Staring at the goblin before him, Gu Ran's eyes slightly revealed his anger, and the frequency of his attacks hastened. Arrows were rapidly drawn from the quiver and pierced the body of his opponent.
With the quick pace of his attacks, the wound on his left shoulder had already burst open, but he paid it no heed and continued his swift assault as if he couldn't feel the searing pain radiating from his shoulder.
Actually, if someone familiar with Gu Ran were present, they would realize that he was truly angered.
Already frustrated by his near defeat at the hands of a troll, and now this goblin had the audacity to provoke him at his very doorstep.
If not for his focused attention, maintaining the necessary vigilance even near his home, that last heavy hammer strike from the opponent could easily have wounded him again, or at the very least forced him to waste 4 card points to ensure his safety.
To think, a troll was one thing; after all, it was stronger in both level and power. But what was this goblin? One of the weakest existences among monsters, daring to trouble him—how could he not be angry?
Despite his anger, Gu Ran's mind was clear, his responses orderly, and with the experience from yesterday's kill, it was no surprise that he quickly dispatched the goblin.
The mechanical prompt followed in his ears.
[You have gained 2 Origin Energy points.]
That was not the end. Accompanied by a light tremble of his muscles, he successfully leveled up to Level 1. Additionally, a new change occurred in the card deck in his mind.
[Level Up! Current level: 1. Card slot in card deck increased by +1.]
A profound sense of surprise emerged from within, and suppressing the urge to check his attributes and the loot right there and then, he stuffed the single card that dropped from the goblin's corpse into his pocket.
Gu Ran then quickly started cleaning up the "battlefield" at the door.
Dragging the goblin's body to the corner at the end of the hallway, he cleaned the ground thoroughly before bringing the gas cylinder into his kitchen. After locking the front door, he eagerly opened his attribute panel.
[Name: Gu Ran]
[Race: Human/Card Master]
[Age: 21]
[Level: 1 (0/20)]
[Destined Card Deck: 3/7]
[Miracle Cards: Azurestone (Eye of Insight, Black Rock Axe Fragment*1, Primary Storage Card Fragment*1)]
[Card Points: 9]
...…
Confirming that indeed an extra slot had been added to his destined card deck and having leveled up to Level 1, Gu Ran's attention quickly shifted.
Noticing the figures in the parenthesis behind his level—0/20—he furrowed his brows and muttered to himself.
"So leveling up from 1 to 2 requires 20 points of Origin Energy, huh? As expected, it does get more difficult the further along one progresses."
Closing the attribute panel, the happiness in his heart gradually subsided. Looking at the dropped card he had taken out of his pocket, his brows knitted together again.
"Only one card dropped? Is it a card point or a fragment of a Miracle Card?"
As the thought crossed his mind, the attribute panel for the card appeared before his eyes.
[Azurestone Card • Chieftain's Whistle • Fragment]*1
[Quality: Green Stone One Star (Common)]
[Passive: Equipping this card will automatically bestow you with "Fluency in Goblin Language," enabling barrier-free communication with goblins. (Note: Passive abilities do not consume card points.)]
[Active (Chieftain's Command): Spend 2 card points to summon a Common Goblin Warrior from the Goblin Tribe to fight for you (equipped with a standard-issue Wolf Fang Club). You have absolute command over it, and the Goblin Warrior will exist for 10 minutes. (Cooldown time: half an hour)]
Note: The Goblin Warrior has three revival chances. If the summoned goblin does not die during its summon period, the revival chances will not be consumed. However, if the goblin dies during the summon, one revival chance will be deducted. Once all chances are exhausted, the card will be permanently damaged and cannot be repaired.
Note 2: In addition to the summon's duration ending and the goblin's death, the card's equiper can also cancel the summon at will. Canceling the summon will not consume a revival chance, nor will it refund card points.]
.......
Finding that it was a Miracle Card Fragment, Gu Ran did not feel much surprise. To be honest, he had actually hoped that a card point card would drop, as that would have been more substantial.
While Miracle Cards were certainly precious, that was under the premise of being "whole." As for card fragments, they were far inferior. There was no telling how long it would take to collect them all, or even if it was possible, not to mention the risk of dying before completing the set.
After storing the Chieftain's Whistle card fragment in his card book, Gu Ran subconsciously grabbed the mechanical bow beside him and felt a slight dilemma, unsure if he should continue exploring outside today.
For now, there was no lack of food at home, and the pressing emergency was resolved. Maybe it would be best to let all his injuries heal completely before starting the next action.
Speaking of his injuries, he subconsciously raised his left arm, and then his eyes suddenly widened in surprise.
"What happened, the wound on my shoulder has healed?"
With some uncertainty, he shook his arm vigorously several times, and only after truly feeling no pain at all, Gu Ran confirmed that his injuries had indeed completely recovered. He was also secretly delighted:
"Just like in most novels and games, does leveling up directly repair most injuries?"
With that joy, he stopped hesitating, grabbed the mechanical bow, and strode towards the front door.
Since his injuries had healed, what reason was there to hide at home? The sooner he cleaned out the entire building, the sooner he could leave the apartment block and explore the outside world.
Though three days had passed, he was still fixated on the light orb that had fallen in the greenery across the street; Gu Ran had an intuition that there was a high chance it was a complete Miracle Card.
Therefore, he was so eager. After all, with nearly a million people in Jiang City, even just in the surrounding suburban area where people lived before the anomalies, the population was definitely in the tens of thousands. Who could be sure that he was the only one who noticed that light orb from the sky?
.......
After two days of effort, the monsters on the third and fourth floors had been cleared, but Gu Ran still checked carefully to prevent any overlooked or newly emerged monsters.
Once certain there were no problems, he set his sights on the fifth floor. He had anticipated several battles and proceeded with extreme caution, but it turned out he had worried needlessly; there were no signs of any monsters on the fifth floor.
This was a bit surprising, but interestingly, all the doors on this floor were wide open, revealing the same marks on each one.
Gu Ran concluded that all the doors on this floor had been violently smashed open, which momentarily puzzled him.
"Could there be survivors who acted before me?"
With confusion, Gu Ran could only continue towards the sixth floor, needing further confirmation to see if things were as he suspected.
As he stepped out of the stairwell, two grey-green goblins appeared directly in his sight.
"Fuck!"
An expletive slipped out instinctively because as soon as he saw the goblins, they too spotted him.
"*#?%*"
Hearing a strange cry, the two goblins charged at him, wielding their Wolf Fang Clubs. Seeing this, Gu Ran could only turn and hasten back.
He could take on one easily, but two was a whole different story and carried great risk.