5 Murder (1/2)

After running for several hours, Drodosis finally reached his destination. Only a preparatory knight with acolyte resources could have done it so effortlessly. He had, after all, monstrous physical attributes, for a human at least. On his way, he found three valuable fruits he would have never recognized, if not for his biochip pointing it out for him.

One was a Grey Eternal Root, a treasure which could increase one's lifespan, and it was the main ingredient for the Vitality Elixir, a treasure which could be sold for hundreds of magic crystals. However, the success rate is so low that the demand is quite inexistent, so after deliberation, Drodosis decided to eat this greyish and almost invisible root, raw as it was better than cooked in order to get the most benefits out of it. Tasting literally like wood, Drodosis ate it all, with great difficulty. He was overjoyed to receive a notification:

[Beep! Host's physique has increased by 0.8!]

Although it was nowhere near as good as the elixir, it was still a pretty noticeable increment. One point of attribute was a huge value, and people might not realize it, but the higher your attributes were, the harsher it got to increase them. His breathing technique was already starting to have reduced effects, and if not for its continuous daily use, Drodosis would have long since reached a bottleneck.

The next treasure he picked up was a small stone, with nothing standing out. It had probably been here for centuries, without anybody noticing. Yet, after absorbing small amount of Earth elemental particles from the ground, it became a small mana generator. Although it was useless to Drodosis, who knew if it could be used to improve a golem, or create a low-grade mechanical soldier out of it? If anything, Drodosis estimated its value to be over 3 magic crystals.

Last but not least, Drodosis stumbled upon a sand shark and obliterated it with skilled dagger mastery. Drodosis wasn't the same as before, and with his 8 points of strength, he was much stronger than the average man. Using speed and strength to overwhelm the beast, he managed to kill it without sustaining an injury, or degrade its two eyes, which could be sold for one magic crystal each.

As Drodosis arrived at the site, he was overwhelmed. Square miles of water, as if it were a small sea! He could see from the distance enormous whales, which could probably squash him to death if he was unfortunate enough to fall into the water!

Drodosis didn't rush, and used his biochip to its limits, in order to find whatever item of value. The main reason why resources were rare wasn't the lack of resources themselves, but rather, the lack of knowledge from acolytes who didn't study enough, failing to recognize what had value and practical use, what didn't.

As Drodosis started to glance at a particular sea fruit, he immediately felt fear in every ounce of his body. It was the first time he was frightened to this extent, and his body moved in an instinctive way, crouching. A man appeared out of nowhere, and his scimitar failed to kill him.

His weapon was a long and curved sword, which had a special aura of death around it. Even though Drodosis miraculously managed to dodge the strike, the aura corroded his eye, to the point that pain was becoming unbearable.

[Beep! Traces of corrosion spreading from left eye detected! Antibodies aren't strong enough! Required treatment: Removing left eye before it's too late.]

Drodosis, threatened by death, decided to do the unimaginable, tearing off his left eye with his bare hands. He had never felt so much pain in his life. He had been careless. Blood splashed everywhere, and despite his brain secreting adrenaline in ma.s.ses, the pain didn't go away. Kneeling, Drodosis managed to cast a water orb spell before the second strike touched him.

The a.s.sa.s.sin had used the same attack as before, yet Drodosis couldn't avoid it. Fortunately, enough, the scimitar blade after rotating at superhuman speed, was blocked by layers of a strange water orb which condensed all around Drodosis.

[Beep! 2 layers of host's barrier have been destructed. Damage absorbed: 29.]

29 points of damage! The man had dealt 29 points of damage with a single attack.

Drodosis was frightened, but also thankful that he had pulled off his trick. However, he knew that with these two layers destroyed, he only had 3 layers of defence left! How could he have offended such a strong man? Killing in the tower was forbidden, but outside, it wasn't! Dismissing these useless thoughts, Drodosis thought of a plan, quickly enough.

The shadow-cloaked man seemed to be surprised at Drodosis' trump card and decisiveness to tear off his own eye. Anyone who could survive two of his strike was worthy of praise, not to mention that his target was actually a beginner acolyte! Seeing this, Drodosis engaged in a conversation.

”Who are you? Who sent you?”, Drodosis asked, while secretly casting his acid spear spell.

”I am…”, the man answered calmly before realizing Drodosis' trick.

A ma.s.sive 1-meter-long spear was approaching at an unimaginable speed, as if it were a bullet. As it travelled through air, a terrifying whistling made him fear for his life. The man, knowing he couldn't dodge, tried to cast a spell, but there were only a few dozen meters between Drodosis and him. In a matter of milliseconds, it found its target. A huge splash reverberated in the oasis, followed by the cries of agony of a man who suffered from acid liquid corroding his body. Somehow, right before the impact, a strange fluid condensed out of nowhere, protecting the a.s.sa.s.sin, although the acid spear was too strong for the fluid to be fully absorbed.

[Beep! Enemy possesses an artefact, which has absorbed 12 out of 20 points of acidic damage.]