"Stay down!" Genji roared as he slammed the crocodile into the ground.
Then he drew his dagger and pounced on it, stabbing numerously into the coarse hide. Thick blood splattered everywhere and mud soared through the air. Genji ignored all of this grime and wrestled the reptilian creature for life.
His arms bulged from the exertion and his palms scrapped against the scales. In retaliation, the crocodile opened its large mouth and snapped at him, seeking to devour the annoying prey.
Genji hurriedly yanked his arm out of the way and gouged into the eyes. After releasing his dagger, he dug into the fleshly interiors and pulled the head aside. A second dagger appeared in his hand and a shadow flame engulfed the surface.
Then in one ferocious pull, he decapitated the scaly head and slammed it into the ground. As the skull left his hand, he jumped back to avoid the final thrashes of the creature.
[You have slain River Croc (Mini-Boss)]
[Your maximum energy has increased by 14 points.]
[You have obtained: 34,000 coins and River Hide]
[River Hide]
Rating: Rare
Type: Crafting material
Description: A study hide that can make a decent leather armor. Resistant to many cuts and impacts.
Deep huffs coursed out of his mouth as his chest bobbed rapidly. His sore arms hung by his side as his body greedily devoured the air around him. After a few seconds, he recovered and approached the severed head. Genji reached down and cut into it, searching for his buried dagger. When he found it, he plucked some grass and wiped it down.
"You can come out now," Genji said.
The next moment, Bruce poked his head out from behind a rock. After confirming the surroundings were safe, he trodded over to support Genji.
Genji accepted the help and found a spot to rest for the day. It had been three days since Genji killed the EonReam members and had experienced his fair share of animal opponents.
As he continued following the river, the animals became noticeably stronger. In fact, they were mostly elites by now, which allowed Genji to begin accumulating energy again.
Of course, none of them could match the crocodile he had just slain, but he considered that a special case. This was a crocodile that lived in the turbulent river waters, so it was no surprise that it was so strong.
But the most troublesome trait wasn't its strength, but its ambushing abilities. Genji almost got swallowed when the creature torpedoed out of the river. It took everything he had to dodge in time, but he didn't have room to widen the distance.
Because of that, Genji had no choice but to activate Berserk and grapple with the creature up close. It was fair to say this crocodile picked the opportune moment and location to launch the attack.
Luckily, Genji had ample abilities to overwhelm the attacker and claim its hide. Just from a glance, Genji knew this was a decent material. After all, not even he dared to swim in the river. Maybe if he activated Solid Core, but that would only keep him alive since he would have no control over his movements.
After Genji recovered, he noticed that Bruce had dragged the body over. Seeing that Genji was done, Bruce tapped the hide and motioned for him to cut it.
"I thought that you don't want to eat these animals."
Bruce looked at him like he was stupid. I didn't eat them because they are subpar, but this is good stuff. I would be a fool to miss trying this exotic meat. After all, the stall owners gossiped about how good crocodile meat is.
"Fine. Do you want me to absorb the poison?"
The nightbane venomously shook his head. And let you ruin it? Just cook it as is. It's not like I can get poisoned or anything. At worst, I transform back into blood and let it separate. I can become a sheath for some time, but I can't miss this rare meal.
Genji shrugged and portioned the torn meat. After taking out some skewers and starting a campfire, he allowed the glutenous horse to tend to it. Bruce happily took the handle with his mouth and slowly turned it, enjoying the preparation more than Genji expected.
Genji took out a few bottles of seasoning and lightly sprinkled them over the pink meat. The fat slowly melted and rolled into the flames, starting a sizzling reaction. Genji was half expecting the flames to burst upward like before, but to his amazement, only a fishy smell came from beneath.
Looking down, he realized the smoke wasn't any suspicious color, but a normal white. That was when he realized this flesh wasn't contaminated by poison. After some thought, this made sense since the water would wash away any pollution before it could enter the crocodile.
"I guess I will be trying crocodile today," he remarked and set up more skewers.
Bruce gave a triumphant look in response, happy about knowing better. See, I told you this was good stuff.
"Don't give me that look. One day, the flesh will poison you to the point that liquidization won't help. In fact, I know 3 methods of poisoning that can do that. You better be careful about what you eat in the future. EverRealm is safe, but who knows what the other worlds have? If you get into the habit of trying good-looking stuff now, you will only suffer."
Bruce only rolled his eyes. Yeah yeah, serve the food already. That's my future problem. For now, I want to enjoy the food.
"I really don't know what I will do with you."
Then Genji also dug in, experiencing the strong gamely taste. The seasoning was decent, but it couldn't cover up the nonoptimal preparation. Nevertheless, Genji continued eating to replenish his energy. This was from a strong creature and was highly nutritious for someone of his body strength.
Master, you ruined it. Maybe you shouldn't cook. How about we bring some back and hire someone to prepare it?
"I don't mind, but that's coming from your pocket."
That's fine. You're going to give me plenty anyway.
After finishing, Genji dismantled the body and continued traveling. This time, he stayed further away from the riverbank to bypass any potential crocodile attacks. They were good hunts, but the drops were just not worth the effort.
The next day, Genji spotted a traveling caravan in the distance. A parade of camels and wagons kicked up a dust trail as they trudged through the harsh desert. It was a large group, filled with people and merchandise.
"Halt! Who are you?" A guard hollered as Genji approached.
"Just a lost traveler," he replied, taking out a satchel and tossing it over."Can you tell where the closest town is?"
The guard cautiously picked up the bag and inspected the contents. The next second, his eyes lit up as he identified the sandworm teeth.
"So it's a friend. Please join us. We're heading for one right now," he said enthusiastically, acting as if he didn't just pocket the bag.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Genji nodded and merged into the group. Other than a few closer guards, no one else noticed his addition. That was what he thought until another guard beckoned for him.
"Merchant Rod wants to meet you," he informed him.
Genji was surprised by how quickly they found him, but he remained calm. As far as he could tell, this caravan was made of mostly warriors of weaker than him. If needed, he could always slaughter his way out.
As he approached the main wagon, he spotted the guard he talked to.
'He must have told the merchant. How loyal. It's not every day that someone reports their wealth like that.'
Genji walked past the guard and came face to face with a middle-aged man with a shrewd glint.
"Powerful traveler, I welcome you. Please make yourself comfortable. If you have any requests, don't hesitate to bring them up. I promise we will do our best."
It was a friendly welcome, but Genji knew better. Similar to how he tried to bribe the guard, the merchant was doing the same. As for what, that was easy to figure out when Genji thought about his attempted bribe.
Just that bag alone was enough for the merchant to speculate about his strength and covet the protection he could provide. Even if Genji did nothing, at least they guaranteed that Genji wouldn't attack them. Why would he exert himself so much when the merchant was giving him free money?
To the merchant, problems that could be solved with money weren't problems at all. He would rather take a loss than risk his life. Plus, who said he wasn't worth the price? As someone who could casually give away sandworm ivory, the merchant refused to believe that he was weak.
"Alright, I don't need your money. Just bring me to the closest town."
"Thank you, sir."
The merchant let out a sigh of relief after he determined Genji's disposition. From what he could tell, as long as they didn't provoke this unknown person, they should be fine.
'He's shrewd alright. This is the first time I've ever seen someone so willingly give away money to a potential bandit.'
----------------------------------------
Genji traveled with the caravan for another day before they encountered actual bandits. Without a word, these raggedly dressed men launched an attack, slaughtering the guards. Amidst this chaos, the merchant ran to Genji and begged him to take action.
"Please, sir. As long as you can keep me safe, I don't care if some of my possessions get stolen by bandits."
While he said one thing, the merchant actually meant 'You can take whatever afterward.'
Genji understood the hidden meaning and drew his saber to join the battle. The merchant inwardly cheered at this, but he still rushed to find a place to hide. He would never put all his eggs in one basket. In case this warrior failed, he at least had some time to run.
Genji strolled toward the battle and swung at a bandit, but the opponent was stronger than he gave credit. With one strained strike, the bandit parried his attack. However, this left him open to another attack from Genji that swiftly finished the foe.
Intimidated by this, the other bandits channeled their auras and charged at him. Seeing their trained techniques and flaring strength, Genji knew something was off about this group. They were too strong for a rag-tag group. That was when Genji inspected the bandits and realized they were all elites.
"This is definitely not normal. Why are they hiding their strength like this?"
After a few seconds of fighting, Genji made up his mind and allowed an attack to send him flying. A burning aura ate away at the wound, but his shadow energy annihilated it. But instead of getting back up when he landed, Genji found a safe position and played dead.
He might survive against such a group, but that would require too many trump cards. Since everything felt like a conspiracy and he wasn't too attached to this caravan, he was fine with waiting it out.
Bodies fell around him and boiling blood coated his face. Genji steadied his breathing despite this mess and made himself unresponsive. He didn't care if anyone trampled him or that a pile of corpses was burying him. To him, this amount of discomfort was nothing.
Soon, the caravan was overwhelmed and a heavy scent of blood and rot flooded his nose. Terrified screams and the faint begs of the merchant were heard, but the attackers paid them no head. The sharp whistling of blades cutting through air sounded in Genji's ears before the sounds fell silent.
After some shuffling of feet, the scene down, leaving only the gentle rolling of sand. Genji waited a few more minutes to ensure the area was clear before crawling out of the corpse pile.
"That just confirmed it," he said, observing the lack of blood in the surroundings. No matter how he thought about it, the amount of blood didn't match the slain. Genji would know after all his massacres.
"First hiding their strength and then collecting the blood. Whoever they are, they definitely aren't bandits."
Genji cleaned himself up and summoned Bruce. Then he took out the Fox badge and tracked the energy signature that he marked his opponents with.
"Try to be quiet when chasing."
Bruce nodded and galloped after the stranger attackers. Once they caught up, they followed from a distance, using the tracking function to the fullest. Sometime later, they came across an underground cave. The bandits removed the camouflage around the entrance and entered, fading into the darkness.
Genji dismounted and pursued them in stealth. They traversed through the rocky terrain and came upon an open area where many other people were gathered. Around them, many terrified villagers were bound, awaiting their unknown fate.
"Everything went well?" Someone asked in a low voice as the group returned.
"Yes. I have the blood," the person responded, holding up a [Desert Sipper].
"Good. Let's begin then."
The hooded figure took out a dagger and approached the bound victims. He picked a few at random and dragged them to the middle. Then he slit their throats and hung them upside down with experienced motions. After performing countless kills, this was the position that drained the blood the fastest.
The other figures around him also joined in with more victims, soaking the ground with puddles of blood. As they finished up, the bandits opened the magic gourd and poured out its contents, turning the area into an underground lake.
Once the gourd was empty, the person carefully stowed it away before they clasped their hands, their fingers intertwining before their chests. Then everyone started chanting in synchronization and the blood started moving.
First, the volume was reduced, forming a thick consistency before flowing unnaturally to form lines. As the outline defined itself, Genji's eyes narrowed with coldness.
'They're dark cultists,' he thought, recognizing the pattern as the magic circle from before. 'Fine. I want to see what you're planning.'
But Genji wasn't about to be reckless. He took out a few colorful vials and uncorked them. After some mixing and swirling around, he poured the contents onto the ground, dispersing the concoction.
A gas mask covered his face and the waiting game began. Oblivious to this, the cultists continued chanting and forming the magic circle. A few of them felt weak after a while, but they dismissed it as the ritual being exhaustive.
Time passed and the circle became more detailed, but before the finishing touches could be made, a torch of flames flew over. The cultists spotted this, but they had no time to react. The next moment, the entire circle burst into flames and roasted everyone in the vicinity.
"Who is it?!?" One of the higher-ranked cultists roared, pissed after all their efforts had been ruined.
The remaining crowd also snapped at the source of the torch and drew their weapons, ready to kill their frustrations away.
"You should worry about yourself right now," Genji's voice rang out as another vial flew at them.
Out of habit, the cultists brandished his weapon to block the projectile. After all, their vision was hindered by the darkness and they'd never encountered such a strange weapon.
"No don't!" One cultist shouted, aware that something was wrong with the incoming item.
*Crack*
But he was too late. The moment the vial shattered, the entire cave was filled with an activating agent for the poison they'd breathed in. In an instant, everyone coughed up dark, maroonish-colored blood.
Their bodies slacked in pain and their organs screamed in agony. Their skin withered and took on an ashen hue. Their strength faded and their muscles decayed. Their knees shook, their vision blurred, weapons slipped out, and finally collapsed onto the ground.
Confused faces wondered how this had happened, but thier lives slipped away before they got their answer. Then Genji sensed someone's presence recovering in intensity before surpassing its peak. Looking over, Genji recognized that it was the same person who shouted out just now.
"Dammit! A whole world's worth of progress. Ruined! Do you know how hard I worked to set that up? You will pay for that!"
Then the sheen of equipment covered the cultist, revealing his identity as a realm member. A long rapier came out of its covering and the person lunged at Genji, ready to skewer him.
In response, Genji chucked three more vials and drew his saber to meet the foe. Their weapons clashed intensely, igniting sparks that lit up the darkness.
Genji raised his leg and sent the person backward with a deadly kick before manifesting [Curse Bearer]. Three shots interrupted the charge, but the person simply waved his weapon. Then flames appeared in the bullet's path, burning the curses before they could reach him.
Next, using the flames as cover, the person pointed the tip at Genji, ready to activate his talent ability to burst out and launch a surprise attack. But before he could carry out his plans, Genji leaped through the flames with Solid Core and swung down.
'Tsk. How annoying.'
Changing his stance at the last moment, a wall of ice segmented the cave to buy him time for the follow-up. But Genji was one step ahead again as Dominance Aura locked onto him.
Feeling the humungous mental impact, the figure could only dismiss the counterattack plan and focus on recovering his bearing. As the headache faded, Genji burst through the wall of ice with flames of darkness trailing his blade.
Genji stomped onto the ground and pivoted into a spin, using both arms to cleave through the thin rapier. As the saber cut across the chest, the flames burst out, engulfing the target in a sea of cuts.
"Fuck you!" The target cursed, activating his talent with his body to drag this hateful person down with him.
But to his dismay, a blue barrier made from interconnected hexagons appeared between them, rendering his last attack useless. Then his body collapsed into countless pieces, unable to bear the rebounding force and the shadow flames.
[You have slain an Enforcer Level Violator.]
[Rewards for killing violators are doubled.]
[You have obtained: 2 privilege tokens.]