Chapter 72 - a strange emblem
"He's dead..." Gong said with a smug smile. But that smile slowly stiffened as the Nuturer suddenly shrieked in pain.
The creature twisted violently, trying to flee with just four of its legs remaining—four had already been ripped off. But before it could escape, Malik's fist slammed down on its back.
BOOM!
The Nuturer screamed one last time before its body burst into particles, vanishing into glowing fragments that left loot behind.
---
[You've slain Nuturer]
[+300,000 SQP]
---
'Three hundred thousand. I still need over a million to hit Level 38.'
[1,900,000 / 3,000,000 SQP]
---
"What? He killed a Nuturer with a single punch? Without a weapon?" Gong blinked in disbelief.
"Is he dead?" Pillow called out from where he was holding off the other Nuturer.
Malik's gaze sharpened. He turned toward the two swordsmen standing just three meters away. They'd all heard Pillow's shout.
"You've misunderstood something, Black Silver," Metal said calmly, raising a brow.
"Is that so? Then clarify it for me." Malik's tone was flat, cold.
"That monster... slipped past us. We didn't have the chance to finish it off. Pillow was just confirming if it had been handled."
"Oh? I see." Malik gave a faint nod. "Then I'll go pick up my drops."
He turned and walked toward the loot. That's when Pillow suddenly retreated explosively—his Nuturer, down to half HP, lunged forward with a sharp screech and fired poison from its glands.
The air turned green and corrosive.
The monster shot forward, stabbing out with a spiked leg.
---
<
<
<
---
Within seconds, Malik's HP dropped fast—nearly half his health gone in less than a minute.
'Shit. I can't see a thing,' he cursed, closing his eyes and activating his enhanced senses.
He relied on his ears instead—then he caught it. The piercing shriek from the Nuturer's left side. He ducked and twisted, barely evading the strike before retaliating with a brutal punch.
WHAM!
The monster flew backwards, its HP plummeting to 10%. But before it could escape, Gong dashed forward and cleanly beheaded it.
Malik stepped out of the green mist, eyes glinting as he turned to Gong.
"What's the meaning of that, Brother Gong? I thought you wanted to help me level up?"
"Help you level up?" Gong laughed. "Do we look like we have that much free time? Thanks to you, we easily killed two special elite monsters and earned their loot. Now, it's time for you to drop what you picked up."
He stretched out a hand, still smiling.
"What if I don't?"
"It doesn't matter. The result will be the same either way," Gong said with a grin.
Just then, Pillow suddenly appeared behind Malik—short sword stabbing toward his back.
He was an Assassin. He'd stayed in stealth this whole time, waiting for Malik to drop his guard.
Clang!
But the sword didn't pierce through.
"This is a silver-ranked sword!" Pillow's eyes widened in horror.
He tried to retreat—but it was already too late.
Malik vanished from view, and in the next instant, he was behind the Assassin.
CRACK!
The sickening sound of bones breaking echoed in the air as Malik twisted Pillow's neck in an unnatural angle. His HP dropped to zero instantly.
Pillow collapsed to the ground, his loot falling beside his lifeless body.
"Is that even possible?" Metal gasped, eyes wide.
"Of course," Malik replied coldly. "He's an Assassin. They rely on speed and sneak attacks. His defense was paper-thin."
Malik bent down and picked up Pillow's loot without pause.
"Tch. We underestimated him, Brother," Gong spat. "Let's take him together. He's only got 60% HP left. He won't survive our full clash."
Metal nodded—and both swordsmen charged in.
But Malik didn't move.
He just walked forward… and passed them.
They blinked in confusion—Malik was no longer in front of them.
He was behind them.
Their vision swam.
Their HP bars had emptied without warning.
They collapsed, dead, never even realizing how they died.
Their bodies vanished. Their loot dropped.
Malik sighed and walked toward the loot. His silver cloak fluttered gently behind him.
"This cloak really is a double-edged sword..." he muttered. "If not for it, they wouldn't have thought I was weak, and none of this would've happened."
The poison from the Nuturer was still active, preventing his health from regenerating—stuck at 60%.
He opened his inventory and began checking the loot one by one.
First: a silver-rank short sword and a pair of silver-rank boots from Pillow.
"I don't need them. I'll just sell them for coins," he muttered, then turned to the next item—a small bottle.
---
[Nuturer's Potion] [Consumable]
Description: A potion refined from the poisonous glands of the Nuturer.
Effect: Permanently increases poison resistance by 20 points.
---
"20 points of poison resistance... That's insane."
Malik didn't hesitate. He uncorked the bottle and drank it all.
"Hot..." he muttered, licking his lips. Then he pulled out the next item.
---
[Enhancement Orb] [Consumable]
Synopsis: An orb that caused the deaths of many players. Last held by Metal.
Effect: Increases the rank of an item by 1. 30% chance of increasing by 2. 5% chance of increasing by 3.
---
"So this dropped from that swordsman? Good catch."
He turned to the final item—a strange emblem with a red rune.
---
System Prompt:
You've received a quest: [Finding the Bandits of Blackroot City].
Difficulty: B-Rank
Do you want to accept this quest?
---
'Blackroot City... Isn't that where Angel Michael and his group are?'
"Yes," Malik said without hesitation.
---
System Prompt:
Quest accepted: [Finding the Bandits].
You will be teleported to Blackroot City in 3 minutes.