REINCARNATION OF THE STRONGEST WAR HERO-Chapter 146: A MONSTER CORE

The clash continued.

Each movement. Each strike. Each dodge....all felt like a showdown of art. The boss continued trying to corner and trap Logan. But Logan kept dodging and striking back swiftly. All he wanted was to test the boss’s limit. He wanted to see how far the boss’s head could process.

Logan’s breathing grew heavier. Sweat ran down his neck. Though he wasn’t on the losing side, the boss wasn’t a pussover either.

And it made the fight enjoyable for Logan.

The goblin boss roared, lifting its hammer high and slamming it again.

BOOOOM!

Stone shattered. Sparks flew. Cracks spread like spiderwebs across the floor.

It was enraged because it kept trying again and again but still couldn’t defeat Logan. It was losing its patience.

Logan on the other hand, dashed to the side, barely avoiding the shockwave.

Lightning burst from his palms, zipping forward like a snake and striking the goblin’s chest.

The creature grunted but it still didn’t fall.

Instead, it responded with a flurry of blows from its six arms.

Each strike faster than the last.

"Oh ho. It seems you didn’t like my present and got angry instead." Logan laughed faintly.

He then ducked and leaped backward, hurling three wind blades with a swing from his right hand.

The boss moved fast and dodged two.

But one cut deep into its thigh.

The beast stumbled for the first time.

"This is it," Logan muttered.

He sprinted forward.

Lightning wrapped around his fists. Wind magic and internal energy boosted his speed.

The goblin raised its arms to block.

But Logan’s motion was too hard to predict.

He had initially launched a lightning punch.

But the moment the goblin raised one arm, Logan bent low and drove a kick straight into its gut, then followed with an uppercut with his lightning fist.

CRACK!

The goblin’s body lifted into the air for a second before crashing into the ground.

Logan didn’t give it a chance to recover.

He summoned a focused fireball in his hand.

Internal energy surged through his veins. He roared and then slammed it straight into the boss’s chest.

Logan’s fist pierced through.

The third eye glowed for a moment... then dimmed.

The massive goblin let out one final growl... Its body twitched... and then collapsed completely. It didn’t move anymore.

Silence filled the air.

Only Logan’s breath echoed in the chamber.

He stood still for a moment, then let out a slow exhale.

"Finally."

He walked toward the fallen creature and placed a hand over its chest.

Its body had already started to decay. And Logan could clearly feel the spiritual energy coiling with its remnants.

Logan closed his eyes. And inhaled.

The energy surged into him. This time the amount wasn’t that tiny. It was good enough.

It was thick—far stronger than anything he had absorbed from previous monsters.

His body trembled slightly and his dantian throbbed.

Logan quickly sat down in a lotus position. He could feel it. He was close.

He began his breathing technique.

Spiritual energy continued flowing in and transformed, filling every meridian, every corner of his dantian.

Then it began.

A low hum echoed in the air.

His stomach began to glow faintly.

The ground trembled slightly beneath him.

The internal energy inside him grew violent. As if trying to burst open a block.

He focused and controlled his breathing to stabilise the energy.

Seconds ticked by...

The dungeon floor started to crack. Dust flew everywhere.

The air itself shimmered around him. His core whirled like a storm. His muscles pulsed. His veins lit up with power.

And then...

The mist around his body was sucked inward, and his aura burst outward like a storm.

Swoosh!

He had broken through. Logan opened his eyes.

"I did it."

He stood up slowly, clenching his fists.

"Martial Arts Master."

He looked around once more and noticed something.

Then without wasting a second, walked over to the goblin’s corpse and picked up a glowing core. Higher monsters would leave behind such cores which were used as a proof of clearing a dungeon. This was his first time seeing a core. Till now he only collected broken armours as proof.

"Strange! The Orc didn’t have one. But it has? Or did I not notice it back then?"

He thought for a while before pushing aside his doubts.

"Maybe I didn’t notice it back then. Whatever. It would do for now. I don’t need a piece of armour today." He murmured.

With that he soon left the dungeon...

__________

At the Hunter’s Guild....

The environment was lively as usual.

The door creaked open and Logan entered. Many eyes turned toward his direction.

He walked up to the front desk and placed the core of the boss on the desk.

Elizabeth jumped from her seat.

Her eyes widened.

"What in the...?"

She quickly picked up the core and gasped.

A round deep blue small sphere. A core that a high class dungeon monsters would leave behind when they die.

"Where... where did you get this?" she asked, stunned.

Logan’s voice was calm. "From the boss of the dungeon I just cleared."

Elizabeth blinked. "Boss? Which dungeon class was it?"

"F-Class," Logan replied.

Elizabeth looked at him like he had gone mad. "Are you serious? This thing looks like it belongs to a D-class monster at least!"

"Well I really did go to a F-class dungeon," Logan said. "But something was off."

He looked around and lowered his voice slightly.

"There’s an anomaly. The monsters are smarter. Stronger. Coordinated. The dungeon’s difficulty was way beyond F-Class."

Elizabeth’s expression turned serious.

"Is that so? This is not the first time. I will report it to the guild master immediately."

Meanwhile, whispers had already started around the hall.

"Hey, have you heard? He cleared nine F-Class dungeons already."

"No, you’re wrong. It’s ten now. This was the tenth."

"So what?" someone scoffed. "It’s just F-Class. I could clear ten if I had time."

"Yeah, but not in seven days."

"Still, what’s so great about that? He’s probably just lucky."

Murmurs started to spread.

Just when Logan was about to leave.....

A familiar voice cut through the noise.

"Well, well. Clearing ten dungeons and causing a storm already?"

Logan turned.

It was Leonard. He walked up to Logan, arms crossed and a half-smile on his face

"So... when are you planning to join our party?"

Logan tilted his head. "Not sure. I still didn’t think it through."

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "You didn’t decide yet?"

Logan nodded. "No."

Leonard chuckled. "You better take the right decision soon." With that he turned around and left.