Apocalypse Rebate: Spoiling Beauties Makes Me Richer!

Deep within the Whispering Caves, the sound of metal repeatedly striking hard against some sort of Ore travelled sharply throughout the enclosed cave.

The sound bounced off the Cave surfaces as it echoed deeper into the depths beneath, as though unbothered by the creatures that dwelled within.

Diligently mining the crimson-tinted Ores that gleamed slightly in the dark confines of the Cave, a suited young man with a flashlight attached to the helmet he wore continued digging around the regions surrounding the Ore to better extract it from its base.

Making sure to apply the right amount of power behind each strike so as not to damage the glowing Crystal with the pickaxe, as he found them surprisingly fragile to him, the young man eventually dug it up safely.

Placing the huge Blood-Ore next to the pile of other ones he’d extracted already, some of which had shattered under the impact of his strikes when he accidentally ended up hitting them whilst trying to harvest them, causing them to shatter under his absurd strength, Bruce sighed gently as he briefly stared at the pile.

"That should be more than enough already."

Muttering to himself, he nodded in satisfaction upon being able to mine about three tonnes of Blood-Ore, as opposed to the one tonne required to complete the Quest.

The flashy sword still rested in the sheath strapped around his waist, while the broad shield also hung on his back despite not using either at the moment.

Though odd, as he could’ve easily chosen to store them in his Spatial Bracelet rather than having to carry them as he worked, Bruce decided against it for multiple reasons.

The most important being that he received a significant Stat boost simply by equipping them. Or in this case, being in contact with them.

This was one of the main reasons why Bruce was able to tolerate the idea of having to spend such an absurd amount of money on mere equipment that he didn’t even know how to properly handle in the first place.

Each item offered a certain boost to a particular Stat, provided they were still in contact with the wielder, despite still being merely Tier-1 items.

According to his recollection, items were divided into multiple Tiers based on their functionality and importance, ranging from Tier-0 to Tier-7.

The former being mundane items that couldn’t offer anything extraordinary whatsoever to the wielder. Whereas the latter were capable of empowering individuals and displaying feats even far beyond one’s imagination.

Naturally, due to the rarity of the higher Tiered items, this resulted in them costing a fortune as well. Causing their value to span around Billions, with some even costing Trillions of Kepto just to attain one.

As such, even a mere Tier-1, that only offered a significant boost to one particular Stat, often ranged from hundreds of thousands to even millions.

Though neither his Suit nor his Spatial Bracelet offered any Stat increase despite being of a higher Rank than his other flashy equipment, they still classified as such due to the unique features they displayed.

Storing the pickaxe back in the Spatial Bracelet as he walked towards the pile of Blood-Ores near him, he gently placed his hand atop the pile. Causing his Bracelet to glow a soft teal hue as space seemed to warp and distort around the pile before... Vanishing.

This resulted in his OmniBand briefly lighting up, informing him that he’d used up another slot in his Spatial Bracelet.

Tapping against the screen as he swiped the notification to the side, Bruce briefly stared at the Quest feature that currently displayed...

{Ongoing Quest Status}

{Completed: . . .}

{Yes} {No}

Deciding not to click the ’Yes’ icon yet, Bruce swiped against the screen once more, shifting the notification to the side.

The screen now displayed a miniaturized version of the Suit, showing the Suit’s parts tinted fully in a safe green hue, while displaying its functionality and time left before his Oxygen supply ran out.

{Hunter Suit (Tier-2)}

{Current State - Fully Operational}

{Oxygen Supply Limit Duration- 12hr (X2)}

{Time Left before depletion}

{13hrs: 52mins: 33secs...}

{13hrs: 52mins: 32secs...}

{13hrs: 52mins: 31secs...}

.....

Having spent about three hours getting to the Whispering Caves, it took him about two more hours exploring the depths of the Cave before finally finding the Blood-Ore. Then he spent roughly another five to six hours mining the Ores before finally completing the Quest. Leaving him with a little over 13 hours before he ran out of Oxygen completely.

Sighing slightly at the sight, Bruce’s bearing suddenly shifted as he heard the sound of silent footsteps quietly approaching him from a distance.

Subtly placing a hand on the hilt of his sword, he acted oblivious to the presence, causing it to draw closer to his position.

Upon finally getting within range, the two grotesque figures, about a metre tall, fiercely lunged at him, attempting to kill him while he was distracted.

Immediately unsheathing his sword at the sight, Bruce swiftly brandished the blade in a quick horizontal slash aimed at their necks.

The attack easily decapitated the creatures in a single, swift motion. Their heads crashed heavily against the ground with a dull thud as their bodies suddenly grew limp midair before hitting the ground as well, causing a pool of dark blood to now spill from the spots where their heads once were.

The slash he made was rather crude and mildly stiff, making it apparent that he clearly had little to no experience with such a weapon.

Yet, it didn’t matter.

What he lacked in skill with the blade could easily be compensated for with his overwhelming Stats for his level, which made killing Mutants at similar or slightly higher levels than his own a lot easier for him.

A notification flashed before him immediately after, upon killing the Mutants.

[Host has successfully Slain a Lesser Mutant (Lvl.4)]

[Host has successfully Slain a Lesser Mutant (Lvl.3)]

[+20SP has been received from Slain Mutant]

[+10SP has been received from Slain Mutant]

[Host has Slain a slightly stronger opponent! You have received Bonus Strength +2.]

....

Looking at the string of information before him, Bruce felt that rather than him being rewarded by the System, it was more like the System was simply informing him of what happened while he killed a Mutant, instead of having a hand in his rewards.

This thought further solidified on recalling that the System had previously stated that it mostly rewarded him based on the level of Affection he received from high-rated beauties Bonded to him by converting the affection he displayed towards them into Rebate Coins.

"More or less at least."

With this in mind, it meant these were likely what most other Hunters received as well after killing a Mutant.

Glancing at the Mutants he’d just killed, Bruce recalled from the Quest description that the Mutants that resided here had heightened senses. Making him aware that they’d been drawn by the sound he made while extracting the Blood-Ores.

Which was one of the reasons why this place was named The Whispering Caves.

As sound was one of the things that easily attracted the Mutants here, since they were highly sensitive to it.

With the other being the smell of blood, as the more blood accumulated in one spot, the more the Mutants residing in the Caves were drawn by the scent.

So, it was highly advised to not stay in one place for too long, as the sound attracted the Mutants, while the blood of the slain Mutants drew even more to the location.

Which was likely how the previous Team that had ventured into the Whispering Caves had fallen, as they hadn’t been fully aware of the unique condition of the Mutants dwelling in the Caves, causing them to continue extracting the Blood-Ores from a single spot, and managing to kill any wandering Mutant that happened to be drawn by the noise they created.

Unaware that they were inevitably digging their own graves.

Already aware of these, Bruce nodded at the sight as he muttered while shifting his gaze as he glanced at the things behind him.

"That should do it!"

Sprawled sparsely across the ground, over a dozen mangled and mildly mutilated corpses lay slaughtered on its surface.

The creatures, resembling a grotesque mix between an ugly mole and a huge dog, looked eerily similar to the ones he’d just killed a few minutes ago.

Two pairs of dark slits where their eyes should’ve been lay permanently shut on its hideous face, while a long, pink, repugnantly squishy snout pressed limp against the ground.

Each one had six limbs, equipped with razor-sharp claws that now lay stiffened with rigor mortis.

They were all dead, as they now lay motionless on the ground, while blood still seeped out from their bodies that had been vigorously torn apart by a cruel blade, splitting each of them into uneven parts of flesh.

Briefly taking in the sight, Bruce subconsciously muttered.

"Not gonna lie. Not my best work!"

Surprisingly, despite being surrounded by blood and gore, Bruce didn’t recoil back in revolt or disgust.

Instead, he acted as though it was just a regular sight.

Maybe it was because of him being an Awakened, or the fact that he’d lived in a hospital nearly his entire life before, so he wasn’t new to the sight of blood nor the stench of death.

Either way, he couldn’t be sure exactly.

Not bothering with the thought anymore, as his ears picked up a number of footsteps approaching from a distance, a small smile slowly crept up his face on hearing it.

"Looks like the cavalry has finally arrived."

These ones not even bothering to be subtle in their approach, as their numbers seemed much larger than the previous ones, soon filled the openings of the caves on the walls as they snarled at the hateful human from a distance.

Their numbers easily summing up to about a hundred, they filled the entrances near him as they slowly drew closer.

The sight causing a bit of sweat to trickle down Bruce’s face as he appeared to be visibly trapped in the midst of over a hundred Mutants.

"That’s a lot of ugly rats."

Surprised by the absurd amount of Mutants that’d surrounded him, a slight smile still crept up his face as he subconsciously glanced at his Stats while activating a certain skill he hadn’t used before.

This time, he chose to focus on his Physical and Combat-related Stats rather than his overall one in general.

********

[Personal Profile]

{Name: Bruce Wade}

{Age: 20}

{Race: Human}

{Main Ability: Rebate Lord}

{Level: 1 » 3}

{Soul Purity: 0/100 » 170/300}

--------

[Personal Stats]

{Strength: 60 » 76 (↑10)}

{Agility: 35 » 63 (↑5)}

{Stamina: 27 » 79 (↑6)}

{Charisma: 37 » 49}

{Endurance: 29 » 41}

{Mana: 80/80 » 92/92}

******

Not giving him time to gather his thoughts, one of the Mutants grew incessantly impatient, causing it to immediately dart towards Bruce, who appeared to be distracted as he stared aimlessly at nothing in particular.

Still looking at the System screen, Bruce didn’t turn even when the Mutant finally lunged at him from behind, aiming to rip out his throat together with his spine.

Not bothering to even spare it a glance, he simply raised an arm, blocking the Mutant’s path, causing it to bite hard against his arm instead.

Its maw easily pierced through the Suit, digging deep into his flesh... Or so it thought.

Harmlessly scraping against his skin, as though attempting to bite through steel with normal dentition, the Mutant’s teeth failed gracelessly to penetrate Bruce’s hardened skin.

[Diamond Skin Skill has been Activated!]

Smiling at the sight as its attack was unable to deal any damage to him, Bruce whispered. His tone growing increasingly dark, as the smile on his face appeared ominous, while a sinister glint shifted within his gaze as he now stared at the Mutant.

"It seems you’re mistaken about something..."

Pausing briefly as his smile grew eerily wider, Bruce completed with a mischievous smirk.

"...You’re the ones trapped in here with me!"