Crunch! Crunch! - Chapter 43

Crunch! Crunch!

The leather ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunter armors didn't take long to shatter. Since Vulcan had set his mind to smashing them with the repair hammer, the durability plummeted sharply. The guy had gone berserk, unleashing attacks, but Vulcan didn't budge an inch. They were putting everything they had into their strikes, but the overwhelming gap in item power was insurmountable. Most attacks couldn't even scratch Vulcan, and the few that did were washed away by a few gulps from his health-restoring ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠potions.

"Stop! Stop!! Please…."

By now, the hunter was on the verge of tears. If he'd been a PK criminal, he might've worn disposable gear expecting death, but as an indirect PKer, he'd been strutting around in his best stuff. And now several pieces were already broken. On top of that, his main weapon—the bow—and his secondary dagger were destroyed, guaranteeing massive gold loss. Vulcan felt a twinge of regret at the slim chance of a main gear drop, but he opted to crush their will to resist completely. Better than dealing with their endless annoyances.

"Two items. Still not handing them over?"

"That's…."

"Then drop dead."

Stab!!

To the guy stripped utterly bare, Vulcan ruthlessly demanded two top-tier items again. With all his equipped ones already smashed, it meant coughing up whatever was in his inventory. When the bastard still hesitated, Vulcan showed no mercy. He whipped out the berserker's longsword and plunged it into his throat.

Since the guy was already in criminal status from resisting, Vulcan had no PK worries. This was pure self-defense. But for the criminal, it meant dropping at least two items for sure, just like a PK kill.

"Huh?"

Several bright lights signaling loot floated over the corpse, along with the number 3. Touch any three, and they'd go straight to inventory. Vulcan had seen this scene countless times before, but now his eyes gleamed with interest.

"Told you to hand 'em over when I asked nicely."

But he didn't grab them right away. The body would stick around for a bit, and only he could loot it—no need to rush. He turned to the others and charged.

"N-no, stay back!"

Maybe seeing their buddy get wrecked? Or their half-hearted rescue attempts failing? They flinched, but it was far too late. If they'd ditched him, they might've escaped, but these scum stuck to their fake loyalty and would pay the price together.

"Run!!"

"Ah, Ice Wall!"

Desperate flight and interference attempts followed. Since Vulcan hadn't invested in agility stats, they probably hoped one might slip away at full speed.

"Agility Enhancement."

But Vulcan had the perfect counter. The skill from Roona's Signet Ring. His agility stat tripled instantly, boosting movement speed massively.

"What?!"

Predict their moves and cast? Just exceed the prediction. The belated ice wall bloomed behind Vulcan, already melting fast from the flame zone effect. Plus, these guys weren't speedy either—one a plate knight, the other a squishy mage.

"Wanna steam a bit? Pack down. Pack down. Pack down."

He targeted the mage first. Closing in instantly, Vulcan dumped a pile of dirt from inventory onto him—or more like crushed him under it. Activating Pack Down skill, the mage staggered. His puny strength couldn't handle the weight. He flopped face-down, body buried like a sand steam at the beach, only his head free. Incapacitated.

Next, the plate knight.

"Nice armor. Wonder how tough? Let's check."

Clang!!

Even after securing the mage, the knight hadn't gotten far. He'd used Charge to flee, but tank classes dump into strength and stamina, skimping on agility—short distance.

"Gah!"

Vulcan caught up, hammer smashing his back, sending him rolling.

"Round two?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Vulcan mounted him without missing a beat. With Blessing of Strength active, the struggles felt like a kid's tantrum. Pinned helpless, he ate hammer blows to the face.

"W-wait!!"

Powerlessness? Fear of losing all gear like his friends? One hit shaved his armor's durability, snapping him awake. He desperately called timeout.

"I'll give! Stop!!"

"Oh? Should've said that sooner."

Now we're talking. Vulcan's eyes sparkled as he pulled the hammer.

Best case, level 100 Uncommon gear—but free is free.

"Hand 'em over."

"Ugh, help me up at least…."

"Nah, why bother? Best tank gear's shield and sword. Just transfer ownership from there."

"But…."

Vulcan wasn't letting him up. He could handle tricks, but no need to play nice.

"F-fine."

The knight went limp, dropping shield and sword from under the dirt, transferring ownership.

"Freeze. Sleight of hand?"

"…Huh?"

Vulcan caught it. The dropped gear wasn't his equipped stuff. Classic weapon swap trick. Pros do it lightning-fast, hard to spot visually—but Dragon Eye or not, veteran playtime spots it. Armor needs manual equip/unequip; main/offhand weapons swap from inventory with a faint friction sound on detach.

"Weapon swaps make a different sound, asshole!"

Clang!!!

Trick confirmed—time for payback. Vulcan swung without mercy; the knight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠howled.

"Again! I'll give real ones!!"

"Don't need 'em!"

Too late—trust broken. Dragon Eye had already scanned all his gear; no need for his hands. Vulcan smashed every equipped item and finished him off. Kicked the ownership-free ones aside to prevent grabs. Still criminal, so two more loot slots. Gray corpse down.

"You won't hand over yours either, right?"

"Just kill me, you monster!!"

Last, the pinned mage. Criminal lasts 5 minutes, resets on attacks received. Vulcan timed it perfectly, tossing rocks periodically to refresh, keeping him criminal till the end. Smashed all gear first, of course.

"Now, shopping time? Heh heh heh!!!"

With the three indirect PK scum done, Vulcan grinned wickedly at the white lights over the corpses.

"Didn't expect to see this much detail."

All lights looked identical, pure RNG like dungeon chests. But Vulcan's eyes pierced it—each light's item, grade, clear as day. RNG turned to choice.

From the first hunter, he snagged these. Three loots total, but equipped gear smashed—only these were usable. The third was sellable fodder. All hunter-only, meaningless to Vulcan, but he pocketed them for later sale.

Next two were decent: level 100 restricted sword and shield, optimized for shield-tanking knights. But not for Vulcan. No flame resist, tuned for physical defense thanks to ice mage support. Vulcan's level 200+ gear outclassed them anyway—sales fodder.

"Dumbest one had the best stuff."

No matter. Highlight was from the ice mage.

It was the mage's staff. Smart guy inventory-swapped it before destruction, but loot claimed it for Vulcan.

"Hidden option?"

Blizzard Staff was solid Rare: average magic atk, but great for ice casters. Vulcan eyed the hidden: Ice Orb? Destroy Rare for Unique?

—Could happen. Shoddy crafting fails material value. Here, barely processed to preserve essence, just hung on.

Tud replied matter-of-factly to Vulcan's shock. Vulcan knew shoddy work, but reclaiming perfect materials on destroy? Unheard of. Usually, scraps with faint power.

"Can't pass this up."

Weird, but possible—go time. Vulcan raised hammer, triggered Repair skill on Blizzard Staff. Smashed to bits, cleared junk, grabbed Ice Orb.

"…Why the hell is this here?"

Checking its info, disbelief lit his eyes. A quest key many players—including Vulcan—had chased for ages was right here.