How did I turn my victim into a phoenix-like hero?

Page 28

"Crack!"

Sirocco leaps and unleashes a skull-splitting slash on the goblin.

The axe struck the goblin's head, splitting it in two from its skull down to its pelvis.

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"Gaa ...

With a final, mournful cry, Sirocco removed the goblin's core, and the goblin once again turned to dust.

After completing another 50-minute round of camping and monster-killing, Sirocco wiped the grease and bloodstains off his broadsword.

While others had to take turns fighting the monsters, they also had to be wary of other monsters attacking them.

Sirocco blocked the monster spawn point and safely farmed monsters.

He noticed a problem, or rather, he had anticipated it long ago.

"Durability is depleting too quickly."

In the game, durability is calculated based on the number of battles fought, but you can restore it by sprinkling it with maintenance powder.

You can buy maintenance powder, but it only lasts two or three times before you run out. Buying new powder can cost as much as buying weapons.

I anticipated this situation and bought three weapons, but they still wear out very quickly.

If this continues, and if things progress as they do in the game, the weapon will fall apart and become unusable.

For example, with a long-handled axe, the blade will deform and bend after continuous swinging for a long time, and it can only be used as a blunt weapon. Therefore, Sirocco simply switched to a broadsword to farm monsters, thus reducing the weapon's durability in a more balanced way.

Metal baseball bats are not allowed; you need to keep a usable weapon for self-defense on the way back.

Sirocco has leveled up 2 more times, reaching Lv5, which is about the plateau that new players face when leveling up.

"Let's go back to the surface first before continuing. Hmm...?"

Within the body that should have turned to dust, a piece of crystal the size of a palm remained.

Sirocco retrieved the crystal buried in the dust and tried to tossing it a few times. The hexagonal prism-shaped amber crystal did not disappear; it contained a passage of text:

Weah

'intimidate'

It seems this should be a "drop skill".

Skills in this world cannot be learned from others.

One option is to buy it from a store.

Secondly, like now, it's obtained by defeating monsters.

The method is also very simple. After crushing it, the method of using the skill will be automatically integrated into the soul. How well you use it depends on your own proficiency.

After all, the crystals from "dropped skills" are essentially a part of a monster's soul.

Powerful monsters not only have stronger "drop skills", but also drop decent "items".

"Drop skills" can also be exchanged for money.

Specifically, crystals can be melted down to make weapons and items, making them a good material. While not always guaranteed, they are generally more valuable than crystal core fragments.

"But it took an hour to get it out, I'm so unlucky."

In the game, Kass spawned in just 5 minutes.

Sirocco was torn about whether or not to learn this "intimidation" technique.

It's not a rare skill; larger monsters can drop it, and it's relatively cheap in stores.

The problem is that once a skill is learned, it will occupy a skill slot.

Now that you've reached Lv5, you have two skill slots. You could try equipping one and see if that works.

It's not that you can't change it, but removing a skill requires a trip to the agency, and regardless of how useful the skill is, removal costs a lot of money...

22. Unbelievable skill rampage

After hesitating for a while, I scanned the crystal and threw it into the ring gauge.

The higher the level of "Intimidate", the better it is to use. Right now, my level is only at the basic level, so I can only use this skill to scare slimes and water fleas.

It's better to exchange more money for equipment.

"but...."

Sirocco surveyed his surroundings—the enormous monster room.

"Now that we're in a fantasy world, I really want to try unleashing some magic."

They usually have these: summoning flames, Avada Kedavra, the ability to ride the wind, and invisibility to do whatever they want...

Ahem, I'm getting off topic. I just thought that being able to cast AOE magic would make monster killing more efficient, and if the mana consumption wasn't too high...

Sirocco looked at his right hand, which was covered in blisters from touching it.

I've been using basic attacks all the way through, and it's amazing that I've managed to hold on until now.

It's about time to consider future career paths or find better skills...

I remember in my second playthrough, I maxed out my team's combat power. Back then, every teammate's skill damage was incredibly high, and we could one-shot late-game monsters with a single combo.

Perhaps it's just giving up, or maybe it's just boredom; there's no expectation but no complete denial either.

A stupid idea popped into Sirocco's head.

Sirocco checked around and confirmed that no one was there.

"Cough cough, it's okay, there's no harm in trying it."

Sirocco gripped the ground with both feet, straightened his back, and held his broadsword with both hands, striking a pose unique to characters in games when unleashing skills.

"Pure Black Annihilation Ray!!"

He pronounced the name of his ultimate move with great force.

The sound echoed three times in the space before gradually fading away. Sirocco stood motionless, a hint of awkwardness emanating from the quiet air.

"Gan, did you really overthink it?"

Sirocco scratched his blushing face and put down his broadsword.

Just as he was preparing to kill one more monster and leave, return to the ground to exchange money for new weapons, and then come back to kill monsters again.

Eh?

A rotating, jet-black sphere appeared at the tip of the broadsword.

"ah?...."

Sirocco's magic was rapidly drawn out of his body, and the air was also drawn out. The pitch-black sphere, which was initially the size of a fingernail, gradually increased its spinning speed, spinning wildly and expanding. The surrounding scenery was also distorted and collapsed due to the pitch-black sphere.

Eh? ?

After a short time, the spinning black sphere expanded to a size larger than Sirocco. Just as the newly generated goblin came into contact with this energy, its flesh collapsed, turned into blood, and disappeared.

"Wow! Is this for real?!"

Sirocco swore he was just trying it out with a playful, immature mindset.

To my surprise, it actually worked!

The black sphere spun so fast that it created a small storm, then suddenly stopped expanding.

Sirocco, however, felt that this was not something that stopped only upon receiving his order.

More like...accumulating power to its limit...

Sirocco held his broadsword, the black sphere still spinning, strong winds whipping his long hair through the air. This energy, though light and odorless, even somewhat cold, made Sirocco feel incredibly tired, as if his body had been hollowed out.

hum-

Suddenly, Sirocco felt a powerful force lift him up. After his feet left the ground, everything went black and his ears rang.

I feel like I'm flying?

The pitch-black sphere transformed into an energy torrent with a radius of three meters, engulfing the surrounding scenery and blasting away everything in its path.

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Zone C on the first floor is an open space with only a few scattered trees.

"bring it on!"

Cass held his straight sword, aiming it at the monster before him.

"Chi chi chi chi!"

Standing three meters tall, "Kangaroo-Headed Captain" was incredibly imposing, swaying his upper body from side to side, his thick arms equipped with iron-spiked gauntlets. Even though his body was covered in wounds, he still struck a boxer's pose, his two small black eyes glaring angrily at Cass.

It wasn't just Cass's provocation; perhaps the three "kangaroo-headed soldiers" lying on the ground, smaller than it but still quite large, were the source of its anger.

Captain Kangaroo Head launched a silent surprise attack, his swift fists leaving razor-sharp afterimages. Cass, meanwhile, leaped back a large step before the enemy could launch an attack, maintaining distance.

"I don't want to get punched in the stomach again!"