Chapter 23 - System Exploit
Crunch-!
“Mmmh~!”
Taking a bite out of the glistening purple fruit in his hand, Jae let out a reflexive moan; the fresh, delectable juices seeping out of what resembled a dyed apple performed a glorious cleansing of his mouth, long since stained with the sinful presence of goblin flesh and blood.
“Oh, man... So good...!”
[Mmmmmn, I think monsters are better~]
Gluttony agreed, but ever since it had claimed goblins were tasty, anything it had to say regarding food held no value in Jae's eyes.
“You shut your mouth. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Just outside the goblins’ cave entrance were a few baskets woven from fibres hidden from view with grass, vines and moss; he had discovered them whilst waiting for the fire to do its job, and they seemed to be a storage for fruit. It was the same fruit he had stumbled across a few times in the forest, but never had he seen one so ripe as these, so he wondered if they were freshly harvested.
Munching down the entire thing in a few bites, he wasted no time in reaching into the thatch basket resting in between his thighs, grabbing another fruit, and tossing it into his salivating maw.
--Crunch-!
“Hiieeeh~!"
The taste of the fruit's sweet juices felt unfamiliar upon coming into contact with his tongue and palate; he could almost feel the gums of his teeth stinging due to the refreshing sweetness he hadn't experienced in so long, and it was moving enough to shed a tear for.
"Ahhh~ Damn goblins, you did something good for once...”
As he was relishing what was practically a delicacy compared to his usual diet, all of a sudden, a couple of System notifications appeared.
You have levelled up
Conditions met. You have acquired the Title: 「Goblin Slayer」
“Huh? Oh, there were more? A title... Slayer? I've become him. Haha.”
After a few hours, Jae still couldn’t believe his hopeful plan had worked out. Opening his Status, it was enough to shed a tear; needless to say, they would be tears of joy.
Level 28
All that time, that struggle... It was worth it...
Using the flames generated by Wrath to burn logs and flood the cave with the produced smoke; he wasn’t sure if the plan would actually garner experience points, but lo and behold, the result was right in front of him.
In the blink of an eye, his level had increased by a whopping 12.
“Hehe...”
Granted, it wasn’t as many levels as he had been praying for. Considering the fact he was wiping out an entire habitat of monsters, he thought it might've resulted in a more substantial gain, but it was still a far better outcome than he realistically anticipated.
Honestly... Things are finally starting to look good...
Having suffered for so long, Jae had finally found a way to legally cheat the system and gain countless experience points without even lifting a finger. Following the message of the acquired title, a notification he had never seen before appeared.
The proficiency of Unique Skill: 「Wrath」 has reached the current accessible limit
“...Say what?”
Jae blinked, the corners of his lips gradually curling downwards.
“Um? Hello? What’s that mean?”
As if to answer his confusion, a string of alerts swiftly emerged as he dismissed the first.
The level of 「Wrath」 cannot be raised further until the user meets the required conditions
Level up process of 「Wrath」 blocked until the required conditions are met
Usage of the 「Causality Interference」 System is denied
“......”
Jae’s disbelief made itself known through the gradual widening of his mouth as he gawked at the message.
“Are you kidding me? Oi, Wrath, what is this, huh?”
Calling the one guy out who should be able to answer this mess, Jae awaited a response that was quick to come.
[Kahaha! Look at you, so weak that you can’t even handle the second-stage power! Bah! I knew you were no match for me, you puny human brat! What was that about one thousand years? Looks like you might need it after all, kahaha...!]
“What? Come on, that ain’t fair. Tell me what this nonsense is all about.”
[And why would I do that? It’s rather entertaining to watch you squirm, and how fitting for an impudent worm like you. Besides, you wouldn’t be able to meet the conditions even if I told you. Like I said, you are too weak. Kahaha...!]
“The hell are you on about? What are the conditions? Man, please...”
Jae begged, his voice sounding on the verge of breaking into tears, yet there was no response. Chewing on the last of the purple apple, which abruptly lost its sweetness and now tasted bitter in his mouth, he spat and clicked his tongue.
“...Shithead. Whatever. It’s something I’ll figure out eventually, I’m sure...”
Ah. Does it have something to do with the domains Envy mentioned? I find the place and the corresponding sin will be unlocked... Or something like that? Well, I hope so, ‘cause I can’t think of anything else it might be.
He desperately prayed that it didn’t require him to experience being mentally and emotionally taken over by the sins like when he first acquired them, but he also felt like that wasn't quite it. Ruminating some more, he came to a more simple conclusion.
Too weak... Oh, maybe all I have to do is level up some more? I don’t know what level would be high enough to meet the requirement, but I’ve got the Otherworlder buff, so it shouldn’t take too long. If I can keep finding exploits like today, it’ll be done in a jiffy... Probably.
Whatever the case, Jae doubted it was a problem exclusive to Wrath; it looked like none of his Unique Skills would be ascending past Level 4 for a while. Thinking that it might be both a blessing and a curse, Jae closed his Status with a sigh.
Rustle, rustle.
"!"
At that moment, something moved in the corner of his eye.
He watched the movement in the brush for a moment before the creature revealed itself.
“...Geh, giee?”
Holding a large leather skin drum evidently filled to the brim with some sort of liquid, it was a goblin. Except, something was different.
“Human? Here?”
The peculiar goblin, far larger in stature than any of the ones Jae had seen until this point, had extremely rough and pale skin compared to an ordinary goblin’s, and the plump features of its round body made it seem almost like a different creature entirely.
If a normal goblin was a ten-year-old, this one was in the midst of adolescence.
Immediately activating Envy, Jae’s eyes widened.
...He’s not just fat; a new kind of bastard has appeared.
The prey in front of him was indeed a ‘goblin’, but it was definitely not a normal one.
Soul State - Hobgoblin
Soul Level : 21 / 50
Age : 8 Years
Health : 43
Magic Energy : 70
Power : 96
Magical Ability : 9
Defence : 90
Resistance : 18
Karma : 40
"......"
Jae’s eyes lingered on the bottom-most section of the Soul State that had been unlocked when Envy reached Level 4. The same went for Health and Magic Energy, but he still wasn't sure what all those odd parameters meant, precisely, or how they differed from the stats on the Status Menu. He also remained unable to use the skill on himself just yet, but one thing was certain.
This opponent was by far the strongest Jae had come across since his days in the wilderness began.
Still...
Jae smirked, drawing the dagger from his waistband.
“You’re weaker than me, aren’t you? Fatty.”
From the beginning, it's not like the bar was set very high.
A goblin was a goblin at the end of the day. They could only get so strong, no matter how they evolved.
Jae activated a number of skills including Power Burst and Concentration. Fighting Spirit naturally enveloped his body as he stood up, the intention to fight filling his mind. Buffed up with all these skills and newfound strength due to all the level-ups, his eyes were glued to the dense hobgoblin, yet to make a move, and he wetted his lips.
It wasn't because of his confidence in being able to take down this new foe. Rather, it was something much more concerning.
New monster? You know what that means.
Shining like a ray of hope in this cursed forest, or perhaps, a ray of despair.
Fresh meat had come of its own accord, like a lamb to the slaughter.
"Heh."
“...Gi?”
Letting loose no more than a single chuckle, a glint shone in Jae’s eyes. He couldn't see the beads of cold sweat beginning to form on the monster's hairless brow.
That thick fat; you’re bound to be tastier than those other bony fuckers, right?
Maybe, he had already been corrupted without realising it. Without hesitation, Jae darted towards the hobgoblin at a speed much faster than he was capable of just a few hours prior. Reaching his left hand down to his waistband, his eyes remained tracking every little movement of his prey as his hands blurred―three finger-length and rusty knives were flung at the monster with impeccable accuracy.
“Gieh!?”
Tak- tak- tak--!
Reacting swiftly, the hobgoblin raised the large leather drum like a shield to block the incoming knives, which pierced it and got stuck. Although successfully stopping the attack, the drum thus rendered the monster unable to see Jae’s rapidly approaching figure, who already arrived at its side within that brief moment. Whipping his arm with a gush of air, Jae thrust the dagger with speed that couldn’t be matched by the untrained eye.
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He had already dumped all of his 12 Distributable Points into Strength and Agility.
Stab-!
The attack was successful, but although blood was shed, Jae couldn’t help but notice that the hobgoblin’s extremely resilient, stone-like skin, combined with its thick, blubbery flesh, rendered the dagger’s relatively short blade a poor match.
“Giee...!”
The hobgoblin’s deep voice rang out as it cried, discarding the drum by throwing it aside and spilling its liquid contents all over the ground.
At that, Jae exclaimed.
“Water...!? You god--...! Fuck! Bastards! Where have you been acquiring water without telling me...?!”
All that time he spent drinking vile goblin blood that made him sick to his stomach.
All the sacrifices he had made.
Those listless nights.
Was it all for nought?
Knowing that, would he have ventured out a little farther, he could have come across water in its purest form; not tainted by the innards of despicable goblins.
I can’t believe this...! Goddamn goblins!
He was truly furious now.
Jae’s footwork, albeit amateurish, was light as he hopped sideways to evade the monster’s wild swing of its arm. He ducked his head to dodge another blow before dashing to its hind and reaching out, grappling it by the back and securing a clean sight of the back of its head.
Shik-!
“Gieeehh...!!”
Jamming his dagger into the hobgoblin’s beefy throat, Jae clenched his jaw when it wasn’t enough to fell the monster who only continued to thrash about recklessly.
“Ngh...!”
Thinking it couldn't be helped, he activated Wrath; instantly, vicious flames bloomed from his entire body, ignoring his clothes but ruthlessly scorching the hobgoblin all over. The flames were as brutal as always, but alone, simply raising the temperature wouldn't be enough to damage what lay beneath the monster's blubber-like fat and absurdly tough skin like rubber.
Compared to an ordinary goblin, this evolved variety was infinitely more durable, and so a new path of attack would be required.
Having become adept at duelling goblins, Jae was quick to realise this. Roughly twisting and pulling out the dagger from the creature's chunky neck, he concentrated the fires of Wrath and rammed his conflagrated fingers deep into the wound, tearing singed flesh open wide as he broadened the gash more and more.
“--...!!”
The monster’s soundless screams echoed far wider than the goblins he had hunted in the past, but Jae wasn’t concerned about more enemies emerging now.
After all, he was the one who had transformed their home into their grave, to begin with; those late to the party would only find this veteran Goblin Slayer waiting for them.
Jae’s face, unbeknownst to himself, contained an evil, strained grin as he continued mercilessly ripping the hobgoblin’s head apart with his bare hands; even going so far as to throw his dagger to the floor to free up the full strength of his grip.
Contrary to the rest of his body heated up with adrenaline and Fighting Spirit, his eyes were cold as frost; his thoughts focused on nothing but ending the life of the prey in front of him.
“--...!!”
Die.
You damn tenacious pig.
Die, roast nice and toasty.
And then.
Be eaten.
Cooking the relentlessly floundering hobgoblin from the inside as he bent its neck and tore its head from its shoulders with his bare hands, Jae was in a vastly stronger state than when he had first arrived in Plaentic.
Perhaps one might find the creature's current state pitiable as Jae was the first to attack, but he didn't see creatures like these as deserving of pity.
To him, all they needed to do was die quietly, give him experience points, and offer up their skills.
It didn’t take long for the monster to perish.
Slam--!!
“Phew...”
Sitting atop the corpse of the hobgoblin as it crashed to the ground with a miniature cloud of dust, Jae waited for a level-up notification that never came, subconsciously deactivating all of his skills in the meantime, some of them automatically disabling.
It wasn’t that the hobgoblin hadn't died; just that he hadn’t levelled up from killing it.
...Not enough experience, huh...
His level had grown substantially thanks to the enclosed cave exploit, and he had now reached the point where killing one or two monsters wouldn’t be sufficient, even if it were a higher denomination of monster like a hobgoblin, and even with the Otherworlder title’s boosted experience bonus taken into account.
I guess I am Level 28. It might be a bit unfair if I levelled up from an easy kill like this on top of everything else.
In any case, now was not the time to sulk; on the contrary, Jae thought he should celebrate. After all, the time had finally come.
A monster that wasn’t a goblin.
Riiip-!
Tearing off a piece of flesh that was not overcooked by Wrath, Jae seared it to a reasonable degree before chucking it into his mouth with heightened anticipation.
Chew, chew.
"......"
He rolled his tongue.
“...Oh, my god.”
Gulp.
“This shit..."
His eyes glistened.
"―It ain’t too bad, you know...?”
[Mmmmh~! You’re right, you know~~]
In reality, it couldn’t be known if the hobgoblin’s tough and sinewy flesh, grilled to something not much less than a fine crisp, genuinely tasted decently, or if Jae only found it to be so because of his already contaminated taste buds. Either way, he was happy the way it was. Unable to wipe the grin off of his face as he relished the juicy taste that couldn’t be compared to a regular goblin, that wasn’t the end of it.
Skill 「Gluttony」 has activated
Jae wasn’t surprised to see the skill activation notification as he had already heard from Gluttony during a prior instance that every time he ate a new species of monster for the first time, even if it was a subspecies, there was a guaranteed chance to absorb a skill.
You have acquired the Passive Skill: 「Tough Skin」
You already possess this skill
Skill 「Tough Skin」 has fused with 「Tough Skin」
Skill 「Tough Skin」 has levelled up [Lv.4]→[Lv.5]
Conditions met. You have acquired the Title: 「Monster Eater」
“......”
Immediately, Jae’s smile vanished from his face as if it were never there.
...Well. At least it isn’t language comprehension.
No new skill was disappointing, but it wasn’t a bad one, so although he sighed, it wasn’t something to complain about. He was simply getting a little greedy, is all, but there was no need to be, so he soothed himself with the reminder that levelling up a useful skill was a positive outcome, regardless of what it was.
Do hobgoblins even possess any new skills for me to absorb? Well, whatever. And then...
Glancing back at the spilt water behind him, Jae didn’t know what to think.
The only times he had been able to drink water since beginning his survival was when it rained, but that only happened a couple of times in this place since he arrived, for better or for worse. It was unfortunate that it rained when he had no shelter and made the ground all muddy and mired, but Jae was nevertheless thankful that it hadn’t been a consistent worry; on the contrary, part of him wished it would rain more often.
Thanks to already possessing Disease Resistance and Cold Resistance at the time, there was no real need to dry his wet clothes, or at least what was left of them, and the water itself was incredibly revitalising for someone who couldn’t take a bath or a shower; a massive benefit of the rain was cleaning his body, or rather, to the limited extent that rain could, being beneath the canopy of the forest’s trees.
Ultimately, rain was weather that Jae had a positive inclination towards, even if most people were more adverse towards it, so he didn’t necessarily see it as a bad thing. It was a line of thinking he had never expected to maintain when he considered the possibility of rain right after waking up in this forest, but things had turned out that way. In fact, if he looked up at the sky right now, he could catch glimpses of the moon flickering between what could possibly be rain clouds.
I wouldn't normally mind if it rained, but now's a bad time... I don't think I'll be able to.
In any case, seeing that there was indeed a source of clean water around here, Jae felt an invisible weight lift itself from his shoulders, despite not being able to drink any. Evidently, the goblins he had all seen up until now have had such a wondrous source of sustenance and hydration.
In one regard, it was an unfair advantage, but taken another way, it meant that one of his heaviest concerns was no longer valid.
Goblin blood was pure, after all.
“Ah...”
Of course, there was no way a mammal could reasonably survive off consuming waste water, even if it were a fantasy-style monster like a goblin, but it was nice to have confirmation.
Somehow, Jae felt truly light at the image of a goblin kneeling down, cupping water with its little green hands and sipping it gently.
A natural smile blossomed on his face.
“It’s probably a river, right? Tomorrow, should I try and find it...?"
The answer was obvious without even thinking. Considering that he had no clue where to even begin searching, he thought it was best to wait for now; no matter how much he wanted to gulp a hundred gallons of pristine, fresh water, all of his senses told him that it wasn’t a smart thing to do.
Dawn would arrive in a few hours at the latest, so there was no need to be hasty and leave while it was still dark. Furthermore, he couldn’t afford to leave the cave behind and risk losing it forever, after all, and even with the Charting skill in his possession, there was no guarantee he would be able to find his way back in this vast forest during the dead of night. If it then rained in addition to all that, he might as well give up then and there.
Well, the biggest reason was not wanting to run the risk of losing the goblin den.
“Speaking of which...”
Jumping up from the hobgoblin’s corpse, Jae retrieved his weapons and turned towards the disguised cave entrance.
I’m sure it’s been long enough now.
Thinking it might be that the flames died due to a lack of oxygen as fuel within the cave, Jae nodded and took out a few of the logs blocking the entrance; as he did so, thick plumes of black smoke bellowed out as if waiting to ambush him.
"Woah. Cough, cough-!"
He was caught off-guard. Backing off and standing a short distance away until it was safer to continue, he took away all the logs and waited for the smoke to clear. There was once a concern that the smoke generated from his campfires would attract the attention of the knights in the palace, or even other dangers he hadn't thought of, but he was now too far away for that to become a realistic issue.
Even if they could somehow see it all the way from the palace, which by itself seemed impossible, it would take an incomprehensible length of time to actually reach this location on foot, even for the knights, and Jae would be long gone by then.
That reminds me. They're royal knights, right? They should be jacked, and their Statuses are probably no joke either. Why did it take them so long to catch up to me back then? Even now, I feel like I can move faster than the speed they were going at that time...
Before, Jae thought he had only been able to adapt to his supernaturally strengthened body so naturally because his focus had been on survival, but now that he thought about it, perhaps the System worked in such a way that levelling up simply wouldn't cause those kinds of issues, seeing as how he didn't feel winded even after levelling up so many times and increasing his capabilities so suddenly. Or maybe it was just the way his physical stats were reasonably spread. Puzzled, he contemplated the whole thing for a moment before coming to an unconfirmable conclusion.
...I don't know. Well, those knights probably knew I had nowhere to run because of the cliff, so they took it leisurely. The fuckers.
Unintentionally recalling the sensations that remained vividly engraved in his mind even now, he felt something beginning to surge from his stomach, so he forced the matter to the back of his mind. It wasn't something one could ever forget, and Jae was getting the impression it would ruin him for the rest of his life.
"Tsk. Damn PTSD... Piss off..."
Once the smoke had cleared, he muttered to himself and peered inside the cave. Surprisingly, the fire was still going despite the branches and twigs he had thrown having burnt to no more than piles of grey ashes, though some of it was burning nothing but the blackened stone floor. It seemed to have used the backs of the logs he had blocked the entrance with as material, allowing the constant generation of smoke within the cave, but they were by no means affected enough to have maintained the fire to the extent that it was, and it didn't explain how the raw stone had caught fire, so Jae was confused how it remained so full of vigour.
...Is it that special attribute Wrath mentioned? Or maybe, because it’s magic, it doesn’t dissipate when it runs out of fuel? Some bs like that, probably.
Chalking it up to that, Jae pouted his lips and nodded. In any case, seeing as he had left it generating smoke nonstop for the past few hours, it most likely meant that most of everything within the cave had died from either asphyxiation or carbon monoxide poisoning.
"Damn. Is it really that easy?"
He still thought it was completely unbalanced that he could gain experience and level up due to such things, but since they were afflictions caused by none other than his own skill, he couldn’t admit that it made logical sense in the System’s eyes to conclude that he was the one who killed them, and thus deserved the experience.
If there was someone who created poison, for example, like an alchemist, then wouldn’t it make sense for them to gain experience for the poison killing a monster? In a way, this was the same thing. Even if he didn’t get all of the experience, there would undoubtedly be some kind of partial reward, like ‘contribution experience’, or something.
...No, even then, something stupid like carbon monoxide poisoning shouldn't grant me exp. Game devs, please, patch this before someone else copies me, thank you.
Still, the notion made him laugh, and he would never refuse to abuse an exploit if it helped him.
“Heh.”
Even now, he let out the occasional chuckle. Although, there was a slight problem.
“Uh...”
Thinking about how he, himself, might enter the cave to collect all the loot without dying to the smoke, lack of oxygen and carbon monoxide, Jae groaned.
“...Damn. I didn’t think about that...”
There was no guarantee that, even though Wrath’s flames posed no threat towards him, the same would be true for the smoke; even if it were the case, he definitely wouldn’t be able to survive the carbon monoxide that was the bigger obstacle.
Should I just grit my teeth and leave it...?
Immediately, he shook his head.
“What am I saying... I can’t leave all that precious loot in there! I levelled up twelve times! Imagine how many goblins are in there, waiting for me to come and take them... I’d be fucked in the head if I abandoned it now, right...?”
It may have been no more than an excuse for Jae’s natural human greed that refused to leave all the potential rewards alone, even though he had already gained a lot just from the experience gained, but he couldn’t do it.
There was no way he would be able to do it.
“Argh... Fuck it. My Endurance is... 71. I won’t die. There’s no way I’d die from something like this; that’d be way too shit of an ending after everything I've been through so far. Even if I do, I’ll probably resurrect anyway, so there shouldn't be a problem.”
It could be blind faith in himself and his own abilities derived from the fact he had yet to be bested by an opponent since arriving in the forest when facing them head-on... Or, it could be some kind of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, 'Protagonist Syndrome', and in reality, that’s most likely what it was.
In fact, even he found it surprising that neither Pride nor Greed had been acquired yet, but surely, if he continued acting like this, it wouldn't be long.
Whatever the case, Jae couldn’t hold himself back, and in his opinion, who could?
If you were a person who could leave the cave alone without venturing inside to collect the loot, were you even human?
No.
Someone like that was more of a monster than the goblins he was so used to facing. If that’s the type of person you were, then that’s fine, but to Jae?
He was a gamer.
He would rather die, or... Or eat a whole one thousand raw goblin corpses than become that kind of person.
That’s right. We’ve got this! Don't worry about it!
With such a lighthearted, simple thought process, Jae entered the cave.