NoveLight ™
[Blood Poison Cloud Hand (D)]
When performing the Blood Poison Cloud Hand’s technique, inflict 102 poison damage and apply the 'Corrosion' and 'Bleeding' debuffs.
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Mana Consumption: 30
[Race Specialization]
[Skill Specialization]
As I stepped out of the ice house, I checked the details of Blood Poison Cloud Hand.
It would be difficult to fully utilize, but it had some impressive stats that I couldn’t just discard.
‘What should I throw away?’
I decisively abandoned the Three-Weapon Sword Technique.
‘The Three-Weapon Sword Technique amplifies the damage of the basic skills by double. But it doesn’t matter now.’
I had developed a new use for my survival instinct.
It filled in the gap where my attack power was lacking.
The damage amplification from the Three-Weapon Sword Technique became irrelevant.
Upon acquiring Blood Poison Cloud Hand, several skills flowed into my mind.
‘It’s a martial art thoroughly specialized for surprise attacks.’
I had seen martial artists practice their arts before.
They would recite secret mantras and try to understand the principles embedded in their skills.
Depending on their senses, each martial artist would spend different amounts of time training to master their techniques.
But the Soul System helped bypass this process.
Talent or not, with a simple click, it was done.
‘Of course, the power might be weaker because of that.’
For me, with the tooltip glitch, the penalty didn’t matter.
In terms of damage, my Blood Poison Cloud Hand might actually be stronger than the one a martial artist would have performed.
I stealthily approached the goblins' house.
It was the same group that had suggested we team up earlier that afternoon.
‘It’s convenient since I just need to find the markings.’
Having already scouted their location earlier while the sun was still up, I had a good idea of where to go.
But just to be sure,
I needed to be cautious.
‘I should check thoroughly first.’
It was a needless worry.
“Did you, by any chance, kill Blood Poison Master?”
All of them were awake.
Thanks to that, I didn’t have to worry about killing an innocent player.
“How about we talk about this?”
“Talk?”
One of the goblins suggested it.
It was the goblin who had confidently told me to join their group earlier, and he looked quite manly.
‘He’s trembling.’
His shoulder was shaking.
It seemed like he hadn’t expected this situation.
“Let’s talk in front of the ice wall.”
These were the guys who threw the first punch, and now they wanted to talk?
[Frozen Prison]
I had no intention of talking to them.
The sun rose.
The goblins woke up as soon as the sun was up and went outside.
There were troubled expressions on their faces.
They were concerned about how they would survive the wave today.
“…Why isn’t anyone coming out?”
There were many factions in the village.
To distinguish themselves from one another, they had tattoos carved onto their faces.
The strongest faction in the village was Harkin’s group.
The goblins with red lines crossing their eyes, drawn with red dye.
“Are they still sleeping?”
“That can’t be.”
These were the guys who usually came out early and schemed.
There was no way they were still sleeping.
‘Players generally wake up at a set time.’
Even if they wanted to sleep, they couldn’t.
“Should we stop by their house?”
“…Forget it. Who knows what kind of trouble they’ll cause if we stir things up. They’ll probably come out before the wave starts.”
No team looked favorably on Harkin’s group.
Because of the things they had done.
‘Whenever a strong player shows up, they recruit them into their team. They push out monsters and indirectly kill players from other teams.’
Many players had been victims of Harkin’s group.
「Kek. One hour remains until the 5th wave begins. Everyone, prepare yourselves.」
Even though Harkin’s team hadn’t shown up, the goblin administrator announced the start time.
Only then did the players realize the seriousness of the situation and went to find Harkin’s team.
“Ugh!”
Entering Harkin’s house, a foul stench hit me.
What they found were goblins who had been brutally murdered.
From the tattoos on their faces, it was clear they were from Harkin’s team.
“What the hell happened?”
The house was covered in blood.
It looked like someone had intentionally scattered it around.
Some bodies had melted away.
The scene felt grotesque due to the blood-soaked flesh.
Even though I had gotten used to seeing corpses, it was still a disturbing sight.
“Who could have done this?”
Before trying to find the culprit…
“How is this possible? Kek. Aren’t player battles forbidden?”
PK is under the administrator’s discretion.
The administrator either controls it or turns a blind eye.
What the goblin administrator blocked was PK during the waves, not PK at night.
“It seemed strange.”
“There were always fewer of us when we woke up. I thought I had just miscounted…”
If someone was murdered, everything that had happened until then made sense.
“Administrator, didn’t you say player conflicts were forbidden? Kek.”
「Conflicts are forbidden in the event of human invasions. But I never said it’s always forbidden. Kek.」
“……”
The administrator’s clear response.
The players sighed in disbelief.
But none of them could argue.
They had learned from the lower floors that the floor’s rules were the administrator’s jurisdiction.
“Who killed them?”
They were trying to find the culprit.
But they couldn’t.
In a situation like this, who would voluntarily admit to the murder?
Even if they had killed them, they would hide the fact.
‘No matter how strong a player is, they have to be cautious against a group…’
At that moment, someone stepped forward.
A goblin with no tattoos.
The player who had just ascended yesterday and proudly declared himself a solo player.
“I killed them all. Kek.”
At Error’s bold declaration, the goblins fell silent.
‘This guy is crazy.’
Their silence was a sign of their fear of an uncontrollable strong player.
‘Just as planned.’
Error smiled slyly as he felt the atmosphere shift.
“I’ll clear the wave.”
“What, what did you say?!”
Kek!
A few goblins were visibly startled.
‘Was my declaration of clearing the wave that shocking?’
I ignored them and continued speaking.
“I saw it yesterday. How you managed to block the wave perfectly. If you can do that without me, I’m sure you can handle the increased difficulty. So, I concluded there’s no need to waste time.”
The reason they manage the wave difficulty is for safety.
They don’t welcome any unforeseen variables.
‘But what if that variable is manageable?’
There’s no reason to let that opportunity slip by.
It’s much better to increase the difficulty and get the available rewards.
“Anyone have a problem?”
“……”
No goblin spoke up.
It felt rewarding to have a group under my control.
‘It’s working perfectly.’
Is this how powerful players feel?
It felt completely different from when I was hiding my Earthling identity and trying to survive.
Maybe this is why strong people have such difficult personalities.
Just as I was about to push through with my strength,
A goblin stepped forward.
“…I just came up yesterday, and I think I need to explain something.”
“You…”
It was the goblin who yelled at me yesterday about not stealing monsters.
“Yeah. What do you want to explain?”
“…You know the 5th wave is followed by the invasion phase, right?”
I nodded.
I didn’t feel anything serious from the goblin warrior’s body.
“The invasion phase is much harder than the wave. It’s not even comparable.”
Siege warfare heavily favors the defenders.
I assumed this trial would have a similar structure.
‘Doesn’t mean much to me though.’
They don’t understand my power, that’s why they’re worried.
“If the difficulty increases during the invasion phase, we won’t be able to help you. Kek. You’ll have to handle it alone.”
“Do you think I need help from scum like you?”
I scanned the goblins.
You couldn’t tell who the strong ones were just by looking at them.
“I don’t need it. Kek.”
But I was certain there was no one stronger than me.
‘And I have the goblin administrator’s protection.’
The goblin administrator had called me one of their kind.
If you have some sense, you would realize it’s not just referring to the body.
‘The administrator won’t present an impossible trial for me.’
There had already been a precedent.
‘The administrator is showing positive interest? Then the situation will likely turn in my favor.’
Even if I mess up, it won’t hurt me.
‘If I die, they die too. I won’t get hurt in this accident.’
On the 4th floor, all players are turned into goblins.
Maybe it’s because I look like a goblin?
I couldn’t care less about the opponent’s safety.
‘I can do whatever I want.’
I don’t have the desire to kill and absorb their souls.
But I also don’t feel any need to help them, pretending to save them.
「Kek. Humans are invading. Defend your tribe and fight. Warriors.」
I grabbed my stone axe and charged at the mid-tier monsters.
“I’ll kill them all. Kekek!”
I was looking for a way to earn bonus points.
[Strike]
“You’re insane, goblin!”
“Everyone, gather!”