Monsters in this part of the forest were quite scarce. This group of players had been looking for one for quite some time, so upon coming across the lone slime, even though it was weak and only level 1, the experience points were still something.
Slimy's small body trembled as it sensed the hostile intent from the approaching group. It quickly bounced in front of Zich's motionless form, blocking the path like a tiny, determined shield. A low, gurgling hiss escaped from its translucent body as poison began to drip from its mouth.
"What the— it's protecting the corpse?" one of the players laughed nervously. "This slime's got guts. Kill it quick before more monsters show up."
The first attacker swung a crude iron sword downward. Slimy dodged with surprising agility, its bouncy form flattening for a split second before springing sideways. It spat a glob of thick green poison directly into the man's face. He screamed as the venom burned his eyes and slowed his movements, staggering backward.
"Damn thing! Surround it!" another player shouted.
Two more rushed in from the sides. Slimy leaped high, landing on one attacker's shoulder and releasing a burst of corrosive slime onto his armor. The metal sizzled. The player panicked and tried to slap it off, but Slimy was already airborne again, spitting smaller darts of poison at the third attacker's legs.
The coordination was messy but fierce. Slimy wasn't strong, but it was very sleek and fast.
To the inexperienced players, it felt no different from trying to fight a fish underwater.
Inside the graveyard, Zich's eyes snapped open. The place was dark and windy as always. The rain was also present, pelting down slowly but drenching his clothes.
Zich closed his eyes and inhaled the air as if savoring the taste of this place.
Although it had not been long since he had been here, he had begun looking forward to coming to this place.
"Maybe when I'm safer, I can simply enter here and come take a nice sleep," he muttered, walking toward a section of the graveyard that had ten new tombs.
He had killed a total of four demonic toads and six wild dogs.
Looking at the ten tombs, Zich was torn between creating another pet or absorbing the stats.
Adding another pet to Slimy would boost his overall team power and make hunting monsters more efficient.
However…
Zich's eyes flickered as he thought back to what had happened while he was facing the demonic toads.
His mana had run out because his intelligence was pitifully low, and he had lost his summon mid battle.
Furthermore, he had also failed to sense the demonic toad that had snuck behind him. If not for the timely intervention of Helen and Jayden, he might have found himself in the cycle of reincarnation once again.
"For now, the best approach is to absorb the stats and strengthen myself," he thought, a determined light flashing across his eyes.
Without hesitation, he selected the option to absorb.
This time around, the tombs did not disappear into the ground like before. Instead, ten orbs emerged from the tombstones and flew together.
The orbs coalesced midair, emitting a soft purple glow in the darkness and becoming one.
Then it flew straight and entered Zich's chest.
[Ding. You have gained +2 Strength, +1 Stamina, +3 Intelligence, +1 Agility.]
A small smile touched Zich's lips when he saw the translucent screen. In total, he had gotten about seven stat points, which was more than what a level up could have given him.
He did not really know how the stat absorption worked, but he believed that the stats would scale according to the strength of the monsters he killed.
For now, he did not feel any spike in power, which he attributed to the fact that he was in his conscious state.
"I guess it's time to return."
Wishing to exit the graveyard, Zich found himself in the real world once again.
Only that the scene unfolding before him was something he had not expected.
His eyes flew open on the outside. He sat up smoothly, as if he had simply been resting rather than completely vulnerable moments ago. The players froze mid attack when they saw the "corpse" suddenly move.
Slimy let out a happy, relieved gurgle and immediately bounced back to Zich's side, pressing against his leg.
"You… you were alive?" the leader of the group stammered, sword still raised.
Zich brushed dust off his clothes and stood up slowly, a cold gleam in his eyes. "I am, as you can see."
The players exchanged uneasy glances. The one with poison in his eyes was still groaning on the ground, half blind.
"He's just one guy and a weak slime," the leader growled, trying to regain control. "We can take him. He probably has good loot if he's been hunting alone."
Zich sighed softly. He knew this type. Opportunistic scavengers who preyed on the weak, or the seemingly weak. He raised his hand, and Slimy immediately began charging another poison attack, its body glowing faintly.
"Last warning," Zich said calmly. "Leave."
The group laughed. "Or what?"
Zich did not answer with words. He stepped forward, drawing the rusted sword from his side. In the next breath, he and Slimy moved together. Slimy spat a wide arc of slowing poison while Zich dashed in low, slashing the nearest player's thigh with precise, emotionless efficiency. The man collapsed, clutching his leg.
The fight lasted less than a minute. Slimy's poison had already dealt great damage, and Zich, using his superior stats, exploited every opening.
When it was over, two players lay dead, and the remaining three fled in terror, shouting curses as they disappeared into the rocky terrain.
Zich wiped the blood from the corpse. There was no emotion or remorse in his eyes. It was as if this was not the first time he was killing. And as for the reason he felt this way, it was already obvious enough.
Two orbs flew from the corpses and entered his body.
Zich then glanced down at Slimy, who was bouncing proudly despite looking a little worn out.
"Good work," he said, patting the slime's head gently. Slimy vibrated happily at the praise.
He quickly looted the corpses, but there was not anything that useful on them, except for low grade stamina potions which were dropped by monsters.
To his dismay, there was no skill.
"Come on," he told Slimy. "We still have more hunting to do before we return to the shelter."
Slimy bounced eagerly beside him as they moved deeper into the dangerous wilderness of Ascension Mountain.
"I knew it. That blank dead gaze, he is different from all the newbies."
Several seconds after Zich left, a voice spoke in the clearing, but no one was seen.
…
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