’Goddamnit! This little shit ate everything again!’
Dan was in a foul mood.
For the past few days, he had been trying to raise his level beyond his previous peak. Naturally, the higher his level, the stronger he became, and the stronger he became, the safer and more reassured he became.
Creating plans for dangerous situations was useless if you lacked the strength necessary to put those plans into action. So, he had decided to hunt down a few wandering critters here and there until he accidentally stumbled upon a particularly big catch.
Molten Behemoth, Level 20.
Not only did this creature possess the size advantage, and frightening physical capabilities, but it also possessed an even more frightening [Breath] attack that could incinerate its target in a flash. He had witnessed it firsthand when the creature opened its enormous maw and unleashed a deadly torrent of light that reduced a rival mob to ashes.
It was also surprisingly difficult to get through its defenses, so he had to experiment a little. He concentrated the destructive power of his Black Flames into long-range attacks, then used the formless shape of [Soulless] to deliver devastating strikes.
Combined together, they became a deadly combination. And, after several long excruciatingly hours, Dan finally managed to bring it down.
He willed the Interface to appear and looked over his gains, though his expression was anything but pleasant.
[Name: Darian Lee]
[Race: Human]
[Class: ■■■■■■■■]
[Level: 9]
[Experience: 554 / 900]
✦ Personal Attributes ✦
[Strength: 23]
[Dexterity: 28]
[Constitution: 25]
[Perception: 20]
[Spirit: 66]
[Allocatable Stats: 8]
Mystery: [Darkness]
Relics: [Soulless]
"Fuck..."
His Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Perception had all entered the twenties, while his Spirit had climbed all the way to sixty-six. At this rate, reaching a hundred was merely a matter of time.
Furthermore, he had reached Level 9.
But there was only one problem. He had just killed a Level 20 Monster, and he had only reached Level 9.
Why was that, you might ask?
Because the gluttonous bastard known as Soulless had eaten all the precious EXP, that’s why!
This was due to one of the Relic’s rune called [Ravenous]!
With [Ravenous], Soulless could absorb the spirit essence of anything its greedy maws devoured, converting the energy contained within its prey into nourishment.
On the bright side, Dan wasn’t completely left out of the benefits.
Because of another rune, [Soul Bond], the connection between him and Soulless allowed him to benefit from its growth as well. The more opponents Soulless consumed, the stronger it became.
And the stronger it became, the stronger Dan became in return. In fact, that was the primary reason his attributes had improved quite explosively.
It also gave him a much deeper understanding of his own Soul; its shape, its nine dimensions, and how to manipulate the energy flowing within it. This newfound understanding allowed him to control his Spirit far much better than he did previously, drastically reducing the amount consumed his skill [«Darkness»]
Dan wondered if he should really complain when he looked at everything from all angles. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel bitter about being cheated out of what he considered his rightful advancement.
’Huh?’
It was then that he finally noticed the group that had gathered at the base of the massive carcass he was sitting on.
Most of them were staring at the corpse in astonishment, while a few were cautiously surveying the surrounding area as though searching for whatever had been responsible for its death.
’Who are these guys?’
He hadn’t noticed them approaching at all.
Then again, considering how focused he had been on checking his Interface, it wasn’t particularly surprising.
From the looks of things, they were Hunters. Their equipment varied from person to person, but all of them carried weapons and wore gear designed for combat. They were eyeing the Behemoth as though they had just discovered something completely unexpected.
’Don’t tell me...’
Could they have been the ones who were supposed to hunt this thing?
If so, their timing couldn’t have been more terrible.
Dan suddenly felt a little guilty. Not guilty enough to give the corpse back, of course.
A dead monster was still a dead monster.
How was he supposed to give back something he had already killed?
He studied them for a moment, as though deciding what to do. When he noticed that two people from the group of six had finally spotted him, Dan uttered:
"...Who are you lots?"
† † †
Moments later,
"So, you were hunting this fellow here. Is that it?"
"A-ah. Y-yes. Our original plan was to hunt it down. Still, if you were preparing to hunt this fellow, you should have left a notice with the Syndicate to avoid misunderstandings."
"Syndicate?"
"Haven’t you heard of it? Well, in any case, since you’ve already hunted it, there’s nothing we can do."
"It’s fine."
"Huh? Excuse me?"
"You want the Core inside this beast, right? I’m saying you can have it. I don’t need it."
"Really?! Ahem... I mean, are you sure?"
"You don’t want it? Well, in that case—"
"No! I mean... of course we want it."
"Then take it."
Gundric stared at the mysterious man infront of him for a moment, seemingly trying to determine whether there was some hidden motive behind his words.
After all, a Level 20 Behemoth wasn’t some ordinary monster. Its Soul Core alone was worth an enormous amount. Yet this fellow was casually giving it away. Even a baby wouldn’t want to let go of its candy.
Was he a fool?
Or did he simply didn’t care?
"You’re really not interested in the Core?"
"Not particularly."
Soulless had already devoured most of the Behemoth’s Spirit Essence. Whatever remained inside the corpse wasn’t particularly useful to Dan. Besides, he had already gained more than enough from the fight.
"Then... we’ll accept your generosity!"
Grinning from ear to ear, Gundric, who had just finished explaining a few things to the clueless wanderer, hurriedly ran off and began shouting orders toward his men.
’What an energetic fellow.’
Too bad he had no idea that he had just been scammed!
’...Am I really scamming him, though? Well, I’ve already told him he’s free to take it, so let’s stick to that.’
Dan looked around the clearing, but there didn’t seem to be anything else for him to do.
Everyone was either busy inspecting the Behemoth’s enormous corpse or discussing how they were going to extract its Soul Core. A few of them had even begun searching the surrounding area, presumably to make sure there weren’t any other dangers lurking nearby.
But Darian Lee wasn’t particularly interested in any of that.
He glanced at the Hunters one last time before turning away from the carcass. However, just as he was about to leave, a familiar voice suddenly entered his ears.
"Wait!"
Stopping, he slowly turned his head and saw Gundric approaching him with an awkward expression.
"What’s up?"
"There’s something I wanted to ask."
"Go ahead."
"You really don’t want anything from the Behemoth?"
"Didn’t I already say that?"
"Yes, but..."
Gundric scratched the back of his head and mumbled,
"Most people would kill to get their hands on something like this."
"Then you should be happy, right?"
"Of course I’m happy."
Gundric smiled.
"Very happy."
There was something suspiciously sincere about that smile.
’This guy really likes money, doesn’t he?’
Still, it wasn’t his problem.
"Then we’re done here."
"Ah, wait!"
’Again?’
"What now?"
"Ah, sorry. We’re heading back to the fortress soon. If you don’t have anywhere to go, you can come with us."
Dan considered the Gundric’s offer.
He had no idea where the nearest city was, and wandering around the wilderness without a destination wasn’t exactly ideal. In fact, he had been wandering around in the first place because he had lost his way.
This was his original goal from the beginning but the guy approached by himself.
"Fine. I’ll go with you."
"Great! We’ll make sure to treat you well!"
Gundric laughed. Perhaps he wanted to show his gratitude for handing over the Soul Core, or maybe he simply wanted to maintain a good relationship with someone capable of killing a Level 20 Behemoth.
In any case, Dan didn’t particularly care about his intentions.
However, during this interaction, he failed to notice the blue-haired [Nether] intensely eyeing him from the side.
’...What’s his deal?’
She wasn’t too pleased with this development.