Species Essence

[Hidden Quest: Goblin Emperor's Legacy.

By a stroke of luck, you obtained the key to the Goblin Emperor's Legacy. The Goblin Emperor had been extremely mysterious in life. After it died, the Goblin Empire also crumbled apart. Yet death was not its end. Before its death, it ordered the construction of a dungeon and placed the vast majority of its lifetime wealth there.

Quest Requirements: Find the Goblin Emperor's dungeon and clear it.

Reward: Experience ????, eleven consecutive draws, guaranteed rare-or-higher item, title [Terminator of the Goblin Empire].]

This gemstone necklace was actually the item that triggered a hidden quest. Looking closely, it was even a piece of pink-quality equipment.

Its name was [Goblin's Hand of God]. It provided an enormous number of attribute bonuses, and it also had an active ability usable once per month. By consuming a certain amount of blood as a charge, it could adjust a designated target's attributes. Simply put, it let one reallocate stat points.

However, both the wearer and the target had to be Goblins. It was completely useless to Yang Yu, a human.

Perhaps he could make something of it with the Fusion system, but Yang Yu had no desire to crossbreed with Goblins. The thought of his nose growing longer and longer like Pinocchio's, while his entire body turned green, was utterly unacceptable.

"I didn't help much this time. I'm really sorry." Bai Jin lowered her head.

She had finally gotten a chance to prove herself, only to be held back by her illness. In the end, He Meng had still been the one to land the finishing blow.

"No, you were a huge help. That was the task I asked you to complete, and you completed it very well."

Yang Yu smiled. Bai Jin blushed and turned her gaze away, lightly biting her lip and saying nothing, lest she say something strange again.

"Come to think of it, what illness do you have?"

So that he could slack off—no, so that Bai Jin could become the team's backbone and core damage dealer—Yang Yu had long planned to take action as soon as the Source Extermination quest was over and remove Bai Jin's Frailty trait.

Since Bai Jin was here, he might as well ask directly. Hearing the cause of her illness from her own mouth was far better than relying on hearsay.

"My illness..."

Yang Yu had originally thought Bai Jin would name some disease he had never heard of. Instead, she merely shook her head, clearly signaling that she did not want him to ask any further.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

No new quest appeared in the system, nor did he receive any prompts.

Yang Yu scratched his head. This was troublesome. Not knowing the cause meant he had no way to prescribe the right treatment.

"How can it be treated? Do you have any idea?"

Bai Jin shook her head again.

"Have you seen a doctor? What did the doctor say?"

Despite his new question, Bai Jin remained silent and refused to answer.

"Tomorrow, I'll take you to the hospital. We'll find out what illness you have." Yang Yu still refused to give up. After thinking it over, dragging Bai Jin to a hospital seemed like the only option.

"Heh heh heh, it's useless. Those quacks can't do anything about my body. If you're wondering why, my symptoms are no different from an ordinary cough or cold. When it gets serious, I'll be bedridden for days, but no one can tell me the cause."

An eerie laugh echoed through Yang Yu's room. Bai Jin gripped her staff tightly, trembling all over.

"Heh heh heh, was it because I learned too much curse magic that even my body was cursed in the end? To fight curses, the best method is to fight poison with poison. I'll definitely create the strongest potion in the world and cure myself."

Bai Jin laughed loudly, but Yang Yu could feel that there was no amusement in her smile. She was merely forcing herself to smile. Beneath her messy hair, her eyes were as hollow as they had been when he first met her. Now Yang Yu understood that it was helplessness, mixed with the courage to bear everything alone.

Though Yang Yu did not know whether that could truly be called courage.

"Don't force yourself. If something is wrong, we can talk about it. Aren't we companions now?"

Yang Yu was answered only by silence. He scratched his head.

"You should at least say something..."

"I'm happy that you care so much about me." Bai Jin turned around and gently pulled Yang Yu's room door shut. "But my illness... I still have to find a way to cure it myself. Good night."

The door closed completely, thoroughly cutting off the warm light from Yang Yu's room. Bai Jin clutched her chest tightly and walked alone down the empty corridor under the hazy lights.

The next day.

Yang Yu arrived at the Adventurers' Guild tavern early in the morning. He had not chased after Bai Jin last night.

He knew that chasing after her would only have the opposite effect. If he wanted to understand Bai Jin's situation, he could only find another way.

He had finally encountered an NPC with such exceptional talent. Only an idiot would be willing to let her fend for herself.

Today, Yang Yu was laying it all out. Any NPC he had set his sights on—whether she wanted it or not—he would definitely help cure her illness.

Yeah, that had a bit of an overbearing CEO vibe to it.

Inside the tavern, Andeno was posting new quests on the mission board. They were quests to hunt down the Goblin King's remaining forces.

Earlier, the Goblin King had mistakenly believed that the Rescue Corps had sent part of its elite forces to deal with him, so he dispersed his troops. That was how they had managed to defeat the Goblin King.

Now that the Goblin King had fallen, never mind his other troops in the forest for the time being—if the Goblin King's direct forces learned that their king had died, there was no telling what atrocities they might commit.

They might even charge straight out of the forest and massacre civilians.

To prevent that from happening, Andeno had proposed hunting down the remaining forces to the Guild early that morning, and it had quickly been approved.

"Yo, Yang Yu. The weather's nice today. Want to go hunting together?" Seeing Yang Yu arrive, Andeno laughed heartily, flexed his pectorals sideways, and enthusiastically invited him to hunt the remaining Goblin forces.

His level had reached the cap. Even if he went, he would not gain a single point of experience. Hunt my ass.

Unable to level up, Yang Yu was scared out of his mind. He could barely handle his current opponents, but the future was another matter. Level 20 was, at most, a somewhat stronger soldier. When the Demon King descended, he would definitely become cannon fodder.

"Yesterday's battle was too exhausting. I plan to rest for a few days." Yang Yu tactfully declined Andeno's invitation before continuing, "I came this time to ask you about something. First, do you know of a material called Species Essence?"

"Species Essence, as the name implies, is an essence that encompasses all the traits of a species. The methods of creating it vary. Some races burn their body hair to refine Species Essence, while others extract it directly from their blood. But most races use special items to gather the strength of outstanding members of their race and form Species Essence."

Andeno was not annoyed by Yang Yu's directness. On the contrary, he found it bold and forthright, so he told Yang Yu everything he knew.

"Generally speaking, Species Essence can be considered the painstaking creation of an entire race. Just a little of it can improve the potential of one member, which is why every race treats Species Essence as a secret treasure.

To use it reasonably, most races regularly hold internal competitions to select outstanding young members, greatly improving their potential and strength so they can become new pillars of their race."

Andeno paused here and revealed his powerful biceps.

"Sir Yang Yu, I know what you're thinking. You can restrain powerful enemies, but you have never been able to inflict effective damage on them. You are always on the defensive in battle, so you are desperate to become stronger.

But I must remind you of this: wanting to become stronger is a good thing, but you must use the right method. You absolutely cannot take some crooked path.

Species Essence can indeed greatly improve one's potential and strength, but it also carries risks. One careless mistake, and you may be corrupted and become a complete monster."