Game's Extra: Starting With SSS-Ranked 1000-Death Talent-Chapter 55: Slimes

"I have four hours to spare," Noa muttered.

He saw the broken scenery before him, considering monsters to farm in quick succession.

The gray, ancient castle lay ahead.

It had imposing walls and protective towers, but none of them worked anymore.

’What’s there to slay? Maybe bats or other weak creatures? Thanks god there are no vampires in this world.’

Noa circled the castle.

The silence, the absence of a living organism, and the colorless atmosphere gave him chills.

It was like a Halloween party, though the big one.

But luck brought Noa here sooner than Arthur did in the game.

He had to walk in circles before encountering his very first monster of the day.

"Jackpot!"

Cheering loudly, he used the inspect function.

[ Skinless Skeleton Lv. 11 ]

[ Grade: Evolved Elite ]

A pile of bones with a bow in its hand glared at Noa.

It had almost empty eye sockets with nothing but a blue hollow shadow dancing inside.

’I might get items out of it.’

Humanoid monsters were crowd favorites because they already used weapons that Embers could take upon killing them.

Of course, the quality differed, but it was a welcoming bonus, nonetheless.

Now that he had the option to farm orbs, obtain a bow for himself, and earn money, Noa didn’t hold himself back.

He drew his sword.

It wasn’t even registered in the system’s record.

So he dashed, aiming for the kill.

The skeleton had the same idea in its skull, but instead of approaching him, it nocked the arrow on the bowstring.

Then it released with power to cut through the air.

Noa dodged the first arrow.

He also intercepted the second one with his sword.

Being in range, Noa utilized his superior speed and hacked his sword at the monster.

Cutting dense and hard bone was beyond his sword.

So he bashed the skeleton as if he were using a blunt weapon.

Three seconds later, the skinless creature dropped to the green grass, its bones scattered across the ground.

[ You killed an Evolved Skinless Skeleton Lv. 11 ]

[ You’ve gained 650 Experience Points ]

Considering that Noa was already level 13 and needed 4,964 Experience Points to level up, the gain wasn’t that great.

Yet the bow, the bones he could collect, and an orb were plentiful for him.

[ Bone Bow ]

[ Grade: Evolved Frail ]

[ Attack Power: + 2 ]

[ Attack Speed: +1 ]

[ Durability: 12/20 ]

There were two arrows as well, allowing him to test his archery.

[ Bone Arrow ]

[ Grade: Evolved Frail ]

[ Attack Power: + 1 ]

[ Attack Speed: +1 ]

[ Durability: 1/1 ]

’Might as well use them,’ Noa considered.

Then he walked further, searching for mobs to slay.

His hunt ended up being successful, leading him to a lone skeleton.

So he loaded the arrow and pulled the bowstring.

For someone with a 21.6 strength stat, it took him no effort to nock and release it.

A sharp whistle cut through the wind.

The arrow flew faster than the speed of sound, reaching the skeleton, and shot past it.

"It missed?" Noa exclaimed.

It wasn’t even close.

His aim was completely off.

’What a fucking dumbass. I need some training, or should I just abandon it and fight normally?’

As he was contemplating what to do, Noa tried again.

He nocked another arrow.

Still, it followed the same path and missed the mob by at least two meters.

’Should I just snap it over my knees?’

Noa was seriously considering breaking the weapon, but promptly held himself back after the skeleton noticed his approach.

Drawing his sword back, he was ready for the second kill.

Careful movement and the ability to correct his previous mistakes guided Noa toward success.

[ You killed an Evolved Skinless Skeleton Lv. 11 ]

[ You’ve gained 650 Experience Points ]

Notifications flooded his view.

Instead of wasting time, he left the scene after collecting the orb.

[ Evolved Elite Spirit Orb ]

It was his first orb of the day, improving his mood.

Taking three new arrows, Noa resumed his hunt and walked around the castle.

The stillness prevailed.

Until the soft footsteps on the wet grass hinted that more skeletons were in his vicinity.

So he found them and killed them.

Again and again, collecting arrows, orbs, and experience.

Half an hour later, his EXP bar was filled to the brim, showing him floods of usual notifications.

[ You killed an Evolved Skinless Skeleton Lv. 11 ]

[ You’ve gained 650 Experience Points ]

[ Level Up! ]

[ You’ve gained 0.3 stat points in Strength and Agility. You’ve gained 0.6 stat points in Vitality and Intelligence ]

[ You’ve gained 1 Attribute Point ]

Level 14 was great.

It was close to the max level and it could allow Noa to rank up.

But Noa’s thoughts trailed in another direction.

"Should I just?" his lips muttered on their own.

So he decided to go completely wild, dashing towards the castle with a single idea in his mind.

He had to take more risks, kill stronger enemies, collect rarer resources, and die over and over.

It was the essence of his being, and he had to use everything at his disposal.

The castle was... nothing more than a castle if one didn’t consider the lurking monsters in its territory.

Noa resembled them.

With his eyes flickering and sword hanging on his belt, he looked like a lurking shadow in the dark.

"Here it is," he said after noticing the slime around the wooden gate.

The fence was high, but he climbed over it with ease and inspected the area.

[ Stray Slime Lv. 16 ]

[ Grade: Evolved Elite ]

It was hard to find monsters with superior grade indicators in the First Abyss.

At least the level was diverse, creating different options for Noa to farm them.

As for the slimes, they weren’t just the generic first mob the protagonists encountered.

For one, they were big.

Not the gigantic big, but enormous for their usual size.

Slimes also had flowers inscribed on them, and they came in different colors and shot acid at everything that moved.

Noa wasn’t an exception.