“Careful, it’s over if you fall,” Anderson warned Kaina, who was frolicking near the cliff.
After two hours of walking, the storm that James saw in the distance earlier showed no signs of subsiding. That assured him that’s where he needed to go. That’s where the boss monster was.
Then, a monster landed in front of them. The winged creature was small, like a child. It held a spear in its hand. The word imp perfectly described the monster. After it landed, it flapped its wings and floated. James wondered how it could do that with wings that barely spanned a meter. Nevertheless, this was not Earth—it had its own laws.
“First monster!” Kaina said. “Let us handle this! We want to get exp too!”
“Yeah!”
“Alright. This one is yours. I'll stand guard and help if you guys are in trouble. Don’t let your guard down. Just because it’s small doesn’t mean it’s weak. It has a spear and a hand—that means it can use a weapon skill,” James said as he pulled back while giving advice.
The trio engaged the new monster, and it flew away, leaving them speechless. James quickly drew his crossbow, anticipating its maneuver.
“It fled?” Sanders said.
“There is no way that’s true, idiot!” James retorted while aiming his crossbow. Even though it looked like it fled, James knew it hadn’t. If it had really fled, it would bring more trouble down the line. He had experienced this firsthand with the wolf on the second floor in the dungeon trial and the kraken.
As he expected, the imp did not flee, which was fortunate. The imp turned back from the sky and homed in on the group. A golden glow emanated from its spear as it rushed toward Kaina.
“Watch out!” Sanders countered with his sword. A golden glow also emanated from his blade. The two weapons clashed. However, since Sanders had lower stats, he was thrown away and flopped to the ground. His effort was not in vain, as the spear thrust from the imp had been diverted to the left.
Kaina thrust with her spear. However, without a weapon skill, it was a futile attempt. Her stats were too low to even graze the monster.
James intervened as he realized that Kaina and the others were struggling. A golden glow emanated from his crossbow as he shot the imp. He aimed for its torso, but the imp was fast, so his bolt hit its shoulder instead. Nevertheless, he had achieved what he wanted. The imp fell to the ground, wounded but not dead. Anderson jumped in with his dagger. Using his weapon skill, the dagger stabbed its neck, ending its life.
“Ugh… we are so useless,” Kaina moaned. The group all leveled up, but they knew they survived this battle because of James. He casually pulled the bolt from the imp’s shoulder, storing it back in his handmade quiver from his spiderweb after using his water magic to clean it up.
“If we level up, we should get stronger. I also need to get more weapons too.”
James glanced at Anderson. The pistol that he stole from the tentacle man was still there. James wondered whether that meant the gun was properly registered by the system. However, when he asked, the system refused. The gun couldn’t be repaired using the shop.
“Thank you. That was indeed a bit dangerous.” Anderson nodded.
“Keep your guard up. Next time, hit them once and then flee. I will handle the rest,” James said. He now intended to share exp with the group. They were now at level 15. If they hit at least level 20 or 30, then they would be more useful to him later. Doing so would cut James’ exp, but he had to learn how to cooperate sooner or later.
“Yes, sir.” Anderson saluted.
Other imps soon came into sight. This time, three of them approached the group.
“Remember, give them one hit, then retreat. If their weapon skill hits you, you might die,” James warned once again.
“Yes, sir!”
A golden glow shone from James' axe as he prepared his skill. The first hellspawn chose to be his first guinea pig. James’ axe clashed with the imp’s spear. The clash resulted in a resounding boom as it sent the child demon flying over twenty meters to the ground. Such a win in a skill clash reminded James of his first clash against the orc boss.
“Hurry!” Kaina leaped with her spear and activated her skill. A golden glow shone from her spear skill. Before the imp could regain its footing, Kaina struck. The imp was sent flying again as Sanders and Anderson chased after it. They soon pummeled it with their sword skills and killed it.
“I told them to hit once and retreat, not to kill it with skill,” James sighed. But it worked either way. No matter how much one contributed, the exp should be split equally among anyone hitting the enemy.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
James looked at the two imps. A golden glow shone on his axe as he threw it toward the imp that decided to chase after the group. The golden meteor chased after the imp, bisecting its body before returning to James. James caught it with his tail after he drew his sword.
The last imp decided to engage James. However, James had already drawn his sword. He sent this imp flying with his skill, much like the first one.
“After it!” The three stooges chased after the fallen imp like dogs that had been thrown a bone.
Like a bully, Kaina and the rest of the team soon surrounded the imp and unleashed their skills one after another, killing it. James whistled, and the system soon answered.
[Congratulations. You have received 20 coins.]
“Hmm? There is nothing to plunder?” James asked.
[There is nothing particularly worthy for Chimera to plunder. Would you like to see them regardless?]
“Yes.” James nodded. He didn’t like others making decisions for him. James had decided that this time, he wouldn’t be a pushover. He wanted to make decisions.
[Would you like to modify your body? Y/N]
[Available Body Part:]
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Imp’s Claw (Hand Slot)
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Imp’s Wing (Weight -10%) (Extra Slot)
“I can’t fly using its wings?”
[No. Its wings are too small for human use. Depending on your body mass, you may get up to 50% at most.]
“Am I fat?” James was shocked to hear that a normal human would get 50%, while he only got 10%. However, no one answered him.
As James continued his journey, he soon met a cliff that separated him from the eternal storm that was his goal. Now that he was closer, he could also see a castle in the distance. The castle looked like something out of a fantasy.
“Um… James, there is no way forward,” Anderson said.
“Why are we heading toward that suspicious castle? Was that Neuschwanstein Castle or was it Hohenzollern Castle? But the number of spires does not match… The color is off too…” Anderson muttered. Unlike James, Anderson had led a successful life before, so he had traveled to many famous places during his vacations.
“Will vampires come out from the castle?” Kaina asked.
“Let’s stay here for a while. If anything does come out from it, it’s better to fight it in the open.” James took a hundred steps back and sat down. The sun was about to set, and he didn’t like venturing in the dark.
“Ugh… I didn't get to plunder the octopus’s carcasses.” James muttered as he rummaged through his leather bag. There were still several kilograms of meat—enough for several days. But he was running it close.
“I can buy food. Moreover, we got money from the monsters. There is no need to worry about food supplies! We are friends! We help each other!” Anderson exclaimed. This was his chance to promote his worth, and he took it.
James sighed while looking absolutely disgusted. The word friend was often said by his boss so much that, right now, whenever he heard that word, he felt suspicious instead.
“Listen here. I thought better of you. Was that military uniform just a decoration? Did you buy your rank?” James said dismissively.
“NO! I am in the Marines! I graduated from there with the best scores!” Anderson answered. He felt offended by James’ rude words. James usually didn’t like confrontation, but he had changed. He decided to be frank about it.
[Name: James]
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 43
Coins: 400
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STR: 141 (↑3)
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DEX: 136 (↑2)
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MAGIC: 92 (↑3)
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MANA: 920 (↑20)
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Novice Axe Mastery Level 5 (Powerstrike, V-slash, Boomerang) (↑1)
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Beginner Sword Mastery Level 8 (Hurricane) (↑1)
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Beginner Bow Mastery Level 7 (Quickshot)
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Beginner Dagger Mastery Level 1
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Mind Flay
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Sense Alteration
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Mana Sonar
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Attacker (Level 16) (10% bonus when attacking, STR & DEX +1 per level) (↑1)
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Goblin Stomach (Iron Guts) (Stomach Slot)
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Mana Core (Water Spells: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000) (Extra Slot)
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Orc’s Left Arm (STR +10%) (Arm Slot)
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Eyes of Mana (Mana Sense) (Right Eye Slot)
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Golem Arm of Valhalla (STR +30%, Physical Resistance +30%, Negative Trait: Repairable, Mana -200) (Right Arm Slot)
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Ratking's Legs (STR +25%) (Leg Slot)
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Flaming Tiger’s Fire Lung (Fire Breathing Skill, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Lung Slot)
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Golem Core (Poison Resistance, Negative Trait: Mana -250, Magic -10, Repairable) (Heart Slot)
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Orc’s Torso (Torso Slot)
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Orc’s Head (Head Slot)
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Shadow Snake Fang (Intermediate Life Leeching) (Mouth Slot)
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Jumping Spider’s Spinneret (Thread Creation) (Extra Slot 2)
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Flaming Tiger Lord’s Firefur (Fire Cloak Skill, Fire Resistance, Physical Resistance +15%, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Skin Slot)
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Kraken’s Arm Tentacle (Reach: 5 meters, Negative Trait: STR -10%) (Extra Slot 3)
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Rock Crab Shell (Physical Resistance +90%) (Extra Slot 4)
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Land Shark's Ear (Echolocation: 10 meters) (Ear Slot)
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Leather Armor Set (+10 DEX)
- Lightning War Axe
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Longsword
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Crossbow (x12)
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Waterspout Dagger
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Mask of Identity
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Leather Bag
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Sphere of Fethusiane
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Cloak of Dark Night
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Thompson Center Contender (x2)
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Frag Grenade (x1)
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Flashbang (x1)