A monster encyclopedia comprised details about monsters.
With years of struggle to conquer dungeons, over a thousand monsters were documented in the encyclopedia.
It was a manual and guide for hunting monsters.
From constant fighting in his pre-regression times, Arthur was well-familiar with efficient monster hunting. He recalled even writing an updated encyclopedia of his own as monsters evolved and unlocked their skill functions over time.
'Well, thanks to that I remember every detail of what I wrote.', Arthur pondered.
It was not simply his mind cause his body alike recalled the vital movements.
With just a stab of the dagger, a leaping rabbit with a protruding horn and bloodshot eyes was impaled.
[You have killed an F-grade One-horned Rabbit]
[+1 gold coin]
Arthur didn't see an increment in his experience bar as usual due to his unawakened state.
"If I remember correctly, there are about 50 monsters in an F-grade dungeon.", Arthur muttered.
Pulling the rabbit out of his dagger, Arthur went to the altar. He then looked through his skill description to determine its casting method.
"Should I just say it just like other skills?", Arthur wondered if SSS grade worked the same as other lower-grade skills.
With no further dawdling, Arthur uttered the name of the skill.
"Fate Plunderer"
As his words sounded, the corpse of the rabbit emitted faint white light, hovering and then drifting toward Arthur.
[You have stolen the fate of the one-horned rabbit]
[You may choose one of its skills.
Skills:
- Stab (F)
- Leap (F)]
Alab browsed through their information.
[Stab (F)
Category: Skill
Description: You can now stab harder.
Effect: +.01% stabbing force]
[Leap (F)
Category: Skill
Description: You can leap higher.
Effect: +.01% leaping power]
"Trashes"
The rate of increase was minimal and distasteful.
'No wonder even their leap is not that high.'
The monster encyclopedia didn't contain detailed information on the skills.
Support-type skills were relatively scarce. In the Philippines alone, the number of supports could be counted in 10 hands.
Furthermore, the main author of the Monster Encyclopedia was the sole awakened who owned the B-grade Appraisal skill.
Arthur couldn't comprehend why there was a small number of support-type awakened.
Pulling out his wandering thoughts, Arthur picked a skill from the two.
[You have chosen the Leap (F) skill.]
[A new skill has been registered]
"It works just like my precedent skill 'Skill Steal'.", Arthur inferred.
Unlike his F-grade skill before, the evolved form of SSS-grade appeared to have no restriction to its number of uses. It also was detailed.
"If my speculation is right, I can even use this on higher-grade monsters... Even SSS-grade", Arthur mumbled.
Skill Steal at F-grade particularly worked on F-grade monsters only and could be used once a month.
"It is great, I don't have to start from scratch."
Arthur was satisfied to figure out the resemblance between his precedent and the evolved skill's function. It would be easier for him to utilize and increase his proficiency in the skill.
Trying once more the skill to the lifeless rabbit, Arthur was met with a system notification.
[The corpse has already been plundered. Please unlock your skill's 2nd function to perform plunder.]
"As I thought."
If monsters could be plundered endlessly, the skill would not be labeled as SSS-grade. After all, that effect would be in another realm.
Swinging the blood out of his dagger, Arthur began hunting for more rabbits.
----
In an abandoned factory meters away from the Dufan, a group of men dressed in orange shirts drank a barren of alcohol.
Beside them was a busted truck, its covering torn into shreds with sharp blades. On the driver's seat lay the lifeless body of an old man, his wrinkled eyes wide open as he seemed horrified to death.
The group remained unbothered by the presence of the corpse. Truth be told, they were in celebratory, taking out barren after barren from the ripped truck.
A man of tremendous height sat before the group, sipping on his barren with a reddened face. Blade marks lingered on his face, reflecting the horrendous fights he had been in the past.
"Tomorrow, we will prove our capacity to the fiend scouts. We will show them that they are not wrong for choosing us.", the man grinned.
Raising their barrens in the air, the group threw their praises to the fiends.
"Praise the fiend's god!"
"To more power!"
"To the world's demise!"
The group immersed themselves in their carnival. Unbeknownst to them, a dark shadow was watching behind a pile of bombs.
'Found you!', Dusk was pleased with himself.
------
In the F-grade dungeon, a pile of rabbit corpses loitered on the altar.
"Is that all the monsters here?", Alab had hunted the 50 rabbits.
Half an hour had passed since he entered the portal. In that time, he spent a quarter-hour experimenting with his skills and hunting rabbits whilst the remaining time was spent on finding the Golden Cloves herb.
The herb was finger-sized, making it difficult to find.
Arthur made a multitude of discoveries.
First, he learned that SSS-grade skills, or his skill at least, didn't require stating its name to cast. With just a thought, the skill would be cast.
Second. A significant revelation that even alive beings could be plundered of a skill dawned on him.
The range was also about ten meters away and continually protracted as his proficiency of the skill increased.
At his current mana, he could cast his skill for 25 consecutive times before exhaustion from low mana reserve got him.
He couldn't have two of the same skills. Once he plundered that skill, he could no longer plunder the same skill from similar monsters.
Satisfied with his discoveries, Arthur then pulled out a purplish coupon ticket from his inventory.
It was the coupon ticket he received from clearing the hidden quest a moment ago.
[Coupon Ticket (F)
Category: Item
Description: Can be used to randomly draw an F-grade item.]
It was an item that Arthur was highly fond of before regression.
With his 8 stats in luck, he always drew rare items like accessories.
"It's a pity that it is just an F-grade."
"Draw"
[You have drawn the item "Green Ring (F)"]
[Green Ring (F)
Category: Item
Description: A ring crafted by a beginner blacksmith.
Effect: +0.1% Recovery Rate]
It was an accessory that could increase the recovery rate. Though minimal, this aspect was rather difficult to boost.
After equipping the item, Arthur then sacrificed the Golden Cloves to the altar, deeming the main quest cleared.
---
As Arthur exited the portal, the figure of Dusk appeared in front of him beside Echo.
"I have found them, young master.", Dusk muttered.
Arthur grinned at this news.
"Very well. Shall we start a criminal hunting then?", Arthur muttered to the two.