Bro, I'm not an Undead!

It had become apparent to Skullius that Tasks were strangely specific yet not. He couldn't half ass his way through them.

For starters, he had discovered that if he was tasked to acquire cores of a specific Tier as the situation in this case, it meant that he had to be the one who secured from their source if one wasn't specified.

Or so he had confirmed after actually killing gremlins and obtaining their cores which prompted the level up.

Five stat points per stat were given to him after the level up but strangely, this stat gain felt... different.

Skullius could have sworn he felt his core's minute growth in that moment, his body actually tensing up as with the strength addition he felt like he could topple a small mountain, with the agility, that he could run like the wind and with his endurance that he could tank the [Lucky Strike] from the gremlins to a larger degree!

One of these had been able to push him to the brink of death but now...

"Is this the difference between scaling in power between humans and beasts, like Benzard said that time?" he asked himself as he drew the Null Life Essence from the gremlins.

The proper way to grow, as Benzard had called it.

Every stat gain was immensely powerful as compared to beasts.

No wonder humans remained on top despite the many tiers of levelling that beasts went through.

The remaining gremlins shuddered as Skullius pressed his intense gaze on them while advancing with his sword.

He didn't forget that these guys could mess him up with their luck.

It seemed that they didn't consciously control their luck and perhaps because of their Tier, interfering with powerful skills was beyond them even with their high luck.

"Well... I won't be the one to finish you off. It's too risky. Red bro!"

Given the consent and the way to prevent further mishaps, Red Rage stormed over to the twenty some remaining gremlins and killed them in one continuous sweep after using the skill [Dash in Dust] which had levelled up to 8.

The corresponding notifications about how Red Rage had received some experience showed up in Skullius' guidance field as he then took some time to rest his body which had sustained damage.

The punch and kicks he had received had literally bent his body as perhaps a way to mimic broken bones and Skullius was walking like a hunched old man.

"So this is a Cluster..." Skullius said as he sat down crudely, taking in the scenery of something other than the blood and guts.

'The Deities made this world with their own bodies and the guidance field said that its the clash in their powers that makes these strange places. So does that mean that the Deities' bodies emitting energy just causes something like this or am I yet to see the true effects? I thought it would be something more devastating.'

Skullius' analysis was for the most part true.

He pulled out one of the gems that was stuck on the cave walls and scrutinised it.

It was purple with a few starry lights within that glowed dimly while this shell had a glossy but rough texture.

A strange energy oozed from it that he didn't quite understand.

Still, the Discount Human deemed these gems valuable and decided to harvest them along with a few of the corpses of the gremlins, storing them in his ring until it was almost full.

In the midst of this process, Skullius and Red Rage felt tendrils of mana sneaking from beyond what they could see from the cave ahead.

The depths of the cave that wound a few times beyond.

Gems still lit the way, allowing for one to follow through and see where they were going despite the tangling of the trees and vines.

"It's not over, I guess," Skullius said, his mind thinking back to what that skinny bro had said about there being many monsters and then one stronger one.

Fifty creatures was definitely a lot for someone who was soloing the Cluster but for a group, it would have been breeze.

This was definitely a very weak Cluster. The weakest.

However, thinking that these gremlins would have spilled out into Santhi and started delivering their gospel of luck and unluck to the common folk would make one shiver.

Even Skullius recognised how much of a danger they'd pose. They were worse than the goblins.

Just how many 'accidental' deaths would occur by the time help arrived.

DUUM! DUM! DUM!

Loud thumps sounded with a heavy impact as something heavy could be heard approaching from the winding path of the tunnel.

Soil and small rocks shook each time there was such a vibrant stomp, the thin streams of mana that Skullius had felt becoming thicker as something rushed in the two's direction!

'Here is the last part!' Skullius thought, Red Rage who was beside him also readying himself with a heroic stance that seemed to foretell that was prepared the tank whatever damage came!

Skullius felt his little remaining reserves of mana and smiled bitterly. He had started with the intent to save mana but had actually done the opposite because of the pressure.

He hadn't used the Null Devil's Aegis of Damnation which would impede his movement but now, he had to consider it.

Only a few points of mana remained as even with his level up, he didn't get a recovery to his mana, that much being obvious.

As he contemplated his next move, a thick and tall figure rushed through, becoming visible as it appeared in the two's line of sight!

A large gremlin stood before them, bearing an identical appearance to the gremlins the two had killed with the only differences being in the height and proportions.

It stood at over two and half meters, having the same freakish arms but longer legs that enhanced its speed as it charged!

It was pretty fast!

As it saw the bodies of its juniors, the gremlin screeched loudly, but not in a fit of rage that exposed its sorrow but in anger that showed its longing for action!

The same pulsing blue half-heart could be seen on its chest and this organ began to glow as it passed by the gremlins, the corpses of the little creatures reacting as well, as hearts on the chests also glowed!

'I have a bad feeling about this,' Skullius thought.

And what he thought turned out to be true as in an instant, an overbearing force bore down on him!

It wasn't raw power or force.

That was a thing of its own.

This was Jackpot's peculiar skill!