Chapter 6 : Farming Goats
Axton put on a bold front as he walked past the group of players, heading straight toward the herd of Horned Mountain Goats.
His eyes were sharp, his breathing steady, and his senses peaked the closer he got.
The sound of hooves scraping against the rocky ground echoed faintly, mixed with the low grunts of the goats who had already claimed this part of the mountain as their territory.
Other players who had originally intended to take on a few goats for themselves suddenly hesitated.
One by one, they stepped back, giving him space.
To them, this random player was walking straight into death's embrace.
"Is this guy crazy?" one player muttered.
"He's about to embarrass himself," another snorted.
Everyone else shared the same thought.
Axton was about to make a fool of himself.
Axton stopped a few meters ahead, positioning himself between the goats and the other players.
He inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and almost questioned himself internally.
'Here goes nothing…'
There were only two possible outcomes here.
Either his talent, [Battle God], was as broken as he hoped it was.
…Or it wasn't, and he'd die a painful death, respawning back in the village.
At least if he died, it wasn't the end of the world.
Everyone was still level 1.
There would be no great loss.
But Axton wasn't planning to die.
Not today.
The goats noticed him almost immediately.
Their yellow eyes glinted with animosity, their nostrils flaring as they locked onto him.
Their posture shifted in unison, bodies crouching low as if ready to spring forward.
The killing intent in their gaze was sharp enough to cut glass.
To them, Axton was just another fool wandering into their territory — another victim waiting to be trampled into pixels.
With their numbers, all it would take was one or two solid hits, maybe three at most, and he'd collapse into pixels.
Axton understood exactly what was about to happen.
He knew the script — the herd would charge, overwhelm him, and the players would laugh.
That was what the game expected.
That was what the goats expected.
But he wasn't shaken. Not in the slightest.
*Ding*
[Your talent, [Battle God], has been activated.]
A grin tugged at Axton's lips.
'That's more like it.'
He tightened his grip on his axe, excitement bubbling inside him.
[Enemies detected!]
[Battle God effect initiated.]
[Calibrating stats…]
The system's voice rang in his ears like a victory anthem.
If the other players could see his expression right now, they'd probably hate him for it.
His smug face screamed confidence.
And for good reason.
The system was truly adjusting his stats according to the number of enemies he was up against — just as the talent description had promised.
The more enemies, the stronger he became.
The Horned Mountain Goats' herd strategy — the same strategy that had already killed countless players on this mountainside — was no longer a threat.
For him, it was a blessing!
[Number of enemies detected : 150]
[Your attack stat has increased by +1 point per enemy.]
[Total increase : +150 points]
******
Meanwhile, the players behind him were losing their patience.
"He hasn't even moved an inch, and the goats are already charging. Is he frozen in fear?"
"Hahaha! He's scared shitless!"
"That's what you get for acting cocky."
"Bro really thought he was a superhero or something."
"Death in this game causes real-life pain. Once he feels it, he'll learn not to act tough."
"Facts. My shoulder still hurts."
"It's too late to back out now. Those goats are gonna rip him apart."
Some players yelled warnings out of genuine concern, while others hurled curses out of spite.
Either way, not a single one of them believed Axton would survive.
They were all about to be proven wrong.
*Shing*
Axton swung his axe in one clean motion, meeting the first goat head-on.
The creature didn't even have time to bleat before its body shattered into glowing particles.
Axton smirked.
One-shot kill.
'Goodness gracious… this is crazy!'
He stepped forward and swung again.
*Shing*
Another goat vanished instantly.
Then another.
Then another after that.
[Battle God] had boosted his attack power by an additional 150 points.
At base, he already had decent attack points, but now?
Now he was fighting with more than 100% of his original strength.
Against enemies with only 10 HP and a defense stat of 4, it was complete overkill.
Every strike from his axe was instant death.
*Swoosh*
Another goat lunged.
Axton's axe carved through it like butter.
The creature's HP bar dropped to zero in an instant.
-10 HP!
And just like that, the ground was littered with vanishing goat corpses, replaced by loot drops that shone faintly before fading into his inventory.
******
The spectators' jaws collectively hit the ground.
"That's… impossible!"
"No way… how is he one-shotting them?!"
"That guy… is he cheating?"
"My team has five players, and we still struggle to take down just one goat. How's he wiping the whole herd alone?"
"The crazy part is… look at his speed. He's matching their movements perfectly."
Axton had silenced his haters in less than a minute.
All their mocking words dried up in their throats as they watched him tear through the herd like a storm given human form.
None of it made sense.
Everyone was still level 1.
No one had leveled up yet.
How could one player have such overwhelming power?
Even if he had high attack stats, he should've been lacking in defense or agility.
Yet Axton showed no weakness.
While they struggled to make sense of it, Axton wasn't even paying them attention. He was busy looting.
*Ding*
[You have obtained 1 Mountain Goat Horn.]
[100x Critical Hit Effect activated! You have earned two packages.]
[Choose one]
[Option 1 : 100 Mountain Goat Horns]
[Option 2 : 1 Great Goat Horn]
Axton raised his eyebrows, 'Great Goat Horn?'
That was new.
He had never heard of it before. Not even Iron Buck had mentioned anything about it.
Was this some hidden item? Or maybe another perk from his insane critical hit bonus?
Whatever it was, he didn't care.
"100 Mountain Goat Horns," Axton chose immediately.
The second option was tempting, but from what he quickly read, the Great Goat Horn was mostly used in crafting poison tonics.
He had no use for that right now.
What he needed was progress — and the quest required 100 Horned Mountain Goat horns.
Besides, Iron Buck's reward system was based on how many horns were delivered.
And Axton had just hit the highest tier of that reward list in one go.
A satisfied smile spread across his face.
The armor and shoes he would get would be nice, but what he was most excited about was the weapon upgrade.
Finally, some real equipment.
******
Meanwhile, the goats had realized the danger.
Their numbers were thinning too quickly, and panic spread through the herd.
One by one, they turned tail and fled into the mountains, bleating in alarm.
Axton let out a breath of relief, watching them scatter.
His arms relaxed, the weight of the axe resting against his side.
The battlefield had gone silent, save for the whispers of stunned players.
"This guy…" one of them muttered, his facial expression a mixture of admiration and disbelief.
"He most likely has an A or S-rank talent."
The others could only nod, too shaken to argue.
And Axton?
He just smirked, already planning his next move.