𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 50
“Elsyke’s Phantom Shift!”
Pot!-
With the skill activation, my vision shifts. The location I’m moved to is the Lizardman’s right side. Even though I’m standing openly on its right, the Lizardman is still only looking straight ahead. Naturally, the illusion I created is charging towards that front, and the Lizardman is also yelling in response.
키에에엑!
‘It’s over!’
“Shield Bash!”
Boom!-
[Skill Damage! 294.]
[Illusion Hit Damage! 31.]
There’s no way my surprise attack, amplified by stealth, would miss. First, hit by the Shield Bash, the Lizardman starts to stagger from the impact, and seizing that opportunity, the illusion I created attacks with its sword.
The fight instantly turns into a 2:1.
Moreover, the illusion’s swordsmanship is far superior to mine. The illusion’s success in skillfully dodging the Lizardman’s sword and shield and landing consecutive attacks is displayed in my message window.
[Illusion Hit Damage! 29.]
[Illusion Hit Damage……]
[Illusion Hit……]
‘Tsk, should I change the weapon?’
The illusion’s skill is undeniably good, but its attack power is trash. And since the illusion doesn’t use skills effectively either, the only option is to change its weapon.
“Shield Bash!”
Boom!-
[Skill Damage! 262.]
[Combat Experience 650 acquired!]
[Level Up!]
“Now level 32?”
Even though I’m hunting a monster worth 650 experience points alone, the leveling speed is insignificant. Only one level up? While lamenting over the meager level increase, I see the illusion disappear as its duration runs out.
[Ding!~ S-rank skill ‘Elsyke’s Phantom Shift’ level has increased.]
[Stats Strength 5, Agility 5, Magic Power 8 increased.]
“Oh.”
A message pops up as soon as the illusion disappears. This is even more welcome than the level-up message.
“Now that it’s level 3…… Detailed Information. Elsyke’s Phantom Shift.”
If it’s leveled up to 3, the magic power consumption will increase. To confirm that, I open the detailed information and carefully examine the changed stats.
[S-rank Elsyke’s Phantom Shift Effect] (LV3)
━Movement to a visible location within a radius of 12→14M.
━Stealth effect for 12→14 seconds upon movement.
━7→9% additional damage applied in stealth.
━An illusion identical to the user is created at the original location.
━Illusion duration 20→30 seconds.
━13→16% of the user’s maximum health is applied as the illusion’s health.
━Randomly uses 1 skill.
━Detonate the illusion to inflict damage. (Command: Phantom Explosion)
━Remaining health is applied as explosion damage.
*Magic Power consumed upon use 300→600.
*Stamina consumed upon use 10%.
‘As expected.’
After confirming that the magic power consumption has increased to 600, I let out a sigh. Elsyke’s Phantom Shift is an incredible skill, but with this magic power consumption, it’s difficult to use frequently.
“Should I increase my magic power recovery speed rather than increasing the magic power itself?”
If the magic power recovery speed is 10 per second? That means even after using Elsyke’s Phantom Shift, my magic power would be fully replenished within a minute. Besides, with my high defense, I could definitely endure for a minute.
“Well, I’ll think about this later.”
I look around. My current location is a bit deeper into the Werewolf Forest where I first met Raz. It seems like the forest is divided into Werewolf and Lizardman territories based on some boundary.
If I go further in, wouldn’t I encounter the territory of another monster?
Hmm.
Come to think of it, the experience points given by the Lizardmen here are lower than those of the Blue Stone Golems. Continuing to hunt here wouldn’t be bad, but I decided it would be better to hunt in a place that gives more experience points, so I slowly started to move inwards.
Step-
Just then.
“……?”
I stop walking for a moment. No monsters have appeared. However, right in front of me, there’s a woman collapsed on the ground.
‘Who is she?’
As I approach and examine her, the woman’s condition doesn’t look good. I don’t know what happened, but her blonde hair is disheveled, and the armor she’s wearing is dented in several places.
It’s not like she was ganged up on by monsters.
What should I say? Her appearance, as if she barely escaped from a battlefield, piqued my curiosity, so I decided to try waking her up.
“Excuse me, are you alright?”
“Ugh…… uh.”
“Excuse me?”
“Wa, water……”
Water? What water is she looking for in the game?
“There’s no water.”
“Ugh, wa, water……”
“…… ”
Now that I look closely, she seems to be an NPC, not a player. Looking at the scratches on her face, which wouldn’t appear on existing players, and her constant repetition of the same word, I concluded she was an NPC and started to ponder what to do.
‘It seems like I need to give her water to proceed……’
“Item Storage.”
First, I open my item window. I know there’s no water in my item window, but I opened it just in case, and I was able to find something that could substitute for water.
[Intermediate Health Potion] (Normal)
Description: A potion that restores health. It can also be made with the Potion Crafting skill.
━Restores 400 Health.
━Single-use consumable.
‘Will this work?’
It was a potion I bought yesterday to fight the Blue Stone Golem boss, Nertasus. After finding the potion, I took one out and carefully fed it to the collapsed NPC.
Gulp- Gulp-
‘She sure drinks well.’
Anyway, after making her drink the entire potion, I spoke to her again.
“Are you alright now?”
“Ugh, wa, water……”
“…… ”
This woman?
I have no choice but to feed her another one. Ignoring her like this would be a waste of the potion I already gave her, and I was also curious about what might happen next.
Finally, after consuming two of my potions, the woman regained consciousness.
“Ugh…… who are you?”
“An adventurer.”
Having received the title of Novice Adventurer from the Quest Guild, I was able to introduce myself as an adventurer without difficulty.
“Ad……venturer? Ah, anyway, thank you. You saved my life.”
“Yes. But did something happen?”
“That…… actually……”
Growl-
‘Huh?’
That sound didn’t come from me. To begin with, players don’t have a hunger system. That means the sound came from the NPC. Anyway, after hearing the sound, I stared blankly at her, and she blushed and spoke.
“I, I’m sorry. If it’s not too much trouble, could I get something to eat?”
‘Food?’
This quest is really hard to progress through.
The problem was that I didn’t have any food either. However, just like with the water, I had something that could replace it.
[Blue Strawberry]
‘Strictly speaking, it’s not food……’
It was a reward I received after completing a quest with Raz a while ago. I took out all 30 of the strawberries and gave them to the NPC, and as soon as she saw them, she started to devour them.
‘She eats well.’
After devouring all 30 Blue Strawberries, the NPC finally took a breath and expressed her gratitude to me.
“Thank you once again. I am Rayan, a knight of the Harpe Empire Knights Order.”
“I’m Rudin. So what happened?”
Since she introduced herself first, I also introduced myself, but the question that followed meant ‘Just give me the quest already’.
“That’s……”
She hesitated to answer my question, but eventually, she opened her mouth and briefly explained.
“We received information about an evil cult. We were ordered to subjugate the cult and infiltrated their hideout, but…… we fell into a trap.”
“A cult?”
“Yes. The Bamut Cult. A cult that worships the God of Domination. They are controlling monsters and plotting something. No, we don’t have time for this. We need to inform the Royal Palace about this quickly!”
“Then let’s go inform the Royal Palace.”
After answering, I had a feeling this was a chain quest. A chain quest where I would be asked to help after going to the Royal Palace, and then I would have to go to the cult’s hideout and fight a bloody battle.
However, contrary to my expectations, Rayan shook her head.
“I have to rescue my comrades who were captured in the trap. I’m sorry, but could you go to the Royal Palace in my stead?”
[An NPC quest has appeared.]
‘The Royal Palace?’
Listening to her, it seemed like I had to go to the Royal Palace. Then what happens to this woman? My head tilted in confusion, but I decided to check the quest first.
[Go to the Royal Palace in place of Knight Rayan.]
Description: Knight Rayan wants someone to go to the Royal Palace in her place. Accept the quest if you want to help her.
‘……The reward is trash.’
Is it because there’s no penalty for failure? I didn’t like the reward. Only 500 experience points? That’s less than the experience points from the Lizardmen roaming around here.
‘But she said she’s going to rescue her comrades?’
I took my eyes off the quest details and looked at Knight Rayan. It was absurd that she, who barely escaped from a trap, was saying she would rescue them alone.
“Can you rescue them if you go?”
“Yes. Maybe……”
Maybe? Maybe my foot.
Honestly, it was a waste of time to go to the Royal Palace. I doubted there would be a chain quest even if I went, and the reward was trash. Therefore, I looked for another way.
“Instead of that, let’s switch roles. I’ll go to the cult, and you go to the Royal Palace and inform them.”
“What? But the cult is too dangerous. I can’t send you to such a dangerous place.”
“If you don’t like it, I’ll refuse.”
I refused with an attitude that showed I had nothing to lose, and Rayan’s expression hardened. But only for a moment. She changed to a serious expression of contemplation, and then, as if she had made a decision, she nodded.
“Alright. Then let’s go together.”
‘Huh?’
[The quest details have changed.]
The quest details change too? Before I could even be intrigued by this new fact, I looked at Rayan, who had suggested we go together. If we both went to the cult, there would be no one to inform the Royal Palace.
“Can we go together?”
“I can’t leave my lifesaver to die.”
‘It would be easier to just go alone.’
I muttered inwardly and checked the changed quest details.
[Rescue the captured comrades with Knight Rayan.]
Description: Knight Rayan, wanting to help you, her lifesaver, and worried about her captured comrades, has decided to go to the cult. Accept the quest if you want to help her.
‘Eh? What’s this reward?’
Not only the quest details but also the reward section had changed significantly. It seemed like the reward had changed to match the difficulty.
‘With this kind of reward, I need to be a bit nervous.’
Besides, I couldn’t refuse. It said the quest would disappear if I refused. It seemed like there was a limit to the number of times I could change the quest details.
I would like to go alone if possible……
But there’s no helping it.
“Let’s go together.”
[Quest accepted. ‘Rescue the captured comrades with Knight Rayan.’]
[Favorability with Rayan increases by 5.]
“Yes. I will lead the way.”
Rayan walks ahead with a determined expression. Looking at that expression, it feels like we’re walking into hell.
Is it that scary?
“Is the Bamut Cult that strong?”
“Yes? No, it’s more because we’re going to their headquarters. We don’t know what might happen there……”
“If you’re worried, you can just guide me to the headquarters.”
“No.”
“…… ”
Well, she’s a knight with unwavering determination.
Anyway, I slowly followed Rayan, who was leading the way, and soon arrived at a place that seemed to be the headquarters of the Bamut Cult.
“This is it.”
“Hmm.”
It’s a bit unexpected, should I say?
The place I arrived at, following Rayan, was a small shrine that didn’t quite fit in with the surrounding forest. Even though it was called a shrine, it was quite small, with only an entrance leading underground. But I didn’t expect it to stand out this much.
“Let’s go in.”
The moment she said that and stepped into the shrine.
[Quest-exclusive dungeon ‘Bamut Shrine’ entrance discovered.]
[This dungeon is a solo dungeon. If you enter as a party, all party members except you will be removed from the party.]
[Will you enter?]
‘Quest-exclusive dungeon?’
Until now, while playing the game, I had never heard of the term ‘quest-exclusive dungeon’. This was because I had the preconceived notion that dungeons could only be found using the Exploration skill.
However, seeing that there was a quest-exclusive dungeon, it seemed like there was a way to enter dungeons even without the Exploration skill.
Anyway.
“Enter.”
[Moving to the quest-exclusive dungeon ‘Bamut Shrine’.]
Whoosh!-
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 51
Pababat!-
As I moved into the dungeon, I naturally looked around. Fortunately, this dungeon wasn’t dark. And perhaps because it was a shrine, the interior was a brick-walled space.
“Please be careful. There might be traps.”
“Right.”
The message window said it was a solo dungeon, but Rayan was next to me. Perhaps this dungeon was meant to be cleared with Rayan.
‘The problem is the traps, huh?’
If only I had the Exploration Skill, I wouldn’t have to worry about traps.
Anyway, I move carefully. If I get caught in any trap, things will become difficult. Also, this is just my guess, but I have a feeling that if Rayan dies next to me, the reward will disappear too.
Krr.
Kirik.
“……?”
Why does that sound familiar?
Tilting my head, I moved a little closer and saw two monsters looking at me with a wary attitude.
“A Werewolf and a Lizardman.”
“Why are they here?”
“The Bamut Cult possesses the power to control monsters. They are probably using the monsters around this shrine to guard it.”
‘So that means I have to fight the monsters?’
That’s no big deal.
Werewolves and Lizardmen are still easy to deal with. Things would be different if their boss-level appeared, but I could handle a few of these ordinary monsters alone.
‘Before that, should I check out this knight’s skills?’
Quickly organizing my thoughts, I immediately spoke to Rayan.
“Take care of one.”
“Understood.”
I asked her to handle only one, but Rayan immediately ran forward. At the same time as Rayan’s action, the two monsters roared and charged, and I decided to deal with just one Werewolf.
Tat!-
“Shield Bash.”
Quickly approaching the Werewolf, I struck its head with my shield.
[Skill Damage! 271.]
“Kyaang!”
The Werewolf, hit in the head, yelped and immediately swung its claws at me. It was impressive how it counterattacked right after being hit, but since I had experience fighting it before, I blocked the attack without any worry.
[Overwhelming Defense! You take no damage!]
‘This is the power of the Blue Stone Set.’
My current defense is 565. Not only this Werewolf, but even the Lizardman next to it couldn’t inflict any damage on me even if they hit me. However, unaware of this fact, the Werewolf launched a desperate attack.
Krrr!
“Shield Bash.”
[Skill Damage! 268.]
[Combat Experience 600 acquired!]
‘Now then.’
Let’s see Rayan’s skills.
Chaeng!- Chachaeng!-
Compared to the Werewolf, the Lizardman was a bit stronger. After all, it was wielding a weapon. However, Rayan pushed the Lizardman back without much difficulty, and the Lizardman, after blocking Rayan’s attacks several times, eventually fell to her sword.
‘No experience points.’
Either way, Rayan’s skills weren’t bad. She defeated the Lizardman alone. At least I thought she wouldn’t be a hindrance, and I nodded inwardly, deciding to proceed with this dungeon in earnest.
“You have impressive skills.”
Suddenly, Rayan spoke to me in a surprised tone.
“It’s nothing. More importantly, do you know the way?”
“No, I don’t know the way.”
“Then we’ll have to search one by one.”
I said that, but there wasn’t even a fork in the road. This meant we could just follow the path, right? It felt a bit too simple for a dungeon, but since Rayan didn’t know anything about this place either, we had no choice but to move along the visible path.
After walking for a few minutes like that.
Kuku……
“Huh?”
“Who’s there?!”
Someone’s laughter echoed. Even looking around, it was difficult to find the owner of the laughter. On the contrary, the laughing bastard seemed to know my current location.
━So it was the knight who desperately ran away earlier. Did you run away just to bring one comrade?
“Show yourself instead of hiding!”
━I can’t do that. Instead, I’ll give you a suitable gift.
Woong woong-
‘What’s this?’
Suddenly, some light appeared from the nearby floor and walls. It was a light with a disturbingly deep purple hue, and I was wary of it, but it seemed I was already too late.
[A trap is activated.]
[The Power of Bamut partially dominates your body.]
[You have no stats, skills, or equipment to resist the Power.]
[Strength and Agility decrease by 20%.]
“Status Information Window.”
At the message that my Strength and Agility had decreased, I quickly checked them in the Status Information Window. Upon checking, I saw that my Strength and Agility had actually decreased by 20%.
Strength：248 (211+99) (-20%) Agility：102 (104+24) (-20%)
The minus figures displayed in red. My face naturally frowned, but I quickly composed myself.
‘……It’s still okay.’
These stats weren’t so low that I couldn’t fight. My defense hadn’t decreased, so if I used Shield Bash well, I could easily handle a Lizardman. However, the only thing I was worried about was the boss that would appear at the end, since this was a dungeon.
“Damn it! You coward!”
━Kuku. I’d like to capture both of you, but I have enough sacrifices.
Pababat!-
‘Magic circles?’
Looking around, magic circles appeared in front and behind. There were about 20 of them. And from those magic circles, Werewolves and Lizardmen popped out.
━Now, please die.
The voice disappeared after those words. Instead, the Werewolves and Lizardmen that popped out of the magic circles were glaring at us.
‘Is this…… dangerous?’
Of course, I didn’t think I was in danger. My defense was intact, regardless of my stats. However, if Rayan died, there was a high chance that this quest would end in failure.
“Ugh, they’re coming!”
“Kueong!”
“Shield Bash!”
Kwang!-
I struck the head of the Werewolf that charged first. Because of that Power or whatever it was, my Strength had decreased, so attacking with a sword was meaningless. Striking with my shield like this was the best option.
[Skill Damage! 268.]
The problem was that it didn’t die in one hit. I had to hit it with Shield Bash at least 2-3 times to kill it, and this took more time than I expected.
[Overwhelming Defense! You take no damage!]
‘But I can’t leave Rayan’s side either.’
If I rushed madly with Giant’s Sprint, there was a high chance Rayan would be defeated in the meantime. Therefore, caught in this dilemma, I fumbled for a moment and allowed a brief attack.
Kwajeok!-
[You have taken damage! -450.]
“……!?”
Damage I couldn’t believe even after seeing it. I felt a slight pain in my right foot and looked down to see a Werewolf biting my leg.
Penetration damage?
‘Crazy.’
“Spinning Strike!”
[Skill Damage! 119.]
[Skill Damage! 122.]
I spun around with my sword in hand. Due to the quick rotation of my sword, the surrounding monsters stepped back, and I seized the opportunity to strike down at the Werewolf biting my leg.
[Penetration Damage! 369.]
‘It’s damn hard to kill!’
“Shield Bash!”
[Combat Experience 600 acquired!]
I finished off the Werewolf that didn’t die from the Penetration damage with Shield Bash and kept an eye on the surroundings. Even if I continued like this, winning wasn’t a problem. Except for the Penetration damage, their attacks didn’t work on me.
Kwaaang!-
[Combat Experience 650 acquired!]
‘Have I dealt with three now?’
“Aaack!”
“Huh?”
I turned my head. Behind me, I saw Rayan being attacked by two monsters. I was trying to protect her from behind, but perhaps because of the decreased stats, Rayan was struggling against even two monsters.
Then……
‘I’ll finish this quickly.’
There was no other answer.
“Elsyke’s Phantom Shift!”
[Insufficient Magic Power.]
[Stamina consumption doubled.]
Pat-
The monsters were surrounding us from front and back. I thought I should escape this encirclement and protect Rayan first, so I left a phantom behind and moved to the back where there were no monsters.
I’ll blow them all away!
“Giant’s Sprint!”
Kwakwakwak!!-
I used Giant’s Sprint with the intention of blowing away all the monsters in a straight line. If it worked properly, it wouldn’t be impossible to eliminate all the monsters. Just like that, my body, defying the decreased Agility, shot towards the monsters in an instant.
Kwaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 928.]
[Skill Damage! 899.]
[Combat Experience 650 acquired!]
[Ding!~ ‘Lizardman’s Leather’ acquired……]
Lucky.
I couldn’t defeat them all, but their numbers were reduced to less than half. I thought I could pull Rayan back and fight alone now.
“Fall back!”
“I, I can’t do that.”
What do you mean you can’t do that!
At this moment, I couldn’t understand Rayan’s stubbornness, but the situation had become much easier. Thanks to a phantom skillfully wielding its sword, it was doing enough to cover for one person.
‘Should I increase the number of phantoms?’
Considering my remaining Stamina, I could create three phantoms. With three, I could handle the remaining monsters relatively easily, but on the other hand, there would be limitations on the skills I could use.
[Phantom Hit Damage! 47.]
‘……No, phantoms won’t do.’
The damage was too low to deal with them using phantoms. Should I just wipe them out with Phantom Explosion? However, I couldn’t deny the fact that Rayan was having an easier time thanks to the phantom blocking for her.
‘Damn it, I’ll go with this.’
“Giant’s Sprint!”
Kwaaang!!-
I used Giant’s Sprint to sweep away all the monsters Rayan was dealing with and quickly turned around to sweep away the monsters the phantom was handling with Giant’s Sprint as well.
Due to using it twice in a row, only three monsters remained.
I felt relieved with this number. I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly and started to finish them off one by one using Shield Bash, and soon I was able to turn all three remaining monsters into experience points.
[Combat Experience 600 acquired!]
[Ding!~ F-rank Skill ‘Shield Bash’ has leveled up.]
[Stat Stamina increases by 2.]
‘Level 3.’
I leveled it up once before entering the dungeon, so it was correct that it was now level 3. Anyway, I finished the battle with the level up of Shield Bash and sat down to rest. To recover the consumed Magic Power and Stamina.
“Haa, haa.”
Well, Rayan was also tired.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”
“Well, it’s okay.”
I had already expected this dungeon to be quite difficult based on the reward. However, the fact that the difficulty was due to Rayan weighed on my mind.
Wouldn’t I have been able to clear this dungeon easily if I were alone?
‘I’m a bit uneasy.’
Furthermore, I didn’t know how much HP Rayan had left. I had to rely purely on my gut feeling to estimate Rayan’s HP and finish this dungeon. And I could also tell that Rayan’s skills, with her decreased stats, were only slightly better than a Lizardman’s.
By the way, this curse doesn’t seem to be going away.
Sigh.
I sighed and drank two bottles of Intermediate Magic Potion from my Item Window. I also handed Rayan a bottle of Intermediate Healing Potion and made her drink it. Thinking that our HP had recovered to some extent, I stood up.
‘Was the Magic Power recovery of the Blue Stone Ring 1 per second?’
I couldn’t help but think that I needed to level up Phantom Shift quickly.
“Let’s move.”
However, since I had come this far into the dungeon, I would have to refrain from practicing Phantom Shift. Giant’s Sprint was much more efficient. So, for now, I just had to proceed and hope that nothing else would happen.
After walking for a long time, Rayan and I suddenly had to stop.
“This is……”
“A dead end.”
It was a dead end, but there were four orbs embedded in the wall. Magic circles were drawn around each orb, and I had a feeling that we had to do something with these four orbs.
‘Should I touch them?’
Wouldn’t it be better to touch them when things were unclear? Thinking that, I approached the orbs.
“What are you doing?”
“The orbs on the wall look suspicious.”
With a simple answer, I touched an orb. It felt like it was structured to be pushed inward.
‘Should I press it?’
If this dungeon was designed to progress by pressing orbs, I decided that pressing them was the answer no matter what happened, so I immediately pressed the first orb.
Kkuuk-
“D, did you just press it?”
“Yes.”
“What if it’s a trap……?”
She seemed quite anxious.
Pat-
“Hmm?”
Just as I was about to reassure the restless Rayan, I saw an ominous light emanating from the magic circle near the pressed orb.
Boom! Boom! Boom!-
“Something’s coming!”
At the same time, a heavy sound echoed from the opposite side, indicating that something was approaching. Since this was a dead end, there was no way to avoid whatever was coming. Whatever it was, we had to deal with it here.
“Kuoooo!”
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 52
” Kuoooo! ”
‘What is that?’
[Synthetic Monster of the Bamut Cult]
What appeared with a heavy sound was a Lizardman…… or so it seemed. The reason I couldn’t be sure was because of its different appearance from the existing Lizardmen. First of all, the most distinctive feature was that it had two heads on one body.
The creature, larger than the existing Lizardmen, unusually had two heads, and from the mouths of both heads, small flames were being spewed out.
Hwar-
” Synthetic Monster?! ”
Rayan shouts in surprise while looking at the Lizardman. I decided to ask her, hoping I could get some information about this monster.
” Do you know it? ”
” I don’t know the details, but I’ve heard that the Bamut Cult has a technique to combine dominated monsters. Perhaps that monster is the result. ”
” How strong is it? ”
” I’m not sure about that either. ”
” …… ”
Not very helpful.
” Kiee! ”
‘Tsk.’
Meanwhile, the Lizardman shot flames with a disgusting sound. Seeing the flames shot like a flamethrower, I quickly stepped forward and held out my shield.
[You have taken damage. -93.]
[You have taken damage. -89.]
[You have taken damage……]
The Lizardman’s flames accurately dealt damage three times and disappeared. Is it continuous damage? Considering my defense, the flame attack power was considerable.
” Elsyke’s Phantom Shift. ”
Pat!-
First, I leave a clone and move behind the Lizardman. And then I immediately charge with my shield!
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 718.]
With the stealth effect added, it was relatively high damage. However, as if the Lizardman’s strength was higher than mine, it couldn’t be knocked back. The Lizardman, who just flinched for a moment, immediately swung its sword at me, whose stealth had been broken.
‘Tsk.’
The sword was swung at a considerably fast speed, unlike its size, so I boldly abandoned the option of dodging. Just raising my shield.
Kwaang!-
[You have taken damage. -206.]
” Ugh. ”
Is this really with Steadfast Defense applied?
When I stood still and defended, the passive skill Steadfast Defense was applied, but the damage received was significant, and my body was pushed back by the impact. Perhaps this result occurred due to the difference in strength, not defense.
And taking advantage of the distance created, flames were shot from the Lizardman’s mouth again.
Hwarrr!!-
[You have taken damage. -71.]
[You have taken damage……]
Of course, my clone and Rayan weren’t just watching. They ran towards the Lizardman as soon as its gaze turned to me.
” Kruru…… ”
‘Huh?’
Hwar!-
Did it notice the presence? One of the Lizardman’s remaining heads turned towards Rayan and instantly shot flames. It was a monster with almost no blind spots.
‘It’s tricky to deal with.’
Most monsters would die without even knowing what hit them if my clone and I attacked from the front and back. But this two-headed Lizardman was attacking in each direction, making it very difficult to deal with.
‘It’s not impossible, though.’
Once I confirmed that I could inflict more damage than it, there was no monster I couldn’t handle. The same went for this Lizardman.
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 613.]
” Kiiik! ”
Hwik!-
After colliding with Giant’s Sprint, I lower my head to avoid the Lizardman’s attack. It was difficult to see and dodge, but if I knew the attack in advance and acted like now, I could somehow avoid it.
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 617.]
Damn, it’s so hard to kill!
Even though I dealt at least 2,000 damage, the Lizardman didn’t die. Instead, it just swung its sword at me with an enraged face. However, I wasn’t going to die from being hit by those sword swings a few times, so I ignored them and used Giant’s Sprint again.
Kwaaaang!!-
[Combat experience gained: 2,500!]
[Ding!~ You have acquired a ‘ D-rank Skillbook ‘.]
” Huu. ”
It was a strong one, requiring me to use more than half of my stamina. Wasn’t it the strongest one excluding boss monsters?
‘And it gives a D-rank skill.’
All the D-rank skills I’ve obtained so far were from boss-level monsters. Dorgen and Nertasus. But now, a D-rank skillbook came out even though it wasn’t a boss-level monster, so it felt somewhat strange.
[Flame Emission] (D-rank)
Description: A magic that continuously emits flames forward. Although it has the disadvantage of a short range, it’s a type of magic that allows movement while using it, enabling both attack and evasion simultaneously.
‘Huh? This is quite……’
Expensive, isn’t it?
A skill that allows continuous attack and movement. It’s a skill with considerable efficiency. If it’s this kind of skill, it seems like I could get a lot of money by selling it for cash.
” Lucky. ”
” Lucky? ”
” No, let’s look at the orbs again. ”
” Huh? But what if it’s another trap…… ”
” It’s okay. ”
Whether it was a trap or not, I had to find out about these orbs. There was no other way besides this place. Moreover, from the previous case, I was able to confirm that monsters would pop out, so perhaps it might end unexpectedly simply.
‘It’s not the first orb.’
I bring my hand to the orbs in order and use Intuition. Using Intuition, I could tell that a monster would also come out from the fourth orb.
‘The problem is the second and third orbs, huh?’
꾹-
I press the second orb. Then, as before, light emerged from the magic circle around the orb, and then I could see the blocked wall slowly rising upwards.
Kuku쿵-
‘The door opens like this.’
Another path visible beyond the raised wall. Now there were no worries. When a wall with orbs appeared, I just had to find the right one with Intuition. And as I found the way, I heard Rayan’s admiring tone from behind, who had been silently watching.
” Amazing. How did you find it? ”
” Intuition. ”
Even though I almost told her the truth, Rayan’s expression was worth seeing. An expression wondering whether to believe my words or take it as a joke. If she reacts like that no matter what I say, the truth seems meaningless.
Footsteps- Footsteps-
‘It’s quite a large dungeon.’
Is it a dungeon or a shrine? Anyway, it was quite large. Moreover, just blindly walking along the path made me feel like it was a trap.
‘Am I going the right way?’
” Ah, there’s another dead end. ”
” ……So it seems. ”
At the dead end, the four orbs I saw earlier were attached in the same way. Therefore, without any worries, I approached it and used Intuition.
‘This time…… it’s the third orb.’
Kuku쿵-
As soon as I pressed the orb, the wall opened as if waiting. Since I knew in advance using Intuition, I took this situation for granted, but it seemed different for Rayan, who was watching from behind.
[Rayan is impressed by your continuous luck.]
[Rayan’s favorability increases by 1.]
[Current favorability with Rayan: 11.]
‘Favorability?’
If it increases by 1, shouldn’t it be 6? Where did the remaining 5 come from?
Anyway, the message that favorability increased wasn’t bad for me. At the same time, I remembered a post on the bulletin board saying that if you reach 100 favorability with an NPC, a special event occurs.
‘But is 100 favorability possible?’
In a situation where even my favorability with Deron hasn’t reached 80, the thought of Rayan’s favorability reaching 100 was almost like a dream. Of course, if I complete the quest, it will increase by another 40, so maybe it’s possible if I put in a little more effort.
” Do you perhaps know the locations of the orbs? ”
” No way. ”
” Then how…… ”
” I guessed it by looking at the patterns of the magic circles drawn near the orbs. ”
” Ah. ”
Actually, they all looked the same to me. But Rayan, convinced by my words, nodded, and that sight made me feel how easy it is to deceive a person.
Kuku쿵-
The path continued. I opened the third and fourth walls, but there was no particular change. And at this point, even I couldn’t help but feel irritated.
‘Damn, how long do I have to keep opening them?’
Am I really going the right way? Fortunately, Rayan was following me without saying anything. Usually, other people would ask if this was the right way, but Rayan didn’t.
Should I say I’m grateful to Rayan for silently believing in me at this time when even I’m feeling anxious?
That’s probably possible because she’s an NPC.
Footsteps-
‘……Another wall.’
I let out a sigh and open it with Intuition.
Kuku쿵-
” Hmm? ”
This time, instead of another path, a different scene unfolded before my eyes, which had expected a path without fail. A huge hall. A giant magic circle located in the corner of the hall. A knight and soldiers trapped inside the magic circle. Finally, a priest in a black robe standing outside the magic circle.
It seemed like we finally arrived.
” To think you’d make it this far. You’re more capable than you look. ”
” …… ”
Huh? They’re not moving. Seeing that they’re not moving a single finger, it seems like some kind of event has been triggered.
Anyway, my mouth started talking on its own, regardless of my will.
” That’s an unusual magic circle. What are you planning to do? ”
” Heh heh, sacrifices for our cult. There’s no better sacrifice than humans for summoning monsters. ”
” Do you think it’s possible? ”
” Honestly, this situation is unexpected. Originally, the summoning ritual should have been completed while you were caught in the traps, but…… ”
‘Traps? Summoning ritual?’
What does that mean? Does it mean that if I get caught in a trap, the summoning ritual will proceed?
If my guess is correct, it seems like it was fortunate that I proceeded without getting caught in any traps so far.
” But that doesn’t mean there’s a problem. What can you two possibly do? ”
Pabbat!-
As soon as those words ended, the four priests around summoned monsters. The summoned monsters were Lizardmen. Since they were just Lizardmen, not the two-headed ones, I could feel relieved inwardly.
‘What are they trying to do with just Lizardmen?’
” Begin. ”
” Yes. ”
Begin what?
Even at this moment, my body wasn’t moving. It meant the event wasn’t over yet. In this situation, all I could do was watch the situation unfold before me.
” Monster Synthesis! ”
‘……Crazy.’
I could understand why the two-headed Lizardman didn’t appear in this final part. Because as the priests chanted Monster Synthesis, the Lizardmen turned into light and started to merge with each other.
” Kuoooo! ”
And as the merged light slowly disappeared, two two-headed Lizardmen emerged.
‘Two of them would be quite difficult.’
” Heh heh, it’s too early to be surprised. Monster Overlap Synthesis! ”
Pabbat!-
In an instant, the two two-headed Lizardmen turned into light again and started to merge with each other. Are they going to merge again from there? Since I couldn’t move due to the event, all I could do was watch silently.
” Krararara! ”
‘The two-headed one turned into a three-headed one.’
There was no time to be surprised. I was too busy thinking about how to deal with it, seeing the already huge two-headed Lizardman become even bigger.
” Now, become sacrifices to Lord Bamut! ”
[Battle with Bamut Cult Priest begins.]
With the message, my body started to move, but I didn’t rush out immediately. I couldn’t just recklessly charge at that Lizardman, which I wasn’t even sure I could defeat.
” I will handle that monster. Rudin-nim, please rescue my comrades.”
” …… ”
What is she saying? This weak knight?
I guarantee that if Rayan faces it, she’ll die in less than a minute. Conversely, it means I should face the Lizardman and Rayan should be in charge of rescuing her comrades.
” Let’s switch roles. You handle the rescue.”
” Huh? But…… ”
” It’s coming.”
There was no time to listen to Rayan’s opinion silently. I pushed Rayan and ran forward to confront the Lizardman charging towards us.
” Krararat! ”
” Tsk. ”
The swinging sword. The Lizardman’s sword was incredibly fast. Fast, but not to the point where I couldn’t see its trajectory. I struck the blade coming down to cut my neck from bottom to top.
Chaeng!-
The Lizardman’s blade narrowly missed my head. Since it didn’t hit, there was no damage.
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 364.]
‘As expected, it’s not being pushed back.’
I already anticipated this. Satisfied with the fact that I dealt damage, I tried to quickly retreat, but I got too close to the Lizardman.
Kwaang!-
[You have taken damage. -536.]
” ……!? ”
What? This damage?!
It was literally insane damage. Not only was the damage enormous, but the speed was fast too. If we continued to exchange blows like this, there was a high chance I would be defeated.
‘Should I create some distance?’
Hwarrr!-
” …… ”
Right, it had that.
I ran sideways to avoid the pouring flames. However, I was facing a Lizardman with three heads. As soon as I dodged, another head of the Lizardman shot flames, and I, whose posture was broken due to the sudden movement, had no choice but to block this attack.
‘Steadfast Defense!’
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 53
‘Solid Defense!’
[Damage received. -215.]
[Damage received……]
‘Damn it!’
Solid Defense, leveled up to 3, had the effect of increasing all defenses by 30. Despite that, if I’m taking this much damage, it means the current flame attack is incomparably stronger than the two-headed one.
[Health：2620/3795]
‘Over 1,000 taken off?’
It hasn’t even been a few seconds since the battle started. But if this much health has been shaved off, even I probably won’t be able to hold on for very long.
‘Rayan is……’
While creating distance from the Lizardman, I glance towards Rayan. She’s engaged in a fierce battle with the five priests, but it feels less like Rayan is fighting well and more like the priests are really bad at fighting.
When she showed Monster Synthesis, I thought she had something up her sleeve. But now, she’s only using basic magic like Flame Arrow and swinging around a pointed dagger. If it weren’t for the fact that there are five priests, they wouldn’t even be able to put up this much of a fight. It feels like they would have already been overwhelmed by Rayan.
Anyway, the conclusion is……
Rayan and the priests. Both sides are about equal in skill.
‘Those damn developers. Did they intentionally set it up this way?’
No matter how I think about it, it seems like that’s the case. If I leave the Lizardman to Rayan? She’ll probably die in a matter of seconds. On the other hand, if I leave it to the priests, their skills are comparable, so it’ll just waste time.
The balance is just too perfect, isn’t it?
So, such suspicions naturally arise.
” Kraraarat! ”
‘Well, the important thing now is that guy.’
Chaeng!-
I deflect the Lizardman’s downward sword swing to the side. This way, I don’t take damage, but it chips away at my weapon’s durability, so it’s not a method I can keep using.
‘I’ll use the same strategy I used against Nertasus.’
” Item Storage. Jayer’s Guardian Shield! ”
Pabut!-
[S-rank Skill. Jayer’s Guardian Shield activated.]
With this, the magic power I’ve been recovering intermittently is completely depleted. I have no intention of fighting that Lizardman with a measly 100~200 magic power. So, I parry the Lizardman’s sword once more and take out an Intermediate Magic Potion from my Item Window and drink it.
[Magic power recovered by 400.]
[Magic power recovered by 400……]
This much should be enough!
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 935.]
[Damage received. -204]
The collision from Giant’s Sprint and the Lizardman’s attack. They happened almost simultaneously, but I had the advantage in terms of damage. Moreover, Jayer’s Guardian Shield, at level 6, increases additional health by 3,000.
This means I can take this kind of attack ten more times!
‘As fast as possible!’
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 934.]
” Kraraara! ”
Woong Woong-
‘A skill? Strong Strike?’
The Lizardman’s sword, hit again by Giant’s Sprint, began to emit light. It was a blue light, and at first glance, it looked like the F-rank skill Strong Strike.
” Damn it. ”
Even a normal hit deals over 500 damage. With Jayer’s Guardian Shield, I won’t take that much damage, but if I get hit with a skill on top of that, it’s a different story.
‘Parry it.’
First, parry that attack, then use Giant’s Sprint again. After quickly calculating, I parry the Lizardman’s blue-glowing sword……
Chaeng!-
” Ugh?! ”
Chwaak!-
[Damage received. -507.]
However, surprisingly, the Lizardman’s sword ignored my sword and cut straight through my body. Due to the immense force, I couldn’t parry it properly. And the incoming damage was so significant that I involuntarily stepped back.
Woong Woong-
‘What? Is it not Strong Strike?’
If it were Strong Strike, the light should disappear after one attack. That’s how it should be, but the Lizardman’s sword continued to emit a blue light.
” Status Information Window. ”
[Health：4987 (+3000)/3795]
I still have some leeway.
Thanks to the effect of Jayer’s Guardian Shield, my health is rapidly being replenished. Is it recovering at 35 per second? Of course, it’s no match for the damage the Lizardman is inflicting.
” Kraraarat! ”
Chaeng!- Chaeng!-
[Damage received. -471.]
‘As expected, it’s difficult to completely block it.’
[Weapon ‘ Soul-Infused Longsword ‘ has 10% durability remaining.]
‘Huh?’
Wait, the durability dropped this much after just a few clashes?
I expected the durability consumption to be severe when clashing with the Lizardman’s monstrously powerful sword. But I didn’t think it would be this bad. Then I remembered that I hadn’t repaired my weapon at all.
I should have repaired it earlier!
Anyway, since the weapon can’t hold up, I have to finish this as quickly as possible. I quickly drink two Magic Potions and launch an attack.
” Giant’s Sprint! Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaang!- Kwakwakwang!!-
[Skill Damage! 940.]
[Skill Damage! 933.]
[Damage received. -513.]
” Damn it! ”
It’s ridiculously tough!
If it were the two-headed Lizardman, it would have been over by now. The fact that it hasn’t died yet, even after those two combined, is incredibly frustrating.
Kwaang!-
‘Huh? What’s this?’
” Krahaha! You held on longer than I expected, but it seems you’re reaching your limit! ”
Even amidst the urgent situation with the Lizardman, I turn my gaze towards Rayan. For some reason, Rayan is staring at the priests with exhaustion, unable to even handle one of those pathetic priests.
‘Was she hit by something?’
The situation seems dire. But it’s also difficult to just rush over to Rayan while dealing with this Lizardman.
Sigh, damn it.
[Magic power recovered by 400.]
[Magic power recovered by 400……]
I drink the last two remaining potions. I bought a total of 20 potions to take down Nertasus, and now I’ve used them all.
” Elsyke’s Phantom Shift! ”
Pat!-
The location I shifted to with Elsyke’s Phantom Shift is near Rayan. I moved closer to help her and immediately launch an attack.
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 1,241.]
[Skill Damage……]
” Ru, Rudin-nim? ”
” Rescue your comrades! ”
After leaving those words with Rayan, I use Elsyke’s Phantom Shift again to move near the Lizardman. From this point on, I have no magic power, so my Stamina consumption doubles. But since I’ve created a phantom where Rayan is, I believe it will definitely help.
” Kraraarat! ”
Kwang!-
‘I can’t even hold on for a few seconds against this guy.’
The phantom disappeared after I briefly went to the priests. I have about 15% Stamina left. And since I’ve used up all my Magic Potions, there’s no way for me to defeat this Lizardman now.
‘Do I have to rely on Rayan now?’
From the beginning, there were two possible strategies.
First, kill the priests. In this case, since it’s the same as killing the summoner, there’s a high chance the Lizardman will disappear too. However, I judged that it would be impossible to kill the priests with an exhausted Rayan and a phantom that only lasts 30 seconds. So, I had no choice but to instruct her on the second method.
That is, to rescue the knights and soldiers trapped in the magic circle.
Once the rescue is successful, we’ll have the advantage in numbers. I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to deal with the priests then. So, I told Rayan to rescue her comrades, and she faithfully followed my instructions.
Kwakwakwang!-
[The Bamut Cult’s barrier has been destroyed.]
[The trapped knights and soldiers are being released.]
” Good work! Rayan! ”
” Let’s show them what we’re made of! ”
‘Did it work?’
When I quickly checked, Rayan was stabbing her sword into the outer edge of the magic circle where her comrades were trapped. It seems the barrier was destroyed because of that, as the knights and soldiers who were trapped there started pouring out and attacking the Bamut priests indiscriminately. Overwhelmed by the sheer number of attackers, the priests couldn’t withstand their onslaught.
‘Anyway, it’s over.’
In the end, this is a quest. The quest objective was to rescue Rayan’s comrades, and the current situation is no different from fulfilling that condition.
If I just hold on like this……
” Ugh, Beast! Help us here! ”
” Kraraarat! ”
Huh? Where are you going?
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
I use up all my remaining Stamina. I didn’t know what would happen if this Lizardman reached the knights, so I used Giant’s Sprint without hesitation, but the result wasn’t very good.
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 935.]
[S-rank Skill. Jayer’s Guardian Shield duration has ended.]
‘Of all times for it to end.’
The Lizardman only flinched momentarily from my Giant’s Sprint; it didn’t completely stop it. As a result, the Lizardman continued to run towards the knights, and I had to make another decision while watching it.
‘The Lizardman? Or should I attack the priests?’
It didn’t matter which one I chose. The quest was practically completed. But, just in case the knights or soldiers might die, I chose the Lizardman.
‘It would have been nice if I had a skill to hold it back.’
The frustrating thing here is that the Lizardman’s Agility is higher than mine, so I can’t catch up to its running speed. In the end, the Lizardman, following the priests’ orders, reached the knights and swung its sword, but fortunately, the knight who was prepared blocked the attack.
Chaeng!-
‘Huh?’
” Ugh, I’ll handle this one! ”
What? He’s surprisingly skilled?
Seeing him quickly regain his posture after clashing with the Lizardman’s sword, it seems he possesses a certain level of skill. And with that level of skill, it seemed like he could buy enough time until the remaining priests were eliminated.
” Gah! Damn…… knight…… ”
Thud-
When only one priest remained, the last remaining priest cried out in a voice filled with resentment.
” You lowly beings! Bamut-nim will bring down divine punishment! ”
” Don’t talk nonsense! ”
” Damn it! If only that ‘ Beast ‘ had been summoned! ”
” It’s over! ”
Chwaak!-
” Kuhuk! ”
A cleanly swung sword. The priest, cut by the sword, slowly collapsed, seemingly in frustration.
” Kraraara…… ”
As I expected, after the priest died, a magic circle appeared beneath the Lizardman’s feet and quickly sucked it in as if absorbing it. Although it was a shame that the reward was lost because I couldn’t finish off the Lizardman myself, I was relieved that it ended this way.
And……
[NPC quest perfectly completed.]
[Conditions: Rayan’s survival. Thwarting the Bamut Cult’s plot. Survival of all of Rayan’s comrades.]
[Existing rewards doubled.]
‘Doubled?’
[Quest experience 50,000 acquired!]
[Level up!]
[Rayan’s Favorability increased by 80.]
[Current Favorability with Rayan: 92.]
[Ding!~ You have acquired 10 Gold!]
‘Why is it increasing so much?’
While I was reading the messages popping up one by one, I saw a man, who had been blocking the Lizardman alone, approach me.
He bowed his head as if to show his gratitude and said,
” Thank you for your help. I am Rosen, the Captain of the Harpe Empire’s 4th Knights Order, leading these people. ”
” I’m Rudin. ”
” Yes. Rudin-nim. Thanks to you, we were able to stop the Bamut Cult. I don’t know how to repay this kindness…… ”
” It’s alright. It wasn’t a bad experience for me either. ”
” No, if it weren’t for you, Rudin-nim, we would have all become sacrifices. We may not have much now, but please visit the Harpe Empire’s Royal Palace when you have the chance. ”
‘Is the Knights Order Recommendation Letter obtained at the Royal Palace?’
The quest reward included a Knights Order Recommendation Letter. But there was no message about it. Perhaps I have to go to the Royal Palace to receive it.
” Yes, I understand. ”
” Then, once again, thank you. This is the sentiment of all of us. ”
[Favorability with all members of the Harpe Empire’s 4th Knights Order increased by 10.]
[Current Favorability with Rayan: 100.]
[Congratulations! You are the first in Twilight to achieve 100 Favorability with an NPC!]
[As an achievement reward, you have acquired a ‘ Random Skillbook ‘.]
Favorability 100? Random Skillbook?
This is the third achievement I’ve earned with the word “first” in Twilight. Once for defeating a boss. Once for acquiring an S-rank skill. And now, the third achievement for reaching maximum Favorability. But it’s a completely unexpected result, so it feels a bit underwhelming.
I wasn’t particularly trying to raise Favorability, but it went up like this?
While I was looking at the Favorability 100 message, Rayan, who had approached me at some point, spoke to me.
” Thank you, Rudin-nim. ”
” I heard the words of gratitude from Captain…… Rosen-nim. ”
” No, I wanted to personally express my gratitude. ”
Is this the power of 100 Favorability?
Rayan’s gaze as she spoke those words was quite burdensome. The look in her eyes, a mixture of respect and gratitude, as if she regarded me as a lifelong benefactor, was too much for me, who had simply completed a quest.
” If you ever need my help, please don’t hesitate to call on me. I would assist you with anything, for you. ”
[As an NPC Favorability reward, you can choose one of the following:]
[1. Acquire one of NPC Rayan’s equipment.]
[2. Acquire one of NPC Rayan’s skills.]
” …… ”
Huh?
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 54
” They said there would be a special reward……”
Yesterday, after completing the Bamut Cult quest, I received additional rewards for increasing favorability. After much deliberation, I finally chose to acquire a skill. And I focused on raising the level of Elsyke’s Phantom Shift for the remaining time, and thanks to that, I was even able to equip the Blue Aura Stone Ring.
Now my Magic Power recovers by 1 per second.
Well, even so, my current total Magic Power was quite high, so it would take more than 20 minutes to recover relying solely on the ring.
Of course, it’s better than nothing.
Click- Clack-
‘What if I had chosen the first reward back then?’
The first reward is Rayan’s equipment.
It would be a lie to say I’m not curious. But I thought a skill that could be used continuously would be more useful than equipment that would have to be replaced eventually, so I chose the second reward, and I didn’t regret that choice.
‘The problem is the skill I chose.’
After choosing the second reward, a list of Rayan’s skills appeared before me. Rayan had a total of about 10 skills, and I could only choose one of them.
[B-rank Harpe Empire Swordsmanship]
[E-rank Weapon Blocking]
[C-rank Combat Continuation]
[B-rank Imperial Mana Manifestation]
[C-rank Imperial Armor Utilization]
[D-rank Continuous Slashing]
[C-rank Instant Rush]
[C-rank Desperate Strike]
[D-rank Mounted Combat]
[C-rank Spirit of Chivalry]
From B-rank skills at the highest to E-rank skills at the lowest. Excluding my S-rank, the average rank was actually higher than my own skills.
And the skill I chose was the C-rank ‘Imperial Armor Utilization’.
Considering stats, it would have been right to acquire a B-rank skill, but they were all weapon-related skills. On the other hand, Armor Utilization was the only defense-related skill among Rayan’s skills, so I chose that one.
Besides, it was a Passive Skill.
Anyway, yesterday was a satisfying day, as I found out what the special reward for 100 favorability was.
‘By the way……’
Click- Clack-
” There’s not a single person who properly wrote about the favorability rewards. ”
Looking through the bulletin board, most of the posts were just things like ‘How do you raise favorability?’ or ‘It’s easy to raise favorability this way’. There was no post that clearly stated, ‘If you raise your favorability to 100, you get this reward.’
Should I just post it myself?
There wouldn’t be a problem with posting it, but I didn’t feel the need to, so I lost interest and looked for other new information.
Click-
[Emperor Guild! First in Twilight to Clear E+ Guild Quest!]
[Content: Yesterday, the Emperor Guild became the first to clear the E+ Guild Quest. Rumor has it that they’ve also lifted all guild member restrictions, allowing up to 2,000 members to join. This makes it hard to deny that the Emperor Guild is the strongest guild in Twilight. Moreover, the Emperor Guild’s Master is the first person in Twilight to acquire an S-rank skill.
Personally, I’m looking forward to the Emperor Guild’s future endeavors.]
‘That’s funny.’
Aizen acquired the first S-rank skill in Twilight?
Well, it might seem that way to others. In my case, I didn’t tell anyone, whereas Aizen actively promoted it, even using the internet for guild promotion.
‘But is the E+ quest that difficult?’
I wouldn’t know since I haven’t tried it. However, most of the comments below were saying it was amazing, so it seemed to have a certain level of difficulty.
” Hmm. ”
Click-
[I’ve Uncovered the Secret of Enhancement!]
[Content: You’ve all probably seen that when you enhance something, ‘Enhancement Option (1)’ is attached. For reference, this Enhancement Option doesn’t change no matter how much you enhance. However, if you enhance to +4, ‘Enhancement Option (2)’ is attached.]
[+4 Wind Sword] (Magic)
Description: A longsword imbued with the power of the wind. This longsword, imbued with a faint power of the wind, can be swung more lightly and quickly than other weapons.
Attack Power: 65 (+20) Magic Attack Power: 29 (+9)
Durability: 16/17
*Attack Speed increased by 20.
*Enhancement Option (1): Agility increased by 3.
*Enhancement Option (2): Agility increased by 5.
[Content: As shown in the picture above, a total of 17 Agility is increased due to the additional stats from enhancement and the Enhancement Options. Also, this is just my guess, but I think Enhancement Option (3) will appear if you enhance to +7.
However, the durability was reduced so much while enhancing it to this point that I couldn’t enhance it any further.
I think the price of an item will skyrocket if you successfully enhance it to +7.]
” There’s someone who enhanced this to +4. ”
Based on the Luxury Shop prices, the price of an Enhancement Stone is 5 gold. That means they spent 20 gold, but judging by the reduced durability of the item in the picture, I didn’t think they succeeded in just 4 attempts.
Then how much did they spend?
Anyway, if, as the author guessed, Enhancement Options are attached at +1, +4, and +7, then there’s a high probability that they’ll also be attached at +10 and +13. The problem is that it would be difficult to obtain enough Enhancement Stones to enhance that far.
‘After +5, you need to enhance with Enhancement Stones specific to that equipment part.’
I don’t know for sure, but I think an item enhanced to +10 would sell for an enormous price.
Click-
‘Phew, I should play the game.’
I skimmed through other posts after the one about enhancement, but nothing really caught my eye. Most of it was information I already knew. Or information I didn’t need.
After shutting down the computer, I entered the capsule and attempted to connect to Twilight.
[May you find what you desire in the streets illuminated by Twilight……]
The place I appeared in after connecting to Twilight was the forest where Werewolves appear. It’s only natural since I’ve been camping here to raise the level of Elsyke’s Phantom Shift.
” Well, let’s check the Status Information Window. ”
My stats, after leveling up, acquiring skills, and equipping items, were as follows:
[Name: Rudin]
[Title: Shield of Protection]
[Level: 33]
[Fame: 169]
[Guild: Emperor]
[Health: 3484/3510]
[Magic Power: 1155/1600]
[Stamina: 82.1%]
[Attack Power: 389] [Magic Attack Power: 70]
[Defense: 565] [Magic Defense: 475]
[Stats]
Strength: 330 (231+99) Intelligence: 70 (34+36) Agility: 146 (122+24)
Stamina: 202 (134+68) Magic: 100 (40+60) Skill: 45
[Acquired Skills: 13/20]
While raising Elsyke’s Phantom Shift to level 5, I also leveled up once. Also, Giant’s Sprint went up by 1 level, and I acquired Imperial Armor Utilization. Finally, by equipping the Blue Aura Stone Ring, I achieved my current stats.
For reference, Imperial Armor Utilization was incredibly simple.
[C-rank Imperial Armor Utilization Effect] (LV1)
━When wearing plate armor, damage received is reduced by 2 per piece.
━Cloth and leather armor are not applicable.
Damage reduction of 2 per piece. Plate armor consists of a total of five pieces. Starting with the helmet, then the chest piece, leggings, gloves, and shoes. This means that if you wear them all, the damage is reduced by a total of 10.
But why is there a damage reduction effect when the defense is already increased?
That part was puzzling, but I didn’t pay much attention to it. More than anything, the stat increase was good. Imperial Armor Utilization was a skill that increased Strength by 2 and Stamina by 4.
Anyway.
‘Should I grind here, or should I go back to town?’
It was quite a dilemma.
If I go back to town, I’ll likely complete a quest from the Quest Guild and then either grind crafting or work on skill books. On the other hand, if I grind here, I can raise the level of Giant’s Sprint and my S-rank skill to some extent.
But unfortunately, my contemplation didn’t last long.
[‘Aizen’ of the Emperor Guild has invited you to the Guild Chat.]
[Would you like to accept?]
” Guild Chat? ”
A sudden message appeared. The sender was Aizen, the Guild Master. Why the sudden chat invitation? I wondered, but I accepted the Guild Chat.
━Rudin-nim. Are you here?
” Ah, um. What’s up? ”
For now, I was a member of the Emperor Guild. So I wondered if I should be speaking formally to Aizen, but since our first meeting wasn’t very good, it felt awkward to suddenly start speaking formally.
Fortunately, Aizen didn’t seem to mind my casual tone.
━I contacted you to see if you’d like to do a quest together if you have time. I thought it would be good for you to get to know the other members.
‘A quest?’
Right now, I can only do E-rank quests. If I complete an E-rank quest today, I’ll naturally move on to D-rank quests, but that’s tomorrow’s business. And I could handle E-rank quests alone.
But recalling Aizen’s words about getting to know the other members, it seemed like he was focusing more on the meeting than the quest itself.
‘Well, since I’ve joined, it would be good to meet them once.’
Nodding inwardly and organizing my thoughts, I spoke to Aizen.
” Where should I go? ”
━If you have the Return Scroll I gave you before, you can use that.
” Got it. ”
━Then I’ll be waiting.
[Leaving Guild Chat.]
The Return Scroll was sitting quietly in my Item Storage. It’s only natural that it’s in my Item Storage since I’ve never used it before.
” But how do I use it? ”
[Would you like to use the Return Scroll?]
” Huh? What’s this? Cancel. ”
[Cancelled.]
” Use. ”
[Would you like to use the Return Scroll?]
Ah~ so that’s how it works. Having easily figured out how to use the Return Scroll, I used it to move to the guild.
[Using the Return Scroll.]
Fwoosh!-
When the white light that had blocked my vision disappeared, I had already been transported somewhere else. Is this the Guild Hideout? Anyway, as I entered the hideout, there were a total of 5 people, including Aizen.
” You’ve arrived. ”
” The Vice Guild Master……”
” That person is……”
The people other than Aizen and I murmured something to themselves as they looked at me. However, the common expression that emerged on their faces was curiosity, not puzzlement. No, it was closer to an expression of curiosity than puzzlement.
” This is Rudin-nim, who joined two days ago. ”
Then Aizen introduced me first, and everyone nodded their heads. By the way, it’s impressive that no one pointed out the fact that I, someone they don’t even know, was appointed as the Vice Guild Master.
‘Well, it’s a game.’
” Nice to meet you, Rudin-nim. I’m Heron. ”
” Well…… yes. ”
A large build. A hearty impression that suited his size. I looked at the player who introduced himself as Heron for a moment. Since the armor he was wearing was the same heavy armor type as mine, I thought he was probably a melee fighter.
Anyway, Heron extended his hand as if he wanted to shake hands, and I grasped it while replying awkwardly.
‘If he’s this big in real life, he’d be quite intimidating, wouldn’t he?’
” I’m Eris. Since Guild Master-ssi recommended you, I’ll have high expectations. ”
Next, the female player who introduced herself as Eris spoke. I just nodded in response to her introduction and exchanged greetings with the remaining people one by one. After all the greetings were finished, Aizen, who had been watching, spoke as if he had been waiting.
” Now that the introductions are done, let’s get down to business. Today’s quest, as I mentioned before, will be a D-rank quest. ”
‘Huh? D-rank?’
The moment my expectation of doing an E-rank quest at best was shattered. D-rank means they’ve succeeded in all the quests so far? Well, recalling the S-rank skill Aizen possesses, it wasn’t particularly strange.
‘Should I call this good luck?’
Personally, I wanted to do a D-rank quest, so I couldn’t help but be interested. Also, since I couldn’t receive a D-rank quest right now, I wanted to participate in this way.
” Will that be alright? A few members died during the Guild Quest yesterday, you know? Our strength is actually weakened. ”
” We’ve prepared thoroughly, so it should be fine. And we can’t avoid doing D-rank quests. ”
You can only do one quest per day. And in order to move on to C-rank quests, you have to complete a D-rank quest.
Wait, didn’t it cost 10 gold to receive a C-rank quest?
While I was thinking about that, Aizen sent me a party invitation.
[Player ‘Aizen’ has invited you to a party. Would you like to accept?]
” Accept. ”
[You have joined the party.]
[Current party members: 6 (Rudin, Aizen, Heron, Eris……)]
[Guild Quest ‘Bring the Ancient Beast’s Core’ has been shared.]
” Regarding the quest…… I could explain it here, but to save time, I’ll do it while we’re on the quest. Is there anyone who isn’t ready? ”
” …… ”
” …… ”
No one answered. This was probably directed at me, wasn’t it? They wouldn’t have gathered without any preparation, so my guess was probably correct.
” I don’t have anything to prepare either. ”
” Alright. Then let’s depart. Start quest. ”
[You have started the quest. Would you like to move to the quest location?]
They already received the quest, huh? They’re quite thorough in their preparations. I liked that they didn’t waste any unnecessary time. By the way, what were they planning to do if I didn’t come? Would they have taken someone else?
‘It doesn’t matter.’
” Yes. ”
[Moving to the quest location.]
Fwoosh!-
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 55
Pababat!-
With a flash of pure white light, I was transported. This is… a cave? It was darker than I expected, making it hard to see. Still, it wasn’t completely dark, so I could vaguely make out the shapes of things.
However, it was definitely an environment that would hinder combat.
“It’s too dark here.”
“Orb of Light.”
Flash-
‘Oh?’
The dark cave instantly brightened. Now free from the limitations of my vision, I looked at Eris, who had cast the Orb, with an impressed expression.
That skill is quite useful.
“The quest rank this time is D-rank. The quest objective is to eliminate the ancient beast located at the end of the cave and retrieve its core. It’s a simple quest where we just need to kill the ancient beast.”
It’s a pretty simple objective for a D-rank quest. However, since this is the first D-rank quest for everyone, including myself, there was a possibility of failing the quest if we weren’t careful.
‘It seems the D-rank difficulty is the key.’
I estimated it to be a step more difficult than the E-rank quest I half-failed yesterday. Even so, it wasn’t like we were a random group of people. We were members of the famous Emperor Guild, so my worries might be unfounded.
‘Well, I’m here, so we’ll figure it out.’
I could confidently say that my current stats were among the highest among players. It was an undeniable fact. I had acquired three S-rank skills, and my items weren’t bad either.
The problem is the boss.
None of the boss-level monsters I had faced so far were easy, so I couldn’t easily guarantee anything about this boss.
‘Moreover, this is a D-rank quest boss, so it won’t be easy.’
“Then, before we move, let’s eat first.”
“……?”
What food?
I was a little puzzled by the word “food,” but everyone started taking out food and eating at Aizen’s words. And as I watched them, Aizen, who was next to me, handed me a type of food.
“Here you go.”
“Ah, okay.”
The food he handed me was beef stew with meat. Surprisingly, it even came with a spoon. After tasting it, the rich flavor of the meat and the unique sauce blended together, creating a delicious taste.
‘This is good.’
The portion wasn’t much, so I finished it in a few minutes. Soon after, I saw a message.
[You have consumed the food ‘Divine Beef Stew’.]
[Strength and Stamina increased by 10% for 60 minutes.]
“Huh?”
Just eating one food item resulted in a significant increase in my stats. Increased strength and stamina meant increased attack power and health, which would be a great help in combat.
“Please have this too.”
“There’s more?”
“Yes.”
Next, he handed me a potion. Assuming it would have a similar effect to the food, I drank it without hesitation.
[You have consumed the potion ‘Intermediate Vitality Water’.]
[Strength increased by 28, Agility increased by 28 for 30 minutes.]
‘Wow~ How high are my stats now?’
With this, I felt like I could take on the D-rank quest boss alone. Moreover, it wasn’t just me who received this stat boost; everyone here must have received it as well. I didn’t think they made the food themselves.
They probably received it from a guild member.
I realized anew how useful the power of a guild was.
‘It would be amazing if I could receive this kind of support every time I hunt.’
“If you’re ready, let’s move.”
Suddenly, Aizen said those words and slowly started moving, and I followed behind him. Then, a player named ‘Row’ who was holding a bow approached me and spoke.
“What’s your skill type, Rudin-nim?”
“Skill type?”
“Don’t you know? In Twilight, the skills you can learn are limited. So players choose a specific skill type to learn. I learned bow skills, movement skills, and a few support magic spells.”
So that’s how it is. Is it because there are no classes in this game? Anyway, my skills are……
“Defense…… No, is it shield type?”
Considering Jayer’s Guardian Shield and Giant’s Sprint, I’m a shield type. I had decided to become a shield warrior as soon as I obtained Jayer’s Guardian Shield anyway.
“That’s good to hear. I was worried because Heron-nim always takes the front line alone.”
‘Heron alone?’
To take the front line alone, he must be quite skilled. Well, it would be strange if he wasn’t. The people here are the most skilled among thousands of guild members.
“We’ll be arriving soon.”
Hearing those words, I turned my head to look ahead. There was a bright light ahead. Almost like sunlight? It seemed like we were going out of the cave, not into it.
‘Outside……’
Of course, I didn’t stop walking.
Following the light shining from outside the cave, we exited the cave and witnessed a rather rare sight.
A cliff of dizzying height. The cliff formed a perfect circle, and at its center lay a giant, five-meter-tall monster. With a face resembling a cow and grotesquely curved horns, its jet-black skin and red eyes made it clear that it was no ordinary creature.
[Injured Ancient Beast (Boss)]
“Injured?”
“Everyone, hold your positions. Rudin-nim, please work with Heron-nim to draw the monster’s attention.”
Surprisingly simple instructions. Thinking that, I adjusted my sword and shield. Heron, looking a bit tense, charged towards the beast, and I followed behind him.
“Wooong?”
Perhaps sensing our approach, the beast slowly began to rise. As expected, its size was enormous once it stood up, and in its right hand, it held a greatsword almost as big as me.
‘Its attack power must be immense.’
“Defense Enhancement! Shield Charge!”
While I was briefly thinking about the beast, Heron used his skills and charged towards it. As if he intended to finish it off with this one attack.
Should I follow Heron and charge as well?
‘Let’s observe for now.’
Kwaang!-
“Wooeoreong……”
“Provoking Shout!”
Bang!-
Suddenly, a red aura emanated from Heron’s body. With that, the beast’s attention was completely fixed on Heron, who swung his shield and shouted.
“Come at me!”
That’s cool.
Anyway, with Heron’s shout holding the beast’s attention, everyone began to carry out their assigned roles. ‘Row,’ the archer, and ‘Yuke,’ the dual-wielding dagger user, took position behind the beast, while Eris began to cast her prepared magic spells.
“Life Regeneration! Hardened Body! Armor of Protection!”
The first target of the spells was Heron. I was the second.
[Party member ‘Eris’ has cast Life Regeneration on you.]
[Health regenerates by 12 per second.]
[Party member ‘Eris’ has cast Hardened Body on you.]
[Defense increased by 142.]
[Party member ‘Eris’ has cast Armor of Protection on you.]
[A protective shield with 220 durability has been formed.]
‘Wow……’
Even I couldn’t help but be impressed. Until now, I hadn’t paid much attention to support magic in Twilight. I thought I was strong enough without it, but these support spells were enough to change my perception.
“Rotating Arrow!”
“Vital Point Stab!”
Following that were Row’s arrows and Yuke’s throwing daggers. Since they were attacking from behind the beast, they landed their attacks perfectly.
“Wooeoreong!!”
“Provoking Shout!”
Bang!-
‘Huh?’
The beast tried to turn its head due to the impact from behind. However, Heron’s provocation once again fixed its gaze forward. He managed to hold its attention somehow.
At the same time, I realized that provocation skills were essential in a party.
‘Should I learn provocation too?’
Watching Heron, I found the provocation skill interesting. However, it wasn’t something I could learn just because I wanted to, and I couldn’t just stand there and be impressed. I decided to start moving in earnest.
“Giant’s Sprint!”
Kwaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 526.]
Its defense is…… unexpectedly high.
I couldn’t judge accurately yet, but it seemed stronger than the Three-Headed Lizardman I fought yesterday. Even the Lizardman wasn’t easy, so what was this thing? Thankfully, I wasn’t fighting alone.
“Wooong!”
“Incoming! Try to dodge as much as possible!”
Suddenly, the beast pulled its greatsword back in a motion that clearly indicated an attack. In response, Heron shouted for us to dodge, but I had no intention of doing so.
Kwaang!-
[Armor of Protection absorbs the impact. -220.]
[Armor of Protection has been destroyed.]
[You have taken damage. -329.]
‘Should I have dodged?’
Even with the support effects and my skills reducing the damage, I still took over 300 damage. I even felt my knees buckle from the impact of the beast’s downward strike.
[Party member ‘Eris’ has cast Miracle Healing on you.]
[Health recovered by 285.]
[Defense temporarily increased by 30.]
At the same time, a light healed my body. I had expected a healing spell, but the level of recovery was quite significant.
Bang!- Kwakwang!-
“Provoking Shout!”
Following that were Row’s arrows and Yuke’s throwing daggers. Both of them seemed to have high agility, as they landed over 10 attacks in less than 5 seconds, and Heron continued to hold the beast’s attention as it was divided.
‘But how is Heron holding on?’
The answer was simple. Heron was blocking the beast’s attacks with his shield while diligently drinking potions with his other hand.
“……”
Enduring with potions and healing magic……
Anyway, judging from the current situation, it didn’t seem like we would fail. Glancing at Eris, who was in charge of healing and support, I saw her sitting down, recovering stamina and drinking potions.
‘It must be mana potions.’
That perfect image of recovering mana and stamina simultaneously. It seemed like we wouldn’t have to worry about healing until she ran out of potions.
“Giant’s Sprint!”
Kwaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 554.]
“Wooong! Wooeoreong!!”
“What’s that?”
“Everyone, fall back! Prepare potions!”
I didn’t know what it was, but everyone except me seemed to be preparing something. Since I also had healing potions, I immediately took one out from my item window and witnessed a change in the beast.
Crackle! Crackle!-
“Lightning?”
“Rudin-nim! You need to protect Eris-nim!”
‘Eris?’
Eris was currently positioned behind me. Telling me to protect her meant I should retreat. If the healer died here, the battle was likely to fail like yesterday, so I nodded and stood in front of Eris.
“Wooeoreong!”
At the same time, lightning bolts shot towards me. To be precise, they were raining down in all directions. Moreover, the speed of the lightning bolts was so fast that it was impossible to track them with my eyes and dodge.
Bang!- Kwakwang!-
[You have taken damage. -408.]
[You have taken damage. -415.]
” Ugh. ”
Was I unlucky? The lightning bolt struck me twice. Still, it wasn’t unbearable damage, and I had potions.
[Health restored by 400.]
” Miracle Healing! ”
[Party member ‘Eris’ has cast Miracle Healing.]
[Health restored by 285.]
[Defense temporarily increased by 30.]
On top of that, I even received healing magic. I glanced at the other guild members and saw them taking potions from their item windows and moving around. Out of all of them, I was the only one receiving Eris’s healing.
Even though I had already taken a potion.
‘What’s going on? I feel strangely treated like baggage?’
In most of the party hunts I’ve done with people, I was the one who usually performed well, so this felt somewhat new. Not in a good way, of course.
” Uworong! ”
” New pattern confirmed! ”
Or perhaps it’s the difference between someone who has played the game solo and someone who hasn’t. Unlike me, these people seem to work quite well together, don’t they? Even now, as soon as the lightning attack ended, they jumped in without hesitation and carried out their roles.
Their actions are almost like interlocking gears.
” Provoking Shout! ”
And the battle that unfolded again took a similar form to the beginning. Heron grabbed the attention, and the rest of the members poured out their attacks. To put it nicely, you could call this a stable hunt.
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
To put it badly, it felt somewhat awkward. I couldn’t do as I pleased and had to coordinate with others. The problem is, since I’ve never experienced this kind of party hunt, even if I try to coordinate, I can’t.
” Uworong! ”
Pachichik!-
” Rudin-nim! ”
” Uh? ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[You have received damage. -521.]
While I was briefly lost in thought, I failed to dodge the lightning bolt falling on my head. It was a direct hit.
” Miracle Healing! ”
[Party member ‘Eris’ has cast Miracle Healing……]
‘I’m sorry about this.’
A mistake I would never have made normally. I was dumbfounded by my own mistake. But since it had already happened, I tried to ignore it and dealt with the beast more seriously.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 56
” Wooahhhhh! ”
Crackle! Crackle!-
‘Lightning again?’
Determined not to be hit this time, I look up. Yellow sparks are crackling and appearing here and there above. If lightning strikes from that position, I can easily avoid it……
Bang!- Kwa Kwa Kwaang!-
‘Huh?’
As expected, the lightning struck in all directions. That wasn’t a problem, but the strange thing was that the lightning that fell didn’t disappear and remained on the ground.
‘What is it?’
It was a sight I had no choice but to keep watching. What would happen if it exploded like a bomb? But contrary to my worries, the lightning didn’t explode, instead, I could see it transforming into the shape of a person.
[Intermediate Lightning Spirit]
‘Intermediate Lightning Spirit?’
A spirit……
Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve properly witnessed a spirit. I think I saw a player use one when I fought Goblin Chieftain Turu before, but this is the first time I’m seeing one properly.
” A lightning spirit? Rudin-nim. I’m sorry, but can you handle the beast? ”
” The beast? ”
Well, taking care of the beast isn’t difficult, but there was a problem.
” I don’t have a Provoke skill. ”
” What? You don’t have a Provoke skill? ”
” No. ”
” Th, then please take care of those instead. ”
Ignoring Heron’s somewhat flustered tone, I looked around at the scattered lightning spirits. I’m sure I read somewhere that spirits have their own unique characteristics, but I couldn’t even remember them because I skimmed through it too carelessly.
‘Well, I’ll find out as I fight.’
The number of lightning spirits that appeared is over 30. The moment I decided it would be best to deal with them as quickly as possible, there was someone who moved a step faster than me.
Swish!-
Aizen eliminated a lightning spirit with a swift sword strike. I didn’t even know he was there until now, but at this moment, his presence was undeniable. Anyway, after eliminating one spirit, Aizen moved to find the next one, and seeing that, I moved as well.
Slice!-
[Hit Damage! 212.]
” Huh? ”
Their defense is unexpectedly low?
This is manageable. Just like Aizen, I eliminated a spirit with a few sword strikes and glanced at him. Aizen was already in the process of eliminating three spirits.
‘This guy, he’s incredibly fast!’
Looking closely, I saw that Aizen eliminated a spirit with three sword strikes. In comparison, I needed five sword strikes to eliminate one, which means Aizen’s attack power is superior to mine.
Well, thinking about it, it was obvious.
Aizen, like me, acquired an S-rank skill. Also, the title Extinction Sword increases attack power by 10% and sword-type damage by 30%. Finally, he was a guy who had filled all 20 skill slots, so it wasn’t incomprehensible that I was lagging behind in terms of damage.
‘He probably tailored his skills to his liking, right?’
When I first saw the post online about him obtaining an S-rank skill, I thought he still wouldn’t be able to beat me. But comparing us now, Aizen was clearly ahead of me.
Why is there such a gap between us? The answer is simple. I wasted a lot of time messing around with random skill books, so the difference probably stemmed from that.
‘Damn it!’
Well, putting aside the talk about Aizen, the situation wasn’t very good. This was because the summoned spirits were attacking other guild members as well. Heron could somehow endure, but the rest of the people were busy dodging the spirits’ attacks.
It was fortunate that Eris, the healer, was far away.
Bang!- Kwa Kwa Kwaang!-
[You have taken damage. -128.]
[You have taken damage……]
Even I was taking damage from the lightning spirits’ attacks. Eris was busy healing Heron, who was holding off the beast alone, so we couldn’t expect her support.
‘Still, it’s not to the point where we can’t win.’
Even though there were a considerable number of spirits, Aizen was reducing their numbers at a frightening pace. With me helping him, it was only a matter of time.
” Wooong! Woo Wooong!! ”
Crackle! Crackle!-
‘No way?’
The ominous roar of the beast. I instinctively turned my head and saw sparks erupting from the beast’s body. And I knew that a crazy barrage of lightning would follow.
‘Of course, I won’t die, but……’
The case of Row and Yuke, who were being tossed around by the lightning spirits, was different. No matter how many potions they drank, if all their health was depleted at once, they would inevitably die.
‘If I, who focused on defense, am taking over 500 damage, the others are probably taking around 700?’
Those fighting alongside me were also top players selected from the Emperor Guild, but I didn’t think their defense would be higher than mine. After all, thanks to my S-rank title, my defense was 100, with an additional 10% increase, so my pure defense was definitely higher than even Aizen’s.
” Woo Woong! ”
‘Let’s ignore it for now and eliminate the spirits first.’
Ignoring the lightning bolts pouring from the beast, I continued to eliminate the spirits.
Kwa Kwa Kwaang!!-
[Hit Damage! 204.]
[You have taken damage! 638.]
[You have taken damage……]
Lightning striking my body. My health was also being depleted at a terrifying rate. Over 1,000 health was shaved off in an instant, but I ignored it and attacked the spirits, eventually managing to eliminate two of them.
[Party member ‘ Yuke ‘ has died.]
[Converting to Soul State.]
‘Is he dead?’
Checking Yuke’s location, I could see his body turning gray and collapsing. And three lightning spirits were looking in the direction he fell. He probably collapsed due to the combined attack of the beast’s lightning and the spirits.
‘Now there are less than 10 left.’
There were 7 spirits remaining. I thought Aizen and I could quickly deal with this number. If Heron could hold out until then, we might be able to resume a stable strategy.
” Frenzy of Destruction! ”
‘Aizen?’
The moment the beast’s lightning attack ended, Aizen activated a skill and immediately began to tear through the remaining spirits. Checking, I saw his sword gleaming with a dark red light, and he was now eliminating the spirits in two hits instead of three.
‘His speed seems to have increased as well.’
While I was admiring him, Aizen finally eliminated all the remaining spirits and immediately turned towards the beast.
” Summoning of the High-ranking Wind Spirit! ”
Wheezing!!-
‘A spirit?’
In front of Aizen, who shouted “Spirit!”, I could see a green wind gathering, and just like the lightning, the gathered wind took the shape of a person.
And Aizen’s skills didn’t end there.
” Spirit Fusion! Fury! Sharp Blade! ”
The summoned wind spirit dwelled on Aizen’s sword. A red light flickered on his body. A sword-shaped light enveloped the sword where the spirit resided.
While I was watching the extraordinary support skills take root in Aizen’s body, he used his final skill.
” Extinction Sword! ”
Whoosh!-
Originally, various colored auras dwelled on Aizen’s sword. But when he used Extinction Sword, all the lights disappeared and only a golden light remained. The golden light stretched for 2 meters, and Aizen, holding the golden light in his hand, swung it at the beast.
Swish!-
” Woo Woong! ”
‘Did he increase the power of Extinction Sword with various support skills?’
Extinction Sword always deals piercing damage. In other words, regardless of the opponent’s defense, it always deals maximum damage.
How much damage did that deal?
I didn’t know for sure, but it didn’t seem like it would be 1,000 or 2,000. 3,000? No, it could even be over 4,000. Since he boosted the power of Extinction Sword with various support skills, it seemed like over 4,000 damage was dealt to the beast.
” Huu. ”
However, Aizen’s expression after successfully landing the Extinction Sword wasn’t good. Because the beast didn’t die.
” I’ll leave the rest to you. ”
” Leave it to me! ”
‘Ah, does using Extinction Sword cause exhaustion?’
The exhaustion that occurs when all stamina is depleted. That Extinction Sword was amazing, but it had the penalty of causing exhaustion after one use. On the other hand, my Jayer’s Guardian Shield and Elsyke’s Phantom Shift could be used continuously without such a penalty.
‘In that sense, Extinction Sword also has its pros and cons.’
Until a moment ago, I thought I might lose to Aizen, but if he used Extinction Sword well, I felt like I could somehow win. If I just dodged with Phantom Shift, I would have the upper hand afterwards.
‘Anyway, I have to finish it off.’
Regardless, there was no denying that Aizen’s attack dealt significant damage. Considering the cumulative damage we had dealt so far, I judged that the beast didn’t have much health left and immediately rushed towards it.
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 516.]
My attack, Heron’s, and Row’s attacks continued relentlessly. As we fought, I felt that the beast’s movements weren’t as agile as before, which seemed to be another effect of Extinction Sword.
And……
” Wooahhhhh…… ”
Kukung!-
The massive body of the beast, whose health had been completely depleted, slowly crumbled. Everyone looked exhausted, but unlike them, I didn’t feel particularly tired.
The only thing that was somewhat tiring was eliminating the spirits.
[Boss Monster ‘ Wounded Ancient Beast ‘ has been defeated!]
[Acquired 32,000 combat experience!]
[Level up!]
[Ding!~ You have acquired 2 gold 50 silver!]
[Ding!~ Party member Aizen has acquired ‘ Ancient Beast’s Greatsword ‘.]
[Ding!~ Party member Aizen has acquired ‘ Ancient Beast’s Core ‘.]
[Ding!~ Party member Rudin has acquired ‘ C-rank Skillbook ‘.]
[Ding!~ Party member Heron has……]
” Oh, a skill book. ”
Messages popping up simultaneously. Everyone obtained various items, but all I got was a C-rank skill book. Even though it was a C-rank skill book, it was still a high-value item at the current market price, so I had no complaints.
‘Let’s see what kind of skill book it is.’
I was somewhat expectant since it was a C-rank skill book, but……
[Summon Intermediate Lightning Spirit] (C-rank)
Description：A magic that summons an intermediate spirit with the attribute of lightning. The summoned spirit moves according to the summoner’s commands, and the number of skills it can use increases as its level gradually rises.
‘Lightning spirit?’
Why a spirit?
It seemed like a skill that summons the spirit that the beast had just summoned. But it wasn’t a skill that suited me. A spirit would be useful, but as someone without related stats, I wasn’t particularly drawn to it.
‘Well, I can probably sell it for a few hundred thousand won.’
[Quest completed.]
[Currently completed E-rank quests：3.]
[Congratulations. You have met the requirements to receive D-rank quests.]
[Would you like to return to your original location?]
Hmm? Looking at the message, it seemed like completing an E-rank quest was recognized even if I could receive a D-rank quest. I had thought it might be like this since it was a quest of a higher rank than E-rank anyway.
” Huu, everyone worked hard. ”
” You worked hard too, Guild Master. Ah, how is the weapon? ”
” Not bad. ”
In Aizen’s hand, who answered, was the greatsword the beast had been holding. It was smaller than the one the beast had wielded, but its size, which seemed to be over 1.7 meters, was undoubtedly a greatsword.
” If it’s not bad, then could it be…… ”
” No, unfortunately, it’s Magic-grade. ”
” I see. ”
‘Even after defeating a beast like this, a Magic-grade item drops?’
Even though it looked like a weapon with considerable attack power, it was disheartening to hear that it was only Magic-grade. How long do I have to play this game to get a Rare-grade item? I had a feeling I’d probably have to participate in a raid.
” Eris-nim. Please revive Yuke-nim. ”
” Yes. ”
Eris, who had been appraising the item she acquired, came to her senses at Aizen’s words and approached the spot where Yuke had died.
” Resurrection of Life. ”
Flash!-
A golden light gushes out. With that, Yuke’s corpse, which had turned gray from death, regains its original color. Even I couldn’t help but be slightly surprised by that sight.
‘She has such healing and support magic, and even resurrection?’
While I was watching Yuke, who had been resurrected, Aizen approached me.
” You worked hard too, Rudin-nim. ”
” Huh? Ah, the hard work. I didn’t really do much. ”
In this battle, I didn’t use my S-rank skill even once and finished it. I still had about 30% of my stamina left, so I proceeded comfortably.
” Rather than that, can I see what kind of skill book it is? ”
” Sure. ”
I hand over the skill book. Aizen also reached out and checked the information on the skill book, then nodded.
” It’s a decent skill. ”
‘He’s not going to ask for it, right?’
Well, there’s no reason I couldn’t give it to him if a fair trade was made. About 1 million won? That would be enough for a transaction. I wasn’t particularly interested in acquiring a spirit skill anyway.
” Let’s go back now. ”
Hmm? He’s not asking for it?
I tilted my head and looked at Aizen, but he turned around and walked towards the other guild members. Come to think of it, Aizen had a high-ranking spirit, so he might not be interested in an intermediate one.
” If everyone has finished checking their items, let’s head back. ”
” Yes. ”
With the reply, the guild members disappeared one by one. Seeing that, I also decided to return to my original location.
” I’ll move. ”
[Returning to your original location.]
Whoosh!-
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 57
[Moving to the original location.]
Pabat!-
Returning to the guild hideout along with the message window, I could see Aizen heading somewhere right away. I guess he went to report the quest. And since Aizen was gone, there was no reason for me to stay here any longer.
‘Anyway, I’m in a dilemma.’
What should I do today?
It’s not that I don’t have anything to do. I had to raise my crafting skill, and I had to work on the Random Skillbook, so you could say I had a lot to do. However, I wasn’t confident that I could finish either of them within today.
‘If I finish the Random Skillbook work during this connection time, it might be possible.’
Well, thinking that it’s better to move than to worry like this, I decided to leave.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Yes? Where are you going? If you don’t mind, maybe we can hunt together later……”
“No, I’m used to being alone.”
Heron looked disappointed at my answer, but it was only Heron who felt that way. The others showed an attitude of not caring whether I left or not.
Is it because I didn’t do well in the battle just now?
Anyway, I left the guild hideout after rejecting Heron’s offer. When I came out, I saw that the guild hideout was a large two-story mansion.
‘They didn’t buy this with money, did they?’
How much would it cost if they did? After looking at the mansion for a moment, I walked to a place where there were few people.
[You have acquired 5 gold as a quest completion reward.]
[You have acquired ‘Magic Box’ as a quest completion reward.]
[Fame has increased by 110.]
“……5 gold?”
A message window suddenly appeared. Aizen must have reported the quest because the message window said I had acquired 5 gold. As expected of a D-rank quest? Considering that the cost to receive a D-rank quest is 1 gold, it was almost a 5 times profit.
‘It’s more than that considering the other rewards and fame.’
In addition, since it wasn’t a quest I received, there was no expenditure of 1 gold either.
“Then my current balance is……”
[22 gold 75 silver 21 copper]
“Wow~”
When did I make this much money? The quest I did with Raz yesterday, the Bamut Cult quest, and finally the quest I did with Aizen today seemed to have accumulated this much money. You could say that making money is easier than I thought, but if you look closely, it’s not.
Because no matter how many normal monsters you kill, you won’t get a single penny.
Considering that the only ways to make money are by hunting boss monsters or through NPC quests and guild quests, making money isn’t that easy.
“But what is a Magic Box?”
Curious, I took out the box-shaped item from the item window. It was a box with a ribbon, like a gift box.
“Hmm.”
[Magic Box] (Magic)
Description: A box that you don’t know what’s inside until you open it. From equipment to potions, recipes, and materials, anything can come out, but the grade is fixed as Magic.
━Acquire random Magic-grade items.
‘Oh? This is where Intuition comes in, right?’
Since it’s fixed as Magic grade, I should be able to choose the rest as I wish. What should I choose? While checking the equipment I was wearing one by one with that thought, I suddenly saw the four rings on my left hand.
[Silver Ring] (Normal)
Description: A ring made of silver. It’s a ring of priests who believed that the sacred power inherent in silver would protect them from darkness.
Durability: 14/25
Among them, the remaining 3 rings, excluding the Blue Aura Stone Ring, are these Silver Rings.
” It’s definitely time for a change. ”
If things went well, my Magic Power might increase even more.
With that thought, I left the party. Then, after finding a secluded spot, I decided to open the box right away.
” Come on, ring, appear. Ring, ring, ring. ”
Intuition activated as expected. And perhaps because the weight was heavily on equipment, the ring appeared in less than 10 tries. I knew the ring would come out of this box through Intuition and opened it right away.
[Ding!~ You have acquired the ‘ Ring of the Flower of Life ‘.]
[Ring of the Flower of Life] (Magic)
Description: A ring made by weaving the Laina flower, which possesses the energy of life. The life energy contained within the flower is transmitted through its fragrance, providing significant benefits to the wearer’s body.
Durability: 40/40
*Health regeneration rate 2 per second.
” Fortunately, I can equip it. ”
Moreover, the options were quite impressive. A ring that increases Stamina and Magic Power? I was surprised because I didn’t expect such a ring to appear.
” But it would have been nice if it had Magic Power recovery speed. ”
If it had Magic Power recovery speed instead of Health, it would recover 3 per second. In other words, it would mean recovering 180 Magic Power per minute, so I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
Anyway.
‘Now, shall I open the Random Skillbook?’
With that thought, I replaced the Silver Ring I was wearing with the Flower Ring and decided to start working on the Random Skillbook.
[Do you want to open the Skillbook? Skills will be learned automatically when opened.]
‘This is a failure.’
Perhaps because I’ve used Intuition a lot, I didn’t need to close my eyes and concentrate like before. It feels natural, you could say? It’s a subtle change, but it still means my Intuition has changed.
[Do you want to open the Skillbook? Skills will be learned automatically when opened.]
‘This is a failure.’
Opening it again.
[Do you want to open the Skillbook? Skills will be learned automatically when opened.]
‘This is also a failure.’
Another change was that the vague anxiety I used to feel was now being accepted nonchalantly. Or maybe I just got used to it. Anyway, the anxiety didn’t affect me much now.
Rather, it’s more certain because I can feel the anxiety strongly, right? I can’t make an accurate judgment yet, but I felt like I could roughly know what rank would appear based on the intensity of the anxiety I’m feeling now.
[Do you want to open the Skillbook? Skills will be learned automatically when opened.]
The anxiety I feel now is a little less than before.
I thought at least an E-rank skill or higher would appear.
……Probably.
‘But pass.’
What I need now is an S-rank skill. There was a way to check if my prediction was correct by opening it, but I didn’t want to waste the Random Skillbook like that.
[Do you want to open the Skillbook? Skills will be learned automatically when opened.]
” ……Huh? ”
Suddenly, I felt a refreshing sensation as if my chest was wide open. It was the sensation I had been longing for, but I was actually dumbfounded.
Why did it come out so quickly?
It appeared exactly on the 5th try. I’ve never had a skill appear this quickly since I started Twilight, so I became suspicious. But the feeling I felt didn’t lie.
I’ll know if I try it.
[S-rank Skill. You have acquired ‘ Karzel’s Card Summoning ‘.]
[Your stats increase as you acquire the skill.]
[Magic Power increases by 10.]
[Ding!~ A new stat ‘ Summoning ‘ has been created. Summoning is knowledge and understanding of Summoning-related skills. The higher the Summoning stat, the greater the effect of Summoning-related skills.]
[Summoning increases by 10.]
” Summoning? ”
No, it’s good that I got an S-rank skill, but of all things, Summoning?
Is Summoning referring to the Summoning that the Dawn’s Light Master used a few days ago? I naturally recalled the A-rank Bear she summoned. It was definitely strong.
Besides, this is an S-rank skill, so……
” I wonder if it’s somewhat useful? ”
Thinking back to the case of the A-rank Bear, it was enough to handle one person’s role. So wouldn’t an S-rank Summoning be even better? Maybe if I use it appropriately, I could hold back one or two monsters.
‘It feels like I’m becoming a jack-of-all-trades character.’
Crafting, Defense, Movement, and now Summoning.
It definitely felt like a jack-of-all-trades character to anyone, but I decided to be satisfied with the fact that I got an S-rank skill. Thinking about Jayer’s Guardian Shield or Phantom Shift, S-rank has never disappointed me.
” Anyway, confirmation. ”
[S-rank Karzel’s Card Summoning Effect] (LV1)
━All Defense reduced by 50% during sealing.
━No action possible during sealing.
━No healing magic possible during sealing.
━Subject receives fierce attacks during sealing.
━Sealing time 60 seconds.
*Magic Power consumption 300 when sealing.
*Stamina consumption 10% when sealing.
━Increases the target’s level by 1 when summoned.
━Increases all stats of the target by 5% when summoned.
━Duration 60 seconds when summoned.
*Magic Power consumption 600 when summoned.
*Stamina consumption 20% when summoned.
” ……What is this? ”
Sealing? What am I supposed to seal? Unlike the complicated sealing, summoning was quite simple. Level increase by 1 and duration of 1 minute. How simple is that? Anyway, just reading the description, it seemed like I had to seal it myself and use it.
‘Am I really supposed to seal a monster?’
The doubt was short-lived. I thought it would be better to go outside the village and use it rather than keep pondering, so I immediately started walking.
And I could see that there were still many players outside the village.
‘It’s been a week since the game started, but there are still a lot of people.’
Are they players who just started? Somehow, the number keeps increasing instead of decreasing. Even if they start now, most of the dungeons are occupied by guilds, so it would be difficult to do anything properly.
‘Well, it has nothing to do with me.’
I look for a Pudding that is leisurely playing around. However, it wasn’t easy to find one because there were so many people. Still, I kept walking around and found a Pudding playing alone, and I immediately used the skill.
” Karzel’s Card Summoning. ”
Pat-
As I used the skill, a card appeared in my hand. What am I supposed to do with this card? I tried waving it around, but the card didn’t react at all.
” Should I try attaching the card to the Pudding? ”
Just in case, I tried attaching the card to the Pudding.
[Attempting card sealing.]
[All Defense reduced by 50%.]
[Movement restricted.]
Wung Wung-
” Oh? It works. ”
The moment I attached the card to the Pudding’s body, light emanated from the card. So this is how you do it. Besides, since the sealing time is 1 minute, do I have to stay still like this?
” Pudding! Pudding! ”
Suddenly, the Pudding, which was being sealed, started attacking me like crazy. Thanks to that, the card fell off the Pudding’s body, but it didn’t seem like it failed because the light kept appearing.
‘It said it would receive fierce attacks during sealing……’
[Overwhelming Defense! You take no damage!]
Of course, no damage comes through. No matter how much my Defense is halved, there’s no way I would take damage from a Pudding. So I leisurely endured the attacks of the Pudding, which only reached my knees, for 1 minute. When the 1 minute passed, light emanated from the Pudding’s body and it was sucked into the card I was holding.
[Sealing successful.]
[To use the sealed summoned beast, hold the card and say the command ‘ Summon ‘.]
” So it’s like this. ”
I glanced at the card. The card had a picture of a Pudding on it. So I can summon it with this?
” Summon. ”
Just in case, this card might be single-use. If it’s not single-use, it can be summoned permanently several times. To check that, I held the card and tried summoning, but strangely, the card didn’t react at all.
‘The message window clearly said to say Summon?’
I thought something was strange, and then I realized that my body couldn’t move.
No way……
” Oh great will that governs body and soul. ”
Damn it, was this it after all? Elsyke’s Phantom Shift worked fine, though.
” I call upon that great will that pierces even the essence of life to this place. ”
I feel the gazes of some people around me. There were already many players hunting Puddings here, but now they were looking at me with the expression, ‘ What is he doing? ‘
” Appear before me now, in accordance with my call! ”
[Summoning Pudding.]
[The summoned beast’s level increases by 1.]
[All stats of the summoned beast increase by 5%.]
[Related stat Summoning (10) is applied.]
[All stats of Pudding increase by 5. Health and Magic Power increase by 50 each.]
” …… ”
After that whole ordeal, as expected, the Pudding appeared. In addition, I could hear the mocking laughter of some players who had been watching that ordeal.
” What is that? ”
” I don’t know, is he a chuunibyou? ”
‘Damn it, what a sight this is.’
[You have reenacted the legendary summoning technique, Karzel’s Card Summoning. The technique of Karzel, who reached the pinnacle in the field of summoning. His technique, which left a mark on history as a summoner, cannot be denied to be greater than any other mystery.]
[You have acquired the title ‘ Soul Contract ‘. Would you like to equip it?]
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 58
[You have acquired the title ‘Soul Contract’. Would you like to equip it?]
Still, it was rewarding. A new title had appeared. Ignoring the surrounding players for now, I checked the title first.
[Soul Contract] (Title)
Description：You have recreated Karzel’s Card Summoning, which made a mark in history!
50% reduction in magic power upon summoning.
10% additional HP for summoned creatures.
30% increase in all stats of summoned creatures.
50% increase in duration of summoned creatures.
‘It’s a title related to summoners.’
I stared blankly at one of the Puddings I had summoned. If I fought with this title equipped, it would probably be stronger than the Pudding here, but……
“Would it even be able to hunt Goblins?”
The problem was that the Pudding’s stats themselves were too low. To properly utilize this skill, I would probably have to catch something like a Blue Stone Golem or a Two-Headed Lizardman. At least they were stronger than other monsters, and with the title equipped, they would exert even greater power.
Or a boss would be fine.
Not to mention a raid boss.
‘It would be a jackpot if I could seal Goblin Chieftain Turu.’
Actually, the Goblin Chieftain was out of the question. Even when I fought Turu back then, I don’t think I lasted a minute. How could I last a minute while sealing him?
‘Probably even a regular boss monster wouldn’t work.’
The problem was the lack of movement and recovery. No, even if I could overlook the movement, if only recovery was possible, I was confident I could seal a boss.
“Sigh, should I be happy about this, or not?”
Anyway, if only the sealing problem was solved, it would be an incredible skill. However, that’s where the problem lies. If I seal a common monster, it would probably be weak, and if I seal a proper boss-level monster, I would probably die.
‘Should I go back for now?’
Even if the usage method was tricky, it was the S-rank skill I wanted, and I also learned what kind of skill it was. Thinking that the only thing left was the crafting skill, I turned around and entered the village again.
‘Come to think of it, the crafting skill also……’
Wouldn’t it give a title?
Elsyke’s Phantom Shift didn’t give a title. On the other hand, Karzel’s Card Summoning did. Similarly, recalling Jayer’s Guardian Shield, which also gave a title, I might be able to figure out how to obtain a title through Dreton’s Equipment Crafting.
Fortunately, my item storage was quite full of iron ingots.
Determined to melt down even the impure iron ingots at this opportunity, I moved to the place where I had been working on the skill book earlier and immediately took out the hammer and anvil to prepare for work.
‘First, let’s melt the impure iron ingots, and then make them into regular iron ingots.’
Since the higher the crafting level, the better the weapon would be, it seemed better to melt the impure iron ingots for practice for now.
[Using S-rank skill ‘Dreton’s Equipment Crafting’.]
[Please select the weapon to craft.]
[Weapon] [Armor] [Recipe]
“Oh? It can make armor too.”
It was different from Dwarven Weapon Crafting, which only crafted weapons. Was it because it was an S-rank skill? Anyway, since I needed to raise my crafting level now, I chose Weapon and decided to make the most familiar longsword.
[Materials have been placed. The number of hammer strikes is determined by the grade of the materials placed.]
[Related stat Skill (45) is applied.]
[The number of hammer strikes is reduced. Final number: 1.]
Perhaps because the quality of the impure iron ingot was not good, the final number of strikes was 1. It didn’t matter to me anyway, since the limit for S-rank was 250 hammer strikes.
Now, let’s make it……
‘Huh?’
My body, which was about to swing the hammer, froze as if it was stuck. No, it wasn’t frozen. It was moving on its own, regardless of my will.
Clang!-
“My soul dwells in the hammer.”
Clang!-
“And that soul strikes the iron.”
‘As expected…… should I say?’
Jayer’s Guardian Shield. Karzel’s Card Summoning.
I speculated on the cases where I got titles with these two skills. Seeing that the title-related event was happening again this time, it seemed my guess was correct.
‘It seems like the title is only given when the total stat increase reaches 20.’
Looking at the S-rank skills that have given titles so far, they were all skills that increased stats to the maximum of 20. Therefore, I was thinking that Dreton’s Equipment Crafting might also give a title, and I was actually experiencing that event.
“Finally, I can imbue my soul into the weapon!”
Whoosh!-
It’s a good thing no one is watching.
It hasn’t even been a few minutes since I experienced Karzel’s Card Summoning, and I couldn’t go through that spectacle again. Perhaps due to the influence of the event, the weapon was completed on its own, and I could see several messages appearing before me.
[An Excellent Longsword has been crafted.]
[Durability increased by 8 due to the effect of S-rank skill ‘Dreton’s Equipment Crafting’.]
[A +1 enhancement effect has been applied due to the effect of S-rank skill ‘Dreton’s Equipment Crafting’.]
[You have recreated Dreton’s Equipment Crafting, the legendary craftsman’s technique recorded in history. Among his numerous achievements, his crafting skill was undoubtedly considered the best. You, who have acquired Dreton’s Equipment Crafting, are truly deserving of the title of Legendary Craftsman.]
[You have acquired the title ‘Legendary Craftsman’. Would you like to equip it?]
The restraint was released only after the final title message appeared. Come to think of it, I’ve earned two titles today? I’ve obtained three titles through S-rank skills, which others struggle to get even one.
I don’t know what others would think if they saw this……
‘Should I check the weapon first?’
A weapon made with an S-rank skill. However, the materials were not good, and it was a weapon made without using Intuition, so I didn’t have high expectations.
[+1 Excellent Longsword] (Normal)
Description：A sword of below-average quality made with iron ingots containing impurities. However, due to the excellent craftsmanship, it has become a weapon that pushes the limits of its materials.
Attack Power：27 (+2) Magic Attack Power：0
Durability：30/30
*Enhancement Option (1)：Attack Power increased by 10.
“Hmm.”
How should I put it? It was a weapon I wouldn’t use even if it was given to me for free now, but considering the material was impure iron ingots, it was unexpectedly good. Moreover, it was even enhanced due to the skill effect. It seemed like something that would sell well to beginners, at the very least.
“But I can’t sell it for cash.”
Selling this weapon, which most players wouldn’t even buy, for cash? Even I thought it would be unconscionable. And looking at the weapons currently listed on the Cash Transaction Window, this weapon couldn’t even compare.
‘Next, it’s time to check the title.’
The titles obtained through S-rank skills never disappointed. Although Soul Contract was not a suitable title for me, its performance was undeniable.
[Legendary Craftsman] (Title)
Description：You have recreated the crafting techniques of Dreton, the legendary blacksmith!
━20% improvement in the quality of all crafting.
━10 additional special quality points for all crafting.
━30-50% additional special stat effect for all crafting.
━30 additional durability for all crafting.
‘As expected.’
It was so good that I couldn’t help but admire it. It was probably a dream title for players who chose crafting as their path. With a title like this, I could probably make a living from crafting as well.
“……Should I really do that?”
With an S-rank crafting skill and a title. If I learned a few more related skills, I could earn enough money through crafting, but it would be a waste of other S-rank skills if I decided to do that.
“Right, I can do both crafting and hunting.”
Since I’ve acquired the title, should I experiment with it?
“Change title.”
[Please tell me the title you want to change to.]
“Legendary Craftsman.”
[Changing title to ‘Legendary Craftsman’. Remaining changes: 2.]
What I did after that was simple. I used all the iron ingots in my item storage to continuously craft longswords. I had so many iron ingots that I crafted over 30 longswords, and my crafting level reached level 5 before I knew it.
[Ding!~ Level of S-rank skill ‘Dreton’s Equipment Crafting’ has increased.]
[Stats Strength 5, Stamina 5, Skill 10 increased.]
And a longsword crafted with Dreton’s Equipment Crafting level 5 and Intuition.
[+2 Soul-Infused Longsword] (Magic)
Description：A longsword made of pure iron. Although crafted with common materials, the craftsman’s exceptional skill and his imbued soul have created a weapon that transcends the limits of its materials.
Attack Power：129 (+21) Magic Attack Power：0
Durability：100/100
*Attack Speed increased by 15.
*Enhancement Option (1)：Penetration Damage increased by 5%.
“Was it this good?”
The combination of the S-rank skill and the title was tremendous. A weapon with over 100 attack power? Moreover, due to the enhancement effect, the damage was increased by 21, resulting in a total of 129 attack power.
“Well, it’s still not as good as the weapon I made for Raz.”
The bow I made back then had an attack power of over 150. Compared to that, this longsword was inevitably inferior in many ways. However, if I were to sell it for cash, its efficiency would be considerable.
Because I’m making this weapon with just iron ingots.
Raz said he spent about 2 gold on materials back then, but the cost of materials for this longsword wouldn’t exceed 5 silver, no matter how expensive it was. In comparison, that’s about a 40-fold difference.
‘Wait, hold on?’
Couldn’t I also craft recipe weapons? It wasn’t impossible since I had the Burning Sword recipe. The problem was the materials, but after raising my skill level today, it seemed like I could try crafting the Burning Sword later if I had the materials.
Wouldn’t it result in a weapon with 200 attack power?
‘Maybe the attack power could be higher than the defense.’
The reason I thought so was because my Strength was at a considerable level. Including items, it exceeded 300, so if I added 200 weapon attack power, it would exceed 500 in total. Then it would be similar to my defense, or possibly even higher.
Anyway, after using all the iron ingots, I got up and headed to the bank.
I wasn’t planning on selling the longswords made with impure iron ingots for cash, but the longswords made with regular iron ingots were good enough to be sold for cash.
‘It would be better to use the Normal Trade, right?’
There were exactly 19 iron ingot longswords. If I put them all up for auction, it would cost 1 gold 90 silver. On the other hand, if I put them up for Normal Trade, it would only cost 19 silver, so Normal Trade was better for saving money.
“The problem is the price……”
How much should I set it for?
The longswords I was trying to sell for cash were currently enhanced due to the skill effect. Since there was a probability involved, there wasn’t a single +3 enhancement, and they were all +1 or +2 enhanced weapons. Even this enhancement alone held considerable value.
“Let’s consider the price of enhancement stones.”
The enhancement stones sold at the Luxury Shop cost 5 gold. However, the Luxury Shop had inflated prices, so it would be better to think of them as costing around 3-4 gold. If I assumed they cost 3 gold, how much would that be in cash?
If I calculated it based on the market price I saw back then, it would be 600,000 won.
‘I wonder if the market price has changed now?’
“Summon Cash Transaction Window.”
Whoosh-
Let’s check it out.
I summoned the Cash Transaction Window and saw that the gold market price had indeed changed. 1 gold was 45,000 won. So, roughly speaking, 10 silver was 4,500 won. Compared to the price of 20,000 won for 10 silver the day after I started playing Twilight, it was a ridiculously low price.
“Well, you can earn 1-2 gold just by completing E-rank quests.”
The market price was this low because there were no other ways to earn money besides quests. Otherwise, the price might have been 10,000 won for 1 gold.
“Welcome~ How can I help you?”
Anyway, after arriving at the bank, I pondered for a while and decided to register the +1 enhanced weapons for 150,000 won and the +2 enhanced weapons for 200,000 won. I thought it would be better to sell them all at a slightly lower price rather than setting the price too high and not selling them at all.
Additionally, I listed all the items I had been holding onto, including the Black Beast Set, the [Flame Emission] skill book, and the [Intermediate Lightning Spirit] skill book, on the Cash Transaction Window before leaving the bank.
At that moment.
[Ding!~ The item you listed for auction, ‘+1 Soul-Infused Longsword’, has been sold for 150,000 won.]
[Excluding the 20% commission fee, 120,000 won will be automatically deposited.]
[Ding!~ The item you listed for auction……]
“Huh?”
Surprisingly, the longswords were selling at a terrifying speed, just minutes after I listed them. I stopped in my tracks, surprised by the sudden messages, and tilted my head.
It was definitely good that they were selling well, but……
“Why are they selling so suddenly?”
Even if only the longswords sold at this rate, the total amount would exceed 3 million won. 3 million won was the net amount after deducting the commission fee. It was more than the average monthly salary. Moreover, I would continue crafting until my crafting level reached 10, so I might be able to earn close to 10 million won.
“……”
Should I really focus on crafting?
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 59
[Disconnecting.]
[Once again, on the street illuminated by Twilight……]
“Phew.”
I’m exhausted.
That was my first thought as soon as I logged out. Did I use Intuition too much again? After confirming that my whole body was drenched in sweat, I forced myself up and started with a shower.
‘Damn it. It’s fine to use Intuition as much as I want here, but as soon as I enter Twilight, it’s like this.’
Grumbling, I finished my shower and sat in front of the computer, thinking about crafting.
‘First of all, my level went up to 7, so……’
If things go well, I might be able to reach level 10 within today. I also listed all the weapons I made on the Cash Transaction Window, so I can expect some profit. Except for the fatigue from Intuition, everything is going as I want.
“But I’m not sure if it’s okay to level up like this.”
If I reach crafting level 10 and list the results on the Cash Transaction Window, it means that over 100 weapons will be listed in a single day. I wondered if it would affect the market price, but then I shook my head and denied the thought.
Thousands, tens of thousands of items are listed every day, what impact would it have?
“Let’s check out the information that came out today.”
Having finished my shower, drowsiness enveloped me. I wanted to sleep for the 1-hour connection waiting time, but I gave up because I wasn’t confident I’d wake up on time.
Click-
“Huh? What’s this?”
[Emperor Guild, the first in Twilight to reach E+ Rank!]
[Emperor Guild owns 11 Dungeons!]
[The result of an S-rank Skill, the creation of the Emperor Guild!]
[Unparalleled sprint, Emperor Guild.]
Is this new?
On the main page of the homepage, I found a list I hadn’t seen before. Are these articles written by players? Most of the article titles were about the Emperor Guild, and since I’m currently a member, I couldn’t help but be drawn to them.
‘I didn’t see these articles this morning.’
Click-
“Hmm.”
Anyway, looking through the articles, the content was simple. It was about the Emperor Guild’s dominance in Twilight. Unlike other quests, Guild Quests are based on the concept of war, and a certain number of members are required to wage that war.
Here, the Emperor Guild met that requirement, and there was also a noticeable article saying that they would likely reach D Rank soon.
And looking further, I saw similar articles attached to a few other guilds.
Of course, the Emperor Guild’s progress is unmatched. It’s the first guild in Twilight to reach E+ Rank. In addition, the Guild System allows for upgrades that increase the maximum number of members by 100 each time, and the Emperor Guild had already upgraded to the maximum number allowed at E Rank, 2,000 members.
But would Aizen only have upgraded the number of guild members?
For reference, gold is required to upgrade the Guild System. I don’t know exactly how much gold is needed, but since almost no other guild has upgraded to 2,000 members, I imagine it’s an amount I can’t even fathom.
‘With that money, I could get equipment…… no, they probably already have it.’
If you look at their equipment, wouldn’t it be better than mine? The only area where I could possibly beat Aizen is in the number of S-rank skills.
“……”
Thinking about it makes me feel bitter. In actual combat, I’m only using Giant’s Sprint like crazy.
‘Tsk, let’s just look at the forum posts.’
Shaking my head and pushing the thought away, I went to the forum.
“Let’s see, has any good information been posted……?”
Click- Click-
“Hmm?”
As I was browsing the forum, a title suddenly caught my eye. It was a title about crafting.
[Twilight! Everything about Hammering!]
[Content: The Crafting skill in Twilight is very simple. You just put the designated materials on and hammer until it’s done. However, for those who want to learn crafting more definitively, I’m writing this post.
First, the number of hammer strikes is determined by the rank of the Crafting skill. F Rank is 50 strikes. E Rank is 65 strikes. D Rank is 80 strikes. And so on. If you can’t craft because you’ve exceeded the number of hammer strikes, you need to either increase your Technique stat or acquire a skill that increases the number of hammer strikes.
Other than that, you need skills that increase basic quality, skills that increase special quality, skills that increase the probability of crafting a perfect weapon, and skills that add durability to the crafted item. But if you’ve acquired all of these skills, then when it comes to crafting, you are……]
“I shouldn’t have looked.”
In short, it was saying to acquire all the skills related to crafting. Of course, if I acquired all the skills as described in this post, my crafted weapons could have better stats.
The problem is, I don’t want to waste skill slots like that.
‘Well, with S-rank skills and titles, I should be fine without learning other skills.’
Click-
[List of Crafting Skills that can be learned at the Library.]
[Content: For those who want to pursue a crafting class, please refer to this. The library sells almost all crafting skill books. You can learn everything from Weapon Crafting, Armor Crafting, Accessory Crafting, to Clothing and Bag Crafting, and even Potion Making.
However, there are no rare skills like Scroll Crafting or Monster Crafting. According to those who have learned them, they all learned them through Random Skillbooks. I think it might be possible to learn them through quests as well, but I don’t know how.]
“It’s the same as the Exploration skill.”
The only known way to acquire the Exploration skill was also through Random Skillbooks. Since it’s a skill that can be used effectively by anyone, many people would probably be happy if they found out about an F-Rank quest related to it.
“But Monster Crafting?”
Does such a skill exist in Twilight?
I typed the words Monster Crafting into the search bar. As a result, I could see nearly 20 posts that appeared. A much smaller number compared to other posts. Perhaps only a very small number of people had acquired Monster Crafting.
[This is the monster I crafted!]
[Content: Monster Crafting requires various byproducts of monsters, such as their hides and bones. The stronger the monster’s materials you put in, the stronger the crafted monster becomes. Anyway, this is the monster I crafted!]
‘So this is what monster hides and bones are used for?’
Anyway, below the post, there was information about the monster.
[Name: Monster 1]
[Grade: Magic]
[Level: 31]
[HP: 1320/1320]
[MP: 870/870]
[Stamina: 100.0%]
[Attack Power: 176] [Magic Attack Power: 32]
[Defense: 120] [Magic Defense: 90]
[Stats]
Strength (96) Intelligence (32) Agility (64)
Stamina (60) Magic Power (45) Durability (60)
[Acquired Skills: 5/5]
‘……Is this good?’
The level is similar to mine, but the stats themselves are completely different. However, looking at it again slowly, the stats don’t seem to be as bad as to be considered the worst. Conversely, they’re not good enough to be called good either.
Moreover, the biggest drawback seems to be that it only has 5 skills.
[Content: Isn’t it good? Because of the characteristics of the monster, there’s no need to equip it, and its stats increase significantly every time it levels up. To be more precise, its stats increase by 1 like a player when it levels up, but due to monster-specific skills, its stats additionally increase by 2 to 3 times.
Perhaps Monster Crafting is the best among the summoning types.]
After reading the lengthy post, what I felt was simple.
‘It would be useful as a meat shield.’
Just in case, I looked into it further and found that monsters don’t have a duration, and even if they die, they can be summoned again after 1 hour. If this information is true, it might be worthwhile to craft and raise a Rare grade monster, one level higher than Magic grade.
[Content: The crafted monster is not affected by the player’s stats. For example, it’s not affected by summoning or nature stats, so it’s essential as an escort for those who choose a non-combat class.]
After reading other posts about Monster Crafting, I quickly dismissed it. No matter how good Monster Crafting is, it was a skill I couldn’t learn. After all, I had already acquired an S-rank summoning skill.
Although I wasn’t satisfied with that summoning skill being in the form of taming monsters.
‘I wish a bear would pop out like the Dawn’s Light Master’s.’
I think it would be quite helpful in many ways. Still, with my defense, I should be able to seal most ordinary monsters, and I believed that summoning and fighting those monsters would be helpful to some extent.
“But why are there so many posts about crafting today?”
Is it a special day?
I felt a bit puzzled. Originally, crafting wasn’t a popular topic. Knowing that, I became curious and continued to browse the forum posts, and soon found the post that caused it.
[It seems like an S-rank Crafting skill has appeared!]
[Content: Today, dozens of the same weapon were listed on the Cash Transaction Window. Up to this point, there’s no problem, but if you look at the weapon information, you’ll think differently.]
[+2 Soul-Infused Longsword] (Magic)
Description: A longsword made of pure iron. Although made with ordinary materials, the craftsman’s outstanding skill and his soul have been imbued into it, creating a weapon that surpasses the limitations of its materials.
Attack Power: 173 (+30) Magic Attack Power: 0
Durability: 114/114
*Penetration rate increased by 8p.
*Enhancement Option (1): Attack Power increased by 10.
[Content: What do you think? What’s even more surprising is that this is a basic weapon. Who in the world can achieve an attack power of over 100 with a basic weapon? This is definitely made with an S-rank Crafting skill. For reference, I purchased this weapon for 200,000 won. You can also purchase this weapon by accessing the Cash Transaction Window in Twilight.]
“Huh? Isn’t that the weapon I made?”
Soul-Infused Longsword. It was the weapon I made and listed on the Cash Transaction Window. Having this means that someone purchased it.
“The number of comments is enormous.”
Even though it had only been a few hours since I listed the weapon on the Cash Transaction Window, there were 2,000 to 3,000 comments.
[Wow, 200,000 won for a basic weapon? Whoever made that hit the jackpot.]
[Wow~ Then you can just make weapons and list them whenever you need money? That’s amazing.]
[Guys, that’s a basic weapon. Imagine what would happen if you made a recipe weapon.]
[If it were me, I’d make a recipe weapon and list it for auction.]
[To the crafter, if you see this post, please contact me. I’ll be waiting. 010-xxxx……]
[If you come to our guild……]
Almost all the posts were either ‘I’m envious’ or ‘Please come to our guild~’. What’s a little absurd is that the Emperor Guild is also included. Unlike other guilds, the Emperor Guild’s post said they could accommodate me with any conditions I desired, so please contact them.
I’m already the vice-guild master of that guild, what accommodation do I need?
Click-
[Recruiting for a Raid!]
“A raid?”
[Content: Goblin Chieftain Turu, who has been defeated by countless people so far! Our Black Flame Guild has also received that quest. However, we don’t intend to monopolize the raid boss. Since we’ve received the quest, we hope everyone can join us.
The raid is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 12:00 PM, and those who wish to participate only need to gather at the entrance where the raid begins.
In addition, our Black Flame Guild plans to dispatch about 10 members.]
“Was this raid a famous quest?”
So many people know about it.
Well, thinking about it, it’s already been several days since I fought Turu. There were hundreds of people who participated in the raid at that time, so wouldn’t it be stranger if it wasn’t known? And seeing the phrase “countless people have failed,” it seems like there have been several attempts at the same challenge.
Of course, since there was no news, they must have all ended in failure.
“By the way, 10 people……”
Just in case, I read the comments below and the reactions weren’t very positive.
[What can you do with just 10 people lol.]
[No no, a raid is still too much.]
[Black Flame? What kind of confidence is that?]
[To succeed in the Turu raid, you need a shield warrior who can withstand the attacks, magicians who have increased their attribute power by at least 20%, and lastly, a priest who has acquired the resurrection skill. Wouldn’t that be enough to succeed in the Turu raid?]
[↑I’m a level 41 magician, but I’ve only increased my attribute power by 8%. 20%? lol.]
[Maybe if the average player level is around 60, they could catch him?]
“Even I think it’s impossible…… Huh?”
Just as I, who had personally faced Turu, was about to conclude that it was impossible, some quite significant information caught my eye.
[The Black Flame Guild is right. To have any chance of success against Turu, you need to attack with a small elite force. The more people there are, the more Goblin Warriors will appear, which will convert into Turu’s stats. So, it’s right to go with 10 to 20 people. However, Turu’s magic is just ridiculously overpowered.]
‘Is this true?’
If Turu’s stats increase to around 200-300, there might be a possibility. No, wouldn’t it be more likely if I fought him alone? The problem is, I haven’t done the quest to fight Turu.
“Turu…… I want to catch him, but.”
Should I go?
The thought that naturally came to mind regarding the Turu raid was none other than Rare grade items. Since it seemed like Rare grade items would only drop from defeating the raid boss, I couldn’t help but be interested.
‘Let’s think about it calmly. I’m several times stronger now than I was back then. Also, I have experience fighting Turu, so I’m somewhat familiar with his patterns.
“……”
‘But what if I die? I can recover the lost levels and items, but I’m not keen on dying again.’
After thinking for a long time, I finally came to a suitable conclusion.
‘Let’s decide after seeing the number of people tomorrow.’
That’s what I decided.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 60
Yesterday, after reading the post about the Turu raid, I decided to make my own preparations.
Ah, of course, I had already leveled up my crafting skill to level 10.
After that, to increase my power and ensure a successful Turu hunt, I eventually turned my attention to enhancement. I looked for enhancement stones being sold by other players for the remaining time and found that the price was 4 gold. To enhance to +5, it would cost a whopping 20 gold.
On the other hand, Magic-grade enhancement stones, which could enhance up to +10, were 5-6 gold.
Since enhancement had a 50% success rate starting from +1, items above +5 were practically non-existent. Therefore, Magic-grade enhancement stones were relatively cheap, but even so, 5-6 gold was still a daunting price.
If I were to buy enhancement stones from others and create a +10 item, how much would it cost? No need to think, at least 45 gold.
That’s over 2 million won in cash.
If it were the old me, I might have given up here. However, this time, with a half-gamble mindset, I purchased gold and enhanced one item to +10. I invested the remaining gold in healing potions.
‘I’m going to get a real rare item.’
With a somewhat bitter feeling, I looked at the shield in my left hand.
[+10 Soul-Infused Steel Shield] (Magic)
Description: A shield made of pure iron. Although crafted with common materials, the craftsman’s exceptional skill and infused soul allowed this shield to surpass the limitations of its materials.
Defense: 336 (+206) Magic Defense: 0
Durability: 100/100
*When blocking with the shield, reduces damage by an additional 42.
*Enhancement Option (1): Increases Defense by 10.
*Enhancement Option (2): Increases Magic Defense by 15.
*Enhancement Option (3): Increases Penetration Defense probability by 5p.
*Enhancement Option (4): Increases damage of shield-related skills by 50.
‘How much could I sell this for?’
The enhancement options appeared at +1, +4, +7, and +10, just as someone had mentioned on the bulletin board. However, the options themselves weren’t satisfactory. Moreover, this darn steel shield was basic armor made only with iron ingots, so it had no magic defense whatsoever.
‘I wish I could have made it with a recipe.’
Originally, I planned to craft it using a recipe. I even bought three shield-related recipes for that purpose, but I failed to gather the materials and ended up crafting basic armor instead.
What was a bit surprising was that the basic shield had a defense of 130.
In addition, it was already enhanced to +2, saving me 8 gold in enhancement costs. That 8 gold went towards potions, but thanks to that, I was able to prepare more thoroughly, so I’m satisfied.
Now, all that’s left is to catch Turu.
” Status Information Window. ”
[Name: Rudin]
[Title: Shield of Protection]
[Level: 34]
[Fame: 279]
[Guild: Emperor]
[Health: 4653/4653]
[Magic Power: 1850/1850]
[Stamina: 100.0%]
[Attack Power: 609] [Magic Attack Power: 69]
[Defense: 891] [Magic Defense: 409]
[Stats]
Strength: 418 (261+157) Intelligence: 69 (34+35) Agility: 156 (122+34)
Stamina: 279 (164+115) Magic: 125 (50+75) Skill: 105
Summoning: 10
[Acquired Skills: 14/20]
” Good. ”
Overall, I was satisfied with my stats. Well, I invested 2 million won in cash and even enhanced my gear, so it wouldn’t make sense if I hadn’t become this strong.
Especially with my Intuition.
‘Well, it feels strangely wasteful.’
After selling all the equipment I used, including the longsword I crafted yesterday, and even the skill books, I earned 15 million won excluding the commission. Of that, I bought 2 million won worth of gold, but strangely, I couldn’t shake the feeling that even those 2 million won were a waste.
But still……
” I’ve prepared this much, so I should be able to catch Turu. ”
It’s different from when I went in impulsively a few days ago. With the thought of finally getting revenge, I headed towards the raid entrance and, fortunately, it seemed I wasn’t late. I could see a suitable number of players gathered.
Murmur~ Murmur~
‘The number of people is…… about 30?’
Compared to the over 100 people gathered before, it was a paltry number. But if Turu’s stats changed according to the number of participants, as I read yesterday, this number seemed appropriate.
‘I would have preferred around 20 people.’
Since I was also joining someone else’s quest, I wasn’t in a position to say anything.
” Rudin-nim! ”
” ……? ”
Just as I was contemplating whether to join the raid or not, I turned my head at the sound of someone calling me and came face to face with an unexpected person.
‘Ah.’
An appearance that left me speechless for a moment. It’s been a while, so I guess I’m not used to it. Anyway, the person approached me with a bright smile that made them look radiant.
” It’s been a while. How have you been? ”
” Yes. Yua-nim. ”
It was Yua, the connection I made on my first day playing Twilight.
‘More than that, her equipment has changed a lot.’
The weapon Yua was holding was a spear. But it wasn’t the spear I made. It seemed like a newly purchased spear, and the armor she was wearing wasn’t cloth but a dark brown leather armor.
Recalling how she hunted wearing only basic clothes on the first day, this was nothing short of remarkable progress.
‘Did she decide to go the warrior route?’
” I’ve leveled up a lot and changed my equipment. Good, right? ”
” Yes? ”
What was she talking about all of a sudden? Was she asking for praise?
” You said so, Rudin-nim. If I wanted to help, I should work harder than before. ”
‘Did I say that…… Well, I did.’
The memory vaguely came back to me. At that time, Yua said to call her anytime if I needed help, and I told her to work harder. I even added that I was looking forward to it, right?
Of course, I didn’t think she would be stronger than me.
” Surely you haven’t forgotten? ”
” No way. But are you participating in the raid, Yua-nim? ”
” Ah, actually, I was curious about what a raid is like. ”
Come to think of it, Yua was a beginner who knew nothing about the game. Did she come all the way here just because she was curious about raids?
‘She seems to have become more proactive compared to the first day.’
On the first day, Yua was a bit timid. But she still managed to say what she wanted to say, and now that timid side seemed to have disappeared.
” It’s time, so I’ll open the entrance. Please follow me! ”
” Let’s go! ”
” What’s a raid anyway? It’s just goblins! ”
” I’m going to hit the jackpot this time! ”
Did they (?) not know about the Turu raid?
The voices of the players made me speechless. Just goblins? Then what am I, who died to those goblins? Moreover, they didn’t seem to notice the significance of only 30 people participating.
” If a rare item drops, how much will it be worth? ”
” It’ll be whatever price you ask for. Rare items haven’t dropped before. ”
” Oh, really? If it drops this time, it’ll be life-changing. ”
” Life-changing? I doubt it. ”
Regardless, people chatted amongst themselves while waiting for the entrance to open, and Yua and I did the same.
Rumble- Boom!-
” The entrance is opening! ”
” Finally, the raid? ”
Having seen it once before, I wasn’t particularly impressed, but Yua, who was watching next to me, seemed fascinated, just like the others.
” Wow, a path is forming like that. ”
‘What should I do with Yua?’
If she acted alone, the chances of her being killed by Turu were high. I didn’t know how skilled Yua was, but no matter how much she had improved, I didn’t think she would be stronger than me.
” Yua-nim. Party. ”
” Yes! ”
” ……? ”
[Player ‘Yua’ has joined the party.]
[Current party members: 2. (Rudin, Yua)]
As if she had been waiting, Yua quickly grabbed my hand and formed a party. She wasn’t actually waiting, was she? Anyway, since we had met after a long time, I didn’t want to let her die meaninglessly.
” Just in case, follow my instructions. ”
” Okay. ”
” Ah, before that, what’s your level, Yua-nim? ”
If her level was low, the battle with Turu might be difficult. There was a possibility she could be knocked out instantly by a single magic spell. However, Yua’s answer soon surprised me.
” Level 43. I’ve also learned 19 skills. ”
” ……Level 43? ”
” Yes. ”
” …… ”
She was 9 levels higher than me. Maybe even higher than the average player level? Yua’s level was unexpected, but I thought she might be a valuable asset to our forces.
[Ding!~ ‘Turu, the Goblin Chieftain’ has noticed your presence.]
[Warning! Turu, the Goblin Chieftain, has ordered the immediate elimination of intruders. You can still escape now, but if you delay, Turu’s magic may block your escape route.]
[Battle with Turu, the Goblin Chieftain’s subordinate, the Goblin Warrior, begins.]
‘It’s started.’
Along with the message, we could see over 100 Goblin Warriors in front of us. Certainly, the number had decreased compared to before. Also, since the number had decreased, I was sure that Turu’s stats would be affected as well.
” Kill them! ”
” Just goblins! Bring out the chieftain already! ”
‘Huh?’
It was unexpectedly overwhelming. The players were practically slaughtering the approaching Goblin Warriors. It seemed the levels of the players gathered here were higher than I thought.
” Rudin-nim. Shouldn’t we fight too? ”
” Just wait. There’s no need to waste magic power or stamina unnecessarily. ”
And it seemed that a few others had the same thought as me and weren’t moving. They would probably step in once all the Goblin Warriors were killed and Turu appeared. Anyway, as the number of Goblin Warriors visibly decreased, a message window appeared again.
Fwoosh!-
[Turu, the Goblin Chieftain, casts Domain Authority.]
[The stats of all charging goblins are doubled.]
” Double is nothing! ”
” Uhahaha! They should be at least five times stronger! ”
” They’re not even taking damage! ”
‘What the……’
They weren’t even a match.
The Goblin Warriors, strengthened by Domain Authority, were still being wiped out. Could it be that my participation wasn’t even necessary? I was going to join in and provide support if needed, but it seemed like there was no need for that.
‘Well, it’s been a week since Twilight opened, so they should be able to handle this much.’
Fwoosh!-
[Turu, the Goblin Chieftain, casts Domain Struggle.]
[The attack power and defense of all charging goblins are doubled.]
Kieeek! Kieeeeek!!-
Even after casting Domain Frenzy, the result remained the same. Without any particular twist, the players achieved an overwhelming victory, and a final message appeared.
[All Goblin Warriors have been incapacitated, enraging Turu.]
[Turu summons the souls of the dead Goblin Warriors.]
[Turu becomes stronger for each dead Goblin Warrior.]
[Current number of dead Goblin Warriors: 134.]
[All stats of Turu, the Goblin Chieftain, are increased by 268.]
” 268…… ”
The information on the internet was true.
With this level of stat increase, it seemed doable. It was much more promising than the previous increase of nearly 1,000. Anyway, I could feel most of the players tense up at Turu’s appearance.
” It’s finally starting. ”
” But isn’t the stat increase too much? ”
” No, it originally increases by almost 1,000. ”
Perhaps hearing the conversation between the players, Yua spoke to me.
” Rudin-nim. Will we be okay? ”
” Yes. Don’t fight at first and observe how Turu fights. ”
Based on my previous experience with Turu’s attack patterns, it seemed like we only needed to be careful of his area-of-effect magic attacks. We didn’t need to worry about his staff attacks since the stat increase wasn’t significant.
Anyway, as I unknowingly became slightly nervous, Turu appeared.
” How dare you enter my domain and kill my brethren. ”
” Yua-nim. ”
” Yes? ”
” Just in case, step back. ”
” You shall pay for your sins with your lives, humans! ”
[Battle with the raid boss monster, Turu, the Goblin Chieftain, begins.]
” Let’s go! The rare item is mine! ”
” Shut up! I’m going to get it! ”
Contrary to me and Yua, who were discreetly stepping back, the players who had fought the Goblin Warriors immediately rushed towards Turu. However, Turu didn’t just stand there and watch.
” Tree Root Bind. ”
Crack!-
Tree roots sprung up from the ground beneath the feet of the charging players. The rising roots bound the players’ bodies, and the number of players caught seemed to be around 10.
” Kyaak! Heal! Heal me quickly! ”
” Damn it! What kind of damage is 200…… ”
Two or three players turned gray from the tree root attack. Was it impossible to avoid? Still, the remaining players rushed towards Turu as soon as they freed themselves from the roots.
But Turu didn’t panic and raised the crystal ball in his left hand.
” Cold Wave. ”
Crackle!!-
It was an attack I was familiar with. An ice-type area-of-effect magic. And as I expected, a blue light spread like a wave from the crystal ball, freezing the surrounding players.
Again, several players couldn’t withstand the attack and turned gray.
‘How many people have died before even landing a proper attack on Turu?’
Of course, the players didn’t just stand there and take it.
” Attack! Attack him! ”
” Flame Arrow! ”
” Rock Spear! ”
” Damn it! I don’t have any magic skills! ”
Boom!- Crash!!-
First, the players with magic skills attacked Turu. Judging by how Turu’s body staggered after being hit, it seemed like they were dealing damage. If they continued to attack like this, wouldn’t Turu’s health be significantly depleted?
” Keerk! You insolent humans! ”
[Turu, the Goblin Chieftain, casts Domain Authority.]
[All fire-type magic is sealed.]
Translator’s Blog
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