Not sure if it was a hit to a vital spot or if it came in injured, but that guy staggered like he was dancing and soon collapsed, breathless.
“Whoa!! What the heck! Skeleton Soldier is super strong, huh?”
‘You don’t think you’re ridiculously weak, do you?’
I shot a glance at the man, who seemed pitiful. But next to me, Yeon-hee was grinning from ear to ear, even chuckling for no apparent reason.
“It should be wrapping up soon.”
But as the sorceress appeared and made a remark, Yeon-hee’s smile vanished, and she nodded slightly. Thankfully, she seemed undaunted since the sorceress was also a woman.
“It is wrapping up, but… those idiots really…”
I found the sorceress’ sigh highly relatable. Incompetent hunters had corralled the remaining goblins right toward us, and those goblins, who were backing away, were now charging at us frantically.
“Uwaa- Sorceress, what about the magic?”
“Didn’t you learn that plant magic consumes a lot of mana?”
As expected, the chatterbox man blurted something thoughtlessly, getting scolded by the sorceress. She probably only had enough mana left to protect herself.
At that moment, Yeon-hee shouted clearly.
“Everyone able to hold a shield, get behind us! Those who can move, draw attention in other directions!”
With the enemy already within 10 meters, the response was instantaneous.
I hesitated for a moment watching them.
‘Better hold back on the acid spray… Experience points will take a hit, but no choice.’
I raised my shield with both hands and hurled it toward the goblin horde.
Whoosh—
The preparation took so long that none of the goblins got hit, but I lunged at the one that rolled in surprise and immediately slammed down with [Slam].
Wham!!
– Skill [Slam] level has increased.
‘Finally, it’s going up.’
I dismissed the message in my head and pulled a rock from my inventory, throwing it hard at the one dodging to the right.
Thwack!
Cough!
I charged straight at the goblin that was dazed from the rock and tackled it with my shoulder.
Bam!!
The goblin collided with me and rolled backward several times.
Whump— Thud—!!
Now Yeon-hee started shooting arrows rapidly, and I showed the goblins what a club feels like as they stumbled to avoid her shots.
Injured hunters around us also rallied to provide backup, and soon, hunters from the village swarmed in, allowing us to mount a combined attack from all sides.
Gagghhh—
The sounds of goblins getting slashed assaulted our ears. They sure are messy both in life and death situations.
“Whoa— looks like it’s wrapping up.”
A sturdy man among the hunters entering the village shrugged his enormous great sword over his shoulder as he spoke.
“Heh, you always say ‘wrapping up,’ but your hunting is sloppy, isn’t it? Why don’t you explain why you led them toward us?”
The guy who had been hiding behind us and muttering non-stop sneered at the man with the sword.
Hearing that, the man raised an eyebrow, but after glancing around at the hunters heavy with labored breaths, he sighed deeply and replied.
“It’s just an ordinary accident, what else could it be? Why act like we did it on purpose? Regardless, the wrap-up was tidy, so let’s keep things civil.”
“Tch… I’ll remember you well.”
“…”
‘You sure know how to make things complicated, huh? Even if lives were at stake, that’s not the way to go.’
When I first approached with the woman, I thought her words were light, but it seemed she had little substance behind her head. On the contrary, I’d give points to the man with the sword for his patience.
“First, let’s confirm the ‘finish’ and regroup here in five minutes.”
As the sorceress spoke in a calm voice amid the chaotic atmosphere, people began to scatter in all directions.
‘So this guy is the real leader.’
The sorceress had a good talent for nature magic. I didn’t know her name, and her face was partly hidden beneath her hood, but she left a positive impression.
‘If I need to form a party, it should be with someone like her.’
Since we would surely match well, I kept a close watch on the flow of her mana and stored the information in my mind.
“Phew—”
Yeon-hee was glowing faintly, indicating she’d leveled up again.
Of course, I was glowing blue too.
—–
[Skeleton Soldier Il-wol – Lv.11]
Strength: 32 Agility: 39 Health: 36 Intelligence: 24
Magic Power: 26 Resistance: 1 Sense: 21 Recovery: 2
Traits: Calm, Protection, Thievery, 98 Lives, Adhesion
Skills: Slam, Stealth, Dagger Throw, Acid Spray, Basic Transformation
Equipment: Roughly Shaped Wooden Club
Stats: 3
—–
‘What should I raise…’
In my previous life, I focused on raising abilities primarily for swift movement to fulfill my guiding role effectively. Among those, Agility was always my first choice since it not only speeds up movement but also affects reaction times and the ability to read an opponent’s movements.
However, unlike my past life, my current priority was to be a tank protecting Yeon-hee; thus, my stat allocation had to change accordingly.
‘Of course, that importance still stands. I need to react quickly to threats to Yeon-hee.’
The issue was that to become a perfect tank, I needed numerous stats—practically all of them, apart from the Intelligence related to magic usage.
At least, since one stat could affect multiple aspects simultaneously, it wouldn’t be too problematic to spread the points a bit, but it’s unavoidable that I’d end up growing into an ordinary hunter without any distinctive traits.
Nobody wants to become ordinary. And even fewer want a teammate who is just average, especially when lives are on the line.
‘But I can do that. I have multiple lives and no need to care about others’ gazes.’
Strength also contributes to speed, but primarily focuses on raw power. A fleeting memory of how burdensome it was to raise a shield earlier flashed through my mind.
‘In the end, it’s Strength, Health, and Magic Power, right? I’m definitely heading down a support character route.’
As I raised my stats evenly to avoid any weaknesses, I found myself unexpectedly venturing down a less-traveled path.
Strength: 35 (+3)
Health: 39 (+3)
Magic Power: 29 (+3)
That said, the difference in my stats compared to before was as distinct as night and day, filling me with pride.
Moreover, skill levels were also rising, albeit slowly.
Slam Lv.2
– Strikes with 260% of attack power.
‘The increased value is 10%. Well, that’s a worthy level up.’
Though it looked minimal, this could change the game from needing to hit a monster twice to finish it to taking it out in one blow.
“Hmm— do monsters have set growth for their stats? Why hasn’t Il-wol’s Intelligence ever gone up?”
After distancing myself from the others, Yeon-hee asked, intrigued as she stood next to me.
‘Well, I haven’t raised it.’
I was curious how she’d react when the time came to increase my Resistance, even if that point was far off.
“Maybe if Il-wol’s Intelligence went up, could it talk? Not verbally, but…”
‘Oo? Are you suggesting sign language?’
“Like exchanging messages? Hmm… Hahaha— I’m losing it for real.”
Seeing Yeon-hee cover her face with her robe and giggle, I thought, of course.
“Isn’t it hilarious if Il-wol sends me emojis? Hahaha—”
‘I just don’t get the humor here. Is this the generational gap?! We’re not that far apart in age, after all…’
Yeon-hee’s quiet laughter soon faded.
“Alright— everyone, gather up!”
The person beside us called out loudly, and the hunters flocked toward the sound. They were probably discussing the division of the silver, loot, and runes they acquired.
‘Shouldn’t we be leaving now?’
After all, as mercenaries, do we really need to stay longer? Glancing at Yeon-hee, I saw her darting her eyes around, seemingly looking for an exit.
“Uh, um…”
“Oh, yes, summoner, go ahead and speak.”
As an unnamed man stepped forward and referred to me as a summoner, all eyes turned to him. Yet, Yeon-hee remained unfazed and opened her mouth straight away.
‘Oo? What’s up with that?’
“Uh, um… Oh, never mind…”
Oh dear, Yeon-hee…
I thought she was getting bold and voicing her opinion but ended up fading right back to her place like a mouse.
“Anyhow, we lucked out; we dropped three runes. I’ll give one to the sorceress for having the highest stat, and the other two, we’ll distribute once we go outside. And the loot will be split by team, and, by the way, we’ll also reward the summoner for their hard work with some silver.”
“Ah, yes…”
‘What? This is unexpectedly rational?’
It’s typically chaotic when F-ranks gather, but could it be because of the sorceress’ presence?
‘Well, it works for us.’
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