Chapter 43 - You Seem to Have Grown a Bit Bigger

Chapter 43: You Seem to Have Grown a Bit Bigger

[Zombie’s Poisoned Throwing Knives x24

].

[Quality: Excellent

].

[Feature: Persistent Poison Damage

].

[Sub-Attributes: None

].

[Description: “My knife is coated with poison.

”

].

Another throwing weapon added to Su Mu’s inventory. However, this time, it sparked a humorous thought in his mind.

Because the Lost Warrior’s equipment had been damaged by Black Blade, the loot dropped by small monsters now had higher quality than the gear dropped by the boss itself.

Still, these throwing knives were useful. Su Mu was currently in need of weapons with effective crowd-control capabilities against regular monsters, and these seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

With these poison-coated throwing knives capable of inflicting lasting damage, Su Mu naturally kept them in his inventory.

Instead of continuing to hunt nearby enemies, he decided to search for his next boss target now that the World Blessing effect had expired.

“Master, next time you deal with enemies like this, can you take them out from a distance instead?”

Black Blade floated over, clutching its true form—a Little Knife. Seeing the green, toxic blood still clinging to its blade, the spirit’s face was filled with disgust.

This expression amused Su Mu, and he couldn’t resist pinching her cheeks.

“Alright, you’ve worked hard this time. Come here, I’ll upgrade you.”

Hearing this, Mu Ran’s mood instantly brightened, her face lighting up with excitement.

The chibi figure of Little Knife wore a radiant smile, one that could easily captivate anyone. Su Mu couldn’t help but think that once her face fully matured, she might become even more stunning.

He started by splashing some water on Black Blade’s main form, cleaning off the toxic remnants. Then, he opened her attribute panel.

Black Blade’s upgrades were unique—she required only energy stones, unlike most equipment. Though Su Mu suspected that future upgrades might demand more specialized materials.

[Materials sufficient. Proceed with the upgrade?

].

[Confirmed. Upgrade in progress.

].

As the upgrade began, the physical form of Black Blade didn’t change much. However, her avatar, the chibi spirit of Little Knife, underwent subtle transformations.

Originally standing at just over ten centimeters tall, her figure grew ever so slightly, with her proportions becoming a bit more defined. The once purely chibi physique seemed to be inching toward a full-scale model’s proportions—though for now, it was only a small step forward.

It was just a little change, but Su Mu couldn’t help noticing.

Compared to being stunning, the Black Blade spirit was still more adorable than anything else.

[Upgrade successful.

].

[Soulbound Black Blade, Level 2.

].

[Next level upgrade requirement: 500 energy stones.

].

“That’s so expensive…” Su Mu almost felt like coughing up blood when he saw the amount.

The rewards from defeating a single boss were barely enough to upgrade Black Blade twice, and now it was all gone. While having Little Knife made boss fights significantly easier, maintaining her growth was undeniably costly.

“Master, can I grow a little more?”

After the upgrade, a smile lit up Little Knife’s chibi face. There was a hint of expectation in her eyes, as if she was yearning to recover her adult form someday.

Su Mu chuckled and gently flicked her forehead. “Patience, little one. If you keep draining my wallet like this, I’ll need to rob all the bosses in this world to afford you!”

Mu Ran puffed her cheeks in mock annoyance but didn’t argue, the sparkle of hope still lingering in her gaze.

Looking at the little one’s adorable smile, Su Mu could only helplessly shrug his shoulders.

“This is just a money-sucking little bug,” he muttered to himself. “But she’s worth the investment anyway. Not for now, but if you work harder in the future, it’ll be possible.”

Hearing Su Mu’s words, Little Knife immediately realized he was planning to make her keep working. Without hesitation, she darted under Su Mu’s armor and perched herself back on his shoulder.

As if that wasn’t enough, she pulled Su Mu’s Black Blade Cloak over herself, using it as a makeshift blanket.

“This little one’s personality is really something,” Su Mu chuckled, patting her on the head.

Then he opened up the trading market.

[Listed item: Purified Zombie Meat x150.

].

[Trade Option 1: 2 energy stones.

].

[Trade Option 2: 1 Shattered Golden Herb or 1 Iron Fragment Stone.

].

[Trade Option 3: 20 Stones / 5 Wooden Planks.

].

[Effect: Slightly increases resistance to abnormal statuses.

].

Su Mu nodded to himself, satisfied with the setup. The Purified Zombie meat wasn’t incredibly valuable, but trading it for essentials like energy stones or construction materials made it worthwhile.

“Let’s see if anyone bites on this offer.”

Purified Zombie meat wasn’t of much use to Su Mu.

For food, he had the meat of the Scarlet Boar King, which was leagues better in quality and taste.

And honestly, zombie meat was unappetizing—not only because of its unappealing appearance and poor taste but also because… well, it was zombie meat.

Even with the supposed benefit of boosting resistance to abnormal statuses, Su Mu doubted he could stomach it. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the “increased resistance” was more like building a tolerance to disgusting food.

Still, putting it on the trading market meant someone would buy it eventually.

The pricing in energy stones wasn’t a big deal to him. By the second day of the apocalypse, people would have discovered energy stones either from defeating bosses or exploring mines. Su Mu had seen others talking about it on the world forum.

Wooden planks and stones were also in demand. These were the basic materials for construction, and Su Mu had no intention of spending his own time gathering them.

Trading Zombie Meat for resources he actually needed seemed like the perfect arrangement.

Of course, when people noticed Su Mu had listed so many monster drop items in one go, they couldn’t help but be amazed.

[User1: Zombies? Aren’t zombies outside all level 10 and above? Su Mu, the big boss, is already handling those monsters with ease?

].

[User2: Level 10 is nothing. Look at Su Mu’s current level—he’s already level 4. Dealing with zombies like those must be a breeze for him.

].

[User3: Zombie meat that boosts antibodies? That actually sounds pretty good. I’m heading to trade some bricks for a few pieces to try.

].

[User4: Dude above, you’re seriously going to eat zombie meat? You can stomach that?

].

[User5: What’s there to fear? Have you seen Irish recipes? Zombie meat’s texture probably doesn’t even come close to being as tough.

].

[User6: Zombie meat is nothing. Our brothers from Blue Country eat just about anything—we can’t compete with them.

].

[User7: That’s true bravery. Respect, respect.

].