Chương 8: Chapter 7

Adam crouched behind a cluster of trees, keeping low as he peered through the gaps in the foliage. No more than ten feet ahead sat a small goblin camp. It looked like a crude outpost, with nothing but a few animal hide tents held together with string and twine. It was likely connected to the larger base they had discovered on their first day in the tutorial. Like a scout guardpost or something similar. Roughly ten goblins milled about inside, their levels hovering between 8 and 10. Stronger than before.

After Adam and Mei had leveled up from killing the Cave Bear, the enemies in the area had scaled accordingly. That was the reality of Impossible difficulty. Of course, they had also grown stronger. Not just in levels, but in skill. They had started to understand their abilities. For Adam, that came with some unfortunate revelations. As a support mage, any offensive spell he cast had its damage reduced significantly. So much for raining fireballs from the backline.

Instead, he was forced into a strictly supportive role. Shields, buffs, healing. That was his domain now. It turned out that his Shield-Healer class was diametrically opposed to Mei's Gunslinger. She couldn't use defensive skills and he couldn't use offensive spells. It wasn't exactly what he wanted. But it worked. They complemented each other perfectly. Mei, on the other hand, had adapted frighteningly fast. She had taken to her new weapons like she had been using them her entire life.

The bear tooth dagger and her handgun worked together seamlessly in her hands. Adam watched as she moved. She slipped behind one of the goblins guarding the edge of the camp, silent as a shadow. In one smooth motion, she slit its throat. At the exact same time, her pistol fired. A sharp bang echoed through the trees as the second guard dropped instantly, a hole blown clean through its head. The noise alerted the rest of the camp. But by the time the remaining goblins turned, Mei was already moving.

A translucent barrier shimmered into existence around her as Adam cast his shield. Protected, she charged straight into the group without hesitation. What followed was less of a fight and more of a slaughter. She weaved between them, her dagger flashing in quick, precise arcs while her pistol fired to fill the gaps in her bladework. Every movement was deliberate. Every strike lethal. Adam watched, half impressed and half stunned. If John Wick had a daughter… Mei could probably beat her and her dad blindfolded.

She was ridiculous. Despite being lower level than every goblin present, she wasn't the one at a disadvantage. They were. It helped that Adam's shield intercepted anything that might have hit her, but even without it… He wasn't sure it would have mattered. The entire fight lasted only a few seconds. Before he even knew it, it was over. Combat Finished - Victory! 10 x Goblins Defeated A moderate amount of XP awarded Level Up! Player Adam Colt Lv. 5 → 6 Player Mei Mori Lv.

5 → 6 Mei turned and waved him over casually. Adam stood, brushing dirt off his clothes as he approached the camp.

"Good work." She smiled, wiping a streak of goblin blood from her cheek.

"Mhm."

"Take a break," he said.

"I'll collect the loot." She shook her head immediately.

"Nope. The thought of loot gives me infinite energy." Adam huffed a quiet laugh.

"Then lead the way." He gestured forward with his bone staff.

"Your trusty sidekick will follow."

"Mm. Good," Mei said, nodding with mock seriousness.

"Onwards. Loot awaits!" They moved through the camp together, checking every tent, crate, and container they could find. For a moment, it felt like they were on the verge of striking gold. Legendary loot. Rare gear. Something amazing. But reality set in quickly. All they found were common weapons and miscellaneous junk with no grade at all. Adam straightened up and shrugged.

"Welp. Bust. Better luck next time." Mei pouted immediately.

"But I wanted better luck this time. What's the point of having max luck if all I find are commons?"

"Technically, your luck is only C-rank, which isn't exactly max luck…" She shot him a glare. Then sighed dramatically.

"Just let me have my dreams."

"I mean, C-rank is still really good," Adam said.

"According to the system, that's already beyond normal human levels. Way better than my F-rank luck." Mei crossed her arms, thinking.

"I don't think your luck is F-rank." The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Adam blinked.

"Huh?"

"Think about it," she said, counting on her fingers.

"You were born handsome, just look at you with your chiseled jaw and rock solid muscles. You somehow got a super beautiful and totally awesome girlfriend—" Adam raised an eyebrow.

"—who also happens to be the main character of Earth's tutorial," she added with a grin.

"And then you went and created the first Legendary spell in said tutorial."

"…Okay, when you put it like that…" Mei's eyes narrowed slightly as another thought clicked into place.

"Wait a second…" She leaned in, squinting at him like she was inspecting something suspicious.

"Didn't your sidekick talent say something about leeching off my luck?" Adam froze. Her expression shifted into mock outrage. A little too convincing.

"Is that why my luck is only C-rank?" she demanded.

"You stole it all?!" He was starting to think the outrage wasn't an act.

"L-let's go hunt some more goblins," Adam said quickly.

"If we get better drops, that'll prove I didn't steal your luck." Mei paused for half a second. Then she nodded, her expression flipping instantly from suspicion to a bright, eager smile.

"Okay!" — — — Mei darted between a cluster of wolf-mounted goblin riders, her movements fluid and precise. Their blades sliced through the air around her, missing by inches. Each swing came dangerously close, but she twisted and leaned just enough to avoid them, slipping through their attacks like water. A faint, flame-like aura wrapped around her body. The [Berserk] effect. Cast through Adam's new staff, the buff amplified her already absurd stats even further.

Compared to when the cave bear had used it, the effect on Mei was far more terrifying. A blade scraped past her side. She tilted her head to avoid the follow-up strike, already bringing her pistol up. A small purple bullet formed at the barrel and shot forward. [Lowest-Grade Purple Bullet] A bullet formed from pure magic power. Despite containing the lowest possible energy, it remains highly lethal in the hands of a Gunslinger.

Castable: 16 / 30 Class Skill: +50% Effectiveness Talent: Master of Firearms - +25% Damage The shot pierced straight through the goblin rider in front of her, dropping it instantly. At the same time, a sharp whoosh cut through the air behind her. Another attack. Without hesitation, Mei dropped into a forward roll. Twirling around, she came up on one knee, already aiming. Two goblin riders had flanked her from behind. Two shots rang out in quick succession.

Purple streaks tore through both of their heads, knocking them clean off their mounts. They were dead before their bodies even hit the ground. The wolves didn't stop. Their riders were already dead, but they kept charging forward, jaws snapping as they closed in from both sides. Mei twisted her body, slipping between them at the last second. Her dagger flashed. Two clean slashes carved across their flanks as she spun past.

The wolves staggered as they landed behind her, deep wounds opening along their sides, staining their gray fur red. She turned to finish them— A small fireball dropped between the two wolves. It burst on impact, flames splashing across their bodies and igniting their fur instantly. They howled. Mei glanced over her shoulder. Adam stood a short distance away, staff raised, trying to look casual.

"I can at least handle two injured wolves," he said with a shrug. He failed to hide the excitement in his eyes. Those were his first kills. Even though his damage was severely nerfed, it seemed taking out two half-dead enemies was still possible for him. Mei grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

"Good job, babe!"

"I-it was nothing," he said quickly.

"You did most of the work." She shook her head.

"Nope. I wouldn't have been able to do it without knowing you had my back." Adam rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed.

"Well… you're welcome then." Behind them, the wolves let out one last whimper before collapsing, their bodies finally going still. Combat Finished - Victory! 10 x Goblin Riders Defeated (+10 Wolf Mounts) A moderate amount of XP awarded Level Up! Player Adam Colt Lv. 6 → 7 Player Mei Mori Lv. 6 → 7"Nice!" Mei cheered.

"One level closer to ten and our first Stat Up!" Every ten levels granted a Stat Up, increasing a random stat by one rank. By level fifty, all five stats were guaranteed to have increased at least once. It was one of the biggest power spikes available early on.

"Now…" Mei said, eyes gleaming.

"Time to check the loot!" She dashed off toward the nearby camp, which had been half-destroyed during the fight. Adam followed at a much more reasonable pace. A few minutes later, she came back. Dragging her feet.

"There was still no legendary loot…" she said, her eyes watery with exaggerated disappointment. Adam sighed.

"Mei… you do realize it's called legendary for a reason, right?"

"I know, but I still want it," she huffed.

"So make it drop!" Adam shook his head. It wasn't like legendary gear was just going to fall out of the sky. At minimum, they'd need to take down a mid-tutorial boss. More realistically? The final boss of the tutorial. Anything less would be a miracle.