LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 2: New Companions
*Slash*
"Kiieeh"
-30
Exp + 90
‘Tch, it's already getting lower,’
Zyrus frowned as he looked at the reduced Exp gain.
With every difference in level, Exp gain decreased by 10%. It was annoying but it made sense in a way. This function ensured the survival of low-level species.
Otherwise, someone could just kill all the goblins to reach level 100 and above.
Once the level gap increased by more than 5, farming exp becomes very inefficient.
*Shkk*
-30
Exp + 90
‘14 more to go till I level up again,’
Zyrus calculated as he pulled out his spear from a goblin's neck.
He kept killing goblins while thinking about how many levels he'd gain after this was over.
For Lv 1 to 10, Exp required to level up would increase by 150% of the previous requirement.
The last levels like 10,20,.50.. and so on needed a bit more Exp as they had additional functions such as class advancements and race-related missions.
Thanks to his one-sided slaughter humans slowly got the upper hand in the fight.
A blonde-haired man had taken charge of the group. With him at the center; all shield users grouped around the goblet and created a metal wall.
Archers stood behind them and they slowly whittled down the enemy numbers.
‘They're not bad, but that's all there is to it.’
While this strategy did increase the survival rate, those who were using the other weapons were in grave danger.
Zyrus didn't expect much from this bunch and looked at the others. He wasn't one of those people who did everything by themselves. In order to achieve his goals he needed some subordinates.
Not allies, subordinates.
Even as a monster he would still need them. He remembered the faces of his comrades, the ones he had lost on his way to the immortal throne.
They were the only people he would trust in this life. As for others, he'll have to be careful about them.
He couldn't afford to be betrayed once again.
Thus, he decided to keep a small number of elites by his side. People who were skilled enough to follow him on his journey.
[Level up!]
[+1 to all stats]
Finally, after killing more than a dozen goblins he leveled up again.
After getting another boost in his stats he was now much stronger than the goblins.
*Slash*
-30
Exp + 80
His slashing spear didn't allow the goblins to let out a dying scream. His hands moved like a blur in others' eyes.
He was single-handedly changing the flow of battle.
Just as Zyrus was about to pierce another goblin, a knife flew from behind and pierced its neck.
With his senses, Zyrus could've prevented the kill from getting stolen, but he just looked at the person who had thrown the knife.
It was a girl who looked to be the same age as him with brown hair and hazel eyes. The girl trembled when his gaze landed on her.
It was to be expected as Zyrus was standing in the midst of goblin corpses. He hadn't even bothered to wipe the blood on his face, which didn't do any wonder to others' impression of him.
"I j-just wanted to help," the girl stuttered as she looked at Zyrus coming in her direction.
"I apologize on her behalf" A boy stood in front of her and bowed towards Zyrus. His green eyes stared back at him while his black hair swayed in the wind.
‘Interesting…’ Zyrus observed them with amusement and strode towards them.
Although the boy looked composed now, he could sense the killing intent emanating from him.
Zyrus didn't mind them stealing the kill. On the contrary, he was impressed by the girl's skill. It was no easy feat to strike so accurately from afar.
What he found even more surprising was the killing intent coming from the boy.
‘They both have potential.’
If trained right they can easily help him in the earlier stages. After that, everything depended on their luck and talent.
They were hiding their skills previously, and as Zyrus was only looking around casually he hadn't noticed the pair.
‘They probably died last time,’
Although their skills were pretty good, that didn't correlate to their survival. It took more than just strength to survive.
Just because he didn't mind them stealing the kill at this moment, it didn't mean that others would do the same.
"I'll kill you both if you lie," Zyrus released his killing intent and everyone around him, be it the goblins or the humans felt a chill down their spines.
Some people looked at the pair with sympathy while others gloated.
The commotion also caught the blonde man's attention as he glared at Zyrus. He had set his eyes on the duo as well, but he knew that now wasn't the right time to act.
Zyrus didn't care about any of them.
He retracted his killing intent and looked at the pair, waiting for an explanation.
None of the goblins dared to come closer. Even they knew it would be suicidal to do so.
It wasn't a good outcome for others as goblins started getting the upper hand in other fights.
The girl took a deep breath as she looked around and spoke with clenched fists,
"I n-no we wanted to stay close to you so we could survive."
Zyrus raised his brows at her which made her flinch.
“And I wanted to earn some Exp now and then, but I didn't think you'd react so strongly about this,"
Zyrus felt a bit bad for them but still, he kept his stern attitude.
He knew it wasn't a big deal, but if she formed a habit now, it could potentially kill her and everyone close to her in the future.
Stealing a kill was a taboo in every ring of the sanctuary. Especially against the boss and event monsters. Those who thought themselves to be clever and sneak attacked the bosses were hunted down by every major force.
Their endings were anything but pleasant.
Zyrus then ignored her and looked at the boy who didn't say anything while standing in front of the girl.
"What do you want?" The boy finally spoke, unable to bear the pressure.
‘That's better. He knows when to back down and hide his true thoughts.’
"You both have decent skills. I help you out but you'll have to follow my every word from now on." Zyrus stared at them and continued,
"I don't care about your relationship and what you think about my order; I want you as a tool and nothing more."
He took out his spear and started moving towards the goblins once again.
"I won't promise you anything grand, but if you follow me, you'll live. Live with the dignity of a human."
They wouldn't understand the weight of his last sentence, but he didn't care.
His conditions might seem harsh, but they were pretty tame compared to the treatment others received from other high-ranking species.
Zyrus started fighting, or rather, farming Exp once again as he killed every goblin he came across.
They avoided him like a plague but now with two level-ups, his agility was even higher than theirs.
‘I got a bit sidetracked but now it's time to finish this off.’
He wanted to level up once more before the end of today's battle. It would be a bit troublesome since goblins were dying pretty quickly now.
He felt slightly regretful after looking at the goblins that others had killed while he was talking.
‘Whatever, it would be worthwhile if they join me.’
He could just party up with them to recover the "potentially lost Exp."
As he kept killing them one after another, his Exp slowly stacked up.
Finally, after killing another thirty of them, he saw the level-up message once again.
There were only about a hundred of them left now. Even though he was much stronger than the others, he still needed time to kill them. His attacks dealt more damage than goblins maximum HP, but it didn’t make any difference.
Zyrus was quite exhausted by this point as well. Unfortunately, leveling up didn’t restore the stamina.
‘I guess I’ll stop after I get an achievement for killing a hundred,’ There was also a limit to how much Exp you could get by simply killing the same type of monster. After a certain number, the system gave coins instead of Exp.
It wasn’t a bad deal as earning coins was just as, if not harder than leveling up. Unless you have a crafting class, getting enough coins to buy the items in the system shop or at players' auction was a hassle.
Just as Zyrus was about to go on a killing spree again, the pair from before approached him.
“We’re willing to follow you,” the boy spoke with determination.
“Very well then. I’m Zyrus,” he spoke as he put his fist forward.
“I’m Kyle.” the boy, Kyle, bumped his fist.
“And I’m Lauren.” The girl did the same as Zyrus smiled at them both.
He was being blunt with them on purpose. He didn't have the time to play mind games when their lives were at stake. From their behavior, it was apparent that they knew his intentions as well.
“Follow me then. We’ll talk later but first, I’ll help you guys level up once.”
“Thanks,” they both bowed with sparkling eyes.
‘Well, I only need one hit for achievement anyway,’ Zyrus felt a bit guilty about their gratitude but he shrugged it off soon after.
“Show me your skills,” Zyrus commanded as he pointed his spear at the unfortunate group of goblins.
…
“Phew… finally it’s over,” Zyrus tapped their shoulders as he looked at the achievement tabs.
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Achievement: First Blood in tutorial, (F-).]
[The first one to strike is the winner! Achievement given to the person who had the first kill in tutorial!]
[+5 SP]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Achievement: Goblin slayer, (E)]
[An Achievement given to the person who has killed 100 goblins!]
[+5 SP, increase in Agility by 20% while fighting against goblins.]
*Huff…Huff* Kyle and Lauren were still panting when Zyrus spoke again, pointing at the goblet of fire.
“You should collect your rewards first,”
“Sure. What about you?” Lauren asked as she stood up.
“I have different plans,” Zyrus spoke while looking away with a queer smile.
They didn’t ask any more questions as they slumped towards the center. Be it Lauren or Kyle, both had their own encounters with people like Zyrus.
Others might refuse his offer due to his blunt and arrogant personality. However, they could sense the pride and confidence he carried with his every action.
As for being used as tools? They were trained for that purpose since they opened their eyes.
Zyrus, on the other hand, wasn't aware of their thoughts as he walked to the pile of goblin corpses.
After making sure that he was alone in the area, he looked at the sky with a knowing smile and whispered,
“Why don’t we make a deal now, Aurora?”