Chapter 5 Ability

[[Lesser Immunity (Passive)] Ungraded ★★★

Gains low immunity against poison and infections! Immunity includes resistance to zombification, restricted to three scratches/bites a day. (3/3)]

Upon reading the message that popped up when he picked up the gray crystal, Dilan was a little bit astonished.

“That’s an ability, not bad!”

His first reaction was joy, only for him to end up looking at the message with a conflicted expression.

‘Zombification…zombies…’

He was no stranger to the word as he had seen plenty of movies made about zombies. As such, Dilan could tell that they would be quite difficult to fight.

Even though he procured two types of weapons, he knew that fighting a large group of zombies was not possible for him, not in his current condition.

Thus, the passive ability seemed quite useful.

There was no need for him to hesitate, which led him to think about binding the passive ability while holding it in his hand.

In response to his thought, the ability crystal crumbled, and a surge of energy swept through him.

A few seconds passed before the surge of energy dissipated within his body, replaced by the robotic voice in his head.

[Passive ability has been bound to your soul! Congratulations!]_-.

Taking a look at his Log of the Ancient, he found out that the (0/5) next to the Passive abilities had changed to (1/5), and an additional ability called the [Lesser Immunity] Ungraded ★★★ was added as well.

Following that, Dilan felt that the scratches and the bites the Goblin had inflicted on him were disinfected.

A burning sensation spread over his wounds before disappearing a moment later.

Relieved that the wounds wouldn’t fester, Dilan focused his attention on the Essence crystal of the other Goblin.

[Essence of a Tierless Level 1 Goblin(Adult) has been absorbed→ +0.1 Strength, +0.1 Agility]

Absorbing the essence of the second Goblin, he noticed that he didn’t get 0.4 status points, but only 0.2.

‘So the effect diminishes if I keep absorbing the essence of a beast of the same race? Seems like my body would gain resistance to the same type of essence over time.’

Feeling the changes, he predicted that he could only absorb three to four essence crystals of similar beasts before they would lose their value.

This was not little, but also not that much.

With the new intel, he turned towards the Stone spear and picked it up as well.

[Reinforced Stone Spear]<Tierless Trash treasure>,

[+0.1 Agility], Can inflict damage to monsters up to Level 5]

The spear enhanced a different property, which was quite interesting.

But Dilan quickly lost his interest because only one of the weapon’s properties enhanced him at the same time.

With that in mind, he skirted away from the dead Goblin and decided to catch his breath.

Leaning against the stone wall, he quickly fell into a light slumber out of which he woke up a few hours later.

Looking at his left arm and his thigh, Dilan noticed that the injuries were mostly healed.

His mana was also refilled.

This time, Dilan was able to sense the mana within his body, but he was not able to control it.

Being unable to control it was fine for now as he could use mana only for his Origin ability.

There was likely to be more behind it.

However, it was not as if he would get enlightened all of a sudden and learn about every new change on the very first day.

That was just a dream, and with that in mind, he climbed up the stone wall.

Tucking the dagger back in his jeans, Dilan then thought of how to carry the Stone spear while keeping his hands free.

‘I wish I had my backpack with me…I wonder where it is’

Sighing deeply, he climbed back to the surface after nearly half an hour.

Dilan continued to grumble to himself while hoping to find something to store away his weapons.

He was so distracted that he didn’t even notice that the shiny bright blue color of the Goblin gate had lost some of its luster.

Only when he walked directly past it, did a message pop up right in front of him.

[Temporary Gate to (Hidden Goblin Lair) will disappear in [60 seconds]. The last batch of Goblins will emerge in [30 seconds]]

“Huh?” He blurted out, instinctively moving in a defensive stance, the tip of the Stone spear pointing towards the Gate.

But after seeing the countdown run slowly, Dilan relaxed visibly.

An idea popped in his mind, and after a quick look around, he found a safe place to hide.

‘If they’re less than five, I will fight them!’ Dilan told himself, confident in his ability to fight a few Goblins.

He had a weapon, and was ready to advance, and become stronger!

And to do that he required the Essence of monsters, which he would only receive by killing them.

‘I have yet to level up as well!’

With that in mind, he quickly went near the bushes he had spotted earlier before turning back towards the Goblin gate.

It was morning already, and the bright sunlight was reflected in the blue liquid of the gate, dazzling him.

Thus, Dilan couldn’t look directly into it.

But just as he was about to grumble yet again, he heard the cackle of several Goblins.

There were a total of three Goblins, which was perfect for him.

As such, he was ready to storm at the monsters and eradicate them.

Yet, instead of rushing at him and fighting recklessly, Dilan quickly noticed that they spread out in different directions.

Two of them went along either side of the ravine in opposite directions, while the other Goblin approached the forest.

When Dilan saw this, his eyes began to twinkle.

Waiting for the Goblin, who was scouting the forest, he placed the stone spear on the forest floor before quietly pulling out the stone dagger.

And just when the lone Goblin passed through the thicket of the closest bushes, Dilan catapulted himself towards the monster.

Placing one hand over the Goblin’s mouth to stop it from screaming, he used the other to slice the stone dagger across its throat.

Only a single move had been enough to kill the monster that was dragged back to Dilan’s hiding spot.

‘Soo..this should be enough…’

Once he was in a somewhat secured area and well out of earshot, he pierced the dagger into the skull of the Goblin to pull out its Essence crystal.

It seemed to be at the same spot for all Goblins, and Dilan subconsciously touched the area between his eyebrows.

However, a moment later he shook his head before absorbing the third Goblin essence crystal.

[Essence of a Tierless Level 1 Goblin Scout has been absorbed→ +0.1 Stamina]

[Essence pool has been filled. Host reached level 1! +0.5 Status points can be allocated!]

Nodding his head at the status screen, Dilan’s assumption had been reaffirmed that one could only absorb the Essence crystals of three or four beasts of the same type before no status points would be added.

At the same time, his level up after absorbing the third Essence crystal meant that they had replaced the commonly known experience points in MMORPGs.

‘Soo…if I still gain something from the Essences of the Goblins, I might as well kill the other two!’

With that in mind, he cleaned the dagger blade before storing it away.

Picking up the Stone spear, Dilan prepared himself to fight.

But what he had not expected to see was a second batch of Goblins that emerged from the Goblin gate, the moment he stepped out of the bushes’ cover.

And only a moment later the dazzling reflection of the sunlight disappeared as the gate vanished, releasing strong mana currents that swept through Dilan’s face.

“Oh…shit!”