CHAPTER 157 - DISMANTLER MITTS

Han Wu spent several days capturing wolves and wolf spiders before using Gene Recombination to create a massive wolf with nine tails, twenty-eight legs, and three heads. This mutated wolf had absorbed the genes of more than 1,000 wolves and hundreds of wolf spiders. It had grown as powerful as a Lord life form.

Along with its newfound power, it had gained a spark of intelligence. It no longer tolerated being confined to the hunting ground and rallied the other wolves to help bring down the wall.

Han Wu aided it from the shadows. Despite their hostility toward each other, they shared the same goal. Together, they managed to break a large hole through the wall, allowing a surge of wolves to escape. The chaos drew the attention of the guards, who rushed to contain the threat. With their focus diverted, the defenses around the gate weakened.

Seizing the opportunity, Han Wu slipped away and fled to a nearby town. There, he quickly sold off the equipment he had looted from those he had killed, earning enough money to live on his own for the time being. He then turned his efforts toward gathering information about this civilization.

Since the culture revolved around acquiring and upgrading titles, Han Wu named it the Title Civilization. As he delved deeper into its structure, Han Wu became fluent in their language and learned that he had first landed in the Wolf-Hunting Ground. This area held special significance, as it was also a designated Iron-rank training site.

The Title Civilization featured several such training sites, each categorized by rank: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and the highest, Diamond. With each rank increase, the strength of the life forms inside multiplied tenfold. Some training sites posed even greater challenges due to harsh environmental conditions.

Those who entered these special training sites to hunt were called adventurers. True to their name, they sought adventures. They ventured into the training sites for two main reasons: to upgrade themselves and to obtain resources.

Han Wu also learned that anyone who reached Level 100 earned a new title slot, with an additional slot awarded every 100 levels after that. The strongest individual in this civilization stood beyond Diamond rank, boasting seven empty title slots. They could equip seven titles at once, making them extraordinarily powerful.

Han Wu longed for that strength. He believed he could earn high marks by surpassing Diamond, but he knew the path would be difficult. At Level 42, he had a long journey ahead just to reach Bronze, let alone exceed Diamond.

The number of title slots did not alone determine one’s power. The type of title mattered just as much. After some investigation, Han Wu discovered that titles gained from killing ordinary life forms ranked among the weakest, even when upgraded to Diamond. Their effects rarely justified the effort. The best titles and how to acquire them remained closely guarded secrets among the nobles.

Han Wu lacked a way to obtain those coveted titles, but as an invader, he had his own alternative methods. He was strong and had four powerful abilities at his disposal. He planned to use them to his advantage and rise quickly through the ranks of this civilization.

For convenience, Han Wu spent some money to secure an identification plate from the Adventurer Guild. With the plate in hand, he was officially recognized as an adventurer.

Due to recent events at the Wolf-Hunting Ground, Han Wu could not train there. In truth, he had no interest in going. The wolves and wolf spiders there were weak and offered little experience.

He needed to grow stronger as fast as possible, so he chose Greenland Forest, a higher-ranking Bronze training site. The hunting ground within it was home to Cat Demons, goblins, and minotaurs, all Bronze life forms. Some of the stronger ones even reached Silver or Gold.

However, Gold life forms were still weak compared to Han Wu, and he had little interest in hunting them. Unfortunately, Greenland Forest was the highest-ranked training site available to him. Adventurers with an Iron identification plate could only choose Bronze training sites at best. Choosing anything higher would raise unnecessary suspicions. If the Will of the Civilization detected him as an intruder, all his efforts would be wasted.

Han Wu gathered simple equipment and traveled for a day to reach the entrance of Greenland Forest. The area was noticeably more crowded than the Wolf-Hunting Ground. Many adventurers, including those with Silver identification plates, gathered here.

Native life forms also roamed the plaza connecting to the forest entrance. The plaza was a busy gathering point, with many adventurers selling and buying items and still others looking for team members.

“Minotaur horns! Selling cheap. One gold coin for a pair. Collect 100 pairs and earn the Minotaur Horn Collector title with the Title Scroll.”

“Selling grappling hooks made from the claws of Cat Demons—70 gold coins each!”

“Forming a party! Need one more with a powerful body to serve as the tank.”

“We have a warrior, archer, and an assassin. We only need a healer...”

Han Wu wasn’t naive and walked past the crowd, ignoring every attempt to rope him into a party. Why would I need a team for a place this small? They’d just leech off my experience for no reason.

He pushed his way to the front of the gate, preparing to enter Greenland Forest when someone’s shout caught his attention. “Dismantler Mitts! Selling Dismantler Mitts with the attached Dismantler title. Easily turn corpses into materials. Only 3,000 gold coins a pair!”

Han Wu turned and approached the seller. He had seen a human use a Dismantler to quickly harvest materials from a wolf corpse. Those materials could be traded for money or used in Title Scrolls to create special titles.

The mitts seemed useful, but Han Wu had little money on hand. Still, he decided to try his luck. “Boss, can you lower the price?”

The stall owner stared at him in shock. After years of selling Dismantler Mitts, no one had ever tried to haggle. The mitts had only one purpose, but they were nearly indispensable. He had no worries about finding customers. Thus, he scoffed and shooed Han Wu away. “Get lost. I don’t haggle.”

Han Wu refused to give up and tried haggling once more. “I’m not asking for them for free. I just don’t have enough money. How about this? I pay you 2,000 gold coins for a single Dismantler Mitt. That way, you don’t sell at a loss. In fact, you earn 500 gold coins more on this deal.”

The stall owner’s eyes lit up at the offer. He had never considered selling Dismantler Mitts individually. They still functioned even if only one was worn, so there was no real reason they had to be sold as a pair.

He cleared his throat and sighed. “I wasn’t planning to sell them individually, but since you’re being sincere, I’m willing to go against my principles and sell you one.”

Han Wu nodded, handed over 2,000 gold coins, and took the left Dismantler Mitt. He slipped it on and entered Greenland Forest without looking back.

The stall owner held the coins in his hand, chuckling as he called out a new sales pitch. “Dismantler Mitts for sale! 3,000 gold coins for a pair, or 2,000 for one! Get yours now!”

The adventurers listened to his pitch and asked for more details. After a brief explanation, many of the poorer ones handed over 2,000 gold coins each for a single Dismantler Mitt. In this way, the stall owner sold all one hundred pairs by the end of the day and earned even more than he had expected. He chuckled and made his way home in high spirits.

Meanwhile, Han Wu stepped into Greenland Forest and immediately found himself surrounded by goblins about 1.2 to 1.3 meters tall. Their skin came in various colors, but all shared the same vicious eyes. They shrieked and barreled toward Han Wu, brandishing their weapons.

“Don’t blame me for bullying you when you clearly have no issue doing the same,” Han Wu muttered with a chuckle and released the pressure of a Lord life form in response.