Chapter 52 - Challenger

"Just to be safe, I should only challenge the boss before sunrise," Ryan said after buying the iron crossbow. "There is a chance that the boss will last for quite a while, and I will need to fight more than a few minutes and to do that, I will need mana potions."

Ryan's recovery reached a point where he could recover mana fast enough to create a wooden bolt every forty seconds. However, to create iron bolts, he would need one hundred seconds. In the end, only mana potions could help him solve that problem.

Mana potions were relatively small, so Ryan decided to spend all the coins he obtains that night buying them. In the end, using mana potions would let him level up his skills faster, so it was a good investment.

Congratulations! The class: Hunter, has leveled up.

Hunter Lv 4 ➞ Lv 5

Dexterity + 2, Stamina + 2, Health + 1, Mana + 1, Speed + 1, Control +1.

Congratulations! The skill Archery has leveled up.

Archery Lv 6 ➞ Lv 7

Effect: Increases damage when using bows by one percent per level.

You obtained 01 status point.

Congratulations! The skill Concentration has leveled up.

Concentration Lv 6 ➞ Lv 7

Effect: Increases passively dexterity by one point per level.

You obtained 01 status point.

Congratulations! The skill Eagle Eyes has leveled up.

Effect: Increases the range of long-range weapons by one percent per level.

Eagle Eyes Lv 6 ➞ Lv 7

You obtained 01 status point.

Congratulations! The skill Power Shot has leveled up.

Power Shot Lv 6➞ Lv 7

Effect: Increases the dexterity temporarily by seven points per second.

Cost: 4 Stamina per second

You obtained 01 status point.

"I guess this is it…" Ryan said after allocating the points, he just obtained and buying the potions. "Here goes nothing…

Although the mana potions were small, the bottles were quite resilient. So, Ryan felt safe in carrying them in his pocket. He would have to carry the plastic bottles full of gasoline, and given how messy the battle could become, it would be wiser to leave his backpack and his other weapons behind.

In the end, Ryan spent five minutes sitting cross-legged a few meters away from the last section of the dungeon. He needed to concentrate in order to prevent all possible mistakes his nervousness could make, so now was the time to steel his nerves.

Things would get complicated if goblins suddenly spawn in the middle of the battle, so Ryan got up and headed toward the boss. Surprisingly enough, even before he could step into that section, the hobgoblin got up and glared at Ryan. The monster could tell that Ryan had decided to challenge him, but for some reason, it didn't chase Ryan.

"I guess this works well for me…" Ryan said and then threw all the plastic bottles toward the hobgoblin.

Ryan imagined that the boss would use the weapon's side to send back the plastic bottles, but the stupid monster split them in half and ended up drenched in gasoline. Ryan sighed while looking at it… Still, he shot a Flame arrow without a hint of hesitation.

The weird things didn't end there. The very moment the hobgoblin began to burn, an unknown force made Ryan enter the last section of the dungeon, and when that happened, even though the monster was like a giant fireball, he ran toward Ryan.

"Crap!" Ryan bit his lips.

In the blink of an eye, Ryan aimed his crossbow at the hobgoblins' head. However, even before he could pull the trigger, the boss raised his shield to protect his head. Ryan didn't know if he read his line of sight or if hitting the head was the most obvious choice. Either way, it didn't change the fact that Ryan couldn't hit the head, so he changed his target. After aiming the monster's knee, Ryan pulled the trigger. But even the iron bolt got repelled by the iron pad he had there.

Ryan didn't have time to get annoyed at the monster's protective gear. The monster was already twenty meters away from him when the second iron bolt appeared. It was hard to believe, given that the creature was carrying three very heavy-looking items, but he could move as fast as Ryan.

The second bolt hit the hobgoblin's right feet, and this time, he hit the monster's flesh, but the bolt only caused a small wound. It seemed like his skin wasn't red for no reason. It was red because the monster had a skill that increased its endurance a lot.

"For real?" Ryan bit his lips in annoyance.

Even before he could shot the third bolt could appear; Ryan changed his strategy. The monster was already swinging his sword and about to split him in half, but Ryan activated Dash, and that small boost in speed granted him the chance to dodge the attack by a hair's breadth. Ryan saw the blade of the sword pass a few centimeters away from his nose, but the heat of the flames forced him to endure an uncomfortable situation.

The hobgoblin's sword hit the ground, and Ryan used that brief moment to increase the distance between him and the creature. However, at the same time, he grabbed a mana potion and then begun to drink. It tasted like lemonade, but Ryan couldn't care less about the taste. Slowly but surely, his mana begun to recover. Ryan threw away the bottle and then aimed at the monster's face once more.

Ryan had to spend almost half of his mana, but in the blink of an eye, two arrows flew toward the monster's face that was still recovering from the previous attack. The creature raised its shield to block the bolts, but he blocked only one. The other hit its cheek… but stopped before it could even damage its tongue or even the monster's teeth.

"Aww… come on…" Ryan said, annoyed.

There was no doubt in Ryan's mind that the hobgoblin was good at receiving physical damage. So, Ryan's only option was to use magic and strengthen even more the Fire Arrow that was heading toward the boss.