No hunter is unaware that moving with magic power in their legs is much faster. Once you awaken and gain a bit of control over your magic power, one of the first things that comes to mind and is attempted is that. However, it doesn’t take long to realize that strengthening the legs with magic power is the hardest part of the body.
It’s because the legs are the farthest from the head and heart that control magic, and unlike the hands, which have been freed to move throughout life, the feet have limited functionality.
I recall Baek Ah-rin’s movements.
As I focus and watch the image in my mind, she doesn’t push against the ground; instead, she moves as if causing small explosions on the surface. Did she do this little trick with every step?
‘What the hell… how does she maintain her balance?’
How on earth can she burst out that tremendous energy from her toes? It’s not even easy to just wrap a layer of magic around a weapon gripped in hand. Is the Ilseom Guild passing down some know-how on this? Hmm…
Countless questions arise, but it’s impossible to grasp a technique that’s worthy of being called a finishing move in one go.
‘To unleash a skill from the tips of the feet…’
It’s a movement that’s hard to understand at the moment, but I believe it won’t be long until the day I can awkwardly imitate her.
I try to mimic Ah-rin’s lightning steps, dodging, blocking, and swatting away the attacks of the wolves clawing from all sides, continuously retaliating in a frenzy.
While I can’t achieve her ghostly movements, as I fumble around trying to do something with my feet, I seem to have a slightly clearer field of vision than usual.
‘If I explode a fireball with my foot…’
But it wouldn’t happen just by thinking.
Whoosh…
For a brief moment, it seemed like a speck of flame ignited from my toes, but that was all.
‘Ah… this is tough. My magic is leaking.’
Crash-!
– Use daggers in stealth mode to defeat enemies.
– … (58/10,000)
– … (72/10,000)
– … (91/10,000)
Even while training, the quest count quickly rises, sparking some motivation. What I can see are only the wolf’s claws and fangs, along with the scattered blood. I found myself fixated solely on the thought of killing the enemies.
Gradually, my senses began to expand, and the surroundings started to blur. It’s a familiar sensation that visits me now and then, once I’ve entered the void of unconsciousness.
I can’t see it now, but for a brief moment, I felt the circuits engraved at the moment of job change light up slightly.
– Movement becomes marginally freer.
The message tells me I’ve achieved a small accomplishment. I recall having seen similar phrases in life: gaining extended senses, becoming more agile, and slight increases in magical perception abilities.
However, it’s always surprised me at unexpected moments, and I’ve never consciously worked to grow like this before.
And the sense of having become freer is so marginal that it’s hard to feel any difference right away.
‘Wouldn’t it be great if this minuscule progress showed as a number?’
I was starving for growth, and the system’s encouragement felt woefully inadequate to satisfy my hunger.
With a light swipe of my dagger, I slashed at the wolf’s throat.
—
A straight line drawn honestly by me.
While Baek Ah-rin’s movements were focused on beautiful curves akin to a sword dance, mine was a crude series of straight lines.
But I wasn’t anxious just because it looked different. When you’re imitating, your individuality will inevitably be reflected.
The straight line was an expression of my desire to reach the enemy in the shortest distance, and I found satisfaction in the upright line I created.
Slash—!
I swiftly sever the stout front paw of the Dire Wolf and jab its face with the thorns on my shoulder.
Thud-!
– The enemy is in a ‘bleeding’ state.
The [Rough Claw] I obtained from the Dire Wolf activated continuously as I made more body charges during combat. Even just a glance at the wolf revealed significant bleeding, and instead of advancing toward me, its center of gravity shifted backward.
With a leap-!!
Just as I intended to finish off the one retreating, four relentless wolves clung to my arm and legs, trying to topple me.
Growl-!
‘Good. Let’s see who gets knocked off first.’
I triggered [Reckless Charge] while dragging those behind me into a tightly clustered spot.
Crash—!
Like a 15-pound bowling ball striking between the 1st and 3rd pins, the wolves flew in all directions.
However, it seemed the open spaces were filled at once by the vicious wolves.
In that instant, I found their persistence tedious and grabbed the sharp fangs rushing at me with both hands, hurling them far away.
Splat-!
The creature smashed into a wall and its head exploded without letting out a dying scream. Sometimes, thinking of killing like this relieved my stress. I mustn’t lose interest in battle by getting overly absorbed in quests.
Wham—!
If used appropriately, slime’s acidic fluid can be effective when aimed at vital spots like the eyes. Seeing the wolf, who suffered from the acid, struggle, I felt a refreshing sensation in my chest.
Riding that feeling, I shout.
“Clap, clap, clap!!”
– The warrior’s shout energizes the allies!
– Strength +3
The hunters carrying the buff from [Warrior’s Shout] nearby had wide eyes. One even nodded as he momentarily released his stealth nearby.
‘Hmm- you’ve got some decency. It’s customary to show gratitude when one has received assistance.’
I can’t remember the face of the man who bowed to me, as it was utterly unremarkable, but I personally prefer that kind of upright nature. As my subordinate, of course.
I’ve already used seven active skills since entering the cave. With the use of so many skills, my magic usage has long surpassed the recovery speed. Soon, I’d run out of magic, but I had no intention of stopping.
I could see the wolves inside the cave swaying. The effects of poison and paralysis were gradually taking hold.
[Fireball]
Boom—!!
Then I distanced myself from the surrounding wolves with a fireball, grabbed my slightly damp gliding cloak that I soaked in water before the battle, and leapt into the air.
Magic: 9/161 (+10)
Even with two absorption runes equipped that restore magic upon defeating monsters, it’s challenging to avoid the depletion of magic as long as the defeat speed isn’t faster than the skill usage speed.
‘Having insufficient magic is more frustrating than exhausting. This chaotic battle is the first since the Orc invasion.’
– You have entered stage 1 of gliding.
– Recognition disruption effect has activated.
– <00:09:59>
The wolves, who had been persistently gnawing at me like rabid dogs, shifted their gaze to the other hunters due to the recognition disruption magic activated by the gliding effect.
Swish—
Boom, bang, bang—!!
With the effect of my cloak, I soared into the air and hurled ten skeleton bombs below, causing powerful explosions that scattered the wolves in every direction.
– Defeat 10,000 enemies with an attribute skill. (84/10,000)
‘Huh… let’s take a breather.’
It felt like I had fought for almost 20 minutes without rest. I was so focused that there were gaps in my memory, and my mental stamina seemed pretty low.
If I were a complete skeleton, I would’ve been happily cutting down wolves without any trouble right now, wouldn’t I?
– Irmana’s blessing will vanish shortly.
The message that had been hovering since earlier appeared again.
Ultimately, as my body dried out completely, Irmana’s blessing faded away.
I pulled out an ancient jug from my inventory.
I poured the water from this world onto my body, soaking my cloak enough that it became drenched. It was kind of annoying, being drenched while riding alone in battle, but I had no choice if I wanted to maintain Irmana’s blessing.
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