Falsely Accused, I Started Plundering Monster Traits

Lin Yan looked over his Trait slots.

"Replace Vitality I with Willpower II."

[Vitality I unequipped.]

[Willpower II equipped.]

He waited.

Nothing happened.

No rush of strength, no sudden clarity, not even the vague physical sensation that usually came with changing something in his Trait setup.

Lin Yan flexed his fingers once.

"Huh."

That was probably a good thing.

"Now replace Combat Instinct with Trollblood I."

[Combat Instinct I unequipped.]

[Trollblood I equipped.]

This time, the change was immediate.

His frame stretched taller and thicker as the familiar strength flooded back into his body. His shoulders broadened, his arms swelled, and within seconds the clothes beneath his plate carrier were pulling tight again.

Lin Yan rolled one shoulder.

That familiar, absurdly jacked physique was back.

And damn, it felt good to have this much strength again.

He waited a few seconds, but nothing happened.

Lin Yan frowned. "System, I think—"

Should I find a gym when we get back?

The thought cut him off so naturally that it took him a second to realize it had come from nowhere. He hadn’t been thinking about working out—or getting stronger at all.

"...Oh."

That was Trollblood.

He waited a little longer, but nothing else came. Apparently, with Willpower holding it down, all Trollblood had managed to slip through was one random urge to hit the gym.

A grin spread across his face.

"Well, shit. That actually works."

He rolled his shoulders, enjoying the familiar weight of strength in his body again.

Yeah. This was much better.

His satisfaction lasted until he looked down and noticed how tightly his shirt was stretched across his chest.

"...I really need new clothes."

By the time Lin Yan made it back to the road, the car was still running. Claire was behind the wheel with her phone in hand, watching the direction he’d disappeared in, and the tension in her face visibly eased the moment she saw him coming back.

Lin Yan raised a hand and headed over, peeling off the plate carrier as he walked. Claire was already out of the car by the time he reached her.

"Are you hurt?"

"I’m fine."

She clearly wasn’t taking his word for it. Before Lin Yan could stop her, Claire stepped in and caught his forearm, her fingers unexpectedly cool against his skin.

"Hey, you don’t have to—"

Too late. She was already checking him over, running her eyes across his face, neck, arms, and every exposed part of him she could see. Lin Yan gave up halfway through the protest and let her finish, and only after finding no injuries did some of the worry leave Claire’s face.

Then her attention shifted, and she seemed to finally register how different he looked from twenty minutes ago.

Her eyes traveled over him again. He had grown noticeably taller, his shoulders and chest had broadened, and his arms were thick enough now that the clothes beneath his armor were stretched tight across his entire frame.

"...You got bigger."

Claire was still standing close, one cool hand loosely around his forearm. At that distance, Lin Yan caught a faint scent from her—a trace of clean soap mixed with something soft and slightly milky, warm without being sweet. It was barely there, but together the two scents had an oddly soothing quality to them.

He breathed it in again without really meaning to.

And then once more.

For a moment, the question she’d just asked almost slipped completely out of his head.

Willpower pulled his thoughts back before they wandered any farther.

Lin Yan blinked.

Apparently it was useful for more than Trollblood.

As for the change in his body, there was no point making a mystery out of it. He had grown an entire size in twenty minutes; anyone with functioning eyes could see that much. He could just give her something vague and leave it there.

"Think of it as a second form."

Claire looked up at him. "A second form?"

"Something like that."

"And you can switch between them?"

"More or less."

Lin Yan slipped the rifle off his shoulder, set it in the back with the plate carrier, and climbed into the passenger seat.

"What was out there?"

"One of those... what do you call them? Things from the other world." Lin Yan pulled the seat belt across himself. "Huge brown bear. About a story and a half tall when it stood up."

Claire fell quiet for a moment.

"That must’ve been hell."

Lin Yan’s hand stopped on the buckle.

He turned toward her.

She wasn’t looking at him like he’d done something impressive. There was no excitement, no amazement. Just that same quiet concern from before, only deeper now, as though hearing what he’d fought had made her imagine what it must have been like for him to face it alone.

Something in Lin Yan’s chest tightened unexpectedly.

He looked away first.

"All right, all right. Knock it off."

Claire blinked, genuinely confused.

"What?"

"That look."

"What look?"

Lin Yan clicked the seat belt into place harder than necessary.

"Nothing. I’m fine. Not a scratch."

Claire watched him for another second, apparently still unsure what she’d done, before letting the subject drop.

"And the bear?"

"Dead."

She reached for her phone.

"Where is it?"

Lin Yan pointed back toward the pasture and described the route he’d taken, along with the approximate distance from the fence. Claire listened carefully, then made the call.

"Update. Lin’s back. He reports an abnormally large brown bear, approximately four and a half meters tall when standing. Possible Convergence-Borne Entity. Target reportedly down. Sending location now. Continue response and verify on arrival."

She repeated Lin Yan’s directions, confirmed the location, and ended the call.

Lin Yan waited until she lowered the phone.

"So do I get paid for killing it?"

"There will be compensation if the kill is confirmed. I’ll contact headquarters afterward and find out how much."

"Good."

Lin Yan settled back into the seat and nodded toward the road.

"Let’s go."

"Okay."

Claire put the car in gear and pulled back onto the road.

They had been driving for a while when Lin Yan glanced at Claire, the look she’d given him earlier still lingering in his mind.

It’s an act. It’s an act. It’s an act.

He turned toward the window.

"System. Those things can show up this far out in the middle of nowhere?"

[Yes.]

"There’s no pattern?"

[Descent locations are not determined by human population density. Any suitable location may be selected.]

"Great."

Lin Yan thought of the old arrows buried in the bear’s hide.

"That bear must’ve been damn near unstoppable back in its own world, right?"

[No.]

"No?"

[Prior to descent, its life grade was no different from that of an ordinary brown bear. It was simply far more intelligent and cunning than most of its kind, and knew when to fight and when to retreat.]

Lin Yan frowned. "Then how the hell did it end up four and a half meters tall?"

[The victorious side of a Convergence receives a reward. That applies to them as well.]

"...That explains it."

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