It's Common Sense That Killing Monsters Drops Materials

"Ruben, I want steak for lunch today, with black pepper."

Mayuna walked down to the second basement level. The space here was much larger than the floor above, but it was cluttered with all sorts of strange tools and gadgets. Avoiding the unidentified machinery, Mayuna approached Ruben, who was busy tinkering with a test tube, and issued her command with a sense of entitlement. Having stayed here for several days, she had gradually grown accustomed to bossing Ruben around.

"We're out of black pepper. Just eat it as is."

"No! Steak without black pepper is incomplete. Hurry up and find a way!"

Mayuna refused stubbornly. She really wanted to tell Ruben to go to Dris town to buy some, but upon reflection, there was no way such a remote border area would stock such delicious spices. She had no choice but to pin her hopes on Ruben.

"You, have you been getting more and more willful lately?"

Ruben set down his work and turned to look at Mayuna. How he missed the Mayuna who used to grab him and ask, 'Where are the Elemental Spirits?' He didn't know why, but since she had started freeloading here, her mental age seemed to have regressed quite a bit.

"Have I? That must be your imagination."

Mayuna refused to admit it. She didn't feel she was being willful at all, though this had a great deal to do with her past. She was only five when her parents left her—the age when children are at their most willful. After being rescued by Yura, she hadn't made any friends; she only had the teachers who loved her. It could be said that, other than being willful, she basically didn't know how to interact with people.

Of course, this also had to do with Ruben spoiling her too much. In Mayuna's eyes, Ruben was like a clay doll; he did whatever she told him to do, never losing his temper or getting angry, though he never smiled either.

"Hmph..."

A cold snort came from above Ruben's head. This branch, which had been snapped in two a few days ago, had now mended its body with tape. It opened its single purple eye to glance at Mayuna before closing it again, as if looking at non-combustible trash. Such an expression naturally made Mayuna furious, and she secretly vowed to break Dragon into three pieces next time.

"Then let's go try our luck. If we're lucky, maybe it'll drop."

Ruben took the crossbow hanging on the wall into his hands. This weapon, created by the crystallization of ancient wisdom, had a simple structure and was easy to make. It was Ruben's best choice for hunting before he invented firearms.

"Drop?"

Mayuna looked at the weapon in Ruben's hand with confusion. Her intuition told her this was some kind of bow-like weapon, but its shape was very peculiar and it was much smaller than a bow.

Creak.

The old wooden door made a teeth-grinding noise. Ruben and Mayuna walked out of the cabin one after the other. Facing the sun hanging high in the sky, Mayuna felt as if a lifetime had passed. Thinking back, she had been carried inside by Ruben, but now she was walking out with the status of a lady of the house. The world was truly a marvelous place.

"What are you doing?"

Just as Mayuna was lost in her reflections, the back of Ruben's hand gently brushed against her cheek. There was no aggressive movement, so Mayuna just glanced at Ruben sideways and asked indifferently.

"You were spacing out quite a bit. Is it because you haven't seen the sun for too long and feel uncomfortable?"

"Do you take me for an undead? Hurry up and get to work."

Mayuna retorted sharply, pushing Ruben into the forest at the foot of the Mountain.

This small mountain leaning against Dris had no name. The people in the town usually referred to it as the back mountain. Now, a young man and woman were walking along the uneven mountain path, searching for what they wanted.

"It appeared."

Ruben stopped in his tracks. The crossbow was already in a firing position, his eyes locked onto the sight. In his crosshairs, a strange plant leaped up from the ground and began running across the surface with eerie, rhythmic steps.

Its body was slender like a vine, about half a meter long. Two plant roots extended from its middle and lower sections, acting like human limbs to assist in movement. At the top was a large head with no eyes, only a mouth. The hollow mouth was filled with sharp teeth, and one look was enough to tell it wasn't a benevolent creature.

"Monster Grass? Is this what you were looking for?"

Mayuna recognized this monster. No one knew whether it should be classified as a plant or an animal. This monster had a special ability: it could ignore physical collisions and burrow underground. Moreover, it ate everything, and it often kept strange items inside that big head.

Whoosh.

Ruben pulled the trigger and fired the first bolt, but he didn't check if it hit. He immediately reloaded and pulled the string to prepare the second shot. The strangely shaped Monster Grass was unexpectedly agile; the moment it realized it was being attacked, it twisted its body to dodge. Almost simultaneously, the second bolt followed, pinning the Monster Grass to a tree trunk by the part below its head.

"Caught it."

Ruben ran to the struggling Monster Grass and pulled out his small knife to sever its head. From that moment on, the Monster Grass completely lost its vitality.

"You actually managed to catch a Monster Grass so easily..."

Ruben's actions left Mayuna slightly surprised. Although the Monster Grass was only a Level 2 monster, its agility could rival that of a Level 3 monster. They were like natural dancers, using all sorts of strange postures to avoid attacks. For a human to try and catch one barehanded was basically a pipe dream. The most ridiculous incident was when an entire low-level magic mercenary group failed to catch a single Monster Grass that had stolen their leader's gemstone, becoming the laughingstock of the entire continent.

"You just have to predict its movement trajectory. Practice makes perfect; after all, I've been dealing with this kind of plant for over ten years."

As Ruben spoke, he cut the Monster Grass's head in two. There was no bloody, messy scene; the interior was relatively dry. Ruben extracted a piece of ore and held it in his hand.

"Hmm, it's iron ore."

"Wait, don't tell me your so-called 'trying your luck' is just catching Monster Grass to see what's inside?"

Mayuna's mind was a bit muddled. The Monster Grass was definitely one of the most annoying monsters on the Holy Continent. Because of its ability to burrow underground, it caused trouble everywhere. It was impossible to catch, and even if you could, it took a lot of effort—hardly worth the reward of cutting open its head. To put it bluntly, it was just like a lottery. What if it actually hit the jackpot?

"Of course. These Monster Grasses often drop strange things that are useful to me."

"Can it drop black pepper?"

"That's why I said it's trying your luck."

"Ice Magic: [Ice Soul Bow]."

Hearing this, Mayuna extended her right hand. Ice-blue bow limbs extended from above and below her wrist. With magic as the string and magic as the arrow, she didn't even need her left hand to assist. The arrow, carrying a cold, clear hue, flew out like a shooting star. The force of the wind blew Mayuna's pure white hair backward, striking a Monster Grass that had just come out for some air.

"How could you possibly hit it like that..."

Just as Ruben had said, the Monster Grass easily dodged the trajectory of the arrow. However, Mayuna had never intended to use [Technique] to capture the Monster Grass from the start; she used absolute [Power]. The blue arrow split into ten in mid-air, then into a hundred, then a thousand. After a short flight, the Monster Grass was submerged in a rain of arrows. These extra arrows even caused a thick layer of frost to form on the ground.

"What did you just say?"

Mayuna gently brushed back her hair, which had been ruffled by the wind, and cast a smug glance at Ruben.

"Nothing at all. What level of magic was that?"

"The Ice Soul Bow is a Tier 3 simple magic, while Ice Soul Arrow Rain is Tier 7."

"A temperature that won't cause frostbite... it's copper ore, good stuff."

Ruben felt a pang of pity for the Monster Grass; it probably never imagined it would die at the hands of high-level magic. He briefly tested the temperature of the ice block before removing the head of the Monster Grass, which had already turned into ice. With a gentle tap, the treasure inside was revealed.

"This guy..."

Seeing the fervent look in Ruben's eyes, Mayuna felt inexplicably annoyed. He had never looked at her with such an expression; in his eyes, she was actually inferior to a piece of junk rock!

"What's wrong?"

Seeming to notice Mayuna's little mood, Ruben finally put down the precious ore and looked up to ask.

"Nothing at all!"

After slaughtering over a dozen Monster Grass, Mayuna finally obtained the black pepper she wanted.

PS: Please bookmark and recommend.

PS: Some people asked where the protagonist gets those items and how he makes them. This is a world of magic, so of course, they are drops from killing monsters.

PS: Ah Cao: There's a curse I don't know if I should say or not.

PS: The game's spring event is live. As an Admiral, I have to take my wives to war. I should be able to double-update once I'm free after the spring event ends.

PS: A quick advertisement: the Qidian client has an event called the 515 Work Championship. If you have time, readers, please go to the "Great God's Forum" under the signed authors section and cast a vote for me, yeah.