Finally, the elder’s nefarious gaze fell upowo remaining humans who had yet to learn their fate. As the creature advanced, Mana instinctively stepped in front of the terrified Amara, shielding her from harm. With a quick assessment of their surroundings, she searched for an escape route, but the goblins had them trapped within a tight circle, leaving no avenue for retreat.
The elder studied the healer from a distance. While she possessed a healthier body due to the blessings of her goddesses, the holy magic permeating from her acted as a deterrent to the goblin’s ambitions.
“You, human,” the creature called out to the bandit leader who was just about done receiving treatment from one of his men. “I’ve ged my mind; you may have this one female.”
Mana’s eyes widened in arm, and Amara’s krembled with fear. In a reckless act of desperation, the archer wrested a bde from the stubby arms of a goblin and lu the bearded bastard, ready to defend herself and her panion. But when a mysterious glow fshed from the eye sockets of a skull atop the elder’s staff, Mana abruptly froze iracks, the bde falling just inches short of the monster’s throat.
“M-Mana!” Amara cried out as the girl began trailing behind the retreating elder like an obedient dog. “What’s wrong? What’re you doing? Mana!”
As her friend vanished into the distance, spirited away by the heartless fiend, Amara’s knees buckled and she crumpled to the ground. With an outstretched arm that would never reach, she watched in despair. Meanwhile, not far behind, the bandits crept closer, their amused ughter eg like a pack of cag hyenas as they closed in to cim their prize.
As the i healer was hauled away by the lustful men, Lilith id motionless on the ground, tears streaming from her vat eyes, snot and drool mingling as her body vulsed uhe relentless assault of the goblins.
Desperate screams, g fingers, cracked nails. Price cried out in agony as another powerful thrust sent his body jerking forward. But he couldn’t escape the ironcd grip that imprisoned his hips, administering a fate far worse thah.
***
SWISHH!
Time slowed to a crawl as a bde traced a white semicircle through the air. It narrowly missed the bridge of Daisuke’s nose as he bent low to the ground. Time resumed its normal pace, and with it, a swift movement—the tail of the kobold desded like a whip.
WHOOPISHH!
The thick apperuck the ground where Daisuke’s head had been just milliseds ago. The kobold, a bipedal creature with both reptilian and lupiures, tilted its head, using its keen sense of smell and sight to track its prey as Daisuke retreated into the opy of trees using a golden .
“Magic Missile.”
A perfectly aimed projectile targeted the creature’s eye, but it raised a small shield to defend itself. When the beast lowered its arm, Daisuke had vanished from the limb where he had been just a moment ago.
GG!
The kobold flinched as the accursed ed around its neck, dragging it towards the trunk of a tree. It despised the feeling of bondage, but at least now it khe location of its prey.
As the predator readied its sword for a decisive strike, it soon realized that its quarry wasn’t hiding behind the tree as it had assumed. The s had been wound around two other trees to create that illusion. Iy, the human was directly—
STABB!
The Lipanthyer’s Fang struck true, sinking deep into the creature’s back, pierg flesh and boh a satisfying thud. The moaggered, its movements faltering as agony coursed through its body. It colpsed in a tangle of limbs upon the forest floor.
But as the echoes of its demise faded, the ominous presence of its brethren emerged from the shadows, their predatory instincts keen and their thirst for vengeance palpable.
“That’s right,” Daisuke mused as he threw himself into the fray. “e at me, you fusing bastards! Are kobolds lizards s—which is it?!”
From Osten and the others during the guild expeditions, I’ve learhat when pyers kill monsters, they dematerialize almost instantly, and their drops are automatically added to the pyer’s iory. Normally, pyers ’t i with monster corpses unless a quest specifically requires it.
However, in my case, I not only receive the drops in my iory but I also salvage the corpse, which sticks around for a longer period of time after being killed. This allows me to collect double the rewards pared to an average pyer. I suppose it’s one of the perks of being part NPC.
DING!
[Your iory has reached its maximum capacity for st monster corpses.]
Sitting atop a heap of lifeless kobold bodies, Daisuke rubbed his in ption as he stared down at the notification window. It was essentially a sp in the face for being too greedy.
That settles it, he thought with a hint of disappoi. Regardless of the species, I only store twenty-five corpses at a time. My experiment will be to attempt adding a live mob to my iory. The fact that I store anything beyond mere materials is pretty surprising. Is this another byproduct of Jupiter?
RAWRR!
Using his powerful jaws, Zephyr strenuously dragged the limp body of a Kobold Sprite towards Daisuke. The creature, almost twice as rge as the e, was the juveage of a Kobold. It bore the traits of a quadrupedal wolf.
Whehe sprite became lodged between rocks or tangled in tufts of grass, Zephyr would cmp down on it fiercely and vigorously shake his head in a dispy of anger and frustration.
“It’s okay, buddy,” Daisuke called out. “I ’t fit anymore in my iory, but I appreciate the hard work.”
“Arf!”
As the pup asded the mound of lifeless bodies to join him, Daisuke’s gaze shifted from its bloodied fur to the lifeless bodies of the sprites strewn across the forest floor.
In a csh of fangs and cws, especially against a rger foe, it’s no surprise he didn’t e out unscathed, Daisuke admitted with a hint of guilt.
With a mental and, he summoned a handful of Vitaberries in his hand ahem to the up. “I forbade you from using Emberstorm because I’m worried about setting the forest abze, but it seems you’re having a tough time as a result. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather sit this o? Sure you wouldn’t gain as much EXP, but at least you wouldn’t risk getting hurt either.”
“Grrr,” the e gave a low growl, a clear sign of refusal.
Daisuke raised his hands in surrender. “Well, alright… but the dirtier you get, the longer you’ll o spend ih ter.”
Zephyr’s eyes widened, and his ears and tail drooped in response.
Daisuke chuckled. “You’re such a weirdo! Where I’m from, dogs love water—yet here you are, ag like a cat. Weren’t dogs supposed to be direct desdants of wolves?”
“Ahrrr~” the pup emitted a displeased murmur, and Daisuke pyfully tousled his fur.
It would be great if Zephyr could learn a projectile-type skill with pinpoint accurad perfect trol. “Now that I think about it,” Daisuke pondered, capturing the pup’s attention, “is it possible for you to learn new abilities from a skill book?”
“Rawrwu,” Zephyr respoilting his small head in fusion.
“I o remember to test that theory. But while we’re on the subject of acquiring new skills,” Daisuke muttered, casting a g the Volturax’s materials, “I o bee stronger myself. It’s hard tet how much I struggled, both ihe dungeon and against those golems.”
[Volturax Fang]
[The sharp e teeth extracted from the Volturax. Handling them requires utmost care due to their lethal sharpness. Suitable for f into equipment or trading with merts.]
[Volturax Tail]
[The tail harvested from the Volturax. Its weight is primarily trated in the mace-like tip. While robust, its flexibility renders it a potent on for the monster. Ideal for crafting specialized equipment or trade with merts.]
Once I’m ba Wonderelle, it’s crucial that I find a skilled bcksmith who fe these materials into powerful ons, Daisuke strategized, his thoughts rag ahead. I’ll need new equipment too. Pretty sure everything will cost an arm and a leg, but that’s precisely why I’m farming materials as I make my way back to town.
Even as Daisuke anized his thoughts, his fingers instinctively moved across the interface, leading him to the skill window. There, his gaze lingered on two specific abilities. While he didn’t dwell too long on the ohat was bugged, his mind gravitated toward the other, pting its potential significe.
[Alchemy]
[Rank: Unique
Cssification: Active Skill
Lvl: 1
Proficy: 0%
An a and are fusioween sd magic, carefully hoo perfe over time by the greatest chemists. turies ago, following its pletion, the art was sealed away out of fear that its power would fall into the wrong hands.
Skill Effect:
?? By using mana as a catalyst to tap into the Aether Field, Alchemy allows the user to endlessly harhe secrets of nature to transmute, bine, and manipute matter.
Mana Cost: N/A
Skill Cooldown: N/A]
Daisuke sighed.
