Chapter 54 The Threats

Once they finished their preparations, the small group of one Halfling and six Natives made their way down to the ground. They were immediately greeted by a bunch of monsters but Liam was more than prepared to tackle them.

He rushed forward with nimble steps and issued small, yet deadly attacks that were enough to kill a handful of Meheks and rats that had been fighting against each other just moments earlier.

[+0.05 Arcanium]

[+0.07 Arcanium]

[+0.05 Arcanium]

[+0.1 Arcanium]

…

Liam's earnings for slaying monsters decreased drastically. That was something he expected since his combat prowess had increased exponentially. His high Vitality stat may not increase his combat prowess directly but it allowed him to regenerate faster, and restore his Stamina and Arcane Power in a much shorter time and his skin was tougher as well.

As a Half-Devil with an exceptional bloodline coursing through his veins, a high increase in Vitality also meant that he was somewhat resilient to elemental attacks. His elemental resistance was weak and not actually worth mentioning but it was still a determining factor of his combat prowess.

After all, his combat prowess did not just stem from his strength but his stamina and his overall resilience, both physical and mental. There were a bunch of additional features that were taken into consideration when determining his combat prowess for the equation that determined how much Arcanium he earned from a kill, but Liam didn't mull over it for long.

He was more focused on the corpses he could collect to sell them for quite some money.

Even if the huge rats, the Blazing Tooth Rats, and the Meheks were ordinary monsters, selling them for 0.05 to 0.1 Arcanium was still a fair trade. Some people would buy them because the corpses of those monsters could be turned into food, weapons, tools, and even protective garments.

Clothes made of the rat's fur were not very strong, but it was better than the ordinary clothes worn by the natives. As for the rats and Meheks' meat, it could be eaten as long as it was cooked well. Last but not least, there were also the monster's claws that could be turned into weapons, whether they were small daggers or arrow-heads.

His Small Shop had only five slots to exhibit goods. The goods might be stacked as long as they were of the same nature, kind and name, but that was still not enough, no matter how much of an advantage it was.

Liam kept the prices for the monster corpses low even though the demand was pretty high right now. He knew that it was more important to build up a good reputation for his shop and he wanted to influence the mentality of others to a certain extent, turning it into a habit to take a look at his shop before anywhere else.

With the low prices he offered, his exhibition slots were often empty. Goods that were exhibited sold out quickly, which everyone noticed from the shares the natives received every now and then.

Other than Meheks and Rats, more monsters had found their way to the plaza in front of the gymnasium's main entrance. When Liam and the others passed through it, they were forced to fight some Frenzy Rabbits, Mutated Dogs, Mutated Cats, and a few more animals that had evolved from the influence of the Arcane Power that had emerged on Haltan around 72 hours earlier since it had gone into hibernation.

More changes were bound to occur and the animals of Haltan would definitely change and transform over time. However, for now, they wouldn't pose much of a threat to Liam and his team.

The highest threat were certainly other beings who had infiltrated the lands of Haltan, and the Natives.

The latter was something Liam learned pretty quickly as they paced through the university's street with fast strides.

When they were about to reach the school building adjacent to the forest, Liam's senses, fast reaction, and great observation of the surrounding area saved his life.

The noise of something cutting through the wind reached Liam's ears and he instinctively triggered the shield of the black steel wrist. His entire forearm was covered with the shield as he twisted his body to block the arrow that would have punctured his neck.

With a clang, the arrow impacted the shield and fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Liam triggered his Devil's Eyes Soultrait as his free arm moved instinctively to the Casket of Trickery. Six Black Tarthear Needles were retrieved in an instant, Arcane Power was injected and Liam threw them in the direction the arrow came from.

Meanwhile, a loud "Nooo" resounded next to him. The shout came from Kian who had realized what was going on as he was the first after Liam to see the students, who had attacked him upon seeing that Liam was not human.

The Black Tarthear Needles disappeared in the second floor and the screams of the students rang out all of a sudden. The students were in pain and they screamed out loudly.

Their voices dimmed down mere seconds later, while Liam turned around in disinterest.

"What the hell did you do?!" Kian shouted in disbelief.

Liam looked over coldly without a trace of mercy in his eyes. "If you're not blind, or stupid, you would understand that I defended myself against people who were after my life."

His voice was tranquil and calm, which was a stark contrast to his cold gaze.

"You…didn't have to kill them…" Kian mumbled quietly as he felt that Liam wouldn't hesitate to beat the shit out of him the moment he dared to correct him.

It was obvious that Liam had been attacked first, but as the stronger party, he could have shown mercy!

"They're not dead," Liam said, leaving out the words 'not yet' since Kian had yet to accept the reality, and what it meant to follow him.

Once again, Liam understood that the ducklings wouldn't be able to keep up with him for a long time. But if that was their fate, he was fine with it.

It was nothing new for him to be standing on the battlefield, all by himself, surrounded by corpses.

It was only a matter of time before history would repeat itself…