“Shiiiit-!”
Suddenly, the ‘Blue Manatee,’ which always appeared alongside the Abyss Hunter, made its presence known.
These guys are unique monsters that have the ability to wrap a water shield around the ‘Abyss Hunter,’ and that’s the only skill they possess.
Their bodies are covered in a pale blue hue, with a smooth and shiny surface reminiscent of a typical fish.
However, the fact that these monsters resemble regular fish somehow induces an alien sense of fear.
Among the monsters dwelling in the ‘Nando,’ their speed is so fast that it’s hard to hit them even once.
“Shiiiit!! Shi-it!!”
They look like fish but make slithery serpent-like sounds as they swarm in.
Anyone who faces those rotten eyes filled with death experiences overwhelming terror.
“Ugh…!”
“Hold on!! It’s not a big deal when you actually clash with them!!”
“I’ll prepare provocation!”
“If you don’t want to get hit on the side, spread the shield in front a bit!!”
“Got it-!!”
Of course, a hunter who has reached the A-rank elite level would come with enough mental strength and preparation to conquer that level of fear.
Yet, facing these guys isn’t easy.
Kikikikik—!!
The water shield cast by the Blue Manatee around the Abyss Hunter is surprisingly thick, and only a strong attack can easily break through it.
‘There are way too many manatees. This is going to turn into a long battle.’
These monsters are as intelligent as humans and have a massive mana pool, capable of stacking shields several layers thick depending on the situation, making them quite bothersome.
But if you try to take them down first, you end up exhausting your health and becoming a meal for the ‘Abyss Hunter.’
‘Since I’ve decided to give them a ride, let’s go all out.’
Gooooo—
A massive intangible ring wraps around the approaching horde of monsters.
Even before activating my skill, the range of its activation is clearly sensed.
‘……’
This sensation, which I’ve occasionally felt while unleashing swordsmanship recently, seems to now apply to magic activation as well.
‘Like when creating the Chain of Flame, crafting a massive chain ring—’
As soon as the image formed, a huge water chain began to materialize, encircling the hundreds of monsters darkening my surroundings.
‘Shrink!’
Pachichichichiching────!!
───?!!
The realized water chain swiftly tightened, binding over three hundred monsters at once.
Of course, quite a few were flung away in the process, but the sudden massive binding sent the remaining ones into a state of confusion.
‘Tighter…! Die… die!’
Squeeeze—
I pull the chain with all my might.
What if I squeezed so hard that I completely split their bodies in two?
Puhahack──!
At that moment, a spray of blood-colored dye burst forth from the mouths of the tightly bound monsters.
The sour red liquid spreads underwater, painting a sunset-like picture in the ocean.
‘Huff- The limit is reaching my health. Still, considering it’s my first attempt, it feels pretty good.’
It seemed I could squeeze tighter and crush them entirely, but my strength and proficiency were simply not enough for that.
-───?!!
The beastmen following behind me stood wide-eyed at the sight of the water chain filling their view, simply floating in place.
Unable to muster a sound, they merely gaped, producing meaningless bubbles as they gasped.
‘What are you doing? Attack quickly!’
I drew attention with a light cast of [Thunderhorn] towards the beastmen who couldn’t even respond to my gestures and signaled for them to attack.
– Ahh-?! Ah!
– G-g-g-attack!!
– Now’s the time!!
Though their activation came one beat late, the attacking power of the beastmen looked incredibly potent even to me.
Puffpuffpuffpuffpuff!!
Dozens of attack skills and support skills began to ravage the monsters in harmony.
‘Our party balance isn’t great, but the individuals are so strong. The teamwork isn’t bad either.’
The party was composed primarily of physical attackers focused on close combat, with a beastman as a support mage and a snake beastman as a healer.
Of course, except for some special zones like the first hunting ground, this combination wasn’t necessarily a disadvantage in this dungeon.
In fact, in the third hunting ground, they would likely shine like fish in water.
‘I could have found at least one hunter below my level, if not one as skilled as me. I should ask later why they are so fixed on having only beastmen.’
While I pondered, I continued to signal to encourage them.
‘Hmm… Mana expenditure… It’s gonna be hard to maintain for long.’
When I first activated the chain, the mana consumption was surprisingly low, but as time passed, it skyrocketed.
– Throw away the fish!! If we take down the Abyss Hunter, they’ll run away on their own!!
– Okay!!
– Formation 4!
– Isn’t 3 better?!
– Then let’s make it 3.5!!
– Don’t joke around!!
‘You guys are pretty relaxed.’
Having established an outline at the beginning, the monster strategy progressed quickly.
Shoving aside the persistent assist messages flooding my mind, I dived into a new attempt.
‘I’ll coat a spear of water with lightning—’
A translucent blue spear began to wrap a lightning bolt as it twitched.
‘Gnggggh—!!’
Feeling a delightful resistance, I propelled it forward—!
Pazizizizick— Whioooooo—
Because it was a weapon formed of water, the speed was not much different from when thrown from the ground.
Pugogogogog—!!
Puffpuffpuffpuff!!
Moreover, its destructive power and effective range were doubled, blowing away double-digit numbers of monsters in one go.
‘Whoa… am I going crazy? This is great!’
Simply hurling the spear of water proved much weaker than coating it with a lightning property.
Of course, adding additional properties would still be inefficient, but I’d have to keep attempting that in the future.
– You’ve defeated the ‘Abyss Hunter’ for the first time!
– Trait [Thievery] has activated!
– You’ve obtained the skill [Abyss Guardian]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] has activated!
– All attributes have increased by 2 each!
Abyss Guardian
– Firmly sets a blade imbued with potent neurotoxin.
– The number of blades corresponds to your maximum mana.
Slippery Blade
– Movement speed increases by 30% within ‘Abyss Guardian.’
‘Just as expected, it’s a neurotoxin… more poison is definitely better.’
As I already possessed various poison-related skills, this ability was welcoming.
‘Slippery Blade… a conditional movement skill.’
Releasing the massive water chain, which had become hard to maintain, I watched the now fully initiated battle of the beastmen from behind and tried activating [Abyss Guardian].
Shwushshshshshsh───!
Suddenly, dozens of remarkably sharp blades burst forth from my armor all at once.
‘W-what? There are so many?!’
I thought hurriedly, trying to contain them.
‘So it really depends on mana, and it’s coming out in huge numbers.’
In that moment, it felt like becoming a hedgehog.
I remember fighting ‘Natalan Jackman’ in a cave similarly, but I had to be careful since there were many witnesses now.
Seeing a hunter wielding the same powers as the monsters they fought for their lives would certainly stir up unnecessary issues.
‘Should I try taking down a Manatee too?’
Whoosh—
I stealthily approached the ‘Blue Manatee’ while in stealth.
Shwushshshsh—
‘This… it’s as sensitive as advertised.’
Despite not getting too close, the Blue Manatee sensed something and darted away.
The more kin present nearby, the faster its movement speed, coupled with a unique trait that allows it to detect intruders swiftly.
‘Using the water binding right away is a bit burdensome. I guess the initial range was indeed too much.’
The vice-like armor integrated with bones visibly sagged, proving the strain.
Ultimately, I had no choice but to bind one Manatee at a time using Ent vines.
‘It’s going to take some time.’
[Altered Green Binding]
Swoosh──!
“Shiiit!! Shi-it!!”
The bound Blue Manatee flailed wildly.
Watching its freshness made my mouth water unbidden.
‘It’s no use, I can’t eat it.’
This creature is renowned for its excellent flavor as a high-grade ingredient.
While Big Boar and Hanjaring have long since become popular ingredients, this one’s complicated catch and preparation still limit its availability to a few specialized restaurants.
Crack—!
– You’ve defeated the ‘Blue Manatee’ for the first time!
– Trait [Thievery] has activated!
– You’ve obtained the skill [Abyss Guardian]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] has activated!
– All attributes have increased by 1 each!
‘Is the skill still just one?’
Seems acquiring the racial traits is difficult—
– Would you like to receive a quest to acquire the racial trait of the ‘Blue Manatee’?
‘Of course, I will! I haven’t seen such a quest in ages. I want more of these.’
I complained instinctively to the system, which wouldn’t give me a reply.
There’s a lot to say about the system, but I see it as a good entity that alleviates boredom—a companion that listens to whatever I say.
– Informing you that quests for acquiring racial traits are only offered under specific conditions.
‘O…?! System, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?’
– ……..
As usual, the system just said what it needed and coldly vanished.
If I become the incredible being Azraelon spoke of—hotter than the sun and colder than the moon, will I be able to uncover the system’s secret?
‘… I’m curious about what might lie at the end of the path. Although this isn’t the time to think about such things.’
– Defeat 1,000 ‘Blue Manatees’ to obtain the racial trait!
Just like always, a small quest to defeat a specific number.
‘These kinds of quests are truly golden. Not complicated at all.’
As I went along, primarily defeating Blue Manatees and stacking up by-products and mana stones…
Creak—!
Kiiiiiing!!
Monsters surrounded us, launching attacks on the beastman party, which was back-to-back defending each other.
‘They’re holding better than I thought… still…’
Nevertheless, several of them seemed to have been affected by the neurotoxin, staggering as they fought.
Even if a few took the first hits due to their resistance values, successive damage would weaken that resistance, leading their bodies to harden.
– Churap- Zzi- Zzi-
‘Is that healing?’
I observed the snake beastman entwining around the poisoned beastman’s body, providing healing.
‘I was wondering how the snake beastman healed, but it bites the wrist with its fangs. That’s interesting as it simultaneously detoxifies and restores health.’
Still, it seems there are many powerful abilities I’ve never heard of before.
After monitoring the beastmen fight for about ten minutes, I concluded,
‘Being beastmen, their adaptability is far too slow. Aqua Plighter alone limits hitting the targets. Once this battle ends, I need to craft a secondary weapon for each of them.’
The weapons I crafted feel no resistance when swung underwater, so while they may not have the attack power of the physical weapons currently in use, they would allow for more efficient combat.
In the end, after I actively intervened in the fight, the first extermination wrapped up in less than an hour.
Creak—
I already had so many mana stones, my pockets were stuffed, and the quality of the mana within each stone was top-notch.
‘The purity of the mana stones is high, and I’ve put to sleep plenty of Blue Manatees. With a quest also yielding traits, this is a classic three-in-one!’
– 77/1,000
I personally took down 77 Manatees.
The memory of the ten thousand monster quest flickered to mind.
Back then, even with my trick of capturing Hook Bats, I was genuinely stunned, wondering when I would clear it, but now, in the top-tier A-rank dungeon ‘Nando,’ quest progression seems breezier than that time.
No matter how I tried to restrain myself, this is…
‘I really have grown a hell of a lot!! It’s you guys who are ridiculously strong!!’
I couldn’t help but vent my frustration towards Jo Gi-man and the Orc Legion Commander, who still made me feel powerless.
‘Huff─ Damn, those talented dicks… Huh?’
At that moment, I noticed something wriggling on the body of a Manatee.
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