Hardcore OP-ness

Chapter 24: Selling Immortality

Sarah scowled at him and asked "Bastard... Have you ever actually killed anyone before?" The only hair left on her entire body, were those two thin eyebrows, which furrowed in anger.

The half-submerged man snickered, and then told her "My name's Michael by the way, but no. I've honestly never had the need, or reason, to kill anyone yet. Well, I've been in plenty of fights before coming into this world, but that was at least seven years ago. There were a ton of times where I 'wanted' to tear someone's trachea out, or gouge their fucking eyes out with my fingernails... but I never did. The only reason that I haven't snapped your scrawny neck already, is because you're interesting. You should become my Companion."

She furiously shouted "Why the hell would I ever want to do that?!" while bobbing up and down in the water. The weeping Priestess' black-furred, cat-ears twitched upon hearing him say that phrase, and managed to return to her senses a bit.

Michael smirked at the worm-girl, and said "Isn't it obvious? Hehe~, sure, dying might suck, but immortality has its perks too. How long do ya think you'll live on your own? Goblins have a lifespan of what? Twenty, maybe thirty years... with your evolution, you'll probably be able to make it to fifty or so, but who knows? Even if you never aged, you would still get killed eventually. Heh, how many people do you think were probably massacred tonight? Sure, you'll never be able to cut my head off again; if it makes you feel better, each time you die, I'll suffer from excruciating pain for a few seconds."

Sarah right eyebrow raised slightly, as she asked "Wait, doesn't that mean you can directly consume mana-cores to evolve?" While they were speaking, the curious cat-woman slowly entered the water, without even taking off her white-robe.

He immediately glanced over at Elina, but quickly returned his gaze to the slimy Goblin and pulled out a greyish bead from his inventory, into his left palm. Since she didn't seem to have a 'Scan' ability, he directly told her "This is from a Rank-G, Level-1 Field Mouse. Ugh, this is gonna suck..." before swallowing it.

A message popped-up, and he said "Sure, a tenth of an Aura-point, plus half of a Vitality-point, might not be worth the horrible agony I'm feeling right now... but what about this?" Then Michael groaned as he retrieved an ominous, pitch-black bead; her face twitched, because she was actually able to recognize it.

Sarah muttered "It has almost the same exact aura as the one in your head right now..." He snickered, before attempting to swallow it, but a barrier appeared and prevented the pearl from entering his mouth.

Then a monotonous female voice resounded in the air around them: "Players may not consume their own mana-cores."

Michael sighed, and muttered "Well, this is embarrassing..." but the two girls had expressions of amazement, fear, and awe on their faces.

Elina yelled "The Goddess of Light?!" as she frantically looked around, trying to find the source of that 'divine' voice.

However, Sarah immediately shouted "What the hell are you talking about?! That was obviously The Goddess of Darkness speaking! It sounds exactly the same as when I learned 'Shadow-Step,' 'Shadow-Cloak,' and when I leveled-up!"

The Priestess and Thief didn't have the chance to argue farther, because Michael started laughing hysterically, interrupting their pointless debate. They both glared at him, as if he was mocking their faith, but then he tried to swallow the little black bead again.

As if it was an exact recording, the 'Goddess' said "Players may not consume their own mana-cores." and when he repeated the action, "Players may not consume their own mana-cores." resounded again. There was absolutely no difference between the three phrases, and he didn't even receive some sort of punishment for attempting to defy her will.