Chapter 66: Four Missions, Profession: Butcher

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Four Missions, Profession: Butcher

The Hogman’s heavy footsteps echoed through the cavernous factory, each one landing like a hammer blow on everyone’s nerves.

Its breathing was coarse and wet, and its foul breath, reeking of carrion, was enough to make one gag.

Seraphina Sullivan’s back was pressed against the cold iron bars. Her fingers clenched unconsciously, nails digging so hard they nearly broke the skin of her palms.

She could hear her own frantic heartbeat. THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP.

It felt like it was about to leap out of her chest.

She took the chance to observe the other Players, noticing that none of them were rash enough to attack.

Clearly, they weren’t fools.

The Hogman stopped before the cage. Its colossal figure cast a deep, dark shadow that enveloped them all.

Its murky pig-like eyes slowly scanned the "goods" in the cage, its gaze like a cold blade scraping across each of their faces.

"Hmph..." It grunted in satisfaction, its coarse fingers rapping against the iron bars and sending a dull, metallic tremor through them.

"Looks like the quality of this batch is decent."

Its voice was raspy and viscous.

"I just wonder... how many will be left after the assessment."

The Hogman grinned, revealing stark white fangs as viscous saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth. "But I really hope... all of you fail."

"That way... I’ll get to fill my belly."

"Heheheh..."

Its laughter was bone-chilling.

Seraphina’s temples throbbed, and a cold sweat broke out on her back.

She began to ponder what this "assessment" the Hogman mentioned could be.

But she understood one thing: she had to pass this assessment, or she would become ingredients for its meal.

Seraphina didn’t have to imagine what fate awaited her as an "ingredient."

’This instance is nothing like the ones before. It looks like after Level 2, it’s not just about apocalyptic survival anymore. There are other types of horror survival games.’

Questions rapidly surfaced in Seraphina’s mind.

「Meanwhile.」

The Hogman seemed to revel in their fear. It looked absolutely delighted by their pitiful, helpless expressions.

The Hogman languidly swung the cleaver in its hand, the blade flashing with a cold glint under the dim light.

It rested the blade against the cage, scaring several of the Native People so badly they nearly fainted.

Its fun over, the Hogman finally turned and dragged its heavy feet away, its footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Only after the suffocating figure had completely vanished from sight did everyone in the cage let out a collective sigh of relief.

Some collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Others covered their mouths, trying to stifle the urge to retch.

Still others wept softly, clearly scared out of their minds.

Seraphina ignored the others’ reactions. She quickly steadied her breathing, forcing herself to remain calm.

’I can’t just wait here to be slaughtered...’ She gritted her teeth and immediately called up the system to check the instance’s quests.

[Main Quest 1: Survive for seven days in the "Animal Slaughterhouse" instance]

[Reward: Return to the real world upon quest completion]

[Main Quest 2: Pass the slaughterhouse’s "Profession" assessment]

[Reward: Temporary Instance Worker] [Failure: Become "Ingredients"]

[Quest 3: Become a full-time employee]

[Reward: One Random Potion]

[Quest 4: Slaughter 1,000 creatures]

[Reward: Random Skill draw]

Alarm bells screamed in Seraphina’s mind when she saw there were four quests.

’Four quests...?’ Her fingertips went cold, and her throat tightened.

Having been through several instances, she knew the score.

Main quests had to be completed; otherwise, there was no returning to the real world.

And while side quests weren’t mandatory, their rewards were often incredibly valuable—sometimes valuable enough to determine whether she lived or died in the next instance.

’Survive for seven days... that’s fairly standard. But this "Profession assessment"...’ Her gaze locked onto the second quest, especially the jarring words: [Failure: Become "Ingredients"].

Failure meant being slaughtered.

The image of the Hogman’s vicious fangs and drooling grin flashed unbidden through her mind, and her stomach churned.

’A normal person might be content with just surviving, but the system’s rewards...’ She gritted her teeth.

From past experience, she knew that every item and Skill the system awarded was top-tier.

If she could get the [Random Potion] or even the [Random Skill draw], her odds of survival in future instances would be that much higher.

’Just as I thought. After reaching Level 2, the instance difficulty has skyrocketed...’ She took a deep breath, suppressing her unease.

Taking a deep breath, Seraphina prepared to use her [Worker] Talent to awaken a Profession for this instance.

"Activate Worker Talent!"

[Ding! Awakening Talent!]

[Ding! Detected "Profession" assessment in "Animal Slaughterhouse" instance!]

[Ding! Worker Talent directly awakening one of the available Professions!]

[Congratulations Player! Your Worker Talent has awakened the Profession: Butcher!]

[Butcher Profession]

Ability One: Butcher’s Skill

Effect: Quickly break down and dissect targets. Master the techniques of bleeding, Skinning, deboning, and gutting.

Ability Two: Sharpening Knife

Effect: Can instantly sharpen any blade in hand to an incredible degree.

The unusual nature of this Talent awakening surprised Seraphina.

’Did my Worker Talent directly awaken the Butcher Profession because of the instance’s assessment?’

This was a huge surprise to Seraphina.

’Still, now that I’ve awakened the Butcher Profession, I’ll definitely pass the assessment in this instance.’

Upon awakening the Butcher Profession...

A flood of unfamiliar knowledge surged into her mind: how to make the most efficient cuts, how to bypass bones, how to perfectly peel away an entire hide...

The techniques felt as if they were seared into her muscle memory, giving her an almost eager urge to put them to the test.

"So this is... the Butcher Profession?" Seraphina murmured, her heart steadying a little.

At least she was no longer a defenseless "lamb to the slaughter."

The knowledge in her mind would be more than enough to pass the assessment.

Seraphina had just breathed a sigh of relief, but the atmosphere inside the cage suddenly grew tense again.

The other four Players clearly weren’t as lucky as she was.

They didn’t have a Worker Talent to awaken a Profession ahead of time. Now they faced an unknown assessment, where the slightest misstep would turn them into the Hogman’s "ingredients."

In the oppressive silence, the woman in the bird-face mask suddenly sneered, her sharp gaze sweeping over the other three Players who were also concealing their identities.

"Let’s cut to the chase." Her voice was cold and carried a condescending arrogance. "The ’Profession assessment’ is about to start. What’s your plan?"

She crossed her arms, her posture assertive, as if she were the default leader of the group.

This attitude immediately drew the ire of the others.

"Hah." The man in the helmet scoffed, his voice muffled and mocking from behind his faceplate. "And why should we tell you? Who do you think you are?"

The woman in the bird-face mask’s gaze turned cold. "What, you want to go it alone? Don’t forget the price of failure."

"That’s none of your business," the man in the tactical suit retorted, not backing down. "We’ll each rely on our own abilities. Stop trying to order us around."