Chapter 374: Treasure Hunter (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 374: Treasure Hunter (2)
Thirteen hours after we entered the labyrinth, we were in the first floor's Crystal Cave. The reason we were still on the first floor, which we managed to clear within a few hours last time, was because this quest started here.
"Hmm, I never knew you could open a Rift like this."
"Hehe, you know everything, Mister!"
Bloody Citadel, Glacier Cave, etcetera—there were four types of Rifts on the first floor, and these Rifts could be deliberately opened by players. As such, the reason why it took so long was also that we first headed up to the second floor to kill some rank-eight monsters, then came back.
Most people should be upstairs by now...
I took out the rank-eight mana stone I had stored in the sub-space and scanned our surroundings.
Anyway, it's been a long time since I've been here too.
It was a cavity with a radius of about a hundred feet and a gravestone sitting in its center. When the army and large clans escaped through those portals that day, this was the very place where the people who were left behind searched for a way to survive. At the time, the wizards had expanded this cavern so the space was much larger.
"Is everyone ready?"
The two nodded at my question, and I took that as a signal to place the mana stone in front of the monument as an offering.
Dddddd!
Vibrations spread through the entire first floor, starting from the monument itself. At the same moment, a green portal opened.
[You have entered the first-floor Rift.]
Okay, let's go.
***
Shaaaaaa!
The portal in the air cast light on the outline of a cave. Railroad tracks covered the floor, and wooden waste was scattered around the surrounding area. It was a bit gloomier than in the game.
Green Coal Mine was one of the four types of Rifts that existed on the first floor. The way it worked was simple. Starting from the spot where the ceiling had collapsed and blocked the road, you followed the railroad tracks until you encountered the boss.
"What are you all doing? Let's go."
I quickly led the others, who were reflexively scanning their unfamiliar surroundings, into the tunnel. That was because there would be more people joining us in here soon, and it was best not to run into them. Amelia and I were fine, but Erwen had become very famous in the city, after all. Even if they were lower-floor adventurers, there was a possibility they'd recognize her.
Dash.
It was only after we left the radius of the portal's light and concealed ourselves with the spirit of darkness Erwen summoned that the additional participants entered the Rift.
"W-Woah! W-What is this?" It started with a man in equipment that was clearly low-grade. He looked around dazedly for a moment before realizing he was in a Rift, at which point he grinned. "Am I the first?"
"Woahhh!" A second person jumped out of the portal and tumbled to the ground. It was another man.
"Hehe, nice to meet you!"
Okay, since they're both men, nothing bad should happen if we leave them alone.
After I watched them exchange greetings, I quickly dispelled my concerns and turned around. "The sound won't reach them over there. Let's run."
"Okay!"
We began running through the tunnel to officially start clearing the Rift. The very first monster we encountered was, of course, a goblin. This one had a slightly different physique than the guys I was used to seeing on the first and second floors.
"Greuk!"
Its height was similar to that of a normal goblin, but its build was different, with a wide back and firm muscles. Even the hat on its head and the pickaxe slung over its shoulder were unique.
"It's a Goblin Miner." This was a rank-eight monster whose XP could only be obtained in the first-floor Rift.
"Kyaaagh!"
The macho-looking bastard rushed toward us as soon as he spotted us, swinging his pickaxe one against three. An ordinary goblin could never hope to match the kind of strength this guy could put behind his attacks.
"So annoying..."
You think that's going to work? Each of us could easily clear a first-floor Rift alone.
Stab!
Without even having to use her arrows, Erwen used a wind spirit to shoot the monster between the eyes.
[You have defeated the Goblin Miner. EXP +2]
One-shot kill. At our level, that was only natural, but the whole production of pointing at the opponent with her index finger and then firing a blast of compressed air was quite impressive.
Was that a real-life Finger Flick...?
There had been a time in my life when I was obsessed with Wuxia novels.
Man, why can't I do something like that?
"Schuitz, is there a problem?"
"Yeah, why are you staring at me, Mister?"
"It's nothing. Let's go." I cut that train of thought off at the pass and got moving again. Besides, if I were to describe my own state in Wuxia terms, I would currently be around the level of a Martial Arts Master who had achieved near-indestructibility.
Dash, dash.
Anyway, I led the way from there on out. All we had to do in the beginning was follow a straight tunnel, but still. I made sure to keep a close eye on the ground as I moved, and I stopped as soon as I noticed the tracks were damaged.
"Why did you stop?"
"The tracks cut off. It should be around here."
Kwaaang!
I smashed the surrounding walls with my hammer. Amelia was startled by this and asked if I was trying to bury them alive, but she didn't have to be worried about that. Rifts weren't that flimsy. The places you could break them were usually places where there were hidden features—just like here.
Crackkk!
The wall crumbled like it was made of Styrofoam, revealing a space behind it. It was a narrow side passage just big enough for one person. I probably would have had trouble fitting inside of it in my usual, non-shrunken form.
Thud.
Ugh, my shoulders are still caught.
I had no choice but to walk sideways like a crab into the side passage.
"We've earned three million stones in one go." After picking up a green gem from the box hidden inside a small cavity in the passageway, I retraced my steps to come back out.
"Okay!"
We began running through the tunnel to officially start clearing the Rift. The very first monster we encountered was, of course, a goblin. This one had a slightly different physique than the guys I was used to seeing on the first and second floors.
"Greuk!"
Its height was similar to that of a normal goblin, but its build was different, with a wide back and firm muscles. Even the hat on its head and the pickaxe slung over its shoulder were unique.
"It's a Goblin Miner." This was a rank-eight monster whose XP could only be obtained in the first-floor Rift.
"Kyaaagh!"
The macho-looking bastard rushed toward us as soon as he spotted us, swinging his pickaxe one against three. An ordinary goblin could never hope to match the kind of strength this guy could put behind his attacks.
"So annoying..."
You think that's going to work? Each of us could easily clear a first-floor Rift alone.
Stab!
Without even having to use her arrows, Erwen used a wind spirit to shoot the monster between the eyes.
[You have defeated the Goblin Miner. EXP +2]
One-shot kill. At our level, that was only natural, but the whole production of pointing at the opponent with her index finger and then firing a blast of compressed air was quite impressive.
Was that a real-life Finger Flick...?
There had been a time in my life when I was obsessed with Wuxia novels.
Man, why can't I do something like that?
"Schuitz, is there a problem?"
"Yeah, why are you staring at me, Mister?"
"It's nothing. Let's go." I cut that train of thought off at the pass and got moving again. Besides, if I were to describe my own state in Wuxia terms, I would currently be around the level of a Martial Arts Master who had achieved near-indestructibility.
Dash, dash.
Anyway, I led the way from there on out. All we had to do in the beginning was follow a straight tunnel, but still. I made sure to keep a close eye on the ground as I moved, and I stopped as soon as I noticed the tracks were damaged.
"Why did you stop?"
"The tracks cut off. It should be around here."
Kwaaang!
I smashed the surrounding walls with my hammer. Amelia was startled by this and asked if I was trying to bury them alive, but she didn't have to be worried about that. Rifts weren't that flimsy. The places you could break them were usually places where there were hidden features—just like here.
Crackkk!
The wall crumbled like it was made of Styrofoam, revealing a space behind it. It was a narrow side passage just big enough for one person. I probably would have had trouble fitting inside of it in my usual, non-shrunken form.
Thud.
Ugh, my shoulders are still caught.
I had no choice but to walk sideways like a crab into the side passage.
"We've earned three million stones in one go." After picking up a green gem from the box hidden inside a small cavity in the passageway, I retraced my steps to come back out.
"I never knew there was something like this in the coal mine."
"But, Mister... can we take that out without a wizard?"
"It's okay. These sorts of things don't need distortion magic."
The Bloody Citadel was a good example of this phenomenon. The only things in Rifts that required distortion magic to remove were miscellaneous items such as bricks and building decorations. Valuable things like the Necronomicon were designated as items, so you could just grab them and leave.
Ah, she wasn't there back then, though, was she?
"Then let's keep moving. We have everything we need here."
Anyway, this was the only hidden item in the first stage, so after that, I focused solely on running instead of looking down at the ground. Before long, a cliff appeared. There was a bridge, but more than two-thirds of it had collapsed. The usual strategy for this section was to take the passage next to it as a detour.
If I had Leap, I could've just cleared the gap.
It was a pity I didn't have my mobility skill anymore. Normally this part could be skipped if you had an intermediate or higher-level one.
There are only Goblin Miners down the detour, so it'll just be a waste of our time.
It wasn't even a route with a hidden element, but we had no choice but to take the side road anyway. Crushing all the Goblin Miners we saw, we finally exited on the other side after about thirty minutes.
"This is easy. I guess since we're on the first floor."
"It's definitely a bit different from what I expected..."
Erwen seemed dissatisfied with how dull exploring the Rift was turning out to be, but there was nothing I could do about it. That was an obvious consequence of coming to a first-floor Rift with seventh-floor party members. Typical RPG games didn't even give you EXP for this. Oh, but maybe it was more cut-throat of us to come to a low-level hunting ground for XP?
"Don't be too disappointed, guys. We're going to finish this up quickly and leave."
Everyone seemed bored so I sped up the Rift clearing process. Moving through the passageway beyond the bridge we skipped, we hunted all the monsters in the second stage.
[You have defeated a Hobgoblin Miner. EXP +3.]
[You have defeated a Mineral Slime. EXP +2.]
[You have defeated a Copper Golem. EXP +3.]
Those were the new monsters we encountered in the second stage. Then we hit the mini-boss.
[You have defeated the Goblin Bomber. EXP +4.]
As expected, there was no essence. Well, we didn't have a test tube or a wizard to take it back to the city, anyway.
The second stage is mainly focused on battle so it went fast.
We cleared the mini-boss in about ten minutes before searching around for the hidden element, something that popped up when you destroyed the minerals near the middle boss's room: Gobble Quartz.
Oh, there are exactly three.
"We can each have one." I was about to share the Gobble Quartz I dug up, but Amelia and Erwen frowned.
"You're...eating that?"
"It smells weird, Mister. And it's also sticky for some reason..."
"It's still an elixir. It increases your Poison Tolerance."
"I never knew there was something like this in the coal mine."
"But, Mister... can we take that out without a wizard?"
"It's okay. These sorts of things don't need distortion magic."
The Bloody Citadel was a good example of this phenomenon. The only things in Rifts that required distortion magic to remove were miscellaneous items such as bricks and building decorations. Valuable things like the Necronomicon were designated as items, so you could just grab them and leave.
Ah, she wasn't there back then, though, was she?
"Then let's keep moving. We have everything we need here."
Anyway, this was the only hidden item in the first stage, so after that, I focused solely on running instead of looking down at the ground. Before long, a cliff appeared. There was a bridge, but more than two-thirds of it had collapsed. The usual strategy for this section was to take the passage next to it as a detour.
If I had Leap, I could've just cleared the gap.
It was a pity I didn't have my mobility skill anymore. Normally this part could be skipped if you had an intermediate or higher-level one.
There are only Goblin Miners down the detour, so it'll just be a waste of our time.
It wasn't even a route with a hidden element, but we had no choice but to take the side road anyway. Crushing all the Goblin Miners we saw, we finally exited on the other side after about thirty minutes.
"This is easy. I guess since we're on the first floor."
"It's definitely a bit different from what I expected..."
Erwen seemed dissatisfied with how dull exploring the Rift was turning out to be, but there was nothing I could do about it. That was an obvious consequence of coming to a first-floor Rift with seventh-floor party members. Typical RPG games didn't even give you EXP for this. Oh, but maybe it was more cut-throat of us to come to a low-level hunting ground for XP?
"Don't be too disappointed, guys. We're going to finish this up quickly and leave."
Everyone seemed bored so I sped up the Rift clearing process. Moving through the passageway beyond the bridge we skipped, we hunted all the monsters in the second stage.
[You have defeated a Hobgoblin Miner. EXP +3.]
[You have defeated a Mineral Slime. EXP +2.]
[You have defeated a Copper Golem. EXP +3.]
Those were the new monsters we encountered in the second stage. Then we hit the mini-boss.
[You have defeated the Goblin Bomber. EXP +4.]
As expected, there was no essence. Well, we didn't have a test tube or a wizard to take it back to the city, anyway.
The second stage is mainly focused on battle so it went fast.
We cleared the mini-boss in about ten minutes before searching around for the hidden element, something that popped up when you destroyed the minerals near the middle boss's room: Gobble Quartz.
Oh, there are exactly three.
"We can each have one." I was about to share the Gobble Quartz I dug up, but Amelia and Erwen frowned.
"You're...eating that?"
"It smells weird, Mister. And it's also sticky for some reason..."
"It's still an elixir. It increases your Poison Tolerance."
"If you say so." Amelia, who grew up in Noark and had had no choice but to develop a strong stomach, downed the Gobble Quartz first. Erwen followed suit, cringing.
"Does it taste that bad?"
"...Surprisingly, it doesn't taste like anything."
"The texture is very unique," said Amelia.
"Oh, really?"
The texture can't be that unique. I guess there's nothing to worry about.
Snap!
When I chewed up the Gobble Quartz with my molars, it was truly a fascinating texture. It was soft on the outside but felt like chewing stone on the inside. Barbarians usually ate bones with every meal, though, so that was nothing special.
[You have consumed a Gobble Quartz. Your Poison Tolerance has permanently increased by +3. This effect cannot be stacked.]
After that, our strategy for clearing the Rift was essentially more of the same. We moved forward, destroying all visible monsters. Then we stopped for a moment to search for hidden items or features in the area. Once we climbed down a circular staircase at the edge of a cliff, the third stage ended.
"This is the last part."
We arrived at the deepest part of the coal mine and found ourselves standing in front of a collapsed mineshaft that looked like it was blocked by something. Normally you had to use the explosives hidden throughout the mine to open up a path, but high-level players had their own ways.
Bang, bang!
When I smashed the lower corner of the stone into pieces with Demon Grinder, the shaft came crashing down, creating a gap that was big enough for us to go through one person at a time.
[The sleeping King of Green has woken up.]
At the center of the cavern, which had a radius of approximately fifty yards, a green slime wriggled and howled.
"Kyuiiit!" It was the King Slime, the guardian of the Green Coal Mine.
***
Meanwhile, at the start of the Rift, two men were trembling in the deep darkness, relying on one flickering torch for light.
"...D-Do we really have to go alone?"
"There's no other way. The portal is closed."
"I heard Rifts are explored by five people... How did this happen...?"
The archer sighed at the axe warrior's words. Even if he asked him, it wasn't like he had any way of knowing. How could the portal close when there were only two people in the Rift? He actually assumed it was a temporary error at first. Even after the portal disappeared, they waited there for three hours for someone to arrive. But they couldn't live in denial forever.
"Never mind, let's go. If we want to clear the Rift between the two of us, we have to start moving now."
"...O-Okay." The axe warrior, who had a rather delicate personality despite his size, stood in front. The archer followed behind, supporting him.
Goddamned buggy shit game.
The archer usually felt like luck was on his side. Well, he did also come across said shit game by chance and end up here, but aside from that, his life was on the easier side. That fact hadn't changed even after he woke up in an unfamiliar world. Just look at his first quest. He was lucky enough to obtain an essence immediately, and starting with his second expedition, he was able to strip equipment off of adventurers fighting each other and plunderers to earn initial funds. With this as his foundation, he was able to make steady progress.
"If you say so." Amelia, who grew up in Noark and had had no choice but to develop a strong stomach, downed the Gobble Quartz first. Erwen followed suit, cringing.
"Does it taste that bad?"
"...Surprisingly, it doesn't taste like anything."
"The texture is very unique," said Amelia.
"Oh, really?"
The texture can't be that unique. I guess there's nothing to worry about.
Snap!
When I chewed up the Gobble Quartz with my molars, it was truly a fascinating texture. It was soft on the outside but felt like chewing stone on the inside. Barbarians usually ate bones with every meal, though, so that was nothing special.
[You have consumed a Gobble Quartz. Your Poison Tolerance has permanently increased by +3. This effect cannot be stacked.]
After that, our strategy for clearing the Rift was essentially more of the same. We moved forward, destroying all visible monsters. Then we stopped for a moment to search for hidden items or features in the area. Once we climbed down a circular staircase at the edge of a cliff, the third stage ended.
"This is the last part."
We arrived at the deepest part of the coal mine and found ourselves standing in front of a collapsed mineshaft that looked like it was blocked by something. Normally you had to use the explosives hidden throughout the mine to open up a path, but high-level players had their own ways.
Bang, bang!
When I smashed the lower corner of the stone into pieces with Demon Grinder, the shaft came crashing down, creating a gap that was big enough for us to go through one person at a time.
[The sleeping King of Green has woken up.]
At the center of the cavern, which had a radius of approximately fifty yards, a green slime wriggled and howled.
"Kyuiiit!" It was the King Slime, the guardian of the Green Coal Mine.
***
Meanwhile, at the start of the Rift, two men were trembling in the deep darkness, relying on one flickering torch for light.
"...D-Do we really have to go alone?"
"There's no other way. The portal is closed."
"I heard Rifts are explored by five people... How did this happen...?"
The archer sighed at the axe warrior's words. Even if he asked him, it wasn't like he had any way of knowing. How could the portal close when there were only two people in the Rift? He actually assumed it was a temporary error at first. Even after the portal disappeared, they waited there for three hours for someone to arrive. But they couldn't live in denial forever.
"Never mind, let's go. If we want to clear the Rift between the two of us, we have to start moving now."
"...O-Okay." The axe warrior, who had a rather delicate personality despite his size, stood in front. The archer followed behind, supporting him.
Goddamned buggy shit game.
The archer usually felt like luck was on his side. Well, he did also come across said shit game by chance and end up here, but aside from that, his life was on the easier side. That fact hadn't changed even after he woke up in an unfamiliar world. Just look at his first quest. He was lucky enough to obtain an essence immediately, and starting with his second expedition, he was able to strip equipment off of adventurers fighting each other and plunderers to earn initial funds. With this as his foundation, he was able to make steady progress.
I thought ending up in the first-floor Rift on my third expedition was a great thing, but I never expected something as shitty as this to happen.
Even as the man complained to himself, though, he was on guard. That was the only way he'd survive.
"...Wait, stop for a minute."
"What is it?"
"Something is off. There should be a Goblin Miner at this point..."
"Huh... do you know a lot about the Rift?"
"Somewhat. I like studying."
He gave the guy an excuse, but it was a lie. In truth, he had experience with the original version of the game, although he never got past the first half and only beat the game later when he found out there was a modded version. Nevertheless, he knew a lot about the first half because he had played the original. Thanks to the insane difficulty level, reading the Newbie Guide posted by Elfnuna numerous times was essential if you wanted to play properly.
"...Let's keep going for now. I don't know why there aren't any goblins here yet."
Waiting wouldn't change anything, so he just wrote it off as a difference between the game and reality and cautiously kept moving.
"Oh, there's a side road through that collapsed area!"
When he saw the wall at the end of the broken railway track, however, he realized what was going on. "Someone came through first."
"...What did you say?"
"Nothing."
Someone had entered the Rift first. At least three someones.
Then... they must have killed all the monsters here.
The moment he realized this, a wave of relief washed over the man, and his legs felt wobbly. Then, once the relief subsided, he started to see this as an opportunity.
If there are no signs of a struggle, that means they're probably strong enough to just crush everything in their way.
They probably weren't interested in an essence in the first-floor Rift, and the amount of time an essence stuck around before disappearing was about thirty minutes. If he rushed to catch up to them now, he could obtain the discarded essence at the end. And perhaps he could pick up any hidden items they left behind.
"Let's go. Don't worry about the monsters."
"...What do you mean?"
"There won't be any monsters up ahead. If you don't believe me, I can go first." With that, the archer began running through the dark tunnel without hesitation.
They took the Gobble Quartz.
There was nothing left in the second and third stages. The people who had entered the Rift first were so knowledgeable that he couldn't find a single thing they didn't take.
I didn't even know about that one... but since the wall is broken, I guess there was something inside.
He kept running for a while and arrived at the boss room. All in all, it took about forty minutes.
If the guardian's essence dropped and they didn't take it... it might still be around.
Soon, the man entered the boss room with the axe warrior.
Shaaaaaa!
When they spotted the essence floating in the air, a deep hunger appeared in the eyes of the two men. Of course, there was a key difference between them.
"A-An essence...!"
"I know."
The axe warrior in front of him actually seemed more surprised than greedy, but the man behind him was the opposite.
"I-Is that the essence of the guard—"
Shoop!
The man grabbed an arrow and drove it into the axe warrior's shoulder.
"Ahhh!" The warrior screamed and dropped to the ground at the sudden surprise attack. He came to his senses a moment later and tried to pick up his axe, but unfortunately, that didn't go well for him.
Clunk.
The ax slipped and fell from his hand.
"It's no use. I rubbed a paralysis poison on the arrowhead."
"...W-Why are you doing this?! I-I'll give you the essence. P-Please!" The warrior picked up on the fact that he had been defeated and begged and shouted, but the archer's eyes were cold.
"You're just an NPC, why do you care so much about your life?"
"N-NPC...? What does that mean? No, but hey, you dragoon! Please have mercy. I have a daughter at home—"
"A dragoon is a protoss." The man chuckled and pulled out the embedded arrowhead. "Hans Eliburn. That's my name. Ah, well, that isn't my real name, either."
"A-Are you...!"
"I guess you've figured it out now. Sorry. I just want to say that in advance so I don't go soft."
"N-N—!" The warrior went to shout something, but he never got a chance to finish. He took an arrowhead through the neck before he could.
"It's no different from killing a goblin." The man quickly got up and moved toward the essence floating in the air. A sharp smile hung on his lips.
"Luck is on my side."
[The Essence of the Slime is being absorbed into your soul.]
The man truly considered himself lucky... until he saw the ability he had acquired with his own eyes.
I thought ending up in the first-floor Rift on my third expedition was a great thing, but I never expected something as shitty as this to happen.
Even as the man complained to himself, though, he was on guard. That was the only way he'd survive.
"...Wait, stop for a minute."
"What is it?"
"Something is off. There should be a Goblin Miner at this point..."
"Huh... do you know a lot about the Rift?"
"Somewhat. I like studying."
He gave the guy an excuse, but it was a lie. In truth, he had experience with the original version of the game, although he never got past the first half and only beat the game later when he found out there was a modded version. Nevertheless, he knew a lot about the first half because he had played the original. Thanks to the insane difficulty level, reading the Newbie Guide posted by Elfnuna numerous times was essential if you wanted to play properly.
"...Let's keep going for now. I don't know why there aren't any goblins here yet."
Waiting wouldn't change anything, so he just wrote it off as a difference between the game and reality and cautiously kept moving.
"Oh, there's a side road through that collapsed area!"
When he saw the wall at the end of the broken railway track, however, he realized what was going on. "Someone came through first."
"...What did you say?"
"Nothing."
Someone had entered the Rift first. At least three someones.
Then... they must have killed all the monsters here.
The moment he realized this, a wave of relief washed over the man, and his legs felt wobbly. Then, once the relief subsided, he started to see this as an opportunity.
If there are no signs of a struggle, that means they're probably strong enough to just crush everything in their way.
They probably weren't interested in an essence in the first-floor Rift, and the amount of time an essence stuck around before disappearing was about thirty minutes. If he rushed to catch up to them now, he could obtain the discarded essence at the end. And perhaps he could pick up any hidden items they left behind.
"Let's go. Don't worry about the monsters."
"...What do you mean?"
"There won't be any monsters up ahead. If you don't believe me, I can go first." With that, the archer began running through the dark tunnel without hesitation.
They took the Gobble Quartz.
There was nothing left in the second and third stages. The people who had entered the Rift first were so knowledgeable that he couldn't find a single thing they didn't take.
I didn't even know about that one... but since the wall is broken, I guess there was something inside.
He kept running for a while and arrived at the boss room. All in all, it took about forty minutes.
If the guardian's essence dropped and they didn't take it... it might still be around.
Soon, the man entered the boss room with the axe warrior.
Shaaaaaa!
When they spotted the essence floating in the air, a deep hunger appeared in the eyes of the two men. Of course, there was a key difference between them.
"A-An essence...!"
"I know."
The axe warrior in front of him actually seemed more surprised than greedy, but the man behind him was the opposite.
"I-Is that the essence of the guard—"
Shoop!
The man grabbed an arrow and drove it into the axe warrior's shoulder.
"Ahhh!" The warrior screamed and dropped to the ground at the sudden surprise attack. He came to his senses a moment later and tried to pick up his axe, but unfortunately, that didn't go well for him.
Clunk.
The ax slipped and fell from his hand.
"It's no use. I rubbed a paralysis poison on the arrowhead."
"...W-Why are you doing this?! I-I'll give you the essence. P-Please!" The warrior picked up on the fact that he had been defeated and begged and shouted, but the archer's eyes were cold.
"You're just an NPC, why do you care so much about your life?"
"N-NPC...? What does that mean? No, but hey, you dragoon! Please have mercy. I have a daughter at home—"
"A dragoon is a protoss." The man chuckled and pulled out the embedded arrowhead. "Hans Eliburn. That's my name. Ah, well, that isn't my real name, either."
"A-Are you...!"
"I guess you've figured it out now. Sorry. I just want to say that in advance so I don't go soft."
"N-N—!" The warrior went to shout something, but he never got a chance to finish. He took an arrowhead through the neck before he could.
"It's no different from killing a goblin." The man quickly got up and moved toward the essence floating in the air. A sharp smile hung on his lips.
"Luck is on my side."
[The Essence of the Slime is being absorbed into your soul.]
The man truly considered himself lucky... until he saw the ability he had acquired with his own eyes.