Seeing my stats clearly surpass the G-rank hunter bottom ranks gives me an unnecessary boost of confidence—it’s almost like building a new character and leveling them up again, which is oddly fun.
Recent victory over the boss goblin means I won’t encounter another strong opponent like that for a while. Still, we didn’t let our guard down.
She seemed to have realized that maintaining this basic skill is the easiest way to avoid the dangers that will inevitably come.
After hunting down 11 goblins and 4 slimes, Yeon-hee scarfed down some rice balls for a late lunch and we moved toward the exit.
“Today’s results aren’t bad, but it feels like goblins provide less and less experience. Leveling up is definitely slower now.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what her stats were, but it seemed like she was reaching mid-level 10. From that point on, catching hundreds of goblins wouldn’t yield even a single level-up, so we needed to move to higher dungeons soon.
“It’s hard for me to endure this stagnation for even a day, so I can’t imagine how the stagnant ones manage.”
“Clap, Clap, Clap-”
There are often people referred to as the ‘spirit of the lingering past,’ who risk nothing by staying in one place and make just enough money as livelihood hunters.
In the lowest level dungeons, which mainly feature skeleton soldiers and slimes, even at the next tier, if you work hard, you can steadily earn 200 to 250 a month, which satisfies some.
‘Few can maintain that sense of improvement.’
Moreover, it’s not easy to face beings that come at you with a clear intent to kill. Statistics show that about 30% of awakened hunters quit within three months after passing the hunter exam.
On our way to the exit, we took down 7 more goblins and leveled up again.
[ Skeleton Soldier Il-wol – Lv.6 ]
Strength: 23(+3) Agility: 22(+3) Health: 20
Intelligence: 24 Magic Power: 20(+3) Resistance: 1
Sense: 16 Recovery: 2
Now, with these stats, I could casually handle two or three goblins, which made my steps a lot lighter.
Then,
Pause-
Three hunters caught in my sensory web.
A moment later, it seemed Yeon-hee spotted them too as she grabbed my hand and crouched down.
(……)
We held our breath, scanning the surroundings cautiously, waiting for the strangers to pass.
“Come out~ I know you’re there~”
“Let’s see the real deal just once, heh heh.”
“Khueueh, slurp-”
‘Are they treasure-hunters or something?’
Some awakened hunters develop visual or auditory enhancements alongside their sense stats, and it seemed these guys were of that type.
‘We still have about an hour of walking to the entrance…’
The dungeon was practically a lawless area, and whatever those guys did wouldn’t get reported to the outside world. When you enter the dungeon, all modern equipment is disabled and transferred to the inventory.
I focused my senses on them, trying to estimate the magical powers cloaking their bodies.
‘They’ve leveled up to the point of entering this dungeon… Did they come in looking for Yeon-hee?’
Given they probably should have moved to a higher dungeon long ago, it was a possibility. Their gear didn’t quite scream ‘spirit of the lingering past’ either.
(Let’s run…)
Nod-
Three of them had higher stats than Yeon-hee, so fighting them head-on would be a guaranteed loss. It would be a miracle if we even got the chance to make the first strike. We had to run before they could close in.
Los!
“Hi-hiiii! Let the hunt begin!!”
“Break the skeleton first! Don’t miss the rune drop!”
“Yes, sir!”
‘So they were after us after all. Someone among the survivors must have spilled the beans. Damn, how much is that low-rank rune worth, seriously?’
They wouldn’t risk coming in just for a rune worth a few hundred thousand won; they want both Yeon-hee and the rune for themselves.
‘That bastard Jo Gi-man. He should have taken precautions or something.’
Since this was all because of me, it was up to me to fix it, but I couldn’t help but think of that jerk. Based on their sense stats, they were slightly faster than us, so getting caught was only a matter of time.
‘I only have acid juice left.’
Let’s create a variable.
While running, I showed Yeon-hee the open vial filled with acid juice, and she immediately nodded.
Magic Power: 17(-3)
Using Stealth and Acid Juice consumed 3 magic, and slowly, my figure blended into the surroundings and vanished.
“Whoa?! Where did the skeleton go?!”
“Maybe it was summoned back?!”
“Whoa-whoa, lady? Want to have a go?”
I had already approached their smallest member hiding among them, spewing acid right in front of his face to signal the start of the confrontation.
Shwaaa-!
“Eek! My eyes! MY EYES!!”
I slammed the head of the goblin writhing from the acid with a [Slam].
Magic Power: 16(-4)
Wham-!
Blood splattered as the small guy fell. But then a hammer came flying right at me!
Smack-!
“You bastard!”
I tried blocking it with my club, but it shattered and struck my right shoulder bone.
Crack-!
I heard something break in my shoulder, but my eyes were on the guy wielding a sword, having blocked Yeon-hee’s arrow.
‘Crap, no way.’
A 2 warrior and 1 rogue combination.
The one I initially knocked down was the rogue with the dagger, while those with the hammer and great sword were still standing. And the one who attacked me was holding blunt weapons, the worst combination for me.
“Die!”
[Acid Juice Spray]
Splash-!
Magic Power: 15(-1)
“Argh! You trash piece of-!”
With the hammer raised high to finish me off, I splashed acid on him, causing him to back off in shock.
Taking that chance, I activated Stealth to escape, and pulled my club back from the inventory.
Magic Power: 14(-1)
If I re-activate Stealth within a certain time frame, the magic consumption reduces by half, so it only cost me 1.
Then I grabbed a stone from the ground with my other hand.
I threw the stone at the guy who was swinging his sword at Yeon-hee.
Whack-!
“Damn it, what was that?!”
As he turned his head to see what hit him, I was already right in front of him.
SPLASH-!
“Ahhhh! It’s hot! You damn pig, what are you doing?!”
“I don’t know! It just disappeared all of a sudden!”
The acid had hit the guy in the face, and as he covered it, he was wildly swinging his great sword. I activated Stealth again.
“W-What the hell! It disappeared again-”
WHOOSH-!
“Ah! My leg!”
Yeon-hee seized the opportunity and fired another arrow, hitting the thigh of the guy with the hammer. As the guy staggered back, I managed to approach and rear him.
BOOM-!
“Damn it!”
Smack-!
My leg got struck hard by the hammer, causing my knees to buckle.
‘This hulking idiot was a tracker!’
The creature had been sniffing around, it must have picked up the scent of my blood!
‘Did it catch the smell of my blood on me?’
Anyway, with one leg completely wrecked, I eventually lost my balance and fell to the ground. Simultaneously, Yeon-hee’s dagger lodged itself into the throat of the guy with the sword.
THUNK-!
STAB! STAB!!
Yeon-hee threw off her robe, blinding him, and in one smooth motion, thrust the dagger into his neck.
She definitely stabbed him a few more times for good measure.
Now, only the guy with the hammer and an arrow in his thigh was left.
BAM-!
Crack-!
Health: 3/20(-17)
“What the hell… how did it come to this?”
The guy who smashed my body with a hammer looked at his buddies in disbelief, ignoring me completely.
‘Let’s pretend to be dead…’
He showed no further concern for my seriously damaged body, taking steps closer to Yeon-hee.
“I won’t kill you nicely. I’ll make you scream for me to kill you.”
“W-Why are you doing this to me?!”
“Soon, you’ll know with your body, heh!”
Despite the arrow lodged in his thigh, the guy was still fairly agile, charging at Yeon-hee without hesitation.
‘Huh? Yeon-hee’s hurt too?! Oh right, she took a hit from that great sword guy.’
She had likely been countered when she tried to stab him. There was a considerable amount of bleeding from her side.
‘No, I can’t let this happen.’
Yeon-hee shot another arrow at him, but the guy deflected it with his sturdy arm guards and kept advancing.
In a hurry, Yeon-hee rolled aside and began to escape to the periphery, and the guy followed right after.
‘Something, I need to do something.’
Grinding my teeth in helplessness while scanning my surroundings, suddenly, my body began to move as if drawn to something.
‘What is this?… Ah! I’m being pulled away from Yeon-hee!’
It seemed being a certain distance away from her forcibly drew me closer to her.
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