Luring the Prey

The lethargy pressing down on my shoulders felt crushing.

I shook my head from side to side, trying to throw off the fatigue.

This is exactly why I hate skills that send you into a frenzy.

They all have their upsides and downsides.

Skills like Berserk grant an insane stat boost relative to their rank.

But the penalty after the duration ends is equally devastating.

"You said that technique could only be used once every ten days."

The goddess clutched her head with both hands, visibly distressed. I barely managed to swallow the laughter bubbling up my throat.

"Um, Mr. Yu Jinho."

One of the players from behind approached me. Harry, was it? The tension on his face was obvious.

"What?"

"Ah, well… about those monsters just now…"

"They're all mine. Don't even think about touching them."

I frowned. Where did this guy get the nerve to try snatching easy gains?

"No, I meant your skill in wiping them out was incredible."

"......"

At least these people had the basics down.

"If it's all right with you, we were hoping we could just follow along."

What was this? He was nervous about something so trivial. Well, the desire for a free ride made sense. Sticking with me would basically guarantee mission success. They wouldn't build up any contribution if I swept every red goblin myself, but simply clearing the mission with player power alone should still earn them decent rewards.

"Don't lift a single finger."

"Sorry?"

"The red goblins are my share. All of you just breathe and stay out of it."

A free ride? Sure, as long as they didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠touch what was mine.

"Understood!"

Harry turned away with a bright expression, apparently relaying my words to the rest of the team. They shouldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠get in my way when I razed the red goblin settlement.

I placed my hand on one of the goblin corpses. The moment my unique ability, Devour, activated, the remaining essence flowed into me through the point of contact.

Full Sprint. It was the first skill that taught me about synergy effects in my previous life.

Unlike Quick Escape, it had no penalty, and the speed increase had gone up by a full ten percent.

"Not at all. Full Sprint consumes mana."

My magic power had already reached the 130s. A number that would normally require a player who invested every level-up point into magic power to hit level 35. It was all thanks to the effect attached to Dragon's Heart, which granted magic power with every use of Devour. Using skills with my overflowing mana wasn't a burden at all.

"Cloud Flow Steps consumes a lot of internal energy too."

"Plus, Full Sprint can be used at the same time as Cloud Flow Steps."

Full Sprint applied to any running action. Nimble Hind Legs and Cloud Flow Steps used completely different footwork, so they couldn't be deployed together. But Full Sprint didn't interfere with Cloud Flow Steps' footwork at all, allowing both to be active simultaneously.

Nyx let out an impressed hum. There must have been quite a few goblins chasing me earlier; even after grinding them through Devour, ten corpses still remained.

"Of course not."

I pulled the byproduct collection kit out of the Pocket of Desire.

Shuuush!

I manifested the power of Polar Night through Darkness Dominion. Imitating what Nyx had done earlier, I extended several tentacles and used them to grab the knife stored inside the kit.

"This way I can train my control over Polar Night."

Harvesting byproducts from monster corpses required delicate handling. Nyx had split her Polar Night power—equivalent to five—into dozens of strands and moved each one with surgical precision. It was a level of control that completely surpassed my own.

"I'm not as good as you, Goddess. So I'll practice even if I have to borrow the power of tools."

One tentacle gripped the knife and brought it close to the goblin's nape.

Pop.

The instant the blade touched the poison sac, the purple liquid inside spilled onto the ground.

"You should be cheering for my training, Goddess!"

"Hold on. I can do it right this time."

With renewed focus, I manipulated the Polar Night power. I successfully separated the poison sac with the butchering knife. Another tentacle reached out to catch the falling sac…

Smack!

I failed. I must have used too much force; the sac burst the instant I grabbed it.

Nyx remained silent, as if her heart had been shattered.

"I'll get it next time."

Nyx dove into my shadow, only to bounce right back out with the same momentum she had charged with.

This was starting to spark my competitive side.

I narrowed my eyes and moved the Polar Night power once more.

* * *

Seven out of thirteen.

Those were the poison sacs I had successfully retrieved using Polar Night.

"I'm starting to get the hang of it."

I smiled with satisfaction.

"I've grown that much more familiar with handling your power, Goddess."

Nyx whipped her head away. Seeing such a small body act so haughty was honestly adorable.

Harvesting byproducts with Polar Night power. It was going to be quite useful. Grabbing every monster corpse individually took far too much time. Although I had bought the byproduct collection kit, I had originally planned to only touch the corpses of monsters with high market value.

But now?

The number of hands I could use had increased. I could earn money, train my Polar Night power, and kill two birds with one stone.

I made sure not to forget absorbing the old troll's essence either.

The effect of Fighting Spirit was straightforward. It let you endure pain and keep moving even while injured. A useful passive when facing strong opponents.

"We're ready."

The team stood there awkwardly. Harry stepped forward as their representative to report.

"Stay right behind me. Or you'll die."

Whether killed by monsters or by my own hand, I would not tolerate anyone stealing my contribution.

"Y-yes!"

With the group in tow, I descended the mountain I had climbed earlier.

After walking for some time—

"Um, Mr. Yu Jinho. There are goblins ahead."

The player from China spoke carefully.

"I didn't see any. Good eyes."

"It's thanks to my unique ability."

"Everyone take care of your own safety."

With those words, I kicked off the ground.

I ran while conserving internal energy and consuming only mana. The red goblins raised their weapons the instant they saw me. Crossbows longer than two meters. Given their small stature, the weapons were practically ballistas, all aimed straight at me.

"Kiit, fire!"

The arrows attached to the crossbows shot forward at high speed. A chilling sensation grazed my nape. If I couldn't dodge such a straightforward attack, I didn't deserve to call myself a player. The arrowheads were aimed at my heart. Internal energy from my dantian flowed down into my legs.

I changed direction sharply at a diagonal. Normally that would have killed my speed or thrown off my balance, but Cloud Flow Steps let me charge straight into the goblin pack without losing any momentum.

Click. Thud!

Arrows flew one after another, but I dodged them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all. By the time the red goblins had loaded their fourth crossbow—

"What are you doing when your hyung is already here?"

I had already closed the distance. They had missed their chance to shoot.

"Niit, swarm him!"

"Kiit. Intruder. Die."

The red goblins charged with murderous intent.

"Their physical abilities are about the same."

Aside from carrying ballista-like weapons, their individual armaments were similar. Therefore—

"They're no match for me."

Shuuush!

Blades formed from Polar Night power tore through the red goblin pack. Every flash of my sharpened claws sent green blood spraying in all directions. It was a one-sided battle. No, massacre was the more accurate word.

"Kiit! Run!"

"Niit! Monster!"

The goblins who had lost their will to fight turned tail.

The goblins fled as if their feet were on fire.

"Shouldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we catch those goblins?"

"We can't just stand here watching…"

The team members flinched and started to step forward.

"I told you to stay put."

I warned them in a low voice.

"Mr. Yu Jinho, if those goblins escape, the colony will prepare for us."

"That's exactly why I let them go."

"Sorry?"

"It would be annoying to hunt down every last one scattered across the mountain."

It was the same logic I had used when targeting the blue goblin settlement. My goal was to destroy the red goblin colony, but the more red goblins I killed along the way, the higher my contribution would rise. I couldn't afford to let even one get away.

"Ah… ah."

Harry's mouth opened and closed wordlessly. He must have been so moved once he realized my true intentions that he couldn't speak.

"The goddess simply doesn't understand the human heart."

Anyone could see he was clearly moved.

Nyx tilted her head.

"I'll do some training while the goblins gather. That should give them enough time."

"Those are poison sacs. You can't eat them."

Our goddess seemed to be adapting to the ways of the world at an alarming rate. At this pace, it would soon become impossible to trick her. I would have to be careful.

I swallowed a sigh and focused on raising my Polar Night power. Black tentacles surged up from beneath my feet. The tentacle wrapped around the butchering knife approached the goblin corpse.

A moment later—

Nyx's scream echoed loudly across the mountain ridge.