CH.70 The Forest Covered by Snakes (4)
Outside the barrier of Inwangsan Field.
A hunting ground frequently visited by mid-grade and above Holders due to the high level of monsters inhabiting it.
In the middle of the field.
A group of people wearing masks had gathered.
Each of them wore a mask and carried their own specialized equipment, making them look different from ordinary hunters in the field.
Among them, the front-runner in the masks.
He briefly lowered his mask and put a cigarette in his mouth.
It was already his fifth cigarette.
Also, it seemed they were all his subordinates.
The remaining members stood with bowed heads, waiting.
The masked person scattered cigarette smoke in all directions and asked another masked person behind him.
“Are we sure about this vicinity?”
“Yes, sir. Just before the crow entered the dungeon, they spread magical powder to signal. According to the signal, it’s within about 100 meters.”
“Hmm…”
The masked person looked around.
Traces of a hunt that seemed to have been swept by a party.
Apart from the magical stones, they hadn’t even started butchering, indicating that this was clearly a purpose-driven hunting party.
The words of his subordinates and the situation in the field…
They were indicating that this was the place they were looking for.
“Anyway, we can’t control these little fire judges. Suddenly changing the dispatch date. We came here in a hurry, not even having time for a smoke.”
“It’s something that happens occasionally. Doesn’t the master of that clan have some peculiar aspects?”
“Why do the S-grade folks all look like that?”
The masked person, who had stepped on the last cigarette butt and discarded it, cleared his throat and began to speak.
Then he took out a sword and looked at the assembled masked individuals.
“Because of the recent antics of the Academy brats, we absolutely have to succeed this time. I’ve said it multiple times, everyone remembers, right?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, sir.”
The masked person, who had put on his mask again due to the cigarette, looked forward.
“Then let’s go. Let’s kill the fire starters.”
Though his mouth was covered, his eyes were smiling.
***
ippotranslations
***
The levels of [Wave Sword Technique] and [Water Sword Technique] had both reached level 9.
[Effort of the Seeker], and [Swirling Tidal Wave].
The combined result of the increased growth speed of the two runes.
Now, it was only one level away from unlocking the ultimate skill.
My wave sword technique was around level 8.
If I’m lucky, the restriction might be lifted after this dungeon raid.
‘And… I need to get the battle rewards.’
The golden information window adorned before my eyes.
The reward from [Rune Hunter], who had defeated Electrophorus.
[Victory in a battle! Due to your high contribution in the battle, you are recognized as the winner. With the mysterious power of the Rune Hunter, you can replicate one of the opponent’s runes. Please select the rune to replicate.]
[1. Stealth, 2. Infiltrating Mind, 3. Underwater Breathing (not selectable), 4. Underwater Sprint, 5. Magic Control (not selectable).]
The runes possessed by Electrophorus were somewhat predictable.
Given it’s ability to control lightning, [Infiltrating Mind] was a given, and [Magic Control] was also necessary to assist him.
For a creature that operated underwater, [Underwater Breathing] and a rune that allowed rapid movement within it, [Underwater Sprint], seemed plausible.
But there was one peculiar rune.
The first choice in the selection, [Stealth].
‘Why does it even have Stealth?’
[Stealth] was one of the common runes mainly possessed by the assassin-type.
Unlike what appears in other novels or games, it doesn’t grant the ability to become ‘completely invisible’.
It assists in not revealing one’s presence when hiding at a specific point or object, changing the atmosphere so that one’s presence isn’t felt even when right next to the person.
In short, you only disappear from the opponent’s line of sight, it assists in completely erasing one’s presence.
‘As the level rises, it becomes more effective.’
When it gets to a high level, it would not even reveal itself to detection runes like magic sensing or archer-type runes.
It lives up to its name, Stealth.
It was a capability I, a semi-assassin, didn’t possess yet.
Electric eels, however, had it.
‘Oh! So, that was why Min Chae-hwan didn’t detect them.’
After entering the dungeon for the first time.
Min Chae-hwan had used reconnaissance runes to prepare the party for battle.
Nothing had been detected by his B-grade rune.
He had even confirmed that there would be no monsters for about 10 minutes.
The reason they weren’t detected.
They possessed [Stealth] related to eels, and its level was unexpectedly high.
When the advance team came before, they hadn’t revealed their appearance at all.
‘Then what should I choose… Infiltrating Mind and Stealth.’
The choices were predetermined.
Both runes were what I needed right now.
The former was needed for resistance to lightning magic in order to handle lightning-related magic, and the latter would enhance my assassin abilities a bit more.
Luckily, both of the Electrophoruses I was in charge of had their contributions recognized, allowing me to hunt the runes from both entities.
[You have chosen Infiltrating Mind. As it is a level 8 rare rune, the level will decrease and it will be registered as level 4.]
[You have gained a new rune.]
[With the rune’s inclination, you gain 4 resistance to lightning and 3 magic.]
[A new resistance has been activated.]
[You have chosen Stealth. As it is a level 13 normal rune, the level will decrease and it will be registered as level 7.]
[You have gained a new rune.]
[With the rune’s inclination, you gain 4 willpower.]
I chuckled as I looked at the information window.
‘The level was really darn high.’
The Electrophorus had an absurdly high level for its runes in exchange for lacking in other abilities.
It was expected for [Infiltrating Mind], but the level of [Stealth] was impressive.
A level 13 Stealth for a monster.
It was understandable that it couldn’t be detected by Min Chae-hwan’s reconnaissance.
It probably never revealed its appearance when the advance team came.
‘Then… Infiltrating Mind is as I expected.’
There were no special derivative skills for [Infiltrating Mind], and its special effects were all about generating lightning.
Instead, if it used lightning through feathers or water, there was a special effect that made it more penetrating.
‘But Stealth has… a derivative skill.’
The rune information for [Stealth] was almost the same as what I knew, but it had a special derivative skill called [Hide Attack].
Due to its high level of 7, it naturally had derived forms.
<Skill Information>
◎ Name: Hide Attack
◎ Derived Rune: Stealth
◎ Cooldown: 30 minutes
◎ Conditions for Use: The target of the attack must not be visible to the attacker.
◎ Special Effects: –
: Attack the target from a hidden state. If the attack is successful, it partially ignores the target’s toughness and increases the attacker’s attack power (proportional to the rune level). If the attacker is revealed to the target before the attack is completed, the skill effect dissipates, and the cooldown resets.
[Hide Attack] was a skill I knew as well.
It was mainly used by assassin-types to initiate attacks on monsters, and it was a quite useful skill with simultaneous effects of damage reduction and increased power, considering it was a normal-grade skill.
It seemed like a decent skill to use when solo hunting or tackling dungeons alone.
“Let’s move again! We don’t know when those electrophorus will show up again, so don’t let your guard down.”
While I was tidying up the runes for a moment, I heard Kwon Oh-jun’s voice.
Although the appearance of a monster not included in the strategy was unexpected, we had defeated it successfully and it was time to move again.
Thump- thump-
The party’s movements had become much more cautious than before.
I followed him slowly and looked around.
‘Now it just looks like the habitat of monsters…’
The forest, which had clearly seemed like a magnificent view, was now merely a territory of monsters that needed to be cautious.
Indeed, the inside of the dungeon wasn’t as beautiful as it seemed.
I turned my head to the right.
Shin Yuna, who looked gloomy, was walking.
‘She’s still like that.’
Our party formation was standard.
Party leader Kwon Oh-jun and Min Chae-hwan, who was mainly in charge of exploration, were in the lead.
Assassin Choi Dong-wook was in the middle as the backbone of the party.
The rest of the members were at the rear.
And Shin Yuna and I were at the very back of the party to protect the rear.
We were moving in that direction once the battle started.
Thanks to that, we were all walking together after a vigorous battle.
“Are you okay?”
I narrowed the distance a bit and spoke to her.
I recalled Lee Soo-mi’s words about comforting her, and I felt like she had lost a lot of her confidence compared to her spirited demeanor on the first day.
From her expression, it seemed like her spirits were still quite low.
“Not at all…”
“Cheer up. We’re just here to learn anyway, remember how you were from the start.”
Shin Yuna was the one who told me not to expect too much and not to have high hopes during our orientation.
After all, we were just here to learn.
She had said that, yet she was acting like this.
“But… I don’t know how to deal with magical attacks.”
Shin Yuna sighed deeply.
She was a dodge-focused tank.
Since she didn’t have relevant resistance stats, if she didn’t succeed in dodging, she would be exposed to magical attacks.
That’s why the support members in the rear saw her getting hit in this battle.
Shin Yuna seemed to be pondering on that aspect.
How she should deal with magical attacks.
But the answer was already predetermined.
“Improve your speed and dodge well. Or become stronger like the team leader and fight better.”
“No, is that even an advice… sigh…”
She sighed as if to say that I was stating the obvious.
Maybe I talked too much about the right way.
I had intended to comfort her, but somehow it seemed like I was irritating her.
In the midst of that, Shin Yuna suddenly looked up and asked.
“Did you catch one earlier?”
“Huh? Oh, that… It took the attack, but the support members in the rear caught it. You saw it too. The magic was pouring down.”
She had seen everything, even that.
She bowed her head deeply again.
“I envy you… I was so busy dodging that I couldn’t even touch it.”
“I use a shield. If I block one attack, I can somehow find an opportunity against low-toughness monsters.”
Moreover, I was sure Shin Yuna’s toughness wasn’t low.
When she replicated the rune before, she also had [Physical Defense], which was a common rune that grows faster in warrior-type Holders that doesn’t use shields.
She was just embarrassed because the monsters she faced this time focused on magical attacks, but she was able to tank well in the front line without having to dodge monsters that use physical attacks.
In the middle of the conversation, Shin Yuna brought up a weird story.
“should I use the shield too?”
“what?”
You wish to use the [Shield] now?
Besides, this is a really bad choice.
Even though [Shield] is a common rune, there is a high probability that it will not be efficient for her who uses [Combat].
Although common runes didn’t apply to all Holders like the absence of [Stealth] for me as an assassin-type, if she hadn’t acquired it yet, there was a possibility that she might never get it.
Even if she did get it, it would take a long time to develop, which was only natural.
Furthermore, if she used a shield, her strengths focused on attacks might be compromised.
Holding a shield in one hand and fighting with the other hand? That wouldn’t work, right?
I gave a light tap on Shin Yuna’s shoulder, who was indulging in fanciful thoughts.
“Ouch!”
“This is where not having a rune bites you.”
It was a good thing I didn’t try to comfort her.
She needs to get more annoyed from the monster’s attacks.
Being a versatile Multi-Holder is not something that comes easily.
