Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Goblin Slayer
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Having wrapped up my brief excursion in the real world, I instinctively knew it was time to return to the Tower.
Securing a connection with B-rank hunter Lee Chae-ah was undoubtedly a major gain, but to truly leverage her network, I needed power worthy of the association.
'In the end, the answer lies in the Tower. Scrape together points, convert them to Dimension Crystals, and boost my real-world specs with those.'
This was the most efficient growth path. Without hesitation, I shouted inwardly.
'Warp. To the Tower.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Warping to Planet#010009. My vision blurred momentarily before sharpening again, and I found myself standing on the familiar blue grasslands of the 1st floor.
The faint, metallic tang of blood mingled with the scent of grass in the air, welcoming me back. Though I'd been gone for days, time here had frozen at the exact moment I'd left.
"Alright, time to get to work for real."
But first, one thing to check.
The Third Eye C- I'd drawn from the shop via gacha.
Would its power work inside the Tower too?
I scrolled my profile to the bottom.
Suddenly, slots that were normally hidden came into view.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Ability Slots (2/2) ⚡ Third Eye C- 💨 Warp SSS (Unique Ability / Cannot Unequip) Skill Slots (1/3) ✨ Strength F 💪 (Empty) 🍀 (Empty) Ability / Skill Storage 🛡️ (Empty) 'As expected. It's equipped.'
I tested it on a nameless summoner passing by.
Target: Summoner Kim Dang-ppal Info: Jerked off secretly by the campfire last night. '...Useless info, but it works fine.'
Satisfied, I closed the tablet with a smile. Now, even in the Tower, my eyes could pierce truths others couldn't see.
'Time to get moving.'
My goal was singular: acquire more Dimension Crystals.
To do that, I needed to spend as many points as possible in the Tower world. Paradoxically, to spend big, I first had to earn big.
I opened the tablet and checked the shop first.
Apart from the Dimension Crystals I'd received upon returning to Earth, I had about 6,550pt left over from Tower spending.
Not an ideal amount, but I had no intention of skimping on investments.
If previous Tower spends were for pure fun, these remaining points were seed money to earn even more in the Tower.
"The most efficient investment is gear, of course."
I browsed the armor tab for gear one tier above what I'd bought before.
Wyvern Leather Armor: 800pt
Wyvern Leather Arm Guards: 400pt
Wyvern Leather Leg Guards: 300pt
『Wyvern Leather Armor Set』
Description: Made from wyvern hide—tough yet lightweight.
Consists of armor, arm guards, and leg guards.
Set bonus: +1 Strength, +1 Agility.
"Hm, 1,500pt for the set... That'll do for now."
Next, the weapons tab. The steel dagger was great for ambushes, but its short reach sucked for frontal monster fights.
Well-Honed Longsword: 1,000pt
Description: Lighter and sharper than a standard steel sword. Beginner-friendly.
"This should suffice."
2,500pt spent on gear. The items went straight to my inventory.
4,050pt remaining—plenty for emergencies.
Confirming no one around, I equipped the new gear.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Strength: 3(2+1) 💨 Agility: 3(2+1) ✨ Intellect: 1 💪 Luck: 1 Strength and Agility each up by 1.
My body felt lighter, brimming with power compared to before.
⚔ PROFILE ⚔ Name: Kim Joo-hyuk Level: 2 ⚡ Strength: 3 💨 Agility: 3 ✨ Intellect: 1 💪 Luck: 1 Remaining Stats: 3 Held Points: 3,725pt Strength at 3, Agility at 3.
With such low base stats, each point increase felt incredibly tangible.
"Good. Hunting prep complete."
I headed toward the forest. My plan was simple.
Daytime: Hunt monsters. Level up to boost base profile stats, chase rare item drops.
Nighttime: Hunt Im Ji-hye's prey—humans. Rack up levels, steal stats, claim mission rewards for massive points.
'Stat Steal' was blatantly overpowered, but relying on it alone could get me grabbed by someone stronger someday.
Build base levels in downtime, stockpile stats, then invest precisely in crises.
Day for EXP levels, night for real combat. No more efficient grind existed.
I delved deep into the woods, home to the Tower's most common monsters: goblins.
Kieeeek!
Three goblins spotting me charged, claws raised. The old me would've tensed, but not anymore.
Strength and Agility stats sacrificed from Young-soo and Cheol-soo.
Set bonus from new shop gear.
A total +4 in combat stats—I was over twice as strong now!
"Let's test it out."
I swung the longsword at the lead goblin's neck. Clang! It blocked.
Damn, a body with average stats of 2 couldn't land clean hits.
But I didn't panic. I sidestepped, kicked the nearest goblin's leg.
As it stumbled, I thrust into the gap under its empty armpit.
Puuk!
"Kiek!"
Heart pierced, the goblin screamed and collapsed.
💥 KILL! 💥 - Goblin defeated.
+3 pt acquired.
"Farming efficiency is trash, as expected."
Tsking, I handled the remaining two. Confidence surged after the first kill.
Reading their patterns, I dodged minimally, striking vital gaps precisely.
Soon, the last two joined the cold corpses on the ground.
"Definitely easier."
Goblins seemed the easiest prey, Tower or real world.
Of course, only for groups of five or fewer. Single goblins were F-rank hunter fodder—even blindfolded.
But numbers overwhelmed; dozens could swarm and doom you.
'The goblin nest dungeon I cleared with Lee Chae-ah was C- precisely because of the hundreds swarming.'
In this world lacking external threats beyond the Tower, goblins menaced humans plenty.
Strictly speaking, they still threatened me too.
But no matter how much my average stats tanked...
The experience and instincts I'd grinded in the real world through hell never vanished.
In the Tower, I remained a hunter.
Operating this trash-stat body grew familiar. Over time, I mastered it.
From there, it was smooth sailing.
Goblin kills now took under five seconds each.
I pressed on to the next target. Ate from inventory when hungry, rested in trees when tired, repeat.
After half a day massacring forest goblins, I'd hit level 9. Remaining stats: 24 total.
As sunset neared, I decided to wrap daytime hunting.
Slashed the longsword to finish a crawling goblin.
"Kweeeek!"
With its death cry, a message popped up.
⚙ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED ⚙ First to slay 1,000 goblins on Tower Floor 1! → +1,000pt acquired! → Achievement: 『Goblin Slayer』 acquired! Effect: Goblins fear you. No longer ambushed by goblins. "Oh."
The extra 1,000pt barely excited me after my early point haul—just bonus.
What hooked me was the Goblin Slayer achievement and its effect.
'No goblin ambushes...'
The more I looked, the dumber it seemed. Goblins were no match anymore.
But I'd just realized: slay monsters enough times for achievements.
Meaning other monster types might yield achievements at 1,000 kills too.
'How many know this yet?'
Tower Day 2. Goblins were Floor 1's most common. Being first meant others likely ignored hunting achievements.
'Personal mission was just 100 goblins too.'
Unless hyper-optimized like me...
No reason to hunt goblins unless personal vendetta—like lost family raped by them.
'...Play this right, I could monopolize monster hunting achievements?'
Not feasible now. Night approached.
As full darkness fell, I opened the tablet and whispered to Im Ji-hye.
💬 Whisper Chat — Kim Joo-hyuk Im Ji-hye, report. — Im Ji-hye J-Joo-hyuk... I-I joined a survivor group like you said. Small party of three. 'Bingo.'
My hunting dog had performed perfectly.
— Kim Joo-hyuk Good girl. What kind of guys? — Im Ji-hye Th-they seem... nice. Leader's Min-soo, he's helped me a lot... And a woman named Seon-ah too... "Nice people?"
I snorted. In this hellish Tower, "nice" equaled "tasty bait."
— Kim Joo-hyuk Cut the crap. How strong are they? — Im Ji-hye A-all around level 3~4, I think. Not much combat talent, like me... Perfect. Prime prey for me.
— Kim Joo-hyuk Lure them to a spot I designate. Say you found a rare herb patch. This is an order, not a request. I picked a narrow forest ravine—dead-end path, ideal for ambushes and blocking escapes.
— Im Ji-hye ...Got it. Resignation and terror laced her reply. Not my problem. I hid behind ravine rocks, waiting quietly.
Soon, voices echoed from afar.
"...Ji-hye, rare herbs really here? Kinda secluded..."
"Yes, Min-soo! I saw them myself! Sell these, no food worries for a while!"
Im Ji-hye's acting was decent. I peeked through rocks.
Two naive-looking guys, one woman. Im Ji-hye led them. Hope and excitement lit their faces. I smiled at their innocence.
As they reached the ravine's depths, I burst from hiding.
"Wh-who are you?!"
Lead guy Min-soo yelled, but my longsword answered—straight to his heart.
"Guhk...!"
⚙ QUEST COMPLETE ⚙ Day 2 quota achieved. Reward: +50% point acquisition buff until midnight. 💥 KILL! 💥 - Summoner 'Min-soo' defeated.
+280pt acquired.
Stat gap 10+. Random stat +1.
Strength +1
Min-soo crumpled without a scream. Terror painted the survivors' faces.
"M-Min-soo! You bastard!"
"Kyaaak!"
The remaining guy drew his sword and charged, but fear mangled his moves. I parried lightly, slashed his throat.
💥 KILL! 💥 - Summoner 'Dae-kyung' defeated.
+320pt acquired.
Stat gap 20+. Random stat +2.
Strength +2
The last woman just collapsed, screaming.
"Shut up."
Glanced at her face before finishing.
Hm, ugly as hell.
Stabbed her heart.
💥 KILL! 💥 - Summoner 'Seon-ah' defeated.
+120pt acquired.
Stat gap 10+. Random stat +1.
Agility +1
A stream of system messages. Efficiency light-years beyond monster farming.
With everything cleaned up, I approached Im Ji-hye, trembling in the corner. Too terrified to look up.
"Good work, Im Ji-hye."
Pulled a convenience store sausage bun from inventory, tossed it at her feet.
"Your reward. Eat."
She hesitated, then snatched it like a beast, devouring ravenously. Watching contentedly, I gazed at the cold night sky.
'Today's haul is juicy. At this rate, points will pile up fast.'
Day: monster hunts for levels. Night: human hunts via Im Ji-hye for points. No plan more perfect or efficient. My Tower conquest was just hitting its stride.