Chương 54: FIRST RIFT (2)

As soon as Jimin entered the Rift, he felt like mana was phasing through his whole body. It was a strange feeling. He kept walking forward, pushing through the thick curtain of bluish energy. But it only lasted a few seconds. His boots soon touched solid ground. The bluish glow behind him thinned out. But as soon as he entered inside the Rift, he felt quite disappointed.

"Huh… It looks just like a normal forest on Earth." The inside of the Rift indeed looked like a normal forest. Now that I've entered, I should be at my 100%. Without wasting any time, he deactivated 'Overtime'. As a result, he felt as if his power had increased, as his stats were restored.

"Yeah… that's better," he muttered. Suddenly, a notification popped up in front of him. —------------------------------------------------ 【Achievement: First Rift Entry】 Reward: +500 LP Total LP: 633 —------------------------------------------------ His eyes widened.

"Hell yeah… An achievement after so long," he muttered. A grin slowly formed on his face. I've been grinding the normal way for so long. Tiny bits of LP here and there. Finally, I get to have a huge chunk of LP. He looked behind him. The Rift gate was still there. It must be one of the exits of this Rift. He took a slow breath. Time's running out. I only got three hours. I need to make the best use of it. It's better if I get started now. His lips curled upward. It's farming time.

Without wasting any more time, Jimin moved forward and entered the forest. After strolling for a while, he finally spotted it. A slime. A small jumping ball of blue jelly, wobbling gently as it bounced forward. Its translucent body revealed a faintly perceivable core at the center. Yeah… finally, a Slime… Just gotta hit that core. Without hesitation, he activated telekinesis and shot his dagger forward. The dagger sliced through the air in a straight line.

Before the slime could even notice, the dagger had pierced cleanly through its core. The Slime's soul flew to heaven. The jelly body instantly lost structure and only a blob of slime jelly remained on the ground. That was too easy. A notification appeared. —-------------------------------------------- 【A F-Rank 'Slime' has been killed】 Reward: +7 LP Total LP: 640 —--------------------------------------------"Woah… But just 7 LP?" He frowned slightly.

"I think I got around 30 from the goblins…" He shrugged. Makes sense actually. They are so easy to deal with. Still, 7 LP per slime wasn't bad. Maybe if I kill enough… A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Suddenly, bushes ahead of him shook violently. Seven slimes burst out almost at once, bouncing toward him to attack him. Jimin's grin widened. Now we are talking… My free LP sources. The slimes started ramming into him clumsily.

But Jimin blocked them with his telekinetic barrier. Thud. Thud. Thud. The jelly-like bodies smacked against the invisible wall, flattening briefly before bouncing back. This time, he launched his chakram. The chakram spun at extreme speed as it cut through the slimes smoothly, destroying their cores one by one. Notifications started flooding in. He made quick work of the slimes. He was done within a minute. Only scattered blobs of jelly remained on the forest floor. He recalled the chakram back into his hand.

Jimin let out a breath. That was a good warm-up. I even got around 56 LP just from this encounter… My hunch was right. Entering Rifts is where the real growth begins. He checked his current LP. [Current LP: 689]"Great," he muttered. His gaze shifted to the scattered slime jellies. It's time to collect these. He lifted a handful with telekinesis and held them in his hands.

"Ugh… They really feel slimy." Cold. Sticky. Unpleasant. He quickly used Appraisal. —----------------------------------- Name: Slime Jelly Rank: Common Description: The sticky, slimy and bluish carcass of slimes. While technically edible, it is notorious for causing stomachaches if consumed raw. Most craftsmen use its adhesive properties for basic production. —-----------------------------------"Hmm… basic stuff," he murmured. He opened the glass container on his backpack.

Using telekinesis, he lifted the rest of the slime jelly pieces and guided them neatly into the container. But surprisingly, the container filled to the brim quickly.

"Already?" He blinked. Hmm… The requirement must be really low. Well, one objective is complete. He closed the lid and wore the backpack. Now, it's time to find the rabbits. He continued moving deeper into the forest. On the way, he eliminated every group of slimes he encountered. The fights barely required effort. He killed around twenty more slimes in total. He collected a few extra jellies into his inventory, but left most behind. As, they would just occupy space and they were not worth that much.

After moving for a while, there came a point when he didn't encounter any monsters. The forest grew quieter. I am feeling bored for some reason… Where the hell are these rabbits? I don't even see any slimes. Suddenly, a faint rustling sound came from the bushes near him. Jimin immediately turned his head and saw a green gooey projectile closing in on him at high speed. Before he could fully process it, he dashed forward out of pure instinct. The projectile splashed against a tree trunk behind him.

The bark instantly sizzled, smoke rising from it.

"What the hell?" He looked back and noticed that there was a greenish slime, which was three times the size of a blue one. He gritted his teeth.

"Good thing I dodged," he muttered. That was the acid shot of this Acid Slime. It could've been bad… It hid itself in the bushes with its green body and shot acid at me. A predator… huh. The only E-rank monsters of this Rift. But in the end… You are just a slime. Suddenly, the slime began trembling. While bubbles started forming rapidly within its body. It was charging for its next attack.

"Oh, no you don't…" Jimin shouted as he immediately threw a 'Fireshot' at the slime. A compressed flame burst forward and slammed into the slime's center. The charging motion stopped abruptly. A dent had formed where the fire struck. But the jelly slowly began reshaping itself. Without wasting a second, Jimin launched his dagger at full force, targeting the weakened spot. It pierced right through the core of the slime.

"Easy," he murmured. But suddenly, the slime started convulsing violently. Its body shrank inward. Then, it exploded and acid splashed outward in a small radius. Jimin protected himself from the droplets using his barrier. Thank god, I paid attention in the 'Monster Ecology' lectures. A notification appeared. —----------------------------------------------- 【An E-Rank 'Acid Slime' has been killed】 Reward: +15 LP Total LP: 844 —-----------------------------------------------"Damn…

that's more than double of a normal slime," he murmured. E-Ranks are indeed best for farming Exp. He recalled his dagger and inspected it while it levitated mid-air.

"It looks slightly damaged," he muttered as he appraised it. The durability had actually decreased. Damn these Acid Slimes… Good thing I bought these gloves. He put the dagger in his inventory. Then, he noticed that the Acid slime had dropped something. Jimin retrieved it with telekinesis and appraised it immediately. —----------------------------------- Name: Acid Slime Core Rank: Uncommon Description: A condensed, pulsating sphere of corrosive enzymes recovered from the center of an Acid Slime.

It remains dangerously reactive even after the host's death; handle with thick gloves. Can be used for brewing concoctions or metal works. —----------------------------------- His eyes sparkled. It should fetch me about 100, 000 won. Not bad. He carefully placed it inside his inventory. After that, Jimin headed deeper into the forest. I should find a rabbit soon. —--- Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Rift. Other students were also advancing with their respective groups, except a few others who also went solo.

Yuna's party was fighting an Acid Slime. They had formed a balanced composition. A sturdy-looking boy with a shield was shielding against the relentless acid attacks. A mage girl in the back prepared another fireball. A guy with a spear was moving around, waiting for his chance to strike. And Yuna was supporting from the back, buffing the mage's magic damage. The Acid Slime spat another stream of corrosive liquid. The tank braced himself.

"Guard!" Mana pulsed around the shield as the acid struck, sizzling loudly.

"Now!" the tank shouted. The mage launched a fireball. Yuna raised her staff, buffing the mage's magic damage right before the release. The flames struck the slime's core region. Then, the spear user dashed in and pierced through the softened jelly. The slime burst. The tank stumbled slightly. The party decided to rest. Yuna was boosting the team's mana and stamina recovery. The mage exhaled nervously.

"H-hey… your friend went solo, didn't he? Will he be alright?" Yuna paused for a moment. She looked at her with a blank expression for a moment.

Deeper into the forest- Jimin brushed aside a few bushes and spotted a Horned rabbit. Finally! You're deadmeat! You goddamn rabbit.

Yuna smiled back at her teammate and said softly,"I think he is doing just fine."