The enemies skidded to a halt at the treeline with their eyes scanning the thick shadows.
The forest was like a maze.
Twisting paths.
Tall grasses.
Uneven terrain.
They couldn't tell which way Lucien had gone.
Frustrated, the three finally split up to search for him.
One of the tier 3 enemies who uses a sword was closing in on Lucien's hiding spot. His steps were cautious but steady, his eyes sharp as he scanned the forest.
But then...
Thud!
The ground gave way beneath him. With a shout, he plunged straight down into a concealed pit.
He grunted as he landed but quickly tried to climb out until he realized something was wrong.
This wasn't just any trap.
It was a SLIME SHOT pit. The thick and sticky goo swirled around him like quicksand. The more he moved, the deeper he sank.
From the shadows, Lucien emerged.
Without hesitation, he used SLASH.
Clang!
But... It was not very effective.
The man defended and counterattacked with his free hand.
Lucien leapt back, narrowly avoiding the hit. He then launched SLIME SHOTs again. This time, directly at the man's arms and torso.
Sticky goo wrapped around the man's limbs. His movements turned sluggish. Panic flickered in his eyes as he sank further into the trap, his sword now half-submerged and useless.
Lucien didn't hesitate anymore. He pulled out a massive boulder from his inventory and dropped it straight into the pit.
THUD!
"AGHIIKK!" The man shrieked, crushed under the sudden weight.
"Damn it. How are you this stubborn?! Just die already!" Lucien growled as his eyes locked on the struggling enemy.
He hadn't heard the system notification yet. That meant the man was still alive.
Realizing the danger he was in, he lifted the boulder with all his might until his head got out of breath. Then, the man finally shouted with all the strength left in his lungs, "Help me! He's here!!"
Lucien's eyes widened in panic.
"F*ck, can't you fight me 1v1 like a decent bastard?!"
He didn't expect the man to scream for help so shamelessly.
In a burst of frustration, Lucien shoved his blade into the gaps between the boulders, piercing the trapped man again and again.
Then, one by one, he stacked more heavy rocks on top.
Finally... Lucien heard the system notification that confirms the death of the man.
Lucien exhaled sharply as his sweat dripped from his brow.
"One down..."
Before the other two could arrive, Lucien dashed off deeper into the forest, heading toward the next set of traps.
But the two had almost caught up.
One was a tier 3 mage and the other a tier 4 warrior wielding a mace.
Lucien knew the terrain better than anyone. This was his domain. He ran as he constantly look back to the two. They shouldn't have been able to keep up.
But...
Whoosh!
The unexpected happened.
The mage didn't stop to chant. He didn't even raise his staff to use his skill.
Instead, he drew a dagger from his robes and hurled it with practiced precision.
Lucien's eyes widened.
There was no skill indication.
No casting signs.
Just cold, deadly accuracy.
"W-What?! No skill cast? No signal?"
The dagger sliced through the air, aimed straight for his chest.
'Crap. I messed up. Who said you need a skill to be skilled?' Lucien's thoughts raced. 'What a blunder…'
He panicked.
There was no time to dodge.
When Lucien glanced back, he saw it.
The dagger.
Slicing through the wind.
Already too close.
His heightened senses screamed. He couldn't dodge this.
Even with safety measures in place, the sheer fear of dying sent a chill down his spine.
A memory flashed.
A fragment of his past life.
The helplessness.
The end.
His mind raced, desperate for a solution.
Then...
As if his survival instinct kicked in before his logic did, his lips moved on their own.
"AUTO-COLLECT!"
Whoosh!
The dagger vanished into thin air.
Lucien staggered, gasping for breath. He couldn't believe it worked.
But that brief pause was all it took.
BOOM!
The tier 4 warrior was already swinging his mace toward him and from the side, fire magic exploded through the trees, roaring in his direction.
They had caught up.
"F*ck! Can't you let me rest for even a second?!"
Without wasting another breath, Lucien summoned his Gelatin Shield.
Boink!
A strange, rubbery sound echoed as the massive shield sprang into existence, absorbing the oncoming attacks like a sponge.
Both enemies froze... momentarily stunned.
The warrior's heavy blow bounced off when it hit the shield and even the mage's fire magic fizzled against its surface.
But the tier 4 warrior wasn't done.
With a grunt, he charged and kicked the shield to the side with brute force. Lucien's grip broke and with that... The Gelatin Shield went flying.
Lucien stumbled.
Before he could recover, the mace was already mid-swing.
A blur of iron and rage.
But then....
"BOUNCY BODY!"
The mace slammed into Lucien's side and instead of crumpling in pain... His body launched like a rubber ball.
THWACK! He hit a tree.
BOINK! He bounced off the ground.
BOINK! Another tree.
BOINK! Again and again…
The two men blinked in disbelief.
"What the...?"
"That's... not normal," the mage muttered, stunned.
But they didn't waste time marveling at the absurdity. They gave chase, determined to confirm Lucien's death.
Meanwhile, Lucien was airborne, hurtling away completely off course. He was now far from the trap-laden zone he had planned so carefully.
"Ugh—I'm gonna puke..." he muttered, his stomach turning from the motion.
Everything hurt.
His ribs.
His legs.
Even his soul...
By some twist of fate, he had flown far. Landing near the spot where he'd scattered the plushies earlier.
Timing it just right, he deactivated the skill mid-bounce, tumbled into a roll and forced himself to his feet.
And ran.
Again.
His breath was ragged.
His limbs screamed.
He could feel his body nearing the edge.
Adrenaline thinning.
Fatigue setting in.
"If I stop now... I'm dead."
But he didn't stop.
Even if the Life-Link Talisman still existed, it was just a single get-out-of-jail-free card.
He had to make it back to the traps. That was the only way he stood a chance against stronger enemies.
But… after running a few more steps—
A sudden occurrence stopped Lucien dead in his tracks.
[Ting!]
[A fitting sacrifice has been detected]
Lucien's eyes widened, then glowed with a fierce light.
He didn't know exactly what was happening… But he didn't care.
He had found a way to turn the tide.
"Fucking YES!" he roared.
Just then, the Ancient Slime Fossil floated out of Lucien's inventory on its own.
It hovered in the air, glowing with a radiant light.
Cracks formed along its aged surface and with a soft shatter, the fossilized shell crumbled away... Revealing a glimmering golden dew at its core.
The glowing essence pulsed once, then surged toward Lucien.
"W-Wait—!"
Before he could even lift a hand to stop it, the golden dew shot forward and embedded itself into his forehead.
A sharp jolt coursed through his entire body.
Then...
[Ting!]