Reptile Hunter
Nico charged for the Stalagmite Salamander, his body moving swiftly and his hands on the handle.
The salamander clasped open its mouth as it jumped towards Nico, who rolled on the ground and evaded the attack.
Then, he quickly stood up and leapt towards the monster, slashing its leg before backing away.
「Stalagmite Salamander: Lvl.7
HP: 147 / 150」
The blade bounced off like a plastic toy, barely beading any blood. 'Useless.'
The salamander also did not react to being cut.
The wound was shallow and only a few drops of blood fell to the ground.
The monster cawed and ran towards Nico, slashing its claws while Nico blocked the attacks with his sword.
He backed away and burst towards the beast, his feet scraping the ground before swinging his sword in a wide arc, slashing the salamander across its chin and creating some distance.
The salamander groaned and skidded a few feet away.
「Stalagmite Salamander: Lvl.7
HP: 144/ 150」
Nico continued with this pattern over and over again until the salamander was covered in low cuts.
It growled lowly and suddenly gained immense speed, spooking Nico who had little time to react.
He raised his sword to block, but it was already too late.
The monster slashed him across the chest, opening a shallow wound with its powerful claws.
Nico gritted his teeth and slid backwards.
「HP: 100 / 110」
'10 more of those, and I'm cooked... Fortunately, I've already done what I needed to do to win,' he said as he focused on his target.
The salamander was covered in 15 shallow cuts all over its body and was taking in deep breaths.
With that in mind, Nico could commence with his plan.
Suddenly, his speed was boosted, almost as if he had been holding back all this time.
In a way, he was.
'I would've liked to end this without getting hurt, but I guess you can't always get what you want.'
Nico closed the gap between him and the Stalagmite Salamander.
He slashed the monster on one of the wounds he created, drawing a massive amount of blood.
「Critical Hit Landed!」
「Stalagmite Salamander: Lvl.7
HP: 92 / 150」
The salamander shrieked and bled from its arm, swinging its tail at random to hit the player, but Nico wasn't done.
He dodged and weaved while landing more and more critical attacks.
This was his plan at the works.
By opening smaller wounds, Nico not only tricked the salamander into thinking he was weak but created multiple openings to land critical hits.
This was a mechanic in the game that even worked on players and bigger bipedal enemies.
However, Nico had never seen it on the game's forums or platforms, meaning he was one of the few who knew of this exploit.
After one decisive blow to the neck, Nico decapitated the salamander, causing its blood to spray from its neck and its body to fall still afterwards.
He whipped his sword and swatted away the blood before putting it back into the sheath.
「QUEST COMPLETED:
– Head North and kill the Stalagmite Salamander, bringing peace to Pyrros once more
◆Reward: æ10,000 coins」
「Aestrol Coins: æ7,000 coins」
'Looks like the game automatically transfers the guild's share. That's a relief.'
「BONUS QUEST!
– Defeat the Congress of Stalagmite Salamanders for bonus rewards!
◆Reward: ???
◆Penalty: ???」
Before Nico could even think, more Stalagmite Salamanders began pouring out of hiding, each one growling at Nico.
'Seriously? Taking on one was challenging on its own...' he complained as he tried not to panic.
Nico drew his sword and gripped it tightly while calculating the odds of surviving this fight.
'I was able to keep my distance and land decent hits against the first one. These guys shouldn't be any different.'
There were 5 salamanders in total. With that number, Nico wouldn't have a problem dealing with them.
His sword clicked and sparked on the ground as he walked towards the salamanders, who snarled and ran towards him.
***
「BONUS QUEST COMPLETED!
– Defeat the Congress of Stalagmite Salamanders for bonus rewards!
◆Reward:
1. æ25,000
2. Active Skill: Abyssal Rend Lvl.1
3. Health Rejuvenation」
「Level Up! +3 stat increase points」
「Level Up! 3 stat increase points」
「HP: 130 / 130」
「Aestrol Coins: æ32,000」
Nico's eyes widened and his heart beat faster.
'My first skill!'
「Abyssal Rend – Opens a small tear in space, disrupting movement and projectiles. Uses 10 mana per single use」
'A warping ability? That's overpowered. But, 10 mana points can become taxing. At my current level and strength, that means I can use it at least 20 times before it's fully exhausted.'
'I've also managed to go from level 5 to level 7 while earning a few extra stat increase points! Looks like monster hunting is the best way to get stronger.'
Nico glanced at the corpses of the Stalagmite Salamanders and nodded.
'If I skin them, I can portion their meat, sell it and the hide for some good extra cash.'
Nico approached the corpses but stopped and clenched his sword tightly. Then, he sighed and turned around.
His eyes narrowed. "You don't seriously think you're hidden, are you? Show yourselves."
A few seconds after, 7 players appeared from a dark crevice of a building with crooked smiles on their faces.
Each one looked shady with a few having their mouths covered in masks.
In addition to that, they all had their weapons out, almost as if they wanted to intimidate Nico.
Unfortunately for them, it didn't work.
"I really thought you couldn't see us," one of the players spoke as he gently tapped his bat against his leg.
"Thanks to a few guys who were generous enough to teach me about how this world works, I've learnt that I need to sharpen my senses," Nico retorted.
'The more synched I am with Vortex, the easier it's becoming to sense potential threats. Actually, scratch that. It's becoming easier to sense my enemies.'
"I see," the player continued. "We couldn't help but notice that you managed to kill those Stalagmite Salamanders over there."
"Honestly, my men and I are a little broke, so would you do us the honour of lending us a couple thousand coins?"
Nico lifted an eyebrow. "And, if I refuse?"
The player smiled sinisterly. "Then we won't hesitate to take them from you."
Nico sighed and cracked his neck. 'From what I've experienced in the first few hours, veteran players can't kill new players on their first day.'
'It explains why those thugs earlier didn't kill me. So, these guys are planning the same thing.'
"No," Nico retorted.
The players chuckled. "I was hoping you'd say that. Get him!"
The 6 other players ran towards Nico, who sheathed his sword and took a fighting stance.
Then, he took a deep breath and listened to his beating heart.
With each pump, his mana coursed through his veins, moving blood from one vessel to the other, until it reached his palm.
His mana circulated his right hand and turned red.
Right before he could be smacked in the head with a bat, he grabbed the weapon and sent the player flying without moving.
「Abyssal Rend Applied」
「-10 Mana」
The player fell on his back and groaned on impact, even cracking the ground.
The other players stopped and stared at their comrade, who lied there frozen before he took in a deep breath and coughed.
"What was that?!"
"I don't know!"
"That can't be..."
Nico looked at his glowing palm. 'I didn't think it would be that effective, even at level 1...'
"Hey, I thought you said this was a new player..." the lead player said.
"H-He is... The only way for him to be able to have an ability this soon... You...! You've killed someone, haven't you?!"
The players were surprised and feigned shock as they stared at Nico.
"7 people," Nico responded. "In only the first few hours, I've managed to kill 7 people."
"S-Seven?! That's impossible!"
"Not entirely," the leader spoke up as he swung his sword. "He must've spawned in the South side, and his luck must be high."
"What do we do...?" one of them stuttered.
"We fight."
Nico sighed. "Tell me, would beating you be enough reason to leave me alone?"
"You're gonna have to kill us if you want that, little lady."
'I would've preferred leaving with my haul, but Fate loathes me.'
Nico nodded and unsheathed his longsword, placing both his hands on the handle as he narrowed his eyes.
"Your funeral."