by Elan Wang
Just when we were exiting one tunnel, Eum Hyunjoon raised his hand over his head and made a fist. I walked up next to him and quietly looked in the direction he was pointing at with his chin.
8 cave wolves and 1 goblin.
Though we were 10 in our party, if I were to honestly assess our skill, we were way weaker than them. In cases such as this, we couldn’t do anything but take the risk.
“Isn’t it better to pass?”
The manager mouthed silently. He had a worried expression on his face. It was obvious he was worried his lacking sleep skill wouldn’t work properly this time around either. Eum Hyunjoon thought for a second before shaking his head.
“If we pass here, we have to pass on this entire tunnel. That means over half our earnings would go up in smoke.”
“What if we get hurt…”
“There is no such thing as a safe dungeon.”
Eum Hyunjoon replied in a short tone. The Manager, who was used to hunting in leisure parties, wasn’t used to being put in any unnecessary danger. But that was too bad. Because this was a general party. Tough luck, guy. In the large area, 8 cave wolves were slinking around. And in the center, the goblin was sleeping in the torchlight.
Sleep would work even more easily on a fella that is already sleeping. I figured it would only be a doable fight if at least 5 monsters, including the goblin, were to be ensnared in the sleep skill.
“If there are this many, the sleep doesn’t work as well.”
The manager kept muttering about as he walked forward. He crouched behind a boulder that was not in the wolves’ view and raised his hand. A golden light shined out from his palm and settled down over the enemy like a fog.
The goblin and 3 wolves fell into a deep sleep. There were now 5 wolves to deal with. But that was just too much for us. Eum Hyunjoon’s face went dark.
“I don’t know about this…”
The sleep was successful but it seemed it wasn’t too effective because the wolves were starting to stir. I tapped his shoulder and said.
“How about we distract them and take at least one of them out first with a bow?”
“You think that’ll work?”
“We won’t know until we try. If we kill at least one in the beginning, I’m sure we can take care of the rest one way or another.”
“I guess if it’s four then it’ll still be hard but not impossible. But what can we use as a distraction?”
“I have beef jerky that I packed as an emergency snack.”
I pulled a couple out from my backpack and showed it to Eum Hyunjoon who nodded his head. I took the jerky and threw it to the nearest world.
Sniff Sniff.
It looked at the jerky and started smelling it. It seemed to be suspicious at first but it soon grabbed it with its forepaws and started ripping into it.
While it was distracted, I threw some more toward it to lure it closer to where we were.
It started padding its way closer and closer to us. Eum Hyunjoon made some hand gestures the long range attackers. All the long range attackers in our party were archers. Two crossbows and three regular bows. The damage for the crossbow was higher but the speed of the regular bow was much quicker.
The two crossbow attackers who had already preloaded their weapons walked to the wolf and shot their arrows.
Pat!
Kaeaeng!
The cave wolf whimpered out as the bows pierced its body. It had hit its chin so it wasn’t a fatal shot. But because it was a crossbow, the wolf was having a difficult time trying to move its body. Even if it were to try to heal, it would take some time.
“Arr!”
The wolves who had heard the attack raised their heads and looked toward us.
Three bows were launched and flew where they were growling.
Snap!
Arr!
Two more bows flew into the air and one hit its mark.
The wolves racing toward us were reduced to just 3. The one that had been hit in its shoulder lay on the ground whimpering.
Ping!
One more bow flew out. When I turned back, I saw that while the two archers were reloading their weapon glasses girl had quickly shot out a bow. Did she abandon accuracy for speed?
Right before they were on us, a three footed bow flew out.
Kaeeng!
One wolf was shot through the head and shoulder this time. Two left.
“Come at me!”
Eum Hyunjoon yelled out while pounding his chest and jumping to the front. Helmet guy pulled out his sword and went forward as well.
I just stuck to Eum Hyunjoon’s rear. I didn’t have hunter level armor so I needed to be careful. I planned to make my move while Eum Hyunjoon had their attention.
“Keep your distance!”
Eum Hyunjoon yelled out this time. Understanding his meaning, helmet and I immediately jumped next to him to flank both his sides. We stood about 3 steps apart from one another. This was the perfect distance for the archers to still make their attack but not enough where the wolves could pass through us.
The wolves jumped at Eum Hyunjoon before being knocked back by his shield. It seemed that while one wolf was aiming for his neck, the other focused on aiming as his body.
Eum Hyunjoon lowered into an almost crouch to minimize his exposure to their teeth. He covered his lower body with his shield and protected his upper body with his mace.
The two crossbow wielders finished loading their weapons and let fly their arrows. The arrows had hit their mark. The 30 cm bolt had imbedded themselves deeply into the monsters. They began to throw up blood as they tried to retreat but got caught in the three wolves that had been hit before.
One of them jumped up to bite Eum Hyunjoon’s shoulder. And the other chomped down on his leg, while still the third wolf ran to bit at his head.
“Mr. Eum!”
Helmet guy yelled out as he slashed out with his sword.
A white glow emerged from the sword. It seemed he had activated a skill. I pulled out my bloodysword to swipe at the wolf on his shoulder.
I could hear the sound as my sword stabbed into one wolf’s butt. And the second sound was helmet guy cutting into another wolf’s waist.
The wolves cried out and let go of Mr. Eum. Now that he was free to move, he slammed down at the third wolf’s head with his shield. The wolf snarled out as he let go as well. Eum Hyunjoon yelled out once again.
“Stun!”
A hunter in training gear who had been standing back with the archers stomped heavily with his feet.
The ground began to shake loudly and a shockwave shook the area where the wolves were. They collapsed where they stood and rolled around as the ground kept shaking uncontrollably.
One wolf tumbled in my direction. I used all my strength to stab down at the wolf and twisted my sword. I could see the wound appear immediately and the blood spewing out soon after.
As the wolf tried to struggle, I stomped down on its head and yelled.
“Stay still you bastard!”
It’s insides spilled out with the blood this time.
[+100]
As soon as I saw the green digits appear again, I headed towards my next objective. The stun time was a total of 10 seconds. My bloodysword was still only half red. It needed more blood.
I didn’t hesitate as I sliced through the second wolf’s neck. Another sprout of blood, and then I heard the screaming of a goblin behind me.
“Kyaaaa!!!”
The sleep had completely come undone.
This goblin had the special ability of being able to command the wolves. Wolves who are under the goblin’s command do not feel fear or dread death. This made them several hundred times harder to fight.
I had killed two wolves and helmet and Mr. Eum had killed two wolves. The last wolf was running toward Eun Hyunjoon and helmet was too far away to be of any help to me.
Now the three sleeping wolves had awoken and dashed towards me. Shit. What. The. Hell. Their lengths were almost as long as I
was tall, and seeing them running at me made me almost want to shit my pants.
Ping! Some bows flew out and barely missed me.
Thought the bows kept flying at them, they never hesitated or slowed down.
Should I run?
For some reason, I felt like I could do something…
“Run! You crazy man!”
I jumped out of the way after hearing the manager’s shouting. The wolf bit at the air.
“Why is this psycho jumping in this direction…”
I could see the manager. I had instinctively jumped where I heard the voice. I landed behind the boulder he was hiding at.
The wolves padded toward us while growling menacingly. Each of the three wolves were as big as I was. Strength, speed, reflexes…they were all better than mine.
There was no hope.
Just then a shower of bows landed where the wolves stood. One wolf evaded the bows and headed towards the archers.
There was no time to think. I threw the bloodysword I had been holding.
Well what do you know. It landed right on the butt of one wolf. And right after, another flurry of bows flew out – one of it piercing that wolf right in its eye.
“That’s it!”
“What do you mean that’s it! How can you throw away your weapon like that!”
The manager yelled out in aggravation. The last two wolves again started running towards us.
Helmet had finally arrived to help and bumped into the racing wolves.
“Are you ok?”
Shit. Why are you the one stealing all the glory and being cool!
It wasn’t over yet. But it would take too long for me to try and retrieve my bloodysword. I looked around to see if there was anything else I could use as a weapon. I looked at the boulder the manager had been hiding behind. It looked like it would weigh about 300 kg.
I pushed the manager aside and grabbed onto the bottom part of the boulder.
“Ahhhh!”
The boulder moved a bit but that was it.
“Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing?!”
The manager was looking like he might just flip any second now. I guess it was pretty crazy.
But…I mean.
It felt like it would work.
“Ahhhh!”
I heard a weird sound coming from my back. Wait. Did I break something?
And in that instant, I picked up the enormous boulder.
“Huh…?
The manager looked at me incredulously. I yelled in helmet guys’ direction as I threw the boulder.
“Duck!”
Woosh!
Helmet crouched down without even looking back. The boulder just barely passed over his head and landed on the two wolves in front of him.
Crash!
One wolf had its head crushed under the boulder while the other wolf had its crumpled under it. It was trapped.
“Wait! I will kill it!”
I yelled at helmet guy and ran to pick up my sword. As soon as I killed it, the familiar green number appeared.
Opposite of us, I saw Eum Hyunjoon killing the third wolf. The only monster left now was the goblin.
“Kwachi! Twak!”
“What the hell is that thing saying now?”
The manager asked.
“He’s probably asking us to spare his life.”
I held my sword and slowly approached it. In its hand was a short whip – hardly something you could call a weapon. Seeing that he was a wolf trainer, he looked less dangerous than the usual breed.
As we started walking closer to it, it slowly began backing up before it finally was up against the cave wall.
“I will do it.”
“You don’t have to. If you’re trying so hard because of the contribution thing then you don’t have to worry. You’ve done more than enough.”
I shook my head at Eum Hyunjoon’s words.
“It’s not becauase of the contribution. I want to do it before the buff on the sword disappears.”
“Ahhhh!”
The bloodysword easily pierced through the goblin’s leathery hide and cut its inside.
[+150]
I guess they give a bit more for this guy.
**
As we waited for the monster to disappear, everyone took a break. I also sat down to rest on top of my backpack and closed my left eye.
[0,2,350]
Hey wait. Shouldn’t it be 850? Why is there 500 less than there should be. Ah. That’s right. It’s obvious where it went. I stood up and picked up my heavy backpack with one hand.
The 50kg backpack felt very easy and light to pick up.
“So that’s it…”
I was stronger. I’d have to experiment a bit later on to figure out just how much strength uses up how many points but…it feels like I’m at least 50 percent stronger. Was this a permanent buff or a temporary buff? I couldn’t be sure. But if this was permanent.
My heart began to race. This could be an even crazier skill than I could have ever hoped for!
“Isn’t that heavy?”
I had been lost in thought before the glasses girl interrupted me. I pushed the bag toward her.
“Want to try holding it?”
“No. I can tell just by looking at that thing that it’s real heavy.”
“Probably about 50kg.”
“Don’t lie. That means it’s heavier than me?”
“Uh…a porter can measure a person’s weight almost exactly just by looking.”
“So?”
“From Miss Bae Yeonkyoung’s height and body, your muscle structure…I can tell you are not lighter than this backpack. You’re probably around fifty…”
“Ahhh! Ok stop!”
Glasses girl began waving her arms about to shut me up.
“…Sure.”
I didn’t want to embarrass her so I closed my mouth.
Glasses girl then took a deep breath and said.
“Truthfully, there was something I wanted to ask you.”
“Ask away.”
“Do you know how to use a bow and arrow?”
“Why would you think that?”
“From the way you evaded the first bow I shot out. No, you didn’t even evade it. It was as if you knew that the arrow would land right there. It wasn’t even as if the speed of the arrow was slow or anything. If you knew that much, then it would mean you’ve probably handled this type of weapon before.”
“I learned a bit for fun in college.”
“I knew it! I knew it!”
“But why did you want to know?”
She hesitated for a moment before sighing again and asking.
“Well…I’ve never had any proper training on how to use a bow before. So even though I practice a lot, I never really seem to improve.”
“If that’s the case then it would be better for you to ask the other archers.”
“I already asked them but they all said they learned it from purchasing a skill.”
“Hm. Then there’s nothing you can do.”
Purchasing a skill meant you automatically absorbed the ability to do something without ever really training your body to learn the actual task/skill. So there was no way they could teach someone else. It would be like a person trying to teach someone else how to breath – it comes so naturally…how would you explain it probably into words?
Glasses girl stared at me with wide and hopeful eyes.
There was one advice I could give.
“Shoot slowly.”
“What?”
“Because you keep trying to shoot quickly even when your skill isn’t up to par, your accuracy never improves. Just think of it as having only one shot in a hunt and shoot with care….slowly.”
“But…”
“Do you remember what the party head said?”
“Yes. Don’t think of the contribution…”
Glasses girl had a very sad look on her face. She wasn’t able to shoot very well at all today. She probably
shot out about 10 bows but missed almost every time. This could only be a psychological problem.
“Because your accuracy is so low, you’re too afraid of failing again and you end up hurting your performance.”
“I see…”
Glasses girl nodded her head. It is common for a person experiencing an issue to not realize the remedy, even though it may be staring them in the face, until pointed out by an outsider. This was such a case.
“Thank you for the advice. I’ll buy you food later.”
“It’s fine.”
“..You don’t want to eat food I buy you?”
How many people you think are on this earth you can say no in this kind of situation. I reluctantly agreed to let her buy me food. Glasses girl made a little hurrah with her fist, bowed quickly, and walked away.
“What does she see in the crazy bastard? Lord knows…”
The manager started muttering to himself. I shrugged my shoulders. Whatever.
“Good job everyone.”
As soon as we cleared the dungeon, the sunlight began streaming into the cave. The increase in strength was still there. It was still early because we didn’t leave the dungeon yet, but it’s been active for nearly three hours…very encouraging.
After calculating everything, today’s entire earnings were only 20,000 dollars. There was an area you could auction off the ores as soon as you left the dungeon so we could do the splits immediately. But that wasn’t all I got out of today. I also got some more of those reward points. I pretty much tried to rack them up every chance I got.
1350 points.
I was planning to do some tests with this. There was no way that the effort skill would be limited to just strength. If that was the case, the skill would have been called power up…or strength up…or whatever.
After we all took a bit of a break, we went to do the contribution split. As expected, the one who got the most was Eum Hyunjoon. The one who came in second was the manager guy.
“Wait. Mr. Kim Soongeun got second?”
Someone asked. He was one of the crossbow guys who really came in handy that day. I didn’t disagree with what he was asking. The contributions should be split based on results and not just the level of someone’s skill.
“Do you disagree?”
“Well…he messed up on the sleep magic a bunch of times and all he did was hide and complain during the actual fight.”
“What? When did I ever complain?”
