Becoming The Strongest Using My Would-You-Rather System!-Chapter 44 - Owen’s First Kills

The four of them slowly began their descent into the cave, guided by the white mana lights and paved road.

Not much was said as they walked, each mentally preparing themselves in a different way.

After nearly half an hour, Iris raised her hand, signaling for them to stop.

"What’s that?" Owen immediately said, narrowing his eyes.

Ahead of them, the air seemed to ripple slightly, distorting the path that lay behind it.

"This is the dungeon’s mana wall," Emma said, stepping forward with a glint of interest in her eyes. "Don’t feel surprised if you feel nauseous after passing through."

Theo also narrowed his eyes slightly despite already knowing what it was.

’So this prevents people with higher cores from getting into dungeons, huh,’ he thought. ’How interesting.’

Every dungeon had a limit on which grade cores they let through. If someone above the limit tried to pass, this mana wall would instantly solidify and block them completely. But for those within the limit, it remained fluid and allowed them through without resistance.

As for the dungeon they were entering? It had a Bronze Core cap.

"This is where it really starts," Iris said, snapping Theo out of his thoughts. "Creatures can ambush at any point after we pass through the mana wall, so be on guard."

All three of them nodded once, their gazes turning serious just like Iris’s.

Without hesitation, Theo stepped forward first.

The moment he passed through, his vision blurred and his body swayed. A wave of dizziness hit him, his stomach twisting as if he might throw up at any second.

Only a second later, Owen came through, coughing behind him.

"What the... fuck," he said between gags.

The feeling lasted only a few seconds before fading, allowing Theo to breathe again.

When he looked up again, the road in front of him had changed.

The clean tunnel with mana lights was gone, replaced by a dark tunnel lit only by some light blue mana crystals in the roof.

’It feels different here,’ he thought, narrowing his eyes.

Behind him, Iris and Emma stepped through one by one, each reacting differently to the mana wall.

After everyone recovered, Iris took a step to the front, her expression serious.

"Let’s go," she said. "But remain cautious."

The group nodded and began moving again, only this time at a noticeably slower pace than before.

Minutes passed in total silence as they walked the jagged dirt path, surrounded by large stalactites and tall rock columns.

Finally, a bright blue glow lit up the cave walls in front of them.

"What’s that?" Owen asked quietly, gripping his sledgehammer tightly.

"The land pocket," Iris replied without slowing down. "We’re almost there."

They continued moving forward, passing more large rock formations.

Just as they were about to reach the turn, Theo’s instincts screamed at him to move.

Without hesitation, he lunged sideways, dragging Owen alongside him.

"Dodge!"

A sharp whistling sound cut through the air.

Two arrows shot past the spot they’d just been standing in, knocking into the wall behind them.

Iris reacted instantly, her spear already in her hand.

"Goblins!" she shouted.

Several figures emerged from behind the rock columns ahead. They were roughly half the size of a human, with blue skin and simple, crude weapons in their hands.

Theo’s eyes immediately locked onto the tallest one standing at the back.

’That one’s an E-rank,’ he thought, his gaze sharpening. ’It must be the leader.’

A lightning bolt formed above his palm almost immediately.

Without wasting another second, he fired it off.

The lightning bolt shot through the air, crossing dozens of feet in seconds.

But the tall goblin reacted almost instantly, jumping away to the right.

Theo narrowed his eyes, moving his finger just a little.

The lightning bolt curved through the air, locking onto the stunned goblin again.

CRACK!

In an instant, they collided.

The lightning bolt obliterated the goblin, turning more than half of its body to ash.

At the same time, Iris had also started moving.

Her spear shot forward through the air, impaling two F-rank goblins on it with ease.

Emma, on the other hand, didn’t use a weapon.

She raised her hand slightly, a deep green color radiating from her palms.

Three wooden branches burst out of the ground, each wrapping around a goblin and crushing their skulls in a single motion.

With that, only two F-rank goblins remained.

Both were charging at Owen with a crude wooden club and a makeshift sword in their hands.

Theo formed two lightning bolts beside him—but stopped.

He locked eyes with Emma and Iris, gesturing for them to hold.

They understood too, both coming to a halt.

’He needs this experience now,’ Theo thought, glancing back at Owen. ’In case we run into something dangerous later.’

Owen’s eyes were wide, his breathing heavy as the goblins rushed toward him.

He gritted his teeth and raised an earth shield that barely covered half his body.

The shield floated in front of him while he held his sledgehammer with both hands.

Just then, the first goblin lunged towards him.

Owen blocked the attack with his shield, pushing it back and forcing it to the ground.

He turned back around immediately, swinging his sledgehammer down with all his strength toward the second goblin.

The second goblin’s club was knocked aside, the sledgehammer continuing straight for its head.

CRACK!

Blue blood and brain fluid splattered all across Owen’s body.

He froze for a brief moment, breathing heavily, clearly shaken.

But the fight wasn’t over yet.

The other goblin had already gotten back up and was charging toward him again.

Owen quickly snapped out of his daze and raised his hand.

A single rock spike formed in front of him.

It was the second spell, Rock Spike, he’d learned during the weeks Theo had been cultivating.

The moment it was fully formed, it shot forward.

It closed the remaining distance nearly in an instant, drilling straight into the goblin’s chest.

As the final goblin fell to the ground, silence returned to the cave.

Owen lowered his sledgehammer, breathing heavily.

Theo approached him with a small smile.

"Good work," he said, patting him on the back.

Owen let out a shaky breath.

"I... need a moment," he said. "Is that possible?"

Iris smiled slightly and nodded.

"Of course."

While the others sat down to take a quick break, Theo walked toward one of the goblin corpses.

A deep frown appeared on his face as he crouched down.

’They were different,’ he thought. ’The leader tried to run instead of attacking... and they were using ambush tactics.’

That doesn’t match at all.

If the creatures were affected by the same phenomenon as the ocean ones, they should’ve been completely aggressive to the point where they appear mindless.

But this...

’What exactly is going on here?’