The Evolution of a Goblin to the Peak

The dark vine eater looked at Bryan with its gleaming red eyes. The three vines on its back stretched out and went straight at Bryan.

Swoosh!

It was fast, but Bryan managed to react quickly and dodge all three vines.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bryan looked at it and saw that the vines managed to pierce the thick floor. These vines were bad news.

"I need to avoid it at all costs or else..." Bryan muttered as he looked at the dark vine eater with a serious expression.

The dark vine-eater also looked at Bryan. It then roared before charging at him.

Swoosh!

In just a second, the dark vine eater arrived in front of Bryan. It swung its sharp claws at him, attempting to decapitate him.

Bryan jumped in the air to avoid the sharp claws. He then gathered his mana in both of his fists. Two balls made of fire formed above his palms.

[Flame Blast]!!

The two fireballs landed on the body of the dark vine-eater before it exploded.

Boom!

The flames swallowed the whole body of the monster, but Bryan knew that it wasn't enough to defeat it.

Lightning crackled around Bryan's body.

[Light Edge]!

[Lightning Boots]!

Bryan charged towards the monster, but he stopped midway and jumped to the side.

Swoosh!!

Sharp vines burst out of the floor. These vines didn't stop at all as it chased Bryan.

"This..." Bryan moved his body swiftly as he avoided the vines.

When he turned his head, he saw the face of the dark vine eater come closer to him. Bryan could feel the rage in the monster's eyes.

Bryan smirked, and his mana spiked up. He opened his mouth and shouted, "Class rep! Brando! Brace yourselves! I will use a powerful spell!"

Lumilia looked at Bryan before she cast a water barrier around her. Brando cast a spell that could raise his defensive abilities. They prepared themselves as they knew that Bryan was going all out in fighting that monster.

The dark vine eater opened its huge mouth and tried to bite Bryan.

Bang!

"That's close!" Bryan muttered as he jumped backward, and the vines began to chase him once again.

While avoiding all the vines, Bryan started to build the spell structure. He hadn't mastered this spell, so he couldn't cast it easily like the other spell that he had.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Luckily, Bryan wasn't a typical mage. An ordinary mage would cast a barrier spell first before casting an offensive spell. Unlike any other mage, Bryan was agile and an expert in close-range combat.

As for the barrier spell? Bryan didn't even know a single barrier spell. Also, he doesn't need it at all. His buff spells were enough for him. He was a genius in terms of fighting, so he could build a spell while avoiding the vines of the dark vine eater at the same time.

Looking at Bryan, Lumilia had to admit that she couldn't do it. It's true that she learned some fighting skills when she was a child, but it wasn't enough to do what Bryan is doing right now. Casting a spell that consumed a few seconds while avoiding was impossible for the current her. Souta was the only one who could match Bryan in this skill.

What she didn't know was that all of Souta's spells were inner spells. Souta didn't have to build the structure of his spell just like Bryan was going. That's also the reason why Souta could easily cast any spell.

If Souta were here, he would also say that he couldn't do what Bryan was doing right now. He could only do it because the spell that he was casting was all an inner spell.

Lumilia was just a normal mage with nothing outstanding about it. She was just a bit stronger than some of her peers. She wasn't like Bryan, Souta, and Randolf, who could dominate the entire first-year students if they wanted it.

That's why she will push herself to catch up to the people around her. She doesn't want to get left behind.

Brando looked at Bryan, and he ignored all the toxic rats in front of him. He used [Shielder's Aura] to increase his defensive abilities and the [Rock Body] to toughen his flesh.

After a few seconds, a magic circle appeared in front of Bryan. He finished building the magic circle for the spell he was going to cast.

"Settle down!"

Bryan smirked as he pulled back his fist. He then punched the magic circle in front of him.

[Thunderous Flaming Roar]!!

A huge pillar of flames with lightning in it shot towards the dark vine eater. This spell was one of the most powerful Tier 2 spells in the Ladro Institute. He managed to learn this spell in a short amount of time, thanks to teacher Bargan.

The entire area shook heavily, and everything was swallowed by flames and lightning. The water on the floor quickly evaporated. Even the toxic rats in the back weren't an exception to this.

The people on the surface even felt the ground trembling. They thought that it was an earthquake.

Lumilia cast another barrier spell when she saw that the one she'd cast before couldn't handle the intensity of the [Thunderous Flaming Roar] spell. She held her bag tightly to avoid it getting burned.

They came here for nothing if she loses the materials that they needed to complete the quest.

Smoke covered the whole place and blocked everyone's vision. They could hardly see anything with the thick smoke in the whole area.

Cough! Cough!

"Did it go down?" Bryan muttered as he looked around at his surroundings. He cautiously took a step forward to check if he managed to take down the dark vine eater.

The temperature of this place was high because of the spell he just used. It was also hard to breathe because of the thick smoke around him.

"Cover your ears!" Bryan shouted before he took a deep breath.

Lumilia and Brando heard his words, so they covered their ears with their hands. Even without seeing Bryan, they could guess what's on his mind.

Bryan imbued his mana in his vocal cords before he shouted.

"GO AWAY!!"

The sound wave pushed out all of the smoke in the area, and it revealed the body of a dead dark vine eater. Bryan learned this thing from Souta. After Souta woke him using this, he asked Souta to teach him how to use mana.

Lumilia and Brando looked over. They sighed in relief when they found that the dark vine eater was dead.

"I've gathered all the materials that we need. We can leave this place." Lumilia said to Brando and Bryan.

Bryan and Brando nodded at her. This fight was already enough for Bryan. He could properly hold himself now that he had fought some monsters in this place.

"This is good. If you're a little bit stronger, then I'll praise you more." Bryan smiled as he looked at the body of the dark vine eater.

If he compared the power of this dark vine eater to Yuko, then Yuko was stronger than the dark vine eater. Even if both of them were second evolution monsters, Bryan wouldn't hesitate to say that Yuko was stronger.

He knew how strong Yuko was. He was always there when Bargan was training Souta to improve his taming abilities.

"Ah~ I wanted to have a pet too. Then, I can also do that summon thing! Tch! That's so cool!" While thinking about Yuko, Bryan remembered that he doesn't have a pet. He was desperate to have a pet.

"Forget it, forget it," Bryan repeatedly said to himself while holding his head.

Lumilia and Brando looked at each other before they sighed, as expected of Bryan.

Suddenly, the ground shook once again. It interrupted Bryan's thought.

"What the hell?!" Bryan exclaimed as he looked around and felt that something was coming from the front.

Lumilia's expression turned serious. She tightly held her bag in her chest while Brando stepped in front of her and raised his shield.

"Just what is it right now?" Brando said as he prepared himself.

After a few moments, a monster appeared in their sight. It was the dark vine eater. But it wasn't alone. Behind it were several dark vine-eaters. It was hard to count how many monsters had appeared because of the darkness. But one thing was for sure...

And they were in trouble.

Bryan, Lumilia, and Brando opened their eyes widely when they saw this scene. Just how did all of these monsters appear in this place?

...

Souta was hiding in the bushes inside the duke's mansion. He was wearing a dark red robe and a mask to conceal his appearance in case someone saw him.

"Strange... This is weird." He muttered to himself while looking around.

'Yeah, this is really weird.' Even Saya agreed with his statement that the duke's mansion was weird.

The security here wasn't that tight. In fact, the people that were guarding this huge mansion could be counted on two hands. This was the duke's mansion, so the security here should be tight. But it seems that it was the opposite here.

"Let's go further."