Chapter 3: Farming SP

//QUEST COMPLETE: FINISH TUTORIAL//

[REWARDS: 200 SP, SHOP: LOGISTICS]

"Oh! It's here! Let's see here what's inside the 'LOGISTICS' category."

As Jacob browsed his system he saw a variety of equipments and gears needed for surviving in this world: Camping equipment, Apparels, Armor, Ingredients, Rations, and even Money.

"Whoa, if I have these things then even someone like me can survive away from civilization for months, maybe even years if I didn't prefer living in a civilized society." Jacob said as he was impressed by the System's new function. It was at this moment that his System advised him,

[HOST, IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU HARVEST THE CORE WITHIN MONSTERS AS THEY ARE WORTH EXCHANGING GOODS AND SERVICES IN THIS WORLD. THE CORES ARE MOSTLY FOUND NEAR THE HEART WITH THE LIGHTER ONES IN COLOR WORTH THE LEAST AND THE DARKER ONES ARE WORTH MORE.]

"Ah, the core huh? No automatic item retrieval? No? Huh, looks like I gotta dismantle the corpses manually haaa." Despite being bummed out, Jacob went to collect the cores with his bayonet after making sure there were no dangers nearby.

"Pee-yew, now I'm up close these guys really smell. Let's see if there's something I can do about it."

As Jacob went to the scene he realized the goblins' stench is more foul than he thought, so he went to the 'LOGISTICS' to buy a gas mask to filter the smell and possible pathogens that can enter his body.

"Alright, much better now time to get to work. *shhhunk* *shiiiing* Ah, there it is. Hmmm, it has a light red color and about the size of a marble." Jacob said as he was observing the core in interest before dismantling all of the goblins for their core and storing them.

"Wait, System if these things have a worth then can I sell it for SP too?"

[AFFIRMATIVE HOST, THE CORES CAN BE EXCHANGED FOR SP AFTER STORING THEM IN THE "INVENTORY", CLICKING THE SLOT THEY ARE ALLOCATED AT, AND PRESSING THE "SELL" ICON.]

"So there's that feature huh? *click* *click* Let's see, sell."

[GOBLIN CORE x5

SELL ALL

SELECT QUANTITY TO SELL

SELL ONE]

"Hmm, which to click.... Ah whatever, I'll just sell them all for now. *click*]

[DING! +100SP]

"Whoa, the cores are worth more SP than killing the goblins!" exlaimed Jason. "I just found out two sources of SP now, I gotta be an idiot if I don't take advantage of that. Alright! Time to farm some SP and strike it rich! *grrrowwwll* Ahh, right after I prepare some grub which reminds me, I saw a deer back there and I'm rather curious if it tastes any different from the venison I used to eat."

Excited, Jacob was prepared to obtain more SP only to be stopped by his stomach's protest.

"Let's check the mini-map for the nearest neutral, oh there's one about 300 meters Southwest let's if it's that guy again."

Locating his prey, Jacob moved quickly and silently to its location. After travelling for a few minutes, Jacob saw the same tri-antler deer grazing the grass about 200 meters away, unaware that it entered the sight of it's would be hunter.

"There he is, I need to get closer to ensure a one-shot kill." said Jacob as he silently stalks his prey and moves slowly towards it in a crouched postion before stopping in intervals as to not spook the deer. When he was 150 meters away he stopped, aimed at its head, and cocked his rifle *kachack*

*shhiii* At that moment the deer managed to hear a strange sound and looked at its vicinity for anything peculiar, after not finding anything out of the ordinary it resumed its grazing.

Holding his breathe, Jason quietly exhaled, before pulling the trigger in a similar manner he did with the goblins. *BANG* A loud explosion sounded in the quiet forest before the deer in front of him dropped to the ground thrashing its legs for a second before it remained motionless.

*DING* +1SP

"Huuu, that was anticlimactic but I'll take it. Hmmm, looks like it's worth a little SP. System, does the deer also have a core?" Jacob asked as he relieved the breathe he's holding.

[NEGATIVE, HOST. ONLY CREATURES THAT ABSROBED ENOUGH MIASMA CAN HAVE THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE A CORE tURNING THEM INTO MONSTERS IN THE PROCESS. THE NORMAL FAUNAS LACK MIASMA NEED TO PRODUCE A CORE AND ARE THUS DECIDED TO BE WORTH LESS SP THAN MONSTERS.]

"What is this miasma and if animals can absorb it to become monsters does that mean I'm also under the risk to turn into a monster?" Jacob asked as he feared the thought of transforming into a monster.

[HOST DOES NOT NEED TO WORRY AS THE MIASMA MOSTLY AFFECT CREATURES WITH LITTLE SENTIENCE AS IT AFFECTS THEIR MIND AND TAKES OVER THEIR THOUGHT FORCING THEM TO TRANSFORM INTO MONSTERS. HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME EXTREME CASES WHERE THE CREATURES AFFECTED BY THE MIASMA INCREASES THEIR SENTIENCE ON A LEVEL SIMILAR TO A HUMAN'S SO IT IS ADVISABLE TO THE HOST TO NOT UNDERESTIMATE ANY MONSTER YOU ENCOUNTER.]

"Heh, if that's what it is then doesn't that mean that deer I killed is smarter than those goblins nack there? But it looks like there are also some smart monsters, I need to keep an on them if I run into them. But enough about that I need to find a place to dismantle the deer."

After Jacob inquired the System he went to find a suitable place to dismantle the deer and set up camp. Finally, after finding a clearing in the forest next to a stream Jacob purchased a 'Gambrel and Pulley Hoist System' to hoist the deer for 20 SP. Next, is draning the blood by slicing its neck with the bayonet for a few minutes before field-dressing or gutting the deer by removing all of its internal organs and disposing it. After that is skinning, initial cuts are required around each leg, usually at the knee joint, you'll also need to make cuts along the interior of the legs to connect them with your field-dress cut across the chest. From there, skinning the deer is simply a matter of working the hide away from the muscle with the edge of his bayonet.The next step is quartering which is simply a matter of slicing away the muscle and separating the joints . The final step is cutting the meat to the preferred cut.

After 45 minutes of dismantling, Jacob stored the meat in his inventory, washed his hands in the nearby stream, went to collect stones, dry grass and wood to build a campfire before lighting

"Although I can purchase a gas grill I prefer campfire outdoors due to its allure in camping. Anyway, let's cook up some meat!"

Saying that, Jacob bought a skillet pan, spatula, some salt and pepper, and butter for 90SP. First, he seasoned two venison steaks with salt and pepper on both sides. Then, he spread butter on the skillet before putting the meats in. *sizzle* *SNIFFFFFF* The moment the seasoned meats made contact with the hot skillet a gamey smell wafted in the air making Jacob gulped in anticipation. After their first side is done Jacob flipped the steaks to cook the other side, after cooking the meat in a medium-rare style Jacob bought some cutlery for 1SP before trying some otherwordly venison.

"*chomp* MMMM!!!" The moment Jacob bit into the steak he could feel the meat melt into his mouth, the salt and pepper fits well with butter as they bring out the flavor of the meat. *GULP* Still unsatisfied, Jacob prepared another batch to cook as he tried to satiate his hunger.

"*BUUUURRRRPPPP!* Ahh, that was the best meat I've ever had. 10 out of 10." Jacob praised as he enjoyed his first cuisine in another world. After cleaning up and resting for awhile Jacob prepared for his 'Farming Technique' to earn some serious SP.

"Okay, that took a lot longer than I thought but it's now time for some hardcore farming! Judging by the sun it's about an hour past noon which gives me a few hours to farm. I better get moving before it gets dark." Coming to a decision, Jacob decided to go to the nearest hostiles on his mini-map to earn some SP. After running for a while he spotted another group of goblins 100 meters away with his mini-map but this time it's composed of 11 goblins with 4 holding bows and the other 7 holding rusty short swords, all of them are also equipped with some kind of crude leather armor.

"Is this a patrol group? Compared to the previous group these guys look more well-equipped, guess they're not as dumb as I thought and they're also spread around taking more time to kill them all.

Hmm, I wonder if I can use my surroundings as an avantage." Realising it's gonna take more time to deal with, Jacob surveyed his surroundings trying to look for a good place to eliminate the threats without worrying about his safety.

"Aha, that tree looks like a great vantage point and has just the right amount of leaves to hide my figure." A few meters away from his position, Jacob saw a tree that is crooked at the top about 2 meters thick and 20 feet high that makes it a perfect vantage point that overlooks the entire goblin group.

"Alright, no biggie I climbed higher trees in my airsoft matches sniping players pissing off a lot of people hehe. Okay, EEEYUP! Hah, hah, hah haaah, comfy just right for a sitting position with enough cover to meld into the leaves and a perfect view of the killing fields." Utilizing his tree climbing skills Jacob is now in position to dispatch the hostiles.

*Inhale* *Exhale* Raising his rifle, Jacob aims his rifle at the farthest ranged goblin using the same strategy he used before he opened fire.

*BANG*...*BANG* *BANG*...*BANG* In 5 seconds all the ranged goblins are lying on the ground with either their heads or chests having a clear hole.

"!!! GAGRAGGAARGHHZZZ!" One of the goblins, that looked like the leader, pointed at Jacob's direction and ordered the other 6 goblins to charge before joining in.

Realizing they have a chain of command, Jacob focused his sights on the leader and fired to try to lower the goblins' morale.

*BANG BANG* The next second, the Goblin leader dropped dead momentarily freezing the remaining 6 goblins. Jacob didn't miss this chance to kill another 2 goblins *BANG BANG*.

"GRRAAAAHHZZZZ!" However, instead of losing morale, the goblins became even more fired up as they lost their leader and companions and even screamed a battlecry, increasing their speed as they approached the tree Jacob is sitting on. *BANG BANG* *BANG BANG BANG*

Jacob fired faster as the goblins became harder to hit due to their speed and managed to kill 2 of the 4 charging goblins. The last 2 goblins managed to reach the base of the tree but is unable to inflict damage to Jacob as they are surprisingly unable to climb trees and only jumps around, trying to swing their swords at Jacob. Seeing as they're easy picking, Jacob managed to one-shot both goblins, checking his mini-map for hostiles before climbing down when he found none.

"Haah, looks like I can't route goblins the same way you route humans when you take out their chain of command. Alright let's harvest the cores and look for more."

*DING DING DING* As the notifications sounded indicating SP obtained, Jacob is busy retrieving the cores and selling them. Jacob found out that the goblins are worth 10-15 SP while all of their cores are worth 20 SP each.Jacob was satisfied as he got 368 from the encounter

This kind of scene continued for 3 hours with Jacob killing groups of goblins consisting 4 goblins at least and 15 goblins at most in mid-range taking advantage of the environment, camouflaging himself in green foliage, raining death from above, and initiating simple guerilla tactics. There was a case where a couple of goblins managed to compromise his position pouncing with clubs and dagger at the ready, Jacob managed to roll out of the way with his reflex and took them out using his one-handed shooting skills with his m1911, the stopping power of the .45 ACP is so great at close range that it managed to knock off a goblin 5 feet away from its position. Having experienced a bunch of close calls, Jacob was thankful for his quick reflexes and reaction time when he trained with a few ex-military players in his airsoft days. During these three hours, Jacob managed to obtain about 8000 SP after killing hundreds of goblins earning him a total of approximately 16000 SP much to his satisfaction.

*TARARARARA!*

[OBTAINED TITLE: "GOBLIN ELIMINATOR"

GOBLIN ELIMINATOR: INCREASES SPEED, AGILITY, AND STRENGTH BY 30% EVERY TIME THE HOLDER ENCOUNTERS A GOBLIN]

"Huh, there's titles in this world too? But wait, I just realized there are no levels here even when I scanned some of the goblins I encountered."

[RESPONDING TO HOST, THIS WORLD DOES NOT INCORPORATE A LEVEL SYSTEM. THE ONLY WAY TO GROW STRONGER IS TO TRAIN YOUR STATS THROUGH HARDWORK AND TRAINING. THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS IN INCREASING THE BATTLE PROWESS OF AN INDIVIDUAL HERE, WHETHER IT IS HUMANS, DEMONS, OR DEMI-HUMANS ALL OF THEM NEED TO TRAIN HARD TO GROW STRONGER. HOST IS RATHER FORTUNATE THAT HE CAN PURCHASE EQUIPMENT THAT CAN INCREASE HIS STATS WHICH IS UNHEARD OF IN THIS WORLD, THEREFORE IT IS HIGHLY ADVISED FOR THE HOST TO NOT INDULGE PEOPLE THE EXISTENCE OF EQUIPMENTS THAT CAN INCREASE STATS JUST BY WEARING THEM.]

"Damn! No levelling up? Only increasing stats is important? Okay, I think I can live with that, but wait! How come I can't see my STATS System? *click click* There's nothing in the interface that let's me see my stats. What are the STATS in this world System?" Jason asked for more information from the system.

[HOST, THE STATS IN THIS WORLD ARE: SPEED (SPD), AGILITY (AGI), STRENGTH (STR), INTELLIGENCE (INT), DEXTERITY (DEX), ENDURANCE (END), AND CHARISMA (CHA). STATS ARE NOT SHOWN BECAUSE THE SYSTEM IS NOT UPGRADED YET, YOU MUST UPGRADE TO "WEAPON SYSTEM 2.0 BEFORE THE STATS CAN BE SHOWN.]

"Thanks for the lesson there, but how can I upgrade you System?"

[REPLYING TO HOST, UNKNOWN. I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO UPGRADE THE WEAPON SYSTEM INTO WEAPON SYSTEM 2.0. HOST MUST WORK HARD ON HIS OWN TO FIND THE ANSWER.]

"GODDAM- FUCK! You don't even know about yourself? Come on System stop pulling my leg!

Haaaaa fine, fine, whatever I'll find out on my own but not now I need to get back at camp before dark-"

*ROAAARR!* Jacob didn't finish sentence when he heard a loud roar nearby, checking his mini-map he saw 2 big red dots surrounded by 7-8 smaller red dots about 300 meters North East of his position with 1 smaller red dot disappearing at different intervals.

"What the hell was that loud roar? Should I check it out or make a tactical retreat?" Stuck in a dilemma Jacob can't decide between taking a look due to his curiosity and adventurous spirit, and making a retreat due the dangers he may encounter.

"Alright, I decided to investigate the source of that roar but let me just make some preparations and buy some stuff *click click*" Making up his mind, Jacob prepares some things he need in case of emergency.

[GHILLIE SUIT BOUGHT! -800SP

M14 SILENCER BOUGHT! -200SP

LAND MINE x5 (ACTIVATED) BOUGHT! -1000SP

M67 GREANADE x3 BOUGHT! -240SP]

"Okay, I can sneak into position with the Ghillie Suit further camouflaging me and attract lesser attention with my silencer without exposing my location through the noise if I open fire. Should that fail, I can hurl grenades at the hostiles' direction while leaving behind landmines to cover my escape hoping for the best that it's enough to kill them."

After he finished forming his plan of action, Jacob equipped his ghillie suit and silencer and went towards the location of the unknown hostiles while feeling anxious, scared and even....excited.