As my body, which had swelled up while emitting magic power, returned to its original state as if it were a lie with the release of strength, I noticed the hunters running this way came to a halt, sensing the power I had released. I quickly began collecting the corpses of the monsters.
They had holes all over, but they would be fine for consumption. The shattered bones could still be sorted into usable skeletal bomb materials.
The prey that Wang-wang started spitting out the enhancement stones from is very good too.
– You have defeated a Red Goblin for the first time!
– You have acquired the skill [Red Hornpipe]!
– The achievement [Pioneer] has been activated.
– All attributes have increased by 1.
‘What the heck, no traits even though it’s an advanced goblin?’
I felt a bit disappointed, but I held hope for the newly acquired skill.
[Red Hornpipe]
– An item unintentionally created by the Red Goblin. Consuming all magic power to cast ‘Provocation’ over a wide area.
– All physical capabilities of enemies excited by the Red Hornpipe increase by 15%.
‘… What is this absurd skill?’
It doesn’t lower the opponent’s abilities; instead, it boosts them in a strange way. No wonder the Dire Wolf’s attack hurt particularly bad.
And it consumes all magic power? Seriously, every last bit?
‘This is a skill that can only be used by goblins organized into distinct roles in large groups.’
There was too much to give up just to get a provocation.
‘While it’s unique that it provokes broadly, hmm… I’ll put this on hold for now.’
[Lightning Step]
As the hunters that had briefly stopped began to creep closer again, I hurried to collect the remains.
While working, I kept reading the messages.
– You have defeated a Pierce Big Boar for the first time!
– You have acquired the trait [Pierce Big Boar’s Rage]!
– The achievement [Pioneer] has been activated.
– All attributes have increased by 1.
[Pierce Big Boar’s Rage]
– Gains +20 strength and agility when enemies invade your territory.
As soon as I caught the Big Boar and obtained the trait, I sensed a soft glow illuminating a radius of 50 meters around me.
‘Oh, this is effectively like increasing my attributes by 40, isn’t it?’
It was a far better trait compared to the skill obtained from the Red Goblin.
In the past, I thought active skills were superior to passive traits, but since there are so many skills, many of them went unused, so my thinking changed.
‘Passive is better. It activates without me having to think about it.’
After gathering all the remains and turning back to my companions, I received one last achievement.
– You have instantly killed over 500 beings of three races with a single attack. You have acquired the achievement [Small Madness].
[Small Madness]
– Falls into [Small Madness] when facing over 500 enemies alone.
‘……?’
Even when trying to find out what Small Madness was, no explanation appeared.
‘A small madness… Is it similar to the Lizardman’s frenzy state?’
I felt like I needed to experience something like what just happened to understand the ability, but from the sound of it, it seemed like a double-edged ability.
‘They’re watching.’
Dozens of cautiously approached hunters were observing the battlefield from a few hundred meters away.
Among them was a party that had tried to pick a fight with us a few hours ago.
They must have sensed the hundreds of monsters battling and raced over, but upon seeing hundreds of tiny craters created by the explosion released from the manhwa portal, they must have been startled.
On top of that, all the monster corpses that should definitely have been there were cleared away, leaving only the red-stained ground which must have been even more perplexing.
Just that alone must have led them to conclude they shouldn’t linger any longer, and they left immediately.
I stared blankly as they departed before returning to my companions.
As I approached, Ah-rin pointed at me with trembling fingers, urgently asking Yeon-hee as if she had realized something.
“Was that ability just now… the Great Beast?”
“That… This is my first time seeing it too…”
Since I had only told Yeon-hee that I had defeated the Great Beast and obtained a few abilities, she was likely just as dumbfounded.
‘Ever since I saw this reaction, I haven’t gotten tired of it.’
I found the surprised reactions of my companions adorable and wanted to see more.
“Well… I have no words now. It’s so absurd. What was that swelling earlier? Did you turn into Combat Type or something?”
‘Combat Type is something separate…’
Joo-ah was inspecting my body with a horrified expression.
She was definitely looking for the hole where the manhwa portal had been fired from.
“What do you mean, the ability of the Great Beast? Could it be that you have a copying ability from what you see when using skills?”
“Whoa?! Is that… really the case?! That’s insane…”
Bae Joo-ah shook her head vigorously, while Ah-rin crumpled her ears as if she finally grasped my secret.
“That… that’s not quite right. Aaaaah… The message.”
Yeon-hee, noticing information popping up on her status window, leaned against me with her head in her hands.
With my level having risen by two levels from this battle, Yeon-hee must have gained several rewards as well.
How many mana stones and runes do we even have now?
– The trait [Obsession] is screeching!
‘Obsession, have it work hard for a bit.’
Thinking of her frantically organizing the runes and equipment made me chuckle.
It’s already funny that traits have a self-consciousness, but it could be so because it was the ability granted by the Golden Mimic Tanya.
I had used the manhwa portal and for a time held back on using abilities.
‘Whew— I’m dizzy.’
It seems that having 750 magic power drained all at once made my head fail to adapt properly, not functioning as it should.
Even though I had practically zonked out, the speed of the dungeon exploration only picked up.
“This really relieves stress!”
“It feels great being here after being in that crappy dungeon.”
“The Werewolf is really OP. It’s so much easier to operate with it rampaging like a berserker upfront.”
“Hehe… That’s right?”
The summoned creatures’ activities were impressive, but for hunters, battling in this way was comforting.
I focused solely on playing the guide, but whenever something to eat appeared, I couldn’t help but strain myself to act.
Among those, some had traits or skills like Hanjaring.
Whoosh—
The snake named ‘Prosphidi’ was one of them.
You could imagine it as a snake with a body much thicker than an anaconda; surprisingly tame enough to catch easily if you didn’t provoke it.
However, this snake lived near the water, and as soon as it senses danger, it would flee into the depths.
So, I needed to approach cautiously. Just like capturing the Earth Puppy, I needed to subdue it in one go.
Swish—!
– You have defeated ‘Prosphidi’ for the first time!
– You steal ‘Prosphidi’s’ trait randomly!
– You have acquired the skill [Mutated Crawl]!
– The achievement [Pioneer] has been activated.
– All attributes have increased by 1.
[Mutated Crawl]
– You can crawl silently and stealthily.
‘Oh… This may sound a bit odd, but it should be effective when in stealth mode.’
The skill [Stealth] literally makes you invisible.
While it has a supplementary effect of being significantly quieter when activated, it doesn’t completely erase smell, sound, or vibration.
In that sense, it was quite a useful ability.
It just makes me feel self-conscious that I have to crawl like a snake.
The exploration progressed quickly, and soon I reached a place where there was a hidden area in this dungeon.
‘Found it.’
A small hill that rose circularly amidst the thickly wooded area.
It looked remarkably similar to the memories of my past life.
Beneath the hill, covered in various weeds and flowers, lay an enormous rock, under which was a hidden space.
‘This is the first time I’m being taken directly to a space with artifacts.’
What I’m about to obtain this time is not really an artifact, but anything that bears an ancient name is classified as an artifact.
Without hesitation, I began to dig underground, and now my companions were in the mood to wait and see what I was doing.
“Clap, Clap, Clap!”
Once I had dug enough, I signaled my companions to slowly enter the underground space.
Yeon-hee called out her “Ddung-i” as always and entered together with it.
The creature Ddung-i had now firmly become a necessity whenever entering such underground spaces.
“Doo-ung?”
“If you think of something, let me know, Ddung-i?”
“Doo-ung—”
“Whoa! The walls are packed with murals!”
“Given the skill shown, it seems like evidence of an ancient civilization.”
Since most spaces where artifacts are located often showed signs of civilizations long gone, I could fully understand my companions’ reactions.
Someone once said that the worth of a hunter’s life stems from the exploration of such special spaces.
“But why is this passage so wide? Did giants somehow live here? And how is such a wide passage maintained?”
What I had dug had started broadening, and the tunnel began to rise high and broad enough for the Sword Dragon to come through.
“You shouldn’t try to understand with your head. Structures that defy common sense exist everywhere.”
“Like those floating gardens.”
“Exactly.”
Just because there are dungeons on land and in the sea, it doesn’t mean there can’t be any in the sky.
While not many, there are accounts of dungeons opening in mid-air worldwide.
After signaling my companions, I entered first.
I felt something was subtly different from before; it was crucial to check if traps existed.
‘Seems fine.’
I assessed that nothing was amiss and quickly moved through the passage to open the door of another hidden area located at the end.
Click—
Thanks to my previous visit, I quickly located the handle.
The revealed space was a small storage.
There were numerous items on the shelves, preserved in form, appearing intact at first glance, but most would turn to dust with just a touch.
Yet among them, one sealed jar glowing red would be different.
I put my senses into the jar and opened the lid, revealing a spherical object contained inside.
Ancient Alchemist’s Potion
– A potion created by the forgotten ancient sorcerer Gus Pawl.
– Consuming grants +300 magic power.
– Cannot be consumed multiple times.
– This item cannot be contained in a space.
The artifact I had first gifted to Yeon-hee, Gus Pawl’s necklace.
Was it that ancient sorcerers also played the role of alchemists back then?
‘I need to consume this… let’s try it out.’
This potion is almost like a divine elixir.
I had conducted several experiments in preparation for this moment, yet I still worried whether it would prove effective.
Thump—
I popped a pill the size of my thumb into my mouth.
As I did, the pill floated in my mouth like it was swirling in acidic liquid.
I was planning on holding it there for a while, a realization I had from doing Irmana’s quest.
The fact that I could do Irmana’s quest wasn’t because I was exposed to water for a long time and absorbed it, but rather, what entered my body would, after a certain period, transform and become mine.
So, by merely keeping it in my mouth for a while, I could understand it as if I had absorbed it after a certain time.
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