Quickly shaking away the negative emotions that would
always invade his mind whenever he went outside, Sae-Jin
returned to his cave, one that resembled a respectable
dwelling... more or less. He then set about formulating a new
plan.
Now that he was a Grey Wolf, he could go a bit further away
to hunt. The issue was.... it was still undoubtedly dangerous.
Even though his Trait Level was at 3 and had advanced from the
Brown Wolf to a Grey one, the Monsters in the Low Tier
hunting ground remained a tough challenge.
Besides the Grey Wolves within the Low Tier hunting ground,
there roamed Monsters such as Orc Warriors, Skeleton
Soldiers, and Trolls, each of them possessing powers greater
than that of a Grey Wolf. The reason why these wolves were
acknowledged as Low Tier creatures and could survive in this
hunting ground was simply because they formed large hunting
packs.
'It would have been nicer still if the Orc Form evolved as
well.'
Judging by how only the Brown Wolf Form evolved, all three
of his Forms – Orc, Wolf, Goblin – must have had different
criteria, specific conditions assigned for each of them. If his Orc
Form evolved into an Orc Warrior, then it wouldn't be a
problem to continue using the same hunting pattern for
catching Brown Wolves, but... unfortunately for him, that
wasn't the case. Right now, his Grey Wolf Form possessed
higher Physical Strength stat than that of the Orc Form.
'It means I must hunt in the Wolf Form...'
Sae-Jin emptied all the complicated worries out of his head
and stood up to leave. Sitting here wracking his brain cells
wasn't going to give him answers. For now, he'd go out there
and take a look-see first.
He moved all four of his feet and left the cave.
*
– Krrrrrng...
As expected, the laws of Low Tier hunting ground was far
more dangerous than that of the Lowest Tier areas. The
viciously growling Grey Wolves with feral eyes couldn't be
compared to that of the lowly Brown Wolves at all.
If it was just comparing the body sizes, then Sae-Jin's current
Grey Wolf Form was 1.5 times larger than the normal ones,
but...
– Kwawawal!!
– Khwal!!
The spectacle of 6 ferocious Grey Wolves pouncing on a
patrolling Orc Warrior and ripping it to shreds, was something
he didn't find enjoyable or impressive to witness.
– Pureung...
Losing his motivation, Sae-Jin turned around and went
another way. From his back, noises that eerily sounded similar
to dogs voraciously chewing on a toy and a desperate, pained
scream could be heard. Knowing that he wasn't on the menu for
those wolves today could only give him a small sense of relief.
He then headed towards the outer area of the Low Tier
hunting ground. This was after rolling his head around for a bit.
Numerous Monsters inevitably gathered around a drinking
water source such as rivers and lakes, which could create a
potential killing field of sorts. Because of this reason, most of
the physically weak Low Tier Monsters that lived in groups
settled down in outer areas that were as far away as possible
from the said water sources.
For instance... Monsters such as Goblins.
– Krrrrng...
Sae-Jin's thoughts proved to be correct.
His eyes sharpened abruptly, a deeply sinister grin plastered
on his lips. In the distance, he saw a bonfire burning brightly,
illuminating a quaint little village consisting of several
primitive huts.
Sae-Jin slowly approached there. It was quite likely that he
had found a village of Goblins nestling in this Low Tier hunting
ground that practiced in medicine and witchcraft. These
Monsters possessed pathetic physical strength. The things he
had to be wary of were: if it was a Goblin practicing medicine,
then he needed to look out for poisons; if a Goblin dabbled in
witchcraft, then he had to be cautious against curses. However,
it wasn't easy to defend against such attacks, so if a Goblin's
rank was higher than Low Tier, then regardless of their own
ranks, Hunters and Knights would see it as the number one
Monster to avoid like a plague.
– Khreng Kkheng!!
– Ddhkeeng!!
Sae-Jin spotted two green-skinned Goblins. One of them had
tattoos plastered all over its body. Must've been the so-called
"Elite Goblin."
'They are medicine-types,' thought Sae-Jin.
He used his nose to make sure. The super sensitive olfactory
sense of the Grey Wolf caught the unmistakable whiff of herbs,
confirming his thoughts.
– Khreng!!
– Khreng!!
Two Goblins performed some sort of a farewell ritual and
parted ways. Seeing this, Sae-Jin quickly lowered his body and
hid in the tall grasses.
The one with lots of tattoos on its body, began walking
towards where he was hiding. Judging by the binocular-like
object as well as a pair of shoes the creature held in hand and
wore on its feet, it seemed like this Goblin was heading out
either to scout or to gather medicinal herbs.
Sae-Jin's heart beat faster and faster the closer the Elite
Goblin got. One footstep, two footsteps. Unaware of the danger
lurking in the bushes, the prey unhurriedly walked closer to the
trap, and seeing this scene, Sae-Jin's muscles tightened in
dreadful anticipation, unconsciously salivating.
As the time to pounce neared, he slowly rose up half way, his
ears flattening to reduce air drag as much as possible. However,
Goblins were clever and alert Monsters to begin with, and an
Elite Goblin was even more so. In order to catch one, he had to
exercise utmost discretion and maximum wariness.
– ....Khrrng?
As expected of a perceptive creature, the Elite Goblin stopped
just short of the trap, sensing the aura of uneasiness permeating
in the air. But Sae-Jin didn't wait and kicked the ground,
pouncing on his prey.
Ignoring the distance, the terrifying beast rushed towards his
target like a crashing wave of a tsunami.
'... It's far.'
It turned out, the Goblin was just out of the initial reach. To
make the matters worse, the creature had regained most of its
composure as well. As a matter of fact, the d**n thing had pulled
out a primitive blow gun and was trying to shoot it at Sae-Jin's
direction. As befitting of the moniker "Elite", there was not a
single shred of fear showing in its calm demeanor. All those
tattoos weren't just for a show, indeed.
'Son of a bi*ch!!'
But Sae-Jin was far more desperate than the Goblin. His
desperation, fuelled by the emotions of heartache and fear,
pushed him past the physical limit of the Wolf's four limbs, and
like grey-coloured tempest winds, the Grey Wolf stormed in and
sunk his fangs into the neck of the Goblin before it could mount
a counterattack.
Almost at the same time, an alert window popped up as if it
was a message of his victory.
► [Complete: breaking past the limit while running] Active
Skill "Whirlwind Dash" has been acquired.
– Instantly raises the dashing speed. (Can be used in Human
Form.)
– Calculated from the numerical value of the current Agility
Stat, the skill can be safely activated (2 times) per day; exceeding
this amount will put strain on the body.
Kwajeek.
Sae-Jin broke the neck of the Elite Goblin while reading the
pop up notice. The dead Monster's blood seeped into his mouth,
past his fangs. Then another notice window popped up into his
view.
► [Complete: Traditions of Goblins, Inheritance of
Memories.]
– Drank the blood of a Goblin specializing in medicine. Now,
while in either the Goblin Form or the Human Form, the host
can freely activate "the Elite Goblin's medicinal knowledge and
concoction skill".
Sae-Jin tilted his head slightly. Was this a good thing? But
since he was as good as in the middle of enemy encampment, he
wasn't able to afford time to ponder this new development.
–Khreng Kheng!!
The hullabaloo raised by a beast's hunt roused a pack of
Goblins and they were busy heading this way.
Sensing the overwhelming killing intent, Sae-Jin didn't even
look back once as he fled the scene. The countless poison darts,
obviously fired by the irate Goblins, inundated the air behind
him, but a Grey Wolf's running speed was far greater and rapid
than they were.
*
The sight of a Grey Wolf excitedly shaking its hips with a
booty of an Elite Goblin dangling in his mouth while walking
back to his home in the Lowest Tier hunting ground could easily
be described as endearingly humorous, somewhat.
"...?"
But in the middle of this trot, Sae-Jin suddenly caught a faint
but pained whimpering from somewhere.
After carefully lowering the Goblin down, his ears stood up
sharply to listen.
– .....Ha, ahhh...
So weak, it might die out any second, but it was there for sure.
It was a moaning of a person in trouble.
There was no need to think too deeply when a human wanted
to help out another human being.
Sae-Jin picked up the dead Goblin again and quickly dashed
towards the direction of the dying person.
After running full speed for a minute or so, he found a gravely
injured figure lying on a thick grass. The injury on this person
was terrible enough to make him turn his head away.
He could see intestines within the torn abdomen, crimson
blood spilling out, and intermittently, the whimpers managed
to escape from the lips in between the bubbling red stuff
clogging her mouth.
Even though it was an incredibly serious wound that would
have killed a person instantly, this person, a female, was still
clinging on desperately. Her consciousness had abandoned her,
but she kept on moaning in pain while both her hands were
rolled in tight fists, as if she could not accept the fate of her
impending doom.
– Khrrrng..
Sae-Jin knew who this woman was. Her race was an Elf... like
human, her profession a Knight.
The daughter of the Master of the Raven Knights Order,
reputedly the strongest Knights Order in South Korea, and only
a step away from accomplishing the feat of the youngest-ever
Knight ranked Highest Tier in the history – some even going as
far as uttering that she could be THE representative of the
whole nation and some outright admitting that she was the
most beautiful female Knight in the nation – Kim Yu-Rin. (Me:
Another Kim?! There are other surnames in Korea, btw. Also,
not 100% sure of how to classify these rankings just yet. Will
revise if more context is provided in the future.)
The claims of being the most outstanding beauty wasn't all
empty talk, tough. Even while precariously striding on the
boundaries of death, Yu-Rin's beauty still wasn't going
anywhere.
But the description of her stunning beauty and admiration for
her personality had to wait for now. All the honour and glory
could only be maintained if one managed to live.
Putting down the dead Elite Goblin, Sae-Jin quickly assumed
the Orc Form. As a giant Orc, this slender woman felt lighter
than a feather. So, he even hoisted the Goblin carcass he was
planning to discard over his other shoulder and hurriedly ran
towards his base of operations.
He just hoped that he could make it in time.
*
Sae-Jin placed the woman down on the stone bed and changed
to the Goblin Form. "Thanks" to his short height, he had to
climb up on the bed to diagnose all of her wounds. And just like
that, like a lie, he could tell exactly what potion he needed to
make, and the ingredients necessary to make the said potion.
'A dream-inducing grass, jejeung liquid, a scorpion grass,
and... a single low grade Mana Stone.' (I've no idea what this
jejeung is. Left as is.)
Sae-Jin began rummaging through the belongings of the dead
Elite Goblin. Thankfully, he found all the necessary ingredients
as mentioned as well as a mortar and pestle inside the small
rucksack it carried on the back. And the most important item in
concocting the medicine, the low grade Mana Stone, he just
happened to have a couple on hand, so that was that taken care
of.
Sae-Jin began implementing the steps to create a potion as
engraved in his brain.
Dividing the ingredients in equal measure, he poured all his
efforts grinding them in the mortar. When the herbs were
powderized to a certain degree, he then added the Mana Stone
and resumed grinding away. That's when the miracle happened.
The solid Mana Stone melted into a liquid that emitted a clear
blue light, as soon as it interacted with the rest of the
ingredients.
It didn't look any different from other emergency medicine on
sale in the stores, but the effects would be heaven and earth in
difference. Using the knowledge of herbs now firmly rooted in
his head, Sae-Jin could ascertain the comparative advantage. It
seemed like he made a mid grade potion. If the widely available
emergency medicine could only heal the surface wounds, then
his own miraculous potion would not only mend the deep
injuries but also replenish the lost blood as well.
Sae-Jin applied some of the liquid on the woman's wounds
and poured the rest down her throat.
And then, the miracle began. The frightening injury on her
abdomen, with the internal organs on show, slowly but surely
started to regenerate by itself, and her pale complexion that
seemed to indicate that death was just around the corner,
regained some of the lost colours.
"Whew...."
Sae-Jin breathed out a sigh of relief, seeing the recovery of the
woman below. Suddenly, several message windows popped up
and obscured his view.
⸢Condition Cleared: A Goblin's Kindness.⸥
– Must administer a necessary aid to at least 1 human being.
All stats rise by 1.
– The host can now assume the "Medical Goblin" Form
instead of "Goblin" Form. All stats related to the Goblin Form
will be adjusted accordingly.
► Acquired the passive skill "Goblin's Craftsmanship."
– The host will receive bonus attributes when performing all
jobs related to craftsmanship. (Manufacturing, Cooking,
Cleaning, Healing, etc.)
– The skill's effectiveness will be reduced during the Human
Form.
".....Eh?"
Not only did the Goblin Form evolve, he even ended up
getting a skill to boot.
Sae-Jin toiled hard for the whole month, hunted like crazy
until it felt like his back would snap into two, and still, he
couldn't even get a sniff of skill during all that time, but here
he was, getting three of them in one day!!
Was this emotion that he was feeling right now one of
profound happiness, unbridled panic, or inescapable emptiness?
Whatever it was, Sae-Jin just sat there, unmoving, and stared
at the message windows.
Meanwhile, without fanfare, a single modest tattoo
manifested on his forehead, just like that.