Chapter 29

[Soul Collector (Passive) (Intermediate)]

A certain amount of mana will be recovered when defeating enemies.

The effectiveness of special effects on equipment varies depending on their item rank, even if they have identical abilities. For example, Soul Collector appears as Low Rank on Common items and High Rank on Rare items. Strictly speaking, it’s hard to say that the Soul Collector buff on Sword of Conviction is particularly high level. It simply exists there.

However, even just having Soul Collector can significantly impact battles, especially for warriors like me with low mana pools.

Shhhk!

With one strike, three goblins were cut down. There was almost no resistance felt at the end of my sword. The sensation was so smooth, like slicing through tofu, that I began to doubt whether I had actually struck living creatures made of flesh and bone.

Stomp!

I planted my feet firmly on the ground. My body was being pulled by the force generated with each swing of the sword, demonstrating its immense power.

Kwajak!

The bones and flesh of the charging goblin scattered across the area. As a thick cloud of blood mist rose, the other goblins screeched and halted their advance.

“One slash! One slash!”

“What? What? What is this?”

Regardless of whether they were frightened or not, I confirmed the rising mana from them.

“Not bad efficiency?”

I smiled automatically when I saw that my mana had recovered by about half. It seems okay to use more Inner Force Injection at this rate.

Puk-Puk!

“Uack!”

“Kee!” At the sudden screams, I turned and saw iron-armored rhinos named ‘stings’ attacking the goblins with their horns and hooves. The goblins hung onto sting’s sides or legs, swinging their daggers, but not a single wound appeared on Sting’s body covered with steel scales.

“As expected, even riding pets can fight. Well, it is obvious since they are living creatures.” Now that this was confirmed, Sting’s job was done. I returned Sting and summoned a new pet.

[The Blue Bird of Blessing Purpur (Rare) has been summoned!]

[Purpur has used Traveler’s Blessing!]

[All stats have increased by 20 points!]

[Buff duration: 4:59] >

Unlike sting with its large body, this pet was small enough to fit on my palm. It was Purpur, a buff-type pet that provided quite strong buffs due to being rare-grade. Of course, the problem was that there were occasional cooldowns… However, it had another function instead.

Porong!

With a speed that didn’t match its chubby appearance, Purpur crossed through the goblins and stood on top of the fallen Goblin Clan insignia.

Pud!

Immediately, the Goblin Clan insignia moved to the inventory. Yes, Purpur was a pet that farmed dropped items. This was a common function for buff-type pets.

Paang!

Once again, the sword moved, cutting four goblins horizontally or diagonally as they fell to the ground.

There were no critical hits.

‘I cut them in half at the waist and it isn’t a critical hit.’

I wanted to laugh but I had to adapt since there was nothing to patch. My muscles tightened all over as my control increased by sensing each nerve fiber.

[Incomprehensible body control.]

I could make my heart beat 10 times per second or once every minute. I could move my penis like a finger, and control my vocal cords to mimic other sounds like a parrot. Thanks to this incomprehensible ability, I was able to easily control the monstrous strength that humans couldn’t normally wield.

“Attack simultaneously! We just need to knock him down!”

“A monster human! Still one! Still on-.”

Zueek!

[Fatal Strike!] [Fatal Strike!] [Fatal Strike!] [Fatal Strike!] [Fatal Strike!] [Fatal Strike!]

Six heads soared into the air. Unlike my previous straight and direct slashes, this time I smoothly swung like a snake striking its prey, severing their necks effortlessly.

And as a result…

[Expert’s Insight] x6

An icon was added to the buff window.

Stomp!

As soon as it appeared, I leaped off the ground towards the goblins that had stopped advancing on me.

Whack!

Heads hit the dirt, spraying blood everywhere. Each fierce swing of my sword sent stones and leaves flying through the air.

I accelerated, piercing through the crowd of hundreds—no, thousands—of goblins. Confirming the full activation of my buffs, I wielded my sword with all my might.

Zzzz-riiip!

With a sound of tearing air, all goblins within reach were shattered and scattered. Furthermore, blood and flesh from the destroyed goblins sprayed outward, causing dozens more to collapse.

“Wow.”

Amidst a sea of blood and gore, groans could be heard.

“That’s the sound of swinging a sword?”

“Ack! My ears! It hurts! I can’t hear!”

“In my… In my chest! A bone flew and lodged there! It hurts! Too much pain!”

This was completely different from the sword demonstrations shown by Sword Masters on TV or YouTube. Their sword energy possessed no mass but extreme sharpness. No matter how wide they swung their swords, it only produced a faint ‘ping’ sound.

However, my case was entirely different.

Swinging the sword with full power tore through the air and caused a loud noise. This was the result of using only physical force to swing the blade. It displayed the typical boisterousness seen from those who trained their biological strength rather than inner force practitioners.

‘Well, it’s not bad though. A bit rough.’

With this thought, I regulated my breathing.

“Huff… Huff… Huff… Huhu.”

My breaths were rapid, feeling like they might stop at any moment. With trembling hands, I took out a healing potion and drank it. The only injury was a slight bruise on my hand from wielding the sword, so essentially, I was drinking it for hydration purposes. Healing potions were sold cheaply in the shop, light enough that carrying around 200-300 at once wasn’t burdensome, making them a convenient substitute for water.

“Hah… Hah… Huff. Everything is good except for my stamina.”

Due to putting level-up bonuses and equipment stats into strength and vitality, I ran out of stamina after swinging the sword a few times. It was an extreme physical ability that couldn’t be achieved through normal training. The flaws were immediately revealed.

“Tired? Tired. Tired!”

“The monster human has stopped! We don’t have to run away anymore!”

“Let’s attack before he recovers! Take him down!”

The scattered goblins started gathering again. I raised my sword but the hand holding it trembled uncontrollably. My stamina had completely depleted. However, there was no problem at all.

“Log out.”

I returned to the convenience store and pulled out a chair from behind the counter to sit down.

“Ahhh… So tiring.”

My stamina had fallen to zero and I was dying. However, the price for pushing my body to its limits was sweet:

[For unknown reasons, your stamina has increased by one point!]

“Yes…my stamina is like this…increasing…”

I sat down for about 30 minutes but my physical condition didn’t easily improve. There was no strength in my entire body, with my arms and legs trembling slightly at any movement—it wasn’t possible to continue fighting in this state! Nevertheless…

“One salmon rice bowl, three Hanra Mountain kimbap rolls, and one Auto juice please. Also, give me a four-hour Awakening Potion. Here’s the permit and cashback coupon. And check the card.”

“Okay.”

My body was in good enough shape to perform the convenience store part-time job. Despite feeling weak, it wasn’t unbearable; life hadn’t been easy up until now.

“Ah, it is hard.”

As I continued to grumble while working, a man entered through the convenience store door. The man was talking on his smartphone with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

“Yeah. He was really angry because he wanted that bastard gone. So I…”

“Customer.” I subtly blocked the man trying to enter the convenience store. “Smoking indoors is prohibited. Please extinguish your cigarette before entering.”

“No shit! Just use Purification Magic once and why block the way…” The man’s face distorted as he turned around but stopped when he saw me.

I smiled brightly at him. “No smoking.”

“Ah… yes. It isn’t civilized to smoke indoors. Hahaha!”

The man quickly put out his cigarette and gave a friendly smile. With good manners, he bought some items and left the convenience store.

“Yes. This is normal.”

I was a huge man with muscles all over my body and a height exceeding 190 cm. Only crazy people or extremely drunk individuals couldn’t avoid me when they saw me.

“Ah, but today I am particularly bulked up.”

Looking in the mirror, the first thing that caught my eye was my uniform stretched tight as if it would burst at any moment. The muscles all over my body were swollen, making my already large frame even bigger.

“It seems to be due to strength…”

Thinking that I should buy larger clothes from now on, I covered my mouth and whispered:

“Login.”

Goblins surrounded me and slowly approached.

Gulp gulp.

I drank a potion before they got closer.

Glug glug.

I ate a Sandwich (Ordinary).

[You have consumed Sandwich (General)! For one hour, your health and recovery will increase by five points!]

“Log out.”

I returned to the convenience store, chewing and swallowing the sandwich that was still in my mouth. I stayed on-site, occasionally organizing the inventory of characters who were automatically hunting, completing daily quests, main quests, events, etc. When working at Woonnye Steelworks or praying at Star Gate, I didn’t have much time for the game screen, so I resolved parts that needed direct play at the convenience store.

“Hyung! I’m here! Nice to meet you!” Sehan looked unusually cheerful today.

“You seem excited. Did something good happen?”

“Yes! I reached class four!”

“What? Wow, amazing.”

I was startled by Sehan’s announcement. In Ardenia, being a fourth-class mage meant he had reached the level of a Grandmaster Mage. While not as impressive on Earth, it still wasn’t common to achieve such a rank at age twenty-one. Fourth-class mages were relatively abundant due to many mages getting stuck indefinitely after hitting the ‘wall’ between fifth and fourth class. However, reaching fourth class at just twenty-one indicated exceptional talent, placing him among the top 0.1% of mages.

“I got lucky. While researching Engraving spells, I tried applying them to my Magic Power and discovered an effect not mentioned in any papers.”

“I didn’t realize we had such a talented individual working here. Does this mean you’ll quit your part-time job now?”

“No, not yet. The Iron Giant Magic Tower application process starts in January, and I need to maintain good grades. Plus, with few customers here, it’s perfect for studying.”

The smiling guy made me think one thing:

‘Ah, how good would it be to have such talent in my territory?’

A fourth-class mage who specialized in enchanting and even studied destructive magic as a cultural skill? He was truly a dream talent. Just having this one person could transform the combat power of my army on a different level.

‘The ideal is high, but reality is a class 2 mage. Hah, why couldn’t Smile reach class 3… Even though he is already over thirty.’

I internally grumbled while finishing my shift. After changing clothes and moving towards Wongnyeo Chulgang, I realized that my stamina had recovered somewhat.

“Good, login.”

I returned to the battlefield.

“Kill him! Quickly! Fast! Stab before he gains strength!”

“Take him down first! Hang onto his legs! Grab his arms!”

“Bury him underground!”

Suddenly, goblins gathered right in front of me. They were filled with murderous intent to kill me before my stamina recovered. And facing this hostility…

“Hahaha!”

I burst out laughing. As I concentrate strength, all the muscles in my body tighten.

“Come on!” I lower my stance and firmly plant my feet on the ground. Feeling the power flowing through my somewhat recovered muscles…

Zzang-ahk!

I swing the sword.