While everyone was showing various expressions of disgust, fear, and greed toward the players who had already started fighting amongst themselves for the loot.
Three pairs of eyes were fixed on the departing figure of Victor, who vanished deeper into the hunting grounds.
"That guy…" A young woman wore an angry expression and was about to follow Victor.
Just as the girl was about to lunge after Victor, a man placed his hand on her shoulder and stopped her.
"Don't, Rachel…"
"W-What!? Andrew, why are you stopping me? That guy just killed someone!"
Angrily turning around and pointing at Andrew, Rachel glared at him and the other woman who was watching with indifference.
"I know, but he is dangerous. What guarantee is there that he won't also kill you?" Andrew's face turned a little ugly when he recalled Victor killing a player, knowing full well that he would die in real life.
Rachel froze, then bit her lip and looked at the other woman. "This person is crazy, isn't he? Or his hands have already been tainted with blood—otherwise, how could he calmly take a life? What do you think, Olivia?"
"Who knows…" Olivia replied absently, without much interest.
"Olivia, at least show some reaction. That guy just took a life; even Andrew looks uncomfortable," Rachel said with a frown when she saw no visible reaction on Olivia's face.
Olivia, hearing this, looked at Rachel and said in a cold voice, "In my eyes, he did nothing wrong."
Hearing this, both Andrew and Rachel's eyes widened in disbelief, and before they could protest, Olivia continued calmly, "The other guy was trying to use him as bait, so he had the right to kill him. You noticed that, didn't you?"
Hearing her words, both Rachel and Andrew fell silent.
"You should be prepared to take a life. I'm pretty sure many players will die at the hands of other players rather than beasts," Olivia said before walking away and resuming her hunt, leaving Andrew and Rachel behind with grim expressions.
---
Victor, unaware of the trio's conversation, walked vigilantly deeper into the hunting grounds and finally encountered a stronger monster.
Hiss.
Victor looked at the black serpent with two gleaming horns hissing in front of him.
[Two-Horned Serpent] (Level 5)
[Tier: 0]
[HP: 13/13]
[Attack: 20]
[Speed: 6]
[Loots Available: Bronze Coin (43%), Monster Core (5%), Poison Sack (1%)]
Victor's eyes twitched when he saw the attack stat of the serpent in front of him.
Gulp.
Even though he had killed many stronger monsters than the one before him, he still could not help but swallow his saliva, as a single hit could send him to the afterlife.
At least its HP is low. I can use my bloodline skill to one-shot it. As Victor thought this, the tension in his body loosened, and he calmly observed the beast.
He raised his finger and pointed it at the serpent, and a small bullet made of black lightning materialized at his fingertips.
Bang.
Zizz.
The serpent, which had been glaring at him, noticed the threat and immediately lunged forward, but halfway through, the bullet had already surged ahead. It struck cleanly, and the serpent fell lifelessly to the ground.
[Ding Dong]
[You have killed a Two-Horned Serpent]
[You have received 15 EXP]
[100% Drop Rate has been triggered]
[You have received one Bronze Coin]
[You have received a Monster Core]
[You have received a Poison Sack]
[You have received a free stat point]
[All items have been sent to the Inventory]
Just as he was about to check his inventory, his senses suddenly triggered, and he rolled to the side.
Sizzle
He looked at the ground, which was scorched by the purple venom the serpent had just spewed from its mouth, and even the boulder near him had melted.
"If that had hit me, I would be dead." Victor wiped the sweat from his forehead and then looked at the two serpents, thinking, There must be a lair nearby.
[Two-Horned Serpent] (Level 4)
[Three-Horned Serpent] (Level 6)
[Tier: 0]
[HP: 17/17]
[Attack: 30]
[Speed: 10]
[Loots Available: Bronze Coin (43%), Monster Core (5%), Poison Sack (1%), Knight Summoning Certificate Fragment (Origin Bloodline Exclusive) (0.0001%)]
"Huh?" Victor blinked in confusion when he saw this.
Hiss
Victor did not have time to think too much when the serpent sprayed purple venom toward him. He jumped back to dodge and then fired a Black Lightning Bullet midair.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Victor fired three bullets simultaneously, which hit their marks, and both serpents died instantly.
[Ding Dong]
[You have killed a Two-Horned Serpent]
[You have killed a Three-Horned Serpent]
[You have received 12 EXP]
[You have received 20 EXP]
[100% Drop Rate has been triggered]
[You have received one Bronze Coin x2]
[You have received a Monster Core x2]
[You have received a Poison Sack x2]
[You have received a free stat point x2]
[You have received a Tier 0 Knight Summoning Certificate Fragment]
[All items have been sent to the Inventory]
Victor did not wait and hurriedly opened his inventory, quickly checking the details of the fragment he had obtained, as he had never heard of an item exclusive to a bloodline.
"What… is this?" Victor was completely dumbfounded as he read the description of the item.
[Tier 0 Knight Summoning Certificate Fragment] (1/10)
[Rank: Mythical]
[Description: Fragments needed to form a complete certificate. After the certificate is used, a wandering knight will hear about the user's reputation and join his territory. Different monsters will drop different kinds of fragments or certificates.]
(Note 1: Summoning Certificate Fragments and Summoning Certificates are exclusive only to Victor Silvernum; even descendants cannot obtain this item or similar ones.)
(Note 2: Currently cannot be used, as the user has not claimed his territory yet.)
Victor's mind went blank for a few seconds, and then—
"Hahahaha!"
Victor started laughing like a madman until tears appeared at the corners of his eyes.
"With this, I can form the strongest faction on the planet—no, even in the universe," Victor said, grinning in excitement.
What was the greatest barrier to forming a powerful faction other than sufficient resources? The answer was manpower. But now, with a 100% drop rate for resources and certificates, no one would be able to stand in his way as he built the most powerful faction.
"I should quickly get stronger and return to claim my territory," Victor said in a serious voice. Then a glint appeared in his eyes. "Well, time to hunt."