I Stopped Simping and the Heroines Lost Their Minds

The yellow gas had thinned out, but the stench of sulfur, burnt lungs, and rotting meat was almost unbearable.

Arthur adjusted the wet cloth over his mouth and stepped into the dark, jagged mouth of the cave. He pulled a glowing mana-crystal from his pocket to light the way.

The floor was a massacre.

Dozens of goblin corpses were piled on top of each other. They had clawed at their own throats, their eyes bulging and blood leaking from their noses and mouths.

Arthur stood over the bodies and let out a heavy sigh.

If this were a video game, their bodies would just dissolve into pixels and leave behind shiny coins and glowing loot bags, Arthur thought, pulling out his hunting knife. Unfortunately, reality is a lot messier.

He knelt down next to the first corpse. He gripped the hilt of his knife, took a breath, and plunged the blade directly into the goblin’s chest.

Squelch.

The blood was thick and foul. Arthur had to do the menial, disgusting labor of tearing the flesh open, digging his fingers through the ribcage, and feeling around near the heart. He pulled out a tiny, cloudy blue crystal.

A low-tier mana stone.

It was grueling, filthy work. He moved from corpse to corpse, cutting, digging, and pulling. Some of the weaker goblins didn’t even have stones. But it was all money, and he needed every single copper to fund his grind.

He also found small leather pouches tied to the waists of the Hobgoblins. Inside were silver coins and crushed health potions.

Probably looted from some newbie hunters who didn’t know how cruel this world is, Arthur thought, pocketing the coins without a shred of guilt. Finders keepers.

By the time he finished harvesting the bodies, his hands and arms were coated in dark, sticky blood. But it wasn’t all bad news.

[Massive EXP gained. Level Up.]

[Strength +2]

[Dexterity +1]

[Perception +1]

He felt a sudden rush of warm energy wash through his veins, washing away a fraction of his fatigue. His Strength was now sitting at 11.

Arthur wiped his bloody knife on a goblin’s loincloth and pushed deeper into the cave.

He walked past the sleeping quarters, ignoring the filth, until he reached the very back of the den. This was the Shaman’s chamber. There was a crude altar made of stacked skulls and dried blood.

Arthur didn’t care about the altar. He walked past it and approached the solid stone wall behind it.

He ran his fingers over the damp rock, his [Perception: 86] picking up the minute differences in the stone’s texture. He found a small groove perfectly hidden in the shadows. He dug his fingers in and pulled.

With a heavy grind, a square section of the wall popped open, revealing a hidden compartment.

Inside was the real loot.

There was a heavy leather sack filled with pure gold coins, a pair of high-quality steel daggers, and a silver ring radiating faint mana.

Arthur didn’t hesitate. ”Store.”

A dark void rippled in the air for a split second, sucking the coins, weapons, and ring directly into his System Inventory.

But his eyes were locked on the final item sitting in the back of the stash.

It was a heavy glass vial sealed with black wax. Inside, a thick, boiling crimson liquid glowed with a faint, pulsing light. It looked almost alive.

Arthur carefully pulled it out.

[Item: Troll Blood Elixir (Mid-Tier)]

A highly concentrated elixir crafted from the heart’s blood of a Mountain Troll. Trolls possess insane physical strength and regeneration. Consuming this will forcibly alter the user’s muscle density and cellular regeneration.

Effect: +15 Permanent Strength.

Effect: +10 Permanent Stamina.

Arthur’s heart hammered against his ribs.

This was it. The hidden piece that would completely cure his pathetic weakness. A massive 15-point jump in Strength and 10 points in Stamina.

He popped the black wax seal off the glass vial with his thumb. The smell of raw iron and ozone hit his nose.

Down the hatch, Arthur thought, tipping his head back and downing the entire vial in one gulp.

It tasted like burning copper and ash.

For three seconds, nothing happened. Arthur stood there, waiting.

Then, his stomach exploded in pain.

”Argh!”

Arthur dropped the empty glass vial. It shattered on the stone floor. He collapsed to his knees, clutching his stomach as a searing, white-hot agony tore through his body.

It felt like someone had poured boiling acid down his throat. The heat spread from his stomach directly into his bloodstream.

He fell onto his back, thrashing against the cold stone floor.

[Warning: Extreme Cellular Alteration Detected.]

[Muscle fibers tearing and regenerating.]

His muscles contracted violently. He could hear his own tendons snapping and instantly reforming, pulling tighter, growing thicker. Sweat poured down his face, completely soaking his clothes.

His lungs—the source of his crippling weakness—felt like they were expanding, the weak, asthmatic tissue burning away and being replaced by dense, powerful flesh.

Arthur dug his fingernails into the stone floor, biting his own lip until it bled to keep from screaming out loud.

The pain was endless. It was a brutal, agonizing internal surgery without anesthesia.

For ten straight minutes, he writhed in the darkness of the cave, his body cooking itself from the inside out.

And then... the burning stopped.

The agonizing heat slowly faded into a deep, pulsing warmth.

Arthur lay on the floor, staring up at the cave ceiling. He was completely exhausted, but his chest was rising and falling in deep, steady, effortless breaths.

No wheezing. No rattling.

He slowly pushed himself off the floor.

He didn’t just feel different. He felt completely reborn. His previously frail, sickly arms now possessed a tight, dense layer of solid muscle. When he clenched his fist, the sheer power radiating through his forearm was intoxicating.

He opened his status window.

[Strength: 26]

[Stamina: 15]

[Trait Adjusted: Weak Lungs (Lv.2) -> Eradicated.]

A vicious, triumphant grin spread across Arthur’s face.

The pathetic simp was dead. The real game had just begun.