My inventory is full of monster materials.

The bright moon casts its silvery glow.

On a high point in the forest, a small adventurer's camp lies quietly.

A fence was built around the perimeter with wooden stakes, and a bonfire was set up in the center with an iron pot, but the firewood and charcoal had gone out, leaving only a few scattered rays of heat.

The two horses and one yak in the covered wagon were tethered in a specially built stable, where the three brothers were chewing on night grass, peaceful and content.

Looking around, there are also many buildings.

There were warehouses piled high with grains and cured meats, workshops for repairing weapons and equipment, herbal medicine rooms with a slightly bitter and dry smell, and dissection rooms with a pungent odor.

However, the main buildings of the camp consist of two large oilcloth tents, one large and one small.

The large tent was brightly lit, and the faint sounds of discussion could be heard from within.

"Melito Falls is formed by the Fürth River, which flows through the inner circle of the forest, and the drop in elevation at the junction of the inner and outer circles."

"And our target—the Slime King—is in the pool directly below the waterfall."

Henry in grey armor pressed his rough fingers heavily on the waterfall marker on the map.

Behind him, Brady and Emily were both trying hard to decipher the information on the map.

Across the long table, Clyde stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought, while Orion stood silently beside him like a statue.

Then, Henry removed the chess pieces from the map and explained in a deep voice.

"Now, we have basically cleared out the monster population in the outer half of the ten-mile radius of the Slime King's territory."

Henry stopped what he was doing and looked up at Clyde.

"The question is—what about the inner half?"

Clyde's face darkened.

"I don't agree with that statement. The Slime King is essentially still in the outer circle; it doesn't have the ability to cross the boundary and extend its influence into the inner circle."

Henry's gaze remained unyielding, and his tone grew increasingly serious.

"Lord Clyde, we both know this. This is not a leader-level monster, but a lord-level monster."

"impossible!"

Clyde flatly rejected it.

"A Lord-level being is at least a Tier 2 existence. That kind of strength is enough to suppress the entire Golan Forest. How could they possibly be entrenched at such a small waterfall?"

"I have no intention of offending anyone, nor am I shirking my mission; I simply hope to devise a reasonable tactical plan."

Henry frowned and lowered his voice.

"We must face this problem squarely: why would other races worship the Slime King? Isn't that the behavior of a lord?"

Clyde shook his head repeatedly, his tone almost stubborn.

"...I don't know either, but divine pronouncements are never a joke."

The atmosphere froze for a moment.

Just then, a faint voice broke the silence.

Why not ask Mark?

"!!"

Henry and Clyde turned to look together.

The person who spoke was Emily.

Feeling the gazes of many, the little girl lowered her head shyly.

Suddenly, Henry and Clyde exchanged a glance, a look of realization dawning on their faces, and they said in unison.

Where did Mark go?

At this moment, Henry's mind worked quickly, and he immediately turned to Brady and greeted him.

"Brady, go and call your older brother over for a meeting!"

"Okay! I'll go right away."

Brady agreed and turned to run out of the tent.

……

……

Meanwhile, at the edge of the camp, a log cabin reeked of a fishy stench.

Mark was using a wire saw to cut a dire wolf's skull in half, then carefully inserted two fingers into the cranial cavity and gently lifted out a trembling, grayish-white brain.

Unnatural pale purple lines faintly appeared between the grooves and folds on the surface of the brain, like corrosion marks left by long-term fungal infiltration, eerie and glaring.

At that moment, a phantom light screen appeared out of thin air in his field of vision.

[The contaminated brain of a bloodthirsty dire wolf (white)]

Completeness: 100%

[Effect]: Rage +20%, Trait "Neuropsychedelic (mild)"

"Neuropsychedelic pollution (mild)": Perception -1, Pleasure +50%, Pain -50%

【special】:

Mark held the brain material in one hand to observe, while using the other hand to write down a few keywords on the manuscript paper.

After recording, he gently submerged the brain material into a glass jar that had been prepared with preservative solution.

Then, he picked up the glass jar and turned to walk towards the wooden shelf behind him.

On the wooden shelf, several glass jars of different sizes were neatly arranged, each containing the brain of a different monster.

[A contaminated goblin brain (white)]

Completeness: 100%

[Effect]: Intelligence -1, Trait "Neuropsychedelic (moderate)"

"Neuropsychedelic (moderate)": Perception -1, Intelligence -1, Pain -50%, Intermittent withdrawal.

[Special]: None

[Contaminated giant rat brain (white)]

Completeness: 100%

[Effect]: Overeating +20%, Trait "Neuropsychedelic (Severe)"

"Neuropsychedelic (severe)": Perception -2, Intelligence -2, Mental state -90%, severe withdrawal.

[Special]: None

Mark's gaze swept over the glass tanks, a serious look appearing in his eyes.

After days of dissection and observation, he discovered that these monsters or beasts not only had their brains, but also their other internal organs, limbs and bones, all of which contained more or less of this strange toxin.

This means that the area within several miles of Merito Falls has been polluted by this toxin.

This not only prevented their team from resupplying in this area, but also meant that the monster materials they captured could not be used as "equipment" in their equipment inventory.

Fortunately, Mark had already completed his "equipment" upgrade before they entered this area.

The panel light screen unfolded in an instant.

——Character Panel——

[Name]: Mark

[Job Rank]: None

——Attributes/Potential——

[Strength]: 5/10

[Constitution]: 5/10

[Agility]: 10/10

[Intelligence]: 13/20

[Perception]: 6/10

【Charm】: 5/10

——Talents/Traits——

...

——Specialty/Skills——

...

—Equipment Slots (Monsters)—

[Head]: Frozen Feet Frost Goblin Shaman Skull (White) -- Ice Element Affinity +20%, "Frozen Path Lv2 (Green)"

[Torso]: Bouncing Dark Curse Cat Demon Body (White) --- Agility +1, "Bouncing Start Lv3 (White)"

[Right Hand]: Sharp Cat Demon Right Claw (White) -------- Sharpness +17%

[Left Hand]: Sharp Cat Demon Left Claw (White) -------- Sharpness +15%

[Right Foot]: Swift Gnoll Right Foot (White) ------ Agility +1, Movement Speed ​​+8%

[Left Foot]: Swift Gnoll Left Foot (White) ------ Agility +1, Movement Speed ​​+9%

--------

The set bonuses in the equipment slots are as follows:

[Right Hand + Left Hand] Set Bonus: Talent "Tear Combo (White)" - When hitting the same target consecutively, the bleeding effect of the second and subsequent attacks is increased by 10%.

[Right Foot + Left Foot] Set Bonus: Talent "Savage Sprint (White)" - Movement speed will not decrease when stamina is not depleted.

The core of this "equipment" update is to sacrifice some survivability in exchange for greater mobility and lethality.

In fact, he was very satisfied with "Dexterous Goblin Left/Right Hand". Both "Hand Speed ​​+26%" and the talent "Dual-Handed Skill" are excellent attributes among white-quality items.

But now he has reached his limit in terms of agility, so these two "equipment" items seem somewhat useless.

Of course, even though the "equipment" was replaced, it didn't mean it would be discarded; he had already carefully preserved everything.

Mark's gaze shifted to the dim depths of the room.

There stood a mahogany wardrobe, its doors open. On a specially made metal rack, rows of glass jars of various sizes were neatly arranged, their preservative solutions containing the limbs of various monsters—arms, feet, organs, heads...

Each of these items has been carefully processed and preserved; they are the "equipment" that Mark believes he can use in this mission.

As you move your gaze downwards, at the very bottom of the wardrobe, there are ten packages tightly bound with oilcloth.

These ten packages contain the "Frost Goblin Shaman Corpse" that was left behind by the guild and then again placed a bounty.

Mark sighed softly.

A 10-pull costs 8-9 gold coins.

He now has less than 10 gold coins left in his pocket.

It's time to offer a guaranteed minimum return.

But we have more important business to attend to now.

It's time to go to the tent for a meeting.

After a moment, Mark looked away, went to the wooden table, gathered up the scattered manuscript papers one by one, tucked them under his arm, and pushed open the door to leave.