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Chapter 4 Damaged
🕑 Added 2025-01-04 02:59:04 +0000 UTCJames' mind cleared. While his wrath for the goblin soldiers grew, he found himself getting calmer as he assessed the situation. This hall had 8 doors in the upper floor and 20 jail cells in the lower. James had to climb those stairs to get to those doors. The goblin soldiers were not like their stupid counterparts, they were wary. Instead of blindly attacking James like those knives wielding ones, they took a stance. One of them shouted something and a goblin with a wolf came charging at him.
James swiped his axe at the charging lesser goblin. The dog lunged at him from behind and bit his shoulder, using his new teeth, he bit it back and threw the bloodied wolf corpse away. Even though they had shields, helmets, and swords, these goblins were actually cowards.
They took the stance and attacked James the moment his attention was drawn to the wolf. They smashed at him. Luckily James had leather armor. It was ripped but it served its purpose well, a sword answered the cowardly goblin. James was aiming for their heart. But the goblins dodged at the last possible moment, so the stab went to their shoulder instead.
Adrenaline still subdued the pain in his leg, seeing the dire circumstances, he decided to make a run for it. His new axe was a war axe and its blade was not the only thing it had. It had pikes on the back. With a smirk James ran to the pillar and leaped.
He got stronger, but he was not a superman just yet. His jump reached halfway. For humans, a two meter jump was enough to win an olympic. That's how stats had made James stronger. He went from ordinary office employee to an Olympic gold medalist in a few days.
Still, it fell short. But that's what the axe is for, like a pickaxe, James swung his axe to the pillar. His muscles strain under pressure. He swore in his heart that he would start doing exercise if he managed to get away from this place alive. Power, just this one time was all that he needed.
Heaven answered him. Or more like, the new status did. Status had granted him the power that he needed to survive. He threw away his sword and reached out. When he felt the protrusion in his fingertips, his heart leaped in relief. He hung with his left hand and using the axe, he roused himself up, to the second floor.
James could have ran back the way he came from, but the door was closed and he knew that path would lead him to a dead end, so he took the chance.
With a grunt, he climbed to the second floor. He was panting hard. However, time was not something he had now. The green monster screeched, they had lost a fifth of their forces. Moreover, not only did they lose James, they also lost the woman that they just captured. Feeling enraged, they run after James while squeaking loudly.
James ran to the door and opened it in haste. Inside he was met with another corridor. The dimly lit, damp, and humid dungeon wall was only exciting at first. Now, these decorations brought him dread. The torches that hung in the corner added to the eerie atmosphere.
James lied down. He could hear the goblins squeaking behind the door. James was too tired to run, and he had injured his leg. After pondering, He decided to make the last stand here. Here, in the corridor, at least he won't get surrounded. The door should limit how many goblins could come in at once.
“Come here and get me! You fuckers! “ James encouraged himself. The door opened and James charged. Like a cornered rat, he manically swung his bloodied axe. He was lost in the sea of bloodshed and adrenaline. All he knew was to swing his axe wherever the green monster and purple dogs were. Blood splattered here and there. When his axe was caught on a wooden shield, he used his new maw and bit the goblin and tore its neck.
Goblins were monsters. They did not flee and fought until the end.
Like them, James will not pull back. Thanks to the corridor, James only needed to focus on what was in front of him. The horde came like an avalanche that broke upon a solid rock. It was not men against monsters, it was monsters against monsters for James didn’t fight like humans. He bit, he slashed, he kicked, and he clawed at the goblins. The goblins and the wolves responded in kind. They slashed, they bit, and they clawed at James.
After who knows how long, a figure coated in red emerged from piles of over forty goblins and wolves. His arms trembled with exhaustion, blood dripped from his hands, both from his and them. His face was painted with the blood and flesh of his opponents. His back soon slumped on the corridor’s wall.
“Hahaha… I won…” His voice was hoarse, his voice tinged with awe. He had fought with everything he had. He thought he wouldn’t make it, but he did. His leather armor was bitten and scratched everywhere, some parts were ripped off. His arms and legs were worse as blood kept pouring out from knives that stuck on it. However, he triumphed.
“Fuckin boss. He was right. If I push myself, I will eventually prevail…” James recalled how his boss often scolded him. He said that James didn't work hard enough, he didn't take any risk, he always played it safe. However, James knew that if he worked hard, all the reward would go to his boss, not him. That’s why he didn’t even try.
James could feel he was changing for the better, he took some risk and it paid off. However, the price was too steep. He was bleeding all over. He could feel himself weakening. His vision darkened.
“Shit. This world still runs on blood. I am going to die.” James cursed.
[You have leveled up to Level 7! Coins Received: 50
[Name: James
Age : 35
Sex: male
Levels : 7
Coins : 80
Stats:
STR : 48 (up 5)
Dex : 39 (up 6)
Magic : 0
Mana : 0
Skills:
Beginner Axe mastery level 4 (up2)
Unique Skill:
Chimera:
Goblin stomach (Iron guts) (stomach slot)
Lesser Mana core (Fire spell, Magic+10, Mana +50)(Extra slot 1)
Lesser Wolf fang (Str+5)(mouth slot)
Equipment:
Leather armor (damaged)
War axe
]
[Do you wish to modify your body? y/n]
[Available body part:
Goblin’s arm
Goblin’s legs
Goblin’s mouth
]
James was about to die due to blood loss. However, a thought occurred to him. What if he changed the damaged body part? Thanks to his armor, most of the bleeding came from his arms and legs.
“Swap my arms and legs with these goblins,” James said. Two corpses of goblins had disintegrated in dark motes of light and those lights soon gathered on James. James felt his vision darkened, but a surge of power soon came on him and he woke up with a start.
[modification succeeded, the damaged body part has been replaced.]
[Name: James
Age : 35
Sex: male
Levels : 7
Coins : 80
Stats:
STR : 48 (up 5)
Dex : 39 (up 6)
Magic : 0
Mana : 0
Skills:
Beginner Axe mastery level 4 (up2)
Unique Skill:
Chimera:
Goblin stomach (Iron guts) (stomach slot)
Lesser Mana core (Fire spell, Magic+10, Mana +50)(Extra slot 1)
Lesser Wolf fang (Str+5)(mouth slot)
Goblin legs (dexterity -30% (leg slot)
Goblin hands (Str -30%) (Hand slot)
Equipment:
Leather armor (damaged)
War axe]
“I am… alive…?” James muttered as he opened his eyes. He felt a bit weak, but he was alive.
“Hah…” he sighed. His feet, his arms, it felt alien. When he pulled it up, he realized that it had shrunk. The green little arm now attached to what was once his arm. James stood up. His steps were a bit shaky but he could stand.
“Ugh… disgusting.” The little arm he was with now was covered in grime. The greenish little arm felt weird because it only had three fingers.
However, he was alive. James returned back to the great hall. The reason was to look at the man’s corpse. Regrettably, he could not plunder his limbs.
[Do you wish to modify your body? y/n]
[Available body part:
Human’s teeth
Human’s stomach
]
The man’s arms and legs were not there. Probably because its limbs were already eaten. However, since the prompt came up, James was now sure he could plunder body parts from normal humans. The dream of becoming someone else was enticing. He could become beautiful, or he could become handsome. He could become anyone.
After exploring the hall, James found out it was empty. There were no treasure chests.
James decided to continue his journey. He needed to get used to his new hands and feed. It might sound heartless, but James was currently looking for another human corpse to plunder. As he passed the corridor full of corpses, he wondered whether he could play with his skills for a bit.
Do you wish to modify your body? y/n]
[Available body part:
Wolf legs (Dex +20%)
]
He switched his legs for wolf legs. He stumbled and his face immediately kissed the ground. After trying for several minutes, he could stand. But his steps were wobbling. He pondered. Wolf legs should give him dexterity increase according to what the system said. So, why would walking be incredibly strenuous to him?
After another hour of experimenting, he figured out he could walk easier if he crawled. However, running was another matter. He couldn't coordinate his wolf legs with his goblin hand. Only when he swapped his hands with another wolf's legs could he run like wolves. As the system notification said, he was much much faster.
“Yeah, I was stupid. Wolves run with four legs. “ James smiled sheepishly. He then scratched his head with his paw. After careful consideration, He switched back to goblin’s legs and arms. Being a wolf might sound cool and James liked the feeling of running like wolves. However, wolves could not use weapons. If he switched his arms into that of a wolf's legs, he wouldn't be able to use his war axe.
“I couldn't just believe the stats offered by the system… It’s true I can run fast, but only if I also install the legs in my hands slot.“ James inspected his new limbs. From the human corpse he found, he could also plundered humans. After stuffing his belongings in his bag, along with his smartphone, James started to explore the corridor that had saved his life — or forced him to fight for his life.
Unlike the cave before, the corridors have many doors. Most of them led to empty rooms. James wondered why you would design an empty room in a game world. James thought he would be ambushed with every empty room he opened. Thankfully, there were no monsters that ambushed him…yet.
When he opened yet another door —he already lost count after the fifth, how many doors he opened—, he found another treasure chest inside the room. He ran towards it before stopping himself from his own excitement.
The last treasure chests had some kind of snake traps. James assumed this treasure chest might be the same. So, he was cautious. However, when he tried to open it, the treasure chest was locked. A keyhole, large and ancient, like it belongs in video games, was placed just belor the lid..
“Damn it. “ James was about to leave, but he stopped. He suddenly remembered that in the apocalypse, people usually raided vending machines and stuff.
Staying further apart, with the stance of a pro baseball player, he threw his axe at the chest. His goblin hands and legs slowed him a lot, making the throw awkward but the axe still homed in on the chest. A flash of purple light suddenly enveloped the chest, his nice war axe was repelled like pinball. Knowing he couldn’t cheat he sighed and left the room. He knew he had no chance to break the invisible force field set by the god-like system.
James continued exploring the corridor trying to find the key to the treasure chest. From that point, he counted every empty room he passed. Not two rooms away, a large beetle the size of a wolf he met earlier inhabited the room.
The beetle has not noticed him yet. James was not keen on fighting in his currently weakened state. However, as he was about to close the door, he found something shiny on the corner of his vision. There, a black key hung on the wall.
James could only sigh. “Of course. You had to do that, didn't you, system? You had to put a guard dog to guard the keys.”
He then opened the wooden door and prepared to engage the critter.
