The next day, I returned to Green Hell.This time it was daytime. The forest birds were deafening—but that was a good thing. The weaker animals, which usually did nothing but run away, wouldn't hear me coming.
I spotted a deer.
"Perfect," I thought.It was weak enough, but still a higher level than me. I could kill it.
I summoned my sword and dashed toward it from behind. With all that noise, it couldn't hear me.
Suddenly, an eye opened on the back of its head. It saw me and dodged my strike—then charged at me.
"Damn it, I should've figured—living beings here must have evolved to survive in this environment. But really? Am I that weak that even a deer isn't afraid to attack me?"
Then I remembered Elizabeth's words: the lowest level in this zone was 20. I was still level 5.
But unlike the dinosaur from the other night, a deer should be more manageable. Maybe I could activate VerbTank by blocking its attacks.
I summoned my shield and shouted:"Thorns!"
The deer's antlers clashed with my shield, but thanks to the spell's effect, I took no damage.
Good. Now let's see if my plan works.
I plunged my sword into the ground and shouted:"Thunder Blade!"
Sparks spread through the surrounding area. The deer took damage and fell to the ground, paralyzed—not enough to kill it, not even close.
Its status window read:
[Deer][Level 20][HP: 738/800]
Well, I didn't exactly plan to kill it.
Thanks to the sparks in the ground, I attracted a bunch of other hostile mobs—some even over level 40.
I let the deer hit me, slightly redirecting its attack so I wouldn't die instantly.
It worked.
{All requirements for activating the skill [VerbTank] have been met. Does the [Player] wish to activate it? [Yes] [No]}
Yes.
And once again, my mouth moved on its own.
"N*ger!!!"
I shouted.
This time, since the skill had been activated through my shield and not my sword, it manifested as an area-of-effect explosion—not a beam of light.
I killed every monster nearby.
[You have eliminated an unknown number of enemies][You have gained a massive amount of EXP and items][Level 8 → 31][Mastery of Thorns Formula: Level 3][Mastery of Thunder Blade Formula: Level 2][You have unlocked several new formulas]
{Passive Skill [VerbTank]: Your attribute points have been absorbed by the skill.}
"Damn... this really does make me look like a cheater. I've already surpassed Zack..."
I removed all the points from the skill and greatly improved all my stats.
Among the items I received, some stood out.
A sword called "Salamander's Tongue"—A completely black blade with a small red gem and a grip made from reptile leather. It was especially attuned to fire-based formulas. Hopefully, I got at least one of those.
I also found a shield shaped like a turtle shell, simply named Carapace. It had no special abilities, but it was tough—way more durable than my current shield. So I kept it.
There was also a wolf pelt armor. I tried it on but decided to ditch it immediately—it was just way too flashy for me.
Among the various crafting materials and cooking ingredients, I found some sort of radar, a circular device with a small green screen.
According to its item description, it was used to track the position of the island's boss. Nothing showed up on the radar screen, so it must've been far away.
It was time to check the new formulas.
I had unlocked three.
"Herculean Boulder" – already used by Zack in our duel.
"Prometheus' Fire" – what a pretentious name…Then I opened its info window:
[Prometheus' Fire][Grade: Legendary][Description: The strongest fire magic. Allows the user to unleash flames from any piece of their equipment (e.g., the gloves of their armor). Once mastery exceeds level 5, flames can be turned into explosions. At max mastery, they become inextinguishable.]
Given that I had found that fire sword at the same time, something didn't sit right. Was it really just luck? A fire-aligned sword and the most powerful fire spell in the game at the same moment?
Someone—or something—was clearly messing with me.
The last formula was also very useful: "Ethereal Cord"A thin wire that could attach the player's sword to their armor, preventing them from losing it.
That was enough for the day.And besides, I still had 1 HP left.
I logged out.