"What the fuck... It's still getting up? How the hell is that an F-Rank!?"
Profanity spilled from my lips.
-Kroooar!
The Giant Goblin let out a furious roar.
"You fucking... Shut up."
If there were other monsters nearby, this could turn really dangerous.
"Any other monsters around?"
I instinctively called out for Suni.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙No biological responses from other monsters within a 50-meter radius.
Good. No other monsters nearby.
I gripped my axe and prepared for battle.
The Giant Goblin staggered toward me.
At least the damage had landed.
Blood poured from its side, and with bolts, a spear, and a machete embedded like thorns in vital spots, it was a miracle it was still standing.
-Whoosh!
"...?"
The staggering Giant Goblin suddenly started swinging wildly at empty air.
-Krrk krrk.
Foam mixed with blood bubbled from its mouth, and its single remaining eye wandered aimlessly, likely due to the bolts lodged in its head.
Something was wrong with its brain.
'Finally dying.'
Still, I didn't let my guard down.
The Giant Goblin, hit by delayed aftershocks, lashed out at nothing and went berserk on its own.
It might die soon, but I had to finish it off.
Making that much noise in a Gate could attract any lurking monsters nearby in an instant.
I picked up the crossbow from a short distance away and fired bolts at the thrashing beast.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Thud.
After a dozen or so bolts, the Giant Goblin finally collapsed, turned into a pincushion.
"Hoo..."
The tension drained from me, and a sigh escaped unbidden.
I scanned the surroundings steadily, but thankfully, no more monsters were detected.
Running into three at once like this was rare, even after years hunting in the rear lines.
Cases like this usually meant a Dimensional Rift nearby.
Time to pull out.
Of course, not before handling the necessities.
I approached with my axe and split open the Giant Goblin's chest to check.
'Huh? What's this? A Mana Stone?'
It was too big to be a normal Mana Stone.
Golf ball-sized.
An absurd size.
Nothing you'd see from an F-Rank.
This was more like something from a C-Rank monster at least.
'Jackpot?'
It looked like a Mana Stone, but the color was off.
'A black Mana Stone?'
Usually, they were blue.
A dark shimmer, like it was sucking in light, swirled at the Mana Stone's core.
I carefully extracted the black Mana Stone embedded in its heart.
First time handling one this size.
It had a satisfying, heavy feel.
Excitement bubbled up after so long.
But the thrill was short-lived. Sudden heat surged into my hand.
'Is the Mana Stone hot?'
Looking closely at the stone in my hand, it felt like it was shrinking.
No, it wasn't a feeling.
It was melting into my hand.
"What the?!"
I shook my hand in shock, but the half-embedded Mana Stone wouldn't budge.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙The Combat Suit has sustained severe damage.⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙A serious error has occurred in the system.
Suni's voice rang out as the Combat Suit's visor display glitched wildly, status windows overlapping in chaos.
"What the fuck is th... Ack!"
It felt like my whole body was on fire.
Excruciating pain hit me.
"Guh... Ghk!"
The agony was so intense I couldn't even scream.
My consciousness faded.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I opened my eyes.
Bolted upright.
'Insane. Passing out in a Gate.'
I got lucky.
That level of pain...
Just recalling it sent chills through my body.
No more heat lingered.
'How long was I out?'
The Combat Suit's display was dead.
'Shit!'
The suit I was wearing was shredded to pieces in spots.
"Fucking ruined..."
I stared blankly.
"Goddamn it! Do you know how much that cost?!"
Despair washed over me as I looked around.
Still bright out, so not too much time had passed.
The Giant Goblin's split-open corpse was there.
I'd gotten excited over that rare-looking golf ball-sized Mana Stone.
I looked at my hand.
The Combat Suit was torn ragged, exposing my palm skin.
No illusion.
Did the Mana Stone get absorbed into my hand? But no symptoms yet.
The air inside my helmet felt stuffy.
"Suni."
"Suni?"
No response. The Combat Suit must be totally fried.
No way it'd survive that damage intact.
I flipped up the visor for fresh air, feeling a bit better.
But thinking of the vanished Mana Stone and wrecked suit soured my gut.
Couldn't just sit here zoning out.
Monsters could pop up anytime.
'One F-Rank Mana Stone. Roca Fruit and Nogr. Goblin claws.'
Did the math, but it wouldn't even hit 300k.
Decent haul.
But the wrecked Combat Suit and lost Mana Stone losses were massive.
My stomach burned like I wanted to curse.
I quickly harvested the Goblin claws and the monster's.
Wouldn't make up for the suit, though.
Might even have to consider retiring.
"Fuck... Still got car payments too..."
Not as good as the Mana Stone, but those Giant Goblin claws were tough and valuable.
Had to grab everything I could.
I collected the Giant Goblin claws and started withdrawing fast.
Ran into three monsters in a row.
Combat Suit trashed.
Think later. Quick exit if I wanna live long.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I held onto the Giant Goblin claws and F-Rank Mana Stone, sold the rest.
Mana Stones don't lose value holding them, and rare claws like these could wait.
Dragged my tired body home and sorted gear.
Seeing the ragged Combat Suit on the rack twisted my gut.
Never torn against F-Ranks before.
Well-maintained from easy hunts.
Now wrecked by that weird Mana Stone.
'What even was that stone? Was it a Mana Stone at all?'
Too busted to repair, even for me.
Better to buy new.
But no plans to.
Awakened Hunters get loans easy, but Non-Awakened? Nothing.
Buying means selling the house, ridiculous now.
'Maybe get a monster detector.'
With one, I could manage somehow.
Detectors ain't cheap.
Would wipe out savings.
Problem's not monsters, it's people.
Detectors sense monsters, not humans.
Can't stop an arrow from behind.
Rare these days, but you never know.
Even in the peaceful pre-Gate world, crime existed.
Would check prices first, think later.
If too much, consider other jobs.
Took massive damage from that weird Mana Stone.
Absorbed into my hand and gone.
'Should I see a doctor? Looks fine for now.'
Complicated thoughts swirled.
Showered roughly and hit the bed.
The comfort eased my fatigue a bit.
Grabbed my smartphone.
Various apps popped up.
Then it hit me.
"Oh right. Gotta do today's homework."
Launched Master of Heroes.
The hot new bishoujo mobile game.
Summon cute heroines, send 'em to dungeons, battle, that stuff.
Standard gacha system, but fresh graphics made it popular and profitable.
Graphics were top-notch for a mobile gacha idler.
Log in daily, invest 10 minutes on quests when grown enough.
App loaded to the main screen, claimed login rewards.
10-pull ticket ready.
"Can't pass this. Let's go!"
Not event time, but needed this to lift my mood.
Dazzling animation played.
"SSR! Come on?"
A flashy, colorful girl in high-class kimono burst out.
"...Fuckin' bullshit!"
Crushed her to dust.
SSR performance's fine.
But drawn like a girl, it's a guy.
Dressed in women's clothes, even the voice was feminine.
Bishoujo game, my ass. Why shove in this trap crap?
'Some say it's a plus...'
Trash game.
Already shitty mood, now worse.
Seriously considered quitting.
Mood tanked, closed the game.
Unlucky day.
Fatigue crashed in.
Thought of other games, but no energy.
Not in the mood honestly.
Didn't wanna get up.
Opened Nutube.
Mindlessly swam the algorithm sea and dozed off before I knew it.