Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

The Nearest Dungeon.

8.

"Thanks for collecting the drops for me." Hitori's blue eyes sparkled with fire. The ring of fire that surrounded him started to extinguish.

"S- someone killed him?"

"No way, who did?"

"Someone named Ryu, h- he killed the Emperor's Scrap Picker,"

"Shit, then will he not take all of our drops?"

"Fuck!!" A gang of more than fifteen players marched towards Hitori.

Hitori pulled his gun down and ran towards the Emperor's scrap picker's dead body. The flames moved along with him.

It had been more than two months since the rumors of a scrap picker went viral in the forums, in the chats, and on the websites. In this open field of the apocalypse, a wild scrap picker was stealing other players' drops.

Because all the players were unhappy with this rookie scrap picker, he was listed on the wanted list. The prize for killing this scrap picker only once was seven thousand Yen.

When Hitori got close enough to the dead body of the scrap picker, lots of bright shiny things surrounded its dead body. Weapons, equipment, money, mana gems, new skill modules, treasures, and whatnot!

"It is him!" a player shouted, "that is the player Ryu who killed the scrap picker!"

"He is stealing our drops! Kill him!"

[Gained 145 Exp for killing player Emperor's scrap picker]

[The player you killed was on the wanted list, you have gained seven thousand Yen]

Hitori shook his head as he stood next to the scrap picker's body, he bent down to look for his drop items. "I am not a noob like him."

[Acquired

Items: Storage Ring Lv. 8 /Level 10 chest piece /Agility booster shoes Lv. 8 /Forearm plate Lv. 6

Skills: Leaf Cutter Lv. 9 /Fire Saber Lv. 11

Treasure: One Epic Grade Treasure

Mana gems: 336

Money: 4000 yen

Exp: 6105]

[Leveled up twice]

[Level 12: 200/3900]

Hitori got up from the dead body. "Shoot him!" The players ordered a sniper to shoot him down.

Hitori casually lifted himself and walked.

A bullet fell in front of his leg, it was a close call. Hitori ignored the noob sniper and opened the game's map.

'I am on the west side, and the nearest dungeon…'

Hitori heard a surprised player behind him. "He has not taken our drops!"

The other players gathered around to see their drops placed around the player's body. "H-he has not taken any of our drops…"

A player raised his hand. "Thanks, bro!" he shouted. Hitori lifted his hand and continued to walk casually while searching for the nearest dungeon.

"The Fire Dungeon?" Hitori tilted his head when he saw the nearest dungeon. Hitori surrounded himself with his flames again as the monsters were trying to attack him.

Suddenly, the chat window popped in front of Hitori's eyes.

[Chat with Emperor's Scrap Picker has started]

Hitori was surprised by the sudden chat window popping in front of him. "Because of you, I lost more than half of my drops!"

"Stop, man," Hitori replied. "You just stole other players' hard work. I do not know about them but since it is my first day, I want to keep what I earned."

"Huh? First day? Who are you kidding, there is no way you are a beginner!"

"I never said that I am a 'beginner'..."

"He will make sure you rot."

[Are you sure you want to block 'Emperor's Scrap picker'?]

'Yes.'

"I will report you, you will regret—" the scrap picker who used the chatbox furiously turned silent all of a sudden.

[You have been blocked by Player Ryu, you can not text them]

"Aargh!!" After dying, the game logs you out on its own. So right now, the scrap picker sat in front of his console screen, he crushed a plastic bottle in his hand and banged the table. His forearms' veins popped out, displaying his muscularity, and his earrings bounced when he bobbed his head forward.

[Chat ended]

Hitori wandered around the field with a map in front of his eyes but had no idea where he was headed. The monsters still had not let him go but unlike before, he was surrounded by no more than eight monsters.

He lifted his head and started looking around him and thought. He looked down at the map. He stood on the pink spot that implied the position of a rare dungeon. He glanced all over the barren, destroyed land, "where is this fire dungeon exactly?"

Hitori lifted his head and then threw it down into the map. He stood on that pink spot, so no doubt the dungeon was right where he stood. The only problem was that he could not spot where the dungeon's entrance was.

A monster caught Hitori off guard. It broke through Hitori's fire ring. It opened its claws and jumped at Hitori to kill him in one blow.

Hitori turned to the monster. "Hi no Mahou," he chanted a spell, "fire blast"

The monster took the attack head-on, it went back and landed on the ground. Blood spilled out of its neck like a fountain. Its head blew into pieces.

< Cultivated mana: 8,050/20,000 >

He curled his brows and opened the stat screen.

<Cultivation skill set: Soul Liquefication>

It was the only skill that caught Hitori's attention, he ordered the skill, "Active."

<You have liquefied the remaining mana from the monsters you killed>

<Cultivated mana: 10,105/20,000>

"Now that it is done, I need to find the dungeon." Hitori started moving around the pink mark in circles. If the dungeon was not visible then it meant only one thing– it was a hidden dungeon.

But if it was a hidden dungeon then why and how did it show up on the map? What if it is not a hidden dungeon but has a secret passage to it?

"Is this one of those dungeons that have a hidden entrance—" Hitori did not even get time to figure out what was going on. He felt the ground beneath his feet slip and he fell into a long underground passage.

[Entered a level fifteen Fire Dungeon]

<Entered the fire element cultivation domain>

[Currently on the floor: 0/10]

These messages, both coming at the same time, are confusing.