C16 Beautiful Swordsman
*Crack!*
The glass bottle hit the ground and shattered into countless pieces.
A thick purple fog, filled with poison, seeped out from the broken bottle.
Within moments, Rinn and every black-tailed civet were engulfed in the mist!
*Sizzle! Sizzle!*
The black-tailed civets, upon contact with the purple haze, writhed on the ground, emitting cries akin to anguished wails.
But no matter how they shrieked, their bodies were unresponsive, as if numbed by an anesthetic.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Rinn, standing amidst the mist, felt his nose sting and coughed relentlessly. Yet, the toxic fog seemed to have no restraining effect on him.
Other than the foul smell, it was harmless.
Peering through the haze, he saw thirty to forty black-tailed civets lying still on the ground, like lambs awaiting their fate.
"Ha! They've all toppled over?"
Elated, Rinn dashed forward, grabbed the Chaos Hammer, and brought it down with force.
*Clang!*
The sound of impact rang clear.
Three black-tailed civets on the ground were reduced to a bloody pulp!
"Defeated black-tailed civet x3, earned 15 experience points..."
"Three for twenty-one points, so each one is worth five points of experience? Seems like it's the same as the snow wolves. Maybe all level one beasts offer this much experience."
Rinn nodded in realization.
On their own, the experience from these level one beasts was quite decent.
But with a whole group of them, the total was substantial!
With his excitement mounting, Rinn kept swinging his hammer down!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
One by one, the black-tailed civets were smashed into a gory mess.
Amidst the splatter of blood, Rinn raked in a bounty of experience points.
By the time he had reduced the entire group of black-tailed civets to mincemeat, the purple mist had nearly dissipated.
"Ah, that musk poison mist cost me three silver coins a pop! And now it's all gone! What a waste!"
Rinn felt a twinge of regret.
But then, glancing at his personal panel, his disappointment vanished in an instant.
Name: Rinn
Level: 2
Title: None
Profession: Junior Blacksmith
Attributes: Strength 3.3, Agility 1.8, Intelligence 2.0
Profession Skill: Basic Forging (4,258/10,000): "Basic Forging boasts a 95% success rate for standard weapons, a 20% chance to craft blue weapons, and a 1% chance to produce purple weapons..."
Combat Skill: None
Skill Points: 1
Attribute Points: 1
Experience: 220/1,000
Currency: 5 silver coins, 72 copper coins.
...
Glancing at the status panel.
The recent bout of monster slaying had netted Rinn a solid 190 experience points. Quite the haul, yet still a good stretch away from the coveted 1,000 mark.
"Damn it, all that effort for such meager experience points? Hardly seems worth it!"
Rinn couldn't help but feel a tinge of dissatisfaction.
He pressed on, venturing deeper into the grasslands.
"Now that I've hit level 2, these level 1 creatures just don't cut it. I've heard the deeper parts of the grasslands are fraught with danger. Maybe there I'll find higher-level monsters to speed up my leveling."
...
As dusk fell.
Rinn found himself gasping for breath under a tree.
The tree's trunk featured a large hollow.
The entrance was piled high with beetle carcasses.
"Ugh! Why are they all level 1 wild monsters?!"
Leaning against the tree, Rinn's face was etched with frustration.
He had delved deep into the plains in search of game, enduring many trials.
Yet, he had encountered so many monsters.
And they were all merely level 1.
From hunting dogs to venomous snakes and insects, he'd faced them all.
But the experience points gained were disappointingly scant!
He had set out in the morning and after a long day of hunting, he had only accumulated 580 points, not even halfway to the 1,000-point milestone.
However, factoring in the recent defeat of the Black Iron Beetle, his experience had risen to around 780 points, inching him closer to the next level.
"Sizzle..."
The soft earth churned.
Another beetle emerged, its head peeking out.
This beetle was noticeably larger and more enigmatic compared to the others strewn about as lifeless husks.
It was as large as two watermelons, with two red antennae and a shell adorned with peculiar patterns.
"This Black Iron Worm is massive! Could it be a Devil Beast? A big haul of experience, perhaps?"
Rinn's eyes sparkled as he cast an exploration spell.
"Black Iron Worm King, Beast, Level 2, Strength 3.1, Agility 1.5, Intelligence 0.8..."
Upon seeing this data, Rinn was torn between laughter and tears.
"At last, a level 2 wild beast. Yet, it's still just a beast! When will I encounter a Devil Beast?"
One would think that as the insect overlord, it would at least be a Devil Beast.
But it was merely level 2.
Rinn felt that this creature was clearly insufficient for his leveling needs.
"Sizzle sizzle!"
Enraged by the sight of its kin's corpses, the Black Iron Worm King furiously burrowed underground.
Unfazed, Rinn calmly waited. A second later, the earth beneath his feet shifted.
With a cold chuckle, Rinn murmured, "It's on."
He deftly stepped back.
Whoosh.
In the next instant.
The ground where he had stood burst open as the Black Iron Worm King's iron horns emerged.
But Rinn was already out of harm's way, his Chaos Hammer poised for impact!
Thud!
The hammer struck with a dull thud, denying the Black Iron Worm King any chance to evade, shattering it instantly.
Dark green fluid gushed from its body, splashing Rinn's face. He grimaced at the foul stench, wiping the mess from his face, and grumbled, "This is the king of Black Iron City? Utter rubbish! Bad enough you die, but you have to make such a mess! I wish you'd died sooner!"
"Defeated the Black Iron Worm King. Gained 10 experience points."
The notification only soured Rinn's mood further.
"Alas, this plain is no place for a monster hunt suitable for me."
Rinn had seen enough.
The plains were teeming with level 1 wild monsters, with the occasional level 2. Clearly, it was a beginner's area for monster farming.
With his current pace, Rinn could keep hunting wild monsters until midnight and likely reach level 3.
But as someone who had transmigrated, he wasn't content with such slow progress.
He was eager to level up quickly, aiming to reach level 10 within a few days, hoping to possibly switch professions.
However, if he kept grinding away on these plains, his goal would seem unattainable.
"No, I need to find a new spot to grind wild monsters tomorrow."
The day was fading, and Rinn had no intention of venturing deeper into the plains.
The unwritten laws of the land dictated that at night, the peril posed by wild monsters multiplied.
Rinn was well aware of this. The plains were treacherous at night, and even with his strength, the monsters became deadlier in the dark. It wasn't worth the risk.
He had a flint ready in his pack.
Gathering some firewood nearby, he quickly sparked a fire under a tree, creating a makeshift campsite.
Seated before the flames, Rinn savored the devilish meal Aunt Judy had prepared.
Out of the blue, he caught a series of odd sounds, like footsteps, but eerily soft.
"The creature is deliberately quieting its steps. It must be powerful and intelligent. Could it be a Devil Beast?"
Startled, Rinn instinctively stood, gripping the Chaos Hammer tightly.
His gaze fixed on the direction of the noise, he was on edge.
But soon, a figure emerged from the night, becoming visible in the firelight.
"Ahaha! To find a human here! To encounter someone in the depths of this cursed plain is truly serendipitous!"
With a boisterous voice, the figure approached nonchalantly and tossed her sword to the ground with a clang.
She took a seat by the fire, loosening her breastplate to reveal a generous glimpse of her fair skin, and yawned without a care.
Seeing Rinn's bewildered look, she asked with a hint of curiosity, "Hey there, handsome warrior, why the hesitation? Are you feeling shy?"
Snapping out of his daze, Rinn blurted out, "Beauty! Who are you?"
Indeed, before him stood not a Devil Beast, but a strikingly beautiful young woman.
She possessed golden locks, a graceful neck, and a lithe figure, all encased in shining white armor.
The silver sword discarded on the ground beside her looked to be of considerable value.
Undeniably, she was a stunning swordswoman.
Yet, what puzzled Rinn was this:
Why on earth would one encounter such a beauty, a swordswoman no less, in the dead of night, out in the wilderness?
Rinn couldn't resist stealing a glance at the expanse of snow-white skin visible on the swordswoman's chest, a lump forming in his throat.
Uh...
She was indeed a captivating swordswoman.
