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nHow do you upgrade a village into a town?

nFirst, have a village.

nHah.

nSecond, be a noble. Or be favored by a king.

nIf the latter, how lucky! Simply ask the king for a town charter.

nIf not in the favor of a king, like the very plebian Krow, hope that you have a good registration roll or go and quest for a castle.

nIf you want a castle, good luck! Hope you can survive a raid at your level (lol).

nThird, have a ton of money.

nOh, too bad. He was broke.

nWhy, it's easy to fix that: slaughter is the only way!

nSo simple! Just carve a bloody path through million and a half monsters that spit acid into your eyes, bite through your clothes, and put you in a constant state of being minorly poisoned!

nKrow sulked in his mental commentary as he waded through a mass of dead Tasseline Verdant Serpents.

nYou've butchered a monster to acquire its Tasseline Verdant Snakeskin!

nYou've butchered a monster to acquire its Tasseline Verdant Snakeskin!

nYou've butchered 1000 monsters!

nCongratulations! You've acquired the Butcherer Badge!

nA Badge?

nHis mood improved suddenly.

nA Badge!

nHe'd gotten a Bronze Soldier Badge in his last life for eliminating a hundred and one bandits in total. The increase in stats helped so much.

nWhen he hadn't gotten any for killing hundreds of monsters, he thought the feature hadn't been implemented yet.

nDid that mean there wasn't one for hunting?

nTsk.

nButcherer Badge

nThe smell of raw meat lingers around you.

nEffects: 10% more meat from butchering. 10% sharper knives. 1% added chance of acquiring higher graded items from a carcass.

nAh? No stats?

nKrow deflated.

nThen subclass Badges were only useful for the craft.

nToo bad.

nHe could do with a boost to his stats.

nEven in the outer edges of the Forest, the monsters were stronger than those of similar levels he'd encountered before. It meant more XP, but it also meant more bullets.

nThe clearing around him was full of dead snakes.

nJust how many snake nests were around Cerkanst?! This was the fourteenth daily quest that dealt with the Serpents encroaching on the herb fields.

nEight Tasseline Verdant Serpent monster nests eliminated already. What were the odds that he got the same quest tomorrow? Krow snorted to himself. High odds, no bet.

nHe tossed the badge into his Inventory.

nYou've acquired your first Badge, and unlocked the Achievement Collection Page of the Inventory!

nOnce, long ago, that notification had excited him.

nCollecting old coins had been a hobby, a reminder of his father, who had owned the collection before.

nOnce, he'd dreamed of joining the whole mass of people posting their Achievement Collections on the forums, showing off their prowess.

nBut after so long with only a single badge to show, when people always said it was easy to get their first ten Badges, every time he saw the page, he only felt it was mocking him.

nNow, as a monster hunter, he likely won't gain so many badges as the battlers. So what was the point in competing?

nHe looked at the single badge in his Collection.

nA thousand monsters butchered.

nHis first achievement badge in Redlands.

nIt was still a bit uplifting.

nHe smiled, turned back to work. The smile turned into a grimace.

nThe hometown quests involved getting acquainted with the prominent people in a village. That meant taking the daily quests from them ten times.

nUsually that lasted four to six days.

nYou've butchered a monster to acquire its Reptile Mane Tassels!

nSince Krow went beyond the bounds of the request to eliminate monster nests, rather than just the monsters required, it had taken him longer than the last time.

nWeeping skies, but he hadn't had multiple people send him on the same quest before.

nIt saved time, but still.

nIf he never had to see one Tasseline Verdant Serpent again, he'd be very content with his life.

nWho told these things to breed so many in one nest?!

nA long sliding sound in the herbs jolted him out of his standard complaining session. He whirled, butcher knife tossed from his dominant hand to his left and brandished defensively, as his right then continued down to draw his revolver.

nHow many times in these days had he been ambushed after that particular sound?

nA silver marked head rose above the tops of the herb bushes, diamond shaped, with a long neck following after.

nYou've been challenged to battle!Silverstripe Tasseline Serpent (Anaret Gren) Lvl 15 (31)

nHP: 4500MP: 1121

nWhat?

nMonsters can challenge?! Was his first thought, but then he had to dodge a fanged lunge, and the second name flickered in place of the first.

nA possessed serpent.

nLvl 31? HP 4500?!

nShkav, someone tell him that 1121 MP could not be used by a snake to do Spells.

nThree Breeze Boomerangs sliced toward him not a moment later.

nAt least give him five seconds of hope, damnit!

nThe usual discreet bark of his revolver thundered loud in the isolated quiet, echoed by the near cliffs.

nHe changed cylinders, leaping upward to a ledge.

nThe possessed Serpent started to sway, coils turning around each other, long body curling and swooping.

nIt was a rather pretty dance.

nMajor Exhaustion, blinked his status.

nHe tore his eyes away from the snake, double-jumped higher. Five Low Revitalit removed the Exhaustion, and a Low Heal took care of the lost HP.

nThe big serpent coiling up the cliff wall. How could it move up a vertical surface that easily?

nHe shot a ledge out from under it, gaining a frustrated hiss as the serpent slid back down.

nHah. He aimed, kept shooting.

nIts defenses were greater than the average monster. His shots barely dented the HP.

nWas the hypnotism a Spell from the possessed or a feature of the Serpent?

nFrom the dance, the ghost probably took advantage of a natural serpent skill.

n-12% HP.

nMajor Poison.

nGah!

nThat was the thorn-spitting technique the smaller Verdant Serpents used on him. Just ten times more effective.

nKrow glared as he jumped away, drinking potions as he went.

nWhat did he know of spirit possession?

nThe stats would be halved. So for being Lvl 31, it was about ten levels weaker. Especially since the snake it was possessing was only Lvl 15.

nWhy would it challenge?

nObvious.

nIt wanted Krow's body.

n

"I know this body is pretty nice,

" he called back.

"But stealing it is just harsh, you know?

"

nThe snake

/ghost answered in Breeze Boomerangs.

nHe hated fighting ranged attackers!

nWhy did he not have bombs?

nThis fight would go better if he had bombs!

nHe made a note to search for Incandescent Emerald Dracontomelons as soon as possible. The explosive fruits would be a blessing.

nThe Minor Paralyzing Mist Vials had no effect on a poison user.

nHe aimed, holding the stance for a long moment as the snake rapidly closed the distance between them.

nKrow gained Lvl 10 days ago already, and the skill 'Mark Critical' was already part of his arsenal.

nIt allowed him to see the weak spots in an opponents defenses. It gave him the perfect targets.

nThe skill activated. The snake's eyes glowed.

nHe emptied his cylinder, aiming for the eyes, flipping above the snake to dodge another thorn-spitting attack.

nCritical Hit!HP:2289

nHsss-rraarrssss!

nOne eye oozed darkly stained viscous fluids, half closed. It lashed out with its tail, against the cliffside.

nKrow slipped off the grassy ledge with a yelp.

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