laulau20

Chapter 97: 10,000 Coins

Added 2025-07-17 05:08:02 +0000 UTC

A wall of flame bathed James like crashing waves. He ducked, shielding his head from the incoming fire cast by the mage. Thanks to his Firefur, he endured it. It was hot, but the fire resistance helped James from any injuries.

James peeked out from behind the tree and fired a bow skill at the mage. The pursuing paladin halted and leapt to the side. The homing arrow struck his shield and pierced his arm. With both arms disabled, the paladin was incapacitated.

“Argh!!!” the paladin cried, sprawling to the ground. Unfortunately, the other two knights had returned. James unleashed another bow skill—Power Shot. Golden motes of light gathered on the arrow before it shot toward the mage knight.

One knight swung his glowing longsword in a diagonal arc, parrying the golden meteor. James stared, stunned. He had done something similar before with goblin arrows, so he knew how difficult it was. Was this knight’s level so high that James was no stronger than a goblin to him?

The remaining three knights gave chase. Curses rang out behind him, but James didn’t care. They had attacked him first—now it was payback.

“Shit. The plan failed.” James hesitated. Should he run or keep fighting? The knights were strong, but in pure stats, James’ dexterity was higher. He could outrun them. “Can I take them alone? That’s risky…”

In the end, James chose to run.

The heavily armored knights couldn’t keep up and eventually gave up. They had a wounded comrade to tend to.

[Congratulations. You have slain the Bow of Mystis. You have leveled up to Level 55. You have earned 1,000 coins. Your Attacker class has leveled up to Level 36. You now have 4,750 coins remaining.]

“Oh. I still get coins for the enemies I killed,” James said. He hadn’t expected that, but it opened up new possibilities. Even if he ran away from combat afterward, as long as he killed at least one enemy, he would still get the reward.

“I couldn’t loot the corpse, though,” James muttered. “Damn. I wanted that mage’s mana core.”

Fate hadn’t abandoned James. While fleeing from one group of knights, he stumbled upon another—the group with the extra archer. They were in the middle of clearing out a nest. The knight with the shield, nicknamed the Paladin, had gone ahead with the longsword-wielding Swordmaster, leaving the remaining three knights behind at the edge of the orc village.

[You have purchased 2 flashbang grenades for 100 points.]

James lobbed one grenade and held the other in his mouth, saving it for the Paladin if he returned with the Swordmaster. As the grenade silently arced toward the three knights, James nocked an arrow. Golden light shimmered along the shaft as he fired at the archer.

“Ambush!” one archer caught sight of the glowing arrow. The mage and two archers dove to the ground. It was futile—the arrow still found its mark, striking the mage knight in the head.

The two archers scrambled to return fire, but just as they nocked their arrows, the grenade exploded in a blinding white flash. The burst drew the attention of the other knights. Sensing something had gone wrong with their rearguard, they sprinted back.

But it was too late.

James had already drawn his sword and lunged at one knight. Unlike the Paladin, this archer didn’t have a shield skill, so his skill was not interrupted. The archer carried a short sword at his waist, but it was useless against James’s charge. The Black Sword of Yailatuh carved through his shoulder and into his chest. James kicked the knight’s body away and yanked out his sword, then turned to face the final knight.

“Damn you! Coward!” the archer knight cursed as he engaged in melee with James. A golden glow gathered on his sword. But before he could activate it, James shot him in the head with his horn. The shot missed its mark, striking his helmet instead of his eye—but it was enough to blind and disorient him.

James was now faster than the knight with his sword skill. He activated Hurricane and, with a sweeping diagonal slash, sent the archer’s body flying. A deep gash was carved into his torso as he struck a nearby tree and crumpled to the ground. Not dead yet, but with the wound he was receiving, it was just a matter of time.

The other knights arrived in horror at the sight of their fallen comrade. They roared, while James smirked at them. He lobbed the remaining grenade from his mouth toward the approaching knights.

The blinding light engulfed them once more, and the loud explosion deafened their ears. James was affected too, but he was ready, so the effect was weak. The knights had never encountered a flashbang before, nor had they expected any debuff that could bypass the blessing granted to them.

“Shit!” one knight cursed. “Shield!”

“On it,” James replied.

James might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he learned quickly. The same trick wouldn’t work on him twice. James realized that the golden light emanating from the paladin’s shield forced him to attack the paladin. That was fine—he only needed to cut off his arm, just like last time.

James leaped and swung his sword toward the knight’s arm. It was deflected. Without sword skill, the strike was weak. He didn’t falter; he grabbed the shield, forcing the knight to reveal his pathetic face. Then, he blasted him away with his firebreath. At such close range, he was sure the knight’s face would be ruined.

“ARGHH!!!!” the paladin howled as he jumped back, flailing his lone arm at his face. The Swordmaster rushed toward him with a sword skill, but James had already leaped clear.

“One-on-one then,” James declared as he eyed the paladin. The knight lay sprawled on the ground, groaning—alive, but barely. Now, only the Swordmaster remained.

James gripped his sword with his golem hand—his normal hand wasn’t strong enough to withstand a skill clash with the knight.

The knight lunged forward with a sword skill, and James met him with one of his own. As both sword skills collided, a shockwave rippled across the field. James held firm while the knight gritted his teeth from the force.

The swords ground against each other, creaking under the immense pressure of the clash. Slowly but surely, James gained ground. The knight was pushed back—bit by bit. No matter how many hits his sword skill had, it was meaningless if he lost the initial clash.

The knight’s eyes widened in surprise, but he wasn’t an amateur. He slid his sword in a fluid motion, trying to complete the strike. James recognized the move—Kouki had used it on him before. But this time, James had another card up his sleeve.

He fired a lightning bolt at the knight. It struck him in the chest. The bolt was deflected by his armor, but the shock and force had knocked the knight out of balance.

“What—?!” The Swordmaster staggered, but he wasn’t a slouch either. Now aware of the spell, he braced himself. The next bolt hit him in the head, knocking off his helmet. As their swords slid apart, the Swordmaster launched his second strike.

James tried to throw himself clear, but he was too late. The blade cleaved through his left arm.

If he hadn’t dodged when he did, the strike would’ve finished him off.

But the sword didn’t stop.

Another slash was coming.

James felt his heart skip a beat as the next attack bore down on him. The knight had activated his strongest skill—Triple Slash. Once it began, it was meant to end the fight. None of the swordsman he knew could withstand it.

A swordsman might be common—just another blade among many. Even archers and mages could wield sword skills. But this man stood above the rest. His enemy was cunning and powerful—but he would prove that none of it mattered before his mastery of the sword.

As the knight lunged forward, he suddenly struck a hard surface—something that should’ve been impossible in a forest. James had cast an ice floor beneath him. The knight’s sword skill combo shattered as he slipped, losing his footing. James seized the moment and lunged, thrusting his sword into the gap in the knight’s armor.

But without a sword skill, James met resistance. The chainmail beneath the knight’s plate armor had saved him. James released his sword and grabbed the knight’s weapon, preventing him from swinging it. This fight would now be settled by brute force.

James breathed fire and unleashed multiple lightning bolts at the knight’s head.

“Argh!! Help!!” the knight screamed. His resistance was futile as James’ stats were higher than his, albeit slightly. After several dozen blasts, his resistance finally faded. His level had been high, but even he couldn’t withstand so many regular attacks. Once the Swordmaster fell, James turned to the wounded Paladin and ended him with a stab to the face.

“Chimera! Replace my arm!” James shouted. His vision dimmed as blood poured from his severed limb. The battle was over, and that meant Chimera—and the shop—were now available.

[Congratulations. You have slain the Sword of Mystis, the Bow of Mystis, the Shield of Mystis, and the Staff of Mystis. You have leveled up to Level 56. You have earned 5,000 coins. Your Attacker class has leveled up to Level 37.]

Dark motes of light gathered around the fallen knight and flowed into James, replacing his lost arm. The bleeding stopped, but he still felt weak and drained.

“Hematonic potion, please,” James muttered.

[You have purchased Hematonic Potion for 50 points.]

He gulped it down the moment it spawned. The shaking in his hand and the dimness in his vision slowly faded. But after all that effort, he had only gained one level. James cursed the system for cheating him. There was no way all of this was worth just a level.

[Survivors may only level up once per battle, regardless of the enemy’s rank—unless a survivor possessed a unique skill.]

The system’s reply appeared. James nodded. His Attacker class had only increased once per fight, no matter how tough the enemy was. It felt unfair, but it probably existed to prevent power-leveling abuse.

“Thinking about this won’t help. Let’s gather the corpses,” James muttered, glancing at the battlefield.

“I’m going to get as much as I can from these guys. Sell everything,” he said. He had no real use for the bodies themselves—maybe he’d keep an arm or a leg for healing later—but selling them was more profitable. Corpses decayed quickly, and once they rotted, Chimera couldn’t use them. They might not be worth much compared to the risk it took to kill them, but 100 coins per body was still something.

White motes of light spread out from James, consuming all the corpses nearby. A moment later, the system notified him he’d earned another 400 coins, bringing his total to a clean 10,000 coins.

It was time to upgrade his Chimera skill.

[Name: James]
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 56
Coins: 10,000
Merit: 10

Stats

STR: 172 (↑2)
DEX: 170 (↑3)
MAGIC: 131 (↑3)
MANA: 1180 (↑20)

Skills

Novice Axe Mastery Lv5 — Powerstrike, V-slash, Boomerang
Novice Sword Mastery Lv2 — Hurricane, Vorpal Lunge
Novice Bow Mastery Lv1 — Quickshot, Homing Shot
Beginner Dagger Mastery Lv1

Magic

Mind Flay
Sense Alteration
Mana Sonar

Class

Attacker (Lv37) — +10% bonus when attacking

Bonus: STR +1 / level
Bonus: DEX +1 / level

Shop (Lv2)

Health Potion (100 coins)
Hematonic Potion (50 coins)
High Potion (300 coins)
Antidote (50 coins)
Bullets (10 coins / round)
Grenades / Flashbangs (50 coins / piece)
Arrows (50 coins / dozen)
Metal Pocket Arrows (100 coins / dozen)
Poison Darts (10 coins / round)
Sell / Repair Function
Merit Shop (10 merit / skill)

Unique Skill – Chimera Lv2 (1 Extra Slot Open)

Goblin Stomach — Iron Guts (Stomach Slot)
Eyes of Mana — Mana Sense (Right Eye Slot)
Golem Arm of Valhalla — STR+30%, Physical Resistance +30%, Repairable, Mana -200 (Right Arm Slot)
Ratking’s Legs — STR +25% (Leg Slot)
Flaming Tiger’s Fire Lung — Fire Breathing, Mana -100, Magic -10 (Lung Slot)
Golem Core — Poison Resistance, Mana -250, Magic -10, Repairable (Heart Slot)
Orc’s Torso (Torso Slot)
Shadow Snake Fang — Intermediate Life Leeching (Mouth Slot)
Flaming Tiger Lord’s Firefur — Fire Cloak, Fire Resistance, Physical Resistance +15%, Mana -100, Magic -10 (Skin Slot)
Land Shark’s Ear — Echolocation (10m) (Ear Slot)
Mana Core — Water Spells: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000 (Extra Slot)
Quetzalcoatl Horn — Lightning Shot (20 Mana / Shot) (Extra Slot 3)
Mana Core — Wind Spells: Wind Gust, Wind Wall, Magic +20, Mana +300 (Extra Slot 4)