with death more than once, battled monsters, and pushed his body far beyond its limits.
He sank down against the wall, his back and head pressed to the cold stone, and finally let his eyes fall shut.
When Orion fell asleep, In his dream he found himself in endless darkness.
Then, little by little, the void lit up. Stars appeared, followed by drifting planets, distant galaxies, and swirling nebulae. He stood suspended in the center of it all.
He was surrounded by four figures, one in each direction, around him. Their silhouettes suggested they were women.
Their forms wrapped in golden radiance.
When Orion tried to look closely at one of them, a sharp pain struck his head
"Ahhhhh—!" Orion jolted awake, clutching his head as pain throbbed through his skull.
"What was that just now… ahhh… even in my sleep, I can't catch a break."
Orion tried to make sense of the dream, but no matter how much he thought about it, nothing came to mind.
In the end, he dismissed it as his mind playing tricks on him—strange dreams born from a strange situation. The headache was probably nothing more than exhaustion catching up to him.
He didn't have time to ponder over a mere dream. Soon, he would have to face the monsters he'd seen earlier.
Although he had woken up in the worst way possible, his body felt surprisingly refreshed.
"Feels like I got at least seven hours of sleep," he muttered.
Maybe he really had. There was no way to tell—he didn't have a watch to confirm it.
Thirty D-rank monsters.
"My god… I'm almost pissing my pants just thinking about it." Orion let out a dry laugh
They were only one rank below the Ravager—but far more dangerous in numbers.
Still…
Unlike before, Orion wasn't inexperienced anymore. He had fought stronger monsters. He had fought a goblin swarm.
"I'll survive," he muttered. "Somehow."
He began preparing.
Gathering swords and spears from the ground, he bundled them together with goblin rags and slung them over his shoulder like a crude backpack. He also picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows—rusty, but usable.
At one end of the chamber, he carved a rough circle into a stone pillar.
Then he walked to the opposite end.
Taking a deep breath, Orion let his instincts take over.
I really need to stop relying on instinct alone…
But that's wishful thinking. I'm still a rookie.
He raised his bow.
The instinct guided him.
He fired.
The arrow missed the circle by a wide margin.
"Tch."
He tried again.
Miss.
Again.
Miss.
Again and again.
Failure after failure.
But he didn't stop.
Finally—
"Yes! Yes—YES! I did it! I fucking did it! " Orion jumped around in joy.
The arrow struck cleanly inside the circle.
Orion let out a breathless laugh.
It had taken him thirty-five arrows.
Still, he wasn't satisfied. He wanted to make sure this wasn't a fluke.
He collected every arrow and began shooting again.
This time, almost every single shot hit the target.
The last few pierced the very center of the circle.
Orion lowered the bow, breathing heavily.
"Hoh…"
A grin spread across his face.
"I think I'm finally ready to face those monsters."