Chapter 6
‘A one-time consumable item… It’s not particularly good.’
Still, since there was the option to sell it, I decided to be satisfied. More importantly, did Yu-a get the Goblin Club? When I turned my head towards her, I saw Yu-a holding something that looked like a heavy club.
“This is really good! The damage is 6!”
“………That’s good.”
For reference, my weapon damage was 19. Thanks to the increased skill level, I was able to create a better sword than the one I made initially. A club with 6 damage wouldn’t catch my eye with a weapon like that.
‘I wish a skill book would drop instead.’
Anyway, let’s continue. When I opened the map and checked, it looked like we would arrive at the mine soon if we kept going this way.
‘Phew, let’s just get the quest done quickly.’
If I mined about 10 iron ores, I could finish the quest, but I had no intention of ending it like that. Since the blacksmith doesn’t buy iron ingots anymore, I was thinking of gathering as much iron ore as possible……
“Keeek!”
“……”
Alright, since we’ve met, drop a skill book!
I ran towards the Goblin Scout that was screaming.
★⭐★⭐★⭐★
[Level Up!]
“Finally, I leveled up.”
After killing a total of 9 Goblin Scouts, I was finally able to level up. It seems the experience required to reach level 2 was 100. Then how many would I have to kill to reach level 3?
“Congratulations.”
Well, of course, she leveled up before me. After all, she had the experience she had already accumulated from the Pudding.
‘By the way, leveling up is quite difficult.’
Is it because I have this baggage (?) next to me?
“Ah, I see the mine over there.”
‘We’ve arrived.’
Since monsters also appear in the mine, we needed to be on guard. The problem was what kind of monsters would appear. What if a monster I couldn’t handle appeared? Quest or not, I’d have to run away.
Still, since it’s a quest I received early on, it shouldn’t be too difficult, right?
“Let’s go in.”
Step━ Step━
“It’s not as dark as I thought.”
“I agree.”
Strangely, the inside of the mine wasn’t dark. Did they make it this way because it’s a game? It’s fortunate, but…
“Bark! Intruder! Intruder detected!”
Yeah, there’s no way there wouldn’t be monsters.
“Let’s see…… Mine Kobold?”
Covered in brown fur, with a head resembling a dog, the Kobold was staring at me while holding an iron club.
“Intruder! Eliminate!”
“Try it if you can!”
I parried the Kobold’s swinging club with my sword.
Clang!
‘Fortunately, I have more strength.’
Although it was a bit difficult, I was able to parry the Kobold’s club. The Kobold’s club was pushed back, and I used that opening to stab the Kobold’s body.
[Penetration Damage! 30.]
Good start!
The first attack was a penetration damage, dealing my full damage. However, the damage that popped up when I swung my sword again in that momentum momentarily bewildered me.
[Hit Damage! 13.]
‘13?’
This meant that the Kobold’s defense was at least 15. It was obvious that its HP would be higher than the Goblin Scout, so it seemed like it would be a tough battle.
“Bark!”
“That kind of attack!”
Of course, it wasn’t an opponent I couldn’t defeat. I had learned the monster’s attack pattern, even if roughly, based on my experience fighting Goblin Scouts so far. First, attack quickly twice, dodge once, and then try to attack again.
[Hit Damage! 12.]
[Hit Damage! 14.]
“Ah, there’s another one over there!”
“……?”
“Bark Bark! Intruder! Intruder!”
“Oh, come on!”
Still, I had to deal with the Kobold I was fighting first. If they attacked at the same time, even I would have a hard time. In a normal party hunt, one person would have to keep the others from approaching, but that would be impossible for Yu-a.
‘It would be difficult for Yu-a, who doesn’t even have armor, to hold them back.’
I was a bit disappointed, but even if I came alone, it wouldn’t be much different from the current situation.
[Hit Damage! 15.]
[Combat Experience 21 acquired!]
[Ding!~ Party member Yu-a has acquired ‘Kobolt Iron Club’.]
“Done……”
Thwack!
[Damage Received! -21.]
Was it because I was too focused on dealing with one Kobold? I carelessly allowed an attack. Getting hit wasn’t a big deal, but this much damage? As expected, getting hit with an iron club is different.
“Bark Bark!”
Woong Woong!-
“What? A skill?”
And then I saw it. The club the Kobold was holding emitted a brilliant light. I don’t know for sure, but I had a strong feeling that if I got hit by that glowing club, I would die instantly.
How do I know? My intuition is telling me!
Kwaang!
I hurriedly dodged. The iron club swung by the Kobold showed tremendous power, enough to dent the floor. If only I had a skill like that!
[Reduced Damage! 8.]
“Well, it’s harder than I thought.”
However, I had adapted enough to handle a 1:1 situation. Therefore, I attacked and dodged appropriately to take down the Mine Kobold, and eventually, the Mine Kobold turned into silver dust and disappeared.
[Combat Experience 21 acquired!]
[Ding!~ Party member Rudin has acquired ‘F-Rank Skill Book’.]
‘No way?! This is!’
A skill book!
I cheered inwardly. Even though it was an F-Rank skill, I was happy. Why? Because it increases my stats! I had almost instinctively realized that in this game, it was good to learn anything.
“But why doesn’t the skill name appear?”
Just in case, I checked the skill book in my item window.
[Strike with All Your Might] (F-Rank)
Description: A technique that gathers all the physical strength you possess and attacks. It has the drawback of requiring a short amount of time to use the skill.
<Stat Increase: Strength (2)>
‘No need to think about it.’
I acquire it immediately. I needed an attack skill anyway, and I wasn’t in a position to be picky. What could I do with a damage output that barely reached 20? I had to learn skills.
[F-Rank Skill ‘Strike with All Your Might’ acquired.]
[Stats will increase as you acquire the skill.]
[Strength increased by 2.]
‘Will things get a little easier now?’
[Party member ‘Yu-a’ casts Healing Touch.]
[Health Points recovered by 19.]
“Huh?”
It wasn’t the pathetic recovery amount from the beginning. After two uses, Yu-a, who had restored all my HP, looked at me with a shy smile and replied.
“My skill level increased. It’s useful, right?”
“Yes. Well, it’s not bad.”
Since I didn’t have high expectations, this kind of recovery was even more surprising. However, the problem was that it couldn’t be used during combat? Healing Touch was a skill that required touching the target player’s body, making it difficult to heal during combat.
It was truly worthy of being called an F-Rank skill.
Damn it.
“More than that, the experience here is really good.”
“It’s that difficult.”
It was definitely difficult. However, if 3-4 people gathered, it wouldn’t be impossible to hunt. If one person attacked and retreated, it seemed like hunting would be possible, but why weren’t there any other players?
‘……Is it because of the monster’s defense?’
The damage of the longsword sold at the blacksmith was 10. In comparison, the Kobold’s defense was around 15. This meant that it couldn’t deal damage. To deal damage, you would need at least 5 Strength.
As for me, since I just learned a skill, my Strength was 13. And my weapon attack power was 19. A total of 32 damage could be dealt.
‘What if I had made a Tempered Longsword?’
The Tempered Longsword I made at Crafting Level 1 had better attack power than the weapon I was currently holding. Considering that my current weapon was made at Crafting Level 2, the Tempered Longsword made back then was as good as a normal weapon made at Crafting Level 3.
“I should make it again when I go back to the village.”
“Yes?”
“……No, it’s nothing.”
Shaking my head, I checked the skill ‘Strike with All Your Might’ that I had just learned. The skill was F-Rank, but since it was an attack skill, wouldn’t it be different?
“Detailed Information. Strike with All Your Might.”
[F-Rank Strike with All Your Might Effect] (LV1)
Activation Time: 1 second.
Attack Power and Strength increased by 5.
MP Consumption: 10 upon use.
Stamina Consumption: 0.5% upon use.
“Hmm.”
Not bad, surprisingly?
Reading the description, it seems like the damage increases by about 10. Considering the damage below 20 against the Kobold, it might be a useful skill.
‘I’ll know for sure if I try using it.’
After taking my eyes off the written information, I went a little deeper inside. By the way, where should I mine?
“Bark Bark! Intruder detected!”
“Eliminate! Eliminate!”
“Phew.”
Oh, dear. What kind of quest is this difficult?
Three Kobolds appeared in front of me not long after. No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t seem like a quest designed to be cleared right from the start. Why is a quest to simply collect iron ore from a mine so difficult?
‘Even so, three is a bit tough.’
Still, since I’ve come this far, I can’t turn back now.
“Bark Bark!”
“Skill Use! Strike with All Your Might!”
Woong Woong!
1 second? After that short amount of time, a blue light appeared on my sword. And I swung that sword at the Kobold running towards me!
“Kyaang!”
[Skill Damage! 24.]
“Oh, this is not bad?”
Compared to the first battle, the damage had definitely increased. It was probably due to the increase in Strength as well. Also, if I had this skill, I could handle about three…
Thwack! Thwack!-
[Damage Received! -22.]
[Damage Received! -20.]
“Damn it, it’s still difficult!”
While I was momentarily distracted, the Kobolds each struck my leg and shoulder with their iron clubs. Honestly, since it’s virtual, it doesn’t hurt. It’s just like a friend lightly poking you as a joke? The problem is that this attack reduced my HP by about 1/5.
‘If I calmly dodge and just poke them lightly…’
[Reduced Damage! 9.]
‘This is driving me crazy.’
Since I had to attack and dodge simultaneously, I couldn’t deal proper damage. If there were only two Kobolds, I wouldn’t have had to go through this!
‘But since there’s no other way right now…’
I reluctantly repeated stabbing and dodging. Fortunately, the Kobolds’ movements were so large that I could somewhat grasp their attack patterns.
But I couldn’t let my guard down.
“Keooong!”
Thwack!-
[Damage Received! -25.]
This is crazy, it threw its weapon!
Hit by the weapon thrown by the Kobold, I stumbled for a moment, and because of that, I couldn’t react properly and allowed another attack.
Thwack!
[Damage Received! -21.]
Ugh, how much HP do I have left?
“Skill Use! Strike with All Your Might!”
[Skill Damage! 27.]
[Combat Experience 21 acquired!]
[Ding!~ Party member Rudin has acquired ‘Kobolt’s Hide’.]
I barely managed to kill one. Two left. However, the battle became much easier than before. I repeated stabbing and dodging again to attack the Kobolds, and eventually, the battle ended in my victory.
[Combat Experience 21 acquired!]
[Ding!~ Party member Yu-a has acquired ‘Kobolt’s Hide’.]
[Combat Experience 21 acquired!]
[Ding!~ Party member Rudin has acquired ‘Kobolt Iron Club’.]
“Huff, huff, that was damn hard.”
“Are you alright?”
Yu-a hurriedly approached and cast a heal. Although I had lost quite a bit of HP, after receiving Yu-a’s healing 6-7 times, it was fully restored.
How should I put it? For the first time, I thought it was a good thing I brought her along.
‘By the way, why am I so tired?’
With a puzzled feeling, I checked my status window and saw that my remaining Stamina was around 20%.
“Let’s rest for a bit and then move.”
“Okay.”
Yu-a nodded without any particular expression. She’s obedient. Anyway, I sat down and recovered my depleted Stamina while opening my item window and taking out the Kobolt Iron Club I had just obtained.
‘Kobolt Iron Club… The item Yu-a got came to me too.’
Let’s check it out.
[Kobolt Iron Club] (Normal)
Description: A blunt iron club used by Kobolds. A weapon crudely made by chipping away at iron ore found in the mine.
<Additional Stats: Strength (3), Agility (-2)>
<Stat Requirements: Strength (3)>
Attack Power: 10 Magic Attack Power: 0
Durability: 6/6
‘This is… pure trash.’
With a somewhat appropriate evaluation, I put it back into my item window. My weapon wasn’t so bad that I would use something like this.
But since it was made of iron ore, I wondered if I could melt it down and make it into an iron ingot.
“Um …… Rudin-nim.”
“……?”
“If you don’t mind, would you like to hunt together from now on?”
“……So you want to keep sucking the life out of me……”
“Huh?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Perhaps because I muttered in a low voice, Yu-a didn’t hear me properly. Well, I had no intention of repeating myself anyway.
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