A soft chime rang in Adam's ears as a notification flickered before his eyes.
[Do you want to equip the talent: Poison (F)?]
Adam's lips curved into a small, satisfied smile.
"Perfect," he murmured, accepting without hesitation.
He had already unequipped his second Rapid (E) long before facing the elite goblin.
During that process, he had made an unpleasant discovery any talent he unequipped wasn't stored.
It simply ceased to exist.
It had felt wasteful, but there was nothing he could do.
So he had learned to accept it.
Suddenly a faint warmth spread through his chest, it was a light, brief pulse of heat that vanished as quickly as it came, leaving him with only the lingering awareness of something new inside him.
He didn't waste a moment and pulled up his Panel.
╭───────────╮
〖Name: Adam〗
〖Rank: None〗
〖Cultivation Talent: G〗
〖Special Talent: Equip ❖ Connect〗
〖SLOT〗
↳ SOUL (2): Rapid E ❖ Poison F
↳ BODY (5): Empty
╰───────────╯
Adam's gaze lingered on the new slot, Poison (F) and a faint description appeared beneath it.
[Gives the bearer the ability to emit minor poison].
He compared it mentally to the weaker Poison (G) description he had seen earlier:
[Gives the bearer a subtle poisonous bite].
The difference was clear.
The former required physical contact through venomous fangs while this one allowed controlled emission.
Disregarding the simplistic phrasing, the improvement was obvious.
He chuckled lightly.
"Compared to Poison G, Poison F is more humane."
Before exacting his revenge on the Elite Goblin, he had briefly equipped a Poison (G) talent from one of the mob goblins, just to ensure he wouldn't have any regrets.
The discovery had been disappointing, the ability to inflict poison only through biting was primitive and limiting.
So he unequipped it immediately, letting it dissolve without hesitation.
Now, this was different.
Adam raised his right palm, activating Poison (F).
A faint green glow began to shimmer across his skin, pulsing gently with his heartbeat.
The air around his hand thickened slightly, a soft chemical scent drifting off his fingertips.
"This wasn't visible on the bastard, because of its green skin. But it was always there, the same poison that nearly killed me."
His expression softened, as it became thoughtful.
Leaving those thoughts for later Adam reached for his Common Knife with that same glowing hand.
Instantly, the green light coursed along the blade, wrapping it in a thin, sinister sheen.
The weapon almost hummed in response.
It made sense, even a low-grade Dirty-Bronze Conduit could channel essence-based energy.
Adam smiled, it was cold but genuine.
"This will make future kills more enjoyable."
He slid the blade back into position and turned away from the ruined battlefield.
His boots pressed softly into the blood-soaked grass as he began walking again.
Now that his revenge was done, his goals remained the same, repay his debts, lower the rift's saturation enough to open an exit, and most of all… continue the hunt.
For profit.
For progress.
And, perhaps, just for the thrill of it.
With that thought, Adam vanished once more into the tall grass, his glowing hand dimming as Gob Valley trembled with the promise of more death to come.
Not so far from Adam, three martial artists lay hidden in the tall golden grass as they observed a goblin settlement.
One of them, a man of weight, whispered,
"How long are we going to watch? At this rate, Agnes and Favor might already be dead."
The leaner man beside him responded calmly,
"That won't happen. Goblins prefer male meat over female meat."
"But they still eat meat if they don't have an alternative!"
"If you want to take their place, be my guest," the lean man said mockingly.
"I'm sure they'll hand them over the moment they see you."
The heavier man's face darkened, and he was about to retort, but the third man, clearly their leader cut them off sharply.
"Be quiet, unless you want to blow our cover."
Both fell silent immediately.
The leader's eyes remained locked on the goblin settlement ahead as he spoke in a low voice.
"I know you're worried about Agnes and Favor, but we're not handing anyone over."
A look of relief flashed over the Man of weight's face as the leader said that.
"Since goblins prefer male meat over female meat, they both have at least twelve hours before the goblins finally break and decide to eat them. We'll wait for the right opportunity to ac...."
But before he could finish, his words faltered.
"Leader, what is it?" the lean man asked.
The leader blinked, his expression turning confused.
"Who the hell is that?" he muttered absently.
The other two followed his gaze and their blood ran cold at the sight.
A man covered entirely in blood was walking straight into the goblin settlement.
His black hair swayed in the faint breeze, a Common Knife hung loosely in his right hand, and a backpack was strapped across his shoulders.
He walked without hesitation, without fear and the closer he got, the more obvious it became that the blood on him wasn't his own.
It was goblin blood.
Dozens of them.
The lean man swallowed hard, his throat dry. "Leader… what in the hell is that guy?"
The leader didn't answer right away. His eyes narrowed, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
"Get ready to move," he finally said. "This might be our opportunity."
He didn't understand what was happening whether the man was an ally, a lunatic, or something else entirely but he wasn't about to waste a chance to rescue his people.
He can act as a diversion for us.
But then it happened.
A shrill, guttural scream erupted from within the settlement —
"Kahhrrhhhhh!"
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Each one sharper, closer and layered with agony.
The three martial artists froze, their hearts pounding as the screams multiplied.
Every cry pressed down like a weight on their backs. The heavyset man trembled.
"Leader… are we still going in?"
The leader's lips parted, but no sound came out.
He couldn't answer.
Not because he didn't want to,
but because for the first time in years, he couldn't tell which side the real monster was on.
****
Bonus Chapter if we reach ten reviews