Chapter 10
“I didn’t have many skills anyway, right?”
This meant that no matter what skill I got, I could just learn other skills to match it. Ah~ my worries were solved so simply. I threw away my frustration and grabbed the skill book again.
[Would you like to open the skill book? Once opened, the skill will be automatically acquired.]
“Huh? What?”
Surprisingly, this time there was no feeling of unease. Not only that, but I felt a refreshing sensation, as if my chest was opening up, just like when I made the Soul-Imbued Longsword.
Is it appearing this quickly?!
With anticipation, I opened the skill book.
[You have acquired the S-Rank skill, ‘Jayer’s Guardian Shield’.]
[Your stats will increase as you acquire the skill.]
[Strength increases by 10.]
[Stamina increases by 10.]
[Congratulations! You are the first in Twilight to acquire an S-Rank skill!]
[As an achievement, you have acquired a ‘Random Skill Book’.]
“I got it!! S-Rank…… but what? A shield?”
It was a shield, but the stats that increased were Strength and Stamina. Maybe it was fortunate that a shield skill appeared. If it had been magic, I would have had to learn all the remaining skills as magic, so this was the right answer, if there was one.
Let’s take a look at the skill first.
[Jayer’s Guardian Shield] (S-Rank)
Description: The technique of the Guardian Knight Jayer, now a legend. No, this is not a technique, but his conviction. The skill was created by the embodiment of his conviction, which allowed him to defend against an army of tens of thousands with a single shield during the Demon invasion.
<Increased Stats: Strength (10), Stamina (10)>
<Current Proficiency: LV1 (0.00%)>
‘It definitely seems like a good skill.’
Seeing the description, I couldn’t help but feel that it was an amazing skill. Well, it’s an S-Rank skill, so it would be a problem if it wasn’t good. However, I couldn’t tell what the effect was just from this description, so I moved on to the detailed information.
“Detailed Information. Jayer’s Guardian Shield.”
[S-Rank Jayer’s Guardian Shield Effects] (LV1)
Physical & Magic Defense increased by 100.
Penetration Defense Probability increased by 5p.
Health recovery rate 10 per second.
Temporarily increases Health by 500.
All basic stats increased by 10.
All attribute resistance increased by 10%.
Shield-related skill effects increased by 5%.
Ignores magic attacks below the defense value.
Duration 30 seconds.
Consumes 300 Magic Points upon use.
Consumes 10% Stamina upon use.
My assessment after seeing the detailed information was this:
“It’s incredibly good, but…… what’s with the duration?”
I didn’t know for sure, but if I used this skill, I wouldn’t have to worry about dying. For exactly 30 seconds. What happens after 30 seconds? I don’t know what will happen to me either, but for these 30 seconds, I’m practically invincible.
“It’s a kind of support skill……”
Am I going to end up as a meat shield? In other words, a tanker. Of course, the stat increases were good, so if I learned the remaining skills well, I could also become a warrior.
“Hmm, should I try drawing again?”
Just like when I caught the Goblin Warrior Boss before, I had earned another Random Skill Book as an achievement, giving me another chance to open a skill book, but I shook my head.
It was because it was incomparably harder than the intuition I used in reality.
I had barely drawn an S-Rank skill after hours of pain, and you want me to do it again?
‘Let’s do it later.’
More importantly, the S-Rank skill, Jayer’s Guardian Shield.
“Should I try using it?”
It might be obvious, but it was meaningless here. The Kobolds here were at a level where my health wouldn’t decrease even without using skills.
It was because my defense was so high.
“Sigh, there’s no helping it.”
I turned around and left the mine. This time, I was thinking of catching a boss-level monster like the Goblin Warrior Boss. I didn’t have the confidence until I learned this skill, but now it was different.
If I used it, I was invincible! Moreover, my health would be restored!
It felt like I could catch any monster if I used it well. I left the mine with an absurd amount of confidence.
“Usually, the monsters get stronger the further you go from the village.”
Even I thought it was a simple idea as I walked in the opposite direction of the village.
★⭐★⭐★⭐★
‘Hmm, this is unexpected.’
After walking for a while, I discovered an unexpected person. Well, saying it was unexpected was an understatement. Wasn’t this a game that just started today? Anyway, that person was Yu-a, with whom I had hunted until a few hours ago.
She, who had parted ways to complete the quest, was currently hunting wolf monsters with other people.
‘But the rest are all men.’
A party of four men and one Yu-a. And after watching them hunt for a while, I saw one man stab a wolf with a spear and then retreat, and another man approach and stab it again with a spear.
Moreover, since there were four of them, the wolf couldn’t resist much and died.
It was such a surprisingly efficient hunting method that I couldn’t help but be impressed.
‘A spear…… It certainly seems like a good weapon for a party.’
Of course, I don’t want to use a spear. Because I have to hold a shield.
‘Now, let’s find the boss.’
After taking one last look at Yu-a, who was just watching, I soon shook my head and moved on. Honestly, I thought they might be dragging Yu-a around because of her looks, just like me…… but it wasn’t my place to interfere.
“Huh? Ah, Rudin-nim!”
“……”
Then I heard Yu-a’s voice. She even called my name, so I must have been caught, right? I wasn’t hiding in the first place.
I sighed inwardly and acknowledged her.
“Are you hunting?”
“Yes. What about you, Rudin-nim?”
“Well, I……”
What would she think if I said I came to hunt the boss? I was curious, and since it wasn’t something to hide, I answered honestly.
“I came to catch the boss.”
“Eh? The boss?”
And upon hearing my words, the male players started chattering amongst themselves.
“Hey, did you hear that? He said he came to catch the boss.”
“Leave him alone. He’ll die on his own. We’re the only ones who can hunt here.”
“That’s true.”
Come to think of it, the fact that they are hunting here means they are skilled. That means the boss is so difficult to catch that even skilled players find it absurd.
“Should I help you?”
“……”
I expected it to some extent, but she seems to have a very good personality. It’s only been a short while since we hunted together in the mine, and she’s already offering to help. Honestly, I was happy. Is it because I’ve never been worried about by a woman before?
“I appreciate the sentiment, but…… what are you going to do with them?”
“They can manage without me……”
Hmm? It’s not good to say that.
“Ah~ Yu-a-nim. That’s too much, isn’t it? Even though we asked you to join the party first, it’s not polite to just leave.”
“Ah……”
I nodded.
“I agree. Just hunt here.”
“……Yes.”
She was a woman with quick emotional changes. Yu-a nodded with a somewhat disappointed expression, and I headed inwards, leaving her and the men behind.
“Growl!”
[Forest Wolf]
“Are only wolves appearing here?”
I muttered as I looked at the wolf blocking my path. But it wasn’t a problem. As long as it was stronger than a Kobold.
“Skill Use! Strike with All Your Might!”
[Skill Damage! 80.]
[Combat Experience 40 acquired!]
“Hmm?”
Unexpectedly, the wolf collapsed in one hit. I used the skill just in case, but it went down in one hit? This meant I could kill it with two attacks even without using the skill.
“I can’t test my skills like this.”
As expected, do I have to catch the boss? I was confident that I could catch a Goblin Warrior now. I changed my armor and learned an S-rank skill. But the boss that would appear here was definitely stronger than the Goblin Warrior.
‘If my attack works, there’s a good chance I can catch it.’
That’s what I was thinking as I walked.
Thud!
Suddenly, with some kind of impact, my head snapped back. Until then, I didn’t realize what had happened to me.
“……Huh?”
[Damage received! -4.]
[Attacked by player ‘ Jeoksal ‘!]
[Self-defense is valid.]
[Self-defense is valid for all party members including Jeoksal.]
“Wow! That bastard has almost 50 defense!”
“Then attack him with skills!”
Did I just get attacked? Turning my head, I saw three players trying to attack me.
These crazy bastards!
Dash!
As soon as all recognition and understanding were complete, I quickly put up my shield and ran. Where do you think you’re attacking! But the players scattered and started throwing daggers and arrows.
It was a party completely composed of ranged attackers.
[Damage received! -1.]
[Damage received! -7.]
‘Damn it! I’m a little slow.’
Their agility seemed to be higher than mine. I couldn’t keep up with their escape speed. I couldn’t believe that I, who thought I was the strongest, had this problem, but I admitted what I had to admit.
That my agility was lower than these bastards.
‘Actually, it’s not that high.’
Currently, my agility was only 9. It was the value I had raised through leveling up and items so far, but compared to my strength, which had now risen to 45, it was indeed much lower.
[Damage received! -1.]
[Damage received! -6.]
[Damage received! -1.]
Really trivial damage was coming in. The 1 damage received was blocked by my shield, and the rest hit my body. My current maximum HP was 460, so it would take a long time to die from these attacks.
But what was this? Was the shield’s defense applied separately?
After a brief thought, I remembered that the shield had a 10 damage reduction effect. It seemed that when I blocked with the shield, the damage was reduced before being applied to me.
“Uhahaha! You’re slow as expected!”
“Did you just raise your defense like crazy?”
“Hit him little by little while running away! He’ll die eventually!”
“……”
Wooaaaaah!! You bastards!!
I felt like my reason was being paralyzed by rage. Right now, the shield’s defense application or whatever wasn’t important at all. Wasn’t the important thing right in front of me?!
‘Think, think. If there’s anything I’m better at than those guys……’
Equipment? Skills? Attack power? Come to think of it, I was superior in everything except agility. In other words, that one agility was the reason for this current situation.
Damn it. I came here to catch the boss, what is this!
Still, I ran persistently. The only way I could catch them was to run persistently like this. I had the upper hand in stamina, as my HP was much higher. So if their stamina ran out first, that would be my chance to kill them.
‘Just let one of them get caught. Please!’
“That crazy bastard is chasing only me! Kill him quickly!”
“I’m hitting him! Just hold on a little longer!”
I checked my HP while running. It had decreased by 40 now. If my remaining HP decreased by 420, I would die.
Yes, 420.
What kind of expression would they make if they knew?
“Ugh! I can’t run anymore!”
After running for about a minute, the guy I was chasing suddenly turned to face me and grabbed a dagger in each hand.
Oh, you want to fight? Then I’ll have to accept it!
“Skill Use! Strike with All Your Might!”
With my defense, those daggers were nothing more than toothpicks. So I took his stabbing attacks head-on and swung my sword.
Slash!
[Damage received! -3.]
[Skill Damage! 72.]
“Gah! W, What? This damage!”
“What else would it be? Crazy damage!”
The damage he dealt to me was only 3, but on the other hand, the damage I dealt was 72. I didn’t know for sure, but I think half of his total HP must have been gone. Anyway, I continued to attack him to finish him off.
[Hit Damage! 53.]
[Hit Damage……]
[Player ‘ Haksallanmu ‘ has been killed.]
[Self-Defense Experience 170 acquired!]
[Self-Defense Reward 5 Silver 89 Copper acquired!]
[Self-Defense Item ‘ Iron Dagger ‘ acquired!]
[Self-Defense Item ‘ Wolf Leather Boots ‘ acquired!]
A lot of message windows popped up, but I ignored them. They weren’t important. I could check the messages later, couldn’t I? Dealing with the remaining two was the priority.
“S, Shit! Let’s run away!”
“Can’t we kill him if we hit him a little more?”
“Are you crazy?! The damage isn’t going through!”
With those words, the two started to run away. It was truly a great situational judgment ability, but……
“Who said you could run away! Skill Use! Strike with All Your Might!”
I chose one target and chased after him, casting the skill. I wanted to kill both of them, but if they ran away scattered like this, there was no way I could catch them, even if I was me.
But I could kill at least one!
“Damn it! Damn it! Why are you chasing me?!”
“Because you attacked me!”
“Fuck!”
The chase lasted for almost 2 minutes.
During those 2 minutes, I kept chasing him and noticed that his running speed was slowing down. Using that opportunity, I quickly closed in and swung my sword.
[Skill Damage! 81.]
[Ding!~ Level of F-Rank Skill ‘ Strike with All Your Might ‘ has increased.]
[Stat Strength increases by 2.]
I could see that the level of Strike with All Your Might, which hadn’t been going up even after killing all those Kobolds, had increased again.
“This crazy damage?!”
“Regret it in the afterlife…… no, in reality.”
Stab!-
[Penetration Damage! 77.]
“Ugh……”
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