Becoming an adventurer by copying monster abilities

This goblin cave is not very large.

Luke's newly acquired dark vision allowed him to see everything clearly even in a dark cave.

This time, he was quite lucky.

Only eight ordinary goblins remained in the cave.

The goblins, who were dozing off and waiting for their leader to return, became agitated when they saw a strange human walk into the cave.

Luke didn't stop. He casually swung his axe and chopped off the heads of the two closest goblins.

Such a seemingly casual attack broke through the psychological defenses of the already timid goblins.

The remaining goblins immediately dropped their weapons and ran out of the cave screaming.

Luke blocked the entrance and beheaded all the goblins that rushed at him.

Only one small, thin goblin remained, trembling and kneeling on the ground.

It was making incoherent noises, seemingly begging for mercy.

Luke approached, and without hesitation, expressionlessly swung his axe again...

The first sentence of the entry on goblins in the Adventurers' Guild's newcomer handbook reads:

Goblins don't deserve sympathy.

These guys have complex emotions like cunning, slyness, greed, and cowardice, but they lack humanity.

There were many people who sympathized with these guys and showed them great kindness, but they didn't all end up well.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Luke eagerly began to explore the cave.

Sure enough, at the very back of the cave, next to a wooden bed, they found a dark wooden box.

He rubbed his hands together excitedly.

Goblins possess intelligence no less than that of humans, so their taste in collecting must be far superior to that of ordinary goblins, right?

Luke opened the black wooden box with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

The first thing that catches the eye is a pile of colorful, rounded pebbles.

"..."

No, why do you like stones so much?

Luke continued to search downwards, and besides the stones, he found some broken armor plates and bone clubs.

Finally, he found a decent-quality money bag at the bottom of the box.

Just as a look of joy was about to appear on his face, he discovered that the purse was empty.

He threw the money bag on the ground in frustration.

Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed that there was a thin piece of paper pressed under the money bag.

Luke gently pulled it out and examined it curiously.

This is a parchment bearing the marks of time, with six characters written on it in the common language of mainland China:

[Combat Skill: Faint Evasion]

"The shipment has been completed!"

...

On the way back to River Bend Village, Luca began to study his panel:

Luke

Race: Human

[Class: Fantasy Walker lv.1]

【Strength: 7】

[Agility: 7]

[Physical Fitness: 7]

【Intelligence: 7】

【Perception: 7】

【Charm: 8】

[Skills: Gluttony Slash, Imagination Manifestation]

[Gluttony Slash Lv.3: Proficient (1/30)]

【Imagination Manifestation lv.1: Beginner (1/10)】

Specializations: Ember, Gift of Miracles, Darkvision

[Talent: Miracle Fantasy]

The newly acquired combat skills and specialties are accompanied by two lines of detailed descriptions.

【Imaginary Manifestation: Briefly gain the ability to materialize a previously manifested projection; the strength of this ability is related to the current combat skill level and physical attributes】

[Miracle Gift: Immunity to negative status effects such as Charm, Intimidation, and Panic.]

He put this expertise aside for the time being, since he couldn't find anything that could inflict such a negative status effect for experimentation.

However, he was already eager to try out this combat technique called "Imagination Manifestation".

As for which projection's ability he wanted to obtain, it was naturally the terrifying figure that destroyed the village where he had lived since childhood, the one that blotted out the sky:

"Ioriclos, the Ash Lord".

He still remembered the endless, dazzling flames when facing the ogres.

As Luke imagined what the other person looked like, he quickly felt something strange in his body; his body temperature seemed to have risen a little.

Immediately afterwards, he instinctively stretched out his palm.

A fist-sized flame quietly appeared in front of his palm and shot out like an arrow.

With a "poof," the ball of fire struck a tree trunk not far away.

It left a black mark the size of a palm.

"this one?"

Luke was somewhat speechless.

This ability might prove surprisingly effective in combat.

After all, this stuff is more lethal and deterrent than quicklime.

However, the stark contrast still left him somewhat disappointed.

Looking back, he only caught a glimpse of the Ash Lord's body from afar.

Just like looking directly at the sun, the eyes sting from the intense heat.

Then look at this fist-sized fireball; that's the so-called "Ash Lord" ability he used.

This is no longer just a difference between buyer's photos and seller's photos.

Luke was unwilling to give up and tried again.

A ball of fire, roughly the same size as before, condensed and shot into the night sky with a "whoosh".

The fireball disappeared after traveling a distance of about thirty or forty meters.

"It could also be used as a signal flare..."

Luke flexed his hands.

This combat technique seems to consume a lot of energy, and it's not just physical.

After releasing twice in a row, he felt dizzy and nauseous, as if he had overused his brain.

...

When we returned to Hewan Village, it was already getting light.

The village chief, who hadn't slept well all night, was so excited to hear that Luke had returned that he ran out without even putting on his shoes.

At first glance, I saw the goblin head he was carrying and a long sword that I had never seen before slung over his back.

The head is a prop used to prove to the villagers that the mission has been completed.

As for the longsword, it was the only valuable item the goblin had left, and Luke planned to take it back and sell it.

Several villagers who had come to watch curiously were already standing around Luke.

After hearing the young adventurer's detailed description, everyone's faces showed a relieved expression.

The village chief thanked Luke profusely and even took out five silver coins as an extra reward for the increased difficulty of this mission.

Luca needs to return to the Adventurers' Guild to collect the remaining reward.

The reward for the mission to exterminate the goblins will definitely be more than this.

But seeing the village's dilapidated state and the villagers' simple and honest nature...

Luke didn't say much and accepted it readily.

He then asked if they needed to be taken to the goblin's cave to check out the situation.

The village chief shook his head, indicating that he completely trusted Luca.

No adventurer would cheat on a quest assignment; that's common sense.

Because the consequences of doing so are very serious.

It's so serious that the Adventurers' Guild doesn't even need to write this rule down; everyone will strictly abide by it.

Luca declined the villagers' warm invitation to visit, packed his bags, and embarked on his journey back to Twilight Town.

Thinking about the reward he would receive for this commission, his steps became lighter.

His tall figure, illuminated by the dawn light, was cast into the distance on the country road.

He left behind a memorable silhouette for the villagers who watched him leave...