She was the reason the original Ethan had been so socially isolated—no one wanted to be friends with a guy who acted like a rabid dog for a girl.
Countless friends had warned the original Ethan to stay away from Lilian, but he'd snapped at every single one of them.
Getting scammed by a gold digger was just poetic justice.
Ethan felt zero sympathy for simps.
If he hadn't transmigrated into this one's body, he'd be laughing his ass off right now.
But simps and gold diggers deserved each other.
Now that the simp was dead, Ethan would gladly send them to "reunite" in hell.
Lilian shifted uncomfortably under Ethan's stare, but then she remembered he was just a lowly Priest and quickly regained her composure.
"Aww, I know you still have a crush on me," she cooed. "I gave you that Priest Medal, so you became a Priest just for me, didn't you?"
"But it's never going to happen between us!"
"Since you did me a favor once, I'll let my boyfriend help you out. How's that sound?"
As she spoke, a towering figure wielding a giant sword stepped forward.
Kane!
Three days ago, he'd awakened an S-rank talent—Conceptual Armament—and the rare Flame Knight class.
The massive sword in his hand was a manifestation of his talent.
No one knew the exact effect of his ability, but judging by how he paraded it around everywhere, it was obviously incredibly powerful.
I gotta copy that talent somehow!
"My boyfriend's strength speaks for itself," Lilian said haughtily. "Just hide in the back and spam Heal, and we'll carry you through the dungeon no problem."
"We're not asking for much. Uncle Wang must've left you a huge inheritance, right? Just hand over some cash, and throw in a Paladin skill for me, and we're good."
Ever since getting the rare class, Lilian had wanted nothing to do with Ethan.
The mere thought of him touching her hand made her skin crawl—it made her feel like a cheap gold digger who'd sold her dignity for money.
That's why she'd dumped him so cruelly.
But Kane had reminded her that Ethan's parents were dead, and he probably had a fortune in survivor benefits.
Ethan was young and naive—easy prey.
If those millions fell into the hands of other scammers, Uncle Wang and the others would be heartbroken, wouldn't they?
The thought kept Lilian up at night.
"Idiot."
SMACK!
A crisp slap echoed across the empty square.
Lilian stumbled backward, clutching her stinging cheek, her perfectly styled pigtails coming loose.
"ETHAN! HOW DARE YOU HIT ME?!!"
Her face twisted with disbelief and rage, almost hysterical.
"You're dead meat!"
Kane let out a cold snarl.
He raised his giant sword high and brought it crashing down toward Ethan's head.
"See ya! Catch you inside the dungeon!"
Ethan waved casually, and his figure vanished instantly.
The massive sword slammed into the concrete ground, embedding itself deep within the pavement.
Kane had an S-rank talent and a hidden class—Ethan stood zero chance against him right now. He wasn't stupid enough to fight a losing battle.
But Lilian was just too annoying—a total idiot (a pun on "peptide bond," a chemistry joke meaning "idiot"). And luckily, the dungeon portal had opened just in time.
Slap her and run—chef's kiss. The perfect petty revenge.
Collect a little interest now, and settle the rest later.
"MY OWN MOTHER NEVER HIT ME! HOW DARE HE?!"
Lilian sobbed, her voice trembling with anger and grievance as she held her cheek.
Kane pulled his sword out of the ground, his eyes cold and venomous as he glared at the spot where Ethan had disappeared.
"Don't worry, Lilian. He can't run forever."
He patted her shoulder reassuringly.
"Once we take down the dungeon boss, he'll have no choice but to come out."
Lilian bit her lip, her eyes flashing with malice.
"Kane, you have to make him pay for this! That loser Ethan had the nerve to hit me! I want him on his knees begging for mercy!"
Kane nodded, a cruel smirk spreading across his face.
"Don't worry. When we find him, I'll make him regret ever crossing us."
Ethan's figure solidified amid a burst of white light.
A system notification chimed in his ears.
He looked around.
He was standing at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by overgrown weeds.
The air reeked of a foul, urine-like stench—Ethan almost gagged, thinking he'd landed right next to a public toilet.
Goblins really were disgusting creatures.
Ugly as sin, and they stank to high heaven.
Though, even in adult comics, goblins got more action than simps did.
It just went to show—simps were even more repulsive than goblins.
No one even bothered drawing adult comics about simps.
Wait, no—simps were actually a vital source of "cuckold" characters in adult comics.
They just never got the girl in the end.
Ethan shook off his wandering thoughts and recalled the info about the newbie dungeon.
It was a man-made dungeon, divided into the Outer Ring and Inner Ring.
The Inner Ring was like a real dungeon—all players shared the same space, and the monsters had basic intelligence.
The Outer Ring, however, was a separate instance for each player, with spawned monsters designed to weed out slackers.
Only those who passed the Outer Ring trial could enter the Inner Ring.
Unless players were in a party, everyone got a different Outer Ring instance.
So Ethan didn't have to worry about running into Kane right off the bat.
Just then, a rustling sound came from the bushes ahead.
Ethan tensed up instantly.
He gripped his priest staff tightly and took a step back.
The next second, a short, green-skinned goblin jumped out of the underbrush, brandishing a crude wooden club and screeching shrilly.
"Perfect timing."
Ethan cast Lesser Heal on it.
Immediately, he got a full read on the monster's stats.
[Trait 3 activated. Full information on Goblin acquired.]
Goblin
Level: 1
Attack: 10
Speed: 5
Defense: 0
Skill: Club Swing (Passive) – Has a chance to stun the target if it hits the head.(Ain't my club awesome?)
"As expected—newbie dungeon monsters are total cannon fodder."
Ethan thought to himself, but his body was already moving.
He dodged the goblin's club swing with a sidestep, then smashed his staff into its head.
-10!
A small chunk of the goblin's HP bar vanished.
But instead of retreating, the goblin flew into a rage, swinging its club even more wildly.
Ethan calmly stepped back to create distance, then cast Heal on it again.
[You used Lesser Heal on Goblin, restoring 10 HP. (60 HP overhealed)]
[Trait 2 activated successfully. You gained +1 Strength.]
"Whoa, lucky first try!"
Ethan's eyes lit up. He whacked the goblin on the head again.
-11!
To trigger Trait 2, he needed his healing to actually work.
And for his healing to work, the target had to be injured first.
The goblin was obviously too dumb to figure out Ethan's scheme.
It just kept charging at him, club swinging wildly.
Ethan dodged its attacks with ease, then "returned good for evil" by healing it back to full HP.
[You used Lesser Heal on Goblin, restoring 11 HP. (59 HP overhealed)]
[Trait 2 activated successfully. You gained +1 Strength.]
Minutes passed, and Ethan was having the time of his life grinding.
But he soon noticed the drop rate of attribute points was getting lower and lower.
"Guess I can't farm the same goblin forever."
Ethan circled around behind the goblin and bashed it three times with his staff.
-20!
-20!
-10!
"Three hits to kill a goblin. My basic attack is already on par with an average Warrior."
His Agility and Spirit stat drops were pretty low—only 12 and 11 points respectively.
Ethan headed up the mountain.
The bushes not far away began to rustle.
Three goblins emerged, trampling through the dead leaves as they charged toward him.
"Three goblins? Nice. Let's see what you've got!"
Faced with the three-on-one ambush, Ethan didn't panic at all.
He weaved nimbly between the goblins, dodging their attacks while spamming Heal nonstop.
Minutes later, once the attribute drop rate started to dwindle again, he finished them off in three swift blows.
-50!
-50!
-50!
He hadn't even reached Level 2 yet, and his basic attack was already stronger than a Mage's Fireball.
With a broken talent like this, what class couldn't he play?
Ethan grinned triumphantly and continued up the mountain—then suddenly froze.
Rustling sounds echoed through the forest.
One...
two...
three...
Twenty goblins poked their heads out from the trees.
"TWENTY?! Are you kidding me?!"
Ethan's eye twitched.
Who designed this level?
Was it purposefully meant to troll players?
A normal newbie would've had a mental breakdown right here.
Each goblin's club hit for 10 damage.
Their only saving grace was their slow speed—you could kite them to death if you were fast enough.
But twenty goblins?
They could surround you five layers deep, leaving you with nowhere to run.
Even a tank wouldn't be able to tank that much damage.
Lucky for him, he'd grinded some stats earlier.
Otherwise, dying before even entering the real dungeon would've been so embarrassing.
Ethan raised his staff and started bashing goblins left and right.
Their measly 50 HP bars were as fragile as bubbles—one hit, and they were gone.
But even so, he didn't make it through unscathed.
He'd only gotten a few Agility points from grinding, so his speed was still too slow to dodge all the attacks in a group fight.
Thankfully, his Heal had no cooldown or cast time—he could instantly top himself off the moment he took damage.
Otherwise, taking on twenty goblins alone would've been impossible.
Ethan kept killing until only eight goblins remained, then stopped to farm them for stats.
But his luck didn't last long. Disaster struck again.
WHOOSH!
A crudely made arrow whizzed past his ear.
Ethan stared at the quivering arrow embedded in the ground, breaking out in a cold sweat.
If he'd reacted a split second slower, that arrow would've pierced his skull.
There are more goblins?!
He followed the arrow's trajectory.
A hundred meters away, five goblins were perched on tree branches, each holding a shoddy bow.
New enemy type!
"Looks like I can't afford to let my guard down. Almost got myself killed there."
Ethan muttered to himself.
The first wave of goblins wasn't even dead yet, and another wave had already spawned.
The level designer was definitely doing this on purpose.
Ethan darted left and right, dodging the next volley of arrows while scanning the area for cover.
Goblin Archers were more dangerous, but their attack speed was slow, and their aim was terrible.
As long as he kept moving, he could easily avoid their shots.
"First, take out the melee goblins. Leave the archers for farming stats."
The remaining eight melee goblins were no match for his high stats.
He weaved through them effortlessly, his staff swinging like a blur—each strike taking down a goblin.