Chapter 37: [36]: The KP Exploit, Blindfold Farming

The System’s warning from two nights ago stayed in Alvian’s mind.

The World Will had noticed his S-Rank Domain. Fate Enforcers were coming eventually, and the only protection the System suggested was Karma Points. Lots of them.

He checked his balance.

[Karma Points: 8]

[Target: 500 (VIP Shop unlock)]

[Current progress: 1.6%]

[Estimated time to target at current rate: Several months]

[The System suggests panicking. Useful panicking, but panicking anyway.]

’Several months,’ Alvian thought. ’I don’t have several months.’

He pulled out Tobias’s hand-drawn map of the Warrens. His finger traced down past the Ironjaw Rat territory, past Crawler Alley, to a section marked in red ink: MID-WARRENS. RANK 3 NESTS. DO NOT ENTER ALONE.

Rank 3 creatures. Level 35 to 40 equivalents. Dangerous enough to kill a normal Level 32 Awakened.

But Alvian was not normal anymore.

His S-Rank Domain could erase anything within fifty meters. His Severing Sword Aura could cut Rank 3 creatures in half from fifteen meters away. His 57 VIT made him almost immune to most Rank 3 attacks.

The problem was that if he fought at full strength, the System would see how easy it was and roll higher, not lower. He needed the System to think he was struggling.

’Fight blind,’ he realized. ’And with no weapons. No sword. No Domain. Just Clearwater Palm and my fists. The System will see this handicap as higher difficulty, but my stats will keep me alive. The rolls will be terrible. And terrible rolls mean KP.’

It was foolish. It was painful. It was perfect.

He tore a strip of cloth from his extra shirt and tied it over his eyes. Everything went dark. His Danger Sense kicked in right away, showing fuzzy outlines of his surroundings. Blurry, but it worked.

He went down into the mid-Warrens.

The air changed as he went deeper. Thicker. Hotter. Dimensional energy seeped straight through broken rocks, making a permanent twilight zone. Even with a blindfold, he could feel the walls dripping glowing fluid.

His boots crunched on something dry and weak. Bone pieces. Old remains from creatures that walked through and died to stronger monsters.

The first creature found him in a few minutes.

He heard it before he felt it. A wet clicking noise, like claws hitting stone. Then heavy footsteps vibrating low on the ground. His Danger Sense spiked, giving him a general direction: left, moving fast.

A Corrupted Sludge Crawler. Level 36. Rank 3.

The creature charged. Without his eyes, Alvian could not see the attack coming, but his 38 AGI and Danger Sense worked together to give him just enough warning. He stepped right. Something wet and heavy brushed his left arm. Acidic spit. It burned through his sleeve and stung his skin.

[HP: 110 → 104]

He struck back with Clearwater Palm, pushing his hand toward where he thought the body was. His palm hit something hard and wet. A hard shell. The acid hissed against the shell, making it weaker, but did not break through.

The Crawler pulled back. It moved in circles, clicking angrily. Alvian turned his head, following the sound. It was faster than the Rank 2 Crawlers he fought before. Smarter. It did not charge blindly. It looked for weak spots.

The second attack came from his dark side. A jaw claw caught his thigh, ripping his pants and cutting his skin.

[HP: 104 → 92]

’Four minutes,’ he calculated. ’This fight will take four minutes without a weapon. With a sword, it would take four seconds.’

He grabbed the jaw claw with both hands. Clearwater Coating activated on his palms. The acid ate through the shell. The Crawler screamed and pulled back. Alvian followed, hitting with his palm right into what felt like the creature’s eye socket.

[Clearwater Palm hit registered. Proficiency +1. Rolling... 2x. Proficiency EXP: 2. KP +1.]

A 2x multiplier. One Karma Point.

The strategy worked.

The Crawler shook violently and died. Its body dropped at his feet, warm blood pooling around his boots.

[DING!]

[Kill: Corrupted Sludge Crawler (Rank 3, Level 36)]

[Base EXP: 100]

[Roll: 2x]

[EXP: 200. KP +1.]

He walked deeper into the mid-Warrens. The next creature found him seven minutes later. An Ironjaw Alpha Rat, Level 38, with metal-like teeth that could cut steel. It came from above, jumping down from a broken pipe. His Danger Sense screamed just in time. He rolled to the side. The rat’s teeth cracked the stone where he had been standing.

The fight was ugly. Without sight, he could not aim for weak points. He exchanged hits with it, getting bitten on his arms while hitting back with Clearwater Palm on whatever part he could touch. His 57 VIT absorbed the damage, but his HP kept dropping.

[HP: 92 → 78 → 65 → 58]

Four minutes later, the rat fell dead. His arms were bleeding from many bites.

[DING!]

[Kill: Ironjaw Alpha Rat (Rank 3, Level 38)]

[Base EXP: 100]

[Roll: 1x]

[EXP: 100. KP +1.]

A 1x roll. The lowest roll possible. It was the System’s way of showing it did not care about his pain.

’Thanks,’ Alvian thought dryly. ’Keep them coming.’

He kept fighting. A Stonehide Lizard with hard rock skin. A second Corrupted Crawler. Another Alpha Rat. Every fight was a tough, blind brawl. Every kill gave a roll below 5x. Every roll gave another Karma Point.

Hour after hour. The mid-Warrens echoed with sounds of battle and the hiss of Clearwater acid.

By hour three, his HP dropped to 45. His body was covered in new bruises, bite marks, and acid burns from his own Clearwater leftovers. His forearms were covered in cuts. His ribs hurt from a tail strike he did not see coming.

By hour four, he had killed eight creatures. His KP rose from 8 to 16.

By hour five, he felt super tired. His muscles burned. His Danger Sense was blurry from non-stop use. He almost walked into a group of three Corrupted Crawlers before his ears picked up the clicking sounds. He backed away, found a single Crawler instead, and killed it after a three-minute struggle.

[DING!]

[Kill: Corrupted Sludge Crawler (Rank 3)]

[Base EXP: 100]

[Roll: 4x]

[EXP: 400. KP +1.]

By hour six, he could not keep going. His HP moved up and down between 40 and 90 all day, kept alive only by his 55 VIT passive healing. His body took more damage in six hours than in the whole past week.

He found a safe corner, sat down, and pulled off the blindfold. The faint light of the Warrens felt too bright after six hours in the dark. He blinked, and tears ran down his face.

Twelve Rank 3 creatures dead. Every single roll below 5x.

[DING!]

[Session Summary]

[Kills: 12 (Rank 3)]

[Rolls: 2x, 1x, 3x, 2x, 4x, 1x, 2x, 3x, 1x, 4x, 2x, 1x]

[Total EXP gained: ~2,400]

[Total KP gained: 12]

[Current KP: 20]

[Target: 500]

[Remaining: 480]

[The System notes that getting beaten up on purpose for six hours is either dedication or madness. Maybe both.]

Alvian put the 2,400 EXP into VIT. His body needed all the defense it could get.

[VIT: 55 → 57]

[HP pool increased: 110 → 114]

[Flesh Limit expanded]

He limped up toward the surface, his body hurting with every step. The mid-Warrens creatures stayed away from him. The smell of his Clearwater acid and the blood of twelve Rank 3 monsters made him smell dangerous.

’480 KP left to get,’ he calculated. ’At 12 for each session, that is 40 more sessions. Over a month of farming.’

Too slow. The Magnus family would not wait a month. The World Will would not wait a month.

He needed to go faster.

┌──────[ Profile]──────┐

│ [Host]: Alvian Vance

│ [Level]: 32

│ [Talent]: Clearwater [E-Rank, S-Rank effective]

│ [Skills]: Abyssal Dissolution Domain [S-RANK]

│ Clearwater Coating [E-Rank]

│ Severing Sword Aura [A-Rank]

│ [Weapon Mastery]: Short-Sword [MAXIMUM, evolved]

│ [STR]: 40 | [AGI]: 38 | [VIT]: 57

│ [INT]: 22 | [Essence]: 33

│ [Karma Points]: 20

│ [EXP Bank]: ~604

│ [System Version]: 2.0

│ [HP]: 89/114 (regenerating)

└─────────────────┘

As he climbed toward the thirteenth level, a notification appeared near the edge of his vision.

[DING!]

[Item Available: Pity Accelerator]

[Cost: 5 KP]

[Effect: Double KP gain from sub-5x rolls for 24 hours]

[The System reminds the Host that spending KP to get KP faster is either smart or a trick. Maybe both.]

Alvian stopped walking. His bruised body was sore. His arms were covered in dried blood. He had 20 KP.

He could spend 5 KP to double his earnings tomorrow. 12 kills per session would give 24 KP instead of 12. The cost would pay for itself in one day.

’I will buy it,’ he decided. ’Tomorrow, I push harder. More enemies in every fight. Multiple monsters at once. Chaos means lower efficiency. Lower efficiency means lower rolls. Lower rolls mean more KP.’

He kept climbing. His body was in pain. His mind raced.

480 KP left to get. Time was running out.

Alvian bought the Pity Accelerator before sunrise.

[DING!]

[Purchasing: Pity Accelerator]

[Cost: 5 KP]

[Remaining KP: 15]

[Effect: Active for 24 hours. Sub-5x rolls generate 2 KP instead of 1.]

[The System wishes the Host good luck. He will need it. The bad kind.]

A/N

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